JoJonium Vol. 8-17 (June 2014)

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Published June 4, 2014
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JoJonium Vol. 8-17 (June 2014)
Interview Archive
First volume of the JoJonium release of Stardust Crusaders

A series of interviews by Hirohiko Araki included in the JoJonium release of Stardust Crusaders, which were published in ten volumes between June 4, 2014, and May 2, 2014.[1][2]

Interview

Volume 8 (Jotaro Kujo)

The idea of making the main character of Part 3 Japanese was something I had thought of doing around the end of Part 1. I had originally planned JoJo to be a trilogy, and thought it would be appropriate to have the final, fated confrontation take place in present-day Japan, but I didn't want it to be a tournament-style affair, like what was popular in Weekly Shonen Jump at the time. That's when I had the idea of having the characters head for a specific destination, like a road movie, taking inspiration from Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. Years later, a certain TV comedian took a trip across Eurasia along a similar route. Just like with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken) coming out before Bizarre Stories in This World (Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari), I'll say that for the record, JoJo did it first (laughs).

Clint Eastwood, who I love and respect as an actor, served as the model for Jotaro. Jotaro's trademark pose where he points his finger actually was inspired by Eastwood pointing his .44 Magnum. Even details such as Jotaro's catchphrase being "good grief" take inspiration from parts that Eastwood played, where he'd have lines like "A bank robbery? You have to be kidding me…" That's why Jotaro seems a bit "rougher" compared to other Jump protagonists. Joseph might be a little easier to get into from a Weekly Shonen Jump perspective, but Jotaro actually fits my image of a hero to a tee.

My image of a hero is that of a loner. As opposed to someone who does the right thing looking for compensation or attention from others, my idea of a hero is someone who is an unappreciated symbol of justice. There are times where taking the correct path leads to loneliness. I also think that heroes shouldn't be in the business of making friends. Jotaro goes on his journey while keeping his feelings bottled up inside because he's a "lone hero." He doesn't celebrate in an over-the-top manner when he defeats an enemy. For him, a throwaway "good grief" is plenty.

Jotaro has become big enough to function as a synonym for JoJo as a whole. I've actually based subsequent JoJos on his visual design and differentiated them from there. My original vision for Jotaro was having him journeying through the desert while wearing his school uniform, and with that, fantastical and bizarre things would happen to him during his day-to-day life. On top of that, it's not your everyday uniform. He's got a chain hooked on to his collar, two belts… I played around with his design quite a bit until I got something that conveyed just the right amount of rebellion. Speaking of teenage rebels, you know how guys used to have chains hanging from their pants, connected to their wallets? I drew Jotaro with his chain on his uniform first (laughs)! Let's add that to the record as well.

Q. What is the meaning of Star Platinum's pose?

A. It represents the starting point for Part 3--the work of Mitsuteru Yokoyama. The concept of wearing one's school uniform in the desert has its roots in Yokoyama Sensei's Babel II. If were to draw Part 3 all over again, I would have used Yokoyama Sensei's Tetsujin 28-go as inspiration for the Stands, representing a return to the basics.

　「第3部の主人公は日本人にする」。このアイデアは第1部の最後の辺りから頭にありました。『ジョジョ』は元々3部作の予定だったから、時代は現代で、日本を出発して因縁に決着をつける…というのが締めくくりに相応しいかなと思ったんです。でも当時の「週刊少年ジャンプ」で流行してたトーナメント方式にしたくはなかった。そこで思いついたのが、ジュール・ヴェルヌの小説『八十日間世界一周』のように、ある目的地を目指すロードムービーモノだったんですよ。後年、テレビ番組で某お笑い芸人がユーラシア大陸を横断した時、似たルートを辿っていましたね。『奇妙な冒険』という名が『世にも奇妙な物語』より先に世に出たように、ここも名誉のために『ジョジョ』の方が先だと言わせてもらいます(笑)。
　承太郎のモデルは僕が敬愛する俳優クリント・イーストウッド。今や決めポーズともなっている、人差し指を差すあの絵は拳銃44マグナムを構える動きから。更に「やれやれだぜ…」という口ぐせは「銀行強盗⁉いい加減にしろよ…」みたいな台詞からと、細かな部分でもイーストウッドが演じた役柄に影響を受けています。そのせいか、少年マンガの主人公として見ると承太郎は少し渋めですよね。「週刊少年ジャンプ」には先代JOJO・ジョセフの方がハマりやすいと思いますが、僕のヒーロー像はまさしく承太郎なんです。
　僕の考えるヒーロー、それは「孤独である」ということです。自分が正しいことをやったからといって対価を求め、チヤホヤしてもらうのとは違う。言うなれば、報われない正義なんです。正しい道を進んだ結果、孤独になることもある。基本、ヒーローは仲間を作っちゃいけないとも思っています。承太郎が自分の心を表に出さず、内に秘めながら進んで行くのは「孤高のヒーロー」だから。敵を倒しても決して派手な喜び方はしない。彼らしさは「やれやれだぜ…」だけでいいんですよ。
　今では承太郎が『ジョジョ』の代名詞と思われる程の存在になりました。以後歴代JOJOのビジュアルデザインは承太郎を基本にし、ここから差をつけています。そもそも彼のビジュアルは学ランを着て砂漠を旅したら、日常の中にファンタジー性や奇妙さが生まれるだろうと思ったことがきっかけです。しかも普通の学ランではなく、襟元にチェーンを付けたりベルトを2本にしたりと、承太郎らしい不良っぽさを出すにはどういうデザインにするか…バランスを取りながら工夫しました。不良と言えば、ちょっとワルっぽい男子が財布に引っ掛けたチェーンをズボンから下げてますが、あの学生服にチェーンの発想も、僕が承太郎で描いた方が先だから(笑)！これも名誉のために言わせてもらいましょう。

Q.スタープラチナのポーズの意味は？

A.第3部の原点、横山光輝作品をイメージしました。
「学ランで砂漠」。その原点は横山光輝先生の作品『バビル2世』にあります。改めて第3部を描くなら、基本に帰るという意味で、スタンドも横山先生の『鉄人28号』をイメージした感じになりました。

Volume 9 (Joseph Joestar)

It wasn't limited to Joseph, but I had a lot of feedback from readers that they wanted older characters to reappear in the series. Personally, I'm not particularly a fan of bringing characters back solely to play on nostalgia. There has to be a real reason for them to reappear. As far as Joseph is concerned, as long as he's alive and able, he would go after a fated foe in order to save his daughter. There was a clear motive to bring him back. Plus, JoJo is a story about the Joestar bloodline, so it made sense to bring back a previous JoJo for Part 3. I didn't hesitate in this instance.

This was fifty years after the battle with the Pillar Men. I had considered having him drop out partway through due to his age, but I figured I'd play it by ear as the serialization chugged along. The first role I gave to Joseph was that of the "navigator." After all, who better than to have a previous JoJo introduce us to the Joestar family, DIO, the Ripple, and Stands, leading us from the Ripple Arc (Parts 1 and 2) into Part 3? However, he is a previous JoJo, so I took care to make him not look like a protagonist. I wanted to make it clear that Jotaro was the main character of Part 3, and I couldn't let the readers get confused either. Thankfully, this part takes place fifty years after the events of Part 2, so I was able to make some drastic changes to his appearance without it feeling out of place (laughs).

