Osamu Dazai and the Meaning of Life

The character Osamu Dazai from Bungou Stray Dogs is known for his eccentric persona and even more eccentric actions, but is there actually an underlying concept behind it all?

Osamu Dazai is one of the first characters introduced in the show Bungou Stray Dogs. He was mainly used for comical purposes, but there were also cases in certain scenes in the show where it felt like he was much deeper than he let on. This leads to the blog topic for today:

What is the Philosophy behind Dazai?

Before I delve deeper into how Dazai is heavily influenced by philosophy, I shall start by introducing the philosophical concept for this post: Existentialism.

Existentialism?

Estentialism is the philosophical idea that is based on the problem of human existence and explores this through how the individual thinks, feels, and acts. In other words, it is the idea that you are responsible for the meaning and reasons behind your existence. the concept has been seen in works by novelists such as Dostoevsky, Kafka, and Beckett, and thus as much as it is a philosophical concept, there is also a cultural aspect to it. There are branches based on religious affiliation, but the main factor for existentialists is the choice to believe or not to believe.

How does Dazai portray this concept?

Dazai is written as someone that has struggled to find the true meaning of his life. This is most evident through all of his suicidal attempts, even though they seem to be used for almost a comical purpose. Dazai attempts to end his life so many times for the sole reason that he believes he does not have much of a purpose to exist.

These suicidal actions by Dazai seem to also be alluding to his past when he was a member of the mafia. When his partner Oda dies, he attempts to give Dazai the purpose he was searching for: to stay on the side of good. He tells Dazai that the hole in his heart will not be filled, but staying on the side of good will at least make him a little better of a person.

During the events of the anime, Dazai's seemingly randomness of actions is the result of him struggling to believe in that purpose. When it seems that the load of staying on the good side starts to stress him out, he likes to perform one of his signature suicide attempts.

To Conclude

Osamu Dazai, while he is meant to be the mentor character, also has many personal issues of his own, which mainly come under the cover of existentialism. His character is largely based on how he struggles to deal with his choices and purpose in life. Through this, we get the Dazai that we all know and love: the expert killer with an odd side to him.