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what is autism exactly? autism is a complex developmental condition that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, and restricted/repetitive behaviors. The effects of asd and the severity of symptoms are different in each person. (taken from psychiatry.org)
while kunikida will not display every symptom of autism, he does display some of the traits including, but not limited to, impulsivity, desire for or need of strict routine, dislike of change, and tone deafness.
1. impulsivity
kunikida is often seen and described as ‘hot-headed’, a common characteristic for impulsivity. he sometimes acts out, seemingly without thinking, including lashing out at dazai and others over small, seemingly insignificant things. to quote his wiki, “while depicting a calm and careful front, kunikida is also known for his exasperated outbursts.” displayed in chapter 63, he jumps out of a helicopter to protect the other members of the agency. while he had a plan in mind, the decision overall with such a high risk of death or injury is impulsive.
2. desire for or need of strict routine
one of the most common character traits that kunikida revolves around is his ideal and schedule. kunikida follows this schedule constantly, to the point where the idea of change can cause him internal dilemma. this can be seen during chapter 40, or the hitori ayumu ova. in the ova dazai, in an attempt to mess up kunikida’s tightly packed daily schedule tells the other that carlyle, the man who makes the notebooks kunikida uses for his ideal, has just come to the agency. for a moment kunikida considers abandoning his tightly packed schedule to meet the man, however the train arrives and he does not defer from the schedule. the only thing that has caused him to defer from his schedule is something that would threaten his ideal, ie, people’s lives being in danger. his routine appears many times in the show, to the extent that it is something that he relies on during day to day life, and often grows frustrated when people (read as dazai) interferes with it.
3. dislike of change
while it is not as prominent within his character, kunikida has a dislike of change. connecting to the last point made about kunikida’s dislike for his schedule to be interfered with, which would be considered change. in his manga character page and character wiki it is stated that he dislikes unplanned events. anything that is unplanned and suddenly thrown into his life would be considered an unexpected and unwelcome change.
4. rigid thinking
kunikida has a very black and white way of thinking, strictly following and adhering to rules, his ideals and schedule. he values his ideal, and his ideal only, rarely straying from these ideals. he is said to be practical to a fault, and puts his beliefs upon a very high pedestal, to the point where he has considered abandoning atsushi during the first episode, a strange thing to consider seeing as kunikida refuses to let people die in front of him. it is a very black and white way of thinking, not wanting people to die in front of you, but not quite caring enough about people you are not utterly close with. this black and white thinking can also be seen multiple times when kunikida and atsushi’s thinking collide when atsushi attempts to save kyouka. at first kunikida is also doubtful of atsushi, seeing as he is a new person who kunikida does not yet understand how he fits into his own life. these, along with his ideals, are all examples of thinking in your own world, a black and white thinking tendency.
5. tone deafness
throughout the manga and anime kunikida shows many examples of having some sense of deafness to tone. dazai is often shown teasing kunikida by sharing very obviously untrue facts, however every time kunikida appears to fall for these, meaning he lacks the ability to detect the sarcasm and teasing that dazai is using. this behaviour is usually described as “uncharacteristically naive and is prone to easily believe dazai's lies.” kunikida is in no way unintelligent, meaning that he should be able to use logical reasoning skills to detect if dazai is speaking the truth or not, however he always falls short, believing the lies told to him.
6. expressions and strong emotional reactions
kunikida is shown to have the same facial expression through the show and manga, this neutral expression only breaking when he has strong emotional outbreaks, such as yelling at dazai, or during places where someone dies in front of him, ex episode 35, with the young girl and bombs. kunikida also has an unconventional way of showing affection to others, such as constantly lashing out at dazai despite how much he trusts the other, or playing along with the scheme to allow ranpo to believe he has an ability. it is said in the wiki that “kunikida does not genuinely dislike dazai. he especially acknowledges dazai's skill and knowledge when first working with him, and continues to entrust much of the agency's strategies to dazai. similar faith extends to ranpo edogawa.” he also lacks expressing emotional feelings towards atsushi nakajima. despite the bond that he and atsushi develop through the series he does not often express it outwardly, instead helping the other to express this affection he holds. he also displays a strong emotional reaction when saigiku jouno challenges his ideals, leading to somewhat of an emotional breakdown, simply because his way of thinking and values were challenged by somebody, as well as the aspect that he might not understand himself as he thought he did. during 55 minutes, kunikida has a quite strong emotional reaction to not being able to write down pieces of information.
7. authority (hear me out on this one please it’s a mess)
in kunikida’s character page and wiki it is stated that he dislikes authority. this is quite ironic considering that he can be considered an authority figure, due to his job in the agency, as well as his role as the successor as the leader of the agency in the example case that anything were to happen to fukuzawa. his job as a detective also puts him in a position where he will often have to work with cops. all of these things, plus his dislike for authority seems odd, however it can likely be drawn that he continues to work in such positions due to his ideals.
here are several quotes, from an autistic person in a place of authority, that can be connected to kunikida, despite his dislike for it. “they [autistic people] will bow to greater expertise, experience, morality, and creativity, very happily, but not just to authority alone.” while he has a dislike for authority, he will respect them, but no because they are authority, but instead of the other traits that they hold that in turn gain is respect. this next quote is about autistic figures in authority positions, which is what kunikida is. “i just wanted to let people do their job, and assumed they’d do it well.” at the end of the day, no matter how much kunikida hopes for his ideal world to exist, he lets the other agency members solve their cases and work as they please, as long as they are getting the job done, he doesn't let their different work ethics bother him too much.
8. other symptoms
here is a list of official symptoms or quotes about autism symptoms that can directly be related to kunikida doppo. (many points double up and have already been addressed in detail, however it is important to see the symptoms from professionals.)
-unable to pick up on body language and emotional subtext in conversations. ( his interactions with dazai)
-stubborn adherence to rules. (ideals and general character)
-aggression (character trait often towards dazai, despite not wanting kill his opponents [however killing and aggression are very different])
-unusual mood or emotional reactions (strong emotional reactions.)
-have unusual interests and behaviors (fishing, ideals, strict routine.)
-[students] with autism have rigid patterns of thinking. their tendency to follow rules and routines often causes problems for adaptive functioning (black and white thinking)
-[they] tend to have repetitive behaviors, such as repeating certain routines or rituals over and over again (ideal + schedule)
-some may speak in a flat, monotone voice; others may use unusual modulation or stress different words or parts of words in their speech; and some may speak at an increased volume. (both bland neutral voice and loud speech)
9. things about him that just make sense in relation to autism
as an autistic person, i find that there are many parts of kunikida’s character that i myself see as autistic traits (or traits that i myself have) but am unable to put exactly into words why. this is a list of such things.
-”he constantly feels the need to organize, gather, and schedule every bit of detail, which is why he may come off as somewhat too strict and harsh during investigations.”
-”he is almost never seen without his trademark notebook, which he believes to be an "ideal" and guide to life.”
-”his calm front begins to crack when he is forced to "bend the rules", resulting in a mental breakdown.”