@@klartow don’t take my word for it, but I think white and purple are colors who are usually associated with (mostly) purity, and also royalty/nobility,(imo peace too but that might just be me) so that’s why it seems quite ironic that this is the color scheme for the Decay of Angels- who are *terrorists.* This is just my assumption though,, I may just have gotten it completely wrong lmaoo😭 (side note: personally, now that we know a lot more about DOA, I actually really find that the color scheme fit for them)
In my country, Vietnam, the colors white + purple = funeral/death. Purple = grief, white = pure afterlife/ death. So I think that’s why the DOA has white and purple as their theme colors.
Something else about Mori is that Elise represents his regret in a way. Elise acts like Yosano, even her bow (parallel to where Yosano wears it) looks just like a butterfly. There is an official art with Elise on it, having younger Yosano as her own shadow. In the dark era, she looks and acts more like Yosano. However, her hair changes too. It looks more wavy, and is let down, (originally in pigtails) just like Dazai. Meaning, there must be something Mori regrets in his actions with Dazai, whether or not it's directly stated. After the dark era, (when we see her again) she is acting more like Dazai. An example being, the way she was polite, yet still refused, vs now, bargaining/ making deals to at least earn something in the process. When Mori tells Elise not to eat to many sweets, Elise tells him she'll wear a dress he got, in order to eat more sweets. To which, Mori of course says yes to. Making Elise a reminder of his past mistakes and regrets is a great way to see how his character is. It shows that even if he is cruel at times, he's still human, and has his regrets. Even Dazai knows Mori regrets his actions, even if Mori states he doesn't regret anything. I still don't like him, nor do I forgive him, but it still is a different way of seeing his character I got a lot of info about this from hina-has-no-life on tumblr, it has an amazing input on his character, and the details are amazing
Elise is for Yosano, she act's nothing like Osamu Dazai. Yosano can be polite, in truth the reason Elise is nicer to Mori then Yosano is because Mori wish's Yosano to act as if he didn't abuse her. And the reason she was in pigtails and now has long hair is because Mori is slowly becoming less pedo like. Elise is Yosano, not Osamu!
5:50 Also! Aktagawa's coat was given to him by dazai back when he first recruited him. Since the port mafia has a tradition of lending something to the person you brought in, akutagwa probably kept it because he thought it was a symbol of dazai's approval. 💥‼Spoilers for s5 from here on out!! In fukuchi's fight akutagawa lets atsushi use his coat as an attack strategy, which is something you wouldn't really expect akutagawa to do unless it's a sort of last resort (like in s2 and 3s finale). I think this symbolizes that akutagawa is ready to let go of his need for approval, since he hesitates to do so in previous seasons, akutagwa was still clinging on to the need for affirmation to identify his self worth. Also like you said his white shirt represents the "light" in him and he dies(kind of) without the coat on!!Light doesn't necessarily have to mean "good" or " a hero" in this case i think it means Akutagawas finally ready to trust others and let go of an abuser
Now that you mention the mafia's tradition of gifting something to the person you recruited, I've been confused about something for the longest time: Where did Chuuya's hat actually come from? Because (Strom Bringer spoilers), in that novel we see how the hat Chuuya wears was originally Verlaine's but Chuuya kept it because it helped him control his ability. But in season 3, we see how it was gifted to him by Mori after joining the mafia. SO WHERE IS IT REALLY FROM? 😭
@@mitsu5834 I don't think they mention this in the anime but basically: Rimbaud had the hat when suribachi city was created → Mori took it and gifted it to chuuya after he "died"→verlaine steals it back in the 15 epilogue (I think??) →chuuya gets the hat back from verlaine I don't really remember how Rimbaud had it in the first place,, I think he took it from verlaine while they were fighting??
"How's the depression treating you guys?" I TOOK THAT PERSONALLY!! I PULLED AN ALL NIGHTER AND JUST FINISHED READING THE WHOLE NOVEL A FEW HOURS AGO AND NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE ANYMORE. THINGS JUST AIN'T THE SAME ANYMORE
Watching the anime back with the knowledge of the fifth hunting dog's identity is really funny because everyone else has black jackets and coats and they're just g r e e n
One thing I've always thought about is that oda did basically create the balance in Yokohama. Since he sort of was the reason why the armed detective agency exists, it was his accused case of assassination where Ranpo walked in and met fukuzawa which led to the ada getting established and fukuzawa being willing to start working with people which led to him letting in yosano and kunikida and then dazai of course being encouraged to join the side that helps people before oda dies, then of course leading to the other members. So basically oda has created this balance (and he also did actually in some way save yosano since again, without Ranpo opening the opportunity for fukuzawa to work with other people, fukuzawa may not have helped yosano, and if the port mafia had dazai and yosano, the pm would vastly outweigh ada in some way)
One thing I'd like to add for the designs of decay of angels, specifically the trio of Fyodor, Nikolai and sigma is how they use subtle shape language. I'll start with Sigma who heavily HEAVILY uses squares, from the edges of his coat to his hair to his shoulder garments. Squares in character design often represent sturdiness, stubbornness, supportiveness and reliability. They're also often used in protagonists with strong sturdy morals ( Superman or Hiccup from HTTYD). Contrast that with how Sigma views himself, an ordinary man with no special power or place in this world. I think it's cool that even tho he doesn't see himself as much his character design subtly tells you that he's much more than it meets the eyes while also supporting the aspect of his character which I like the most which is his how strong willed he truely is, be it to protect the casino or help dazai that's the one aspect of his character both dazai and fyodor rely on throughout the story. Nikolai is based on triangles. From the decoration of his hat to his collar to his shoes and even how his cape is usually drawn in the panels baby boy is basically a bag of doritos personified. Triangles often represent unstable characters who embrace chaos ( Say bill cipher from gravity falls) and that's just so Nikolai. I also have a theory about the whole covering your eye thing in BSD and I think the characters who do it are intentionally denying a part of themself and/or are lying to themself which I think Nikolai does. Side rant: I think with dazai in dark era he's actually denying the part of himself that wants to live. He says he joined the mafia trying to find a reason to live but in reality all he's doing is putting himself in violent situations in hopes that he'd die on one of his missions. When he gets rid of the eye cover is the first time he truly accepts a path in which he HAS ( and possibly the first time he ever wants to) in order to fulfill Odasaku's dying wish. With this theory in mind I think beast Dazai actually the opposite of mafia Dazai in the sense that he actually really really wants to live, he's in a world where Odasaku's alive afterall, a world where he can finally read the novel his friend will eventually write. However ultimately that desire is eventually outweighed by the cost of achieving this world which includes Dazai's life. anyway rant aside and back to fyodor:DDDDDD Fyodor is intresting cause his shape language is almost intentionally softened by specific elements like the hat or the furr on his overcoat. Circles in character design represent kindness, softness, femininity and harmlessness. You can interpret this design decision in two ways. One: he's a liar and his character design is trying to deceive you. This fits well with his character. He wants to hurt and manipulate you yes but he doesn't want you to know it, he wants to look harmless and soft and holy so you'd drop your gaurd and let him in. He may not see himself as a saint but he'll do anything to look like one so he can get what he wants. Two: he's not lying and that's how he truly sees himself. Like you mentioned in the video he does adorn himself in white. He may wear the black coat he may let his hands be tainted with blood but deep down he covers his soul, his intentions and ideals in perfect pure white. White is also the hair color of almost all the people he associates with. He seeks purity and goodness as he sees it he wants a world free of sin and suffering and to him that's a cause worthy of becoming a monster for. He reminds me of Griffith in that sense, characters who are not necessarily evil but who'd stop at nothing in order to get what they want, no sacrifice too great. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions and he has to build his promise land upon corpses and ashes, so be it. Anyway sorry for the long rant and thanks for reading:DDDD sorry for any grammatical mistakes or typos English is not my first language jwbdhdjdgjdhdjd
14:50 here, dazai also wears another layer of black, wich i think refers to something mentioned in stormbringer: "the longer he worked for the mafia, the darker and more unfathomable he became." the text also goes on to say "dazai continued to slaughter his enemies and serve the port mafia in order to force himself into an even darker place" wich i think also explains alot about his time in the mafia.
