"I Get That He Did Kill Chuuya In The End But I Really Want To See How The Death Actually Affected Him."

"I get that he did kill Chuuya in the end but I really want to see how the death actually affected him."

Chuuya's death has not been confirmed yet, Their is still a chance he will survive. In fact everything Pretty much imply that he will. And based on SB afterword, yeah Chuuya is going to survive this.

Dazai doesn't like showing Chuuya that he cares, So, Only shows it when Chuuya is unconscious. or in the most subtle way possible.

"I just wanted to express both sides of the soukoku relationship to show that it isn't perfect."

Soukoku isn't perfect in the sense that it's toxic, These two Lack communication, Despite working very well in the battlefield. Chuuya fears Dazai because he doesn't want to become someone like Dazai an apath and nihilistic person. And Dazai doesn't like showing that he cares for Chuuya. So, Chuuya believes that he doesn't care for him.

Time for me to have a rant about bsd | Soukoku

Dazai's ability is No Longer Human, right? And Chuuya's ability is For The Tainted Sorrow and the other part of his ability is Arahabaki.

Arahabaki technically isn't human and has no emotions other than the desire for pure destruction. When Chuuya uses corruption and lets Arahabaki take over he is "No Longer Human". He has no human goals and no thoughts of his own. But when Chuuya uses corruption he has a sliver of why he activated it in the first place at least. But when he has finished what he started he continues to destroy everything in sight.

With Dazai's ability he can nullify other abilities. It's pretty useful to have but if it isn't given a proper purpose then it really has no meaning. Dazai's ability is called No Longer Human even though he doesn't know what it means to be human. He has no will to live and was depressed when he was part of the port mafia. This means that his life was For The Tainted Sorrow.

So my point is that Chuuya's ability is to do inhuman things like manipulate and control gravity along with creating impossible amouts of destruction. Dazai can't find a purpose and has no will to live. Even Oda couldn't teach him to value life.

It's canon that Chuuya's character was brought in to be Dazai's ex-partner and that Chuuya's ability would be the worlds demise without Dazai. Chuuya needs Dazai in order to know what it's like to feel...to be human. And Dazai needs Chuuya to take away his take away his tainted sorrow. To give him meaning.

When people say things like:

" Soukoku isn't canon!" and " They hate eachother."

They sometimes have a point. Everyone has the right to express their own opinion. It's true that Dazai wants Chuuya dead and constantly leaves him hanging. I can't count all the times Dazai either let Chuuya pass out from over using corruption or watched him rampage before actually nullifying it. Despite this Chuuya continues to trust him blindly. He claims to hate him but when it comes down to Dazai actually getting hurt he does everything in his power to save him. This proves that Chuuya doesn't really want him dead. It could be dismissed as:

" Well Chuuya knows that if Dazai dies he can't use his ability."

But we've all seen Chuuya's capability with out the use of gravity or corruption. Every time Chuuya goes to throw a knife at Dazai or stab him he misses. We know that if he wanted him dead he would have done it by now.

And when chuuya moves to choke dazai or pin him to the wall he bends his knees. He lets Chuuya do this even though he looks displeased. If Chuuya's hate could be brushed off as that he needs his ability then why would the writer and the animators spend so much time on their relationship.

Now that it's all been said, let's talk about Dead apple and ch101...

yes...

Dead apple is built around the relationship of Soukoku. Dazai Becomes in an alliance to kill all ability users but is double crossed and killed by Fydor. Everyone knew of Dazai's betrayal or knew he was dead but Chuuya wanted him back and knew it wasn't to late. He embodied Arahabaki to his full power for the first time even though there was nothing to garentee that Dazai could be brought back. The only thing to carry Chuuya was his faith and trust that he has for Dazai. We should know that this trust that Chuuya has for Dazai is much more than just a good friendship. Dazai isn't just a partner to Chuuya. He definitely loved him.

When Chuuya brought Dazai back and he brought them back to reality he knew what Chuuya had done for him. He's aware of Chuuya's feelings and Chuuya has even told him that he trusts him with his life. That could be why Dazai let Chuuya rest in his lap.

But for some reason when Dazai gets involved with Fydor again and tries to escape with Sigma he explains how he has been contemplating ways to kill Chuuya for 7 years. He even dances with Sigma when he thinks he'll be dead in 30 minutes. Not a very straight death wish but I'll let it slide.

