JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Shueisha Comic Bunko
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Shueisha Comic Bunko (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 集英社文庫 コミック版 JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Shūeisha Bunko Komikku-ban) is a novel-sized release (commonly referred to as Bunkoban
in Japan) of the first seven parts of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga that was published by Shueisha Comic Bunko.
Summary
Each volume is 105 mm (4.1 in) by 148 mm (5.8 in) (A6 size), on standard quality paper and is roughly three-hundred pages long. Though smaller than the standard Tankōbon in both height and width, they contain more chapters per volume.
The release of this edition first started with all three volumes of, Phantom Blood, on February 15, 2002. It was then periodically released through fifty volumes, with the final volume of Stone Ocean being released on February 18, 2009.
Steel Ball Run: Shueisha Comic Bunko (スティール・ボール・ラン 集英社文庫 コミック版 STEEL BALL RUN Shūeisha Bunko Komikku-ban) is the Bunko release of Steel Ball Run. The release of this edition started with two volumes on February 17, 2017 and was periodically released through 16 volumes. The final two volumes were both released on January 18, 2018.
Volumes
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Battle Tendency
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| Volume 5 (2) [5] | |
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| Volume 6 (3) [6] | |
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| Volume 7 (4) [7] | |
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Stardust Crusaders
| Volume 8 (1) [8] | |
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| Volume 9 (2) [9] | |
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| Volume 10 (3) [10] | |
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| Volume 11 (4) [11] | |
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| Volume 13 (6) [13] | |
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| Volume 14 (7) [14] | |
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| Volume 15 (8) [15] | |
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| Volume 16 (9) [16] | |
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| Volume 17 (10) [17] | |
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Diamond is Unbreakable
| Volume 18 (1) [18] | |
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| Volume 19 (2) [19] | |
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| Volume 20 (3) [20] | |
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| Volume 21 (4) [21] | |
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| Volume 22 (5) [22] | |
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| Volume 23 (6) [23] | |
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| Volume 24 (7) [24] | |
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| Volume 25 (8) [25] | |
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| Volume 26 (9) [26] | |
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| Volume 27 (10) [27] | |
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| Volume 28 (11) [28] | |
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| Volume 29 (12) [29] | |
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Vento Aureo
| Volume 30 (1) [30] | |
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| Volume 31 (2) [31] | |
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| Volume 32 (3) [32] | |
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| Volume 33 (4) [33] | |
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| Volume 34 (5) [34] | |
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| Volume 35 (6) [35] | |
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| Volume 36 (7) [36] | |
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| Volume 37 (8) [37] | |
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| Volume 38 (9) [38] | |
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| Volume 39 (10) [39] | |
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Stone Ocean
| Volume 40 (1) [40] | |
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| Volume 46 (7) [46] | |
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| Volume 47 (8) [47] | |
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| Volume 48 (9) [48] | |
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| Volume 49 (10) [49] | |
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| Volume 50 (11) [50] | |
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Steel Ball Run
This section requires expansion.
| Volume 1 (57) [51] | |
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| Volume 2 (58) [52] | |
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| Volume 3 (59) [53] | |
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| Volume 4 (60) [54] | |
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| Volume 5 (61) [55] | |
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| Volume 6 (62) [56] | |
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| Volume 7 (63) [57] | |
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| Volume 8 (64) [58] | |
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| Volume 9 (65) [59] | |
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| Volume 10 (66) [60] | |
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| Volume 11 (67) [61] | |
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| Volume 12 (68) [62] | |
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| Volume 13 (69) [63] | |
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| Volume 14 (70) [64] | |
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| Volume 15 (71) [65] | |
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Box Sets
After the release of each individual volume, they are bundled together into multiple box sets based on their corresponding parts. Currently, there are a total of 6 box sets.
Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency
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Part 1:
Part 2:
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7 (1-7) |
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Stardust Crusaders
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Part 3:
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10 (8-17) |
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Diamond is Unbreakable
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Part 4:
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12 (18-29) |
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Vento Aureo
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Part 5:
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10 (30-39) |
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Stone Ocean
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Part 6:
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Volumes: |
11 (40-50) |
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Steel Ball Run
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Part 7:
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16 (57-72) |
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Afterwords
Phantom Blood
| Phantom Blood Last Volume Afterword | |||
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“
Some memories about the birth of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Recently I stopped thinking about it,but when I was a kid the main question, the center of the conversations between me and my friends was “Out of all the monsters, which one is your favorite?” We would say “Frankenstein is sad like the doctor who created him” or “A werewolf could secretly be hiding among one of us!” We would discuss in such a serious manner that looking back at it now I can’t help but laugh! Anyway, amongst all monsters, my favorite was definitely the vampire. I really loved his dark look, I found it quite fascinating. Also, what I liked even more was the fact that they would live their life in contrast with society’s rules. Just like how good athletes must train hard and follow a balanced diet, vampires must disobey the customs of the civil world. Because of this I thought that, if I followed all the rules, I would always be happy! Speaking of rules, you need to know that I very much love sport and sports manga, whose stories are articulated based on the rules of the discipline in question. For this very reason I thought that a manga which talks about vampires must be structured following the twisted rules of these creatures of the night. “I think we should concentrate the story on the vampires, on their immense strength…” is what I said to my editor at the time. “To me it sounds like a B-List movie....But since I myself am much darker than you, we’ll do like you say!”, he said. And that was how Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was born! ”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
Battle Tendency
| Battle Tendency Last Volume Afterword | |||
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“
I drew the second part of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure in the mid 80s. I’m convinced that the period during which a manga is written has a real impact on its draft, and so I started thinking about how those years could have impacted my work. Movies, for example, are the first thing that comes to mind. Great strides in the makeup and special effects technology were made during that time but for some reason I still have the impression that, despite all that, the quality of my beloved horrors has been going downhill ever since. Simultaneously, there was a boom in stories about real life serial killers. Musically speaking instead, in those years I was going crazy for the “black music” made by Prince who, with his songs, transmitted me a sort of exotic feeling. In the field of art and design,and particularly that of fashion,what was once normally considered beautiful or classy was completely turned on its head from the arrival of brands like Versace or Moschino. In Japan people would question if these dresses really were elegant (or if they even were clothes in the first place!) and it was really hard to believe that the women in Europe actually dressed like that! Speaking instead of travels, I’ll say something that might sound obvious, but it was only back then that I realised how big the difference between reading something in a book, or seeing it on television, and travelling in person, especially if looking for material, really was. For instance, in Europe there are mysterious gardens and disturbing sculptures perfectly conserved... Having left off imagining God only knows what kind of terrifying atmospheres, I on the contrary came to realise of the peacefulness that permeated those places, and the calmness that grotesque objects could give off. The most bizarre things are perceived as weird or absurd at first glance, but it’s possible that with the passage of time they will go under a revaluation and even start getting considered pretty. I’m positive that to compose a true “Ode to Humanity” the bright and dark sides of human works are equally necessary, and it’s this very same concept that I wish to let on through Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure! How far can a human’s strength be pushed? In the first two parts I tried to answer this question by basing myself on physical force taken to the extreme, but i decided that in the third part “Stardust Crusaders”, the new paradigm will be based on spiritual power. I started writing with the intention to make sense of the story through 21 battles between the protagonist and his antagonists (as many as the Tarot Cards), but it’s not set in stone that it will go just like that…
”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
Stardust Crusaders
| Stardust Crusaders Last Volume Afterword | |||
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“
To Ryosuke Kabashima, Editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump:
I could never thank you enough, but...I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. Your every word gives me courage. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure would have never existed without you.
This strategy was really just the result of my sister's teamwork and they used it to create a situation where, no matter what I said to my parents to justify my action, the fault was mine regardless. I swear I tear up every time I hear the story of someone who goes to prison because they get charged for a crime they didn't commit on the news! I was always praying for those brats to disappear; I got to the point where I was sure there was a curse on me that caused people to always misunderstand me. It happened at school too; whenever something bad happened, the teachers were always putting me in the "suspects' list" and this got me thinking that maybe it was because of how I normally behaved! However, while the second part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1988, I was desperate to find an original idea (I admit it's a bit weird for me, being the author, to talk about these kind of things, but since is an afterword it's okay to dwell on memories, right?). I was looking for something that didn't represent physical strength, but a more spiritual thing that came from the heart. Up to that moment, when the topic was "superpowers", it was always the same thing: the characters opens their eyes wide, the character starts sweating, the character's veins start building, the character destroys rocks, etc. In JoJo, we have an extra corporeal projection that manifests, takes form, and it's this manifestation that breaks the rock, not the character... 'Yes, this could work! I can represent a soul's strength this way! More than superpowers this is "spiritual strength"! That's it, this is new! There's no other way to transmit this!' My manager gave me permission and it's with this concept that I started drawing part three, but...as soon as the first chapters came out all the readers' comments were like: "I don't really understand," or "what's happening here?" I was desperate, it was like that part of me that was condemned to always be misunderstood was coming out again. I didn't know what to do, since no one understood me. Maybe I didn't explain well enough, or maybe the change had been too sudden, but how was I otherwise supposed to represent these types of powers? It looks like when I left Sendai for the first time to live in Tokyo to be a mangaka, my grandmother started praying in front of the Buddhist alter she has at home, every time she heard about an homicide in Tokyo, hands joined, she started praying for the culprit to not be me...I really don't understand this. I think no one in my family actually ever understood me and , even worse than that, maybe not even my readers could! At that time my manager told me that it's important to have faith in yourself and draw what you really prefer: this is what it means to be mangaka! You only need a whole lot of courage! (Even now I don't really think that manager understood me either...Well, at least more than my sisters, for sure.)”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
Diamond is Unbreakable
| Diamond is Unbreakable First Volume Afterword | |||
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“
Higashikata Josuke, the protagonist of this part, is one of the characters that I like to draw the most. He’s a free spirited individual, and that never excessive sarcasm that he possesses gives him a tough guy vibe. That melancholic aura that stirs in his family, I like that quite a lot!