about 20:40 , it was never fyodor that made sigma - it's a common misconception within the fandom - but he did find him and offer him a place within the decay of angels. i think the way his outfit is so similar to fyodor is because this is all he knows, fyodor was the one to pick him up from nowhere after being caught in trafficking rings and wandering deserts - it's to almost symbolise how deep is manipulation goes because this is the only person really can trust. i think after the mersault arc we can see this outfit changing (i selfishly hope he keeps his coat though because it is BEAUTIFUL, i can't believe the anime got rid of the sparkles) to almost rid himself of fyodor's manipulations. he is no longer the same man he was whilst working for fyodor, he's seen other perspectives through dazai. maybe he's mimic the ADA's more neutral tones whilst keeping some of his original clothes, a mix of different influences to serve as a reminder at how malleable a person can be. bringing it back to my original point about fyodor and sigma, how he knew of sigma's existence we do not know, but i think it also serves as a way to kind of show the extent that reality can be changed, that someone can just make a whole new person. sigma is not explicitly based off any author that we know of, their are theories circulating the fandom however there is no defienant author, which i think ties into how he truly is a person who did not originally belong in this world, he has made himself a part of it, yes, but only because he and others around him have given him that role to play, forced him to be a part of it. because without those external factors, he is just an ordinary man. sorry for the rant but sigma's character be it in the story or costume design wise (or both) has always fascinated me as it is less talked about than other characters *cough cough* skk and sskk *cough cough*
I think that chuuyas choker symbolises his constraint.he can never be free or just be himself he can just use his abilities to the fullest or even have the freedom to express himself.
you need to know, i initially got into bsd solely because of stormbringer and i cried when i saw his outfit in the anime after i was like "shit! shit he looks like a small verlaine oh my God they didn't no they did oh MY GOD"
(stormbringer spoilers) i saw somebody say that chuuya also "takes on" lippman's style when he dies (similarly on how he takes on albatross' bike) because his style in storm bringer is slightly different to his style in canon now and his style now is similar to lippman's style
11:04 concerning oda's bit it's actually noted that oda was never apart of the Port Mafia as a young assassin and infact was told by Dazai ,at possibly age 15 - 16, to join the Port Mafia. After the events of dazai, chuuya 15 and possibly before stormbringer. It turns out oda was never in an organisation either! he worked as an assassin alone until he met natsume which also led him to the fate of saving dazai and of course his demise. I really love your takes and i definitely love this video can't wait for more!
in stormbringer, dazai still uses "boku" so dazai met oda and the events of "the day i picked up dazai" occurred between stormbringer and the dragon head conflict when dazai was 16... damn so much happened during that year, even akutagawa was recruited and dazai became an executive that year. dazai was real busy
Did you know that a scene in the bsd manga where yosano ask atsushi why he didn't like wear or buy other clothes And atsushi responded with that "nobody ever bought/gift him anything" so the outfit that the ada members bought are very special to him (it's such a nice scene)
32:06 I'm bad at explaining stuff but I think Nikolai's exaggerating his emotions just so that no one knows how he truly feels, and he covers up his eye, just like PM Dazai, and that probably represents he's hiding something or his true self???
the thing about the hunting dogs coat representing loyalty seems very interesting bc the mysterious 5th hunting dog takes away his coat before the fight w fukuchi...
THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE VIDEO!!! You picked up on so many things that never even crossed my mind! I'm going to take that coat theory with me forever, especially the way it applies to Dazai and how the only time he fully wears one is after he joins the ADA :'] I'm genuinely shocked that this doesn't have more views; it's is the best analysis of BSD I've seen on youtube!
Speaking about scarfs Hirotsu Ryuro one of the members for the PM who also wears a scarf but a brown one. What I find interesting is that he happens to be the veteran of the PM (has been in the organization for at least 3 bosses crazy right 😮), yet surprisingly he has not lost any of his kindness or humanity in this long career. He goes as far as trying to cover up one of his lower ranking member for use of drugs/narcotics from Dazai, witch are strictly banned in the PM (it has been stated Hirotsu was/is terrified of Dazai so yea the man really cares about his ppl)
Can I know where did you get/knew that part about him covering his people from Dazai when they used drugs, and also where him being terrified of Dazai from? That's a new information for me and I really would like to know about it more :D?
When I rewatched BSD for the first time (I’ve watched it so many times since then-) I immediately noticed that Dazai had his hands in his pockets! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s thought about this, haha!
