Odazai

Odazai is the slash ship between Oda Sakunosuke and Osamu Dazai from the Bungou Stray Dogs fandom.

Anime:
Dark Era= In the anime adaptation, Dazai and Oda, along with Ango Sakaguchi, used to drink together at Bar Lupin. However, it doesn't appear that Dazai drank what he ordered- he only talks to Oda and Ango, occasionally tapping his finger on his glass or playing with the rim.

The pair met Ango when the man was doing a ‘unique job’ (he was writing about people that had passed, not merely seeing them as numbers), both Oda and Dazai previously had gone dumpster diving, and when Ango refused to go to Bar Lupin with them to find out his deal, they teamed up to give him a gross hug and force him into compliance- and it really seemed to pay off, as ever since that moment they’d been a trio to the inevitable end, even displayed in Wan! Dark Era.

A lot of times when Oda is around, Dazai seems to be happier and his facial expressions soften with sincere smiles; these types of things are also noted in the light novel, and compared to how everyone else sees Dazai in the mafia at this time, it’s clear Oda is most likely the only one that truly gets to see this side of Dazai, hence why Dazai feels comfortable to act in these ‘out of character’ ways.

In one of the first scenes from the movie, we can see Dazai sitting by Odasaku's grave. Atsushi notices him and starts a conversation with Dazai, claiming that Kunikida sent him as there’s a meeting he should be a part of. Here, we find out a little more about Oda and Dazai’s relationship despite Oda not being around to give his side or reactions.
 * -|Dead Apple=

Dazai rests his head on the gravestone and whenever Atsushi says this person must have been important, Dazai asks him why he’d think that. He doesn’t draw himself away from giving answers for long, eventually answering after he’s asked if Oda was a lover, claiming that if Oda was a woman, he would have gone with him in a double suicide. He also tells Atsushi that he’s the reason that he’s not in the mafia anymore, killing without an ounce of sympathy- then quickly tells him that was a joke before walking off and saying he doesn’t want to go to the meeting. This may be due to the fact he plays a big role in being with the main antagonists of the film and needed to be elsewhere after a quick catch up.

Light Novels:
The Day I Picked Up Dazai= Dazai Osamu and Oda Sakunosuke meet in the light novel: The Day I Picked Up Dazai. Spoiler warnings ahead for this novel. At the time of their meeting, Dazai is supposedly 16 and Oda is approximately 21. They meet when Oda goes outside of his house and spots a body on the ground with several gunshot wounds; this body belongs to Dazai of course. After some internal conflict from Oda who seriously considers leaving the guy outside, he eventually drags the body inside his house despite the trouble it may bring later, taking a stack of notes found in Dazai’s hand, a potential ‘supernote’, that proves him to be dangerous if not the fact he’s almost been killed in an act of unnecessary aggression.

When Dazai wakes up, it’s after Oda has applied some simple medical care to the wounds, and goes to his phone. However, whenever he goes to the phone, Dazai tells him to put it down or else he’ll kill him- once Dazai is questioned how he’d do so from the unbothered captor, he informs Oda he is Port Mafia. Naturally, Oda puts the phone back down, making Dazai chuckle.

The two talk like the situation is normal while Oda continues to make his coffee, and in the process it’s mentioned to the boy that all he has performed is some emergency aid and he ought to go see a doctor or he will die. Dazai says he’s used to injuries, and if he really does die, then he’s fine to be left like that.

"I look at the young man. He is just staring at the ceiling. No emotions, no intents. Just a flat expression, like one who is just telling his age. I cannot believe my own eyes. I don’t even feel like there is a human there."

To that, Oda says he can do what he wants, but he doesn’t want to be dragged into it and potentially be arrested. A series of questions is asked to Dazai which go ignored as coffee continues being made, so Oda pops his head out to find the young man trying to crawl pathetically out of the door, and noticing hes being watched, says if he doesn’t want to be involved then he can just stay there and let him crawl out, hooking his arms on the wood like he’s from an old war movie since his legs hadn’t gained their strength back yet. Oda asks another question, does he want to die that much? Dazai replies that of course, that he joined the Port Mafia but still didn’t find anything, as if he expected Oda to be able to know that beforehand. Since he didn’t find what he wanted on the mafia, he claims all he wants is death in a ‘soul-deprived gasp’. He then starts to crawl again, Oda sipping his drink and watching due to how slow he’s going.

