ATSUSHI’S SELFLESSNESS AND ABILITY EFFECTIVENESS ARE DECIDED BY HOW MUCH FAITH HE HAS IN HIS FUTURE

(An Atsushi character + ability analysis)

TW Death. Long post.

In Chapter 18, Kunikida when saving Atsushi from Kouyou tells him, ‘How long will you keep letting others save you?’, referring to Kyouka who had been fending off Kouyou till then.

Kunikida has a point - Atsushi was thoroughly injured before Kyouka took over, but after that he didn’t heal himself so that he could continue fighting. Now an analysis I read says that Atsushi can only heal if he consciously makes that choice.

Upon being butchered, Atsushi’s mind probably blanked out from stress, so he forgot to heal himself. And that is natural, but in his previous fight with Akutagawa, he didn’t blank out and managed to win. So why not now ? Did Kouyou just beat him up more severely (she was ordered to kill him whereas Akutagawa wasn’t) ?

I believe there’s a psychological reason for this - Atsushi’s hope for a good life had decreased before Kouyou’s attack, reducing his willpower to fight. I’ll elaborate on why this happened :

Before his first fight with Akutagawa, Atsushi’s 'good deed’ of saving Dazai despite starvation gave him the ADA family. So he believed doing good would improve his life, i.e. that he can live a good life. Hence, he was more tough minded and hopeful against Akutagawa.

In BSD, ability power is a manifestation of the person’s psyche. A happier, more hopeful Atsushi resulted in better use of his ability, both for logical reasons, and due to the nature of abilities. Therefore he was able to heal himself and defeat Akutagawa.

WHEREAS against Kouyou, Atsushi was already mentally tired due to his previous fights with Akutagawa, Kyouka, Lucy. His good deeds of fighting resolutely against horrid enemies got him almost maimed and killed. In his heart he was viscerally fed up of his misfortune. So he lost some faith in the 'do good receive good’ ideology. Therefore when he was incapacitated by Kouyou, his survival instincts kicked in and told him to stay safe by staying put. He lost the will to continue struggling, and so didn’t remember or care to heal himself.

Earlier, he had saved Kyouka out of natural empathy AND his desire to prove he’s not useless. He underwent extreme danger in doing so. He wasn’t ordered to save her, and was discouraged from protecting her. Yet he did it, his hope hadn’t been drained yet.

Then in the necessary fight against Lucy, he tries at first, but later considers it futile and tries to escape despite it jeopardising his comrades, thinking the ADA would figure out a way. He lost hope in his ability to help, so he very illogically gave up until Mori rekindled his hope.

He fails to save Kyouka in Chapter 18 and she goes missing. After that scolding by Kunikida, in Chapter 25 (the three - way war involving ADA, PM and the Guild. His mission is to escort Naomi and Haruno to safety) he says, 'I’ll protect the agency this time!’. This is both due to not wanting to be useless, and also because on seeing that Kunikida and Tanizaki risked themselves to save the clerks, he got hope that the ADA will help him when he’s in danger. His faith in his future is thus renewed, so he is determined to fight once again.

I believe, as @elia-de-silentio says ♧, that Atsushi had saved drowning Dazai because he was scared to steal, and thought a grateful rescued man would give him money. Which is perfectly fine since he would’ve starved to death otherwise. (That doesn’t make Atsushi a bad person. He still never developed the guts and skills to steal - because the Headmaster’s teachings and orphanage bullying affected him the most, due to his gentler nature.)

Also note that Atsushi never wanted to join the ADA because he knew it’s a dangerous job. He only started considering it a home when they gave him shelter (hence why he felt moved to shield the bomb with his body), and became truly attached only when Kunikida told him that he’s not a burden on them.

I believe Atsushi is willing to risk his life in fights ONLY when he has hope in the world- that it’s not a bleak place, that he has a support circle in the ADA and others. He will not do such risky good deeds just to be a good person when he has nobody to support him, when there’s no way to survive except by prioritising himself over others.

Also, the bomb incident shows that Atsushi’s worldview is illogical and contradictory - he realised that his life isn’t that unfortunate, since the ADA sheltered him. So he sacrificed himself for them. What ? How will you spend more happy times with your new friends if you’re dead or paralysed ?

