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Villain Overview

The weak will die. Die, and make way for others.
~ Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Let me make it clear to you why you disgust me! It's because you're always feeling sorry for yourself! Constantly dwelling on the past, despite the fact that you have everything you could want in this world! You're blessed with your gift. You're blessed with friends. And with nothing but sheer luck, you're praised and revered by Dazai. You don't even understand how lucky you are! Yet all you can do is lick your old wounds!
~ Akutagawa's reason for hating Atsushi Nakajima.

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Ougai Mori) of the Bungo Stray Dogs franchise.

He is a member of the Port Mafia, being in charge of the Port Mafia’s guerrilla warfare and was Osamu Dazai’s former student before the latter’s departure, which shatter Akutagawa as he is desperate to gain his former mentor's respect. He is also the brother of Gin Akutagawa.

He is the arch-nemesis (sometimes on-and-off ally) of Atsushi Nakajima after learning about the student/mentor relationship he has with Dazai and made it his mission to kill him and gain Dazai’s respect. He is a fictionalized version of the Japanese author of the same name.

He is voiced by Kensho Ono, who also voiced Hakuryuu Ren and Shikorae, in the original Japanese anime, and Brian Beacock in the English Dub. His stage play portrayal is Shohei Hashimoto.

Appearance[]

Akutagawa is an average height, slim young man with very pale skin. He has short, choppy black hair with side bangs that reach his chin (the bangs also have white dye at the tip). The two facial features he has that stand out are his vacant gray eyes, and his short eyebrows.

Artier wise, Akutagawa wears a long, black coat with a thin belt he keeps unstrapped reaching past his knees over black fitting pants and black dress shoes. Underneath his coat, he has on a white dress shirt, decorated with a layered ruffled fabric. He also wears a white jabot.

After he got turned into a vampire by Bram Stoker, Akutagawa's eyes become black sclerae, and vein-like markings appear beneath them. Like any other vampire, he has blood sucking fangs.

As a vampire, Akutagawa also wears a different coat as well as. It's pure black like his original, however, it reaches towards his waist, has a zipper in the middle, and has a turtleneck collar.

Personality[]

Akutagawa has shown to be extremely violent and ruthless when it comes to his work, all the while maintaining a stoic and detached figure. His composure is frequently broken by rage, however, and he is quick to lash out whenever something doesn't go his way. While brutal when acting for the Port Mafia however, Akutagawa does have set standards and dislikes meaningless harm, usually going straight for the kill when he is able instead of making his enemy suffer. Although very ruthless, he is never shown being sadistic.

One of his main drives is his determination to get recognition from Osamu Dazai, his former mentor turned enemy. His composed nature seems to break whenever Dazai is brought up. This drive also comes into play whenever he interacts with Atsushi Nakajima, Dazai's new de facto disciple. His rivalry with Atsushi for Dazai's recognition has caused him to have great hatred towards the former. He wishes to beat Atsushi in combat and will go to great lengths just to duel him. 

Akutagawa has a Social Darwinist perspective of the world. He believes that the weak deserve to die and yield to the strong. This philosophy heightens his hatred for Atsushi as he considers him weak, but he gains more recognition and eventually some respect for him as he becomes stronger.

He also seems to have a general hatred of humanity, something that may have stemmed from his history as an orphan in the slums. Despite his cold and dark temperament, he has shown to at least be friendly with his sister, Gin. It should also be noted that Akutagawa is at the very least, honest, somewhat honorable, and does occasionally show some moments of sentiment, even when they’re very rare.

Abilities[]

Rashōmon (In Japanese: 羅生門, Rashōmon) is a special ability that manifests as a large shadow-like beast. It is summoned from Akutagawa's coat and can be extended to mid-range. It can consume anything, including space itself. Consumption of space creates an invisible barrier that can block most attacks. He has multiple named transformations for his ability.

  • Rashōmon: Agito (Jaws): Rashoumon takes the shape of a large mouth-like form with large jaws, capable of biting with immense power.
    • Rashōmon: Gokumon Agito (Prison's Jaws): Larger and more powerful version of Agito. 
    • Rashōmon: Jaws of Endless Gates: As Agito but creates several instances.
  • Rashōmon: Murakumo (Gathering/Swarm): Rashōmon extends into a massive claw-like appendage that can perform powerful physical attacks.
  • Rashōmon: Higanzakura (Early Blooming Cherry Blossom):  Rashoumon grabs and lifts a single target into the air and will envelop the target completely over time. He can then cause the grabbed target to be impaled by Rashoumon dozens of times at once as it turns into a spike ball.
  • Rashōmon: Spider Thread: Rashōmon turns into a net reminiscent of a spider web that can capture targets.
  • Rashōmon: Devoured Space: Rashōmon spends time and eats the space in an area, creating a barrier that blocks most attacks. 
  • Rashōmon: Sawarabi (Budding Bracken): Dozens of spikes come out of the ground and impale the target.
  • Rashōmon: Demonic Armor: Rashōmon wraps around Akutagawa and protects him like armor.

Trivia[]

  • In real life, Ryunosuke Akutagawa was a Japanese writer during the Taisho Period.
    • His ability is named after the real-life short story "Rashōmon" which follows a samurai philosophically questioning morals and self-preservation.
    • "Ryunosuke" means "Son of the dragon" and in real life, Akutagawa was born in the year, month, day, and hour of the dragon. This could explain the dragon-like form that Rashomon takes in Bungo Stray Dogs.
  • In the series, Akutagawa suffers from frequent coughing and lung issues caused by poor health stemming from his early life in the slums and he Akutagawa himself states he doesn’t have much longer to live because of it. This could be a reference to his author counterpart suffering from numerous illnesses during his life, including severe flu and pleurisy, which would permanently damage his health.
  • Akutagawa is revealed to dislike baths. The reason for this could be that he's unable to summon Rashomon with no clothes on, and as such, would be in a position where he feels defenseless.
  • Akutagawa doesn't know that the "frilly thing" on his collar is called a jabot.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

           Bungou Stray Dogs logo.svg Villains

Port Mafia
Leader: Ōgai Mori
Executives
Chūya Nakahara | Kōyō Ozaki | Paul Verlaine | A | Osamu Dazai
Commanders: Ryūnosuke Akutagawa | Ichiyo Higuchi

Black Lizard
Leader: Ryūrō Hirotsu
Gin Akutagawa | Michizō Tachihara

Flags
Leader: Piano Man
Chūya Nakahara | Albatross | Iceman | Doc | Lippmann

Other Members
Yumeno Kyusaku | Motojirou Kajii | Sakunosuke Oda | Kyouka Izumi | Arthur Rimbaud | Karma

Former Members
Osamu Dazai | Ango Sakaguchi | Kyouka Izumi

Rats in the House of the Dead
Leader: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Nathaniel Hawthorne | Ivan Goncharov | Alexander Pushkin | Mushitarō Oguri

Decay of the Angel
Leader: Kamui
Bram Stoker | Fyodor Dostoevsky | Nikolai Gogol | Sigma

The Guild
Leader: Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
Herman Melville | Lucy Maud Montgomery | Louisa May Alcott | James L. | Howard Phillips Lovecraft | John Steinbeck | Mark Twain | Nathaniel Hawthorne | Margaret Mitchell | Edgar Allan Poe

Hunting Dogs
Leader: Ōchi Fukuchi
Saigiku Jouno | Tetchō Suehiro | Teruko Ōkura | Michizō Tachihara

Order of the Clock Tower
Dame Agatha Christie

V
Jun Mitamura

Mimic
André Gide

Zoopark
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Others
Tatsuhiko Shibusawa | Blond Guy | Orphanage Director | Nobuko Sasaki | Shōsaku Katsura | Tom Buchanan | N

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