[musamorra]

oh yeah. fyodor's totally dead (insert eye-roll + sarcastic quip here).

[fedyas-damsel]

im pretty sure these lines were written by fyodor (he was the last one having that page and also the way it's written like an evocation) + atsushi discovering this particular page wasnt chance as atsushi thought like why that bit of paper of all (this is obvious). i believe fyodor willed that too. pls, pls, agatha bring his ass back with yourself please.

[fyoka]

Hell yeah it's fyodor.

[doctorforks]

what did asagiri do to kyouka.

[doctorforks]

child crushes happen all the time, but it's the fact that it was brought up now of all times and seemingly out of nowhere, adding nothing to whatever nonexistent theme this chapter has, that makes it sound like ai generated pedobait slop

[day1noalcohol]

Asagiri is afraid of gays... /hj

But seriously, there are many relationships in bsd created in such a way that they have endless potential for at least a semblance of romance, and Asagiri decides to focus on the relationship of characters who, in the early chapters, only had an imitation of a date, which no one interpreted in a romantic way (well, except weirdos). Of course, I don't blame poor little Kyoka for having a crush; the author could have simply chosen any other character older than her to make a love confession. I'm not at all surprised that people who saw a familial bond between them are disappointed.

[day1noalcohol]

asagiri doesn't know what he's doing anymore and is running out of ways to artificially surprise the readers... disappointed but not surprised

what can you expect from the author of a manga about high school girls running around without panties

[day1noalcohol]

Do you have a favorite type of alcohol? Sorry this is so random lol I was just thinking about your user

glad you asked! my favorite combinations are whiskey & coke and hazelnut vodka with milk, but i'm also a connoisseur of semi-sweet red wine and have my favorite local beer. i don't think there's any alcohol i particularly dislike; my taste buds are accustomed to a whole range of flavors. that's what growing up in a european country does to you /hj

[day1noalcohol]

when I show up at the being desperate competition but Fyodor bsd gakuen is already there

[fvedyetor]

My thoughts on the recent ending, is that Mister Asagiri is a character writer, not a plot writer. His best works are ones that are focused primarily on exploring/writing the characters. This recent arc has suffered due to it straying from his strengths and laying in his weaknesses. I feel like Mister Asagiri had written himself into a corner that forced this big climatic satisfying ending that he just couldn’t deliver and it suffered for it.

yeahh this whole big climax felt lofty and a mess. when everyone is one-upping each other like that eventually it gets too high. i felt the same when watching jojos part 6 which, with no spoilers, also seems to get into a corner and then has this huge high-stakes climax which they get out of it by pulling what i think is a dumb uninteresting cop-out. i hope that with 130 being the end of "part 1" that they don't somehow pull something similar bc atp it's very possible. i love bsd lots :( which makes this extra disappointing.

[tabris-the-seventeenth-angel]

what are your thoughts on the most recent BSD chapter?

oh boy anon. get ready for a ride. spoilers for the chapter below the cut

i am, admittedly, quite distraught. i am extremely similar to fyodor on many levels and his death felt extremely personal to me. considering how deeply hated he is by the fandom, and that the few people i do interact with in the fandom would also be grieving over this, i have actually had to take a step away from it. this ask is likely the most i will interact with the fandom in quite some time.

that being said, it was, quite frankly, insulting. the idea of fully killing off fyodor, instead of giving him any sort of redemption arc or putting him in the same position that other antagonists in the manga now have (antiheroes/unwilling allies), already feels like a slap in the face. it tells me that people like myself, who identify so strongly with fyodor (and already struggle with self-worth) are beyond any sort of redemption. this is exacerbated by how he died. it was so incredibly nonsensical that it truly does feel like fanservice.

which leads me to my next point: i flatly do not accept it as canon. for one, it has been well established that there is absolutely no way for fukuchi to be alive in any sense. his body has been completely annihilated. so right away, fyodor's death is impossible just from that. and yet it gets worse. even if we ignore that, then fukuchi killed fyodor, right? so why did fyodor not subsume his body immediately? that is how his ability has worked in the past. it's shown in the same chapter, even. so what's happening there? "well it was dazai that killed him, actually!!" the implication is that, although it was planned by dazai, fukuchi still killed fyodor of his own free will, which means fyodor should have subsumed him. and even if we decide that it was dazai that killed him, fyodor should have died instantly. his disembodied head should not have stuck around monologuing. that is, quite simply, not how biology works.

so, yes. it's insulting, it's disingenuous to the entirety of the arc that has already been set up, and it is entirely fanservice (since so few people like him). i'm furious. a lot of people are furious. i would very much like for this to never happen again.

[day1noalcohol]

I saw others mention this as well, and I kind of regret not including this argument in my little analysis, as it's probably one of the biggest reasons why this ending was rushed, so I completely agree. [unless Kafka sensibly dispels all doubts in the near future]

If Dazai were directly responsible for Fyodor's murder, there would have been no need for Fukuchi to commit suicide, so we can safely assume that Fukuchi's body was intended to be the target of Fyodor's ability. The fact that Fyodor didn't die instantly, instead artificially prolonging the moment, giving Dazai time to monologue and Fukuchi time to commit seppuku, is a sin against logic.

Besides the unrealistic talking head (I emphasize, it's not a thought bubble, but a speech bubble, so yes, Fyodor is clearly talking), Asagiri bends the rules of Fyodor's ability solely so that Dazai can deliver a speech and Fukuchi can solemnly plunge the weapon into himself. Just seconds earlier, he was moving from body to body so fast that the assassins probably wouldn't have even had time to self-execute (if they wanted to), but suddenly he delays doing so, being killed by a method that, in theory, should have resulted in death within seconds. No one can convince me that Dazai couldn't have defeated him in a more sophisticated way, not one that insults both of their intellects and makes the viewer question the effort put into writing the script.

I'm genuinely disappointed with how this turned out, because I've been waiting for Fyodor's storyline to develop for years and it never did. I even recently thought that since the action is so overly dynamic right now, and Dostoyevsky is at the center of all this chaos, maybe after this arc ends, Asagiri will finally focus more attention on Fyodor and we'll get some scraps of information about him. Imagine my surprise when he was suddenly unceremoniously decapitated... Never in my life had I imagined a character dying at such a stage of their introduction, when they still feel unfinished due to the massive lack of basic information about them.

[fyoka]

I understand now why Asagiri never shows his face.

gunshot sounds

[solemasry]

Sorry, Fyodor carried the entire volume. He’s the main character, and that other scumbag only showed up on the last page of the volumel On what basis is Asagiri being put there? The bias is obvious at this point. He’s clearly biased and doesn’t even understand basic common sense. He doesn’t deserve to write complex characters if he’s just going to mess around with his biases and personal preferences.

Fyodor appears in almost every chapter, he’s the central focus every time, shocking everyone and overpowering them all. The whole volume revolves around him even the cover and everything about it carries his mark. But as usual, Asagiri acts like he’s the only one who sees the work, and the most important thing is pushing his own preferences.

Take my favorite out of the manga I don’t want it to turn into the same mess that happened with Fyodor.And Fyodor is a villain a complex one with a whole philosophy about good and evil, God and angels. He’s not a simple character, and his impact is huge. And in the end, he died in a repetitive, ridiculous way. That’s why I started worrying about my favorite, because Asagiri doesn’t seem to see things clearly anymore.

[day1noalcohol]

That's exactly why I keep saying Asagiri has a Dazai fetish. Don't get me wrong, I used to like Osamu a lot, but over time, I can't help but feel a slight distaste. At this point, Mr. Kafka could just openly say that Dazai is his favorite creation and personal favorite, because it shows. I'm absolutely not surprised that Dazai had a hand in Fyodor's death, but the author practically forced his presence there, only to present his "brilliant," most obvious solution. In chapter 129, there wasn't even any significant interaction between him and Fyodor beyond a few words, and I expected at least something better in that regard, instead of Dazai forcing himself into the spotlight.