I always wondered why Kyouka looked so out of place in the PM, but me thinking practically I thought that she wore a red kimono simply so the blood of her victims wouldn't be visible (like Yor from Spy x Family who refuses to wear anything other than black or red while on her job) and as a Kouyou enthusiast (simp) I enjoyed her segment so much, she breaks my heart😭 Needless to say I loved Chuuya's, his outfits are so iconic! For me, I always saw Chuuya's PM outfit as how proud he is of his glowup and the hard work he put in to get to where he is now. Like, he used to be this kid who only knew the slums of Yokohama, but now he has risen to a man of power and wealth that most people can't even dream of having and all of that with sheer determination! Anyone would be proud of themselves in his situation and they would absolutely show it in their fashion (or at least I would lmao) Also also, I didn't even notice that Dazai has his hands in his pockets in episode one! And to think I had a rewatch yesterday, shame on me! 😂✋
@blumoon.mp4 it took a whole month but it did arrive and I have finished reading it, I'm so glad I waited to watch the last bit of the video cuz I feel like spoilers for a book like that would just ruin it
11:54 oda was never an assasin for the port mafia he worked solo as an assasin then after he decided to quit killing dazai eventually brought him into the mafia
Sigma is my favourite design in the entire series. She's exactly what somebody who manages and owns a sky casino should look like, glamorous and over the top, but her colours are also sort of beige in a lot of places (at least in the manga), which matches the detective agency, so I really do hope that she does end up joining the agency, she deserves it after all she's been through.
@@bluemoon.f4vno seriously i watched ur vids so much while i did work/drew that my little brother became interested djdjsj so now we watch them together!! loved this one so much ❤ really loved the way u talked abt kyouka and kouyou, kyouka is like my second favorite character so it made me very happy❤❤ excited to see more from your channel!
31:06 fun fact I've seen on tiktok: belts on Sigma's arms aren't just for aesthetic or sth else, croupiers can use them to lift up sleeves a bit, so people see that they don't cheat
this is so cool :0 while i do occasionally see some people discussing character designs, its almost always limited to things like the differences between the pm and the ada, bandage theory, n how some characters parallel each other. i wanted to comment on some small observations of the designs i made of my own while watching that while i dont believe are anything hard to notice or groundbreaking but hadnt thought about before and found somewhat interesting. as already established, white and black often represent good and evil or light and dark, which has very interesting implications for each of the characters. kouyou, while yearning for her youth’s naive perception of the light (which i think is represented by the pale pink and cherry blossom petals, especially as opposed to the brown motif of the agency), has the front side of her kimono in black, with spider lillies at the bottom. This represents both how her grief and reality separate her from that life as well as how she chooses to keep it over her heart as a constant reminder of what she lost by reaching for that reality, to some extent caging herself in the darkness instead of the other way around. I find this interesting paired with how her outer coat fades to an almost blood red (i know its a magenta but shh shjikna), showing how she is weighed down by crimes she has committed (or alternatively what she perceives as blood on her hands) and how that has permanently tainted her dream of entering the light, even though its what best suits her at her core (represented by the white layer underneath her kimono) i’ll continue this more in the replies so this doesnt become too massive and its easier for me to continue adding things on as i think about them
ofc, whether someone belongs in light or darkness is one of the core themes of bungo stray dogs and i am not going to claim to have anywhere near the literary analysis to fully understand the message asagiri is trying to convey, especially as it intersects with nature vs nurture, but i do know what i personally believe on the matter. no one by virtue of being born is destined for or best suited for a life of darkness. no one is born a bad person. i find this interesting considering how basically every character wearing black has a layer of white underneath (even mori), with some exceptions that i believe are better explained with the symbolism in the design of that specific individual. while this could be coincidental and have other meanings, ill be using that principle for this interpretation of their character. i find mori to be an interesting case of this considering hes the closest to objective evil there really is in bsd. while its likely he has faced plenty of trauma and mistreatment before he got to the highest wrung on the ladder, he is the only ‘evil’ character who doesnt have anyone/thing above him ‘forcing’ him to do the horrible things that he does. one of my issues with the phrase ‘hurt people hurt people’ is how it implies that by being a hurt person that guarantees that you will hurt others, regardless of any other factor. at least in my personal understanding and belief, while people currently under abusive structures are not able to experience life outside of those structures which often causes them to perpetuate that harm even if they are a ‘good person’ (i dont think good/bad people exist but like ykwim), which can be seen throughout much of the abuse cycle of bsd-when given true opportunity to be/do good and escape from those structures, most of them take it (this can be seen the most easily in cases like dazai and kyouka but can be applied to most others). the exception to this is mori. he is at the top of bsd’s main structure of abuse and by choice abuses almost every character. i am definitely not arguing that his actions are in any way justified or that he does it with good intentions or anything like that. more that while he was born with the potential to be a good person, which then got restricted by life in the underworld like all other pm characters, he has made the choice to become/do bad. this all kind of ties back into the symbolism of his scarf as discussed in the video :) its sort of interesting how the coats are often used as symbolism for characters having something put onto them by (an)other character(s), the scarf could be used almost as an opposite symbol of a character putting something onto themself out of free will (which might potentially apply to other neck/chest ware? idk that could be interesting to analyze/look into). notably white button up shirts are just generally associated with mori and those he has affected so it could really just be representative of his sort of vibe of hostile/preformative neatness/sterility/politeness (sorry about all the dashes i just have trouble finding the right words to describe what im trying to express 😭)
i'm finally discovering your channel and i really wanted to start with this video because you mention it often in your tik tok videos and... aaah i could listen to you talking about BSD for hours! i really love your analyzes and you're doing such a good job at explaining them, it's just so smooth and well edited
I would LOVE a video on beast, i can't find anywhere to read it but once i heard its concept it already had me bawling, i've been spoilt so much but it was of my own accord lol
Fyodor spoiler :3 The entire decay of angels also has some white in their hair besides fyodor! Not sure what it means but maybe the fact he's probably older than the dinosaurs ☠️ Maybe it's supposed to symbolize js a pitch black hole in the way he's percieved because nobody knows shit about him / he's js scary Maybe it could be something like him being ""tainted""???? From having lived and seen that long (does that make sense?? I feel like nobody's gonna know what I mean) Or it's supposed to symbolize death and him js carrying it around with him at all times I think sigma's purple hair is like him being "created" unlike the rest of the characters, because his past only started 3 years ago and he's missing a chunk of his life (the white part being his life in the doa and the purple being his missing life)
omg i’ve been waiting forever for a bsd video where someone just. talks about stuff from it i love love this video n all your thoughts n commentary and super fun to watch n you have really fun energy i super hope you decide to make more things about bsd :D you have at least one guy who’ll watch all of it o7
In one of the episodes in season 3, Akutagawa gives his coat to Atsushi while they're fighting the big tree thing (I honestly forgot). I'm not really sure if it means something but it feels like a tiny little thing that could have a little meaning. Yknow, cus Akutagawa used to be Dazais apprentice but now Atsushi is. Idk if just felt like it could have some meaning.😭
Ok 2 things.. Okay so, you said that you had not a lot of ideas for sigma's design symbolism, but i would like to mention he has the main colors of the DOA (purple and white) literally growing out of his head while at the same time being the least aligned with the ideals. On the subject of the DOA main colors purple and white. Tou said think about what those colors mean to me, and for me white symbolizes, authority, (specifically thinking you're better than others, and being above them) purity, (like christian values, and wanting to be free of sins) hospitals and sanitization, (an almost crazy amount of cleanliness, being completely spotless) belief (this one i think means the previous mentioned symbols don't have to be completely true if the persons/groups ideals or ideals make them believe they are that) and last but not least blinding (white is the brightest "color" and therefore i see it as brainwashing, or being blind to the cons, or the error of others or some importantly the error of your own ways) Symbolization for purple. I see it symbolizing occult, whimsy (it is very popular for magic or witches its even a Halloween color) and rarity, mystery (purple is the least popular color of anything naturally you have to search the earth to find something naturally purple) opulence, wealth (purple being rare, made it extremely expensive, and a show off of money. Royals even made it illegal for anyone below them to wear). So in my opinion and perspective the choice of those colors are absolutely perfect. Also an dea for Sigma's design
I want to get into stormbringer blind and it made me laugh when you got to Chuuya and the timestamp to skip is literally the end of the video so I have a lot of reading to do 😅
I feel like mori actual ability is to bring back death to life but his have to control the appearance, same as ‘vita sexualis’ because in yosano backstory we see Elise as a normal person that mori haven’t crates her yet, when yosano sent to mental facility, mori start to kill Elise so that mori can create Elise to look like yosano when she was eleven (this is just my facts and I never stop thinking about it)
i live laugh love your videos because my brain is too small to think of this stuff even if i tried lmao ( EDIT: NAH CAUSE AT 26:05 I LEGIT SPIT OUT MY DRINK I HAVENT ONCE WATCHED ATTACK ON TITAN AND THATS WHAT THAT GUY LOOKS LIKE NOW???????????? WTF BWHABDJBJSAHBDA )
I love your channel soo much! I was looking for someone who would analyze BSD this thoroughly. Your video gives the depth of the characters justice. Btw I love your hair and style just had to point that out. ❤❤❤
I literally laughed out loud at the "picture what those colours mean to you. The Decay of Angels are a terrorist organisation" 😭😭
It's my turn to be stupid but what does this mean
@@RF-mc8cx literally, i still don't know 😭😭
@@klartow don’t take my word for it, but I think white and purple are colors who are usually associated with (mostly) purity, and also royalty/nobility,(imo peace too but that might just be me) so that’s why it seems quite ironic that this is the color scheme for the Decay of Angels- who are *terrorists.* This is just my assumption though,, I may just have gotten it completely wrong lmaoo😭 (side note: personally, now that we know a lot more about DOA, I actually really find that the color scheme fit for them)
@@a.yxmiii the fact it is pure color's, I could be wrong, might mean how the ada is framed idk I'm dumb
The moment you mention stormbringer the depression kicks in 💀
if I have to suffer I'm taking you lot with me
I know what you mean
Nooo 😭
i watched the stage play and somehow didn't cry once throughout the whole thing
In my country, Vietnam, the colors white + purple = funeral/death. Purple = grief, white = pure afterlife/ death. So I think that’s why the DOA has white and purple as their theme colors.
that's so interesting!!
Something else about Mori is that Elise represents his regret in a way. Elise acts like Yosano, even her bow (parallel to where Yosano wears it) looks just like a butterfly. There is an official art with Elise on it, having younger Yosano as her own shadow. In the dark era, she looks and acts more like Yosano. However, her hair changes too. It looks more wavy, and is let down, (originally in pigtails) just like Dazai. Meaning, there must be something Mori regrets in his actions with Dazai, whether or not it's directly stated. After the dark era, (when we see her again) she is acting more like Dazai. An example being, the way she was polite, yet still refused, vs now, bargaining/ making deals to at least earn something in the process. When Mori tells Elise not to eat to many sweets, Elise tells him she'll wear a dress he got, in order to eat more sweets. To which, Mori of course says yes to. Making Elise a reminder of his past mistakes and regrets is a great way to see how his character is. It shows that even if he is cruel at times, he's still human, and has his regrets. Even Dazai knows Mori regrets his actions, even if Mori states he doesn't regret anything. I still don't like him, nor do I forgive him, but it still is a different way of seeing his character
I got a lot of info about this from hina-has-no-life on tumblr, it has an amazing input on his character, and the details are amazing
Elise is for Yosano, she act's nothing like Osamu Dazai. Yosano can be polite, in truth the reason Elise is nicer to Mori then Yosano is because Mori wish's Yosano to act as if he didn't abuse her. And the reason she was in pigtails and now has long hair is because Mori is slowly becoming less pedo like. Elise is Yosano, not Osamu!
@@dasexistbenny he was never a pedo though
Sigma: has an information Ability
Also sigma: has amnesia
5:50 Also! Aktagawa's coat was given to him by dazai back when he first recruited him. Since the port mafia has a tradition of lending something to the person you brought in, akutagwa probably kept it because he thought it was a symbol of dazai's approval.
💥‼Spoilers for s5 from here on out!!
In fukuchi's fight akutagawa lets atsushi use his coat as an attack strategy, which is something you wouldn't really expect akutagawa to do unless it's a sort of last resort (like in s2 and 3s finale).
I think this symbolizes that akutagawa is ready to let go of his need for approval, since he hesitates to do so in previous seasons, akutagwa was still clinging on to the need for affirmation to identify his self worth.