Joseph's Stand, Hermit Purple, is more of a supporting ability, allowing visual and aural psychic projection. Even though he was a former protagonist, I didn't give him your typical offensive ability for the reasons I mentioned earlier--I wanted to make his ability fitting for his role as "navigator." A guide needs "lines" that connect him across the world so he can receive information. I was inspired by telephone lines or network cables. If he connects to a camera, it outputs a photograph; if he connects to a TV, it outputs video--the vines from his Stand represent that physical "line" or cable connecting them. Additionally, the form of the vines also has to do with Joseph being a Ripple user.

One of the things I wanted to do from the beginning of JoJo was visually express supernatural abilities. The Stand is a succession of the Ripple, and both are rooted in the same concept, so with Joseph reappearing in Part 3, I wondered how to visualize the Ripple in terms of a Stand. The Ripple is life energy which spreads across the body through breathing methods. The vines are meant to be an explicit visual expression of that--literally wrapping themselves around his body. If Jotaro and the rest of the Stand-using crew went back in time fifty years prior, maybe you could have seen a younger Joseph using Hermit Purple.

Q. Why is Hermit Purple purple?

A. Purple is a classy color. It's easy to make work with older characters. I decided on this after taking into account the Joestars and their associated colors. I figured that purple would work better with Joseph in his sixties as opposed to someone younger (laughs).

　ジョセフに限らず、過去のキャラクターを再び登場させてほしいという読者の方からの声は届きます。でも僕個人としてはノスタルジーを感じさせるような出し方はあまり好きじゃありません。出すからには、そこに必然性がないとダメなんですよ。ジョセフについて言えば、生きていて体が動くくらい元気なら、娘の命を救うために因縁の敵に立ち向かうに違いない！という明確な動機がありました。加えて『ジョジョ』はジョースター家の血統の物語。だから第3部でも先代JOJO・ジョセフを登場させることに迷いはなかったですね。
　「柱の男」との激闘から50年。年老いた彼を再び闘いの中に入れることで、もしかしたら途中でリタイアするかもしれないな～とか色々考えましたが、それは連載の流れ次第って感じでした。まず最初にジョセフに与えた役割は「ナビゲーター」です。ジョースター家とDIOのこと、そして波紋とスタンド、ストーリーの流れを波紋編の第1・2部から新たな第3部へ引き継ぐ役割は先代JOJOが一番相応しいですからね。でも先代はあくまでも先代。そのために、ジョセフの見た目を「主人公ぽくしないこと」に気を遣いました。第3部の主人公は承太郎だから、そこはハッキリさせたいし、読者に対して紛らわしいこともできません。幸い第2部からは50年の時が流れていたので、ジョセフの外見はガラリと違和感なく変えられました(笑)。
　ジョセフのスタンド「隠者の紫(ハーミットパープル)」。その能力は念写や念聴といったサポート的なもの。かつての主人公ながら、攻撃主体の能力にしなかったのは、先に説明した「ナビゲーター」という役割に沿わせたからです。案内役に必要不可欠な世界中とアクセスして情報を得る「ライン」。電線やネットワークケーブルがイメージの発想です。カメラに繋げば写真が、テレビに繋げば映像が出る…その「ライン」がスタンドのイバラの蔓という訳なんです。それともうひとつ、このイバラの蔓の形はジョセフが波紋使いだったこととも関係しています。
　僕にとって「超能力を絵で可視化する」ことは『ジョジョ』連載当初からの目的でした。波紋に代わるスタンドも同じ概念で考えていたので、ジョセフを再び登場させる際、第3部のスタンドという設定から波紋を可視化するとどうなるのかなと思ったんですね。波紋は呼吸法によって全身を伝わる生命エネルギー。その具体的なビジュアルが全身に巻き付くような、あのイバラの蔓ということなんです。もし承太郎たちスタンド使いが第2部の時代にタイムスリップしたら、若いジョセフの体に50年後と同じような「隠者の紫」が見えるんじゃないかと思います。

Q.「隠者の紫」。その紫色の原点は!?

A.紫色は高貴な色であり、年齢高めな方にも合わせやすいから。
ジョースター一行のスタンドやその色はバランスを考えて決めました。紫色は若い人よりも60代のジョセフにしっくりくるかなと思ったんで(笑)。

Volume 10 (Hol Horse)

Part 3 was structured to be like a road movie, a la Mito Komon. That is, I would have the Joestar party, with Jotaro at the helm, head off on a journey, where along the way at various places, I would pit them against Stand users with differing abilities. Each of these Stand users he would fight would be unique, but I had to consider who I would have appear and in what way would flow. The series was meant to be long running, so I took great care in formulating the of events so as not to lose the reader's interest. This is the case with Hol Horse as well. I designed his predecessors, Strength, Ebony Devil and Yellow Temperance, so that their appearances and abilities didn't overlap. I did the same with planning the fights--whether they'd be one-on-one or team battles. There were a lot of one-on-one battles leading up to this portion, so I thought I'd introduce a team of two Stand users at that point. That's why I had Hol Horse and J. Geil show up--because I was following the guidelines I had set for myself. If I had decided to introduce him at some other point, he might have been a lone-wolf gunslinger who was a little shorter.

I had planned from the beginning to have Kakyoin and Polnareff switch allegiances away from DIO to join the group, but I didn't plan this for Hol Horse. However, I don't think it would have been such a bad idea to have him join the group. Maybe I didn't because I love Westerns and it would have felt like a shame to remove the iconic “outlaw gunman” from the group somewhere along the way. I also liked his “why be number one when you can be number two” philosophy on life, which also carried on to Yoshikage Kira in Part 4. I drew him on a color title page like he was part of the crew, and I had him show up multiple times after his first appearance. However, my conclusion was that he would throw off the balance of the group if he were to join. As far as his character is concerned, both his looks and his personality overlap somewhat with Polnareff, and I felt that it would be difficult to work in his Emperor Stand as an ally.

The Emperor's motif is a gun, and I didn't add very many limitations based on how many could shoot or his firing distance. Unlike Mista from Part 5, who was only limited to six shots, Emperor is a Stand, including the gun itself... I figured as long as the user himself doesn't get tired, he could shoot as many bullets as he wanted, and as I kept going with it, it kind of got out of control. Also, the whole aiming and shooting at an enemy part overlaps with Kakyoin's Emerald Splash. In the end, I made the decision based on his character and ability to have him remain as an enemy. Additionally, I didn't have any more humans join the group after that. We had the cute little dog Iggy instead to assist the Joestar party. From a balance perspective, I was totally fine with that (laughs).

Q. Hol Horse looks a lot like Gyro from Steel Ball Run!

A. They're connected in that they're both tough outlaws. They both have that "spaghetti western" feel to them. Crank that aspect up a little bit more and that's my image of Gyro. At the time this was serialized, I might have also been inspired by another gun slinging outlaw, Buichi Terasawa's Cobra.