[solemasry]

Sorry, Fyodor carried the entire volume. He’s the main character, and that other scumbag only showed up on the last page of the volumel On what basis is Asagiri being put there? The bias is obvious at this point. He’s clearly biased and doesn’t even understand basic common sense. He doesn’t deserve to write complex characters if he’s just going to mess around with his biases and personal preferences.

Fyodor appears in almost every chapter, he’s the central focus every time, shocking everyone and overpowering them all. The whole volume revolves around him even the cover and everything about it carries his mark. But as usual, Asagiri acts like he’s the only one who sees the work, and the most important thing is pushing his own preferences.

Take my favorite out of the manga I don’t want it to turn into the same mess that happened with Fyodor.And Fyodor is a villain a complex one with a whole philosophy about good and evil, God and angels. He’s not a simple character, and his impact is huge. And in the end, he died in a repetitive, ridiculous way. That’s why I started worrying about my favorite, because Asagiri doesn’t seem to see things clearly anymore.

[day1noalcohol]

That's exactly why I keep saying Asagiri has a Dazai fetish. Don't get me wrong, I used to like Osamu a lot, but over time, I can't help but feel a slight distaste. At this point, Mr. Kafka could just openly say that Dazai is his favorite creation and personal favorite, because it shows. I'm absolutely not surprised that Dazai had a hand in Fyodor's death, but the author practically forced his presence there, only to present his "brilliant," most obvious solution. In chapter 129, there wasn't even any significant interaction between him and Fyodor beyond a few words, and I expected at least something better in that regard, instead of Dazai forcing himself into the spotlight.

[exile-on-uwustreet]

wtf do you mean ch 129 was anti climactic and too soon. they've been trying to get his ass for the past 10 years.

[cinnamongirl-kei]

This sums it up well. Doctorforks also made a post explaining why this chapter is so detrimental to Fyodor's character.

...Except this is literally a core theme in bsd - that nobody is wholly good or evil, and nobody is beyond saving. It's not like Fyodor needed to be forgiven or turn over a new leaf, but he deserved to have a chance for the readers to see his side of the story and draw their own conclusions about him. It also would've further strengthened Fyodor/Dazai as narrative foils by showing how and where their paths diverged so drastically despite being so similar. At the very least, he didn't deserve to have his humanity questioned by the one person who everyone expected to understand him. It doesn't make any sense considering Asagiri has stated interacting with Fyodor also makes Dazai feel human, so does him needing to ask mean Dazai doesn't see himself as a human being either? Mkay let's just walk back all that character development he gained after Oda's death while we're at it.

[doctorforks]

i may be stupid. it's obviously not the greatest chapter but what are some of the problems ? fyodor's death at this point feels anticlimactic no matter what so i might have missed other problems

If his death was framed properly I personally would've overlooked the other problems, but thats not the case so let's go through them shall we.

The way fyodors death was framed gave us no resolution to his ideals. As the embodiment of the story's antithesis, we don't see fyodor's philosophy disproven in any way that matters

In relation to the first point, his death is humiliating and dehumanizing. Is this truly the same story with people of different modalities? That their flaws are in fact part of their humanity? We have loads of killers, and they are all human in their own right. Fyodor is no exception yet! Yet!!! His centuries of suffering at the hands of humans (including the ada in this arc) FOR humanity meant nothing. Apparently the manga positions him as a comically evil villain lost in his logic

This kills the fyodor-dazai parallels, and fyodor atsushi foils. Dazai because fyodor is essentially his reflection, but in asking what he is he denies his humanity which? Also regresses dazai's chatacter? But let's assume that was part of the plan. Atsushi and fyodor essentially have the same goal in mind, but Fyodor's methods ofc got twisted with how long he has lived. Shouldn't the finale be at the hands of atsushi? Shouldnt he be the one to show another path was available for fyodor? Even if he dies, he will die knowing he was wrong all along

Lastly, fukuchi killing fyodor in of itself wasn't that bad (even if I really dislike it) but where the HELL did fukuchi come from 😭 reviving the character that has died 3 times already just to safely kill him off is so cheap. Also the timing is really off; fyodor is shown to immediately subsume someone if it's an headshot, an instant kill. Yet somehow fukuchi had enough time to decapitate him (instant kill!!) Kneel down, and commit seppuku. Wow.

