Character analysis//theory//headcanon
QUICK NOTE: I DO NOT RESPOND WELL TO COMMENTS!!! Its less about pride and more I dont know how to respond to things, plus I take any minor criticism to heart 😅 sorry. This is all just one big venting.
While there's plenty of discourse surrounding him in regards to basically anything (like most fictional characters) there is mostly heated debate about his temper.
I dont want outright say he has anger issues or not. And I also want to say outright that this rant is opinionated and I don't hold any psychological or other form of proper teaching regarding this topic. It's merely speculation as it is for EVERYONE. Unless outright stated by the author, nothing is confirmed fact. Even if it's heavily implied.
So: does Chuuya have a temper? Yes and no.
As many people have pointed out he's pretty chill and "calm" aside from when egged on. Some say it's all because Dazai is a good ragebaiter (true), though there are other instances in the series where Chuuya reacts aggressively outside of Dazai's influence. Namely seen in Stormbringer.
Which, to get off my chest, Stormbringer is an AMAZING story that helps to further dig into Chuuya’s mind and help analyze him. However, the novel can only take us so far. Both 15 & Stormbringer happen when Chuuya is young. By canon time many things have changed for him already, noticeable in his more relaxed and certain stance overall. So while some things may be true in the light novels it can only tell us so much about what Chuuya thinks or feels presently.
Anyway! Back to his temper.
At 15 Chuuya is confident in his skills and is visibly more joyous. 16 and he's VERY tense, quiet, and angry. He's distrusting and distant, focusing more on his new job and pushing away personal connections (he does fail here but he damn well tries). At 22 he's back to being confident but with more open flare and some semblance of banter. More level-headed overall though his reactive responses do vary in the arcs and with which characters hes around.
These three ages give me a specific impression: he doesn't quite have chronic levels of debilitating anger but he DOES have a temper that can be triggered. In Stormbinger these reactions are very intense and prominent but we see this as an adult (he doesn't have much story time at 22 so even this can't be confirmed or denied)
His anger makes sense for most of the things we view and in general they appear during stressful situations--save for Chuuya's time around Dazai. I do not count his outbursts around Dazai because, as everyone knows and like I mentioned already, hes a horrible teaser. Chuuya knows this too and still goes along with it like a game.
Chuuya makes rational decisions for his job and, while diving headfirst into conflict does appear to be his forte, he DOES think things through. As an adult. As a teen, even though he's smart, Chuuya goes headfirst into conflict more often, assuming he can win a fight if he brut forces it (these words probably aren't the best way to describe what he does as a kid but hey he is a KID. They can be rational and do dumb things at the same time, its human nature)
Another key point for this era is how Chuuya is SEVERALLY traumatized.
To me Chuuya feels detached from himself in Stormbinger. Not even just because of his turmoil surrounding his own humanity, just in general. But when he seems most out of touch with himself is when he gets highly emotional-through anger and grief and fear. He reads as very unsure and out of control. So at least when he's 16 he has trouble regulating his emotions. UNDERSTANABLE WITH ALL THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON IN HIS LIFE.
And with how much Chuuya was clinging to his work and position in an organization that views him as a threat, pushing away the Flags in fear and anger when they try to be friends, I think he just wants to get some control. Over his life and how he can manage things. Just keep things stable while he orientates himself and figures out what to do.
Then he lashes out when all of it comes into question. It feels defensive. Reactive.
Sooooooo, coming to the whole point of this long rant, I theorize that Chuuya has REACTIVE anger rather than anger ISSUES. They are similar but not they same with different reasons for triggers.
Anger issues are more chronological and sporadic with less reason for the outburst (at least to my knowledge)
Reactive anger is moreso a triggered defense mechanism when the person feels stressed, triggered, or put under a certain pressure. PLEASE look up the actual differences yourself because im not explaining this as well as I would like....😞
Anyway, this headcanon holds up for Chuuya's accounted ages (15, 16, 22). He gets more pissy and less thinking when questioned about something he feels confident towards or when threatened.
Trauma as a kid can lead to this reactive anger. I believe this speaks for itself lol. But if anyone doesn't get what im bullshitting its that Chuuya had to learn fight or flight since he was little. Some people may point to Chuuya’s fight in gradeschool as a reason for a more chronical issue but hey. We dont know what his homelife was like. We dont know how much of this story is true or over/under exaggerated. We can only take it at face value.
Reactive anger also seems to be more manageable than impulsive anger but dont take my word for this. I also can't say for sure if Chuuya's doing better in Canon time because who tf knows if he's taking vacation or doing therapy. Unlikely but we don't know!!
There's not much more i need to say unless I ramble about the smaller details but I don't feel as confident with those so I'll just leave the rant like this.
[Damn, wrote all this in one sitting, im impressed 😵💫]
I lied, lemme add some more-
Okay so outside of these angry outbursts Chuuya is more in touch with himself and controlled right? Well im not sure. He seems calm overall but again with the personal detachment he may just be emotionally numb & stunted. I wouldn't be surprised if he grew so used to suppressing certain feelings (subconsciously or otherwise for protection) until actually feeling those things became alien. But Chuuya's also in the mafia for most of his maturity age, meaning great responsibility, and yeah. You don't want to lose ur cool at work or get too attached in a work place where people keep dying horrifically.
Any of this would bottle up further aggression and make the outbursts more potent and angrier than the situation calls for.