When, during my first meetings with my editor, I told him that i wanted him to have a pompadour hairstyle, he commented on how maybe it was a bit too outdated (in the manga world when pompadours and school uniforms are mentioned we are usually entering a comedy genre of manga.) To me though, the very same fact of going around with a pompadour in 1999 introduced and element of originality, and Josuke’s figure, with him being so caring of his hairstyle, was a perfect fit to impersonate the hero who wanted to protect his city. The third part, Stardust Crusaders, developed by following the long trip from Tokyo to Egypt, it’s for this reason that I had to use the same scheme, in which the antagonists would start chasing the group to then attack them, for every one of my “villains”. This time around though I wanted to draw the enemies patiently waiting to lure the protagonists into their trap, like spiders on a web… Because of all these reasons, the idea to have the story of this part set into a single town came naturally to me. Additionally I also wanted to give to the reader the impression of being in a familiar setting, a small town center, in which you can turn a corner and stumble upon a bakery. So to make things easier I decided to let myself be inspired by locations where I lived as a kid, those being in my birth town of Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture. The fields, the woods, the mountains and those places in which I went to play or to ride my bike in as a kid went under a sudden development starting from the mid 70s and during the entirety of the 80s,and in that period around Sendai many new urban conglomerates appeared. Back then, the streets, the houses and the gardens were all cleaned up and brand new, the people living there seemed very happy, but some neighborhoods were built on terrains which previously housed: a scary (and most likely haunted) bumpy cemetery, the remains of an air-raid shelter from WW2 in which thousands died in, or a swamp in which the body of a suicidal person had floated and so on. Places which were then all buried or drained to make space for the houses. At the time I questioned myself where the ghosts that previously resided there had gone and, not being able to find an answer, I imagined that under that serene and well kept appearance something dark and mysterious was secretly lurking. This is the template that I used when creating Morioh-Cho,the stage in which Part 4 takes place. Furthermore, Morioh-cho symbolises my personal critique towards the destruction enacted in the name of progress, which deprives people of their past. The feeling of not really knowing what the peaceful inhabitants of the outskirts do inside their homes perfectly applies to those who live in the quiet Morioh-cho! In the second half of the part the killer which plays the role of the antagonist will appear, but I’ll hold off on talking about him for later down the line… Be it as it may, out of all the parts of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure that I drew so far, Diamond is Unbreakable is the one that has been more successful between family and friends alike. Everyone was pleased, they asked me if I based myself off on someone for a character, or they implored me not to use their name, or they accused me of stealing one of their lines! In this part more than others I had fun inserting my own memories of food, clothes or shops that I love and I never had to cool my heels like this time around as to not drown the story with my personal interests! If I had the opportunity I would love to create and illustrate an even more detailed Morioh-cho, describing all the places of the city that I omitted and designing new characters. I know that I shouldn’t get too attached to this small town of the 21st Century and its people, but I love these folks so much! ”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
| Diamond is Unbreakable Last Volume Afterword | |||
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“
What is the purpose of drawing Manga?
