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- The corruption in Chuuya’s body had already disappeared. Dazai had nullified it. He placed a hand on Chuuya’s cheek where it had been punched and smirked slightly. “So this is how you wake Snow White? Kinda violent, don’t you think?”
- —Dead Apple light novel
Soukoku is the slash ship between Chuuya Nakahara and Osamu Dazai from the Bungou Stray Dogs fandom.
Canon
Dazai and Chuuya were paired up with each other when they were 15 years old to investigate the Arahabaki case. The man who had paired them was Ougai Mori, the new boss of the mafia, who strived to recreate his old partnership with Fukuzawa, the former Soukoku. He reasoned that only diamonds can be polished by diamonds.
The duo was named Soukoku after one memorable night during the events of "Dragon's Head Rush", where they had defeated an enemy organization in a short amount of time that night. This resulted in them recognizing themselves as Soukoku, differing and oftentimes called Twin Dark or Double Black, among enemy organizations. They are also known as "Yokohama's vicious duo", well-known and feared both inside and out the mafia.
Despite bickering and arguing constantly with Chuuya wishing Dazai dead multiple times, the two work together seamlessly on the battlefield with Dazai being the only person who can deactivate Chuuya’s Corruption. Despite flaunting his hatred for Dazai. Chuuya expresses his concern when Dazai is injured, like when he calls out his name during the fight with Lovecraft. They claim to truly dislike each other, though they can predict the other's thinking, logic, and moves. Dazai constantly reminds Chuuya of their past partnership and finds amusement in their interactions, such as striking a deal to make Chuuya pose as a spoiled rich girl.
The pair express distaste for working with one another, however, have an unconditional trust for each other. As stated in the "Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple" guide book, "The core characterization of Dazai and Chūya's partnership is based on pure trust where both of them are capable of leaving each other's life on the other's hand without a second thought or doubt."
During their first meeting at Suribachi City, Dazai recognizes Chuuya as the infamous "King of the Sheep" and calls him a "cocky, overconfident child" while Chuuya retorts with "suicidal brat" and "condescending prick." Their first interactions are more comedic and childish with back-to-back volleyed insults and constant bickering, as Dazai resents Chuuya violence and over-the-top methods of thinking, teasing him with how he can't think out a plan; while Chuuya scorns Dazai's suicidal tendencies and more strategic approaches. During their investigation of Arahabaki, Dazai frequently teases Chuuya and successfully gets under his skin.
Even as Dazai and Chuuya had misunderstandings and qualms at the very beginning, their trust was always present from an unknown force, shown when they successfully defeated Rimbaud together. Dazai was well aware that the Sheep was using Chuuya for their own good and decided to trick them into abandoning Chuuya for his good in future. During the events of the light novel Dazai, Chūya, Age Fifteen, Dazai had made a bet with Chuuya in an attempt to make him his dog and servant in the arcade. Later, Dazai claimed Chuuya to be his personal dog to which Chuuya declines. However, Dazai likes to refer to Chuuya as his "Sheep Dog". To the present day, Dazai and Chūya still remember many of their old tactics that they named, such as, “Shame and Toad" and "Rain Falls Outside the Window Frame.”
The light novel Stormbringer, set a year after Chūya joined the Port Mafia, gives more insight into the two’s relationship; Dazai had assisted Chuuya multiple times, nullifying Chuuya when the ‘gate’ within him was activated, showing up at N’s base to save Chuuya, and coordinating the attack on Verlaine for Chuuya’s sake. Despite the two’s further insults and expression of hatred for one another, Dazai was one of the few people who believed and was convinced of Chuuya’s humanity, stating that he wanted to see Chūya “suffer as a human.”