I could nitpick even further but all of these combined makes for thr worst chapter I've ever read. While I disagree with fyodor dying because, what other stakes is asagiri going to make after this? Fyodor should've been the finish line! I still think that if he were to die, it should've been humane and very impactful, not whatever this is

[day1noalcohol]

MY TAKE ON CHAPTER 129, i.e. Asagiri really wants to introduce overpowered mastermind characters, but he can't write them (don't bite off more than you can chew)

I constantly come across opinions that people have lost interest in the manga after the last dozen or so chapters, or abandoned it altogether after reading the fateful chapter 129, and I'm not at all surprised. Here's why.

Note: You don't have to force yourself to like this chapter and settle for something less than the bare minimum just because you have a good heart and don't want to hate on the author. This isn't AO3 or Wattpad; this manga is monetized, and the author profits from you. You have the right to have a negative opinion.

1. The plot isn't plotting

First, I would recommend considering why Asagiri decided to introduce the plotline of Fyodor's resurrection and replace his old ability with a new one. Was it so that Fyodor could drop that one book quote and reinforce our belief that both he and Atsushi are most likely connected to The Book™? Oh, wait... We've known that for a long time... Maybe it was to artificially prolong the action, to drag out the battle to the limit, which was losing its epicness with each chapter, so that there would be enough episodes for a sixth season? Why create a whole new arc if, in the long run, it serves no purpose other than to poorly serve up the development of individual characters (instead of showing that development naturally, in line with the main plot)? Kafka has once again repeated the pattern of prolonging something only to return to the starting point in the end.

The entire series of recent chapters was characterized by a lack of climax, an excess of plot twists that rendered them meaningless and made it impossible to take the action seriously, and a clumsy, ineffective build-up of tension. Instead of tipping in one direction, the scales of victory swung awkwardly from side to side, and instead of reading with bated breath, we read while stifling yawns.

An anticlimactic, tedious battle culminating in an equally anticlimactic death.

I also want to refute the argument supposedly justifying Fyodor's death, namely the needlessly prolonged action at the airport. This wouldn't have been a problem if Asagiri hadn't decided to resort to this tactic. It's not Fyodor's fault that everyone was fed up with the airport scene, but the author's inability to keep the plot interesting.

Kafka took the easy route, using a character who had already been killed off, likely thinking it would generate surprise ("wow, Fukuchi is still alive?"), but in reality, it only caused confusion and undermined his credibility. This lack of consistency makes the plot convoluted, and Kafka, as usual, uses twisted logic to get out of the situation he himself placed his characters in.

2. Wasted potential, in other words: you can't convince the audience to believe in a character's big brain by shouting in their face, "he's smart!"

An important point, if not the most important one. The great evil genius, the main antagonist of the series, who always proves to be not two, not three, but a whole tango of steps ahead, is suddenly defeated by the most logical method. The character have the ability to abandon a dead body, inhabiting the body of the person who killed him? The solution suggests itself; the simplest way would be to kill him first, then himself, to prevent his rebirth. No one will convince me that a genius like Fyodor (who is so intelligent that not only other characters are unable to keep up with him, but even the author himself – Asagiri's quote) couldn't have predicted that his opponents would try to kill him using this exact method. Fyodor may be arrogant, but he's not stupid, and he was perfectly aware that Dazai was alive and would do anything to thwart his plans. True, he could have overlooked the fact that Fukuchi was still somewhat alive, but there could just as easily have been another character in his place. Dostoevsky foresaw everything ahead, but he didn't foresee the most obvious thing?