　第3部は『水戸黄門』に代表されるようなロードムービー的な構成でした。それは承太郎たちジョースター家一行という主人公を旅させて、訪れるそれぞれの場所で、能力の異なるスタンド使いをぶつける作り。承太郎たちと闘わせるスタンド使いの個性を出すのは当然として、誰をどのように登場させるか…ストーリーの流れも考えなくてはいけない。長編マンガだからこそ、読者に飽きられず楽しんでもらうために、僕はストーリー作りにおいてもバランスを大事にしています。今回のホル・ホースも然り。先の「力(ストレングス)」「悪魔(エボニーデビル)」「黄の節制(イエローテンパランス)」と外見や能力を含めたキャラクターが被らないように登場させた訳です。そして、個人戦なのかチーム戦なのか。一対一の闘いが続いたから次はスタンド使いのコンビを出す。ホル・ホースとJ・ガイルがこのタイミングで登場したのは僕のルールに従ったまでです。もし違うタイミングでホル・ホースを出すことになったら？バランス次第では「もっと背の低い孤高の拳銃使い」とかにしていたかもしれません。
　最初はDIOの配下として登場させた花京院とポルナレフは仲間にすることを決めてましたが、ホル・ホースはそうじゃなかった。でも彼は僕が仲間にしても良かったかな～と思えた敵キャラクターでしたね。僕の大好きな西部劇で欠かすことのできないアウトローなガンマン、その雰囲気を持つ彼を途中で消すには惜しいと感じていたんでしょう。第4部に登場する吉良吉影にも通じる「一番よりNo.2!」という人生哲学も気に入っていました。カラーの扉ページに仲間の一人のように承太郎たちと一緒に描いたこともあったし、初回の対決後も何回か登場させてみました。しかし彼がジョースター家一行に入ると「バランスが崩れてしまう」というのが僕の結論でした。キャタクター[a]性で見ると、性格や外見ではポルナレフと被ってしまうし、能力の「皇帝(エンペラー)」も仲間にすると扱いが難しいと感じたんです。
　拳銃をモチーフにした「皇帝」は弾数や射程距離とかにあまり制約を設けていませんでした。第5部のミスタになると「6発の銃弾に付く」という形になりますが、ホル・ホースの「皇帝」は銃弾も含めてスタンドだったんで…。あの能力は本体が疲れない限り何発でも撃てるだろうから、描いていくうちに結局は何でもアリになってしまうんですよ。そして敵を狙い撃つというのも花京院のエメラルドスプラッシュと被ってしまう。最終的には、キャラクター性とスタンド能力の両面から判断して、ホル・ホースは敵のままだったんです。そして、その後加わる新しい仲間は人間じゃありませんでした。ジョースター家の助っ人は小さくて可愛い犬のイギー。これならバランス的にもOKですから(笑)

Q.ホル・ホースは『SBR(スティール・ボール・ラン)』のジャイロと似ている!?

A.タフなアウトローという意味では通じています。
共通しているのはマカロニ・ウエスタンの雰囲気。ここをよりチューンナップするとジャイロのイメージになりますね。連載当時はアウトローの雰囲気と手から銃ということで、寺沢武一先生の『コブラ』もイメージにあったかもしれません。

Volume 11 (Enya the Hag)

Enya the Hag as a character was born as an answer to the question of who taught DIO about the existence of Stands. I had some of the Stands named after tarot cards, and I also had a vague idea to make a witch-like fortuneteller. I also wanted a scary old woman to be an enemy. After all, I consider horror films to be my teachers and textbooks, and you can't have a horror film without a scary old lady! JoJo has had a strong connection to horror films ever since vampires appeared in Part 1, especially when you look at the enemies. As far as Enya the Hag is concerned, I think I managed to include all the usual tropes you see with scary old ladies in horror films. She hides in waiting for the main characters to show up, she's got a hidden knife, she's ancient, but when it comes down to it, she can be insanely fast (laughs). It's pretty horrifying to run away as fast as you can, but as soon as you turn around, a scary old woman is right there waiting for you!

The same goes for her Stand, Justice. There are several horror films that deal with some sort of unknown virus coming down from space and putting humanity in danger. That was the inspiration for why I had her Stand "infect" the town, and why I had it in the form of "fog." This is a bit off-topic, but I consider Frankenstein's monster, werewolves, and mummies to be the three greatest designs in the world of horror. I think it's absolutely fantastic to imagine how you can start to unwrap one part of a mummy's bandages and it'll just keep going and going. I drew her son J. Geil's Stand, "Hanged Man," based on a mummy, but I worked the essence of a merman into him as well. Both mother and child are truly denizens of the world of horror, through and through.

Looking back on it now, Enya is chock-full of all of my favorite aspects of horror, so I had a fantastic time drawing her, even during the original serialization. I'm still not sure whether she was an appropriate enemy for a shonen manga, though. It's pretty "adventurous" to have an old woman as an antagonist for the main character to face off with, after all. The ratings didn't necessarily go up during that time either (laughs). No matter how much I may like her personally, there's no mistaking that the ability to convey her strength and horror as a character despite the fact that she's an old woman is something unique to JoJo due to the existence of Stand battles. I talked about this in Volume 2 of JoJo Part 2 when I was discussing Lisa Lisa, but when Part 2 was being serialized, I realized that if you worked in supernatural elements the outward physical strength of women and children would no longer matter. Stands use the concept of the Ripple and take it to the next level of visual representation. Despite being "just an old woman," she can use her Stand to disguise an entire town. Both Enya's looks and the concept of her Stand had a strong impact on readers. One last thing--I think having the mental strength to be able to control an entire town's worth of corpses would match up pretty closely with that which would be needed to stop time.

Q. Why is an enemy Stand called "Justice"?

A. I like that it makes you ponder what "justice" really is. "Justice" is a subjective thing, after all. Enya is on the cover for this volume, so I put a lot of detail into this drawing, including the wrinkles on her face. Her eyes look a bit more friendly than usual, but well...she is this volume's "cover girl" (laughs).

　誰がスタンドの存在をDIOに教えたのか？エンヤ婆はその発想から生まれたキャラクターでした。登場するスタンド名をタロットカードからの由来にしたこともあり、頭の中には漠然と占い師のような「魔女」のイメージがありました。そして敵として描くからには「怖い婆さん」にもしたかった。僕の先生・教科書であるホラー映画には「怖い婆さん」が付き物ですからね。第1部から吸血鬼が出てくるように『JOJO』とホラー映画は密接に結びついていて、特に敵キャラクターにはその影響が強いんです。エンヤ婆について言えば、ホラー映画における「怖い婆さん」の定石はすべて詰め込めたと思います。主人公達を待ち伏せして、手には刃物を隠し持ち、ヨボヨボなのになぜか走ると凄く速い(笑)。全力で逃げているのに、振り返ったら“目の前に婆さん”ってかなり怖いですよ！
　そして、彼女のスタンド能力「正義(ジャスティス)」も同様でした。ホラー映画には、宇宙から飛来した未知のウイルスが人類を襲う作品がいくつもあります。そんなホラーならではの発想を下敷きに、僕はスタンドが町中に広がっていくイメージを考え、その能力を霧で表現したという訳です。余談ですが僕はフランケンシュタイン、狼男、ミイラ男はホラーの世界における三大デザインだと思ってます。ミイラ男の包帯ひとつとっても何でこんなにグルグル巻きなのか…。そのすべてが魅力的でロマンを感じるんですよ。息子、J・ガイルの「吊られた男(ハングドマン)」はこの三大デザインのひとつミイラ男に半魚人のエッセンスを加えた姿として描きました。親子共々、彼女たちは本当にホラー映画の住人って感じですね。
　こうして振り返ってみても、エンヤ婆は僕の大好きなホラーの要素が十分なので、連載中も描いていてすごく楽しかったですね。ただし少年マンガの敵として相応しいかは別問題。主人公の敵を婆さんにすることはかなりの冒険です。エンヤ婆によって読者からの人気が上がりそうな感じもしませんし(苦笑)。いくら好きだと言っても、女性でしかも老婆の強さや恐ろしさをどのように表現するのか…スタンドでバトルの絵が描ける『JOJO』だから生まれたキャラクターであることは間違いありません。5巻のリサリサ誕生秘話でもお話ししたように、僕は第2部の連載時、強さの裏付けとして「闘いの中に超能力のアイデアを加えれば、女性や子どもといった肉体の見た目は強さに関係なくなる」ことに気がつきました。スタンドはその概念を波紋よりもさらにビジュアルで表現したものです。老婆でありながら町中を覆う規模のスタンド使い…その見た目も含め、エンヤ婆は「スタンドの概念」を読者へ伝えることに強いインパクトを残してくれました。最後に。町中の死者を動かす程の彼女の精神力というのは、「時間を止める」のに匹敵する強さだと思います。