When tortured at N’s lab to near death, Chuuya hallucinated Dazai telling him that they’re not so different, causing Chuuya to say aloud that he’s not a P.O.S. (piece of shit) like Dazai despite his weakened state. In the battle against the Demonic Beast Guivre, Chuuya, had used Corruption trusting in Dazai, and the two shared many comedic and lighthearted moments in the novel (i.e. Chuuya telling Adam that Dazai’s the “type of guy who would get away with selling water to a drowning person,” or Chuuya hanging Dazai upside down and spinning him around until he throws up as a torture mechanism.)
The first time when Chuuya had used Corruption was mentioned in the light novel "Dazai, Chūya, Age Fifteen", then the light novel “Stormbringer.” Next, it was during the arc of "Dragon Head's Rush." Chuuya did not chant anything while he had activated Corruption as shown in the movie. However, in the "Dead Apple" light novel, it had been mentioned that the chant was originally created by his partner Osamu Dazai, as followed: "The wind rose, Chūya's hair floated. Don't stop me."
In the events of "Dragon Head's Rush" (light novel and from the game) Chuuya is seen breaking into Dazai's room to check if he was safe; just to find an empty room. He then recalls a conversation from the previous night during an executives meeting where Dazai calls him extremely small in size and he is in need of a microscope to be able to see him properly. Chuuya raged but he later realizes it was a code language for what will happen the following day and where to find him.
Their partnership collapsed four years ago when Dazai left the Port Mafia and joined the Armed Detective Agency. However, they interact frequently starting from the Port Mafia Arc. Their partnership and reunion of Double Black resumes during the conflict with the Guild as they team up multiple times, notably in the Vampire Infection Outbreak Arc when Dazai and Chuuya trick Fyodor together.
Dazai is also seen folding Chuuya’s coat and hat before taking his leave. There had been also an extra chapter where Kouyou was looking for Chuuya but when she was unable to find him she came across his coat; where she noticed a badge sewed inside saying "Dear Hatrack's." Their constant childish bickering and fighting is something iconic for the pair. However, Chuuya is aware of Dazai not experiencing a proper childhood; therefore allows him to act as childish as he can and lets him tease him relentlessly.
Set after Dazai and Chuuya’s reunion, in Dead Apple, Chuuya uses corruption to save Dazai, even after Ango says that he's dead for sure. As well as that, Chuuya screams Dazai's name while in Corruption when he is not supposed to be in a sane state of mind; as Dazai mentions in their reunion episode, Chuuya loses control and does not have the track of reality while under his own ability but this time, while using Corruption, the one and only thing that was on his mind was "Dazai."
Afterwards when Chuuya manages to rescue Dazai, Dazai gently touches his face to nullify Corruption and greets him with, "Did you use Corruption because you believed in me? You’re gonna make me cry…" Chūya groans, and replies that yes he did, and Dazai argues it with, "So this is how you wake Snow White? Kinda violent, don’t you think?" claiming himself as the Snow White and Chuuya his prince who saved him, adjacent to the story where the prince kissed Snow White. To which Chūya replies with, "You were the one who hid that antidote in your mouth knowing that I would come and punch you to life."
When the duo falls on the ground, Dazai forces Chuuya to rest on his lap and stops him from getting up when Chuuya tried to use his knee as a support, because he did not want to risk it any longer for if the fog separates Chuuya from his ability specially when Chuuya was worn out.
By the Vampire Infection Outbreak Arc, Dazai and Chuuya collaborate to trick Fyodor and win the battle against Fukuchi. Dazai joins forces with Sigma to win the prison break game and Chuuya with Fyodor’s under the guise of a vampire under Bram’s ability. Dazai traps the two in an elevator and plans to drown him; he smiles fondly as he has memories about him and Chuuya, which causes him to hesitate when he attempted to drown him and Fyodor, but shortly after he snaps out of it and gives a “Goodbye!” before flooding the elevator.
Dazai urges Chūya to come to his senses
With the battle continued, as Chuuya corners an injured Dazai and prepares to shoot, Dazai pretends to snap Chuuya out of his faked vampiric state by saying emotional words. "We can't let our destinies end like this. After all, we're both indelibly fated to-" before Chuuya shoots him in the forehead, then the body multiple times. Shortly after, it's revealed Dazai survived the shot via Chuuya’s ability, and he proudly explains to Fyodor that Chuuya was never a vampire in the first place.
