BSD and Whatnot

i believe Ranpo sees Dazai as a crucial function to the ADA maybe not most of the time because Dazai is lazy and is missing in action half the time smh when it really counts. Dazai’s skill set is almost invaluable to the agency, whether or not his methods align with Ranpo’s or the agency’s exact moral codes.

I believe Ranpo may have suspicions about Dazai’s long term goals, about his exact motivations for joining the agency, but that his suspicions have no viable, concrete evidence to rest on. for now, Ranpo is content to have someone like Dazai on hand.

I believe Dazai sees sees Ranpo in a very similar way, except that Dazai cares less about the agency’s success and more about having opportunities to strategize and bring down opponents. Ranpo is somewhat similar. he cares a lot about the agency, although I’d say much of his motivation comes from solving cases and using his ability smarts

i would also say that Dazai sees Ranpo as a good edge. i don’t think he sees him as a pawn, but he definitely sees Ranpo as an advantage. for one, i think Ranpo would suspect Dazai of using him as a pawn and Dazai knows this. he can manipulate Atshushi though a lot more easily (not letting him know that Kyouka would be saved in the end of his plan for instance)

[Source: @dazaiscans] 

ohhh it was the mountains or the ocean

i’d like to emphasize that i don’t think Dazai sees anyone in the agency as his pawn exactly. i don’t think he sees anyone as being disposable. but he does have a deceptive and manipulative way of working with people

also, in case it wasn’t obvious, i don’t think Dazai sees Ranpo as being deceptive and manipulative (or having a dark past). not that Ranpo’s moral codes are very strict either, but you get what i mean. i believe Dazai may suspect that Ranpo still has reservations about him, but that they are largely insignificant with the way Dazai has presented himself in the agency so far. at the moment, the two are content to believe that the other is on their side and that they are working toward the same goals.  

so that’s what i think right now. but after i catch up with the ln, i might extend this! great question though. i didn’t really consider how similar these two were until now.

doing nothing to fight them off. where that combat ability at. probably doesn't have one

POINT TWO:

i think that Ango's ability allows him to spy on people. i think he can teleport himself to different locations. perhaps even just his mind or parts of his body, allowing him to remain hidden and secretive. the evidence is somewhat circumstantial, but nONETHELESS

i'm still convinced that this is Ango's arm:

*this scene wasn’t included in the anime adaptation, for anyone wondering. it was after Atsushi “saved” everyone from the fake bomb. the hand was just there. randomly thrown in, never explained. thanks Asagiri and Harukawa 

idk what Ango’s arm is doing behind Naomi's skirt, but the clothing textures and layers match. anyway, i imagine that he spies on the ADA as part of his responsibilities as a Special Ability Department agent

and maybe Naomi has seen the hand before and always thinks it's her brother using Light Snow. no idea honestly

POINT THREE:

actually, this point isn't really evidence as much as it is circumstantial speculation. but yeah, i feel that Ango was never in any real danger when he was tied to that chair (whether or not mimic put him in that chair). it appears that the whole thing is a trap for Oda, but Ango doesn't seem to think Oda would still be on his side

Oda tells him that everything's okay—that he knew Ango infiltrated Mimic for the boss. but that's not true. Ango infiltrated the mafia. he's a traitor. but Oda faithfully believes in his innocence. then Ango, likely out of guilt, says:

so if Oda hadn't come to save him, was the building still going to blow up? my question is, how would Ango have escaped? the Special Ability Department was definitely there, and Ango knew it (i'll argue this). but i don't know if they would have gotten him out of the building on time. perhaps they knew Ango could teleport himself somewhere else?  

again, Ango knew the Special Ability Department was there. what with the poison temari ball suddenly rolling out of nowhere. Ango knew about the temari ball. he went out of his way to point it out and then use it to escape with the ability department

In conclusion:

so yeah, teleportation 

perhaps this even clued Ango in to the car accident with Dazai? i could possibly see Ango closing his eyes and being able to see someone coming for them (mind teleportation?)

maybe not, but it's some food for thought

…we haven’t seen Dost or Pushkin fly, but the material under the assassin’s feet suggests that it was Hawthorne’s letters like Akutagawa said…

…telling us that Hawthorne inflicted the wound that got Fukuzawa infected. since we know for sure that Hawthorne was the masked assassin here

now that we’ve settled this, it’s *drum roll* 

DOST ABILITY THEORY TIME

the weird thing is that Dazai says he knows who the criminal is, yet he doesn’t go looking for Hawthorne. he goes looking for Dost’s escape pathways. he goes looking for Dost

however, i DO think Dazai correctly identified the assassin as Hawthorne. but somehow, he connected Hawthorne the ability-killer to Dost. stay with me, children. i’m onto something here

what’s really even more strange is that Hawthorne doesn’t recognize Akutagawa. we could argue memory loss, but i argue that it’s not  

recall that in chapter 37, after the mafia and ADA defeated Fitz, Hawthorne was deciding if he should join Dost. to save Mitchell. and in the above panel ^ we know he was talking about saving her 

i’m telling you, Hawthorne is under Dost’s control somehow. i’m telling you that my theory is… 

Dost’s ability is to create and fulfill contracts with people, giving him control over the people who make deals with him. he is a demon who makes contracts with people

evidence #2

so Dost calls this guy, who Astushi and Kunkida thought was the poison ability user. and he was just making dinner or something, all chill. probably cooking for his brothers i’m crying

then he drops the frying pan in this sort of trance, goes ballistic. he’s “counting” on his little brothers to stop these bad guys while HE runs away 

but when Atsushi catches up with him, the guy pleads with him NOT to fight with his brothers and sisters. doesn’t sound like a guy who would leave his siblings in danger, does it??

it sounds like a guy who was under some sort of mind control via Dost’s command. although Dost’s ability cannot be mind control itself. otherwise, he would have just put everyone under mind control to begin with and he would have been practically invincible 

thus, i believe Dost can take control of people once they enter contracts with him. although i do like the copying ability theory one anon suggested, this one can spew out drama like no tomorrow too

it also begs the question:

did Dazai ever make a contract with Dost…?

if it is a contract fulfilling/soul control ability, then all of Dazai’s references to Dost being a demon make a lot more sense. you know how making a contract with a demon goes

and i really feel like there’s no way Asagiri threw two whole chapters of guild at us after the last arc just to show us how Fitz was doing (chapters 44-45). they’re coming back sometime. i feel like Steinbeck will have some bigger role too. look at this full page spread of vengeance for Fitz 

as far as Chuya and Ranpo go, i think we may see some camaraderie between them, depending on how things take shape in the book. does Ranpo have glasses in this mystery novel? do his glasses get broken or lost? what does Chuya know about Ranpo and his super deduction?  

i mean, holy shit, there’s a thousand characters in the novel and half of them are murderers so

i think these two will have to depend on each other to get out. Ranpo’s the great detective here, but um, 500 killers is a lot. i think he’ll need Chuya on his side here. and i’m interested in exactly what Ranpo means by, “Unless we both die, let’s meet again.” i’m not sure he means they’ll meet in the book. anyway, they’re intended to be trapped in the book for some time

“But even Ranpo-Kun will take days to escape…”

maybe it is just to stall and keep one of the strongest mafia executives from interfering with stuff. but hey, do you see how losing Chuya or Ranpo would be great motives for the mafia and ADA to be forced to work together in another arc? i do have a strong feeling that Asagiri wants to bring us more of this:

in conclusion, i don’t have much evidence to go off of with this theory. but i too am a writer like Asagiri, perhaps not as skilled, but

i kind ofsuspect Dost’s ability may not be overall too impressive and that he is justable to use it to his advantage very well. he’s a man of strategy like Dazai.Dazai doesn’t have a very impressive ability himself (at least combat wise),but he’s at the forefront of so much that is going on. you wouldn’t want to mess withhim. Dost is also at the forefront of so much that is going on, and we don’treally see any combat from him either. despite this, you also wouldn’t want tomess with him

and yes, thelist is interesting. especially because the recent chapters have been alludingto Nastume having, potentially, the strongest ability? i’m not all too sureabout that though because it looks like the total summit of his ability mayjust be to turn into a cat so. maybe Dost wants to be a cat, don’t beso judgmental

also i want to mention that i really want to know what Dazai’s past interactions with Dost are. Dazai clearly knows to some extent what Dost is capable is. he keeps calling him a demon, too, which intrigues me. perhaps there is no ability and Dost is truly a demon? remember Lovecraft, y’all. that shit was crazy  

ahhhh, so much about oda. for starters, there’s so much great inner Oda dialogue.

“Because the one who has gone missing is intelligence agent Sakaguchi Ango.”

If there was someone who could look into my heart, they would be lucky to see the image of a majestic, erupting volcano. Countless question marks burst forth from the volcano’s mouth, filling the air.

In reality, I curl my fingers a little. 

Source: translation by @nkhrchy

^this passage sums up Oda pretty well actually! much of the ln is narrated by him. in the anime, we get some of Oda’s inner dialogue, but not the true bulk of it. he’s definitely a deep one and doesn’t let on that much about his emotions and feelings

the passage above also shows Oda’s faithfulness to Ango as a friend—you get a little bit of his faithfulness in the anime, but not to the extent in the ln. after they discovered the gun in Ango’s safe, Oda constantly struggles with the idea of Ango betraying them:

Why did Ango disappear?... I roam Yokohama’s streets looking for a non-existent glimmer of hope.

In another scenario:

Why would Ango want to betray the organisation?

During former intelligence wars, in order to get a member of the enemy organisation to betray them, money, sex, family, self-esteem, a sense of belonging could all become an obstacle. As long as all of these are struck down, the other party would agree to defect. So what is Ango’s reason for defecting and seeking refuge with Mimic?

To find the answer, I look beside me at Dazai.

Dazai continues to keep his head low, in deep thought. His expression—

Dazai is—

“—Hahaha!”

Laughing.

“I initially thought it was just a normal criminal organisation – but if it’s an organisation that Ango would seek refuge in, that means they’re not the sort of people to come crying and begging for forgiveness after a little lecture. On top of that, Ango as an enemy won’t be an easy adversary, not at all. Isn’t this exciting? It’ll definitely force me into desperation, and then—“

“Dazai!”

Hearing my call, Dazai stops talking. It’s not that I want to say something, but just to get him to quit it.

^this scene is a huge example showing how much Ango’s questionable disappearance bothers Oda. he doesn’t want to think of it as betrayal, let alone have Dazai laughing about it

even as Ango betrayed Oda right in front of his own eyes, Oda still feels tremendous pain at the thought of Ango abandoning him:

With my numb tongue, I say a few words towards Ango’s disappearing back. As to what I said, I don’t remember myself, but an indescribable loneliness fills my heart. My emotions feel like they’re at the end of the universe.

i also felt the anime underplayed how much Oda understood Dazai: 

There is no one who knows Dazai’s inner self.

In the mafia, no one will look at what’s in their colleagues. This is an unspoken rule. They will not open up the lid over one’s chest to look at their heart and comment at the darkness stuffed within. This is a merit of the mafia.

But maybe that is wrong. At least it is for the man sitting beside me. Perhaps someone should persistently tie Dazai up, open the lid over his chest and stuff the head of a vacuum cleaner in. They have to let Dazai, who should be screaming in pain and resisting, settle down. Following which, the difficult things in his heart must all be dragged out under the sun and stepped on mercilessly.

mind you, this is a pretty unsettling passage, and @nkhrchy mentioned that translating it was a bit awk, but nonetheless—it goes to show that Oda understands how greatly darkness plagues Dazai. he knows Dazai is a dark and merciless mafioso, but he also sees him as being human

Oda really examines what Dazai reveals about himself too:

“I’m not upset... Things worth pursuing will always disappear the moment before you get them. Nothing is worth prolonging a painful life to pursue.”

I look at Dazai intently. Although we have known each other for very long, this is the first time Dazai has spoken about himself. One can see something as sharp as a giant fishhook piercing and gnawing into Dazai’s life.

but the best example of how much Oda understands Dazai comes after the mimic sniper scene, when Dazai dared the sniper to kill him. after Dazai had called it acting, Oda reflected on the incident and thought this: 

As Dazai pointed to his forehead and approached the muzzle, the look on his face – like that of a child about to burst into tears – had already been branded upon my eyes. 

Oda knows that little go-ahead-and-kill-me didn’t just come out of nowhere 

The last particular thing I wanted to mention about Oda was the part when he visited his orphans before they all died *sobs*. perhaps it’s just me, but Oda came off rather stiff and serious? don’t get me wrong, he definitely thinks to himself, “I need to show them just how terrifying a true mafioso is.” however, he doesn’t say it to the kids. and, well, this doesn’t happen:

(for the record, he does tickle the one kid until he surrenders) 

i get the point that the anime was trying to convey though. in the ln, Oda mentioned that the oldest boy wanted to be a mafioso when he grew up. so if you interpreted Oda as being too stiff or serious in this scene, just know that he was only trying to steer them from a life violence and death—to protect them. you should also know that Oda’s whole point of staying in the mafia was to earn enough money to provide food and shelter for these young orphans, just until they grew up and became independent and oh my god Oda is really too pure for this world

Ango:

oh god, you must understand how much Ango still wanted to be friends with Oda and Dazai

after Oda saved Ango from the exploding building, Oda gave him a handkerchief for his injury. then, after Oda fell into the magical temari ball trap, Ango tucked the handkerchief back into his hand, BUT WITH A NAPKIN FROM THE BAR. it’s as Dazai explains:

“A napkin from this store was wedged inside. It’s too obvious! Information agents will use unexpectedly dated methods sometimes.”     

and if this does not show that Ango valued their friendship, let it be known that there was a scene in the ln with Ango looking at photographs after Oda’s death. and i mean, come on, they have to be the photographs Dazai requested they take at the bar. Ango was reminiscing over their friendship

The orphans:

i’m sorry, but you must know this

in the anime, the bus exploded right after Oda went back outside. however, in the ln, there’s a chase prolonging your hopes that the orphans live that ultimately serves to only crush your spirit 

Oda ended up chasing the bus, and he somehow got on top of a minivan in front of the bus. he actually got the bus to crash into the minivan, but before he can reach the bus—the force of the explosion throws him into another car. Oda literally talks about wanting to get there before the explosion because (presumably) he saw it six seconds ahead of time through his ability Flawless. he thinks to himself, “Even if it’s one second earlier, I want to run to the bus.” which that, of course, would have killed him. the tragic thing about this though, he couldn’t physically do this because he was too injured to move and get there

and okay, i felt such things with the extra details in the light novel. this is what Oda describes before chasing the bus:

Through the gaps of the curtains, I can see someone sticking their hand out...

