Deadman's Questions

From JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia - JoJo Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Deadman's Questions (デッドマンズQ(クエスチョンズ), Deddomanzu Kuesuchonzu) is a short story manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally published in Shueisha's Manga Allman magazine from June 16 - July 21, 1999 (Issues #12-14). It was later compiled with Araki's other stories in an aizōbon volume titled Under Execution, Under Jailbreak.

The story follows the day-to-day life of a vagabond spirit trying to find happiness by performing assassination requests.

Summary

The protagonist is described as a vagabond spirit who is unaware of his life when he was alive. As a Ghost trapped in the living world after his death, he works for a monk, doing the "dirty work" of killing targets she gives him in exchange for money. He believes that, by making this job his purpose to live, he might find happiness. For one of his contracts, he is sent to kill an on-the-run child murderer hiding out in an apartment with his significant other. After a convoluted attempt to enter the apartment due to the rules of being a ghost, the target is eliminated, at which point the protagonist reveals his name to be Yoshikage Kira.

On another mission, he is sent to a soldier's mansion that turned into a spirit to find out the reason behind the deaths of people around the area. He is surprised to see even objects can become spirits and wishes to live in the mansion, as he can not only manipulate objects, but feel them, as they are spirits just like him. Enthusiastic and finally finding happiness, Kira investigates the entire mansion, including the various spiritual books, CDs and fire within it. He comes across many suspicious-looking eggs and touches some of them. The eggs crack open and releases creatures revealed to be Spirit Cleansers. One of them enters inside Kira's arm and begins to eat him from the inside, forcing him to cut his arm off as the creature climbs through his entire body. Kira then comes to the conclusion that they are cleansers of spirits and the mansion was a nest of its eggs. Chased by the cleansers, Kira manages to find a ghost firearm and is able to kill the creatures. Kira escapes the mansion and goes to investigate the information the monk gave him, stating that if he found any errors, he would make sure she finds out the credibility of the nether realm personally. He then wonders if her arm would stick in place of his lost one.

Appearances

Characters
Yoshikage Kira
Protagonist

Author's Note

Link to this sectionAuthor's Note
TranslationTranscript
Deadman's Questions
(Published in Manga Allman #12-14, 1999)

I wrote this story with the idea of a protagonist who, even after death, seeks peace of mind and continues to "live" in this world in the form of a spirit. (I'd call it an A-type work.) The protagonist of Deadman's is actually the ghost of the main villain from the fourth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the deceased homicidal maniac known as Yoshikage Kira. In the world of the dead, if there indeed is one, it probably wouldn't be a place where everything is possible; rather, it'd be regulated by rules similar to our own world's. The idea that ghosts have to struggle just as much or even more than normal people is quite peculiar... That's the idea I had in mind when writing this story. Even so, when I got to the scene where he discovers he can no longer listen to his favorite music, I got a little teary-eyed.
『デッドマンズQ』
(オールマン 99年12〜14号掲戴)

死んだあとも心の平和を願って、精神的に生長していこうとする主人公の行動を、スケッチ風に描いた作品。(作品タイプでA) 主人公のデッドマンは『ジョジョの奇妙な冒険第4部』の最大の敵・吉良吉影という、死んだ殺人鬼である。
死後の世界、もし魂が残っているのなら、それは何でもありの世界ではなく、この世と同じ『ルール』があるはずだ。幽霊も生きてる時と同じか、それ以上に苦労しなくてはおかしい……という発想で描いた。それにしても、好きな音楽を楽しめない彼を描いてて、何か涙が出て来た。

Author's Comments

Part 1Part 2Part 3
Link to this sectionAuthor's Comment
TranslationTranscript
It's been a while since I've worked on something new. Please tell me what you think.
久々の新作です。感想を聞かせて下さい。
Link to this sectionAuthor's Comment
TranslationTranscript
Q: When do you feel most attracted to the opposite sex?
A: It depends on the person.
Q:「異性に魅力を感じる瞬間」
A:相手によりけり。
Link to this sectionAuthor's Comment
TranslationTranscript
Q: What aspects of Japan do you think are unpleasant?
A: Weeds. They're ugly compared to the ones overseas, and they tend to make people care a lot less about nature.
Q:「あなたが思う日本の嫌な所」
A:「雑草」。海外と比べて醜く、自然を大切に思わせないものを感じる。

Gallery

Trivia

  • Hirohiko Araki hid the fact that the main character was Yoshikage Kira until the very end of the first chapter, as he didn't want core fans to begin reading the story with the image of Kira in mind.[4]
  • The outfit worn by Kira in Deadman's Questions is available as a costume for "Kosaku Kawajiri" in Eyes of Heaven. It is awarded for completing DLC Battle EX-9: The Ultimate Trial, and changes Kosaku name to "Deadman's Q Kira".

References

Site Navigation

Other languages: