*slurps boba* Mmmk:

Dazai, Father Figures, And His Possible Parentage [CHARACTER ANALYSIS] https://twitter.com/eu_gi_oh/status/1247391197699510273

Idk how long this thread will be I have a lot of points. Ive been thinking about Dazai and his familial origins since Fifteen came out a year ago.

Then I read dazaisbolotie’s theory on Tumblr and now I have *ideas*

BSD centers a lot around parental figures (Fukuzawa as Ranpos surrogate father, Kunikida as Rukozus, Kyoukas parents, Fitzgerald and his daughter, etc.) The most significant parent-child relationship, as evidenced in "Portrait of a Father," is Atsushi and the orphanage director.

Sushi's our MC, so the plot mainly focuses on his childhood, obviously. BSD hones in on Atsushi's heavily abusive past and extremely toxic relationship with the director. Lord knows the anime flashes back to That One Scene In the Orphanage repeatedly to emphasize Sushi's trauma

(But none of you are here for Sushi even though he's a gorgeously written character. I'll get to the bandage bastard in a second).

In "Portrait of a Father," the Director dies and Atsushi is *heavily* affected by it. He cant bring himself to forgive (valid) but hes also sad:

At the end of the episode, we reach this stunning commentary on the intricacies of parental abuse and the repurcussions the child deals with despite escaping their toxic envt. Atsushi has a lot of emotions but he cant understand them bc they dont make sense in a normal context

Dazai, beacon of mysteriously irritating wisdom that he is, gives Atsushi the words he needs to hear to let go of his tears before Dazai saunters and leaves his apprentice to his cathartic mourning:

"When someone's father dies, people tend to cry."

Every time I rewatch this episode and Dazai starts walking off, I want to tug at his coat, look him in his eyes, and say, " *Did you* ?"

Because *how do you know*?

Dazais character is extremely vague on its origins, and I honestly think Kafka Asagiri intended that. I've no doubt it'll come into relevancy later on in the plot just because Dazai's story, going along literary theory and the mechanisms of plot, is essentially a Bildungsroman.

Bildungsroman: A narrative dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education

Basically, throughout a story, we see a character's transition from childhood into adulthood. Arguably, we've seen more of Dazai's "younger years" in Fifteen than Sushi

I find it insanely odd that Dazai’s origins stop cold at fourteen and the majority of his background diverges from when he witnesses Mori’s assassination of the old boss. With all things considered, this is the Moment Osamu Dazai as we know him comes into narrative existence.

Ergo, Dazai’s story *begins* with the death of the old boss—someone who he seemingly had *zero* ties to yet his character orbits around and comes from his murder. Why? Why did Mori choose Dazai to be his witness? Why did Dazai agree?

LONG-WINDED THESIS:

I believe Dazai is the son of the old PM boss--the true blood heir to the Yokohama Underground--who, at the request of his lost friend Odasaku, renounced his tainted origins to become a good man in the light.

But let’s backtrack. What do we know about the old boss? (Here a lot of my points’ll derive from dazaisbolotie from Tumblr their analysis was superb. If you want the link DM me)

The answer is, like Dazai, very little. We know from Koyou + others that he was a merciless, bedridden leader who was fine with killing anybody—friend or foe—in his last days. Moris leadership, by contrast, is implied to be more organized, fair, and bearable than the old regiment

We know Mori, after being assigned Dazai’s failed suicide case, got Dazai to be his witness to validate the old boss’ death + final wish for Mori to be the next boss.

So my question is: Why this kid? Why *specifically* this kid? Mori didnt know anything about Dazai when he was 14. He didnt know yet that Dazai was tactful, intelligent, and clever. At this point in the timeline, Dazais just Mori’s *patient.* A kid he apparently knows *virtually

nothing* about. What set *this brat* aside from the rest of the suicidal orphans eager to get out of the slums? Why did Mori, with all his elegant stratagems, pick *this one*?
Why is Dazais word on this matter gospel? Why would people believe some random 14 year olds testament

concerning the old boss’ will? Unlike Dazai, we have an inkling of what Mori did before he took on the PM: he was an Underground doctor who dealt with Underground patients. So why did Dazai—presumably some random kid—end up in his office?

Because, my dear Reader, Dazai’s the heir.

