anđela's Reviews > Bungo Stray Dogs, Vol. 7 (light novel): Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen (Volume 7) (Bungo Stray Dogs

** spoiler alert ** 7/10 which is extremely biased since i've loved bsd and these characters for so long.
*long rant ahead; really went off on the entire series*
since i couldn't log this on myanimelist properly, i have to do it here and in the process i'm about to give my two cents. having recently read the four years worth of manga i have to conclude that kafka asagiri is not a good storyteller.
let me explain. 
kafka relies a lot on literature which is not a bad thing per se but recently his work consists of constant references in the form of new characters and abilities, while overlooking his already existing characters and plots. the more you think about the plot and try to reason how stuff works, you'll find yourself incredibly frustrated because - it just doesn't.
kafka blinds you with epic plot twists and
allusions to some of the world's best literature works, but when that's all said and done there is barely any flesh left in the story.
that being said, this novel is one of bungo stray dogs best moments.
in comparison to the anime adaptation, the novel works so much better because we're given more insight on character's thoughts and consequences of their actions are much more clear; while in anime, some of these things may seem sudden.

“Well, there you have it, Dazai,” Mori said, smirking. “Chuuya is the most violently powerful person in this room. But in the Mafia, violence and brute force are merely a couple of tools at our disposal. Our true strength lies in controlling rational action by any means necessary. In this case, the disadvantage of opposing me outweighs the advantage. Just some food for thought.”
“I guess I see what you mean, but what are you lecturing me for?”
“Good question.”

nakahara chuuya is undoubtedly the one of kafka's best characters: he is likeable, has powerful and logical ability and overall is full of potential. but i think the thing i love about chuuya the most is that despite all this - he's vulnerable. he's incredibly loyal and sincere, doing what has to be done in order to protect what he stands for. yet still, in the main story he barely appears (15/100 chapters to be precise). this story explains chuuya's ability well, including the sole existence of corruption, and i think that chuuya's backstory with the sheep is an example of allusion to the original poem done well.

Dazai showed flashes of brilliance one moment, but the next moment, they were gone. As soon as he seemed to have it all figured out, he’d confuse everyone by talking about his bizarre, meaningless fascination with suicide.

 
dazai, while in the port mafia, is a much better fleshed out character than what he becomes later in the series. he's only fifteen years old, but at the same time he is very cautious of his surroundings, especially after being a witness to the previous boss' death. this foreshadows a lot of events that will take place after, as well as how it will impact other characters and their choices. some of his behavior can be attributed to trauma he experienced and some to his age (while later in the series it becomes quite unclear).

“The mission isn’t over yet,” Dazai suggested with a cold gaze. “It only ends when everyone involved in the assassination and fabrication of the boss’s final testament has been silenced…permanently. Right?”

this is ultimately what brings mori to think that dazai will once kill him for the boss position in the mafia and therefore drives him to, in a way, arrange the death of dazai's only true friend.
pre-odasaku's death, dazai was a completely different person from ADA dazai. if you squint, in the manga you can see glimpses of his "true" self still.

Miscalculation.
You misjudged the situation, he told himself. You failed to pick the optimal solution. You shouldn’t have chosen this child to help you. Dazai is unpredictable. He can be sharp but in a dark, twisted way. He’s observant. He’s cold and calculating with no equivalent even in the Mafia, where the most evil reside.

as the time passed, kafka unfortunately started obviously favoring dazai in the series and our main, true, protagonist nakajima atsushi has become severely overlooked. it became reduced to this: atsushi being meek and still losing fights and dazai being all powerful and wise mentor who never once made a mistake. because of that, you never know what is going on inside his head and that makes him extremely unpredictable, therefore detached from other characters and by extension, readers. other characters that do this are dostoevsky and gogol (but he's utterly insane, so i'll let it slide). this allows kafka to have as many asspulls as plot devices as he'd like, and to attribute it to dazai's (and dostoevsky's) unlimited knowledge and wit. even chuuya addresses this in the novel (lmao)

“You have no idea how irritatin’ this is, you crafty son of a bitch,” Chuuya grumbled while still midair. “I can’t believe your prediction was right again!”
{...} “I’m pissed, too.” Chuuya’s scowling face was bruised and cut up. “Every last detail went just as that sly bastard said it would, even the ending.”

as well as completely absurd skills

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Chuuya spat. “The hell can’t his skill do…?”

one of the few examples where dazai was truly useful as a mentor (not just this epitome of knowledge and power) to atsushi are the conversations with atsushi after he encounters q and after the orphanage director dies. this i would say is the only "mistake" dazai ever made, he slipped into his "true", cruel persona and treated atsushi the way he treated akutagawa throughout his entire mentorship. the main difference is that he did it to hurt akutagawa, but to help atsushi (can be debatable, but that's how i interpret it).
as far as his ability goes, he does have a pretty logical one as well as good allusions to no longer human, and the real dazai's life heavily reflects on fictional dazai so i feel like that is the aspect of his character i have no real critique of. his friendship with oda and ango was also a nice touch.

“…Hey,” Chuuya muttered softly.
Dazai didn’t reply. He didn’t even turn around.
“…Hey, I’m talkin’ to you,” Chuuya repeated. “Tell me where we’re going.”
“Gosh, the weather is really nice today. In fact, it’s so nice, I think I can hear a little fairy talking to me.”
“Aw, piss off. You know it’s me.”

considering soukoku, dazai and chuuya have one of the best dynamics in the series, and this is kind of recreated in akutagawa and atsushi later on, but not as well. simply because they are not as strong characters as dazai and chuuya are. there is a given parallel that mori and fukuzawa used to be just like that, but i would like to limit Only a diamond can polish a diamond. statement to their abilities. kouyou was chuuya's mentor, while dazai stayed under mori who saw his younger self in dazai and i think there is a lot of symbolism in that, which i like. kafka could have utilized soukoku's powers more, with emphasis that they complement each other; we see some shortcomings of dazai's ability but it's just a glimpse.

“I see… So it’s all for your partner,” Dazai said listlessly. “Betraying the Mafia, spreading rumors about the old boss’s resurrection, this fight we’re in now… It’s kind of hard to believe, to be honest.”
“Maybe for a slimeball like you it is,” Chuuya scoffed. He looked up at Randou. “Throwing everything away for your friends is a perfectly respectable reason to risk your life if you ask me… What more could you ask for in an opponent?”

i wish this novel focused more on soukoku dynamics and how opposite to each other they truly are, rather than half of it being a teaser for stormbringer introducing transcendents. although i can understand why is it important since real-life chuuya was influenced mostly by french poets in his work, and i liked how verlaine's betrayal of rimbaud in the novel corresponds to the real life events.
the thing that stood out the most as bad for me in this novel were some plans and some abilities, that are a perfect example of asspull i mentioned earlier.
i'm still excited for stormbringer this year and i am highly hoping that it would be the best installment in the series so far.