BSD Analysis: Why is Yosano Violent with her Patients?

 

Yosano Akiko is one of the less appreciated characters in Bungou Stray Dogs. Regardless, she is nothing less than an icon. Not until recently did we get any details on her past. However, readers can get a glimpse into her life before the agency in volume 16 of the manga.

For context, Yosano Akiko is the Armed Detective Agency's physician. She possesses the rare healing ability Thou Shalt Not Die. When she was 11 years old, Ogai Mori drafted her as a medical student in the military during the Great War. Her job was to heal soldiers that were hurt during battle. However, Mori manipulated Yosano and exploited her ability to heal soldiers repetitively, so they would never die. After being healed, they would return to the battlefield, just for them to be injured again. The soldiers were utilized as reusable pawns, and Yosano was just an instrument to achieve that. The heartache of war and repetition mentally drained and damaged the soldiers into a state of misery. The graphic imagery drove Yosano into mental anguish, but she was forced to remain submissive to Mori.

These traumatic occurrences in her childhood compelled Yosano to believe that her ability was a curse more than a blessing. She regarded her ability as something that merely diminished the value of life around her. Even as she grows older, she is chained to and burdened by her quondam blood-stained sins. The purpose of her aggression with her patients is to show that she truly values their lives. She wants them to understand that their lives are not expendable and that they should be cautious even if they can use her as a medical resource. Similarly, violent behavior is used to make the agency members associate unpleasantness with commoditizing their lives. Nevertheless, Yosano has only good intentions; her empathy and compassion are concealed under her brutality. 

"Death is the loss of life"

It's almost as if Yosano's character symbolizes the dichotomy of life and death. Life is priceless when death is just around the corner. One of the hardest pills to swallow is how easily the significance of life can slip from our palms. In the hustle and bustle of our daily life, we overlook the meaning within our existence; one day everything will end. Yosano is a reminder of the sensational entities, life and death.