#bsd100

Jouno and Tecchou from the beginning are introduced to us as complete opposites, Tecchou is the strongest in terms of fighting ability but doesn't think for himself and is military minded. Jouno is blind, but has far more insight into what other people are thinking than any of the sighted characters and is clever and ruthless. Remind you of anyone?

It makes sense the hunting dogs would feature a version of souoku on the roster, as the group as a whole is framed as a darker version of the detective agency, forcing the law with complete ruthlessness and only caring about punishing crimminals without finding the truth.

Jouno and Teruko right from the start are arguing with each other for the same reason that Chuuya and Dazai argue, Tecchou is the stronger of the two but compeltely subservient and doesn't think for himself. Jouno on the other hand is shown to have a much higher intelligence, which translates into him toying with his enemies, and giving Tecchou ruthless commands, like how he goes out of his way to mentally break Kunikida, while at the same time ordering tecchou to target the doctor, the only healer of the group.

Theyalso both meet members of Soukoku, Jouno is the one sent to arrest Dazai, whereas it's Chuuya who shows up to protect the agency from Tecchou's sword and even ends up facing off against him for a little bit.

They even engage in a bet which is a direct parallel to the bet Chuuya and Dazai have in Chuuya and Dazai at fifteen. Whoever solves the mystery first, is the strongest of the hunting dogs. However, just like Soukoku the point of their relationship isn't for one to dominate over the other, but for both of them to be equals.

Jouno cannot work alone, because he always goes too far in abusing his position of a police man to torment crimminals. This is something Jouno admits even later on, his role as a police man gives him permission to do whatever he wants with crimminals. He'll push far beyond any limit, and society will allow him too because they see him in the right.

Which is why he needs Tecchou, who is the only one who bothers to make any attempt to keep Jouno in check. Tecchou's flaw, his complete and utter obedience to both the military command and inability to think for himself lets him combat Jouno's weakness. Because, Tecchou is always thinking of others, he's the only one on the hunting dogs so far who demonstrates any care for those who get in the way of the hunting dogs hunt. He essentially holds the leash on Jouno, and holds him back.

Because, Jouno doesn't care about other people, he's good at reading them but he doesn't care about their interiority and feelings at all. He doesn't care about the reasons the man they're questioning might want to protect Lucy Maud Montgomery, he just knows this man is getting in the way and will do anything, and terrify him in any way to achieve his objective of protecting the innocent by defeating crimminals.

Jouno is the Dazai of the relationship, because he entirely cares more about ideals than people. He just picks a different ideal than Dazai. Dazai's ideal is Oda's, help as many people as you can, if you don't care either way right or wrong, then just keep helping people. Jouno experiences a similiar moment to Dazai, he's a retired crimminal also like Dazai, and he's almost completely amoral, he has no internal sense of right and wrong to guide him and he's super low empathy.

Ironic because Jouno can read people by reading their heartbeats, which gives him a deeper insight into whether people are telling the truth or lying, and yet because of his lack of care for their internal motivators he doesn't quite read them right. After all, he tries to invite Kunikida to the Hunting Dogs, because despite being able to read some of Kunikida's hidden thoughts like his doubts on his ideals he misses out on the fact he would never betray his friends.

His ultimate lack of caring for people's inner worlds is probably displayed by his treatment of Kunikida, who he respects and actually wants to join the stray dogs, but also goes out of his way to torment at every single turn, even blowing both of his hands off and mocking him on his hospital bed. Ironic, because Kunikida and Jouno share the same ideals, they're both obsessed with a version of justice, that revolves around punishing crimminals, and upholding the law, believing that the law is what keeps innocent people protected.

Jouno is just Kunikida's, and the detective agency's as a whole ideas about justice taken to a darker extent. Jouno doesn't really care if the law is right or wrong he just needs to follow some law. Jouno doesn't believe it's his job to know if it's right or wrong to punish the people he's sent after, he just performs his job as a hunting dog.

Jouno who used to be a crimminal, now finds his place to belong, and a job, in tormenting crimminals, by saying it's for public good. Jouno may be self aware enough to know that this isn't the right thing to do, but he thinks because society's laws allow it, then there's no reason to challenge it. Jouno is almost a perverted extreme of idealism, he doesn't care who's justice he's enforcing, as long as he keeps getting to do his job, and he's hunting someone.

The conflict between two pairs of Soukoku and Shinsoukoku can really be summarized as a fight between ideals and people. Dazai, and Atsushi are both characters who care about ideals more than people. Not that they don't care about people, Atsushi and Dazai have people in their lives who they cherish. However, Dazai will manipulate anyone including his friends, he'll mistreat people like Akutagawa, all in the name of following Oda's vague instructions to save others. Atsushi too, doesn't save other people for completely altruistic reasons. He saves people because he's traumatized, because the orphanage beat into his head that if he doesn't save people, he has no right to exist. Atsushi only cares about saving complete strangers, but he'll neglect the feelings of someone close to him. The same way Jouno doesn't care for the interiority of crimminals, Atsushi doesn't understand people like Akutagawa. It's Atsushi's lack of understanding for Akutagawa and his complete and utter demonizing of him, that leads to him going Huh??? Why would Akutagawa ever sacrifice himself for me?? When they both lose the fight against the commander. He can't view Akutagawa as a person because he can't view himself as a person. He's got issues man.

I belabor that point because, on the other side you have the characters that are more people oriented. Chuuya is a slave to his organization, because he genuinely cares about all the members involved and wants to use those powers to protect people. Tecchou is the most obedient of the Hunting Dogs. Akutagawa does what he does over and over again to earn Dazai's praise, and his redeeming qualities is how he treats Higuchi and learning to be better to those underneath and around him.

What makes Soukoku work as a relationship is that despite how much Dazai uses Chuuya, Chuuya trusts in Dazai absolutely, even years after him leaving the mafia. It's why Atsushi and Akutagawa often come off younger and inexperienced compared to them, because Atsushi can't bring himself to trust Akutagawa so they often compete more times than they cooperate.

Jouno and Tecchou however, are a fully realized pair. Tecchou is someone who cares about the ideals and interiority of other people so much he's the only one of the hutning dogs who will step in to stop Jouno when he pushes things too far.

This meddling is something Jouno benefits from in therelationship, because even though Jouno seems to be the one most likely to turn evil of all the hunting dogs, he doesn't turn. Kamui invites him to join the hunting dogs precisely because of his sadistic nature.

Jouno's sadism is a genuine part of his characer, but it's just one side of him. As amoral as Jouno seems he's also honest about ideals, he punishes crimminals because he believes it helps him protect innocent civilians, and he cares more about the innocent civilians than the punishment he deals out. He has no qualms about hurting other people, but he won't agree to a plan like Kamui's innocent people can be hurt, and he's the second hunting dog to turn on him.

This is where Jouno's role is important, because who do you think Jouno learned his ideas of protecting other people from? The same way Jouno will choose the idea of protecting other people over punishing crimminals, because of the time spent in the hunting dogs. It is also the time spent in the hunting dogs together that makes Tecchou place rescuing Jouno, over his absolute blind obedience to justice.

Their connection is something that allows each of them to grow. While Kamui saw the absolute worst in Jouno, believing because he's an ex crimminal with violent tendencies he would be the easiest to convert to the side of the hunting dogs, it's Tecchou's belief in the goodness of Jouno that allows him to care for something more than just causing pain to people.