Beast AU verifies the above inference. Atsushi won’t kill unnecessarily, but he doesn’t want to die and WILL kill purely to survive when necessary. Beast AU’s world is much more harsh for Atsushi, so he becomes more selfish. And that’s perfectly understandable.

What do you think? Does this explain Atsushi’s actions ?

DON’T DARE TO REPOST / PLAGIARIZE / REUPLOAD MY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS

Citations :

♧ link to @elia-de-silentio ’s manga Chapter 1 analysis -

In Chapter 71, Fukuzawa says this when Fukuchi offers to tell him what happened to Kunikida after his kamikaze bombing.

At first I thought, ‘ Is this that tropey Kung Fu Sensei is in touch with the Universal Force’ bullshit ? 

But then I realised that since Fukuzawa can control his subordinates’ ability power (like suppressing Atsushi’s tiger transformations and bringing Demon Snow under Kyouka’s control), that must mean he can sense their ability power too. If anyone of of the ADA died, their ability force would vanish. Or if an ADA member were dying or critically injured, their ability power would be extremely weakened.

Major spoilers for 55 minutes ahead ! :

We saw in 55 minutes that when Dazai dies, there is a moment where his brain stops working and so his nullification vanishes.

Extrapolating this further : since abilities are tied to the soul - if say Atsushi were on the brink of death or in terrible danger, his survival instinct (as others have said) represented by the Tiger would go into a state of feral panic. If a non - suicidal Kyouka were in such a state, Demon Snow would go into frantic overdrive. A dying Yosano would be trying hard to heal herself, unless she intended to sacrifice herself as in chapter 66. Fukuzawa’s ability helping others to control their own is basically a metaphor for him being sensitive to their emotions and issues and helping them with their problems. This could mean that since emotions affect the soul symbolised by their abilities acting up, Fukuzawa can detect their intense emotions.

So that’s why Fukuzawa was rather calm and unhurried throughout the Cannibalism, DoA and Hunting Dogs arcs. He knew that his subordinates were still alive and well enough, because 'as long as one ADA member survives, the Agency will be revived.’

Unfortunately he can’t do the same with Dazai and Ranpo.

DON’T DARE TO REPOST / PLAGIARISE / REUPLOAD MY ORIGINAL POST / ANALYSIS

So I was reading Sigma’s backstory in chapter 75, and I realised why Sigma severely doubts his intelligence and capabilities and says he doesn’t have any ‘talent’ - despite taking very intelligent measures to try to defeat the Hunting Dogs even when under huge emotional stress.

It’s because of his ability, and the way it was used in his accepted backstory.

Fyodor wrote him to be 'born’ knowing nothing very useful for survival (the Book demands a logical plot), therefore he coudn’t afford to refuse to join the traffickers, knowing nothing about his world.

The traffickers probably intentionally kept him somewhat in the dark about human nature, hoping he’d develop a sort of Stockholm Syndrome in order to cope with his circumstances. I say this because after he escaped, he was naive and trusting or simply exhausted enough to repeatedly reveal his ability to others, and use it on them believing them to be kind, not realising what sorts of selfish murderous people exist in the world who were perfectly willing to kill him for knowing too much after getting 'the tea’ from him.

Imagine that in a world full of mostly self - centered (for good reason or not) people, you know nothing about functioning outside your tiny previous job. You give others the info they most want in exchange for the info you want (how to function in an unknown world), but since you are very naive and underinformed, the info you most want is not very useful for climbing up the food chain.

So you run from one murderous jerk to another, over and over.

Anyone in this situation would start believing that they’re dangerously dumb conpared to everyone else That they’ll lose everything they hold onto, lose their means of survival and reason to live, unless they have loads of the latest top - notch information about EVERYTHING, unless they go to extents that no 'normal’ person has to. Which, of course, is an endless and vast process.