I often encounter the pseudo-argument, "Fyodor had to die"—and yes, in all the possible scenarios, I couldn't imagine Fyodor surviving, but to die at such a moment and in such a stupid way? Just because Asagiri repeatedly tells us through the characters how great and powerful Fyodor is won't make anyone believe it if he's then reduced to such a careless death that directly contradicts his intelligence and centuries of experience.

3. "My plan that I spent years on is ruined! Anyways..." — Fyodor's unconvincing reaction to his own death

I've seen some analyses of Fyodor's body (haha) language, that is, his facial expressions at the moment of his presumed demise, and while I understand the concept of finding peace and relief only after death, his desperation during life is somewhat at odds with his acceptance of defeat with such open arms. Fyodor often puts on his poker face, but in situations that threatened his plans, his impenetrable facade sometimes gave way to shock or even anger. Here, we have the opposite: Fyodor is slightly disconcerted, perhaps subtly offended, and while he usually carefully conceals his emotions behind a proud mask, this is hardly the face of someone who, with admirable determination, has devoted centuries and at least several lifetimes to, in his opinion, making the world a better place.

I didn't expect a major breakdown or crash out on his part (as some had hoped), but I also didn't assume that his failure would manifest itself as passive acceptance. Let's not forget that Dostoevsky is a person "determined to cling to life," and since he was coherent enough to speak in his final moments (or not? see point 4), I cannot entirely believe the version that the shock robbed him of any ability to process his situation.

I don't really understand the fascination with these few careless panels where Fyodor looks at the sky, for me it's the bare minimum in the case of such an important character as him.

In the helicopter his expression was more natural, although that death was less believable in terms of the plot.

4. Talking Heads and the French Revolution — the lack of realism without any justification

Throughout human history, there have been numerous cases of posthumous decapitated heads moving their mouths, eyes, and even changing facial expressions or responding to certain impulses. This sometimes caused panic and fainting among onlookers, but this was due to uncontrolled muscle reflexes and nerve twitches. Speaking in such a state is simply physically impossible, and even if the vocal cords were intact, a person would be unable to use them without airflow from the lungs. A head alone, without a rib cage, cannot speak.

If this is not a deliberate choice and an intentional desire to raise doubts in the viewer, I am very surprised that Asagiri decided to take such a step, because previously he tried to keep issues related to medicine and the way the human body works at least within the limits of realism, and he justified any departures from it sensibly (example: Dazai did not die from a gunshot to the head because Chuuya used his ability, Sigma survived the fall from the casino because Gogol helped him, and it was thoroughly explained how he did it).

5. "I am always alone and that is fine by me" — Fyodor doesn't expect to be understood, but he doesn't even get a chance to be understood

Fyodor lived, died, rose from the dead, dropped a few nice quotes, we learned practically nothing new about him, and then he died again. The lack of explanation for his motives, aside from vague clues repeated from the beginning, prevents viewers from choosing their side. Readers were not only denied the opportunity to understand his character on more than a superficial level, but were also deprived of a broader perspective on his actions, experiencing the perspective almost exclusively from the perspective imposed by the protagonists. We are unable to fully assess whether his actions were right or wrong because the author did not give his own plot a chance to explain them.

6. Bonus: Asagiri and his Dazai fetish, i.e. the author himself has undeniable tendencies to be a Dazai glazer

Whether it's supposed foreshadowing (though far-fetched), or a neat reference, it doesn't change the fact that Fyodor, as an individual, didn't deserve to have his final moment focused on Dazai, his penchant for double suicide, or, as some say, a reference to Odasaku's death. The big moment, which should have been the culmination of Fyodor's story, is not only rather devoid of emotion, but is largely stolen by Dazai.

Not to mention it wasn't even a double suicide, it was a double homicide.

Summary: Asagiri would have to pull out all the stops to fix the situation and make up for the last few chapters. Suddenly bringing Fyodor back would be another pointless plot twist, but his death is just as, if not more, senseless. This action can't even be called a dignified death for a key character, just a simple dismissal of him and the removal of one of the most crucial pieces from the chessboard for no apparent reason. If you're so terrible at writing intelligent characters and then don't know what to do with them, then simply don't create them or lower their IQ by several dozen points, instead of removing them from the plot in a way that not only demeans them but also insults the viewer's intelligence.