I started drawing when I was a kid, and now more than 20 years have passed since my first work was published on a magazine, but I think I always asked this to myself. Why do I draw Manga? Sometimes I think I do it because It’s my job, but in this line of work you irredeemably end up damaging your shoulders, or your back or even your stomach (not to mention the butt...since you have to sit still for a long period of time the muscles of your butt end up hurting just as much as those of the shoulders!) Either way, when you are drawing manga physical discomfort is a frequent occurrence, and it is especially in these moments that I stop and earnestly question myself “Why do I do this job? I mean there are much easier ways to live life! I really can’t keep this up without having a good reason to go on like this!” When I get good ideas and my works are pleasantly welcomed the problem is negligible,but when technical difficulties or creative blocks (If you do this job they will happen sooner or later) get added to physical troubles is when I go back to the why I draw manga query. Maybe a real answer doesn’t exist, but this matter certainly makes a certain story come to mind. The actor and film director Orson Welles used to direct a radio program, I can’t quite remember if it was during the 40s or 50s. It was a science fiction script called “War of the Worlds” and it talked about the invasion of Earth from an alien race. The program was structured like a newscast and when the people heard it they legitimately thought that aliens had landed on the planet, panic spread in the cities. The terrific chaos that it caused became a national matter and ultimately Orson Welles was obliged to apologise on air through various media, making public and official amends he said “I am sincerely and extremely sorry for what i have done…” etc. When I first heard this story I immediately thought that Orson Welles, while bowing his head, was laughing under his moustache, or sticking out his tongue to the oblivious audience, have no doubts! He was laughing to himself, it’s only natural! I think that this episode, particularly the last part, contains the answer to my question: it’s a tough work, but it hides a secret pleasure that no one else can understand! I became aware of the fact that the fourth part of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Diamond is Unbreakable, is a work that, for the creative attitude from which it was born, is full of secrets like these (by saying this I certainly don’t mean that I made fun of my readers! What I mean is that I drew it by having fun in ways that no one can get!) If I were to explain it in more detail, with added examples, it would never end, so...let’s say that I’ll leave most of the imagination to the readers, but the character of Higashikata Josuke is perfect to illustrate in broad terms what I mean. In that period I greatly felt the need to create a dumb character, and since I never had the chance to create one like him before, it became my primary objective. I thought that the contraposition between a plot that developed in a rather cerebral way and this foolish character would make for a splendid contrast. I therefore started writing the fourth part promising to myself that i would have gave life to a half witted protagonist with a heart of gold, that would obviously be a stand user. But the first reactions of my editors and readers alike weren’t all that positive. “Whaaaat?! A pompadour?! What a pimp! Let alone the fact that somehow you would still find someone with that hairstyle in 1999!? Are you sure about this?!” “Hurray!” I thought to myself…. Yes, responses like this certainly don’t please me, but I was kinda happy that Josuke wasn’t accepted with open arms from the start, in fact I thought that the nice contrast I was aiming for would be built little by little, page by page. Moreover when I was creating the character of Josuke I was going through a really creative and fun phase (as a result, and not by chance, other idiotic characters were added like Okuyasu and Shigechi) to the point that, without realising it, I became to think of Josuke as a friend who was always behind my back. Creating a manga is something that you do exactly because of motives like these, this is what I learned during the time that I was writing “Diamond is Unbreakable”. The other 2 characters that I really enjoyed creating are Kishibe Rohan and,despite being a villain, Kira Yoshikage. Although he is a killer maniac and a merciless scoundrel, in my eyes (even though I’m a bit embarrassed to say it...) he is a character worthy of admiration. Without a doubt he had a difficult childhood,there’s no denying that, but despite that he takes life by always looking ahead and never plays the victim. He is a positive and has great fortitude, so much so that he in one way or another manages to get out of even the most desperate of situations. Putting aside his psychopathic killer nature, while I was drawing him I felt that he really was the perfect image of my hero, and I was happy. Sadly though, every story and every encounter all inevitably come to a close. The more I sketched, inexorably getting near the ending of the part, the more I got sad. Higashikata Josuke, Kira Yoshikage, Hirose Koichi, Nijimura Okuyasu, Kishibe Rohan, Sugimoto Reimi, Kawajiri Hayato… I didn’t want to get separated from them. I was sincerely sorry. It pains me greatly, but… I must say goodbye to you, Morioh-cho. ”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
Vento Aureo
| Vento Aureo First Volume Afterword | |||
|---|---|---|---|
“
Recently, I've managed to calm myself down quite a bit... Well, let's just say that instead of arguing, which is something that tires me out, I prefer obeying what I'm being told. During the time I was writing Vento Aureo, I really tormented myself in regards to the matter of "self-censorship" in Shonen Manga. By "self-censorship," I'm talking about the requests from the editorial board to an author to stop drawing or, at the very least, soften certain elements of the story which haven't been deemed presentable (for example: discriminatory phrases, expressions which might appear racist, the way skin color is drawn, violent scenes or abuse on both the weak and animals, callbacks to real-life crimes, the representation of nude bodies, smoking or drinking habits, etc..) I wanna make it clear right away that what I am about to write here isn't a critique towards my editors, but simply the real sensations that I, Hirohiko Araki, felt while writing Vento Aureo.
