This time, the subject is manga artist Hirohiko Araki. His signature work, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, has been serialized since 1987, and is currently in the middle of its eighth part. Recently, he has been quite active in a number of fields, including exhibiting his works at the Louvre in Paris at their request, creating a fashion magazine in collaboration with the Italian brand Gucci, and holding an exhibition of entirely original artwork. We interviewed Mr. Araki, who has gained a devoted following for the unique style of his drawings and dialogue, about the secrets of his long-term serialization, as well as any behind-the-scenes stories regarding the creation of his works.
Interviewer: When did you start drawing manga?
Araki: I attended art classes in my neighborhood, so I have been drawing pictures ever since I was a child. By the time I was in elementary school, I was drawing original manga.
Interviewer: An elementary student drawing original manga is quite the surprise.
Araki: All of my friends at the time were also drawing manga, and we used to make books out of straw paper. Back when I was a child, manga was very popular, and there was a craze where people would run to the bookstore to buy manga books.
Interviewer: How did your family react to your becoming a manga artist?
Araki: At the time, manga didn't have a very good public image, so my family was against it. I used to have to draw manga behind my parents' backs with India ink.
Interviewer: Do you still draw everything by hand, even as a professional manga artist?
Araki: I don't use a computer, and I draw everything by hand. When I apply coloring, I do that by hand as well. Since I only have to use my dominant right hand for work, I try to use my left hand as much as possible in my daily life (such as when opening doors), in order to keep my body balanced.
Interviewer: What is the most difficult thing about continuously writing a single series?
Araki: Not losing my nerve, I suppose. If you don't believe in myself, you just can't help but hesitate. Even when I set a goal for myself, I still feel some doubt. If I don't receive responses from my readers, I feel a little empty inside.
Interviewer: Don't you also find it hard to meet deadlines?
Araki: When it comes to manga artists writing serialized works, people's image of them tends to involve being unable to sleep or take baths. But I've been living a regular life since my youth. I rarely stay up all night. I've never missed a deadline.
Interviewer: It is truly incredible that you've been able to meet deadlines all this time.
Araki: When I draw something, I tend not to think about the approaching deadline, but the one after that. Just as Da Vinci spent his entire life painting the Mona Lisa, a drawing can be endlessly modified, so at some point one has to decide when it ends. In the case of serialization, I consider the next issue's deadline and decide when to stop making changes from there.
Interviewer: When working on a serialization, how far do you plan out the story before drawing?
Araki: I only consider how the story will end. But as the series continues, the story may change with the times.
Interviewer: How do you come up with your various ideas?
Araki: Often, I just rest my elbows on my desk and think. I also look at art books, science magazines, and so on. As an example, I sometimes find inspiration in looking at pictures of the movements of planets, or of molecules.
Interviewer: I'd like to ask you about the story behind your magnum opus, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (hereafter referred to as JoJo). JoJo has no shortage of memorable lines, to the point that a hyakunin isshu game of them has been released. How do you come up with those lines?
Araki: The dialogue comes naturally to me. When dividing the panels, I think about having the characters speak a little more in a panel, and the dialogue comes naturally. There have been times where I have looked at the lines in the hyakunin isshu and wondered if that line really existed. I've forgotten them myself (laughs). I'm not even any good at hyakunin isshu (laughs).
Interviewer: It has been 25 years since JoJo began with Part 1. Which part do you have the fondest memories of?
Araki: I become quite attached to whatever part I'm working on at the time, but I have a special fondness for Part 4.
Interviewer: Part 4 depicts the horror that lurks in the background of everyday life, doesn't it?
Araki: I'd say so. Up until Part 3, I had been following mythological themes, but in Part 4, I thought it would be nice to depict the everyday lives of people living next door to the big city.
Interviewer: In Part 4, there is a character named Rohan Kishibe who works as a manga artist. Seeing as Part 4 is set in his hometown of Sendai, and they're both manga artists, I wonder if Araki himself was the basis for Rohan?
Araki: I get that question a lot, but that's not the case. There's a scene in Part 4 where Rohan eats a spider, but I don't eat spiders (laughs). Rohan is someone I greatly admire, however.
Interviewer: I see. I thought your image would be closer to Rohan's, so when I asked you for this interview, I was worried you would say, "But I refuse."
Araki: Ha ha ha.
Interviewer: Aside from JoJo, Rohan has also appeared in works such as Rohan au Louvre, a work created for a Louvre project, and Kishibe Rohan Meets Gucci, which appeared in women's fashion magazine SPUR. Would you say you have a particularly strong attachment to Rohan as a character?
Araki: I would. One could call Rohan a well-developed and easy-to-use character. It's easy to use a character who has already been set up in detail. When I was asked to draw a work based on the theme of the Louvre, I ended up thinking, "Well, I'll just send Rohan."
Interviewer: What did you think of the exhibition at the Louvre, as well as the collaboration with Gucci, the Italian fashion brand?
Araki: Of course, I'm honored to receive recognition as an artist from the Louvre, but I don't think of art and manga as particularly different. Manga consists of both a story and drawings, and I've always put more emphasis on the drawing side. As for the collaboration with Gucci, I have often visited Italy for research purposes, so it felt like destiny.
Interviewer: I half-expected you to come today dressed head-to-toe in Gucci (laughs).
Araki: Hahaha. I saw an acquaintance of mine spending a lot of money at Gucci in Shinjuku, where Rohan's exhibition was being held. I warned him, "Don't go wasting your money," and a Gucci staff member responded, "It's not a waste of money." (laughs).
Interviewer: Part 6 of JoJo featured a rather unscrupulous lawyer. In the future, I would like to see you draw a lawyer on the side of justice as well (laughs).
Araki: I think that, when taken to its extreme, even justice can become evil. So even if I draw a lawyer on the side of justice, they may end up becoming evil regardless (laughs). Also, evil is easier to draw (laughs).
Interviewer: By the way, you look quite young for your age. How do you maintain your youthful appearance?
Araki: I've been asked that question a lot these days (laughs). I just wash my face with Tokyo tap water. I don't even use facial cleanser.
Interviewer: If I may talk of legal matters for a moment, have you ever had any trouble with copyright infringement, such as your work being used without permission, for instance?
Araki: Not particularly. I would hate it if my work was blatantly used without permission, but I basically leave it to Shueisha, with whom I have an exclusive contract. I think that copyright is, to a certain extent, a cultural thing, something that belongs to everyone.
Interviewer: And have you ever had any trouble with Shueisha, your publisher?
Araki: I've had an exclusive contract with Shueisha since my debut, and I have never had any difficulties with them.
Interviewer: It might be worth reading your contract thoroughly before you get into trouble (laughs). I know many lawyers who are avid fans of your manga, so if anything happens to you, we are ready and willing to step in (laughs).
Araki: I understand (laughs). If anything of the kind happens, I would be very grateful for your support.
Interviewer: Thank you very much for your time today.
[Translated by HudgynS]