Q.敵でありながら「正義」にした理由は？

A.コイツが「正義」なの？というギャップがイイよね。
「正義」って言葉の意味は人によって変わるものですから。今回エンヤ婆が表紙を飾るということで、顔のシワも含めて結構描きこみましたね。目はちょっと優しくなったかもしれないけど、そこはカバーガールなので(笑)。

Volume 12 (Noriaki Kakyoin)

In my mind, I grouped together the fivesome that is Kakyoin, Jotaro, Joseph, Avdol and Polnareff as the "Joestar party." From the beginning, I wanted to balance the party to where their features, personalities, dress and Stands were all unique and didn't overlap. I wanted their silhouettes to be easily distinguishable when they were standing in the desert, but my editor at the time told me that because none of them have round heads, they all sort of look the same as silhouettes (wry laugh). I considered Kakyoin to be the prim, proper and sensitive one in the group.

Kakyoin is the Japanese main character in Part 3 other than Jotaro, but I didn't really think about his nationality much. His name is much more interesting. I always come up with first and last names together. I took his last name, "Kakyoin," from an area in Sendai, where I'm from. Whenever I went to Sendai Station, I would always pass through there, so it was a very familiar name to me. I gave him the following kanji for his last name: 典明. Kanji can be read in different ways, and while canonically this is read as Noriaki, I had always read it as Tenmei. You can see this in the hotel log where he signs his name (see the last volume). I spent a lot of time considering the sound and the balance of the kanji characters for the main character, Jotaro Kujo, but my editor had a "Noriaki" join the Joestar party instead (wry laugh). I was pretty shocked when I first saw that in the graphic novel release, but I justified it as that maybe his parents named him "Tenmei," but his friends called him by a different reading of the same kanji, "Noriaki"--a relatively common thing to happen with kids.

I didn't really pay much mind to the fact that he was of Japanese nationality, but I did have him act as a foil to Jotaro. I had him be Jotaro's first real opponent in a Stand vs. Stand battle so that I could visually convey the concepts for both short-range and long-range Stand abilities to the reader. I thought making Kakyoin's Hierophant Green able to stretch itself out like a rope as a long-range type would contrast nicely with Star Platinum, making it easy to understand how they differ in action. I had lots of ideas for long-range attacks, but I wanted to keep things from getting too far out of control by having Stands need to "stand" near where the action was happening.

I didn't get too many chances to actually show this, but Kakyoin goes to the same high school as Jotaro. While they're not super close on their journey, they do have a nice friendship, and I wonder what might have happened had they not had Stands in common. They might not have become friends (laughs). I have a feeling that Kakyoin would have been better friends with Josuke from Part 4.

Q. Did you ever consider making him wear something other than a gakuran (Japanese school uniform) to distinguish him from the main character?

A. Kakyoin's well-tailored gakuran gives him the feel of being an honor student. Meanwhile, Jotaro's loose-fitting gakuran fits with him being a delinquent. You can distinguish characters like that even though they might be wearing the same outfit. I think the accessories I gave Jotaro helped distinguish him as well.

　花京院を含め承太郎、ジョセフ、アヴドゥル、ポルナレフの5人全員はジョースター一行としてセットで考えていました。見た目、性格、ファッション、そしてスタンドに至るまで何一つ被らせないために、全体のバランスを最初に決めたかったんですね。僕のイメージでは彼らが砂漠で立った時に全員分かるシルエットが大事。それでも当時の担当からは「シルエットで頭が丸いヤツがいないから全員まっすぐだね」って言われましたけど(苦笑)。そんな一行の中で花京院は線の細い、やや神経質なキャラクターとして考えました。
　承太郎を除いて花京院は第3部で唯一の日本人ですが、特に国籍は意識しませんでした。印象深いのはやはり名前ですね。僕は名字と下の名前は必ずセットで考えます。彼の名字「花京院」は僕の故郷、仙台にある町名から取りました。僕にとっては仙台駅に行く際、必ず通る場所だったんでとても身近な地名なんですよ。そして花京院という名字に対して僕が付けた下の名前は典明。公式では「のりあき」となってますが、僕の中で呼び名はずっと「てんめい」なんです。実は、エンヤ婆が待つホテルの宿帳にもサインを残していますからね(JoJonium11巻参照)。主人公が「くうじょうじょうたろう」なので音の響きとか文字とのバランスも色々考えて付けたんですけど…担当は「のりあき」の名でジョースター一行と旅をしていたんですね(苦笑)。コミックスで見た時に違っていることに気づいて少し驚きましたけど、世間では親が「てんめい」と付けても、子ども同士では「のりあき」と呼び合うこともあるしなぁ～と、思うことにしました。
　日本人であることは特に意識しませんでしたが、花京院は承太郎の対比となるキャラクターとして動かしていきました。承太郎が腕試しではなく実際にスタンド同士で戦う最初の相手を花京院にしたのは、近距離型と遠距離型それぞれのスタンドの概念を絵で読者に伝えたかったからです。花京院の「法皇の緑(ハイエロファントグリーン)」を遠距離型として、体を紐状に伸ばす描写にしたのも「星の白金(スタープラチナ)」と見比べた際に両者の差が分かりやすいと思ったから。遠距離攻撃の描写はアイデアとして色々ありましたが、最初から何でもアリにならないように「そばに現れ立つ」＝(イコール)スタンドとして伝わるように気を遣いましたね。
　実際に描く機会はほとんどありませんでしたが、花京院は承太郎と同じ学校に通う高校生でした。この旅における、2人の距離感は馴れ合わない、程良い友情を感じますけど、スタンドという接点がなかったらどうだったかな～。タイプ的にこの2人は友だちになれなかったでしょうね(笑)。きっと第4部の仗助の方が仲良くなれそうですよ、花京院とは。

Q.主人公との対比で学ランでない可能性はあった?

