What If Dazai Stopped Playing the Fool?
There's something that I saw on Twitter (I refuse to call it X) that peaked my interest.
Does Dazai mask more in the ADA than he did in the Port Mafia?
In the Port Mafia, of course Dazai has the role of the Demon Prodigy to play. But he didn't play that role all the time. He wasn't expected to be human or "normal" by any means. In the Port Mafia, Dazai's detached, but he's real. The Demon Prodigy mask that Dazai built was for survival; it was what Mori wanted him to be. But underneath the Demon Prodigy, there was still Dazai. We saw that Dazai when he was with Chuuya, Oda, and Ango. Dazai didn't have to hide what he was truly capable of. His intelligence, his ruthlessness, his darkness. He simply played into it.
Now, however...now it's different. In the ADA, he has to be human. Everyone knows him as the suicidal, bandage-wasting prankster. He has to be the heroic, trustworthy, likable human. He has to pretend he's harmless. So, he plays the part. He crafted the mask and is careful not to drop it. He can't take that mask off, because once he does, the ADA will truly see who he is. No one in the ADA truly knows what he's capable of.
Dazai knows who he truly is, and he knows he can never be truly good, but good and evil never mattered to him. To him, good and evil doesn't exist, because he himself is a morally gray character. So to answer the first question, Dazai does mask more in the ADA...but that brings me to another question.
What does Dazai want?
Think about it, has Dazai ever done anything for himself? Not that I can recall. He's always been doing everything for a mission, a deal, the sake of other people, etc. So, what does Dazai want?
What will happen when Dazai finally gets that free will, when he finally gets to choose what he wants? What will he do when he finally stops caring? Would he honor Oda's wish? Would he go back to the Port Mafia out of his own volition to become the next boss? Here's the most interesting one: Would Dazai become neutral?
That's actually the scariest option. You might think that Dazai going back to the Port Mafia being scarier, but I think this one is the scariest. Because if Dazai truly goes neutral, he wouldn't be bound by anything. Morality, ideals, and expectations? All out the window. He wouldn't be tethered by any missions or orders, he would simply act out of pure logic and self-interest. No more masks, no more facades, this would just be Dazai.
There's always been a reason behind all of his actions, but if he becomes neutral, he would be unpredictable. Maybe he doesn't burn everything down. Maybe he doesn't save anyone. Maybe he just watches, pulling strings only when it amuses him, only when it serves whatever fleeting curiosity he has at the moment. A wild card.
One day he could save a child from an oncoming car. That same night he could slaughter an entire organization out of curiosity. No one could predict what he would do next. And that? That's scary.
Just an extra note here, everyone in Dazai's life has tried to shape and mold him into something he isn't. Mori molded the Demon Prodigy, Oda pushed Dazai to become a good man, even though he may not be fit for it, Fukuzawa wanting a protector of Yokohama. The only person that I can recall that hasn't forced Dazai to be something is Chuuya. Chuuya just lets Dazai be, no pressure, no expectations, just Dazai.
Hopefully, all of that made sense. I actually thought of this last night and chose to put it in words today. Dazai's character just has so much potential because no one knows what he truly wants. And I'm waiting for the day for him to say, "You know what? I'm done."
Dazai just lives in my head rent free at this point. So does Chuuya.