Having reached the fifth part of the series, I desired to write a story which would deal with topics such as the deep sadness in us human beings, or the pain of being born into this world, and I wanted to do it in a stronger manner than the previous parts. Depending on the circumstances in which they are born, there are people who are lucky from the very start, but how would these individuals act if they had been born in a different place instead, one with much harsher conditions? In Vento Aureo, all the protagonists have, in one way or another, been estranged from society and forced to live on its boundaries. We are talking about an environment in which the strong eat the weak and one where evil pervades everything. In such a situation, is it still possible for these characters to find justice? When representing the clash between good and evil, it is necessary to describe evil in a realistic way, and it's here that the power of "self-censorship" in Shonen Manga really strikes the heaviest of blows in the story that you're trying to write. Smoking, being relentless towards the weak, sexually molesting an individual, stabbing someone with a knife, cutting off heads, abusing men and women, gouging eyes out, eating brain matter: all these are examples of pure evil. To express the evil shadows of human beings a minimum of cruelty and brutality is essential. Despite having happened sporadically in previous years, as soon as I started Vento Aureo (around 1996), the editorial board suddenly started sending me more and more requests along the lines of "fix this page", "change that line", "modify this drawing" and so on. I would like to show you precisely which dialogues and pages I'm talking about, but it would be a long list so it's better to leave that out for now. Additionally, these requests were rarely motivated (even if they were, they were never in a convincing manner), the indications given to me were typically like, "...well, it's just that there is kind of regulation, plus the deadline is close and things just go like this with the board. C'mon hurry up and fix it! You'll think about the rest right?!” I'll say it again, this is absolutely not a critique in regards to my editors, nor am I insinuating that they developed an unprofessional attitude towards me. (Truth is that I've always been very grateful to my editors!) All I'm trying to say is that during the period I was writing Vento Aureo that sensation was there with me. It's nothing else but a simple personal impression. With all that said, it's easy to imagine just what type of crisis I was in and how difficult it was for me to successfully express, in a satisfying manner, the themes that I was trying to develop. Moreover, I kept asking myself if by any chance a "wall" had been indefinitely built to limit the liberty of expression, if the possibilities for artistic development in manga had run out, or if the ideology of authority and non-stop profit weren't completely stripping away the sprouts of art itself. Even now, despite being in a much more relaxing condition, I can't give myself a definitive answer, but what I felt in that era naturally transpired into the actions and attitudes of my characters. Giorno and Bucciarati, two of the protagonists, betray the organization which they are part of for the sake of 'justice'. The organization is a symbol of power and moral obligation, almost a second home for them, but they both decide to fight to follow the desire of living according to justice. Even I, as the author, while drawing these scenes felt courage swelling up inside of me. Thinking back on the sentiments of my protagonists never fails to bring tears to my eyes. If these two boys had decided to remain in the shadow of authority, maybe they would have gone on to live safe and comfy lives. Instead, despite knowing the risks, they chose the path of justice, because only in its presence would they have been certain their existence actually mattered. Vento Aureo, between great Italian fashion and all the more creative Stand battles, is a story full of suspense, but I also think, according to my judgment as an author, that it can be considered a really dark work. Having said that and considering how at times we can take on such heavy subjects, I am very proud of it. Just like with all the other parts, I hope with all my heart that you have fun reading it. Regarding the parts that I had to cut, I will talk about this in the afterthoughts of the last volume.”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
| Vento Aureo Last Volume Afterword | |||
|---|---|---|---|
“
Jotaro Kujo, the protagonist of part three "Stardust Crusaders", sets off on his journey accepting the bond that connects him to his grandfather and his grandfather's great-grandfather (Jonathan's father). There are six generations between them. In that sense, you could say their enemy, Dio Brando, represents both destiny and fate.