He does kill Chuuya by drowning him and he and Sigma do escape. It makes me sad that when you think of how Chuuya never once questioned his love and faith in Dazai yet Dazai can turn around and do that. The only person we can confirm that Dazai loved was Oda. He knew how Chuuya felt and didn't give a shit. Dazai is confusing but what he's done to Chuuya from their first meeting to ch101 is just playing with the fandom and most importantly Chuuya's feelings.

I want them to have Dazai bring Chuuya back somehow. If the don't I'll probably stop watching. Remember what I explained in the first few paragraphs? What will Dazai be without Chuuya? I guess was a little happier and was well off without him. But still.

Dazai left Akutagawa and Chuuya after Oda died for Atsushi and Kunikida. Akutagawa expresses how this hurt him but Chuuya never shows his true feelings on the situation. I love Chuuya and I'm starting to hate Dazai for what he's done.

Dazai’s relationship with Kunikida is so interesting actually, because its kind of entirely built on lies and there’s always this weird emotional distance there, but also… that doesn’t seem to be a bad thing in the context of their relationship? Like, it almost seems to be out of respect and affection on Dazai’s part, if that makes sense.

Also I think that relationship stresses the fuck out of Kunikida but he still cares about Dazai (and does find him quite impressive and almost charming in the light novels) , but it might honestly be very comforting from Dazai’s perspective. They have this consistent jokey rapport with each other that usually never actually gets too close to genuine vulnerability or intimacy. Dazai can be whoever he wants to be with Kunikida. Kunikida’s not stupid, but he is a little bit naive and gullible at times, and Dazai’s a good enough liar to pull off any facade he wants. He can be a good person with Kunikida if he wants to be.

And while I don’t he entirely agrees with Kunikida’s ideals, I do think he respects that Kunikida is so dedicated to them. (Maybe it reminds him of Oda? Or well it’s probably more like Dazai finds people having strict moral codes novel and endearing, because he also seems fond(?) when Hirotsu, Chuuya, and Ango express basic empathy or loyalty.) I think being that close to such intense righteousness makes him feel like he himself isn’t as I guess… hated by righteousness? Even if he has to lie a bit to get there.

People always compare it to his relationship with Chuuya and say it’s lacking in comparison or that it’s better. But honestly I think they’re two equally important relationships that serve two different purposes in Dazai’s life. I’d say his relationship with Chuuya is a lot more intimate and a lot less comforting. Kind of like how you can love someone without fully liking them. But not exactly. They know just a bit too much about each other and were pitted against each other just a bit too often as teenagers for it to ever be a truly positive relationship. But there’s definitely some deep affection and understanding there, and they both hate that.

Although I would also argue that Kunikida has expressed just enough emotional vulnerability throughout their partnership for it to be kind of uncomfortable for him in how one sided it is. Like Dazai knows so much about him, but Dazai’s an enigma to him. I think that’s what Dazai likes about their relationship and what Kunikida finds annoying about it.

Thinking about Dazai's memories

I think it's interesting how we basically got two sets of Dazai's memories within 3 months, so since I analyzed the Beast ones, I thought I'd analyze these as well. As always it's just me rambling under the cut, and remember guys that below there are spoilers from everything up until this point!

The first memory memory we see is a completely new one. I love it when montages use new memories instead of simply reusing what was shown before, so I appreciate this little scene. Their outfits are taken from chapter 31 and seeing Chuuya in these clothes was so strangely nostalgic. The only difference is that Dazai has his arm broken instead of his leg. Also I like how young they look here. They're just kids annoying each other just like Dazai is saying in the background.

The second memory I'm pretty sure is also one of the new scenes we haven't seen before. It looks like Fifteen, but I don't recognize this background and the closest illustration I could find is the one from the light novel. Maybe it's supposed to show how they gained confidence and were ruling the city (judging by the building in the background), but yeah that's all I have.

After that I noticed a scene from chapter 31 in bottom left. It's taken right from the manga with no changes besides Chuuya's jacket being coloured in. Considering Dazai's fascination with corruption, it makes sense that it appears in his memories. Here, it's been 4 years since they fought together and it's the first time Dazai could observe Chuuya being possessed in a long time. Interestingly, it's not corruption in its peak that's portrayed here but the moment when Dazai is bringing Chuuya back to his senses. With the context of this chapter, it might mean that Dazai wants to protect Chuuya and despite liking danger and sending Chuuya to fight directly, he cares about him.