At this point, only a jaw-dropping plot twist would save it, overshadowing all the failed plot twists and attempts to surprise the viewer in the last few chapters. Does Kafka have an ace up his sleeve, or is he simply oblivious to the fact that he's descending a level lower than the ending of Stranger Things? Considering the massive downgrade BSD has undergone since the Mersault arc, I wouldn't hold out much hope, but we'll see ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

Note2: sorry for possible mistakes, English is DEFINITELY NOT my first language

[cinnamongirl-kei]

Thank you so much for breaking it down like this. Me and other Fyodor fans have mentioned the same talking points. I myself mentioned we as readers deserved to know Fyodor's motivations and decide for ourselves whether we agree with him. It's also a slap in the face to his supposed target audience (those who have trouble living) to be served such a dehumanizing ending for his character. "He doesn't need a backstory" reads to me as "I don't want to know because the truth would shatter the illusions I had about Fyodor being inhuman and larger than life" and Asagiri's constant "I want to let the fans make their own theories" sounds like laziness and shifting the responsibility onto his fans to fill in the gaps he can't be bothered to think about.

@kaurwreck are we still just bitter fans projecting onto characters and unjustly diminishing Asagiri's brilliance? Masquerading as an intellectual while shutting down valid criticism is anti-intellectualism.

[day1noalcohol]

I really want to address this and add something of my own, because I wholeheartedly agree with you and was thinking the same thing in the context of Asagiri's quote about the series being aimed at those who have trouble living. I'm increasingly inclined to think he only used this slogan because it fits the theme, and also to suggest that he's his own target audience, and even if he is good at living, he clearly has a problem with writing.

Arguing about his ability to create characters with above-average intelligence is, in my opinion, unnecessary, because Kafka himself somewhat admits that he lacks a lot in this regard. Asagiri has many such shortcomings, which he tries to dismiss with humorous responses like: "I don't know what Dazai/Fyodor is thinking, he's 500 times more intelligent than me!" I used to delude myself that these statements were meant to avoid revealing his future plans, but then I realized that the author was probably telling the truth and really couldn't get inside the heads of the characters he created, which reflects very poorly on him. He also mentioned that he pays attention to fan suggestions, so it is probably important that for some time now his audience has been made up of more and more undemanding people who are satisfied with any content (and I would estimate the culmination of this phenomenon with the release of the 4th and 5th seasons of the anime).

I noticed quite a few individuals who almost attacked people expressing their dislike, and in many cases (though not always!) the authors of these often unpleasant words were simply younger people, and without wanting to judge someone by age, I will just say that I suspect that half of them are people who have only recently become interested in BSD, so they have no real-time comparison of how much the level has dropped over time. Some people show contempt for dissatisfied fans simply because they personally hated Fyodor's character, but I assume the situation would be different if it were one of their favorite characters who received such treatment. I can't fathom that, because if a character I disliked received a clunky ending, I would also point out plot holes, as I try to side with those who feel cheated in some way.

This complete glorification of the author is unnecessary, because it is indeed his series, but it ceases to matter so much if it becomes his source of income. Some people don't understand that the author makes money from his manga and even though part of the fandom reads it for free and doesn't buy anything from official sources, as a fandom unit we are in the position of a "customer"(?). Fans have the right to feel aggrieved, not only those who spent money, because the author also derives a huge profit from the popularity itself, not just direct purchases; the mere interest in his work brings him benefits.

and criticism is not the same as baseless hate, it is a tool that can be used for development

i'm glad that my text was of some use to someone, because that's exactly why i wrote it, and thanks for reading allat !

[the-blu3spirit]

[tamitakami]

с 14 февраля 💋

[day1noalcohol]

MY TAKE ON CHAPTER 129, i.e. Asagiri really wants to introduce overpowered mastermind characters, but he can't write them (don't bite off more than you can chew)

I constantly come across opinions that people have lost interest in the manga after the last dozen or so chapters, or abandoned it altogether after reading the fateful chapter 129, and I'm not at all surprised. Here's why.

