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if he was “insane” i don’t think he would have been able to accomplish all he has. Dazai became an executive in the Port Mafia at a very young age and is still the youngest executive in history. that and the strategic abilities he has would not have been possible if he were insane.
mental illness is fairly obvious, however. depression and suicidal tendencies rule a large part of Dazai’s life (both in the anime and for the real Dazai). but just because he is dealing with mental illness does not mean that words like “ill” or “sick” really describe him either. both “ill” and “sick” have negative connotations that don’t necessarily apply to people suffering from mental illness. Dazai definitely doesn’t want to be the way he is or he wouldn’t have joined the mafia, become friends with Oda, and ultimately left the mafia and joined the agency all in an attempt to discover a reason for living.
FIFTEEN light novel spoilers ahead:
in regards to the scene in the FIFTEEN light novel, that happened when Dazai still had no direction and no where to turn in life. he didn’t even know where to start looking to find meaning in his life. he technically wasn’t a member of the mafia until the end of the light novel, so at that point he didn’t see the mafia as a place he could find the answers he was looking for. because of the position he was in i interpreted Dazai’s shooting the corpse repeatedly as a sign of contempt because death came so easily for the other person and not for himself. a saying that i use a lot is, “If you don’t laugh you’ll cry.” in situations where you feel hopeless and there is nothing else to do if you don’t want to cry then you try to laugh it off in an attempt to stay strong. i think Dazai did that a lot, and that coping mechanism was the only thing that kept him from becoming an emotional wreck.
but all of this is my own interpretation and opinions, so you can agree or disagree.
if he was “insane” i don’t think he would have been able to accomplish all he has. Dazai became an executive in the Port Mafia at a very young age and is still the youngest executive in history. that and the strategic abilities he has would not have been possible if he were insane.
mental illness is fairly obvious, however. depression and suicidal tendencies rule a large part of Dazai’s life (both in the anime and for the real Dazai). but just because he is dealing with mental illness does not mean that words like “ill” or “sick” really describe him either. both “ill” and “sick” have negative connotations that don’t necessarily apply to people suffering from mental illness. Dazai definitely doesn’t want to be the way he is or he wouldn’t have joined the mafia, become friends with Oda, and ultimately left the mafia and joined the agency all in an attempt to discover a reason for living.
FIFTEEN light novel spoilers ahead:
in regards to the scene in the FIFTEEN light novel, that happened when Dazai still had no direction and no where to turn in life. he didn’t even know where to start looking to find meaning in his life. he technically wasn’t a member of the mafia until the end of the light novel, so at that point he didn’t see the mafia as a place he could find the answers he was looking for. because of the position he was in i interpreted Dazai’s shooting the corpse repeatedly as a sign of contempt because death came so easily for the other person and not for himself. a saying that i use a lot is, “If you don’t laugh you’ll cry.” in situations where you feel hopeless and there is nothing else to do if you don’t want to cry then you try to laugh it off in an attempt to stay strong. i think Dazai did that a lot, and that coping mechanism was the only thing that kept him from becoming an emotional wreck.
but all of this is my own interpretation and opinions, so you can agree or disagree.
