Aoi Bungaku first impressions

I’ve read two out of the six novels that Aoi Bungaku will adapt into anime episodes; No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai and Kokoro by Natsume Souseki. The series starts with No Longer Human so I thought I’d offer my initial impressions after watching the first episode…

I read No Longer Human about a year and a half ago for one of my Japanese literature classes. My memories of it are a little fuzzy but I can definitely say that so far the anime adaptation is very different. Besides the basic premise of Yozo’s feeling of living a “shameful” life, and a few choice scenes, most events have been rearranged or added to. The main thing that’s different is the order of events. The novel is more or less chronological, with the first part dedicated to Yozo’s childhood, his relationship with his family, and how he develops his facade of “clowning” to mask his internal turmoil. We’re introduced to his upbringing, as well as important people such as Takeichi and Horiki (in the first episode, I think one of them was the guy with him in the bathroom but I don’t quite remember). Although the first anime episode gave us little snippets of his childhood, such as the Lion Mask incident, which happened near the beginning of the novel, it started off much later in Yozo’s life. His double suicide attempt with Tsuneko and his joining the rebellious movement did happen in the novel but later on. From what I can recall, a few scenes such as Yozo hiding under Tsuneko’s dress from the policeman in the bar, and Tsuneko holding off the policeman while Yozo runs away, did not happen in the novel.

I’m still not completely sure, but I think the most obvious reason that the anime is making all these changes is because of time constraints. Only 12 episodes are scheduled for the Aoi Bungaku series, which only gives 2 episodes for each of the six novels. So obviously a lot has to be changed and rearranged in order to make a coherent retelling of a 150+ page book in 40 minutes. I could be wrong about how the 12 episode will be distributed among the different novels, but so far the anime seems intent on changing the order of events and adding new things to make it flow better. But even though it’s different from and less complete than the novel, I’m finding it enjoyable and a nice break from all the comedic anime I’m currently watching. It’s still well written and the Takeshi Obata (Death Note) look adds to the dark and disturbing theme.

The anime will probably end up being condensed versions of these famous Japanese novels. Since most people in Japan are familiar with them, they might actually welcome all these changes as a nice twist on familiar stories. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of Aoi Bungaku and finding out exactly how much of No Longer Human and Kokoro is left out or changed. Kokoro is one of the most famous Japanese novels of all, hence I’ve read it three times during my years of studying Japanese literature, so I’m especially excited about seeing it animated.