Akutagawa Ryunosuke, who lives in the slums, has always wondered what the meaning of life is.
In the usual version of the story, he would meet a walking lump of black sludge and become an obsessive fan of Dazai Osamu.
But Akutagawa Ryunosuke's life took a different turn when he was ten. He was saved by a girl who was only twelve, and she told him,
"The fact that you are alive is reason enough to keep living."
In a daze, he took his younger sister and followed the girl.
Then he saw a brand-new world.
To be honest, I'm not a Dazai hater, but when it comes to Dazai and Akutagawa Ryunosuke, all I can say is that Dazai was still a deeply troubled child when he took Akutagawa in, so it's no surprise Akutagawa turned out the way he did.
So I created a character who is the same age as Dazai Osamu, but grew up in a gentle, loving environment. She is gentle and determined by nature, belongs to the side of light, yet can accept the dark as well.
I think the Akutagawa in Bungo Stray Dogs is an extremely malleable person. He became a mad dog because he was trapped in that dark mire for so long, so I want to try writing an Akutagawa who grew up in the light.
I've made up an ability-user world for China in this story, and it does reflect some of my own biases, but I think China really is this tolerant and powerful.
Theme: A fierce tiger in the heart, a rose beneath its nose