Moments
Fifteen
- Dazai expresses that he loves Chuuya because how well they get along together in order to irritate him. Chuuya however gets caught off guard by the advance, causing him to be grossed out by it. This results in Dazai being disappointed by the response.
Stormbringer
- Dazai tells Mori he wanted to make Chuuya his personal maid after their battle with Verlaine. (There is also an anthology about this where Mori puts them in maid outfits.)
- In the stage play, Mori explains to Dazai that if Chuuya dies, he could share the double suicide he craves with Chuuya.
- Chuuya explains that he thought of 190 torture methods to use on Dazai as revenge for leaking information to Verlaine.
- Dazai says, ''after all, asleep or awake, I’m constantly thinking in ways to annoy Chuuya.”
Side Content
- In the Volume 4 Omake, Chuuya gets drunk and starts complaining about Dazai, before angrily calling him and being stopped by Hirotsu.
- In BSD Wan! Chapter 83, Dazai tells Chuuya that he has several notebooks / journals dedicated to his grievances with Chuuya.
- In BSD Wan! Chapter 92, Chuuya reads a book on Conversation techniques and uses it on Dazai, unintentionally flirting with him, only realizing afterwards that the book was a Romance volume.
Quotes
- Main article: Soukoku/Quotes
Behind the Scenes
- In the interview for a bonus after purchasing the DVD or Blu-ray of Dead Apple, the director for the film, Takuya Igarashi, comments on Dazai and Chūya's relationship as something more than friends where one another can understand and communicate as if they are one soul in two different bodies.
- The author of the series, Kafka Asagiri, adds with Takuya Igarashi that Chūya is the only one who can predict and understand Dazai's true motive.
Songs
- Partners In Crime | Set It Off
- This song is frequently associated with Soukoku due to the fitting lyrics and similarity.
Fanon
Soukoku is the most popular ship within its fandom. On AO3, Soukoku is the most written ship for both characters and the Bungou Stray Dogs tag. Platonic Soukoku is also the second most written ship for both characters and the third most written ship for the fandom. Soukoku is normally shipped alongside other mainstream ships like Shin Soukoku, Ranpoe, Fyolai, Suegiku, FukuMori, and Rimlaine. Others like Kousano or Odango are also contenders. However, Soukoku is often rivaled by Sigzai and other ships like Fyozai.
Although, Soukoku as a ship or fans themselves often get hate, as some of the fandom mischaracterizes Dazai and Chuuya for the sake of the ship. Some of the fandom has critiqued and joked about how Chuuya is hyper-feminized in fics or by the general fans for Soukoku, or vice versa for Dazai who is sometimes dumbed down. But as a whole, Soukoku is the most popular romantic pairing within the fan base, though some fans see them platonically.
Another common critique is that the anime adaptation removed far too many Soukoku moments and chose a more tense and unfriendly version of their dynamic, contrast to the manga's constant back-to-back insults and more playful bickering.
Dazai and Chuuya’s first appearance together
Soukoku exploded in popularity from the start as Dazai and Chuuya quickly became the most popular characters within the fandom, subsequently their ship. Fans liked their well-established dynamic and ex-partner history since the first chapter and episode Chuuya appeared in, as well as their tension and likable banter. Fans enjoyed how Dazai and Chuuya generally looked together.
However, since not much was known about their history other than their status as rivals and ex-partners, Soukoku was frequently criticized as some argued that since Dazai and Chuuya hated each other, shipping them was wrong. Fans also criticized how Dazai messed with Chuuya by delaying his nullification, subsequently causing him harm.
