Dazai's Mom Is an Unconventional Chinese Parent

On a snowy night, Dazai Inori was given a child who fell from the sky.

She believed it was fate, and that the child was hers.

Her child was named Osamu. Her A-chan, her little Osamu...

The smartest, cutest, most well-behaved child in the whole world!

"...Seriously?" Nakahara Chuuya wondered if he was losing his mind after hearing Inori praise the boy nonstop.

"It's understandable. Mothers always think their children are the best," Mori Ougai said with a strained smile.

"Mom is always right!"

Today, Dazai Osamu and his mom were busy affirming each other as usual.

.

Dazai Osamu had a secret.

Whenever he was on the verge of death, he would leave this world and arrive in another one, a world without ability users, but with mysterious powers like "spiritual energy" and more advanced technology.

Most importantly...

That world had Mom.

A mom who seemed to accept him and love him unconditionally, forever.

He loved that world.

"She helps me with my holiday homework, lets me commute to school and skip evening study sessions, exempts me from school tutoring, and doesn't sign me up for cram school. You people have never gone to high school in China, so you have no idea how incredible that is!"

Dazai looked utterly heartbroken.

The Bungo Stray Dogs cast: "..."

Reading Guide:

1. Osamu crossed over to another world when he was very young, a higher-dimensional world that includes manga like Bungo Stray Dogs, and was adopted by Dazai Inori. Later, they also become biological mother and son (there's no father; you can think of him as a child bestowed by heaven. This is tied to the worldview of Inori's world). The author considers this a heartwarming, healing story.

2. "Dazai" is actually an ancient Chinese compound surname, originating from the Zhou dynasty official title "Taizai" (also known as "Zhongzai," or "Grand Minister of Heaven"), and belongs to the category of surnames derived from official titles. Inori's world has Eastern fantasy elements and cultivation clans.

3. A family-bond story with some comedic commentary. In my version, Dazai is a good kid in front of his mom, and brighter than in the original (well).

4. Dazai travels back and forth between the two worlds. Before he turns fourteen, he keeps it a secret because he's afraid Mom might think he doesn't belong in this world, and because he hasn't let down his last defenses or something like that. Later, he tells her, but deliberately hides what he's been doing in the other world (like being a killer and such). Eventually, Mom crosses over to Bungo Stray Dogs, feels heartbroken for him, but still has to punish her rebellious teenage son for lying to her.

Theme: The distance between two hearts