A.花京院は優等生的なビシッとしている学ラン。
承太郎は不良なダラッとしている学ラン。同じ服装でもそこに差があった方がキャラクターはハッキリしますね。承太郎にはアクセサリーも付けることで違いは出せたと思います。

Volume 13 (Muhammad Avdol)

Muhammad Avdol...If I had to nail down what role I was giving him as a member of the Joestar party, he would be the "subleader." Not only does he function as the navigator brought in by Joseph, the second JoJo, but given his steadfast determination--which is able to bring such a unique group together--and his unyielding sense of duty, I wanted him to be that member of the group who everyone could rely on. Within the story, he is also able to back up Joseph's story about DIO's revival when he tells it to Jotaro. I wanted to give him some sort of connection to Egypt, where DIO was in hiding, so I gave him his "ethnic" design. When Part 3 was originally being serialized, I, as well as the readership at large, had a strong interest in areas you could label the "birthplaces of civilization," so you could say that Avdol's design was a product of the times.

I put him out of commission for a while when the party was in India. I did that because I never want readers to get bored or complacent with the events taking place, so I wanted to inject a little reality in there with having someone get sacrificed every once in a while. I also was enamored with writing chapters where an ally is lost. But in the end, as you know, I wasn't planning on keeping him gone for long... The thing is, I thought it was kind of lame to have someone who died just come back to life immediately, so I wanted to come up with a good reason, as well as an appropriate setting to reintroduce him. When I'm working on JoJo, I try not to sweat the small things. In the end, I brought him back just before the party got to Egypt, but at the time, I didn't have any specific plans as to when I would bring him back. I just wrote what felt natural to me at the time.

Looking back on it now, I probably should have given Avdol a section where he played more of a primary role in the story, especially given the fact that I took him out of commission for a while. Of course, this is all in hindsight after having finished the story. At the time Part 3 was in serialization, it might have been quite an "adventure" to have the story focus on Avdol (laughs wryly). If we had a character popularity poll at the time, I doubt he would have ranked at the top. All the readership wanted was more battles featuring Jotaro. On top of that, his Stand, Magician's Red, was difficult to draw. The ability to control fire is a pretty common thing in manga, as well as movies, but in the end, they just burn things up and that's about it. If you play it too loose, as an ability, it can break the balance. After writing JoJo, I think "fire" and "poison" are two abilities that I'm okay with putting behind lock and key.

If I were to write a portion of the story centering on Avdol, I think it would have been an origin story featuring his family--in particular, his relationship with his father. It might end up being a bit too mature of a story for Weekly Shonen Jump (laughs).

Q. Did Avdol get younger?!

A. He's actually supposed to be in his late twenties. He's younger than you might expect! He may look as if he's older than that, but if you ask someone who's been in the army their age, it always surprises you how young they are, right? Experience gives men a mature look.

　モハメド・アヴドゥル。ジョースター一行の中で僕が彼に与えた役割は一言で言うとサブ・リーダーでした。2代目JOJO・ジョセフが担うナビゲーターの補佐という目に見える部分だけではなく、個性的な一行をまとめる忠誠心や義理堅さという内面も含めて、全員が頼れる存在でいてほしかったんですね。劇中においては、すでにDIOが復活して動き始めている事態を承太郎に伝えるとともに、ジョセフの言葉が真実であると「裏付け」を行う役目。そのためにはDIOが潜むエジプトとも接点が欲しいなと考えて、髪型や衣装はエスニックな雰囲気が漂うビジュアルとなりました。連載当時は僕だけでなく読者の方にもエジプトをはじめとした「文明発祥の地」への憧れがあったので、アヴドゥルの姿はいわば時代に合致したビジュアルと言えたのかもしれません。
　彼はインドで一度リタイアさせました。なぜかと言うと、連載中は「読者に対してマンネリの印象を与えない」ことをいつも僕は心がけているので、時に犠牲者が出るリアリティを見せたかったんですよ。「仲間を失う」エピソードを描くことにも魅力を感じていましたし。まぁ完全に消すつもりはなかったんですけど…。ただ、死んだ人間がすぐに蘇るのも安易だと思ったので、アヴドゥルが戻って来るなら納得できる理由と華々しい舞台を用意したかった。その一方で僕が『JOJO』を描いている時、細かい計算はしません。最終的に彼はエジプト上陸直前に復活を果たしましたが、どこで一行に戻すかは決まっていなくて、そこはまさに執筆中のアイデア次第でしたね。
　こうして今思い返すと、一度リタイアさせてしまったこともあり、アヴドゥルにはもう少し主軸となる話を作ってあげても良かったかなと思います。でもこの感想は物語がすべて完結した後での結果論ですけどね。連載当時、アヴドゥル中心の話を作るというのはかなり冒険だったと思います(苦笑)。仲間キャラクターの人気投票をしても、恐らく彼は上位に入らないだろうし、何より読者の方は皆、承太郎のバトルを読みたい訳なので…。加えて彼のスタンド「魔術師の赤(マジシャンズレッド)」は描く上で少々手強かった。炎を操るというのは、漫画でも映画でも皆が思いつくアイデアですが、結局「燃やして終わり」みたいな感じがあるし、何でもアリになってしまう強さを持っているんですよね。『JOJO』を描いてみて、僕としては炎と毒ガスは禁じ手とも呼べる能力だろうと考えています。
　もしアヴドゥルをメインにした話を作るとしたら？その時はきっと父親との関係や自分の出自といった、家系にまつわる内容になる気がします。そうなると「週刊少年ジャンプ」には馴染まない、大人っぽい話になりそうですよね(笑)。

Q.アヴドゥルは若返った!?

A.彼の年齢は、もともと20代後半ですから。
彼は意外と若いんですよ。もう少し年が行っているように見えますが、軍人でも年齢を知ると、実は若い場合ってありますよね。経験を積んだ人間は精悍な顔つきになるんです。

Volume 14 (Daniel J. D'Arby)

Given the evolution from the Ripple to Stands that came with JoJo entering Part 3, I wanted to include some battles that didn't just boil down to fistfights. I mentioned this in the Hol Horse retrospective, but I wanted to keep the face-offs between the Joestar party and DIO's minions fresh by switching back and forth between one-on-one battles and team battles, and as part of that, I needed to add some variance to the Stand abilities themselves as well. I actually did a "gambling battle" in Cool Shock B.T., but I wanted to try doing it again differently as a Stand battle. D'Arby came from my desire to do that.

I think of gambling as something where you bet your own soul and pride as part of the process. To me, the money and chips you actually use at a real casino are just a representation of your soul. So it felt natural to have D'Arby take the souls from his opponents once they lost. Well, the fact that I can depict it the way I did is all thanks to the concept of Stands (laughs). As far as gambling is concerned, you can only win or lose--there is no in-between. With D'Arby as the sole challenger, I wanted to give him the mental fortitude and strategic cunning to give Jotaro a run for his money, as well as be able to instill some fear.

