Part of me mourns Akutagawa’s character everytime someone actually looks at the piano scene and is acting like Dazai actually gave Akutagawa his approval.
For one, that’s literally impossible even with the rules set up in the universe. Two, I feel it’s incredibly obvious that it is Akutagawa’s head(similar to the headmaster with Atsushi) telling him that it is okay and that his life meant something, he did good, and he is allowed to have the peace that he desperately wants.
That’s all there is to it. It’s not some thing about Dazai. It’s entirely Akutagawa’s hallucinations comforting him so that he can have a peaceful death, it’s him giving himself his own approval.
It’s a lovely moment of Akutagawa having a moment of peace with himself and living and dying solely for himself. His life was worth it to him.
If you ask me that is ten times more impactful than Dazai giving him his approval.
Also, lovely reminder that current Akutagawa never got to have that moment of having peace with himself because Atsushi time travels to before that moment happens.