But as more information of them was revealed in their arcs (most importantly Fifteen which gave an insight on how they met and how they quickly became frenemies), these views quickly changed. Most importantly in Season 2, their dedicated reunion episode “Double Black” gave a further rise in popularity for their pairing as it showed Chuuya’s concern for Dazai’s life, and their more wholesome and sweet moments together.
As time went on, Soukoku has become a cornerstone in general BSD conversations, whether regarding the ship or Dazai and Chuuya’s relationship, since their bond is crucial to both characters and their development, such as how Dazai is the only character who can nullify Chuuya’s Corruption state, increasing their bond and need for their partnership.
In the present, Soukoku is popular for their argumentative and intimate dynamic, and their many ship teased moments and scenes. Even though Dazai and Chuuya state that they hate or strongly dislike each other, they have a much deeper bond, trusting and risk their lives for each other. Soukoku fans tend to adore almost every detail of the ship, such as Dazai making Chuuya rest in his lap despite comedically saying to Atsushi he doesn’t hug men.
Regarding the possibly romantic aspect of their relationship, shippers like to believe that Chuuya is based on the real Osamu Dazai’s crush he met when he was around 15 years old, the same age the BSD version of Chuuya and Dazai met. Whether theorizing or a general headcanon, fans believe that Dazai gained feelings for Chuuya when they first met, and common works include him harboring these emotions to the present day after their severed partnership. Fans also point out the romantic subtext in the official art focused on the two.
Lists
| 5th | AUG 7th 2023 | ||||
| 6th | SEP 25th 2023 | ||||
| 8th | SEP 18th 2023 | ||||
| 11th | AUG 28th 2023 | ||||
| 12th | AUG 14th 2023 | SEP 11th 2023 | |||
| 13th | MAY 9th 2022 | AUG 21st 2023 | OCT 2nd 2023 | OCT 23rd 2023 | |
| 15th | OCT 9th 2023 | ||||
| 16th | MAY 15th 2023 | ||||
| 17th | MAR 6th 2023 | JUN 12th 2023 | |||
| 18th | MAY 8th 2023 | MAY 22nd 2023 | JUN 19th 2023 | JUN 26th 2023 | JUL 3rd 2023 |
| OCT 16th 2023 | |||||
| 20th | JUN 5th 2023 | ||||
| 22nd | 2023 | ||||
| 82nd | 2022 | ||||
Fandom
- FAN FICTION
- Chūya/Dazai tag on AO3
- Chūya & Dazai tag on AO3
- TUMBLR
- Soukoku tag on Tumblr
- BSD Soukoku tag on Tumblr
- skk tag on Tumblr
- Dazai x Chuuya tag on Tumblr
- Chuuya x Dazai tag on Tumblr
- 太中 tag on Tumblr
- 中太 tag on Tumblr
- Soukoku posts on Twitter
- Soukoku hashtag on Twitter
- skk hashtag on Twitter
- Dachu hashtag on Twitter
- Dachuu hashtag on Twitter
- 太中 posts on Twitter
- 太中 hashtag on Twitter
- 中太 posts on Twitter
- 中太 hashtag on Twitter
Trivia
- On the ranking of top 20 pairings of 2018 in Japan, Dazai and Chūya had came on the 7th place, while their voice actors were placed at 20th.
- During the character designs, the creators of the series mentioned that Dazai and Chuuya would be in a partner relationship, as well as that Chūya was originally designed for Dazai.
- Chuuya had been promoted to being an executive, making him the youngest executive in the history of Port Mafia. However, when Dazai became an executive, the title had been given to Dazai since he was 51 days younger than Chuuya. - Chuuya was not promoted before Dazai, but after Dazai left the Port Mafia.
- When Chuuya mentions Dazai as the youngest executive in the History of the Port Mafia, it is simply an insult for his bitterness and jealousy about Dazai taking the title away from him. Dazai on the other hand does not back off and calls Chuuya "Short" and "Small half of Double Black."
- Their stage actors ships and adores them (Dazai is played by Hideya Tawada and Chuuya is played by Ueda Keisuke).
- Dazai and Chuuya are 51 days apart in age.
- Their height difference is 21 cm (Chuuya- 160 cm, Dazai - 181 cm).
- Dazai stated that he did not enjoy the company of men or hugging men. Yet, in one promo picture, he is seen hugging Chuuya from the side, while wearing a very amused smile and winking at Chuuya.
- The real life author Dazai Osamu was revealed to be a bisexual in his book Crackling Mountains. There he describes a boy that he had a crush on when he was 15. The boy was described as his companion and short. If we go back to the anime, Chuuya and Dazai met when they were both 15, and Chuuya is short and was his companion/partner.
- Dazai's real-life crush gave him a slug, and “slug” is precisely the main nickname that Dazai in the anime calls Chuuya.
- In an official art, Dazai and Chuuya are seen sitting together in a popular date place in Japan,and that official art was also posted on Valentine's day.
- Dazai said that if Chuuya looses in a game he'll be his dog for life, and dogs are considered a human's best friend.
- Dazai stated to Sigma that he has been thinking of ways to kill Chuuya every day for about 7 years.
- In the 15 years light novel, Dazai used a red drape (tying one end to Chuuya and the other to himself) to nullify Randou's ability. The real life author Osamu Dazai wrote a novel (The Setting Sun) about finding his wife with a red thread of fate. It is common that red strings are associated with soulmates saying that if you have a soulmate, an invisible red thread of fate ties you together.
- Red camellias (Camellia Japonica) are often used to represent them. The said flower stands for romantic love, passion, trust, and desire. In some cases, it also represents death or sorrow of losing someone, and is related to Chuuya's ability (For the Tainted Sorrow), where he has a higher chance of dying.
- In the Portuguese manga of episode 9,the translations were changed to Chuuya saying to Dazai "my dear dazai, next time you wont be so lucky!"
- On Crunchyroll the subtitles were changed to "You used Corruption believing in me? How beautiful."
- On July 1st 2023, the official Fandom Twitter account tweets about Soukoku ranking #4 for the top 5 LGBTQ+ ships on fandom via the Shipping wiki.
- Soukoku ranked at the 4th place for the most written ship on Ao3 2023
- Soukoku is often one of the most trending pages on the Shipping Wiki (this website.)
- Shiwasu Hoshikawa, one of the official artist for the light novels that drew the Beast and the Fifteen manga openly follows Soukoku Artists on Twitter.
- In an article titled "Fandom's Most Searched Ships of 2023" by Addison Peacock on Fandom, the article listed the top 10 ships that were the most searched online in 2023 with Soukoku landing on the 2nd place of most searched ship of 2023. Fandom's Most Searched Ships of 2023
Gallery
- Main article: Soukoku/Gallery
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| Bungou Stray Dogs Ships • Bungou Stray Dogs Characters | ||
| SHIPS | het | AkuHigu • AtsuGin • AtsuKyou • AtsuLucy • Ayamura • ChuuAki • Dazai x Waitress • Dazasaki • FukuHaru • Fyoagatha • HawMitch • KuniSaki • KyouKenji • MarkLucy • MoriZaki • PoeCott • Ranposano • TachiGin • TeruSigma |
| slash | ChuuAku • ChuuAtsu • ChuuRan • DazAku • Dazatsu • FukuFuku • FukuMori • FukuRan • Fyolai • Fyosig • Fyoya • Fyozai • KuniChuu • Kunikidazai • Odazai • Ranpoe • Rimlaine • Shin Soukoku • Shirachuu • SigmAtsu • Siglai • Sigzai • Souheki • Soukoku • Suegiku • TachiJou | |
| femslash | HiguGin • Kousano • LucyKyou • Montcott | |
| family | Tanizaki Siblings | |
| CHARACTERS | male | Osamu Dazai • Fyodor Dostoyevsky • Ranpo Edogawa • Atsushi Nakajima • Chuuya Nakahara • Sigma |