History Analysis / BungoStrayDogs

The real Junichirou Tanizaki wrote books about Japan's fascination with the west. His books were very different, as some were controversial because of the way they described sexuality, whereas others were of much calmer sentiment. One of them, ''Naomi'' (or ''A Fool's Love'') is quite [[IncrediblyLamePun literally]] represented in Naomi Tanizaki, Junichirou's sister. In old times, Japanese women kept their hair short, or if it was naturally long, in a nice updo in order to show their neck, which was considered attractive. Having it loose was a taboo. However, Naomi stood out because she did exactly that. The Naomi that is featured in BSD, has long, wispy hair in a reference to that. She greatly responds with the character she's named after, in particular, her [=BroCon=]. This nicely encapsulates the sometimes uncomfortable themes Tanizaki wrote about, as there are still fans who are divided about her. In contrast, Haruno Kirako, who is from the same book, is ''none'' of that. She is coy, innocent and smart - a complete {{Foil}} to Naomi. These two characters were used by author Tanizaki to display the difference in women, as well as to show that the protagonist's obsession with Naomi may not be a good thing after all.\\\

Ranpo is notably the only character in the entire franchise who is named after an author but does not have a viable Ability, one that is derived from a work of his namesake. The author he is named after, greatly shaped the detective genre, this particular brand of fiction. The genre is known for having one protagonist, the detective, it centers on, who often (but not always) have a sidekick. The detective has to crack the case using their own smarts, because often, they are not helped by any outside sources. One great cop-out to resolve the story would be that AWizardDidIt.

The real life Nakajima Atsushi is a relatively obscure author. He had an unhappy childhood, much like BSD Atsushi. He also died young. The only reason why Japanese literature courses still talk about him is his most known work: ''Sangetsuki'', or ''[[https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000119/files/624_14544.html The Moon Above The Mountains]]''. In it, a man strives to become a poet, and in his obsession with his goal, turns into a tiger after being driven to madness.

Now, this Atsushi, being inspired by the author, has the power to, well, turn into a tiger. Atsushi also starts out being nearly driven to madness. He is near death by poverty and considers the opportunity to steal - more about that in the ''Rashoumon'' section. The connection his power has with this book is very direct, as in it is the exact same power. However, Atsushi starts out unable to control it. The real Atsushi was very interested in oral and written communication, reactive and planned respectively. This is exactly what Atsushi tries to do in his ways to control it. Cited from [[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10371390500226233 this page]], 'In Nakajima's world, to be literate means to experience agony (...)', which is spot on to Atsushi's initial mentality, as he saw his Ability ([[MundaneMadeAwesome Abilities are the equivalent of being literate, remember]]!) as a curse. It continues describing 'which is made even more acute when the inner literate mentality is contained within an outer oral appearance. The tragedy of ‘Sangetsuki’ lies not in the transformation of the hero from literate to oral, but in the incompleteness of the transformation; the hero retains his human mentality even after his physical appearance has been transformed.' If we take 'normal' Atsushi as 'literate' and 'tiger' Atsushi as 'oral' in this sentence, it very well describes Atsushi remaining conscious as a tiger, using this power to achieve his goal.

The author Akutagawa Ryuunosuke wrote short stories, the most known being ''Rashoumon''. ''Rashoumon'' 's protagonist starts out being near death, starving and contemplating the choice to become a thief (compare Atsushi!). He wants to shelter for the rain and walks to the dilapidated, eponymous ''Rashoumon'', a gate where dead bodies are kept. There, an old woman is pulling out hairs from a dead body. The protagonist is confused, but the old woman says it's [[JustifiedTrope justified]], because the woman she's pulling out hairs from, was someone who sold snake meat as fish and made her living that way. Now the old woman wanted to make wigs of them in order to make ''her'' living. The story ends with the protagonist robbing the old woman of her kimono to make ''his'' living.

The character Akutagawa has, strictly speaking, the power to control his own clothes. This obviously stems from the conclusion of ''Rashoumon'', as usual. It's also obvious that ''Rashoumon'' is a SemanticSuperpower, as it looks like he can control it in extreme ways - make it as sharp as a blade, make it steady enough so it can lift him up in the air, etc. It is the power of someone who will and can do anything to survive, (just like Atsushi's!) no matter what he needs to do. The protagonist of ''Rashoumon'' was ultimately able to answer the question 'Is stealing justified if it's important for my wellbeing' with 'Yes'. In ''Dead Apple'', when the Abilities get split, ''Beast Beneath The Moonlight'' and ''Rashoumon'' immediately start fighting, because they have a similar drive to survive.

The real Kunikida Doppo died young, but not without leaving a lot of precious works and ideas behind. He is considered the creator of a new branch of realism: naturalism. His stories contain themes found in naturalism, stating that YouCannotFightFate. The only possible way you could ScrewDestiny is by committing suicide. This is very interesting because the character Kunikida works together with suicide enthusiast Dazai.

The Kunikida in BSD has a very strict nature, is a ControlFreak and has no time for joking around. This not only reflects them both being a [[WesternZodiac Virgo]], this also obviously reflects the naturalism that the real Kunikida started. Naturalism is, like said previously, a branch of realism - as in that character Kunikida's words are so real that they ''become'' real. Plus, luckily, Kunikida has the maturity and mind to use it in the right way.