I had D'Arby face off with the Joestar party in a few different ways. I like coming up with ideas for gambling because you can turn almost anything into a bet. Bets involving animals are particularly interesting to me. It's hard to predict what they're going to do, so it works as a bet. I like situations where it doesn't seem possible to cheat, but maybe they actually are somehow. It's also important for the bet to feel like it fits JoJo. Poker is pretty mainstream, so I assume many of you have played it before, but the key point to winning at it is perfecting the "bluff." It's less of a surefire way to win the battle, and more of a battle of wits between you and your opponent, testing just how much you can fool them along with just how gutsy you are, so I think it was appropriate for the final face-off between Jotaro and D'Arby. I really enjoyed drawing the D'Arby battle, so I introduced his younger brother, Telence, before the final showdown with DIO. I didn't want to give readers yet another poker match, so that time I had them play video games instead. Video games have all kinds of genres, like baseball or racing, so I had plenty of ideas to play around with, just like with the gambling theme.

Looking back on it now, I think introducing the D'Arby brothers and the Oingo Boingo brothers in Part 3 separated JoJo from other manga, because it allowed me to add just that much more variation to the battles. Jotaro and D'Arby's gambling battle led to Josuke and Rohan's dice battle in Part 4, and in JoJolion, which is being serialized right now, Josuke and Jobin's beetle fight. Battles in JoJo can be both fistfights and battles of wits. I think the D'Arby battle might have been the starting point for that.

Q. Who got turned into soul chips?!

A. Polnareff, Joseph, Kakyoin and Avdol. Only drawing two didn't seem like enough, and it wouldn't make sense to draw characters who didn't have anything to do with that part of the story, so I added Kakyoin and Avdol here as a special bonus. Looking at these, you can easily imagine a story where Jotaro saves them all.

　『JOJO』が第3部に入り、波紋ではなくスタンドの攻防を描いていく中、殴り合いだけじゃないバトルもやりたいと思っていました。以前ホル・ホースの時にもお話ししましたが、ジョースター一行とDIOの刺客との戦いは、一対一とチーム戦を織り交ぜながら描いていたので、スタンドの能力自体にも緩急を付ける必要があったんですね。僕は『魔少年ビーティー』でも「賭け」による勝負をやりましたが、今度はスタンドバトルという新しい形で描いてみたくて…。ダービーはそんな思いから生まれたキャラクターです。
　僕は賭け事とは「自分の魂やプライドを賭けて臨むもの」だと思っているんです。実際にカジノで用いるお金やチップ、コインというのは、あくまでも魂の代用品。だからダービーが勝った時に負けた相手から魂を抜くのも、僕にとっては自然なことなんですよね。まぁスタンドがあるからこその描写ではありますが(笑)。賭け事には勝つか負けるかしかない。だからその勝負にたった一人で挑んで来るダービーには、精神力や駆け引きの狡猾さでも承太郎に引けを取らない、悪魔的な怖さを感じさせたいなと思いました。
　ダービーとジョースター一行は様々な賭け事で戦わせました。基本、何でも対象になるから賭け事のアイデアを考えるのは好きなんです。その中でも、特に面白いと思うのが動物を使った賭け。動物はその行動を予測するのが難しいですよね。だから賭け事として成立するんだけど、僕は「イカサマが入る余地がないからこそ、実はやっているかもしれない」と考えるんですよ。あとは『JOJO』に合うかどうかも大事。ポーカーはポピュラーなので皆さんやったことがあると思いますが、勝負の決め手はハッタリです。必勝法より心理戦でどれだけ自分からカマしていけるか、肝が据わっているかが問われるので、承太郎との決戦には合っていましたね。ダービーとの勝負は、描いていて面白かったので、DIOとの決戦前にも弟のテレンスを登場させました。「またポーカーかよ」と思われないように、TVゲームを題材に選んでいます。野球だったりレースだったり…TVゲームのジャンルは賭けのネタと一緒で色々試すことができました。
　今から思えば第3部でダービー兄弟、そしてオインゴボインゴ兄弟を描いたことで、『JOJO』はこれまでの漫画とは違う世界に入っていけたかなと感じています。つまりバトルを色々なバリエーションで描けるということ。承太郎とダービーのギャンブル対決は、第4部で仗助と露伴のチンチロリン対決になり、そして連載中の『ジョジョリオン』で定助と常敏のクワガタによる決闘へ広がりました。殴り合いの肉弾戦もイカサマの心理戦もできるのが『JOJO』のバトル。その原点がこのダービーとの戦いなのでしょうね。

Q.魂チップにされたのは誰⁉

A.ポルナレフ、ジョセフ、花京院、アヴドゥル。
2枚では物足りないけど、知らないキャラクターではこれ誰？になってしまうので。今回は特別に花京院とアヴドゥルも加えました。承太郎が仲間を救う物語が自然と浮かびますよね。

Volume 15 (Iggy)

I never want to put restrictions on what I can draw in JoJo. Whether we're talking about something biological or having to do with physics, I like to take all kinds of things and depict them on the page. That's why I have animals show up in the story, as well as join the Joestar party. While I was working on Part 3, I wanted to add in an animal as a pet. Thus, I chose a dog to accompany them on the journey. To me, dogs symbolize loyalty and friendship. All you cat lovers out there might be wondering why I didn't pick a cat, but I feel like a cat would betray them somewhere along the line (laughs wryly). They may be a playmate for you, but they're not your friend. I always end up putting cats on the enemy side, like with how the elder D'Arby used them to cheat which might say something about how I view them.

Unlike with Polnareff and Kakyoin, I didn't originally plan for Iggy to join the Joestar party. I also didn't initially assign him a Stand and tarot card. I feel like The Fool is a perfect fit for Iggy, but at the time, it was the last card I had left to assign besides The World. Furthermore, I was considering having The Fool belong to an enemy instead. Things just kind of ended up working out the way they did, but given how much I love the design for The Fool, it's kind of crazy that it ended up being the last one left for me to assign.

When I design Stands, I often take inspiration from artifacts such as clothing, masks, and dolls from indigenous peoples. Once I fuse that aspect with something biological or mechanical, it makes a really unique design. Originally, I imagined Stands as being something inorganic powered by life force, so it makes sense that a lot of their designs are fusions between living beings and machines. The Fool's design starts out with a dog, and then adds on a Native American mask and the tires of a car. I think The Fool really represents my ideal design for a Stand.

I really enjoy looking at animal encyclopedias and reference books, but Iggy was actually the first animal I'd put into a main role in a manga. It was the first time I'd ever made one battle as well, so I used Yoshihiro Takahashi Sensei's Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin as a reference. The more I drew Iggy, the more I found myself becoming a dog lover. I actually thought about getting a Boston terrier, the breed that Iggy is, but I gave up on it, since given my job, it would be hard to take care of a dog. But if I were to ever get one, I think I'd really enjoy playing Frisbee with it. I guess I wouldn't get a Chihuahua or a toy poodle then, since they don't seem like they'd enjoy playing with me that (laughs).

Q. Tires make up the lower half of The Fool. What inspired that?

A. Formula One race cars. Shonen Jump was actually sponsoring a Formula One team back when this was being serialized. I'd see them in the magazine a lot. It's not as if The Fool is a super speedy Stand, but it was relevant at the time, so I worked it in.