Note: You don't have to force yourself to like this chapter and settle for something less than the bare minimum just because you have a good heart and don't want to hate on the author. This isn't AO3 or Wattpad; this manga is monetized, and the author profits from you. You have the right to have a negative opinion.

1. The plot isn't plotting

First, I would recommend considering why Asagiri decided to introduce the plotline of Fyodor's resurrection and replace his old ability with a new one. Was it so that Fyodor could drop that one book quote and reinforce our belief that both he and Atsushi are most likely connected to The Book™? Oh, wait... We've known that for a long time... Maybe it was to artificially prolong the action, to drag out the battle to the limit, which was losing its epicness with each chapter, so that there would be enough episodes for a sixth season? Why create a whole new arc if, in the long run, it serves no purpose other than to poorly serve up the development of individual characters (instead of showing that development naturally, in line with the main plot)? Kafka has once again repeated the pattern of prolonging something only to return to the starting point in the end.

The entire series of recent chapters was characterized by a lack of climax, an excess of plot twists that rendered them meaningless and made it impossible to take the action seriously, and a clumsy, ineffective build-up of tension. Instead of tipping in one direction, the scales of victory swung awkwardly from side to side, and instead of reading with bated breath, we read while stifling yawns.

An anticlimactic, tedious battle culminating in an equally anticlimactic death.

I also want to refute the argument supposedly justifying Fyodor's death, namely the needlessly prolonged action at the airport. This wouldn't have been a problem if Asagiri hadn't decided to resort to this tactic. It's not Fyodor's fault that everyone was fed up with the airport scene, but the author's inability to keep the plot interesting.

Kafka took the easy route, using a character who had already been killed off, likely thinking it would generate surprise ("wow, Fukuchi is still alive?"), but in reality, it only caused confusion and undermined his credibility. This lack of consistency makes the plot convoluted, and Kafka, as usual, uses twisted logic to get out of the situation he himself placed his characters in.

2. Wasted potential, in other words: you can't convince the audience to believe in a character's big brain by shouting in their face, "he's smart!"

An important point, if not the most important one. The great evil genius, the main antagonist of the series, who always proves to be not two, not three, but a whole tango of steps ahead, is suddenly defeated by the most logical method. The character have the ability to abandon a dead body, inhabiting the body of the person who killed him? The solution suggests itself; the simplest way would be to kill him first, then himself, to prevent his rebirth. No one will convince me that a genius like Fyodor (who is so intelligent that not only other characters are unable to keep up with him, but even the author himself – Asagiri's quote) couldn't have predicted that his opponents would try to kill him using this exact method. Fyodor may be arrogant, but he's not stupid, and he was perfectly aware that Dazai was alive and would do anything to thwart his plans. True, he could have overlooked the fact that Fukuchi was still somewhat alive, but there could just as easily have been another character in his place. Dostoevsky foresaw everything ahead, but he didn't foresee the most obvious thing?

I often encounter the pseudo-argument, "Fyodor had to die"—and yes, in all the possible scenarios, I couldn't imagine Fyodor surviving, but to die at such a moment and in such a stupid way? Just because Asagiri repeatedly tells us through the characters how great and powerful Fyodor is won't make anyone believe it if he's then reduced to such a careless death that directly contradicts his intelligence and centuries of experience.

3. "My plan that I spent years on is ruined! Anyways..." — Fyodor's unconvincing reaction to his own death

I've seen some analyses of Fyodor's body (haha) language, that is, his facial expressions at the moment of his presumed demise, and while I understand the concept of finding peace and relief only after death, his desperation during life is somewhat at odds with his acceptance of defeat with such open arms. Fyodor often puts on his poker face, but in situations that threatened his plans, his impenetrable facade sometimes gave way to shock or even anger. Here, we have the opposite: Fyodor is slightly disconcerted, perhaps subtly offended, and while he usually carefully conceals his emotions behind a proud mask, this is hardly the face of someone who, with admirable determination, has devoted centuries and at least several lifetimes to, in his opinion, making the world a better place.

