Why Atsushi is an amazing protagonist' and how BSD is able to explore what it means to do good.
I want to talk about one of my favourite things about bsd and Atsushi as a protagonist. The fact that the show questions why you should do the right thing. In most media, the idea of helping people being good is simply a fact, the protagonist is doing the right thing because they are trying to help others and even if a villain try's to shake their belief in that, its normally by just saying "Your actually causing more harm then good" or "The consequences of your actions are bad actually" and sometimes even "You won't stop me, so all the bad things I do are your fault."
But bsd goes deeper then that, it questions why someone must act to help others in the first place. it incredibly morally grey cast, allow the readers to really see each characters journey to wanting to help people
Atsushi's motive for wanting to help people is directly called into question, its not just some innate "goodness" in him, it stems from deep psychological conditioning, to view himself as worthless unless he can be of use to others
He views those words as a curse, a horrible obligation that he has to obey to even consider himself worthy of living, we see that many times Atsushi has plunged into suicidal situations out of a desperate hope that it might give him some validation.
THIS DOESN'T MEAN I THINK ATSUSHI SHOULDN'T WANT TO HELP PEOPLE!
I'm just so glad that Asagiri was actually willing to explore his motivation and show what a harmful impact it has had on him, BSD is Atsushis journey into accepting and loving himself, and for that to feel meaningful he can't start of as an amazing person who is unconditionally good and helps everyone around him.
"loving your friends to much" is not a character flaw!
Dazai sums it up best here
This is what Atsushi will eventually become, someone who helps others because he understands what it feels like to be in pain, not because he feels he must. And that is the same journey Dazai is making now, where he has to learn why he should help others for himself, and not just for the sake of his promise to Odasaku.
Overall I think Atsushi is an amazing protagonist to follow, and I can't wait to see how he grows from here.
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