Bottom right seems to be from chapter 31 as well, just slightly changed. And that also makes sense because these are supposed to be his memories, so he might not remember each detail perfectly. It's the moment when Dazai sends Chuuya into action, which is something I already mentioned. Dazai likes to see Chuuya fight and to tease him, and this chapter had both.

With this next one I have no idea which scene it could be. I'm like 75% sure it's from their first meeting after 4 years back in chapters 10 and 11, but it's a reach. We only have Dazai's legs, a bit of his coat and Chuuya's shoulder, so there's not a lot to work with. But it does make sense for it to be from their first meeting after 4 years, because it was important for them both. Dazai stayed in that dungeon partially because he wanted to talk with Chuuya and this is what this memory could be alluding to. My first thought was Dazai leaving Chuuya behind after Oda's death, but I don't think he got his coat right this soon.

Then we have one of the most iconic skk scenes from Storm Bringer. Not to spoil it too much, but in this scene Chuuya decides to save Yokohama even if it means never getting to know if he's a human being. In this scene he trusts Dazai's plan and goes into action, something Dazai must be looking back at fondly. I kinda wish we had the scene in which he catches Chuuya after the fight, but I guess it would be too fluffy for this angsty chapter.

And I left 2 memries that I thought were the most interesting additions for last. The firts one being this scene from Dead Apple and I'm so happy that it made it here for a few reasons. First of all now we have a proof that Dead Apple is canon in the manga. I know it was canon before, but it wasn't mentioned or anything, so there was this shadow of doubt. Now, it's 100% canon. The other reason is that I'd love to see Dead Apple with Harukawa's art style and it's great that we now have this scene even though it's just a shadow. I wondered how it would be shown in the main manga and now I don't have to anymore. It also looks way more desperate than in the movie or Dead Apple manga, because of the wind and how Chuuya reaches his arm to Dazai before he punches him. It's also most likely Dazai's imagination, since he was unconscious when it happened.

And last but absolutely not least (on the contrary, I wanted to hype it up), we have one of the most iconic skk scenes, and here comes the question, is it even from Fifteen? Because as we can see, the positions of hands are swapped and Dazai isn't wearing this brace type of thing on his arm. This scene isn't in the original light novel, so either Asagiri and Harukawa were like screw it, we're adding it to the canon or it's a different instance. And if it's a different situation, then what was this fight? It's also possible that the positions are switched because it's Dazai's pov not Chuuya's like in the anime. Either way hand-holding is now canon and I'm so happy about this fact.

In conclusion

Dazai's memories with Chuuya seem to be a mix of their fights with enemies and some other moments they shared as well, putting an emphasis not on the fights themselves (since there are no other people and they aren't in combat stances), but their connection throught them. I wish we got to see more scenes, but I understand going overboard could be on overkill, especially if it's just a cliffhanger death meant to fool us. It's hard to judge Dazai's reaction, because he could be putting on a show, but it also seems to be genuine and cherishing these memories would make sense for his character. I'm so glad we got to see this little peek into Dazai's mind and his memories, and now I want more.

You are so homophobic! bungo stray dogs is gay! the real Dazai was bi therefor BSD Dazai is bi and loves chuuya! 😤

Show us where did we ever say he wasn't lol. In fact, we SUPPORT bi Dazai here.

But also irl authors don't have to have the same sexuality as their anime counterparts and nobody's sexuality was canonically stated. Keep your hcs and let others keep theirs 😉

Finally someone acknowledged Chuupoe Lay!

do you think Chuuya and Poe would make good friends?

in my opinion, i think they would to be honest. Poe is labelled the only tall guy Chuuya won't immediately maul because Chuuya refuses to acknowledge Poe is 6'0" and Poe silently slumps over more to seem less taller

also they'd totally have movie nights

This is a concept that had not ever occurred to me but I am now very attached to it, thank you anon—I feel like they really would get along! Reading Stormbringer convinced me that Chuuya is an introvert, so it seems like they’d vibe well together, and it might be fun for Chuuya to get to hang out with a smart person who doesn’t have the personality of Dazai or Ranpo lol