what’s so scary about Fyodor isn’t that he’s a murderer, that he sees himself as something fundamentally different to normal humans, or that he doesn’t express any guilt about killing people.
hehe. wasn’t that a good hook? don’t worry, i am here to talk about Fyodor, but rather than a deep character analysis, i just wanna talk about how Harukawa draws him (and let’s hope and kick and scream that this doesn’t in fact become too long like my last Mori post)
so there are two confirmed things that Harukawa does when she draws “badness” in some form.
“Dark” eyes with little/no reflection (note that their eyes could be completely white and as long as the light isn’t bouncing off, i still count it as ‘dark’)
GIGANTIC pupils. i mean big. i’ll give an example
so anyway, what differences do these have? what do they mean? why does this relate to Fyodor?
well, the “dark eyes” happen usually when someone is surrounded by evil. for example, below, Akutagawa’s eyes are the “darkest.” notably, the only characters who have the sparkle to their eye are Dazai, Kenji, and Higuchi. is this because they’re happy?? no, it’s because Dazai is a liar and a faker, Kenji is… actually Kenji is probably happy, and Higuchi tends to keep a positive outlook on things, even when they’re Not Going Her Way.
also, the shine isn’t always there either. it’s usually to accentuate some goodness or rightfullness that’s being done. anyway, the shine in the eyes doesn’t have to be genuine to exist, and it also doesn’t have to be omnipresent to show that someone is good.
then what about the darkness?
it can be faked too, but it’s on a slightly less dramatic manner. sometimes when Dazai says something “evil” to someone else who is “evil,” his eyes will lose their shine to them, but it’s mostly because he’s reflecting their expression back at them.
Dazai is a big ol mirror but GODAMN IT i can’t get off topic now.
okay, so if the dark eyes show a submersion in evilness, what about the big pupils?
generally, they show when the wearer themself is feeling something “bad.”
see: Dazai getting himself imprisoned
see: Tanizaki being a little freak
the Fyodor we see … doesn’t have either of these.
“but… but tai,” you may ask, “then why in the name of mankind did i read so many of your uncoordinated badly communicated thoughts?!”
(don’t worry, i know you’re not that mean. .. i HOPE you’re not that mean)
Fyodor’s eyes are dissimilar to every other BSD character. sure, sometimes they may be drawn as white with pupils when he’s being a dramatic hellion. but when he’s just existing (and doing evil), his eyes… well, they’re blurry.
even when he’s being “evil,” his eyes are unchanging. they’re still dark with darker pupils lacking all light and reflection, and sometimes, fuzzy around the corners.
well, we can understand most characters. Dazai is someone without much purpose in life but a damn strong vitality (to his own irritation, probably) and damn strong will to do what Odasaku wanted him to do (and godamn it he looks better in the light) (he actually looks more attractive in the mafia because i’m a little maniac but like he’s doing better mental health wise), Atsushi is someone with a haunted past who’s doing his best to live unapologetically, Kyouka is a girl with a background stained mafia black who is slowly wiping away the tar, etc etc etc.
they all have their “oh crap” light-eyes-with-dramatic-pupil moments, the “evil” ones like Tanizaki and Mori have their big pupil moments, and the “dark” ones like Dazai have their shineless eye moments, but Fyodor is the only one who looks consistently “missing.”
i don’t really know what it means.
i could probably have thought up something cooler if i actually knew what i thought of Fyodor, but i’m bouncing between “he likes children and feels bad but does what he thinks is good for humanity” and “he’s totally gone and does what he thinks is good for humanity” and “he’s a maniac who feels no guilt and would do anything for what he himself has decided is good for humanity.”
take this post as you will, but i just think it’s interesting how Harukawa draws him as pretty normal (emphasis on the pretty because sheesh) apart from his constantly dark-but-not-dark and blurry eyes.
