Bungo Stray Dogs Wiki

Welcome to Bungo Stray Dogs Wiki!

Before editing any articles, be sure to read our Wiki Policy here. You can start contributing by first checking our community portal.

The wiki is in need of more information so feel free to contribute. Vandalism is not allowed on the wiki. Thank you!

READ MORE

Bungo Stray Dogs Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
Bungo Stray Dogs Wiki
Bungo Stray Dogs Wiki
1,506
pages
in: Characters, Male Characters, Armed Detective Agency, Ability Users
English

Atsushi Nakajima

View source

"You've got the wrong idea. I'm not strong, and I'm not popular. In fact, my entire life has been cursed. I know full well how you feel, envying and hating everyone around you."

— Atsushi to Lucy Maud Montgomery[1]

Atsushi Nakajima (中 (なか)島 (じま) 敦 (あつし), Nakajima Atsushi?) is a member of the Armed Detective Agency who possesses the ability Beast Beneath the Moonlight.

Appearance

Atsushi has light gray hair, pale skin, and is of average height with a slim build. He has segmental heterochromia, consisting of purple on the top half of his iris and yellow along the bottom curve of his pupil. His hair is short and swept forward in loose spikes with a lock left long on the right side of his face. This uneven style is the result of bullying he suffered at the hands of other orphans in the orphanage, and he never fixed it.[4] Additionally, he has a prominent black streak in his hair.

Before joining the Agency, he wears rags issued by the orphanage,[5] and after he joins the Armed Detective Agency, they issue him a white button-up with the sleeves pushed to his elbows from Doppo Kunikida,[6] a loose black tie from Akiko Yosano, black pants from Yukichi Fukuzawa,[7] black fingerless gloves from Ranpo Edogawa,[6] suspenders from Kenji Miyazawa,[7] and a long black belt from Osamu Dazai.[6]

When he transforms into a partial tiger, his eyes become tiger-eye-like, and he develops fangs. If more drastic, his limbs turn into into a tiger's, and his tail emerges.[8] When he finally develops considerable control over his ability, he can transform fully into a white tiger with black stripes and retains the tiger's gold eyes.[9]

When he morphs with Rashōmon, together with his ability Beast Beneath the Moonlight, he wears the black coat of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, and his tiger claws become longer.[10]

Atsushi is disguised as a ship worker at the Boswellian during Ranpo's negotiation with Ōchi Fukuchi.[11]

Others

Personality

Atsushi hating on himself

Atsushi telling Dazai that it may be better if he was eaten by the tiger.

Atsushi's traumatic past affects much of his daily life, and he is tormented with nightmares, flashbacks, and the internal monologue of the orphanage director who abused him.[5][12][13][14][15][16] He has a severely low sense of self-worth and is somewhat naïve, which causes him to initially feel helpless when confronted with dangerous situations. When paralyzed in guilt and/or fear, he has difficulty reacting or understanding what to do.

He also tends to react strongly and believe things at face value, trusting others' judgment above his own and even abandoning his own instincts.[17] For example, when learning of the ¥7 billion bounty on his head, he became convinced that he was putting the Agency at risk. He felt intense guilt and decided to leave, believing it will keep the Agency from being targeted.[12]

Atsushi jumps off to save a drowning man

Atsushi jumps into the river to save the drowning Dazai.

All things considered, Atsushi cares deeply for his fellow Agency members and for the well-being of civilians, especially during dire situations.[18] On various instances, Atsushi would not hesitate to help and save others, even those he has never met before. One notable example is Dazai, whom he saves from "drowning" during their first encounter, albeit with some inhibition initially.[5] During his secret entrance exam where he was faced with a simulated bomb threat, he used his own body to cover the bomb and shield the other members, also people he had never met.[19]

Atsushi saving Kyōka

Atsushi saving Kyōka from the bomb explosion.

He has a strong sense of morality, which also directly stems from his upbringing. He believes his worth in life depends on his ability to protect others and has an aversion to the abuse of one's power and to preventable deaths.[13][15][20] He even tries to help even his enemies at times and would often feel sympathy for most of them, as seen through his interactions with Kyōka,[13][21] Lucy Maud Montgomery,[1] Sigma,[22] and even Fukuchi during his supposed death.[23]

Atsushi frightened at Fukuchi (manga)

Atsushi's initial fright in facing Kamui by himself.