Mori was the old boss’ personal doctor. That means, should the boss have any family, Mori would be assigned to care for them too. If the heir apparent tried to kill himself, he’d be whisked away to the family Underground doctor. Like Dazai

Notice also how, in the assassination scene, Dazai was the only other one in the boss’ room—a room that was undoubtedly guarded against intruders and strangers. Ergo, Dazai was just as and most likely more familiar than Mori was to the boss. He had access to his sleeping quarters

Just as every son has the right to be at his father’s bedside.

The old boss was said to have had severe paranoia, but no clear reason is given for his insanity: his mental illness is just an established absolute with no specified cause to its effect—a diagnosis eerily similar to Dazai. Dazai, by psychiatric medical standards, has chronic

depression. (Trust me, he does). Though possible to manifest on its own from a specific trauma/trigger, this mental illness is, more often than not, *genetic.*

Did Dazai, on top of the trauma of having a toxic childhood, inherit his depressive tendencies from the old boss, who’s also shown to have a mental illness unexplained yet severe in its diagnosis?

After the old boss’ death, months pass by before the events of Fifteen. During this time, Mori and Dazai establish a strained yet casual relationship. And here Im gonna slip in some clothing symbolism because MORI’S COAT. LEMME TELL Y’ALL MOTHERFUCKERS ABOUT MORI’s *COAT*

Clothes in stories often symbolize a textile extension of its wearer’s character. An example is how Macbeth never “fit” his kingly robes, ergo symbolizing how he is not “fit” to be the Scottish monarch. In the assassination scene, Dazai’s already wearing the coat Mori gave him,

but without it he seems to only be wearing a white dress shirt, tie, and black slacks. Why is he so formally dressed in mafia-esque garb? Is it because he “fits” so well among them? If he had been from the streets, why is Dazai so familiar here? He does not officially join the PM

until he receives the Silver Oracle in S3E1, so why was Dazai, at 14, hanging around the Yokohama Underground? Even if youre an orphan in the slums, youd have to actively seek out/already be acquainted with the mafia to be *that* close to it. You could just as easily gravitate

towards other Underground operations like Chuuya did with the Sheep. Time and time again, Dazai is *interlinked* with the PM’s existence, suggesting he himself comes from this dark background.

Mori giving Dazai his coat may symbolize Dazai literally taking off/renouncing his heirdom and submitting to Mori’s leadership. If you look at how the coat weighs on his small body, it can also imply Mori’s authority over him actually weighs him down. He does not *fully* put it

on (it just hangs from his shoulders), implying that Dazai sees Mori—vis à vis the coat—as overall unfitting (too big, clunky, and overbearing to put his sleeves through), but he still carries the burden of it on his back.

The coat-as-Mori’s-control-over-Dazai becomes more significant in the Dark Era, but thats a different discussion.

So with this in mind, you may ask: Well if the old boss was Dazais dad, whyd he pick Mori? And to that I say: motherfucker, wouldnt you? Moris a better option than the old boss: for Yokohama *and* for Dazai, familial ties be damned.

In a scene between Hirotsu and Mori in S2E9, Hirotsu says:

He mentions Dazai specifically. According to dazaisbolotie’s translation, “Hirotsu singled out Dazai about how [he] was the one who should’ve been most *not alright* with [the assassination] ... Dazai should’ve been resentful to Mori because he killed the Old Boss.

But against all odds, he understood why Mori did what he did.” Hirotsu is the only witness to both the old boss and Mori’s leadership, putting a significant tone of experience to his statement.

Hirotsu has also heavily implied that, at the point of the old boss’ death, the Yokohama Underworld was falling apart and bound to have caught ablaze eventually. The old boss *had* to go and Ive no doubt Dazai at 14 knew this. Nonetheless, recalling his statement about how people

tend to cry when their father dies to Atsushi, if my theory holds true, it’s easy to imagine a 14 year old Dazai numbly witnessing his father’s assassination, excusing himself from Mori’s company, and then proceeding to cry in private.

