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- “You damn fool. Hurry up and go.”
- — Akutagawa's last words to Atsushi during their fight against Fukuchi
Shin Soukoku is the slash ship between Ryuunosuke Akutagawa and Atsushi Nakajima from the Bungou Stray Dogs fandom.
Canon[]
Atsushi and Akutagawa's relationship is one of the more important ones in the series, mirroring Chuuya Nakahara and Osamu Dazai's relationship. Although they are enemies and in rivaling organizations, Atsushi of the Armed Detective Agency and Akutagawa in the Port Mafia, they team up several times and use their abilities in sync to form an almost unstoppable team, forming an ability singularity together with their skills. Dazai took in both Atsushi and Akutagawa to create the third generation of Soukoku (Double Black).
Atsushi and Akutagawa’s first interactions were nothing but pure malice towards one another. Part of their dislike towards one another stems from differences in ideology. Atsushi detested Akutagawa’s mindset of gauging the worth of others’ lives, as the two did not get along due to their polar opposite ideals. Atsushi, being praised by Dazai while Akutagawa received no recognition from the latter, was the main source of hatred from Akutagawa towards him as Dazai's ex-subordinate. Akutagawa is taunted by Dazai that he was never, and will never be better than Atsushi, which fills him with rage and malice towards Atsushi. However, though the course of the series they had grown to trust one another. The two often argue and fight to the death, but their relationship is significantly less hostile after they gained an understanding of one another.
In the alternate timeline of BEAST, the two build a much deeper connection with one another, bonding upon their first meeting and forming the same singularity with their skills, all while understanding each other throughout the light novel.
Port Mafia Arc[]
Atsushi and Akutagawa's first interaction is in an alleyway after the agency was tricked by Akutagawa's subordinate Ichiyo Higuchi. Jun'ichiro is strangling Higuchi, when Akutagawa uses Rashomon to cut him in the back. Jun'ichiro falls to the ground, and Atsushi who is panicked then recognizes Akutagawa as the man who Kunikida warned him about. Atsushi cowers and tries to fight back against Akutagawa who continually mocks him. To Akutagawa's surprise, Atsushi dodges one of his attacks then grabs a gun to fire. Rashomon rips off Atsushi's leg, making him scream in agony. Akutagawa begins to walk away, but Atsushi activates his ability and regenerates his leg, turning into a tiger in which Akutagawa cuts him in half. The fight between the two ensues, which is soon stopped by Dazai.
Their next direct interaction is when Atsushi is spending the day with Kyouka Izumi, a girl he saved from the Port Mafia, when he is impaled in the chest unexpectedly by Akutagawa's Rashomon and thrown into a truck, kidnapped where he is brought to a cargo ship going out of the country. Akutagawa tells Atsushi that even though there was a bounty on his head, his previous action was a genuine intention to kill him, but that Atsushi's regeneration ability is what kept him from being able to succeed. Akutagawa tries to kill him again but is stopped by Kyouka, who he turns his attention towards.
While he is facing away, Atsushi attacks Akutagawa and they enter another intense fight. The two express their distaste and antagonism throughout their battles, with their duels being a large focus of the Port Mafia Arc. Akutagawa is angered by Dazai's favoritism for Atsushi, filling him with the fervor and determination to beat Atsushi. Akutagawa pierces Atsushi’s chest multiple times and leaves him bloodied at one point, but upon seeing his state he seems to hesitate a bit. However, Akutagawa is floored when Atsushi recovers and asks the mafioso about his opinion on Kyouka. When Akutagawa reveals he is merely trying to give Kyouka’s life value, Atsushi is filled with rage and alleviates all of Akutagawa’s counterattacks. In one way or another Atsushi sympathizes with Akutagawa despite disliking him. In the end, Atsushi beats Akutagawa is able to escape the ship with Kyoka in tow. Akutagawa then goes into a coma as a result of the fight.
Guild Arc[]
After one of Akutagawa's battles in the Guild Arc, the first thing he thinks of is Atsushi's words of not understanding a person's need to be told it's okay for them to live.
Later in the same arc, Akutagawa boards the Moby Dick with the intent to kill Atsushi, who he soon comes face to face with, and they immediately engage in conflict. Akutagawa tells Atsushi that he doesn't need him to try and understand him. Akutagawa is tricked by Atsushi who says that Dazai wishes to talk to him, and distracted, Atsushi gets away from him once more.
On top of the Moby Dick, Atsushi and Akutagawa, initially fighting each other and the enemy at the same time, work together to defeat Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, the leader of the Guild before he can crash the Moby Dick into Yokohama. They use their abilities to support each other, forming a singularity which Dazai was striving towards, working together to eventually defeat Fitzgerald and stop the Moby Dick from crashing. Later on, Dazai is seen discussing "the next generation of Double Black."
Cannibalism Arc[]
During the Cannibalism arc, Dazai makes Atsushi and Akutagawa team up to catch Pushkin, the one behind the Cannibalism. Atsushi sees how focused Akutagawa is on completing his mission, the first one Dazai has given him in years and asks him a series of questions, his last one being "What did you have for dinner last night?" and, like all the previous questions, Akutagawa answers 'yes', showing he wasn't paying any attention to Atsushi. Slightly annoyed, Atsushi continues protesting working with Akutagawa, but Dazai tells him it's the only way the cannibalism will be stopped.
They get to the abandoned coal mine and enter undetected but come face to face with two guards. They question them to find out information and end up in front of a door that they think leads to Fyodor, the one behind the whole charade. They realize that one of the guards is Pushkin, the one with the Cannibalism ability, and Atsushi pushes Akutagawa out of the way to protect him from getting shot by a bullet which ends up grazing him, infecting him with the cannibalism. Pushkin runs away in a minecart, and Akutagawa sets one up for him and Atsushi as they follow after him. They crash because of an explosion, and Atsushi tells Akutagawa to get on as he activates his own tiger ability, running as Akutagawa complains about how uncomfortable it is to ride Atsushi. As they chase after Pushkin they continuously bicker as Akutagawa gives Atsushi directions, which he follows.
As they are about to catch Pushkin, they are intervened by Ivan, Fyodor's subordinate who can control earth, and they are forced to fight him. In the midst of their fight, Atsushi is also infected with the Cannibalism ability, connecting him and Akutagawa. Both weakened, they continue to fight but are eventually caught in a sort of quicksand, trapping them. Akutagawa asks Atsushi why he fights, and Atsushi tells him he already knows why, and in the last resort Akutagawa activates Rashomon and passes it temporarily to Atsushi, who uses both of their abilities and create a singularity. Atsushi jumps off of Akutagawa's Rashomon and dodges the multitude of attacks, the two working together and defeating Ivan.
Decay of Angels Arc[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
During the Decay of Angels arc, just as Atsushi realizes he's alone in facing Kamui/Fukuchi, the leader of the Decay of Angels, Akutagawa sees smoke from the flare that Ranpo previously lit before being sent into Poe's book. He goes to help Atsushi, activating Demonic Armor and fighting against Fukuchi, who quickly overpowers him. Before he's hit, Atsushi grabs him and jumps out of the way. Later on, Akutagawa then reveals to Atsushi that he has a lung disease and that he doesn't have much time left. He goes on to explain that he'll do his all in order to get Dazai's acknowledgment before he dies, and Atsushi shows shock at this.
As the ship is sinking, Atsushi supports Akutagawa on himself as they begin to walk away. They encounter a security guard, and Atsushi screams at Akutagawa who uses his Rashomon on the man. Akutagawa knocks the man unconscious, and Atsushi believes him dead, leading to his prompt anger. However, Akutagawa explains he only knocked out the guard, keeping his promise to Atsushi of not killing anyone for 6 months. Atsushi is surprised that Akutagawa kept his word. After arguing, they face Fukuchi again. Akutagawa "joins" Fukuchi to deceive him, he and Atsushi pretend to attack Akutagawa to pass the Rashomon to Atsushi who manages to kill Fukuchi, but he goes back in time and attacks the two, Akutagawa seeing that they couldn't win the battle, active the skill by the shirt and takes the extinguisher from the ship, the two manage to escape but Fukuchi goes back in time again and cuts the extinguisher in half and cuts Akutagawa's neck open. Before dying, Akutagawa tells Atsushi to hurry up and smiles at him.
They reunite nineteen chapters later, in Chapter 107. Akutagawa was turned into a vampire after his death, and attacks Atsushi blindly on sight. Atsushi, however, screams for him to stop and recalls Akutagawa's death, asking him why he saved his life back then.
In Chapter 108, Akutagawa and Atsushi have another standoff during the fight Atsushi attempts to punch Akutagawa pausing after realizing if he attacked Akutagawa now while he was a vampire without his armor it would do serious damage, Akutagawa uses his ability to tie Atsushi's limbs and lift him up, While this happens Atsushi smiles at Akutagawa reminding him of the validation he seeks for from Dazai saying he needs to be a person who can be more than just a killer, As well as reminds him of his promise to kill him in six months, saying it hadn't been six months yet. when this happens, Akutagawa pauses for a moment, starting to remember before he continues his pursuit unable to break free from the vampire curse and rips off Atsushi’s arm and leg.
The Season 5 finale shows Akutagawa and Atsushi fighting alongside an unknown threat, with Akutagawa now human. Atsushi and Akutagawa then reference their previous quote from the fight against Fukuchi: "Just the two of us?" "Do we need anymore?"
Fanon[]
Shin Soukoku is one of the most popular ships in both the Western and Eastern fandom. It is the most written ship for both Akutagawa and Atsushi. On AO3, it has 9,640+ works, and on Pixiv the ship has around 5,000 works submitted. Fans shipped the two as they slowly built a less hostile and kinder understanding of one another, with the fan base noticing their development and trust towards one another. Fans also enjoy their yin and yang appeal, their opposite aspects, and the characterization the relationship gives to Atsushi and Akutagawa. Shin Soukoku’s biggest rivals are AtsuLucy and AkuHigu, as well as AtsuKyou.
However, despite Shin Soukoku’s popularity, is it hated on far more compared to its fellow shipped pairings like Soukoku or Ranpoe. Fans see Akutagawa and Atsushi to have far more animosity and hatred towards one another and have criticized the ship for being toxic. The critiques revolving around the ship’s words stem from Shin Soukoku’s first interactions where they were enemies. It is mainly that people point out Atsushi and Akutagawa’s hostility of Akutagawa bringing Atsushi to death multiple times and displaying nothing but antagonism, the two butting heads over different stances, etc. However, it is the positive growth of their relationship built on trust (shown in the Decay of Angels Arc mainly) that has led fans to enjoy the ship, like when Akutagawa gave his life for Atsushi to escape. Fans also point out that their relationship in BEAST is healthy and can become canon.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Ryuunosuke/Atsushi tag on AO3
- shinsoukoku stories on Wattpad
- akuatsu stories on Wattpad
- DEVIANTART
- shinsoukoku tag on DeviantArt
- akuatsu tag on DeviantArt
- shinsoukoku hashtag on Instagram
- akuatsu hashtag on Instagram
- TUMBLR
- shin soukoku tag on Tumblr
- akuatsu tag on Tumblr
- shinsoukoku hashtag on Twitter
- akuatsu hashtag on Twitter
Trivia[]
- Their ship name, Shin Soukoku, comes from the fact that when they team up, Dazai labels them Shin Soukoku, the third generation of Soukoku (Double Black).
- They have a height difference of 2cm, with Atsushi being 170 cm and Akutagawa 172 cm.
- For their height, they are both some of the lightest characters in the show (both very underweight).
- They are both orphans; they bond over this in the alternate timeline of Beast.
- They have three cards together in the game Bungou Stray Dogs Tales of the Lost.
- They have a 2 year age difference, with Atsushi being 18 and Akutagawa being 20 years old.
- At the end of season 3, after their final fight, Akutagawa promises to kill Atsushi in six months, to which Atsushi replies that he'll agree only if he promises not to kill anyone else in that span of time, which Akutagawa also complies with.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Shin 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 |