However, Atsushi still experiences paralyzing fear of fighting alone and often needs a companion to aid him in battle or at times save him in order to feel confidence.[24][25] When faced with the possibility that he alone was to fight Kamui, the primary mastermind behind the global terrorism plot, Atsushi initially felt frightened after being threatened by Kamui to cut off his head. The weight of his actions deciding the world's safety and the Agency's revival further fueled the pressure Atsushi carried, even admitting that his solitude at that time surpassed that of when he was in the orphanage.[24] Hence, after Akutagawa arrived to aid him, Atsushi felt a sense of assurance, knowing that he is not alone anymore.[25]

Atsushi grabs Akutagawa using the tiger's tail

Atsushi holds his own against Akutagawa, whom he was initially told to flee from by the Agency members.

Although still struggling with his self-esteem mostly due to the words of the late orphanage director, Atsushi gradually improves his confidence and sense of self. He continues to be strengthened by several missions and the clashes against the Port Mafia,[17][13][14][26][20] the Guild,[1][20][27][8] and the Rats in the House of the Dead,[10] among others. His will hardens in these tough situations, and he becomes steadfast, reliable, and intensely caring. As Akutagawa mentioned based from their various clashes, when pushed to adverse situations, Atsushi comes back as a "more bothersome enemy".[25]

Background

Atsushi crying as a child

Atsushi as a child in the orphanage.

Atsushi grew up in an orphanage, where he suffered from severe abuse – both verbal and physical – from his caretakers,[5][12][13] as well as social isolation from the other children.[28] This history of mistreatment has evidently taken a huge toll on Atsushi's self-worth as an adult and has caused him to constantly question the value and usefulness of his life.[5]

Atsushi's foot being hammered

Atsushi's foot being hammered.

According to the orphanage director, Atsushi's parents dumped him. The director becomes the foundation of Atsushi's warped self-worth. The abuse, presumably severe especially because of the tiger rampaging at night, led the director to occasionally chain Atsushi in a cell with little to no food for at least three days. Atsushi was also forcibly injected with what he thought might be poison (which Atsushi later thought in his adulthood might be nutrients). Moreover, at one point, the director forced Atsushi to hammer a nail into his own foot as a way of teaching him how to "endure pain". When he was unable to, the director himself hammered Atsushi's foot, afterwards instructing him to reflect on his own.

Atsushi accused by a fellow orphan (manga)

Atsushi accused by a fellow orphan of stealing.

The director emphasized Atsushi's hatred towards him, seemingly even encouraging it. Alongside the director and other caretakers' abuse, Atsushi suffered at the hands of the other orphans. Oftentimes, the other orphans threw Atsushi under the bus when they got in trouble, as the orphanage ran on some sort of point system that affected if and when they were fed.[28]

Once he hits 18 years old, Atsushi was kicked out of the orphanage under the pretense that they had a lack of funding and had to downsize.[5] Though he was unaware of it at the time, he was actually transforming into a white tiger under the moonlight due to his ability and causing chaos,[29] including destroying crop fields and storehouses.[5][30]

Ability

Main article: Beast Beneath the Moonlight

Beast Beneath the Moonlight (月 (げ)下 (っか)獣 (じゅう), Gekka-jū?) gives Atsushi has the ability to transform into a white tiger.[3] At first, he doesn't seem to have much control over the transformation, likely due to the fact, or caused by, his unawareness of his state as an Ability user.[5]

After becoming an official member of the Agency and under the influence of All Men Are Equal, he gains more control over his transformations - as shown during his second fight with Akutagawa, when he breaks the transformation on his arms to escape.[31]

Beast Beneath the Moonlight (月 (げ)下 (っか)獣 (じゅう), Gekka-jū?)
Beast Beneath the Moonlight Transformation Manga Debut: Chapter 1
Anime Debut: Episode 1
Ability: Weretiger Transformation

