Can Dazai turn off his ability? The greatest flaw of the strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs, explored

One of the biggest debates among fans of author Kafka Asagiri and illustrator Sango Harukawa’s manga series is the strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs. This is especially true after season 5’s premiere and recent episode's airings, which have introduced Ochi Fukuchi and his space-time sword Shinto Amenogozen.

While there have been many powerful abilities in the series, it’s difficult to say what the strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs is. Part of this stems from how different the applications of some abilities can be, making the comparison far from a simple 1:1. There’s also the fact that some abilities are dependent on the use of support items, such as Dopppo Kunikida’s The Matchless Poet.

However, one true contender for the strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs is Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human, which lets him nullify the ability of anyone he touches. While the ability seems somewhat lacking, a certain aspect of Dazai’s use gives it such a strong argument for being the most powerful ability in the series.

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The strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs is also one which has a no “off switch”

As mentioned above, one of the core reasons why Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human is considered the strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs stems from its base function. Every ability Dazai has had the opportunity to nullify in the series, he’s done so successfully. In the cases where his ability has failed, it’s because the power or form in question was not considered an ability.

A reason why Dazai’s ability is always shown to work even in close-call situations is because the ability is always activated. The only time the ability would be “deactivated” is if Dazai is dead, which the series’ unofficial Wiki cites as being when “the blood supply to his brain would cease, causing him to die.”

It also emphasizes that his heart beating is not equivalent to him being alive. This point is made by explaining how Yosano Akiko’s healing ability, Thou Shalt Not Die, would have a .5 second window of opportunity to heal Dazai before blood reaches his brain from his heart beating. Thus, it’s clear that No Longer Human’s activation is linked to brain activity rather than a beating heart.

However, this also highlights the greatest flaw of the strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs, is that Dazai technically has no control over it and cannot choose when to turn it off or not use it. This is true when Yukichi Fukuzawa’s All Men Are Equal provides assistance, with his ability supposedly being able to suppress the abilities of his subordinates. As a result, this makes the answer to the question of "can Dazai turn off his ability" a no.

This still unfortunately does not suppress Dazai’s No Longer Human, which raises a few key problems. For one, as mentioned above, Yosano’s healing ability won't work on him until he’s literally at death’s door. There’s also the fact that Dazai may be a liability to his allies in situations that rely on them all getting benefits from or being affected by another ability, such as any stealth mission.

While Dazai’s No Longer Human is undoubtedly the strongest ability in Bungou Stray Dogs, it also has arguably the greatest flaw of any ability in the entire series. Although the answer to "can Dazai turn off his ability" is no, the benefits likely outweight the unfortunate negatives.

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