#bsd chapter 91

Atsushi says “maybe 5 or 10” which fits his more pacifist approach. If he’s able to relate to his opponents, he’ll try to reason with them first and foremost, as we’ve seen numerous times. He knows what it’s like to be weak and oppressed and has little to no fundamental understanding of the side of the oppressor (such as why they would do such a thing). It’s why he struggles to understand Akutagawa, because neither of them have ever talked and realized the similarities in their upbringing. He sees Dazai as a good person because he has not witnessed or experienced his past cruelty. He tried reasoning with Fukuchi, even trying to relate to how horrible torture must have been, until he heard that Fukuchi was on the giving end and not the receiving end of it. He can’t properly comprehend the mental toll of being on the giving end or what leads people to it, as we see with his struggle to sort out his feelings after learning of the director’s past in ch 39, Portrait of a Father. In short, for Atsushi its “talk first, shoot last only if necessary.”

Kunikida answered “Including coercion and control, at least one magazine or more. Wouldn’t you require 30-60?” As an idealist, it makes sense that Kunikida tries to aim for the best outcome, with the least casualties. We’ve seen him use his gun for non injuring purposes multiple times (breaking Sasaki out of the tank, bursting the pipe behind Akutagawa, etc). He’d rather use his words but is well aware of the other uses for the bullets that would cause little to no harm (intimidating enemies and nonconventional uses such as breaking someone out or stalling someone). His number likely accounts for most of the bullets being used on coercion and intimidation, with the bullets actually used to target a person with serious intent being a similar number to Atsushi’s. The key difference being that he’s more prepared to use violence, but in unconventional ways that would cause minimal harm or damage and is aware that weapons can be used in non harmful ways.

Yosano, who was very close to and witnessed the front lines of the Great War, said “...Probably, more.” It’s unclear as to who said “fifty thousand” and explained why on the next page (either Ranpo or Yosano, but likely Ranpo), but it seems that she was likely thinking of a similar number. She’s witnessed the effects of the mental strain of being told to shoot another person, especially repeatedly for a long time with no end in sight. The hesitation in her answer shows that she very well knows that it’s true but wishes that it wasn’t. She’s likely heard many stories from Tachihara’s brother and the other soldiers of what the battlefield is like. She hates to admit that this is the reality of the statistic but knows that the numbers can’t be denied. Also, as a doctor and someone with a healing ability, she’s indirectly on the receiving end of the statistic because she has to heal people that do get hit by the bullets and therefore is also on the receiving end of the mental strain of the whole thing. In fact because of her ability causing soldiers to be unable to return home altogether, I wouldn’t be surprised if she feels at fault for the statistic being so high because she essentially created a near immortal army. Being on the battlefield longer because you’re repeatedly in fighting condition would of course mean more bullets used in total, and with that a prolonged fear of actually hitting someone with the bullets yet being unable to go against commanding orders and not shoot.