Battles

Main article: List of Battles
Port Mafia Arc
Atsushi meets Akutagawa
 Atsushi Nakajima vs. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (Alley) Interrupted (by Dazai)
Atsushi asking Kyoka the location of the bomb
 Atsushi Nakajima vs. Kyōka Izumi Unsettled
Atsushi attacking Akutagawa
 Atsushi Nakajima vs. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (Cargo Ship) Win
The Guild Arc
Tanizaki and Atsushi vs. Anne
 Atsushi Nakajima and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki vs. Lucy Maud Montgomery Win
Atsushi attacked by Golden Demon
 Atsushi Nakajima vs. Kōyō Ozaki Lose
Atsushi Nakajima and Kyoka Izumi vs. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
 Atsushi Nakajima and Kyōka Izumi vs. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald Escaped
Atsushi fights Akutagawa at the Moby Dick
 Atsushi Nakajima vs. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (Moby Dick) Unsettled
Akutagawa and Atsushi vs. Fitzgerald
 Atsushi Nakajima and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa vs. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald Win
The Guild Aftermath Arc
Atsushi defeats the Zoopark's guards
 Armed Detective Agency vs. Zoopark Win
Cannibalism Arc
Armed children fire at Kunikida and Atsushi
 Doppo Kunikida and Atsushi Nakajima vs. Armed Children Win
Pushkin attacks
 Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Atsushi Nakajima vs. Alexander Pushkin Interrupted (by Goncharov)
Akutagawa and Atsushi vs. Goncharov
 Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Atsushi Nakajima vs. Ivan Goncharov Win
Hunting Dogs Arc
Atsushi charges at Gogol (manga) Atsushi Nakajima vs. Nikolai Gogol Lose
Sky Casino Arc
Anne grabs Hawthorne (manga) Atsushi Nakajima and Lucy Maud Montgomery vs. Nathaniel Hawthorne Escaped
Kamui Revelation Arc
Akutagawa and Atsushi charge at Fukuchi (manga) Atsushi Nakajima and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa vs. Ōchi Fukuchi Lose
DEAD APPLE
Atsushi vs. Beast Beneath the Moonlight Atsushi Nakajima vs. Beast Beneath the Moonlight Win
Atsushi corners Shibusawa Atsushi Nakajima, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, and Kyōka Izumi vs. Tatsuhiko Shibusawa Win

Appearances

Manga Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance

Port Mafia Arc

The Guild Arc

The Guild Aftermath Arc

Cannibalism Arc

Perfect Crime Arc

Hunting Dogs Arc

Sky Casino Arc

Kamui Revelation Arc

Vampire Infection Outbreak Arc

Anime Appearances
Episodes in order of appearance

Port Mafia Arc

Azure Apostle Arc

The Guild Arc

The Guild Aftermath Arc

Cannibalism Arc

Perfect Crime Arc

Hunting Dogs Arc

Light Novel Appearances
Light novels in order of appearance

Anime Appearances
Episodes in order of appearance

Quotes

  • (To Osamu Dazai) "At the orphanage, people always told me I'm worthless. I have no idea where my next meal will come from or my next bed. No one would care if I died on the street. I might as well just let that beast eat me and be done with it."[5]
  • "Suddenly, an idea came to me. A foolish idea that I can't get out of my mind. If I have any chance of saving them all, of returning them home safely, would that mean it's okay for me to keep on living?"[32]
  • (To Doppo Kunikida about Kyōka Izumi) "She said the crêpe she ate with me was 'delicious'. She was told that the weak didn't even have the right to breathe. And she replied, 'Maybe that's true'! I…… think otherwise! I mean, Dazai-san didn't— In fact, no one at the Agency abandoned me!"[14]
  • (To Ryūnosuke Akutagawa about Kyōka Izumi) "It's not up to you to decide who's worth living. Why couldn't you have spoken to her some other way? People can't live unless someone tells them 'it's okay to go on!' Why can't you even understand something that simple!?"[26]
  • (To Lucy Maud Montgomery) "You've got the wrong idea. I'm not strong, and I'm not popular. In fact, my entire life has been cursed. I know full well how you feel, envying and hating everyone around you."[1]
  • "Compared to the enemy, our Agency has fewer ability users who are geared for battle. I'll need to put in every effort I can. And with my power, I can do it. This time…… It's my turn to keep the Agency safe!"[15]
  • (To Ryūnosuke Akutagawa) "It's true that I'm foolish and worthless. But it sure beats being you - a murderer who just wants to bandy his power around! Am I wrong? You've got the power and status but you still fight 'cos you want to be feared! That's far more worthless in my book."[27]
  • (Referring to the tiger) "No matter where I run, the tiger follows. It's the same as the way I can't escape the beating of my own heart… for you're my strength to keep living. I hear you well, now. I understand your words well. I know. I know everyone's souls are on fire. I'll say the same to you. Hurry up, or I'm leaving you behind. Come, tiger!"[33]
  • (While facing Kamui) "I don't fear the enemy. I don't fear the pain. What is fear is that I'm alone. […] Solitude scares me. At the orphanage, solitude was the norm for me. But now, this same solitude scares me. I wish there was someone fighting at my side. Anyone would do. Somebody…"[34]
  • (After escaping from Ōchi Fukuchi) "Why did Akutagawa let me go? I don't know… […] Moreover, was there some sort of important meaning in that? Or did it end that way by sheer coincidence? I didn't understand."[35]

Etymology

  • The name Atsushi (敦) is a Jinmeiyō kanji which are kanji that can be used as personal names.[36][37]
  • The surname Nakajima means "inside" (中) (naka) and "island" (島) (shima/jima).

Namesake

Main article: Real-life References#Atsushi Nakajima
Atsushi Nakajima (May 5, 1909 - December 4, 1942)
NakajimaRL Thumbnail
Although not politically active, Nakajima is known for his refusal to write propaganda stories for the Japanese government as so many of his peers did. The ability "Beast Beneath the Moonlight" references the short story "Tiger-Poet", about a man who transforms into a tiger because of his internal conflict between written and oral communication.[2]

Trivia

  • When Atsushi is wearing his belt, it seems to act like his tail as if he were in tiger form. When he is relaxed, the belt hangs down. If Atsushi is surprised or scared, the belt acts much more lively.
  • In BONES' anime adaptation, the black streak in his hair is omitted, yet it still appears in promotional art and in the mobile game.
  • According to the first official guidebook:[38]
    • He thinks that his weakness is that he is weak and he doesn't think he has strengths.
    • His motto is "It's okay as long as I'm alive."
    • His ideal type is a kind person.
    • His favorite spot in Yokohama is the shopping district.
  • According to the second official guidebook:[39]
    • He recently spends his free time borrowing books from the library and studying.
    • As a habit from the time he lived in the orphanage, he goes to sleep at 9 and wakes up at 5.
    • During his pair-up with Akutagawa, Atsushi felt that they weren't paired up in his heart.

In Other Languages

Language Name
Flag of China Chinese 中島敦 (Nakajima Atsushi)
Flag of Hong Kong Chinese 中島敦 (Nakajima Atsushi)
Flag of Taiwan Chinese 中島敦 (Nakajima Atsushi)
Flag of France French Atsushi Nakajima
Flag of Germany German Atsushi Nakajima
Flag of Italy Italian Atsushi Nakajima
Flag of South Korea Korean 나카지마 아츠시 (Nakajima Atsushi)
Flag of Malaysia Malay Nakajima Atsushi
Flag of Poland Polish Nakajima Atsushi
Flag of Brazil Portuguese Atsushi Nakajima
Flag of Spain Spanish Atsushi Nakajima
Flag of Mexico Spanish Atsushi Nakajima
Flag of Thailand Thai นาคาจิมะ อัตสึชิ (Nakajima Atsushi)
Flag of Ukraine Ukranian Ацуши Накадзима (Atsushi Nakajima)
Flag of Vietnam Vietnamese Nakajima Atsushi

Notes

  1. ↑ Alternatively entitled Tiger Poet (人虎伝 (じんこでん), Jinko-den?).

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 16.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Volume 3, Author Guide.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Volume 2.
  4. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Volume 6, Omake
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 1.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Volume 3, Omake.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Blu-ray & DVD: Volume 3, Cover.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 36.
  9. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 29.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 53.
  11. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 82.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 5.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 8.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 11.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 25.
  16. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 28.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 4.
  18. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 8.
  19. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 2.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 34.
  21. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 9.
  22. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 76.
  23. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 87.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 83.5.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 84.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 12.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 35.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 39.
  29. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 39.
  30. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Volume 9, Omake.
  31. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 36.
  32. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 8.
  33. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs: DEAD APPLE (Film).
  34. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 83.5.
  35. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Manga: Chapter 88.
  36. ↑ Jinmeiyō kanji. Wikipedia
  37. ↑ 敦. Wikitionary
  38. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Official Guidebook Kaikaroku.
  39. ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Official Guidebook Shinkaroku.

Site Navigation

Ability Users
Main
Armed Detective Agency
Members
Akiko Yosano · Atsushi Nakajima · Doppo Kunikida · Jun'ichirō Tanizaki · Kenji Miyazawa · Kyōka Izumi · Osamu Dazai · Yukichi Fukuzawa
Former
Katai Tayama
Port Mafia
Members
Ace† · Chūya Nakahara · Colonel† · Kōyō Ozaki · Kyūsaku Yumeno · Lippmann† · Michizō Tachihara · Motojirō Kajii · Ōgai Mori · Paul Verlaine · Randō† · Ryūnosuke Akutagawa┬ · Ryūrō Hirotsu · Osamu Dazai
Former
Ango Sakaguchi · Kyōka Izumi · Osamu Dazai
The Guild
Renewed Guild
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald · Louisa May Alcott
Surviving Guild Forces
John Steinbeck
Former Guild
Edgar Allan Poe · Herman Melville · Lucy Maud Montgomery · Margaret Mitchell · Mark Twain · Nathaniel Hawthorne
Rats in the House of the Dead
Alexander Pushkin · Fyodor Dostoevsky · Ivan Goncharov · Mushitarō Oguri · Nathaniel Hawthorne
Decay of the Angel
Bram Stoker┬ · Fyodor Dostoevsky · Kamui · Nikolai Gogol · Sigma
Hunting Dogs
Members
Ōchi Fukuchi · Saigiku Jōno · Teruko Ōkura · Tetchō Suehiro
Former
Michizō Tachihara
Order of the Clock Tower
Dame Agatha Christie
Sheep
Chūya Nakahara
Transcendents
Arthur Rimbaud† · Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · Paul Verlaine · William Shakespeare · Victor Hugo
Mimic
André Gide†
The Seven Traitors
Jules Gabriel Verne†
Special Division for
Unusual Powers
Ango Sakaguchi · Mizuki Tsujimura · Santōka Taneda
V
Jun Mitamura† (implied)
Unaffiliated
Herbert George Wells · Nemo · Sōseki Natsume · Tatsuhiko Shibusawa† · Wasp
Unnamed
Blond Guy† · Criminal Ability User† · Kyōka's Mother† · The Soldier†
Gaiden
Main
Natsuhiko Kyōgoku · Mizuki Tsujimura · Yukito Ayatsuji
Other
Ango Sakaguchi
BEAST
Armed Detective Agency
Akiko Yosano · Doppo Kunikida · Jun'ichirō Tanizaki · Kenji Miyazawa · Ryūnosuke Akutagawa · Sakunosuke Oda · Yukichi Fukuzawa
Port Mafia
Atsushi Nakajima · Chūya Nakahara · Kyōka Izumi · Osamu Dazai · Ryūrō Hirotsu
Armed Detective Agency
Leader
Yukichi Fukuzawa
Members
Akiko Yosano · Atsushi Nakajima · Doppo Kunikida · Jun'ichirō Tanizaki · Kenji Miyazawa · Kyōka Izumi · Osamu Dazai · Ranpo Edogawa
Clerks
Naomi Tanizaki · Kirako Haruno
Former
Katai Tayama
Türkçe
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Bungo Stray Dogs Wiki