Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs)
Osamu Dazai is a male anime and manga character who features in Bungo Stray Dogs.
Contents |
Biography
Osamu Dazai (Japanese: 太宰 治 Hepburn: Dazai Osamu)
When he was 14 years old, he had made a suicide attempt on his own life but failed which was when he met Ōgai Mori who took him as a patient. Mori was actually a member of the Port Mafia and the doctor to the organization who took the young man with him as he went to tend to the dying former Boss of the mafia gang. The ailing Boss intended as his dying wish to bring death and destruction across the city though Mori simply killed him with Dazai being the only witness. Afterwards, he orchestrated a cover story with Dazai to state that the Boss had died of a serious illness and that his dying wish was for Mori to succeed him. Afterwards, Mori had Dazai join the ranks of the Port Mafia where he served as his right-hand man and came to rise to the position of executive in the organization. Dazai eventually developed a casual relationship with Mori who took him in as a ward. Though the young Dazai was not yet part of the Mafia, Mori had intentions to raise him as his right-hand man. During this time, Dazai continued to attempt suicide much to Mori's chagrin. Originally believing them to be "in the same boat", Mori quickly learned he was mistaken when he discovered the young boy was far darker and wiser than he believed. He and Chūya used to be partners during his days in the Mafia, and together—after they had decimated the entirety of an enemy organization in one night—they became notoriously dubbed as the "Criminal Underworld's Worst Enemy", earning the title Twin Dark (双黒, Sōkoku?).
Dazai and Chūya, at sixteen, were both members of the Port Mafia, competing to become executives. Dazai was already well-known as the Port Mafia's "black wraith" for his many achievements, as with Chūya, who was in charge of the Port Mafia's jewel trade. After Verlaine partially opened Chūya's Gate to show him "the truth", while Chūya is suffering, Dazai grabs his arm and nullifies the power. He then hoists him onto his back. The two greet each other with insults and disdain as usual. Dazai drops Chūya outside the pool hall where the Flags had often come. The latter faintly calls out the former's name as Dazai leaves, then crawls into the pool hall. There, he discovers the still bodies of his friends. Later, Adam Frankenstein remarks that he heard there is a skill user in the Port Mafia that is perfect for helping them avoid Verlaine's trap, referring to Dazai. Upon hearing this, Chūya scowls, then begrudgingly admits the statement is true. He adds that he can't get in contact with him, bitterly remarking that he hopes Dazai is dead in a ditch somewhere. Adam questions if he is trustworthy, to which Chūya replies no. He elaborates that Dazai is twisted and sharp in a bad way, but that they won't be able to defeat Verlaine without him, as he is the only reason Chūya survived and won in the fight against Rimbaud. He clenches his fist, wondering why Dazai had to disappear at a time like this. Meanwhile, Dazai sits alone in the shipping container where he lives, his phone ringing with Chūya's calls, but he ignores them, unmoving in his chair. Verlaine enters soon after. Dazai had previously told Verlaine he would give him the Port Mafia's internal files. The two have an exchange about Dazai's reason for betraying the Port Mafia, where Dazai claims he's already bored of it. Verlaine tries to decipher the brunette's true intentions and Dazai seems amused by this. He quietly mutters, seemingly to himself, that he couldn't find anything in the end. Verlaine then says he appreciates Dazai's help, and that as someone who shares Dazai's despair, he will give him the honor of killing him last. To this, Dazai smirked and replied that he could not wait.
