Stone Ocean Paperback Vol. 1 (April 2008)
KING (March 2008)
Interview Archive
Hirohiko Araki's afterword, written in the first volume of the paperback edition of Stone Ocean on April 18, 2008.
Interview
Even if I don't usually care about something, when certain periods of time come around, I find it strange and get weirdly angry at it. Angry seasons exist within me, but these "angry seasons" are balanced by "seasons of being attacked."
Once, I shared the following story with my relatives: there's a traffic light on the street in my neighborhood that turns red even when there are no cars passing through. I used to just ignore it and cross the street if I didn't see any cars, but it always felt like a bad idea to me, so lately I've decided not to cross until the light turns green. And then, suddenly, a barrage of criticism began. "Who would even do that these days?" "Aren't you just such a good boy? Jackass." "Because someone saw you doing it and wrote about you on 2ch,[a] you hypocrite?!" Oh no. It seems my "season of being attacked" has arrived.
It's one thing to be attacked for doing or saying the wrong thing, but I hadn't even done anything. I didn't even cross the street at a traffic light. Such is the "season of being attacked." We find ourselves under attack without knowing the reason why. When such a season comes, trying to fight back only leads to further aggression and pain. The only thing you can do is wait for the season to end, like how a person with hay fever has to wait for pollen to stop flying. This season is one where the best defense is not a good offense.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure finally finds its sixth protagonist, Jolyne Cujoh, in the midst of such a "season of being attacked." She has lived in Florida since she was a little girl. Her father was very busy in Morioh back then, so she longed for his affection above all. But she would spend her entire childhood without a father. Despite her tough and cool bloodline, she somehow found herself going down a path filled with anxiety. All she ever received from her mother was nagging. When she fell in love with a boy, Jolyne came to believe in her boyfriend's love. From him she received the love and trust that her father never gave her. But that feeling of love dragged Jolyne into a world of misery. Can Jolyne unravel the thread that binds her and escape that place? And will she grow as a person in the process? That is the background of the protagonist in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean.
In the 80's, I drew a short story named Gorgeous Irene with a female protagonist, hoping to take her on a unique adventure. But at the time, I had the impression that women wouldn't feel very comfortable reading my work, so I decided not to make it a full series. It's been almost 15 years since then, and I feel like times have changed. The impression has shifted to the point that girls can get punched, have their fingers blown off, or be pushed off a building, and still be tough enough to go on.
It's all because of her father, Jotaro Kujo. He comes to save his daughter and, in turn, she goes to save her father's life, and her heart grows as a result. A protagonist like her is someone worth challenging in the span of a full-length manga. After all, a bloodline and its legacy are passed down, regardless of whether their recipient is male or female. The title of Stone Ocean symbolizes Jolyne's stone will, as well as the femininity of the ocean. It can also refer to an ocean of stone, the image of the prison in which the story takes place.
While working on Stone Ocean, I visited a prison in Florida on a research trip. The prison was divided into four areas: the juvenile ward, the female ward, the male ward, and the ward for the dangerous or condemned. In America, where punishment is a commercial enterprise, prisons are often privately owned. We were allowed to enter three of the four areas; with the exception of the kitchen where the model prisoners worked, we were not allowed to visit the male ward, which we were told was a dangerous place. It wasn't the kind of large-scale prison Jolyne finds herself in, but rather a high-tech prison building like Roppongi Hills.
Upon entering the prison, we were searched for belongings and had to pass through metal detectors. After that, we took an elevator, walked down a corridor, took another elevator, went down another corridor, and so on, again and again. And each time, a steel door with an electronic lock opened and shut and opened and shut as I entered with the warden and guards. None of us mentioned it, but every time the door closed, the realization sank in that I would never be able to leave on my own free will ever again. I felt claustrophobic, and I became so nervous that I started to hyperventilate and had trouble breathing. The prisoners would call out to us, "I'm from Tokyo," or, "Please let me have a Korean Bible." One of them was a small lady sitting next to a much larger woman, as though the larger one were her boss in a scene from a movie. The larger of the two asked me how old I was through her henchwoman. I eventually told the guard frankly, "I'm so nervous, and it's so hard to breathe in here," to which they replied, "I feel the same way every day. It's always a relief when I get to go home."
