Dehumanization and Death: how to kill off your characters development in the grand finale (A analysis on the writing for bsd and crk)
Spoiler warning for chapter 129 of bsd and crk
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Before we start, please consider reading my note:
This is an analysis on Fyodor from Bungo stray dogs, Dark enchantress cookie and Shadow milk cookie from crk. My intentions to this analysis is to give a brief rundown on the writing I have seen from both of the fandoms I'm in and how this can affect the future of writing as a whole and how characters are presented to be written as. If you are a fan of bsd or crk and like the arc's, do not consider this as a hate post. This goes out to those who hate bsd and crk for the sake of it. I'm here to give my thoughts and predictions of act 2 of Arena of truth and deceit part 1 of crk. As I am writing this, it is May 8th, 2026, After the release of Timekepper cookie. Please take this analysis into consideration as just someone who likes crk and bsd either way even for its flaws and wishes the best for the story to exceed well. Thank you to whoever read this note before my analysis, it means a lot.
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Part 1: Fyodor's character development
In Chapter 129 of the ending of the airport arc, we are shown of fyodor's defeat; his death. Throughout the events of the airport arc, he established the capability of the book and his intentions to it for his idea of a better world. The pacing is slow, but gives us, the audience, the length and desperation on fyodor's idea for no ability users in their world.
We have to consider why he does this first. A common question is "why would he go to such length for the annihilation of ability users if he is one as well?" Fyodor doesn't consider himself as human, a very close connection to Dazai himself (especially linked to his pm days). He sees himself as a nuisance since he's in that same category of ability users, especially the ones he speaks of who use their abilities for their own gain and selfish desires. Clearly ironic to chapter 128-129 when he tried to escape the airport with his reincarnation ability.
A big misconception to fyodor (and dark enchantress, who I'll get into with her character development and her parallel to fyodor) is he has a god complex. Instead, he has a savior complex. He believes what he's doing is the right way, and the only right way. He believes that the only way for everyone to feel equal for the sake of humanity is for ability users to not exist, or to the very least not hurt the common people in Yokohama.
One other misconception is his last words at the end in chapter 129. I've seen some say Asagiri made him one dimension and purely evil with his last words. While I do agree that the way Fyodor's character development was not handled properly, there is a lot more to his words that we give credit to. In the translation, he says "It's simple... I hate you all." Which conveys his final moment. Previously, the characters ask who he is, showing clear dehumanization to fyodor. Atsushi's word is "What is in your heart, fyodor?" While dehumanizing, he still clearly sees fyodor as a person but not human, even to some extent. In my perspective, Atsushi doesn't understand why Fyodor would go to such lengths for a better world, yet he still wants to understand even when Fyodor is on the verge of death. He believes fyodor was driven by simple impulses, with fyodor's line saying "You believe it was my heart's doing?" We are shown exhaustion in Fyodor's eyes from all of the events that have happened, especially the affect his ability must've had on him. While I may be making assumptions, it must be extremely brutal and torturing having to be reincarnated many times. Feeling flesh that is not your own to be torn completely as you bathe in nudity and contempt. Fyodor is given the worst form of reincarnation I've seen in fiction in such a brutal fashion. Not to mention he's a very empathetic character despite his actions of using those for his own gain. When I say empathy, I say he understands the lengths of others, especially ability users. Yet, they don't return the empathy to him. It ties back to his loneliness as well and comes to accept that. The scene with him and atsushi really shows how humans have a hard time understanding other humans who do heinous acts because we have a perspective on what is good and evil, black vs white, compassion vs revenge, and so on.
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At the end of chapter 129, his death, he is still dehumanized from the cast. To an extent from Dazai himself. Ironic from someone who used to not see himself as human back then is dehumanizing someone who parallels him to the extreme. (Do excuse the poorly screenshot of the manga panel)
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This is where the complaint of how fyodor's character was handled. Fyodor died knowing his plan did not succeed. As I established how his line can be conveyed differently rather than in a black and white perspective, this is still not a good execution to end his character. While I say it is far better than Dark enchantress's character development, it still has some flaws. The airport arc was dragged to hell and back while being stuck in one specific spot, we did get to see fyodor's knowledge of the book yet not understand why he would go to this extreme length to do this, especially summoning amen no gozen. As a friend of mine mentioned as well, she asked why fyodor would frame the ada if he could've find an alternative way to get amen no gozen than do a different way.
In the very end, he was killed by the thing he was fighting against: Ability users. The people he wanted to be rid of from the world of Bungo stray dogs came together and opposed Fyodor's way of a perfect world. Even fyodor to an Ability user in his death (aka Fukuchi.)
I do wish it was handled differently and given a different alternative action to the situation and the events of the airport arc.
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Part 2: Dark enchantress's character and how to kill your main villain
This one I have a lot of thoughts on. Firstly, I want to compare the very close similarities to Fyodor and Dark enchantress cookie:
Fyodor's motive is wanting a world without ability users, or a world where ability users cannot hurt others. He believes this is the right way to create a better world and believes he's doing it for the suffering of ability users and himself, which I find ironic because his ability is the act of suffering for many years and the feeling of torture and taking away someone's autonomy from his ability.
Dark enchantress on the other hand, believes she too, is doing the right thing for cookie-kind in the name of freedom. Albeit, in an extreme way compared to White Lily's idea of freedom, just twisted into a dark form. She believes all cookie's souls and their suffering is combined into one being, bypassing the path they are meant to live as cookies; to be eaten by their creators. It ties back to the Avatar of Destiny that is an amalgamation of cookie's souls all smashed into one entity of shared suffering from their downfall of their fates.
The difference between them is done by one thing and it's how their character development ends and executed.
For Fyodor, despite his lackluster death, he learned in the end that he cannot convert ability users to his ideologies of a better world. Coming to the conclusion that neither him, ability users, and humanity can co-exist. While a mediocre ending for his character, he at least learned why him and ability users disagree on a certain level and why they don't agree with his idea of a better world. He didn't have to understand why he was wrong because he was right about ability users who use their powers for their own needs. Take Francis or Akutagawa in the early stages of the manga, or Nikolai's ability to frame the ada and use his ability to his idea of freedom (for nikolai fans here's your one mention of Nikolai in this analysis. I couldn't contain myself from not mentioning him). However, Ability users came together and used their abilities to oppose fyodor. While right in some uses back then, it's ironic how as he bleeds out, the thing he was fighting against ended up biting him in the end.
For dark enchantress, however, she did not learn anything even up to her death. As she is dying, she cries on how could her plan have possibly failed? She did not learn why cookie's did not choose her idea of freedom and oppose her. She did not learn why she was wrong or how her actions affected others.
Another parallel I would like to note is how their death can be perceived:
Dying to the thing you were fighting against.
Both Fyodor and Dark enchantress were killed or defeated by the thing they were opposing, that being their own people.
While they both died having mediocre endings, one died being dehumanized and ultimately killed from the thing he was fighting against, while the other died not understanding what killed them in the first place.
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Part 3: The cycle repeats; predictions on Shadow milk's downfall
So far as Act 2 part 1 has shown, shadow milk seems to have a huge crisis in himself with taking a portion of the ultimate dough in him and the last life essence of the other beast (besides silent salt) as he says in Act 1 of the finale of the Dark enchantress arc.
A huge plot hole in the story with him and the beast during the war was the beast (besides Silent Salt) were already dead and shadow milk was seconds away from dying as well. In a matter of time, he somehow got out of the shackles that Silent Salt had on him, got his way to the oven without other cookies (especially Dark enchantress, the ancient heroes, or Silent Salt himself) from knowing, able to escape the oven without the ultimate dough consuming him whole as they tried before forcible with Gingerbrave, and even able to regain energy without showing side effects until act 2. Not to mention how he even got some life essence of the beast when they were already dead beforehand.
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Very inconsistent and a huge plot convenience to Shadow milk alone. Might even say he has way more plot armor than Nikolai himself when he didn't get caught in the surveillance cameras in the prison during the beginning parts of the merusault arc.
As of the release of Act 2 part 1 of the story, shadow milk has been getting worse and worse as the arc continues and has not shown any other elements of character development to be established.
I would even say his motive is very underdeveloped. His motive is to destroy all timelines besides his own, which while can tie to his self ego and attention seeking center, we were not given any more of his reasoning besides being pissy at Silent Salt from sealing them away. He doesn't hold any grudges from the other beasts, dark enchantress, the ancient's (although he does hold some grudge on pv and wl but nobody else) or any of the main cast like Gingerbrave. It's also never mentioned of his trauma with the common cookie's from his past wanting more out of him. Their consumption and gluttonous need for answers and anger when it's not what they think it is. Shown of complete incomprehensibility of cookies wanting an answer to satisfy their beliefs, rather than complete truth. If we were given more explanation for shadow milk's motive outside of pettiness for Silent Salt, I would understand as the audience why he would go to such lengths to destroy all timelines except his own, especially if we are given how his trauma made him act out instead of the ultimate dough and the other beast being inside him all at once, which complicates more issues of his reasoning. We as the audience now don't know if it's shadow milk speaking or somebody else inside him speaking.
These are clear signs of characters having their character development potentially ruined:
1. Their reasoning is to an extreme length that does not add up to their motivation
2. It does not tie to their background or character as a whole (i.e backstory, or their character in general (in this case fyodor since he does not have a backstory)
And in most cases, as shown from dark enchantress and Fyodor, there are two predictions I have with how shadow milk's character will likely end up resulting.
Shadow milk will likely have some good elements to his character development, but will be killed off before they are established and be dehumanized by the cast for his actions. Never looking back to his backstory as his reasoning in why he did what he did, although with the lack of his backstory being his motive to what he does, he'll likely die knowing he had some levels of being wrong but never mentioned from the cast themselves.
2. The Dark enchantress cookie effect.
Shadow milk will likely have the same situation as Dark enchantress. He'll die not knowing what he did wrong or never coming to the conclusion that his actions were wrong, dying from only knowing he failed to do what he wanted to do. If we wanted to put salt in the wound, he will likely die to the thing he was fighting against; the common cookie's.
If you want to worsen it, give him the president snow death (from the hunger games) where he's killed by the people he feared or against: the district and capital. (However this is very unlikely but probably only ever happen for pity points)
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In conclusion, The writing in both Dark enchantress and Fyodor are similar and end up dying to similar fates in their story. They are just handled a lot differently and executed differently, though I personally think fyodor's was executed better in comparison to Dark enchantress. While the patterns from what I list are very vague, it should give a small hint at what to notice in a writing standpoint when writing an antagonist or reading an antagonist's background for their motivation if they are central to the plot.
My only hope for Shadow milk as a character is for him to break out of this cycle of writing and get a well executed character development, even with the lack of elements from the list. There is still potentially his character that shouldn't fall into the Fyodor and Dark enchantress effect as mentioned. I want to be wrong about what Shadow milk's character will likely be in the near future, and I hope I am wrong. But from the noticeable signs from him in the recent update, it's starting to take effect on him and his character development.
Thank you for reading my analysis. Please take it into consideration as a fan of crk and bsd and criticism of the writing of the story. This is not to hate on Asagiri nor Devsisters, this is simply criticism of their writing and execution of their characters development.
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