　僕は『JOJO』では「万物を描く」ことを重視しています。それは物理現象にしろ、生物にしろ、色々なものを絵で表現するということなんです。だから物語の中やジョースター一行の中に動物が出るというのも、普通の感覚ですね。また、第3部を描いていく中で、動物はペットとしていずれ出したいなと思うようになっていました。そこで彼らの旅のお供に相応しい動物は何か…となった時、僕の場合は犬だったんですよ。僕は犬を忠実さの象徴であると同時に、友だちの象徴でもあると考えているんです。きっと猫好きの方からは、では猫じゃダメなんですか？と聞かれそうですが、どうしても猫からはどこかで裏切られそうな気がしてしまうんですよね(苦笑)。遊び相手ではあるんだけど友だちではない。ダニエル・ダービーがイカサマの手駒にしたように、僕が猫を描くと多くは敵側にいるのも、そんな考えがあるからでしょうね。
　途中参加のイギーはポルナレフや花京院のように、最初からジョースター一行のメンバーとして決めていたキャラクターではありませんでした。当然スタンドとタロットカードの割り当ても決めていなかった。イギー＝「愚者(ザ・フール)」の能力者というのはピタリとハマっているように感じますが、連載時は「世界(ザ・ワールド)」を除いたタロットカードのまさしく最後の1枚だったんです。さらに言うと「愚者」自体も仲間のイギーにではなく、敵の能力にする可能性もありました。流れを読んだその時の決断でしたが「愚者」のビジュアルはとても気に入っているので、今となっては上手く最後に残っていてくれたなという印象ですね。
　僕はスタンドをデザインする時、先住民族の遺した仮面や衣装、人形などからヒントを得ていました。ここに生物や機械を融合させると、独特な「異様さ」が際立つデザインになるんですよ。元々、スタンドは生命力と無機質さを合わせたイメージなので、生物と機械が融合したような姿が多いのです。「愚者」の場合は犬をベースにネイティブ・アメリカンをイメージする仮面と車のタイヤが一つになっています。僕がスタンドで理想としていたデザインのイメージがまさに「愚者」のビジュアルだと思います。
　動物図鑑を見るのが好きとはいえ、漫画家として動物を物語の核に据えるのはイギーが初めてでした。バトルシーンを描くのも当然初めてなので、高橋よしひろ先生の『銀牙-流れ星 銀-』は参考にしていましたね。そんなイギーを描き続ければ犬に愛着も湧きます。実際イギーの品種、ボストン・テリアを飼ってみたいとは思いましたが、仕事の都合で断念しました。もし飼えたら？投げたフリスビーを拾わせて一緒に遊びたいです。チワワとかトイプードルだとそういう遊びはできなさそうなので(笑)。

Q.「愚者」の下半身にタイヤ。その発想は⁉

A.F1のレーシングカーですね。
連載当時「週刊少年ジャンプ」はF1チームを応援していたから、誌面でも触れる機会が多くて。別に物凄いスピードの能力じゃないけど、タイムリーかと思って取り入れました。

Volume 16 (Jean Pierre Polnareff)

If you asked me which character grew the most on the journey to defeat DIO, the first one who comes to mind is Polnareff. He started out as a lone wolf who was only out to avenge his little sister and evolved into a true companion who supported the Joestar party until the end. It was a lot of fun to have him grow along the way to Egypt as he battled enemy Stands. His lines tend to stand out, for better or for worse, so I'm sure many readers feel as if he was one of the more prominent characters. However, the main character is still Jotaro, with Joseph serving as the navigator. In order to not have him overlap with them, I gave him a distinctive look and personality, which by contrast allowed him to shine on his own. He could cover what the Joestars themselves couldn't...which could be why I gave him special treatment (laughs wryly).

For example, when he's with Jotaro and Joseph, I could have him spout both goofy lines and serious ones, making him a very versatile character to employ. From bathroom-related issues to traps set by enemy Stands, Polnareff is the first one in the group to tackle them. It wouldn't be as fun if the aloof Jotaro were to do so instead. As such, naturally, Polnareff needed to make more appearances. Polnareff is straightforward and a bit of a rubbernecker compared to Kakyoin or Avdol, which allows him to get into all sorts of hijinks. As such, he may have had an advantage as to how often he appeared in the series. Also, from my perspective as the artist, he also had the most memorable silhouette out of the good guys by far. I used foreign models as reference for his hair. I sort of drew it like Stroheim's from Part 2, but done up.

More appearances in the story means more fights for him to take part in. Devo, J. Geil, Alessi, Vanilla Ice...he ended up fighting many of DIO's underlings, all with very different abilities. Back when this was being serialized, I was always writing those fights with the intention that Polnareff could lose and face death at any given moment. Like in the movie The Magnificent Seven, I wanted the reader to never know who would survive until the end--to experience the thrill of lives being on the line--and I think his fights definitely had that in them. I think it's because he made it through so many life-or-death situations that I feel like he grew the most along the way.

Lastly, as for the origin behind his name, Jean P. Polnareff: my three favorite French people are the actors Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo, and the musician Michel Polnareff, so naturally, I drew inspiration from their names. The character is French, so naturally, his name would have to be Jean P.! Now there's also the famous chocolatier, Jean-Paul Hévin, so I think I would think the same way, even now.

Q. He doesn't usually have a coat. Why does he have one now?

A. I imagined him like a supermodel or a rock star. His original outfit was pretty simple, and I mean, he's going to be on the cover so why not have him dress up for it? Also, the reason why Silver Chariot is purple is so it's coordinated with Polnareff's outfit.

　DIOを倒す旅において最も成長したキャラクターが誰かといえば、まずポルナレフが頭に浮かびます。妹の復讐だけが目的の一匹狼から、ジョースター一行を最後まで支える「仲間」になった。エジプトへ向かう要所要所での、敵スタンド使いとの戦いでは、彼の成長を描いていける楽しみがありましたね。ポルナレフはその言動が良くも悪くも目立つので、読者の方も出番が多いキャラクターと思われているかもしれません。しかしあくまでも主人公は承太郎で、ナビゲーターはジョセフ。彼らと被らないようにビジュアルや性格付けをした時、その対比で一番輝きやすかったのがポルナレフだったということですね。ジョースター家の2人にはできないことを補うというか…だから特別に贔屓な目で彼を描いていた訳ではありません(苦笑)。
　例えば承太郎やジョセフと一緒にいる時、ポルナレフはギャグからシリアスまで幅広い役割を与えられるキャラクターでした。トイレに代表される旅のトラブルから敵スタンドの罠まで、一番最初にそれを受けるのがポルナレフ。主人公の承太郎が受けてしまうと、不用心過ぎて話が締まらなくなってしまいますよね。そうなると必然的にポルナレフの出番が増える訳です。花京院やアヴドゥルと比較してみると、フットワークが軽く、おせっかい焼きの直情型な性格は、何事にも首を突っ込みたがる行動に繋がります。そのおかげで、彼は出番の上で得をしたのかもしれません。また、描いている僕としてもポルナレフのシルエットは他の仲間より、圧倒的に目立つというのが大きかったですね。印象深い彼のヘアスタイルは海外のモデル等を参考に、第2部に登場したシュトロハイムの髪をもっと逆立てた雰囲気で描いていました。
　出番が増えれば戦いの舞台も増えていきます。呪いのデーボ、J・ガイル、アレッシー、そしてヴァニラ・アイス…。スタンド能力も様々なDIOの手下と戦わせましたが、連載当時の僕は常にポルナレフが負けるかもしれない、死ぬかもしれないという気持ちで描いていました。映画『荒野の七人』のように最後まで誰が生き残るか分からない、そんな命をかけたギリギリの面白さが彼の戦いにはあったんです。いくつもの絶体絶命をくぐり抜けたからこそ、旅の中で成長したキャラクターがポルナレフと感じたのだと思います。
　最後にジャン・P・ポルナレフという名前の由来について。俳優のアラン・ドロン、ジャン＝ポール・ベルモンド、歌手のミッシェル・ポルナレフが僕にとっての3大フランス人なんですよ。だから自然と彼らの名前から影響を受けました。フランス人といえば皆、ジャン・Pだろうって思ってたんです。彼ら以外にも、ジャン＝ポール・エヴァンという有名なショコラティエ(チョコレート職人)もいるし、その考えは今でもあまり変わりませんね。