I don't think there's anyone who can assert they know anything about an ancestor from six generations prior. From Jotaro's perspective, he doesn't really care if his ancestor was someone who did good things or, rather, someone who made the wrong choices. He simply accepts the blood bond that connects him and his ancenstors, considering it an honor even! While I was writing this fifth part, Vento Aureo, I kept asking myself: "How would someone behave if the mere fact they were born was a source of sadness?" Men can't choose how they come into the world. Some of them find themselves in happy families, others grow up in terrible places from the get-go. Can those less fortunate do anything if we assume destiny and fate are something already decided by gods or some kind of law that makes stars move in our vast universe? This is Vento Aureo's main theme and both the protagonists and their adversaries need to face it. Giorno, Bucciarati, Fugo, Narancia, Abbacchio, Mista. Every single one of them grew up or rather was forced to grow up, at the edge of society and family. The same can be said about Trish really. Could they ever challenge fate, destiny, and change them? This was my most recurring thought while working on this story. I was really down during that period for certain personal matters. What to do? If it were easy for humans to change them just with effort and will, destiny and fate would lose their meanings. It would be too easy. How could the protagonists fight against this sense of unavoidability? The answer, surprisingly, was given to me by the protagonists themselves. They don't try to change their destiny and even in their situation, they choose not to give up their spirit's purity. They firmly believe that happiness and a sense of justice are the same things. I mean, I'm the author, and yet, while I was writing I ended up learning from my characters and this is what truly gave me courage. In these terms, thinking back, I feel I had the illusion of being accepted among them as a friend, more than just growing fond of Vento Aureo's protagonists myself. There was one part in this fifth series I absolutely had to delete though. An episode I couldn't write at all. In my head, the story went that between Mista, Narancia, Fugo and Abbacchio, there would be a spy working for the boss and betray Giorno and Bucciarati. At first, I had decided this traitor to be Fugo, but I couldn't do it. My state of mind was so dark that the stories I wrote were becoming more and more evil, but in my heart, I was starting to hate this behavior as time passed. Also, my heart broke just thinking about how Bucciarati would feel. I absolutely can't understand betrayal from a trusted friend and this is why just thinking about it physically hurt me. I would have accepted any criticism saying that I "hadn't had the guts to do it" as an author, but I assure you I couldn't write that episode no matter what. Maybe Giorno would have had to kill Fugo then and I'm sure this would have given a really bad impression to my youngest readers. This is what lays behind that farewell scene in Venezia, with the publication of Vento Aureo's novel then I was able to have a story written about how Fugo would continue to help his companions from inside the organization. To conclude, allow me to say something to my characters: Thank you, you are the Golden Wind that blows during the most difficult and sad moments.[73]”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
Stone Ocean
| Stone Ocean First Volume Afterword | |||
|---|---|---|---|
“
There are times where I'll suddenly get overwhelmed, thinking about how weird certain things are which I previously never cared about, and an unusual anger arises. It exists within me, this "Period of Hate," which is often caused by the "Season of Aggression". Some time ago I happened to be with my parents, and so with levity I said this:
"You know, near my house there is this traffic light which turns red even during parts of the day where cars are nowhere to be seen. It didn't really bother me before and if there was no one around I would just go ahead and pass anyway. However, lately I've began to see it as bad conduct, so I've decided to stop and wait until it turns green." As soon as I finished saying this, I started getting bombarded with a flurry of comments such as "Oh c'mon nobody does that anymore!" and "You are giving me a headache! What, are you trying to play goody two shoes now?!" and even, "You are a hypocrite! You just want someone to see you so he can write about it on 2chan!" Ugh. There it is. The "Season of Aggression" has arrived. If you get attacked for saying or doing something bad there's nothing wrong with that, but I did no such thing. I mean, I didn't even pass the red light. See, this is the "Season of Aggression", that period of time when people get angry at me for reasons that I fail to comprehend. And when it inexorably presents itself again, even in arguments where I could easily counter, I just end up being assailed and suffer even more. Because of this, the only thing that I can do is sit and wait until it passes again, just like people affected by pollen allergies; on hold, until the cause of their nuisance flies away. In these circumstances, the saying, "The best defense is a good offense" does not work. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has finally reached its sixth protagonist, Jolyne Cujoh, and she too is in the middle of this "Season of Aggression". Ever since she was little, she's lived in Florida, and with Jotaro being very busy in Morioh, she grew up without the presence of a father figure. Jolyne has certainly inherited the tough and cool headed side of her family, but she slowly but surely went towards a path of restlessness. Her mother just scolds her. She falls in love with a guy whose affection she blindly trusts. He represents the love and affection that she never got from his father. But it's precisely this sentiment that will drag Jolyne into a crazy world. Will she be able to free herself from it like "unraveling a string"? And will she mature as a person? This is the lay out that I had in mind when writing Stone Ocean and its protagonist. Some time ago, in the 1980s, the impulse of trying a new creative adventure made me draw "Gorgeous Irene," a short story which had a woman as a protagonist. But in that time period I just, don't know, kinda felt something was off...I perceived a weird atmosphere telling me that a female protagonist wouldn't go well in my works, and so I scrapped the idea of turning it into an actual series. Almost 15 years have passed since then, and I'm convinced that, in some way, the times have changed. Today we live in an era in which, even if a girl takes a punch, or her finger goes flying, or she gets pushed down a building, you can still have a really strong atmosphere. The responsibility is all on her dad's shoulders, Jotaro Kujo. He is the one who initially comes to save his daughter, but ultimately ends up getting saved by her. This, in turn, favors the internal growth of the girl. It seems to me that putting yourself out there by inserting a character like this into a manga really pays off. We can be men and women, but the blood relations and the sentiments which derive from them are elements which we all inherit. What does "Stone Ocean" mean? "Stone" is the will of Jolyne, while "Ocean" symbolizes women altogether. This Stone Ocean can also refer to the image of the prison in which the story is set. After having decided to draw Stone Ocean, I wanted to collect some material and went to visit a prison in Florida. It was divided into 4 sections: juvenile detention, female detention, young male detention and death row convicts detention that I could only enter after I was granted a permit. In America, there are also "private" prisons in which a penalty discount becomes the equivalent of a commercial enterprise. I could enter three sections, but not the male detention one because it was deemed too dangerous, I was only able to see the kitchen and the model prisoners working there. In any case, it wasn't a huge prison like the one where Jolyne Cujoh was incarcerated, rather it was a very high tech one and in some way reminded me of Roppongi Hills. (Big urban complex in Roppongi, a Tokyo district) At the entrance I was patted down to check what I was carrying with me and possible metal objects. Then I took an elevator, walked, took another elevator, walked again, then another elevator in repetition. At every passage a heavy metal door with an electronic lock would be opened and closed, then another, and another, and so on. On the way, I was escorted by some guards of average rank. Doors can't speak, but it was like they were telling me that I couldn't leave that place anymore, even if I willed it. I'm not sure if it was claustrophobia, but I was very nervous, I felt like I was in a state of hyperventilation and my breathing was ragged. Some prisoners, no matter how many times I told them I was from Tokyo, wanted me to gift them a Bible in Korean. Furthermore, there was a woman with a massive body structure who looked just like the boss from a movie, seated next to her was instead a girl with a slim figure, probably her henchman, through which she asked me how old I was. I would later heartily describe my feelings to the warden, that I was really anxious to the point of suffocation. He replied "It's the same for me every day. I always feel relieved when I can finally get out and go back home.” Writing this sixth part, I keep questioning myself with concern over Jolyne Cujoh. If I was in the same situation, I think that after just 3 hours of being put in I'd probably already feel destroyed. My impression is that, between all the previous JoJo protagonists, she is the toughest one and that I desire for her to be happy the most. Especially because, as if that wasn't enough, she is right in the middle of the “Season of Aggression”.”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
| Stone Ocean Last Volume Afterword | |||
|---|---|---|---|
“
The truth is, I don’t really know what to say about this. Writing this sixth part of “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure - Stone Ocean”, I started feeling a great sense of satisfaction regarding the stand’s powers. I felt like I had reached the peak of my creativity, as an author I had drawn everything my capabilities allowed. ‘Time’ that got faster and faster for humans’ senses to perceive, getting closer to the concept of infinite – given we can’t really comprehend much of it. How could there possibly be a stand power bigger than this? “There’s nothing more incredible, my creativity has reached the highest point”, that’s what I thought. I normally think that feelings like a sense of satisfaction or personal realization are extremely scary. Finding yourself in a situation where you think everything’s going well and you don’t need to do anything more is without doubt a terrible situation, as a person and as a mangaka, but also if we think about society and the development of science, philosophy, art and culture in general. People act to achieve something, to obtain satisfaction above all else, but what do they do when they reach it? This contradictory feeling crept up my heart while I was coming up with an ending for ‘Stone Ocean’.
Jolyne Cujoh, our protagonist, felt a deep void in her heart too because she was missing the paternal love that brought her to befriend the shady guy that caused her to be imprisoned, after causing a car accident. But what’s important is the progress she makes because of that, because of the actions she has to do to save her father she becomes the strong woman she is. If we look at this story as a telling of the protagonist’s growth, her story had ended. So know what should I do for the accomplishment of this manga? In other words, I don’t have anything more to draw. It’s over. ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’ has reached its summit. This is ‘Stone Ocean’. The end. But this is not right, not at all, it feels wrong. The fact that I’m feeling accomplished should not be a good thing. It’s like a red light is in front of me, what should I do? This is what I was thinking then, until I had an idea. Go back to the origins! Isn’t this how Renaissance happened in Italy, going back to Greeks and Romans concepts in classic art? The French painter Gauguin also built a whole new painting going back the origins that Tahiti represented for him. I need to strengthen further Father Pucci’s stand power. This way time, the characters, the bloodlines and the whole universe will have a turnaround and go back to their origins. For ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’ I had to leave modern days and return to nature. I had to change Stone Ocean’s ending right before the last chapters for this reason, I brought out all the nostalgic feelings I had in my soul and this is why it came out like that. Jolyne Cujoh’s memories might be different in the reset of the universe but her love and her feelings are still there, they became something eternal and I’m sure she’ll keep growing wiser and stronger. I want the protagonist for the seventh part to be fighting against nature in a way that teaches him how to be mature. This were my thoughts upon writing the sixth part, maybe these things shouldn’t be said or written but this is the author’s afterword right? It came out like this. ”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
Steel Ball Run
| Steel Ball Run First Volume Afterword | |||
|---|---|---|---|
“
In 2004, I started drawing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 7 “Steel Ball Run”. This was the story of Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli and their participation in the great race throughout the North American continent, going from San Diego on the West Coast to New York on the East Coast. I'd like to now share with you all some memories regarding the genesis of this work. Part 1: The Protagonists Part 2: The Stands Part 3: Research Later on, I hiked for 5 days and 4 nights in the mountains of Kumano Kodo (a group of ancient pilgrimage footpaths, patrimony of UNESCO since 2004) in the prefecture of Wakayama in Japan. I wanted to find out what would happen to me if I walked 20 kilometers every day, and so I did. Maybe this experience in particular has some relevance to SBR. Everyday, the marvelous view offered by the forests would become increasingly darker after 4 o'clock, more than you could imagine. One day I happened to see an old lady all alone, coming out of the dark and saying "If I hadn't met that kid I would have certainly been lost and I would have been in trouble!" (what kid was she talking about?!). After 2 days of walking my muscles started to hurt a lot, the phone had no signal and it seemed so heavy that each day I would ponder the idea of just throwing it away. The contradictions of useless inventions. Part 4: The Enemies Part 5: Area ”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
| Steel Ball Run Last Volume Afterword | |||
|---|---|---|---|
“
At the end of Volume 1 of this edition of Steel Ball Run, I had shared some memories which encompassed the entirety of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. As such, I want to now focus on writing something more specific about its endings.
This may seem like a given when creating a manga series, but between the writing, researching, personal anxieties, etc...the beginning of a manga serialization can be a pretty tough undertaking. However, when it comes to ending a series, I’m under the impression that the task is even more challenging. It'll depend on the work, but there are times where the editorial department or the manga author themselves will want a series to approach some kind of conclusion. Even if that's the case, requests from the audience can make it difficult for an author to write that closing word, "End." During this time, it's always necessary for us as authors to separate ourselves from the characters that have accompanied our story, the ones we've grown attached to as the days go by, the ones we've shared many important moments with. Similarly, it is also necessary to leave behind the setting and world that we've created and built up. On the other hand, we can’t abandon the answers behind the main mysteries or the destinies of our characters. We must close the curtain in the best way possible. “Will this ending satisfy the readers?” This sort of doubt generates anxiety and a certain sense of importance. Even after we finally finish drawing, there's a certain sensation that nothing else remains and you start to ask yourself: “What do I do now?!” This is what happens with the end of a serialized manga. It may also happen to have a strong ending like in this case, but with this work and for the third part of JoJo, Stardust Crusaders, I chose a plot structure that had a very obvious finish line and readers would be aware of the fact that a conclusion would be inevitable. So, without a sense of loss or desperation, the closure was nothing else but a way to conclude a journey and so this way I could finish as necessary. When I reach the finishing line of these works, I only had the feeling of having completed a task and of having obtained a good result, and that gave me a sense of gratitude. One of the ending scenes of Steel Ball Run that I particularly enjoyed drawing is the one in which Johnny and Gyro confide their personal secrets to each other and Gyro reveals to his friend his true name, while Johnny tells him about his fetish. They were just frivolities, but can a secret become eternal? Or, if one survives, will that secret continue to live on in their heart? While I was creating those panels, I found myself crying.”
—Hirohiko Araki | |||
Gallery
Trivia
- The box sets for the first three parts have the same number of volumes as the JoJonium releases.
- Bunko releases for Cool Shock B.T., Baoh the Visitor, Under Execution Under Jailbreak, Gorgeous Irene, The Lives of Eccentrics and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan were released alongside the series.
- Unlike it's tankōbon counterpart, this version has been mildly censored, removing only a few phrases that would now be considered homophobic, sexist, or demeaning to the intellectually disabled.
- This version has been fully published in Italian by Star Comics and is currently being published in Spanish by Editorial Ivrea.
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