The real Junichirou Tanizaki wrote books about Japan's fascination with the west. His books were very different, as some were controversial because of the way they described sexuality, whereas others were of much calmer sentiment. One of them, ''Naomi'' (or ''A Fool's Love'') is quite [[IncrediblyLamePun literally]] represented in Naomi Tanizaki, Junichirou's sister. In old times, Japanese women kept their hair short, or if it was naturally long, in a nice updo in order to show their neck, which was considered attractive. Having it loose was a taboo. However, Naomi stood out because she did exactly that. The Naomi that is featured in BSD, has long, wispy hair in a reference to that. She greatly responds with the character she's named after, in particular, her [=BroCon=]. This nicely encapsulates the sometimes uncomfortable themes Tanizaki wrote about, as there are still fans who are divided about her. In contrast, Haruno Kirako, who is from the same book, is ''none'' of that. She is coy, innocent and smart - a complete {{Foil}} to Naomi. These two characters were used by author Tanizaki to display the difference in women, as well as to show that the protagonist's obsession with Naomi may not be a good thing after all.

Dazai resembles his real-life counterpart more than you'd think. There are obvious things like both being friends with Oda Sakunosuke and Sakaguchi Ango, drinking at Lupin and having lives revolving around suicide, but there are several lesser-known things that correspond. A scene in the Manga, for example (which was AdaptedOut in the Anime), shows him toying around with a dog. After Atsushi says: 'You're not very good with dogs, are you?', Dazai reacts with: 'Dogs are much harder to deal with than humans'. The real Dazai also hated dogs, so much so that he even wrote a 17-page story about it. His rivalry with Chuuya is based on the real Dazai's dislike of the poet, and their nicknames they give each other stem from reality. The real Dazai also had bad luck with women, was involved in illegal activities (the communist party in his case), was lazy and didn't want to work, and was bad at cooking/cleaning. He, however, liked to paint and made a self-portrait, which was referenced [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/a71ac582dbb3fe4c700b3f4cd496f5ed/tumblr_inline_p79b43Kzyh1snd0do_500.png here]]. They also share a [[https://66.media.tumblr.com/2da629a490b63b0497efacc4b1ef0516/tumblr_inline_p804hfR4P91snd0do_1280.png familiar pose]].

* They are both feministic, and controversial in their way of work. The poem ''Thou Shalt Not Die'' was highly discussed because it was of anti-war sentiment. And while the character Yosano got in some fights (versus Kajii or Chuuya), she doesn't necessarily like it. [[spoiler: Her past may have to do with this]].
* They both had connections with [[spoiler: Mori Ougai]]; the real Yosano even asked h[[spoiler:im]] to name her twin daughters.

The name 'Kyouka Izumi' was a pen name, just like several other ones, as it is customary in Japan. What, however, stands out, is that 'Kyouka Izumi' is a feminine name, whereas the real author was male (and named Kyotarou Izumi). The feminine pen name might have been the inspiration to make Kyouka a girl.

Izumi Kyouka's works are often said to be that of a surrealist sentiment, as it differed greatly from the writing of the other authors of his time. He preferred tales of the supernatural. This can be likened to Kyouka's Ability being the most traditionally supernatural, as it summons a phantom. Summoning ghosts and phantoms are not abnormal in the aforementioned tales of the supernatural because it is the most direct link to something not from this world.

First off, the real Chuuya was also called by his first name as well more than his last name. It is unknown why that is, but there is a certain memorial museum in which he is consistently referred to by his first name.

There went some thought in making his power gravity-related. [[http://looking-for-stray-dogs.tumblr.com/post/166707399994/yamaguchi-prefecture-chuuya-memorial-museum Quoting]] from the collaboration with the memorial museum: "He'd surely be rough, but burdened with sorrow, outrageously strong, cool, with a black hat, a little short, driving the story and the readers—
I thought that he’d be a character as described above. However, he did not easily appear so as I wished in the story. The hardest struggle was deciding what type of Ability he'd have. Not flames, nor ice. Not lightning, nor water. Having said so, it wouldn't be a quiet Ability either, such as mind-reading or clairvoyance. Destroying his enemies with violent force, yet tranquil in some way, with a weight that settled in the heart, merciless, passing through all defenses to pierce into his opponent—he should have such an Ability. After an extremely long, immense struggle and examination, I reached the conclusion of "Gravity". It could only be gravity. [[GravityMaster The Manipulator of Gravity]] cloaked in black, Nakahara Chuuya. In the work, he drew the story forward with his rich personality and advanced as I wished. The joint fight with the genius Ability user Dazai Osamu, whom he's at loggerheads with, has become an eminent battle within the work. He will continue playing an active part from now on". This was because the poet he is named after, wrote poems that spoke to the heart of people. In the same link, there is a comment made about how gravity is from the weight of words. 'Being able to control the heaviness or lightness of words at will……perhaps we can say that is the connecting point between the real poet Nakahara Chuuya and the manipulator of gravity Nakahara Chuuya.'

In the anime, Kunikida is seen playing a huge role in the Azure King arc. The character who sets off this entire arc is, ultimately, a girl named Sasaki Nobuko. In real life, Sasaki Nobuko was a woman had a relationship with the real Kunikida.