And so we reach the events of Fifteen: the main conflict being that the old boss has risen from the grave and is threatening the mafias already fragile organization under Mori. But what we care about is the scene in S3E3 where Dazai is confronted by the boss in Rimbauds subspace

Dazai knows the old boss’ scythe is authentic and not made from an Ability (how would he know that if he was just a stranger?). He is also able to keep up with the old boss’ attacks with a dexterity that suggests he’s *observed* the man’s fighting before. The old boss addresses

him as “kid” and “son,” sarcastically asking how hes been. Dazai addresses him with a cold formality: “Boss.” He also asserts, almost like a mantra: “The former boss is dead.” Hes detached and cold towards this corpse, like a son recoiling from his fathers portrait or image

The most significant part of this scene, however, is Dazai unnecessarily *punching* the old boss, saying, “Let me thank you for once.”

This address seems way more personal than just a “fuck you for what youve done to this city.” Based on their interaction alone, it’s evident the old boss and him *knew* each other to an informal extent. Their fight scene in Rimbaud’s subspace may literally symbolize the liminal

space of grieving Dazais been occupying since the old boss’ death. He never gets to speak with him and he probably wasnt even coherent enough to understand anything Dazai could have said before he died. The son left behind doesnt get the catharsis of verbal closure. Until now.

In the fight scene Dazai *literally* breaks through the subspace/liminal space by reaching out to Chuuya.

Along with the last blow, he also has the final word before the boss vanishes with Rimbaud’s Ability. This is the focal point where Dazai turns a new chapter in his life: his father is truly, finally dead.

He also officially enters into the mafia with Q and Chuuya under Mori after this fight, suggesting that this showdown with the boss was the point that decided this decision.

It is also notable that that fight resulted in Dazais torso being shredded open, making him bleed out. The mafia heritage flowing through his veins is split and spilled out by his father‘s Scythe, literally illustrating a point of ‘severance’ between their shared bloodlines

And now we move onto Mori and Dazais later/current dynamic, and how it has many similarities to Atsushi and the Director. In both instances, the relationship is abusive, manipulative, and the “father” figure has his own personal agenda. True, unlike w Atsushi there is no evidence

of physical abuse inflicted on Dazai, but I wouldnt put Mori as above hurting children. He sent Dazai to what was fundamentally a suicide mission to investigate Arahabaki. Yes, Dazai was intelligent enough to figure it out, but Mori essentially forced a child who, for better or

for worse, is under *his* tutelage and made him risk his own life for Mori and the PM’s own gain. Its safe to assume this pattern of abuse/manipulation continues throughout Dazai’s adolescence.

You can see its long term repercussions in 22!Dazai’s blatant hatred for Mori. Despite coming from the PM and undoubtedly witnessing some of humanity’s worst, Dazai singles Mori out as “evil.” He hates him, not with the explosive and sudden rage akin to Chuuya, but with the same

restless, dormant anger Atsushi has against the Director. Dazai absolutely *seethes* w distaste every time Mori’s even within his vicinity—a significant change from 7 years ago. 15!Dazai, though wary of Mori, was shown to continuously consult, listen, and even looks up to the man

Their relationship, though complicated and toxic, nevertheless resembles and practically mirrors Atsushi and the Director’s tenuous father-son relationship.

dazaisbolotie delves deeper into why Mori may have kept Dazai around after the assassination, but I want to talk about how

Mori willfully admits to having anticipated Dazais killing him and taking his position “eventually”—note that he says this when Dazai turns 18: the age he might have inherited the PM from the old boss

I think Mori genuinely has a soft spot for Dazai. In the way one cant help but obsess over their own reflection: “You remind me of ... myself of course.” It’s why he still holds the executive position open for Dazai even after he defects. Mori is a man who, despite his shadiness,

*appreciates* the ‘correct’ execution of things as they ‘should’ be. Dazai coming of age, returning to take his father’s bloody throne, becoming Mori’s successor: it is the perfect scenario for the Mafia’s sustainability. Note again how Mori intentionally assigned Dazai to the

old boss case in Fifteen, knowing Dazai would like the assignment and officially enter into the PM bc of it.

Most likely thinking of himself, Mori *knew* Dazai, true to his family calling, would like the death, bloodshed, and chaos the PM offered. As Oda says in Dark Era:

Relate this to the Beast AU: Dazai effortlessly rises through the ranks, disposes of Mori as the PM boss, and gains the crown with an ease echoing that of a natural. Like he was always meant to be the king of the Underworld. The prince coming home to the crown.

