Fyodor D.’s Introduction in the Storytelling of BSD Power Dynamics, Part 1
Dostoevsky is most definitely one of (if not the most) intimidating oppositions in Bungou Stray Dogs, having an ability almost completely veiled from the reader while bearing a deadly intellect that outmatches the strategic mastermind of Dazai. Leaving an audience in shock at his uncanny monologues about the “crime” and its inevitably “punishment,” not only the intimidation or the mystery, but it is also the reality of his monstrous consciousness of a power that often feeds into the character’s intellectual attractivity. And while he has been a character of the series for only a while, the exhibition of power dynamics has always been a prominent part of media concerning the conflict of two or more sides, and I’ve observed that one of the most unique ways of juxtaposition in that manner was used in this series. While this technique is not very commonly used in the series either, the parts where it is used are positioned to be the most significant sections of contrast. I want to analyse the first time it was used in the series (c. 5), in comparison to Fyodor’s introduction (c.42) , which has seemingly left a vast majority in awe at sight.
I will call this technique by the name of “pasteurization.” Often used as a manipulation tactic that leaves one’s subconsciousness in a vulnerable gaping, the clever technique used by Asagiri is certainly inspired by the implementation of a high-powered energy followed quickly by the high-powered energy on the exact opposite of the side in the spectrum. In physics, heating up an object before subjecting it to extreme frost will make it brittle. In literature, 1984’s government would organize rituals, subjecting its public to images of agony before a quick switch to the idea of “Big Brother,” manipulating them into subconsciously accepting submitting to this political construct, in belief that it were to be a god-like saviour. And in Bungou Stray Dogs, the following instances are aimed to create a power dynamic, leaving the audience speechless in the name of the quick shifts of narrative and induced extreme emotion.
Let’s start with Chapter 5, the first time Asagiri has made use of pasteurization.
In a quick summary, this is the chapter where Atsushi accepts to surrender to the Black Lizard of the Port Mafia, in order to be able to protect his newly founded friendships. The following panels were able to display Atsushi’s intimidation with the slightest idea of the Port Mafia.
Atsushi, our supposed narrator in the case is clearly in fear of the Port Mafia, implementing his fears to the reader (who has not yet been revealed to the truth of the Mafia’s power. We choose to comply to Atsushi’s knowledge of them, as he is the only trusty source we have been subjected to so far, and with the reality that he has dressed with his personal anxiety and fear. We are easy to view the world through Atsushi’s perspective and trust that he is objective. While Atsushi has already given us an idea of what type of a power source we will be facing, we are fed even more flashbacks that are adorned with oblique angles and declarative sentences to strengthen our concern.
The reader is presented with, once again, Hirotsu’s bombarding of the Port Mafia’s enemy. The use of shadows in the scenes which I have extracted the latter panel from not only blockade the reader’s awareness of how the event seems to have played out, but also gives the audience a very blurred out version of reality, allowing us to reluctantly wonder and fear the oppressors. While the shadows are already enough to execute the mysterious atmosphere surrounding the Port Mafia’s true power, the constant use of oblique angles also manage to build up to the already tense ambience. With the quote, “Cigarettes taste exceptionally good after a job well done,” Hirotsu’s undermining of such a seemingly terrifying job to a daily occurrence is enough to define the Port Mafia in the reader’s mind as a construction of extreme power, intelligence, and fear. And Atsushi would go on to affirm it.
And Atsushi’s protagonistic fate once again denies him, as his fear comes true. Even when he has not escaped, the Port Mafia has already come to put his friends under fire. Atsushi’s lack of experience and knowledge allows him to reach the climax of his anxiety in the following panel, dragging the reader into the exact same case of paranoia.
And here, here is the epitome of the pasteurization. Here is the sudden realization, that the all-powered, all-feared Port Mafia had not only been defeated, but quite easily and nonchalantly treated by the Armed Detective Agency. Atsushi’s (and consequently, the reader’s) fear of the Port Mafia is suddenly put to relief. This is where we try to check the pasteurization on ourselves. Have we felt defeated or exhausted by the change of events? Perhaps, vulnerable? Filled with agitation? We have been subjected to a radical emotion of fear, but it was quickly replaces by relief. Identifying with Atsushi, we are prone to viewing the Armed Detective Agency as our Big Brother, our god-like saviours now. And a critical mind will remind you of this question:
Are the Armed Detective Agency really the god-like, vigorous people we learned to think they are, or were the people we saw them defeat, the Black Lizard of the Port Mafia, all that powerful in the first place?
bsd manga spoilers below the cut ; analyzing nikolai a bit
ok so nikolai right
basically i kin him yada yada but i wanna talk abt him and stuff!?!! idk why he acts the way he acts but theres obviously something going on there. the fact that he wants to go as far as to kill fyodor even though he has 'human feelings' kind of puts this whole 'i want to be free from feeling' thing he has going on into a more serious light- hes very dedicated and strongly leans towards this and would even go as far as to kill the only person that ever understood him. pls dont call him a yandere?!!?! ive seen some people do that and its honestly gross imo,, he wants to be free from feeling emotion- thats why he wants to kill fyodor. which in my personal opinion i think he will be awfully upset when he does, despite everything it might only make him worse losing that person. as much as he does not want to feel emotion as humans we all need some sort of connection to survive and to strive. nikolai felt like a bird trapped in a cage, the cage was the constrains of human feelings. how they twist your gut and fuck you up mentally sometimes. something must have drilled it into his brain that feeling that way was bad yknow?? its so fucked bc nikolai obviously cares about fyodor- the only reason he fucking wants to 'kill' him is because he HATES feeling things. it must drive him fucking insane and cause him a LOT of pain. personally i like healthy fyolai because nikolai can learn to accept those feelings of affection towards fyodor, and learn how to feel and to grow in a space with the one person who understands him.
honestly, i love how nikolai's portrayal by asagiri preserves the absurdism that has been carried to the next generation of authors with the influence of gogol/indirectly through the successors of gogol (20th century postmodernists, i mean) camus' idea of dissolving one's sentimentality in order to incarnate truth has not just come out of nowhere. nikolai definitely puts the concept of a mind further than his raw humanity, i believe it is some sort of self-sacrifice rather than what we tend to view it to be. i don't think there is an extra layer of emotion on it than what it takes to be a complete material loyalist. i adore the perspective though, how lovely !
i have put myself in the awful position of trying to decide what i hate most: the black clover tag where all of the meta and analysis are absolutely frigid takes by people who have no idea what's actually going on in canon or the bungou stray dogs tag where there is no meta or analysis, but only because everyone is too busy viciously projecting onto chuuya and/or reader inserts because they're incomprehensibly horny for dazai
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