Noticing that Dazai keeps moving and truly intends to leave, he decides to wrap Dazai up in a blanket and lob him over his shoulder, taking him into a room like he’s a large candy in a wrapper. This causes pain to Dazai and he immediately resorts to whining, saying he hates pain and such, calling Oda a blockhead since this treatment would land him dead to the PM.

Its clear his threats aren’t taken seriously since he ends up managing to tie Dazai down to a bed anyways, telling Dazai that until his wounds heal, he’s to stay like that. With spite, the boy mentions his nose itches, an unsympathetic response being: ‘Poor you’. Oda leaves the room with insults echoing behind him.

"And so begins the strange and short communal life of me and Dazai together."

In part two, Sakunosuke calls Dazai a weird guy with the overwhelming presence akin to a burnt black cat. Dazai at this time is apparently a man of few words, and he has a voice that rejects mutual understanding from the very beginning. Oda thinks that Dazai knows no one will understand him, since he speaks in a tone that indicates such. Oda does not understand why Dazai sees life as an ugly scrap of metal, ponders if he ever could know.

At the start of ‘their communal life’, Dazai constantly makes chaos of himself- complaining about Oda’s existence to the very end, about his meals, his sleep, his nursing, and anything he can think of. Oda claims he could have whimpered like a nine year old girl at the tyranny, but ultimately believes Dazai’s criticism is nothing but a tool to deter him, to make Oda kick him out as if he doesn’t care anymore. He won’t allow the boy that victory. Dazai complains about his porridge being hot and getting in his eye, not yet finishing his bites before Oda goes to give him another. Dazai is only allowed to the toilet twice a day, apparently even Port Mafia prisoners have more freedom than that. Dazai also seems to dislike the fact Oda reads to him, the same book with no end pages, and ‘you don’t read to someone his age’. To all of this, Oda takes it as very good acting and continues.

After a few days of this, Dazai gives up, saying Oda is a complete airhead and can’t get through to him. He changes his tactic and opts to start demanding specific things instead of merely complaining. Dazai goes through a list of foods he wants, all of which are poisonous and send Oda on a journey from shops to hills seemingly unknowing. The boy admits he’s come to the conclusion that Oda doesn’t have any other intention than to heal him, now with his two arms free but his legs still tied down. He complains about his lack of entertainment, then.

Please note, section above is still a work in progress, and not abandoned.

In the Beast novel, Dazai is made in an alternate universe, yet has memories of the Dazai’s in other universes that had come before him, seemingly giving him a very large outlook on his own life and it’s possibilities depending on his moves; each like butterfly effects that could lead to the verse he is in going downhill, causing him to be even more stuck to his own devices, going as far as to becoming the boss of the Port Mafia despite his original verse seeming disgusted at the idea, and also at the idea of Mori being different, giving up his own chance at a normal life all the while to make his plans work.
 * -|Beast AU=

Dazai remains somewhat stoic and reminiscent throughout a majority of Beast, his relationships to characters like Atsushi and Kyouka shining through at places from his canon-verse personality who grew to care for the two. The most notable sight of the Dazai we know going through to Beast, is whenever Beast Dazai enters Bar Lupin to meet Oda. In this verse, in ‘The Day I Picked Up Dazai’, Dazai did not once speak to Oda until the end, urging him to join the Armed Detective Agency instead of the Port Mafia, and yet here; they meet like one-sided, long term, friends.

Oda is hostile to Dazai after a while, after finding out who Dazai is, despite the fact Dazai is completely welcoming and polite to him, even encouraging his writing- their conversations so far having gone in a usual ‘Dazai talks, Oda listens’ way. This is due to the fact that this Dazai has had to sacrifice the redemption and understanding that came with the original Dazai that made their relationship spark in the first place, all to keep Oda and others alive, and guide him to a better place than Dazai had once regrettably taken him.

It seems the only time Dazai manages to save Oda is when they’re not friends at all. Dazai prefers a world that would hurt to say goodbye to, and most definitely a world where Oda manages to get a happy ending, even if he’ll never get to see it personally.