Jolyne Cujoh... For the entire time I worked on Part 6 of the series, I wondered if she was going to be okay. If I were in Jolyne's shoes, I would've broken down and cried within three hours of being put in there. Out of all of the protagonists in JoJo, I really feel that she might be the toughest, and the one I wanted to be happiest. Especially since she's found herself in the middle of a "season of being attacked."[Translated by HudgynS]
―――『ストーンオーシャン』の始まりに……
普段は別にどうでもいいと思っているのに、何か急にある時期がやってくると、同じ物事に対して「やっばりおかしい！」と妙に怒りがわいてくる。「
この問、親戚の前で、『近所の道路に信号があるんだけど、車のほとんど通らない時間帯でも「赤」になるのね。で、かつては「ま、いいやノ」って、車が通らないからヒョイって無視して渡ってたのね。でも、そういうのって良くないかなと思って、最近はボケーっと「青」になるまで無視しないで、渡らない事にした。』って話を軽くしたら。突然。「今時そんなヤツいないだろッ！」とか「ムカつく、いい子ブってんじゃあないの！？」だの「目撃されてて2
「攻撃される季節」がやって来た。
間違った事をしたり言ったりで攻撃されるのはしょうがないってのがあるが、なにもしてないのに。ていうか信号さえ渡ってもいない。これが「攻撃される季節」。なぜかわけがわからず攻撃されてしまうのだ。こういう時期がおとずれた時は、反撃なんかしようものなら、ますます攻撃されて痛めつけられてしまうので、ひたすら季節が終わるのを、花粉症の人が花粉が飛ばなくなるのを耐えしのぶように待つしか方法はない。この季節は「反撃する事は最大の防御には
「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」もついに6人目の主人公―「空条徐倫」も―こんな「攻撃される季節」の中にあった。
彼女は小さい頃から、アメリカ合衆国のフロリダに住んでいたのだが、父親が日本の杜王町でとても忙しかったため、父親の愛をとても欲しがった。でも、父親は不在の少女時代。もともとタフでクールな血筋は受け継いではいるが、なんとなく不安でいっぱいの道を歩み始めた。母親からは小言ばかり。男の子に恋をし、「徐倫」はボーイフレンドの愛を信じた。父親からもらえなかった愛と信頼を。だが、その愛する気持ちがとんでもない世界へ徐倫を引きずり込んでいく。空条徐倫はそこから「糸をほどくように」脱出できるのか？ そして、成長して行く事ができるのか？ それが「ジョジョの奇妙な冒険Part6ストーンオーシャン」の主人公設定である。
以前、80年代に「ゴージャス☆アイリン」という「女性が主人公」の短編を、創作的冒険の動機で描いた事があるんだけれども、その時なんか妙に、こう………女性が自分の作品にしっくりとハマらない雰囲気がただよったので、長編にするのをやめにした事がある。
15年近く過ぎて、時代がなんか変わったような気がする。女の子でもパンチくらったり、指が吹っ飛んだり、ビルから突き落とされても、タフに行けそうな雰囲気の時代になって来た。全ては父―空条承太郎の責任。そして娘を救いに向かい、逆に娘も父の命を救出に向か う事によって、娘の心は成長していくのだ。マンガの巾でそういう主人公にチャレンジする価値はありそうだ。
血統とその
「ストーンオーシャン」とは「
「ストーンオーシャン」を描くにあたって、フロリダの刑務所へ見学取材に行った。そこは、「少年監房」「女子監房」「青年男子監房」「死刑囚、および異常犯罪系監房」の４地区にわかれており、許可をとって中に入れてもらった。アメリカには「民営」の刑務所があって、刑罰が営利事業にもなっている。3区域は入れてもらい、青年男子エリアは危険との事で、模範囚の働く厨房以外は入れてもらえなかったが、空条徐倫の入った広大な敷地にあるタイプの刑務所ではなくて、なんか六本木ヒルズのようなハイテクビルの刑務所だった。
入る時に持ち物検査と金属探知検査をされると、エレべーターに乗り、廊下を歩き、またエレべーター、廊下、と繰り返し中へ入っていく。その度に電子ロックの鋼鉄のドアがドーンドーンと開いては閉じられ開いては閉じられしながら看守長や看守さんたちと一緒に入って行く。言葉はないんだが扉が閉まる度に、「もうおまえは決して自分の意志では外には出れないんだぞ。」と実感として体にしみ込んで行く。閉所恐怖というか、すごく緊張して過呼吸気味になって息が苦しくなって来た。囚人の人達が「ぼくは東京から来た」と言ってるのに「韓国語の聖書、プレゼントしてくれよ。」とか言って来る。本当、映画みたいにボスがいて、体格のいい女性の横に小柄な子分みたいな女の人がチョコンと座ってて。「おまえ歳いくつ？」ってその子分を通じてぼくに質間して来る。看守さんに、「すごく緊張して呼吸が苦しいです。」と感想を率直に言ったら、「わたしも毎日だよ。帰宅で外に出れた時、いつもホッとする。」そう、コメントしていた。
実感としてジョジョ歴代主人公の中でも、一番タフかも。そして一番幸せになって欲しい。と思った主人公だ。しかも彼女、今「攻撃される季節」のまっただ中にいるのだから。