Also like you said his white shirt represents the "light" in him and he dies(kind of) without the coat on!!Light doesn't necessarily have to mean "good" or " a hero" in this case i think it means Akutagawas finally ready to trust others and let go of an abuser
ouch. yeah. I'm gonna be thinking about this for the rest of the day.
Now that you mention the mafia's tradition of gifting something to the person you recruited, I've been confused about something for the longest time: Where did Chuuya's hat actually come from? Because (Strom Bringer spoilers), in that novel we see how the hat Chuuya wears was originally Verlaine's but Chuuya kept it because it helped him control his ability. But in season 3, we see how it was gifted to him by Mori after joining the mafia. SO WHERE IS IT REALLY FROM? 😭
@@mitsu5834 I don't think they mention this in the anime but basically:
Rimbaud had the hat when suribachi city was created → Mori took it and gifted it to chuuya after he "died"→verlaine steals it back in the 15 epilogue (I think??) →chuuya gets the hat back from verlaine
I don't really remember how Rimbaud had it in the first place,, I think he took it from verlaine while they were fighting??
@@Kittycanon3000they mentioned it was Rimbaud's
Now I won't stop thinking about this
STOPPP WHY HAD I NOT NOTICED DAZAI FOUGHT WITH HIS HANDS IN HIS POCKETS, I'M CRYING DJFJJDJDBDHD
I DONT EVEN REMEMBER WHEN I NOTICED BUT IT WAS SUCH A PLOT TWIST
"How's the depression treating you guys?"
I TOOK THAT PERSONALLY!! I PULLED AN ALL NIGHTER AND JUST FINISHED READING THE WHOLE NOVEL A FEW HOURS AGO AND NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE ANYMORE. THINGS JUST AIN'T THE SAME ANYMORE
Watching the anime back with the knowledge of the fifth hunting dog's identity is really funny because everyone else has black jackets and coats and they're just g r e e n
oh......*flashbacks*
One thing I've always thought about is that oda did basically create the balance in Yokohama. Since he sort of was the reason why the armed detective agency exists, it was his accused case of assassination where Ranpo walked in and met fukuzawa which led to the ada getting established and fukuzawa being willing to start working with people which led to him letting in yosano and kunikida and then dazai of course being encouraged to join the side that helps people before oda dies, then of course leading to the other members. So basically oda has created this balance (and he also did actually in some way save yosano since again, without Ranpo opening the opportunity for fukuzawa to work with other people, fukuzawa may not have helped yosano, and if the port mafia had dazai and yosano, the pm would vastly outweigh ada in some way)
YES THIS!! it literally drives me crazy how closely everyone and everything is connected
I was very proud of myself for immediately noticing the second that he got a new outfit that the belt was meant to be a tail
"... and he used it... to create a man." idk why but that had me cackling
i have been screaming about how vamp akutagawa has a new coat and its implications for forever
YES ABSOLUTELY *passes out*
CURRENT MANGA SPOILER HE DID CHANGE HIS REASON TO LIVE/LIFE MISSION FOR REAL FOR AYA/BRAM YESSS
One thing I'd like to add for the designs of decay of angels, specifically the trio of Fyodor, Nikolai and sigma is how they use subtle shape language.
I'll start with Sigma who heavily HEAVILY uses squares, from the edges of his coat to his hair to his shoulder garments. Squares in character design often represent sturdiness, stubbornness, supportiveness and reliability. They're also often used in protagonists with strong sturdy morals ( Superman or Hiccup from HTTYD). Contrast that with how Sigma views himself, an ordinary man with no special power or place in this world. I think it's cool that even tho he doesn't see himself as much his character design subtly tells you that he's much more than it meets the eyes while also supporting the aspect of his character which I like the most which is his how strong willed he truely is, be it to protect the casino or help dazai that's the one aspect of his character both dazai and fyodor rely on throughout the story.
Nikolai is based on triangles. From the decoration of his hat to his collar to his shoes and even how his cape is usually drawn in the panels baby boy is basically a bag of doritos personified. Triangles often represent unstable characters who embrace chaos ( Say bill cipher from gravity falls) and that's just so Nikolai. I also have a theory about the whole covering your eye thing in BSD and I think the characters who do it are intentionally denying a part of themself and/or are lying to themself which I think Nikolai does.
Side rant: I think with dazai in dark era he's actually denying the part of himself that wants to live. He says he joined the mafia trying to find a reason to live but in reality all he's doing is putting himself in violent situations in hopes that he'd die on one of his missions. When he gets rid of the eye cover is the first time he truly accepts a path in which he HAS ( and possibly the first time he ever wants to) in order to fulfill Odasaku's dying wish. With this theory in mind I think beast Dazai actually the opposite of mafia Dazai in the sense that he actually really really wants to live, he's in a world where Odasaku's alive afterall, a world where he can finally read the novel his friend will eventually write. However ultimately that desire is eventually outweighed by the cost of achieving this world which includes Dazai's life.
anyway rant aside and back to fyodor:DDDDDD
Fyodor is intresting cause his shape language is almost intentionally softened by specific elements like the hat or the furr on his overcoat. Circles in character design represent kindness, softness, femininity and harmlessness. You can interpret this design decision in two ways.
One: he's a liar and his character design is trying to deceive you. This fits well with his character. He wants to hurt and manipulate you yes but he doesn't want you to know it, he wants to look harmless and soft and holy so you'd drop your gaurd and let him in. He may not see himself as a saint but he'll do anything to look like one so he can get what he wants.
Two: he's not lying and that's how he truly sees himself. Like you mentioned in the video he does adorn himself in white. He may wear the black coat he may let his hands be tainted with blood but deep down he covers his soul, his intentions and ideals in perfect pure white. White is also the hair color of almost all the people he associates with. He seeks purity and goodness as he sees it he wants a world free of sin and suffering and to him that's a cause worthy of becoming a monster for. He reminds me of Griffith in that sense, characters who are not necessarily evil but who'd stop at nothing in order to get what they want, no sacrifice too great. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions and he has to build his promise land upon corpses and ashes, so be it.
Anyway sorry for the long rant and thanks for reading:DDDD
sorry for any grammatical mistakes or typos English is not my first language jwbdhdjdgjdhdjd
14:50 here, dazai also wears another layer of black, wich i think refers to something mentioned in stormbringer: "the longer he worked for the mafia, the darker and more unfathomable he became."
the text also goes on to say "dazai continued to slaughter his enemies and serve the port mafia in order to force himself into an even darker place" wich i think also explains alot about his time in the mafia.
I also almost cried at the Dazai part where you did, god you put these character design analysis into words so well
about 20:40 , it was never fyodor that made sigma - it's a common misconception within the fandom - but he did find him and offer him a place within the decay of angels. i think the way his outfit is so similar to fyodor is because this is all he knows, fyodor was the one to pick him up from nowhere after being caught in trafficking rings and wandering deserts - it's to almost symbolise how deep is manipulation goes because this is the only person really can trust. i think after the mersault arc we can see this outfit changing (i selfishly hope he keeps his coat though because it is BEAUTIFUL, i can't believe the anime got rid of the sparkles) to almost rid himself of fyodor's manipulations. he is no longer the same man he was whilst working for fyodor, he's seen other perspectives through dazai. maybe he's mimic the ADA's more neutral tones whilst keeping some of his original clothes, a mix of different influences to serve as a reminder at how malleable a person can be.
bringing it back to my original point about fyodor and sigma, how he knew of sigma's existence we do not know, but i think it also serves as a way to kind of show the extent that reality can be changed, that someone can just make a whole new person.
sigma is not explicitly based off any author that we know of, their are theories circulating the fandom however there is no defienant author, which i think ties into how he truly is a person who did not originally belong in this world, he has made himself a part of it, yes, but only because he and others around him have given him that role to play, forced him to be a part of it. because without those external factors, he is just an ordinary man.
sorry for the rant but sigma's character be it in the story or costume design wise (or both) has always fascinated me as it is less talked about than other characters *cough cough* skk and sskk *cough cough*
YEP definitely need to hear what you think about the different levels of hand coverage- (glove types, dazai's bandages, etc)
I think that chuuyas choker symbolises his constraint.he can never be free or just be himself he can just use his abilities to the fullest or even have the freedom to express himself.
you mentioned chuuya's hat and i started crying
you need to know, i initially got into bsd solely because of stormbringer and i cried when i saw his outfit in the anime after i was like "shit! shit he looks like a small verlaine oh my God they didn't no they did oh MY GOD"
I love the little click sound when an image appears
(stormbringer spoilers)
i saw somebody say that chuuya also "takes on" lippman's style when he dies (similarly on how he takes on albatross' bike) because his style in storm bringer is slightly different to his style in canon now and his style now is similar to lippman's style
OUCH 😭
ENOUGH.
11:04 concerning oda's bit it's actually noted that oda was never apart of the Port Mafia as a young assassin and infact was told by Dazai ,at possibly age 15 - 16, to join the Port Mafia. After the events of dazai, chuuya 15 and possibly before stormbringer. It turns out oda was never in an organisation either! he worked as an assassin alone until he met natsume which also led him to the fate of saving dazai and of course his demise. I really love your takes and i definitely love this video can't wait for more!
in stormbringer, dazai still uses "boku" so dazai met oda and the events of "the day i picked up dazai" occurred between stormbringer and the dragon head conflict when dazai was 16... damn so much happened during that year, even akutagawa was recruited and dazai became an executive that year. dazai was real busy
Honestly, with Mori's hand in Oda's kids, that makes a lot more sense.
Did you know that a scene in the bsd manga where yosano ask atsushi why he didn't like wear or buy other clothes
And atsushi responded with that "nobody ever bought/gift him anything" so the outfit that the ada members bought are very special to him (it's such a nice scene)
32:06 I'm bad at explaining stuff but I think Nikolai's exaggerating his emotions just so that no one knows how he truly feels, and he covers up his eye, just like PM Dazai, and that probably represents he's hiding something or his true self???
the thing about the hunting dogs coat representing loyalty seems very interesting bc the mysterious 5th hunting dog takes away his coat before the fight w fukuchi...
LMAO DAZAI IS IN THE SUBMARINE (0:45)
:0 I love your earrings
he got so much screentime this video i needed to throw him in timeout 😔
28:40 the outfit remind me of ying and yang.
Having both good and bad. (Good for yin and bad for yang)
THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE VIDEO!!! You picked up on so many things that never even crossed my mind! I'm going to take that coat theory with me forever, especially the way it applies to Dazai and how the only time he fully wears one is after he joins the ADA :'] I'm genuinely shocked that this doesn't have more views; it's is the best analysis of BSD I've seen on youtube!
Wait so couldn’t Kunikida print money?
this is a question dazai would ask and get slapped for
Not if one of his ideals is “don’t use your notebook to print money” lmao
@@bluemoon.f4v i broke the 69 likes lmao
Speaking about scarfs Hirotsu Ryuro one of the members for the PM who also wears a scarf but a brown one. What I find interesting is that he happens to be the veteran of the PM (has been in the organization for at least 3 bosses crazy right 😮), yet surprisingly he has not lost any of his kindness or humanity in this long career. He goes as far as trying to cover up one of his lower ranking member for use of drugs/narcotics from Dazai, witch are strictly banned in the PM (it has been stated Hirotsu was/is terrified of Dazai so yea the man really cares about his ppl)
Can I know where did you get/knew that part about him covering his people from Dazai when they used drugs, and also where him being terrified of Dazai from? That's a new information for me and I really would like to know about it more :D?
@@sparkle3026 From my memory I believe it was from season 3 ep 1 or 2 when it was a flashback explaining the formation of Double Black
When I rewatched BSD for the first time (I’ve watched it so many times since then-) I immediately noticed that Dazai had his hands in his pockets! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s thought about this, haha!
I always wondered why Kyouka looked so out of place in the PM, but me thinking practically I thought that she wore a red kimono simply so the blood of her victims wouldn't be visible (like Yor from Spy x Family who refuses to wear anything other than black or red while on her job) and as a Kouyou enthusiast (simp) I enjoyed her segment so much, she breaks my heart😭
Needless to say I loved Chuuya's, his outfits are so iconic! For me, I always saw Chuuya's PM outfit as how proud he is of his glowup and the hard work he put in to get to where he is now. Like, he used to be this kid who only knew the slums of Yokohama, but now he has risen to a man of power and wealth that most people can't even dream of having and all of that with sheer determination! Anyone would be proud of themselves in his situation and they would absolutely show it in their fashion (or at least I would lmao)
Also also, I didn't even notice that Dazai has his hands in his pockets in episode one! And to think I had a rewatch yesterday, shame on me! 😂✋
YES pride is definitely a huge aspect of Chuuya's personality and design! best glowup in the series tbh
I definitely will be coming back to check out this chuuya bit once my copy of storm bringer finally arrives! I ordered it a week ago!
it's such a good read! I'd love to hear your thoughts when you're done 🥰🥰
@blumoon.mp4 it took a whole month but it did arrive and I have finished reading it, I'm so glad I waited to watch the last bit of the video cuz I feel like spoilers for a book like that would just ruin it
your outfit is so pretty aaahh!! and the video is amazing and you motivated me to read Dazai's entrance exam (and I've putting it away for too long)
TY!! Dazai's entrance exam is SO good omg have fun
Omg yesss I have been waiting for this. Your costume analysis is the best, I love this sm !!!!
YAY I'm so glad you liked it!!
I love Bsd and costume design so I have no idea how it took so long for me to come across this video
11:54 oda was never an assasin for the port mafia he worked solo as an assasin then after he decided to quit killing dazai eventually brought him into the mafia
I LITERALLY BOUGHT STORMBRINGER AND READ THE WHOLE THING JUST SO I COULD WATCH THE CHUUYA SECTION OF THIS VIDEO IM MENTALLY ILLLLLLL :D
Sigma is my favourite design in the entire series. She's exactly what somebody who manages and owns a sky casino should look like, glamorous and over the top, but her colours are also sort of beige in a lot of places (at least in the manga), which matches the detective agency, so I really do hope that she does end up joining the agency, she deserves it after all she's been through.
isn't sigma a guy?
@@m1churr0headcanons
I have been looking forward to this and I loved it! The longer format really does your analysis justice
hehe I'm so glad it was worth the wait 💞💞💞💞
32:31 jesus.. seeing those screenshots then looking at the upload date had me messed up wdym mersault prison break was animated SEVEN MONTHS ago
i love watching your tiktoks while i’m drawing so i’m so excited to see this !! 🫶🫶
gasp I have always wanted to become the dude you put on in the background to listen while you work 🥺🥺
@@bluemoon.f4vno seriously i watched ur vids so much while i did work/drew that my little brother became interested djdjsj so now we watch them together!! loved this one so much ❤ really loved the way u talked abt kyouka and kouyou, kyouka is like my second favorite character so it made me very happy❤❤ excited to see more from your channel!
31:06 fun fact I've seen on tiktok: belts on Sigma's arms aren't just for aesthetic or sth else, croupiers can use them to lift up sleeves a bit, so people see that they don't cheat
I love this video sm omg 😭😭 I can’t wait to see more bsd analysis videos
Could you talk about how many different outfit changes Chuuya has
I just got this vid in my recommendations and I AM OBSESSED with your analysis
this is so cool :0 while i do occasionally see some people discussing character designs, its almost always limited to things like the differences between the pm and the ada, bandage theory, n how some characters parallel each other. i wanted to comment on some small observations of the designs i made of my own while watching that while i dont believe are anything hard to notice or groundbreaking but hadnt thought about before and found somewhat interesting.
as already established, white and black often represent good and evil or light and dark, which has very interesting implications for each of the characters. kouyou, while yearning for her youth’s naive perception of the light (which i think is represented by the pale pink and cherry blossom petals, especially as opposed to the brown motif of the agency), has the front side of her kimono in black, with spider lillies at the bottom. This represents both how her grief and reality separate her from that life as well as how she chooses to keep it over her heart as a constant reminder of what she lost by reaching for that reality, to some extent caging herself in the darkness instead of the other way around. I find this interesting paired with how her outer coat fades to an almost blood red (i know its a magenta but shh shjikna), showing how she is weighed down by crimes she has committed (or alternatively what she perceives as blood on her hands) and how that has permanently tainted her dream of entering the light, even though its what best suits her at her core (represented by the white layer underneath her kimono)
i’ll continue this more in the replies so this doesnt become too massive and its easier for me to continue adding things on as i think about them
ofc, whether someone belongs in light or darkness is one of the core themes of bungo stray dogs and i am not going to claim to have anywhere near the literary analysis to fully understand the message asagiri is trying to convey, especially as it intersects with nature vs nurture, but i do know what i personally believe on the matter. no one by virtue of being born is destined for or best suited for a life of darkness. no one is born a bad person. i find this interesting considering how basically every character wearing black has a layer of white underneath (even mori), with some exceptions that i believe are better explained with the symbolism in the design of that specific individual. while this could be coincidental and have other meanings, ill be using that principle for this interpretation of their character.
i find mori to be an interesting case of this considering hes the closest to objective evil there really is in bsd. while its likely he has faced plenty of trauma and mistreatment before he got to the highest wrung on the ladder, he is the only ‘evil’ character who doesnt have anyone/thing above him ‘forcing’ him to do the horrible things that he does. one of my issues with the phrase ‘hurt people hurt people’ is how it implies that by being a hurt person that guarantees that you will hurt others, regardless of any other factor. at least in my personal understanding and belief, while people currently under abusive structures are not able to experience life outside of those structures which often causes them to perpetuate that harm even if they are a ‘good person’ (i dont think good/bad people exist but like ykwim), which can be seen throughout much of the abuse cycle of bsd-when given true opportunity to be/do good and escape from those structures, most of them take it (this can be seen the most easily in cases like dazai and kyouka but can be applied to most others). the exception to this is mori. he is at the top of bsd’s main structure of abuse and by choice abuses almost every character. i am definitely not arguing that his actions are in any way justified or that he does it with good intentions or anything like that. more that while he was born with the potential to be a good person, which then got restricted by life in the underworld like all other pm characters, he has made the choice to become/do bad. this all kind of ties back into the symbolism of his scarf as discussed in the video :) its sort of interesting how the coats are often used as symbolism for characters having something put onto them by (an)other character(s), the scarf could be used almost as an opposite symbol of a character putting something onto themself out of free will (which might potentially apply to other neck/chest ware? idk that could be interesting to analyze/look into). notably white button up shirts are just generally associated with mori and those he has affected so it could really just be representative of his sort of vibe of hostile/preformative neatness/sterility/politeness (sorry about all the dashes i just have trouble finding the right words to describe what im trying to express 😭)
i'm finally discovering your channel and i really wanted to start with this video because you mention it often in your tik tok videos and... aaah i could listen to you talking about BSD for hours! i really love your analyzes and you're doing such a good job at explaining them, it's just so smooth and well edited
Hello I will be reposting/share this video on my X act, this video fr got me into bungo stray dogs. So thanks!
26:45 Me who pictured Kokichi Oma (Yeah... that checks out.)
I would LOVE a video on beast, i can't find anywhere to read it but once i heard its concept it already had me bawling, i've been spoilt so much but it was of my own accord lol
The fact that I actually spent a few seconds to skipp to 39:11 just to realise that was when the video ended😂
IKKKK I had to edit and repost this like 10 times cause of copyright 😭😭 try 37:50 instead!
ahhhh this is such a good video ❤❤❤❤❤ this really helps me with designing bsd ocs. keep up the good work ❤❤
this video was SOO good, it was really interesting!
Your analysis are so amazing ❤
the depression from stormbringer is....there... just bearing. Good you got it better than me
I love this video so much omfg
I absolutely love this video! Bsd theories and analyses are becoming my new favorite part of content to watch/read in the fandom
Fyodor spoiler :3
The entire decay of angels also has some white in their hair besides fyodor! Not sure what it means but maybe the fact he's probably older than the dinosaurs ☠️
Maybe it's supposed to symbolize js a pitch black hole in the way he's percieved because nobody knows shit about him / he's js scary
Maybe it could be something like him being ""tainted""???? From having lived and seen that long
(does that make sense?? I feel like nobody's gonna know what I mean)
Or it's supposed to symbolize death and him js carrying it around with him at all times
I think sigma's purple hair is like him being "created" unlike the rest of the characters, because his past only started 3 years ago and he's missing a chunk of his life (the white part being his life in the doa and the purple being his missing life)
ESTUVE ESPERANDO ESTE VIDEO Y LO AMÉ TANTO AAA
AAAAAAAA
omg i’ve been waiting forever for a bsd video where someone just. talks about stuff from it i love love this video n all your thoughts n commentary and super fun to watch n you have really fun energy i super hope you decide to make more things about bsd :D you have at least one guy who’ll watch all of it o7
In one of the episodes in season 3, Akutagawa gives his coat to Atsushi while they're fighting the big tree thing (I honestly forgot). I'm not really sure if it means something but it feels like a tiny little thing that could have a little meaning. Yknow, cus Akutagawa used to be Dazais apprentice but now Atsushi is. Idk if just felt like it could have some meaning.😭
Ok 2 things..
Okay so, you said that you had not a lot of ideas for sigma's design symbolism, but i would like to mention he has the main colors of the DOA (purple and white) literally growing out of his head while at the same time being the least aligned with the ideals.
On the subject of the DOA main colors purple and white. Tou said think about what those colors mean to me, and for me white symbolizes, authority, (specifically thinking you're better than others, and being above them) purity, (like christian values, and wanting to be free of sins) hospitals and sanitization, (an almost crazy amount of cleanliness, being completely spotless) belief (this one i think means the previous mentioned symbols don't have to be completely true if the persons/groups ideals or ideals make them believe they are that) and last but not least blinding (white is the brightest "color" and therefore i see it as brainwashing, or being blind to the cons, or the error of others or some importantly the error of your own ways)
Symbolization for purple. I see it symbolizing occult, whimsy (it is very popular for magic or witches its even a Halloween color) and rarity, mystery (purple is the least popular color of anything naturally you have to search the earth to find something naturally purple) opulence, wealth (purple being rare, made it extremely expensive, and a show off of money. Royals even made it illegal for anyone below them to wear).
So in my opinion and perspective the choice of those colors are absolutely perfect. Also an dea for Sigma's design
I made a lot of mistakes mainly saying "ideals and ideals", but i'm tired and its late so i think i get a pass
New Moon post🙏🙏
fiiiiine i guess ill rewatch the series
I want to get into stormbringer blind and it made me laugh when you got to Chuuya and the timestamp to skip is literally the end of the video so I have a lot of reading to do 😅
Very well worded, I love this series and I love this video!
i neeeeed more of these with like the rest of the ada (okay i mostly care abt ranpo) and like, the guild
thank you that was great
25:25 Omg hey that’s me!! Great video btw!! Sorry I haven’t seen it until now lol, it just showed up on my fyp
YAY I'm so glad you saw it at all 🥺
@@bluemoon.f4v Of course!!!
OH HI I FOUND YOUR CHANNEL!!!
I feel like mori actual ability is to bring back death to life but his have to control the appearance, same as ‘vita sexualis’ because in yosano backstory we see Elise as a normal person that mori haven’t crates her yet, when yosano sent to mental facility, mori start to kill Elise so that mori can create Elise to look like yosano when she was eleven (this is just my facts and I never stop thinking about it)
Please talk about the generations of soukakou?
this is why i love ur brain omg
great video!!!
i live laugh love your videos because my brain is too small to think of this stuff even if i tried lmao
( EDIT: NAH CAUSE AT 26:05 I LEGIT SPIT OUT MY DRINK I HAVENT ONCE WATCHED ATTACK ON TITAN AND THATS WHAT THAT GUY LOOKS LIKE NOW???????????? WTF BWHABDJBJSAHBDA )
for me this is one of the rare times a hyperfixation has been useful LMAO (tysm 🥺💞)
(reply to edit YEAH HE UM. HE'S GOING THRU IT JKLSDLJDL)
@@bluemoon.f4v NAH CUZ I WATCHED AOT FINALLY AND OML YOU WERE RIGHT 😭😭
Omg please do ranpo😭😭😭😭
27:53 "on the other side of the room" someone tell me where you found this? Am a little confused
17:30
What is the assujswkw messenger incident i have no recollection whatsoever of it
it's covered in dazai's entrance exam (light novel 1) and episodes 6-7 in season 1!
Stealing Asagiri's idea and studying every theory known to man for my character designs brb
Could you talk about Lucy?
ACABEI DE CHEGAR, PRIMEIRA BRASILEIRA
YESYESYESYESYESYES
🫂
I love your channel soo much! I was looking for someone who would analyze BSD this thoroughly. Your video gives the depth of the characters justice. Btw I love your hair and style just had to point that out. ❤❤❤