Q.珍しく上着を着用した理由は⁉

A.スーパーモデルやロックスターを意識しました。
元々の服装がシンプルだったし、せっかくの表紙なので豪華な感じが欲しかったんですよ。あと「銀の戦車」を紫色としたのは、ポルナレフの服とのコーディネイトです。

Volume 17 (DIO)

DIO—the archenemy of the Joestar family. Given that I was bringing back a character who had been at the bottom of the sea for a century, naturally he would have changed during the time he was down there—his malice ever growing. I wanted to make DIO feel like a final boss, and given that readers were really looking forward to his reintroduction, in order not to let them down, I not only put a lot of thought into his appearance, but his mind-set and thought process as well—in particular, how DIO would view his relationship to the Joestar family and the destiny they shared as an evolution from what it was in Part 1.

What is the destiny that DIO has to face? It's not to face off with Jotaro, the descendant of Jonathan. It's something invisible to the eye that lies behind their bloodline. It's what gives the Joestars their allies, the Ripple, Stands, and their uncanny luck... that's what I define as the Joestars' "destiny," and instead, what DIO is destined to do is to quash that and surpass it. As such, he doesn't view Jotaro himself as his archenemy—rather, DIO only views him as an obstacle to overcome in order to fulfill his destiny after his hundred-year slumber. In the end, DIO wasn't able to achieve his goal, but it's fun to imagine what things would have been like if he had been able to defeat Jotaro. I'm sure he would have beaten down anyone who he thought had the potential to challenge his position at the top of the food chain. Even after defeating Jotaro, perhaps someone else would inherit his will. After all, DIO had already experienced that once before. However, DIO is more of the reactionary type, so he probably would have continued to take root in Egypt and wait for his prey to come to him.

I had been working with DIO's character since Part 1, so I would often try and put myself in his shoes and imagine myself as a vampire. Those who put on the stone mask have to take the lives of others in order to keep on living. During the part where DIO is chasing after Joseph and Kakyoin, I wrote a scene where he takes a moment to marvel at the sight of cars. One would have to be an immortal vampire to experience something like that, so I actually found myself feeling a bit envious of him. If you slept long enough, for example, you could see a country instantly change from a monarchy into a democratic society—experiences that the average person could never have. As long as you had humans to feed on and you remained in good health, I think it would be pretty fun. Do vampires even get sick to begin with? (laughs)

Speaking of DIO, I'll never forget how my editor suddenly ended up in the hospital right when DIO and Jotaro were in the midst of their final battle. I remember panicking because Part 3 was rapidly approaching its end, and it's not like I could stop and wait for him! He would always give me really good specific feedback on things like Stand designs. "This one is too similar to something you've already done, so try and differentiate their silhouettes a bit more." It was tough working without him. What's that? Did he give feedback on the design for DIO's The World? Hmm... I'm not sure about that one (laughs wryly).

Q. You already drew DIO naked for Part 1. Why did you do it again?

A. It makes him seem more like a Greek or Roman god. In Parts 1 through 3, besides DIO, there are other examples of me drawing characters like this, such as the Pillar Men. However I stopped doing it as much after I changed the setting to be a bit closer to home for Part 4 onward.

　ジョースター家の宿敵・DIO。第1部で海の底に沈んだ男を再び描くにあたり、当然ですが100年前よりも成長した「悪」を感じさせたいと思いました。やはりDIOはラスボスらしく、読者の方からの「待ってました！」という期待感も大きいキャラクターだったので、見た目だけではなく、精神的な部分や物の考え方により注力しました。第1部から続いているジョースター家との関係、両者の因縁をもっとDIO目線で考えてみたんです。
　DIOが向き合う因縁とは何か？それはジョナサンの血統を継ぐ承太郎ではない。血統の背後にある「何か」なんですよ。仲間を与え、波紋やスタンドといった力を導き、強運をも手繰り寄せる目に見えないもの。それを僕はジョースター家が背負う「運命」と定義しましたが…。その得体の知れない「運命」を彼は叩き潰し、乗り越えようとしているんですよね。だから承太郎を宿敵とも思っていない。100年後に目覚めた時、自分が克服するべき「運命」を継承したのは誰なのか？DIOからすれば、承太郎とジョセフはその標的に過ぎなかっただけということです。結果的にDIOは「運命」を克服することはできませんでした。しかし承太郎に勝った。“もしも”の話を考えると面白いですよね。きっと彼は頂点はひとりであるために、自分を超えようとする者を片っ端から潰すでしょう。たとえ承太郎を倒しても、別の人物に意志は受け継がれていくことを100年の間、身をもって知っている訳ですから。でも自分から積極的に動くタイプではないので、第3部の時と変わらずエジプトで迎え撃つのかもしれません。
　DIOとは第1部からの付き合いなので、連載中は吸血鬼の気持ちというか、自分がその立場になったら？とよく考えました。石仮面を被った者は他人を犠牲にして生き続けます。DIOがジョセフと花京院を追う時、自動車の存在に感心する場面を描きました。ああいう新しいテクノロジーの移り変わりに立ち会えるのも、不老不死の吸血鬼ならではなので、すごく羨ましい。適度に長く眠れば王様がいないとか、民主主義になってるとか新鮮な驚きも味わえそうですね。生きるためにはエサとなる人間さえいればいい訳だから、体が健康なら楽しめると思いますよ。そもそも病気などしないはずですけど(笑)。
　それからDIOといえば、承太郎との決戦中に編集担当が急遽入院したのも忘れられない思い出ですね。連載はクライマックスに入ってるし止められないからどうしよう！って思いました。担当はスタンドのデザインにも「すでに出たものと被っているから、もう少しシルエット違わせて」とか細かなアドバイスをくれる方だったので大変でした。DIOの「世界(ザ・ワールド)」？これはチェックもらったかどうか…ちょっと憶えてないですね(苦笑)。

Q.第1部に引き続きDIOを裸にした理由は？

A.ギリシャやローマのような“神話性”が高まるので。
第1部～第3部まではDIOに限らず、柱の男も同じ理由でよく裸体を描いていました。逆に舞台が身近になる第4部以降はあまり描いていないはずです。

Notes

  1. ↑ The Vol. 10 interview was printed with a typo. The word "キャラクター" (kyarakutā), meaning "character", is incorrectly written as "キャタクター" (kyatakutā).

References

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