While playfully trying to commit suicide by drowning legs-up in a river, he was abruptly pulled out of the water by a starving, penniless orphan named Atsushi Nakajima. Irritated that his attempt at a peaceful death was disrupted, Dazai nevertheless decided to treat the boy to a heavy meal of chazuke at the expense of his serious, notebook-wielding detective partner, Doppo Kunikida. During the meal, Dazai revealed that they were currently hunting a notorious, man-eating white tiger that had been terrorizing the local area. Upon noticing Atsushi’s extreme terror and learning that the beast had been stalking the boy for two weeks, Dazai deduced a hidden connection and persuaded him to act as bait. He brought Atsushi to a dark, desolate warehouse to wait for the creature. As the moonlight hit the boy, Dazai witnessed Atsushi transform completely into the monstrous white tiger. Dazai calmly utilized his own negation ability to instantly subdue the rampaging beast, reverting Atsushi back to human form before officially recruiting him into the agency
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Osamu Dazai was a young human male of Japanese descent who possessed a tall, notably slim, and slender physique. He had wavy, relatively short dark brown hair that was styled with loose bangs framing his face, and his calm, narrow eyes were a matching dark brown. In his everyday detective routine, he wore a long, sand-coloured trench coat over a layered outfit consisting of a dark vest, a white collared shirt, and matching dress trousers. He wore a distinctive dark bolo tie around his collar, which featured an ornate, turquoise gemstone buckle at the center. His most defining and unusual physical characteristic was the white medical bandages wrapped completely and tightly around his neck, torso, and both forearms, leaving only his hands and face exposed to open view. Within the Port Mafia, he came to be regarded as the Youngest Leader in the History of the Mafia (歴れき代だい最さい年ねん少しょう幹かん部ぶ, reki daisainenshō kanbu?).
Dazai is a mysterious person, his true intentions are never revealed unless he reveals them. The person who got closest to the truth of his personality, as acknowledged by Dazai himself, was his friend Sakunosuke Oda, who recognized that Dazai shall linger in the darkness forever, as there was nearly nothing that can surpass his mind. Regardless whether he is on the side of killing people or saving them, Oda knew that no place in the world could fill Dazai's loneliness, which Oda thought Dazai knew in himself.
Such was his contribution that he was responsible for about half the Mafia's profits for at least two years.
There was a saying in the Port Mafia about Dazai which said, "The greatest misfortune for Dazai's enemies is that they are Dazai's enemies". It was said that he was practically born to be in the Mafia as he excelled in his role within the organization.
Dazai came to admit that he joined the Mafia to be exposed to death, violence, and people giving in to their urges and desires. This was because he expected that through such exposure he would be able to see the inner nature of humankind firsthand in hopes of finding a reason to live.
Powers and abilities
Osamu Dazai was an ability user (能力者, nōryoku-sha?) where he came to possess a supernatural power. His own ability (異能力, Inōryoku?, Yen Press: Skill) was named No Longer Human (人間失格 Ningen Shikkaku) that allowed him to completely nullify any supernatural ability by touch. Furthermore, the ability relies on skin contact and was always active. He exhibited the specialized capacity to completely nullify any active supernatural power upon direct skin contact, allowing him to effortlessly cancel high-tier physical transformations, magical constructs, or elemental techniques the exact moment he touched an opponent. This nullification trait operated automatically, as shown when he easily stopped a fully transformed, rampaging man-eating tiger by simply touching its forehead with his fingertips. As such, he can nullify any ability even while restrained as soon and as long as it touches him. Due to this specific condition, the ability also apparently nullifies Akiko Yosano's healing ability. However, in the case of death, particularly the moment his heart stops beating, Dazai can be barely saved by an ability - moreover by Wells's Time Machine by slowing down his flow of time, since No Longer Human won't activate if the user is dead. When Dazai's heart stopped, the blood supply to his brain would cease, causing him to die. When this happens, his ability would cease to exist and other abilities would work on him again. Therefore, his wounds needed to be swiftly treated and needed immediate resuscitation afterwards to start Dazai's heart through electric stimulation. If that works, Dazai will be in an 'on the brink of death' state.
Alongside this passive superpower, he displayed an extraordinarily calm and calculative mindset during high-stakes situations, allowing him to read a target's hidden habits, piece together subtle environmental clues, and formulate foolproof traps while completely ignoring personal danger or fear.
Notes
- Osamu Dazai was created by Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa where he featured in the setting of Bungo Stray Dogs universe.
- The character was based largely on the real life Osamu Dazai.
In other media
Television
Appearances
- Bungo Stray Dogs: (2012)
External Links
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