Dazaiâs morality and what makes him different from other âmorally grayâ characters
Everyone knows that Dazai is morally gray - but I only recently realized how heâs different from other âmorally grayâ characters we often see in fiction.Â
Most of the time, those characters we conveniently label âmorally grayâ donât even deserve the title - theyâre just good people who had done a few bad things, or bad people who had done a few good things. But Dazai is truly in the middle - he has done too many bad things to be good, but too many good things to be bad.
Heâs abusive, manipulative, ruthless, and made life a living hell for Akutagawa. And yet-Â
He was Atsushiâs savior - giving him a home when nobody else would accept him. Although this still isnât enough to forgive him for what he did to Akutagawa, it still proves that he isnât fully a bad person.Â
Now, hereâs when things start to get more interesting. Most morally gray characters tend to switch back and forth between two sides, right? Lots of writers depict them doing kind things more often while on the âgood sideâ, and doing cruel actions more often while on the âbad sideâ.
But that's not the case with Dazai.
Dark Era Dazai was terrifying - he shot innocent people, manipulated his subordinates, abused people, and many more. But he was still good, in his own way. He helped Chuuya cut ties with the Sheep, who were obviously using him for his powerful ability, despite having only met him for a day. He genuinely cared for Odasaku, willing to risk his own life to save his friend.Â
In the ADA, he seemed more compassionate. He gave Atsushi a home and cared for all the members of the ADA. But although itâs subtle, he was still evil. Itâs more obvious in the manga - since the anime tends to focus on his humor and suicidal tendencies more. Take a look at this manga panel :Â
Although itâs implied, itâs clear what he did - he slept with the nurse only to obtain information. He manipulated an innocent woman without hesitation, as if itâs a daily habit. No other ADA member would have the heart to do this, even if it meant saving the world or whatsoever. And letâs not forget this anime moment that made all Aku stansâ blood boil :Â
Yes, Dazai didnât directly abuse Aku anymore after being in the ADA. But if he was truly a good person, he wouldnât have taken advantage of Akuâs emotions, thinking that he had every right to control him. He would have acknowledged Aku and sincerely apologized for abusing him.Â
No matter what your argument is, you canât deny that Dazai doesnât have a trace of his PM tendencies left in him even after transferring into the ADA. Thatâs the depth about Dazaiâs gray morality - no matter which side heâs on, he'd always do an equal amount of good and bad things.Â
Alright, last point, I promise. Iâve seen lots of people think that Dazai underwent his "redemption arcâ in the Dark Era, when Oda died, just because Dark Era and ADA him are opposites. But now that I think of it, his moralities never even changed. He never had a redemption arc. His way of viewing people and the world are still more or less the same. The only reason Dark Era and ADA Dazai are different is because he changed his mannerisms, and obtained more will to live.
âOh, then why did he join the agency?â Â
Because he wanted to honor his best friendâs dying wish. He still doesnât care about âgoodâ or âbadâ. Even Oda knew this - thatâs why he said this line to Dazai:Â
Iâd like to believe that a part of Dazai's kind actions are genuine, but you cannot tell me that this man, who didnât give a f*ck about shooting innocent people, is unconditionally kind all the time. We can never guess whatâs going on in his head, but Iâm sure that he sometimes puts up a facade of being kind, in hopes that one day, itâll become real.Â
Now, youâll notice that most morally gray characters undergo a meaningful redemption arc before joining the good guys - which implies that the writers think only post-redemption them belonged in the good side - that pre-redemption them will never be able to become âgoodâ.Â
He joined the agency without undergoing a redemption arc and still passed the entrance exam.Â
You see what this means?Â
From the start, Dazai already had the potential of becoming both "good" and "evil". He would have fit in either organizations perfectly. Mori just happened to find him first. Itâs just the matter of timing.Â
Dazaiâs morality is truly in the middle.Â
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