"But, I regret something. I will not be able to read the novel when you finish it…"

- Dazai, before jumping off of the Port Mafia building

From their interactions, it seems as though Dazai brings up some gruesome situations from his past for laughs like they had done before when they first met, when they first went to Bar Lupin, trying to recreate them, which ends up poorly, with a gun pointed to Dazai, and Oda telling him to not call him by the nickname ‘Odasaku’.

"The young man suddenly seemed to have trouble breathing. His expression was distorted and his line of sight drew meaningless figures in the air. He opened and closed his mouth. He fought against something invisible."

He explains to Oda that it was hard to take on Mimic without him there, and also that he didn’t want to be the boss of the Port Mafia in the first place in desperation for Oda to understand, evident through his painful expressions, his eyes wide and irises white. In the end, it’s hopeless, and Dazai must leave saying if Oda is to shoot him, to not do it in Bar Lupin- this seems to be to keep its innocence, as the figures of original Dazai and Ango show up behind him with smiles, who if they were there would most likely not understand the scene of Oda and Dazai against each other with so much hatred evident, Beast Dazai much like a parent trying to keep their children away from bodies in the basement.

After deeming Dazai had done enough, he finishes his final act, leaving the Beast world behind while his subordinates from both worlds, Akutagawa and Atsushi, watch with shock- left with the words that revealed they’re not in an ‘original world’.

Moments
Twitter Events:= On July 7th in 2016 was when the first Q&A event was introduced on the official Twitter, and a new one was held on different events up until 2020. In these events, the characters in the show were asked a series of questions each time and they gave their answers accordingly. In the events (this link leads to a page of the pictures to go with the text) there’s also a series of small conversations between Oda and Dazai, mostly in the Gakuen AU as in the canon, Dazai is only left to reminisce what once was.

On July 7th in 2016, the first Twitter event, a Tanabata event, was held. This is in the canon verse, and the third question the characters are asked in their interview is ‘is there anyone they want to meet’ since that’s what Tanabata is about. Dazai says that dead people don’t come back, and that’s why nobody wants to meet the stars.
 * -|Tanabata=

On December 24th, 2016, the characters were asked Christmas related questions. On the fourth question they are asked what gifts they wish to receive, since the time of year naturally brings the thought to mind. Dazai solemnly answers that all he needs is some good sake and a quiet night, and then, ‘tonight too’. When the last part is said, there is another section of a flashback to the Buraiha trio clinking their glasses, toasting to the stray dogs.
 * -|Christmas Eve=

The first sight of the Gakuen AU in the Twitter events is on April 1st in 2017 for April Fools, and their first task in the interview in this event is to introduce themselves. While Dazai’s section doesn’t have much to say on his and Oda’s relationship, Oda’s does. He first introduces himself as a Japanese Teacher, and his friend calls him ‘Odasaku’. He then goes on to talk about eating curry three times a week, not necessarily because he likes it, but just because he’s made it a habit to do so. It appears at the end of his interview he’s asked about Dazai, who seems to have a reputation of staying back for years due to suicide attempts, and quickly dismissed himself from the conversation, saying ‘they’ll talk about it later’.
 * -|Gakuen AU=

When Dazai is asked to talk about his favourite class, he says he’s not a fan of classes at all; because he doesn’t like being locked in a small room and to listen to what he’s being told without understanding anything. He claims he doesn’t even have a way to kill time, especially during Physical Education since it’s cold and he can’t sleep in the infirmary because Akutagawa is always there- he also complains that Kunikida is noisy, and notes that Yosano was skipping class. But supposedly, on that day, he ran into Odasaku, making a point to say that it wasn’t so bad. When Oda is asked, in the end of his answer he also mentions the scenario, saying it seemed Dazai was taking his class seriously when he ran into him, then wonders just how long Dazai will be in High School.

In Question 3, a continuation, Dazai is complaining that it’s a pain when Odasaku is there, only because whenever he is he has to take school seriously and go to sleep at the right time. He then rants about how he’s hungry and tired but he can’t be bothered to make food, asking the meal to come to him with slurred words. Oda continues his interview again, talking about curry. He says he was thinking about having it but he also had it the day prior, so instead he made a stew. He claims he made too much and had leftovers, and then took them to Dazai because ‘he was probably roaming the floor because making food is too much of a bother’. Supposedly, Dazai has lived next to Oda for a long time alone.