Higuchi echoes Oda’s sentiment in S2E7: “Your blood is mafia black.”
She mentions looking through Dazais files: documents that Ango presumably didnt destroy during the 2-year purging of Dazai’s criminal record. His mafia blackness doesnt just manifest via his long list of crimes

Higuchi specifically intertwines his blood to the mafia as “more [black] than anyone in this nation.” Again, what distinguishes Dazai from everybody else? Hes been away for 4 years. Other mafiosos/executives surely outrank him by now.

Unless, of course, the mafia was his birthright and *belonged* to him by default.

Obviously, Dazai’s not ambitious. You could argue its just who he is, he’s a lazy fuck, sure, but the people most disillusioned with the prospect of authority are the ones who have always been promised it to the point where they can and *will* take it for granted.

Flash forward to Dark Era: Dazai’s an executive and his reputation looms large over the entire mafia. Even Oda knows of his reputation. But another thing: Dazai’s *bored.* Him running off from his duties to drink with his friends at a bar where they talk about women, philosophize

on life, and carelessly ramble their realities away: that narrative is a *cliché* in rogue royalty stories. It’s in Hamlet, Henry V, every whoremongering, alcoholic fuckboy prince w my-daddy-is-the-king-wah-responsibilities-I-just-wanna-fuck issues you see in Royalty AUs

Nevertheless, rumors and talk about Mori’s protégé inheriting the mafia follow Dazai everywhere he goes. Hes 18 now. The choices he makes *now* fundamentally define his character arc—as we soon see with Odasaku’s death.

As @cataclysmiceve1’s gorgeous character analysis proves, Odasaku breaks the chain in BSD’s endless pattern of horrible father figures. And Oda *is* a father figure—just not Dazai’s. Older by 5 years, Oda is a friend. Someone to look up to.

And, as Dazai constantly states, a caretaker of children. A *good* one.

Dazai is *aware* of what good parenting/mentorship is like and says as much to Akutagawa:

Notice how Dazai says this speech with a methodical numbness, as if hes accepted this is truth but still desperately hopes it isnt. He literally echoes Mori’s philosophy which advocates for manipulating children because theyre the most vulnerable by firmly stating he is *not* one

such caretaker, continuing the cycle of abuse Mori inflicted on him when he was 14. Akutagawa was Dazai’s subordinate, yes, but he looks up to Dazai with an intense ferocity. Dazai took Akutagawa in when he was just a kid (14-15), so, like 14!Dazai with Mori, young Akutagawa,

though wary of his mentor, clung to any sense of authority he could find. I wouldnt say Dazai is like a father figure to Akutagawa (theyre only 2 years apart), but you cant deny how theres a grand precipice between them in terms of hierarchy and esteem. Akutagawa sees Dazai as a

pillar hes willing to die for. By contrast, Dazai sees him as a kid who cant even control his butchering Ability. Their dynamic stands as a testament to Dazais inherited cruelty: Akutagawa is a byproduct of *his* heartlessness, thus why he later treats Kyouka and Higuchi with the

same toxicity when hes 20 (although he has shown signs of being better than Dazai was in the past).

However, like Mori, Dazai does see promise in his young subordinate: something he voices to Oda. Oda even goes to save Akutagawa from Mimic in S2E3 solely because he knows Dazai expects a lot from Akutagawa despite swearing on his supposed uselessness. Already with these two,

Oda, just by being himself and enacting his own decisions, complicates the father-son/mentor-mentee dynamics that had remained unmoved since Dazai was *14.*

Because of Oda, Dazai leaves the mafia and goes against both his old boss father’s heritage and his ‘surrogate’ father Mori’s wish for him to inherit the throne. He deflects/manages to subvert the numerous father figures that, up until he was 18, had arguably dominated his life.

His words to Kyouka in S2E12 then resonates tenfold:

Like with his words of wisdom to Atsushi—you can cry over your father, it’s okay, he hurt you, but you need to let it out—Dazai seems to personally identify with and embody this philosophy. Id even argue it’s the entirety of BSD’s thesis.

We may not know much about Dazai—hence these convoluted theories and crazed discussions in the DMs—but, at the very least, we *can* give him his right to waver.

He may not have been able to choose where he came from, but hes definitely chosen, time and time again, where he wants to go from there. And, dear Reader, I am happy to say, finally, that it’s in the light.

He can be king again.

//END

And, in true English major fashion, my sources: