In every volume of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the front folded flap of the dust jacket usually contains a picture of Hirohiko Araki himself, and more than often a quotation. The quotes featured below the picture are always different from each other, and are usually about Araki expressing his opinion on certain subjects. These subjects can be about anything, including information about characters or the story itself. The notes below are from The JOJOLands.
You know plastic wrap, right? The type that comes in those boxes. Do not, under any circumstances, let the plastic fall off the blade and slip back into the box. At that point, it's all over. Like basically the end of the world.
The heat's been so awful this year, it feels like it's trying to take me out. I barely have any means to defend myself from it. I even tried to run into the woods, but it was full of wasps.
I stayed at the Hayama Kachi-Tei Hotel, which is Rohan's house in the live action. I didn’t draw manga while I was there, but they said I could cook, so I did.
I walk to work, but I keep getting stopped for a police check. They ask me things like "What's in your wallet?" Can you believe I'm being stopped for a police check even though I'm over 60?
I went on a trip to Osaka and Kyoto. I came across a book that used the sound 'totsutotsutotsu' (咄々々). It seems to be similar to the onomatopoeia 'gogogo' (ゴゴゴ).
I went to Osaka recently and the udon there was delicious. Not to discount Tokyo's, but there's something about it that you can't really get here. You know what I mean?
The JOJOLands is Part 9 of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. We find our ninth protagonist in a fifteen-year-old boy. I consider fifteen to be the age where a person's feelings toward the future are the most vibrant. As the author, my hope is that the protagonist will mature and develop admirably over time. On another note, within this story you will see the name "November Rain," the root "novem" being Latin for the number 9. At some point, the months of July and August were inserted into the middle of the calendar, causing November to become the eleventh month.
While walking to work, I'll sometimes get stopped for police checks, but other times, people will just hand me food. They'll be like, "Would you like some persimmons to go? Perhaps some udon or radishes?" These people don't even live nearby. I don't know who some of them are. They don't expect autographs or anything, and it's a different person each time. I guess I look hungry. They even handed me matsutake mushrooms one time, hahaha. Isn't that amazing? What I'm trying to say is that's how I start off my work days.
I've been cautious about sharing this because I didn't want to be seen as strange, but I haven't spoken about it anywhere before. About 40 years ago, in my twenties, I traveled to Italy and made a side trip to a northern town called "Padova." It was my first visit, but I immediately felt a sense of familiarity with the place. As I walked along the road next to the river flowing through the town, I recognized the buildings, the bridge views, and even knew how to get to the church—it was exactly as I had somehow known it would be. Ever since, I make it a point to visit Padova whenever I travel. (Continued in Volume 4)