The next time the Gakuen AU is mentioned in the Twitter events is again on April 1st but this time in the year 2018. They are again asked to introduce themselves, and again Oda is mainly the one to give some insight on how their relationship goes in this verse. Dazai has a small moment where he mentions Oda, as Oda had just recently become a student teacher at the school so now he has to be diligent at school and go to bed early to get up early, claiming he can only stay up late on Fridays. When Oda introduces himself here, he claims his friends call him Odasaku, potentially meaning he’s made other friends that call him that, and he is a trainee Japanese teacher. He says that in the mornings, since he and Dazai live next to each other, he taps on the wall to wake him up- ever the light sleeper. In his introduction he also says the school has a calico cat, most likely Natsume, and he pets it, then when it gets chilly he picks the cat up to keep it warm. Apparently, the school president, Fukuzawa, stares at him when he does so, and Oda wonders what his gaze means.

Met with the question ‘what did you do today’, Dazai responds saying the weather was heavy, the wind making the cherry blossoms dance dreamily. On his way to the student council room, since he’s a member of it, he found Oda in the principals room, and later when they got home planned to make fun of Oda for standing with Mori with his back stretched out like a teacher. He claims that Oda always makes too much (overcooked) curry so he’ll have a chance to make fun of him then. He also says then, that if that’s the plan, then he can’t kill himself anymore- at least not on that day.

On the second question of this event, ‘what are your plans for tomorrow’, Dazai says that the rest of the Armed Student Council is going to watch the cherry blossoms. He then talks about how one of his teachers said dead bodies are buried underneath the trees, and that he needs to make something to eat- but he only has canned crab. He hums, then calls out to Odasaku for some help. Oda says that on the next morning he’ll be standing with Fukuzawa at the gate, then have a Japanese class; he notes that a student called Nakajima likes the books he reads in the class and asks questions about them. He then hears Dazai calling him, telling the reader that sometimes thin walls come in handy, and he just made some curry he can take over to Dazai, again knowing that he’s languishing on the floor. Mori also told Oda to drag Dazai to the cherry blossom viewing the next day, since when Mori waved at Dazai, Dazai ignored him so he got emotional, claiming Dazai is awful.

In the Bungou Stray Dogs game there is also a card of Dazai called ‘Bundled Up’. In his home screen quotes, there are mentions of similar events from this verse: Dazai claiming that he needs to go to school seriously now that the new teacher, Odasaku, has an eye on him.

Dazai Cards (BSD Game):= In Dazai’s card (this link leads to a display of all his cards) called ‘Unwaking Dreams’, it features a picture of Dazai walking away from Oda like he had in Dark Era after he told a sniper who had their gun pointed to him to ‘wake him up from this oxidised dream’. Apparently, only he knows the meaning behind those words. In his home quotes, it also features parts from the scene where Dazai tells Oda that he joined the mafia looking for something. Another quote is him saying that people should forget what they owe others, since they never remember what they’re owed anyways.

In his ‘Summer Vacation’ card, a card that has the whole Buraiha linked to it in a connected game event, Dazai is using a sparkler while in the water, ‘a far car from his blood-filled days as the youngest underboss in Port Mafia history’. In his home quotes it says that he writes something with his sparkler and calls out to Oda and Ango, asking if they knew what he wrote. Since it disappears within seconds, he giggles and says it’s a secret.

In the ‘The Dark Age’ card, the image is of Dazai looking down at his hand after Oda dies. His home quotes entail the same scene that occurred when Dazai reached out to Oda as he walked into a suicide mission; telling Oda to listen to him (also said in Beast), and that he figured he might find a reason to live in reference to the mafia. His last quote says, “Odasaku, you were my friend. You mean the world to me…”.

In the ‘Reminiscence’ card, Dazai is at Oda’s grave, linking to events in Dead Apple. His memo informs us that it’s after he’s told Atsushi about his past then brushed it all off as a lie, again, ‘the only one that knows what truly happened is Dazai’. His home quotes have him, of course, reminiscing on how he managed to leave the mafia.

In Oda’s card (this link leads to a display of all his cards) called ‘Bygone Days’, the events are linked to the same events of Dazai’s ‘Unawaking Dream’ card; in which the two are back in Dark Era, and Oda had failed to reach out and stop Dazai from walking closer to a gun. Notably, in his quotes, it seems as though he tells Dazai that the sight of him looking like a kid on the verge of tears was burned into his mind, and also doubts that if their relationship was to break apart he’d ever be able to form a similar bond with anyone ever again.
 * -|Oda Cards (BSD Game):=

In Oda’s ‘Summer Vacation’ card, Oda is with the rest of the Buraiha trio and is watching the sky, looking out to Dazai who is in the water to ensure he doesn’t try to kill himself. In his home quotes, he tells Dazai to not go too far into the water or he won’t be able to swim back.

In Oda’s card, ‘Fate’, it features his battle against Gide. In the home quotes, he says what he had said the same in the anime adaption; that he had one regret- not being able to say goodbye to Dazai. He also says to Dazai that he wishes he could have been more intrusive, stepped into Dazai’s loneliness and gotten to the bottom of it.

Continuing the Gakuen AU, in his card ‘New Semester’ it’s claimed he’s a new teacher and his calm tone and teaching skills makes him popular. In his home quotes, he mentions that a student called him ‘Odasaku’, and wonders how that got started. From what we can assume about Dazai’s character, when Oda asks a student to stay awake, we can figure it may be him too.

In a Dead Apple extract, both Oda and Dazai talk about what they do on their free day. For Oda, his text claims him to be on calls with Dazai for hours at a time, in which calls he’d merely listen and reply to whatever Dazai rants about. For Dazai, he makes a show of wanting Oda to shave off his stubble, telling the man he wants to buy Oda a razor to get rid of it- but he is denied.
 * -|Dead Apple Extract (Bonus):=

Quotes
Canon= "As Dazai pointed to his forehead and approached the muzzle, the look on his face, like that of a child about to burst into tears, had already been branded upon my eyes."

- Oda describing Dazai, in Dark Era

"Perhaps someone should persistently tie Dazai up, open the lid over his chest and stuff the head of a vacuum cleaner in. They have to let Dazai, who should be screaming in pain and resisting, settle down. Following which, the difficult things in his heart must all be dragged out under the sun and stepped on mercilessly."

- Oda thinking about Dazai’s pain, in Dark Era

"… That guy is just a child who’s too smart. Just a crying child who’s been left alone in the darkness, a world of nothingness far emptier than the world we can see."

- Oda talking to Gide about Dazai, from Dark Era

"That guys head is too brilliant. That is why he’s always so lonely. Ango and I could stay by Dazai’s side because we can understand the loneliness that revolves around Dazai. Even though we are by his side, we would never step within. But now, I’m a little regretful that I never stepped into that loneliness impolitely."

- Oda thinking about Dazai, in Dark Era

"If you can’t write it, no one else in this world can. That I assure you, believe in yourself!"
 * -|Beast AU=

- Dazai encouraging Oda on his writing, only to be denied being understood since ‘they just met’, in Beast

"His eyes were earnest. Those eyes that were firmly - looking straight at me. As if talking to a friend…"

- Oda while with Dazai, in Beast

"When he laughed he looked very different than he was before. I could pass him off as a child. He was like a lost child who had finally found his home."

- Oda describing Dazai, in Beast

Fanon
A lot of people in the Bungou Stray Dogs fandom perceive Odazai in either a platonic or familial way. There have been many assumptions that Oda was Dazai’s father or brother-like figure, while others claim the word ‘friends’ or ‘best friends’ holds enough weight to really mean something to these characters, more than we the audience might hold someone in the simple term ‘friend’ due to the neglect in their own lives that shows in their stories. Some people also see their relationship as romantic. There’s no denying that Oda and Dazai’s relationship had really meant something to the both of them, and the fandom continuously tries to recognise this in both an analytical way but also through emotion-driven presumptions.

Another thing to take into account while watching the anime adaptation, particularly Dark Era episodes, is there are some things the anime simply cannot portray through their body language and such, so it is a less accurate depiction of their relationship and their feelings. It is best you read the light novels beforehand if you can do so for the best understanding you can get.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Manga:
Canon=

Anime:
Canon=

Official Art:
Harukawa=