I didn't expect a major breakdown or crash out on his part (as some had hoped), but I also didn't assume that his failure would manifest itself as passive acceptance. Let's not forget that Dostoevsky is a person "determined to cling to life," and since he was coherent enough to speak in his final moments (or not? see point 4), I cannot entirely believe the version that the shock robbed him of any ability to process his situation.

I don't really understand the fascination with these few careless panels where Fyodor looks at the sky, for me it's the bare minimum in the case of such an important character as him.

In the helicopter his expression was more natural, although that death was less believable in terms of the plot.

4. Talking Heads and the French Revolution — the lack of realism without any justification

Throughout human history, there have been numerous cases of posthumous decapitated heads moving their mouths, eyes, and even changing facial expressions or responding to certain impulses. This sometimes caused panic and fainting among onlookers, but this was due to uncontrolled muscle reflexes and nerve twitches. Speaking in such a state is simply physically impossible, and even if the vocal cords were intact, a person would be unable to use them without airflow from the lungs. A head alone, without a rib cage, cannot speak.

If this is not a deliberate choice and an intentional desire to raise doubts in the viewer, I am very surprised that Asagiri decided to take such a step, because previously he tried to keep issues related to medicine and the way the human body works at least within the limits of realism, and he justified any departures from it sensibly (example: Dazai did not die from a gunshot to the head because Chuuya used his ability, Sigma survived the fall from the casino because Gogol helped him, and it was thoroughly explained how he did it).

5. "I am always alone and that is fine by me" — Fyodor doesn't expect to be understood, but he doesn't even get a chance to be understood

Fyodor lived, died, rose from the dead, dropped a few nice quotes, we learned practically nothing new about him, and then he died again. The lack of explanation for his motives, aside from vague clues repeated from the beginning, prevents viewers from choosing their side. Readers were not only denied the opportunity to understand his character on more than a superficial level, but were also deprived of a broader perspective on his actions, experiencing the perspective almost exclusively from the perspective imposed by the protagonists. We are unable to fully assess whether his actions were right or wrong because the author did not give his own plot a chance to explain them.

6. Bonus: Asagiri and his Dazai fetish, i.e. the author himself has undeniable tendencies to be a Dazai glazer

Whether it's supposed foreshadowing (though far-fetched), or a neat reference, it doesn't change the fact that Fyodor, as an individual, didn't deserve to have his final moment focused on Dazai, his penchant for double suicide, or, as some say, a reference to Odasaku's death. The big moment, which should have been the culmination of Fyodor's story, is not only rather devoid of emotion, but is largely stolen by Dazai.

Not to mention it wasn't even a double suicide, it was a double homicide.

Summary: Asagiri would have to pull out all the stops to fix the situation and make up for the last few chapters. Suddenly bringing Fyodor back would be another pointless plot twist, but his death is just as, if not more, senseless. This action can't even be called a dignified death for a key character, just a simple dismissal of him and the removal of one of the most crucial pieces from the chessboard for no apparent reason. If you're so terrible at writing intelligent characters and then don't know what to do with them, then simply don't create them or lower their IQ by several dozen points, instead of removing them from the plot in a way that not only demeans them but also insults the viewer's intelligence.

At this point, only a jaw-dropping plot twist would save it, overshadowing all the failed plot twists and attempts to surprise the viewer in the last few chapters. Does Kafka have an ace up his sleeve, or is he simply oblivious to the fact that he's descending a level lower than the ending of Stranger Things? Considering the massive downgrade BSD has undergone since the Mersault arc, I wouldn't hold out much hope, but we'll see ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

Note2: sorry for possible mistakes, English is DEFINITELY NOT my first language

[formiito]

-> get introduced

-> start killing people

-> vaguely poetic lines

-> explain nothing

-> get beheaded after decade of serialization