DON’T DARE TO PLAGIARIZE / REPOST / RE-UPLOAD MY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS POST. REBLOGGING IS OKAY

How an Atsushi VS. Mori Confrontation Could Destroy the Mafia’s Unity

Atsushi and Mori’s worldviews are diametrically opposed. Mori is a utilitarian who sacrifices individual mafia members for the prosperity of the organisation. Whereas Atsushi is kind of the opposite of utilitarianism. He wouldn’t want any individual to suffer for the collective. Why ?

Because Atsushi has been traumatised and victimised by the Headmaster’s utilitarianism all his life. The Headmaster abused Atsushi to brand onto him that he’s worthless and expendable if he can’t help others. And the orphanage kicked him out because of the tiger’s destructive potential. Even though they were the ones who caused him to be angry at them and the world.

Then at the start, Atsushi decides to leave the ADA & risk capture by the mafia, because he believes he’s a burden to the ADA.

But a part of him is tired of being the martyr for people. That’s why he empathises with and rescues others who were considered to be of no use to general, ‘good’ society - Kyouka, Lucy etc.

In fact Atsushi’s journey is also a conflict between utilitarianism ('I’m only worth loving if I help others’) vs. individualism (he doesn’t want to die. That’s why he frequently freaks out and hesitates in battles).

This is why I want a direct confrontation between Atsushi and Mori where they advocate for their respective philosophies. What if Atsushi upsets the Port Mafia’s unity by exposing how Mori’s extreme collectivism could ruin their lives and loved ones ? Like how Odasaku and the orphans died. Right now the PM respects Mori because he ended the previous boss’s unnecessary bloodshed. What would happen if the members started asserting their individual rights ?

But on the other hand, Mori reignited Atsushi’s fighting spirit in the struggle against Lucy, by telling him that a logical solution exists for every crisis. Mori’s logic could counterbalance Atsushi’s illogical side.

I wonder how Atsushi would justify his stance when currently Mori is far more knowledgeable and experienced than him.

DON’T DARE TO REPOST / PLAGIARISE / REUPLOAD MY ORIGINAL THEORY

Pushkin is an Interesting Character

Pushkin was made unlikeable by BSD. This by association taints his ‘the weak deserve to get away with more than the strong do’ philosophy as only pathetic and evil. Yeah it’s messed up, but he’s justified in being envious / afraid of those who were born with great talent / power just because of their genes.

Now look, Pushkin hate is understandable. I’m personally neutral about him. But I hope nobody hates on his worldview without dissecting the logic behind it.

Because the world shits on average / below average people unfairly, and everyone rallies with strong people. Most people don’t care about the weak at all. Pushkin may well be afraid that he’ll suffer just because he has average intelligence and talent in a world full of attractive super geniuses and powerhouses. Which is a very valid and very human concern.

Such a person will eventually believe that the common human should have some extra privileges, in order to even out the playing field with superpowered Deus - ex - Machinas. If an ordinary person were transported into BSD’s harsh, perpetually dangerous world, wouldn’t they want the same thing ? Wouldn’t they be right in not wanting to lose out on good stuff just because of a genetic game of chance ?

What Pushkin could’ve done to become more likeable for basic - as - heck readers, is to ally with good / 'cool’ people and be consistently useful to them. So why doesn’t he do that in canon? Now listen up. We don’t know his backstory. Maybe disheartening events made him think that in a cruel world, the weak would be trampled by the strong if they didn’t prioritize their own wellbeing.

But yeah, his backstory is nonexistent, so all this is a mere theory. Plus I haven’t read irl Pushkin’s works, I’ve based this entire analysis off the manga only.

DON’T DARE TO REPOST / PLAGIARISE / REUPLOAD MY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS / THEORY

On Kajii , Dazai , Ranpo & Sigma: BSD’s Near - Lack of an All - Questioning Skeptist Who Is Portrayed Admirably

Trigger Warning - If you are disturbed by discussion of death, s*icide, and the above characters being flawed, don’t read further !

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Kajii raised an important concept within a limited appearance - his search for when exactly death happens, what exactly constitutes and causes death, why it can’t be reversed in many cases is a very important and central question in real life too. And his worship of science as necessary to understand the universe - though extreme - is sound at its core. He’s always searching for a new discovery to break the monotony of conventional existence. Sure his methods are too cruel, he should restrain himself to more lawful experimentation. Sure he’s a misogynist despite his knowledge.