The boy notices me and widens his eyes. It is the oldest boy who said his dream is to become a mafioso. When he notices my gaze, he pulls the curtain open forcefully without hesitation. Behind his back, I can see all the kids. The young boy has pulled the curtain open for me to see this sight.

identifying the boy who had opened the curtains as the one who wanted to join the mafia is like an additional stab in the heart

Oda’s death:

okay, so you know this thing in episode 23:  

okay, i actually don’t know what that is, but in the manga, it’s either a cigarette box or a matchbox with a city on it (maybe Yokohoma?) anyway, this was the very last thing Oda did before his death: 

With trembling fingers, Odasaku draws out a cigarette from his coat, bringing it to his mouth in a strenuous action.

and so i believe Dazai was holding Oda’s cigarette box in the manga. something that was probably on Oda’s very person at the time of his death. so, to me, the box is a symbol of Oda — not a symbol of his memories at the bar with Oda and Ango. and for the record, Oda had given up smoking, but he found the old box and lit up one of the cigarettes as he was saying his final goodnight to the orphans. i think of it as like lighting a candle in their memories

A stream of faint purple smoke rises from the cigarette silently. I watch it.

“Sleep tight in the quiet place where you all are. I’ll take revenge for you all.”

I hold the cigarette between my fingers, watching the smoke. The cigarette finishes burning and the smoke disappears.

details from the light novel may also give you more to ship

perhaps you have missed two shipping candidates while watching the anime adaptation. have you ever entertained the shipping of OdaGide? don’t write this ship off until you read this post. no one writes about OdaGide better than @nkhrchy, our kayak captain 

Additional thoughts on the anime arc:

Ages: this is a minor thing, but i was a bit disappointed that Dazai, Ango, and Akutagawa did not appear that much younger in the anime. i know it’s only a four year difference and it’s not that great, but the light novel had six illustration pages and i really enjoyed seeing the manga version of 16 year old baby Akutagawa in them. idk man. i need more baby Akutagawa. i also wanted younger Dazai because it’s such a pleasing thing to see a young soul already so dark? you can see the light novel illustrations here, as scanned by @akutagawaprize

Sound: okay, well this is just a random thing, but there was a lot of slow music and soft talking. it was fitting, but i expected a bit more playfulness in some parts. especially with Dazai’s goofy parts. i get it’s the dark era, but it didn’t feel so despondent that early on in the ln?

that motion to touch him looks so slight and careful?? almost gentle for lack of a better word?? surely the impact of striking young sinnamon roll mafioso can’t have produced this effect???

and i mean, the strange thing about this panel is the direction Dost and sinnamon roll are moving in? if Dost had struck him in the forehead, shouldn’t our young mafioso fall backward? not face forward? he falls forward. his blood spits out the same direction. to me, it’s as if Dost has literally changed the blood flow of sinnamon roll’s body. that leaves me to conclude that Dost can execute people with a single touch. his ability is to end a person’s life by manipulating their heart, perhaps

additional thoughts: i can’t help but wonder how Dazai knows of Dost?? i really can’t wait for their interactions, and the glimpse of raws i saw for chapter 46 looks very promising. really though — here we have Dost, an individual with a seemingly high conviction to punish those who are evil — and there we have Dazai, a man with a richly stained and twisted mafia past. a man whose blood is more mafia black than, well, most of the mafia (according to Higuchi). oh, and then factor in the fact that Dazai’s touch can nullify any ability. do you SEE WHAT AN INTERESTING CONFLICT WE HAVE??? DO YOU??? given my theory is right lmao

theory with light novel spoilers: furthermore, i would find it very interesting and fucking heart wrenching if Oda was somehow factored into all of this. Oda was in the mafia and he led a mafia life (even though he tried not to kill for the better half of it). to Dost, Oda would deserve to be punished. but it’s possible Dost knew he couldn’t touch Oda because of his Flawless ability — so he’d have to find another way to end Oda’s life. and then that’s where Gide comes in. he somehow convinced Gide that Oda was his only salvation. i don’t put it past Dost to have thought it out like that either. i see him as being like Mori — someone who relies on mostly his cunning logic without really having to use his ability too much

anyway, that might shed some light on why Dazai considers Dost a demon. god, just look at that lightless eye panel shrouded by darkness