But Kajii is atleast right in questioning all aspects of life, studying why death is so far inevitable, looking for new knowledge etc. People who just accept death, social norms and existing limited wisdom are stupid.

BSD did the all - skeptical scientist archetype dirty. Skeptics who question ingrained norms and ‘facts’ are very important people, the only ones who are responsible for progresses like modern medicine, increased lifespan, anti - cultism, anti - communalism, anti - dogmatism etc. So you say all experimentation on test subjects is bad ? Oh that means testing today’s life - saving penicillin on WW2 soldiers back then was a completely bad thing. And that testing modern medicine on patients was completely wrong - even though because of that, the American who lived on average for 54 years a century ago now lives to be 78, significantly more if they can afford lifesaving interventions. And that many, many people don’t die of common diseases anymore. Please. There’s something called ethical or utilitarian experimentation.

The all - skeptical experimenter archetype on the 'good side’ is Dazai. And he’s a morally very flawed ex - murderer.

Asagiri should’ve given us SOMEONE who represented the crucially positive aspects of all - questioning experimentation. SOMEONE who mixed that and being a decent person.

Ranpo has not done any questioning on major issues like life and death, existentialism, nihilism till date. However he has questioned conventional morality - why should one die / risk death to save strangers who may or may not be good, worthy people ? Helping strangers is fine, but dying for them? Nah he’d rather live his life with his loved ones.

And yet Ranpo, the most moral all - questioning skeptist in BSD, is overshadowed by other characters, receives less gripping development, and isn’t involved in BSD’s core themes. Heck he doesn’t spiritedly oppose the ADA do - gooders’ suicidal do - gooderism.

Such a morally decent skeptist should’ve been a MAJOR character. On the good side, they’d implore the ADA to not throw their lives and mental health away just to be good people and saviours. On the bad sides, they’d oppose the Mafia’s dog - eat - dog philosophy or Fyodor’s concept of sin.

All the 'actually moral people’ in BSD are bound by social norms of morality. Yosano blames herself for the soldiers’ deaths. Why ? Because she is unable to dissect the logic of her complexes. She’s fixated on being 'a good person who saves people’ instead of having a realistic worldview. So she risks her life to save others instead of realising that it’s necessary to live for oneself too.

Kunikida, Atsushi, Fukuzawa, Kyouka, Ango, Taneda, Oda etc - no need to elaborate, right?

Sigma shows some promise in the conventional morality aspect, though - he hates that his life is being risked by Dazai, who is using him as a pawn for the greater good. He just wants to have a secure, happy home where nobody will endanger or use him. Yet Sigma’s a morally decent person.

(DON’T DARE TO REPOST / PLAGIARISE MY ORIGINAL WRITING)

Ambiguities in the Mushitaro Arc

Since Mushitaro can erase evidence of his crimes, why didn’t his ability erase that crucial proof - the original last page of the manuscript smudged by his tears ? He just stuffed it in a stationery shop and left it as is. Which was what allowed Ranpo to completely deduce the mystery of the writer’s death and gain leverage.

Plus Mushi had to escape immediately after the falling murder, because he remembered to photocopy the manuscript’s last page very late. Hence his escape was delayed greatly, allowing Ranpo to influence him.

And why did the Decay of Angels let Mushi get caught ? Couldn’t Fyodor have helped Mushitaro successfully conduct his plan? But if Mushi coudn’t erase important evidence , did Fyodor consider him a liability ? I know the Decay have the page to rewrite reality, but an evidence - hiding ability could be backup if they needed to go underground to survive. But then since Fyodor intentionally made an imperfect plan, with obvious crimes by the DoA in order to gauge humanity’s true nature, maybe he didn’t need Mushi’s ability.

However, @kaus-quietis pointed out that Mushi’s ability didn’t hide the smudged last page because Mushi knew that he didn’t actually commit a crime by consensually euthanising Yokomizo and trying to carry out his last wish.

I thought his ability would cover up any evidence that would seem suspicious. But now it seems that it only works if the deed perpretrated is truly a crime.