JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken) is a light novel written by Mayori Sekijima and Hiroshi Yamaguchi with illustrations by Hirohiko Araki. The second chapter was originally included in the fourth issue of Shueisha's Jump Novel magazine, which released on April 1, 1993.[1] The Italian publisher's website adds the subtitle The Genesis of Universe.[2]
The book tells two original storylines set during the events of Stardust Crusaders during the course of the adventures of Jotaro Kujo and his comrades. The first chapter, written by Sekijima, is titled "The Train from the Desert to Hell City" (砂漠発
Summary
The Train from the Desert to Hell City
After their confrontation with N'Doul, Jotaro and his comrades are forced to find their way out of the Nubian desert on foot, their jeep having accidentally broken down. The group wanders in the desert for four days with little water and food left, whilst trying to survive the assaults from a mysterious Stand capable of turning mirages into concrete objects. Joseph and Polnareff are particularly sensitive to the scorching beams of the sun and Kakyoin's eye injury is getting worse.
On the fourth day, at about 1:00 p.m., the six Stand users are caught in a sandstorm. As they try to find a way out of the storm, they eventually come across a diesel locomotive in the middle of the desert, still functioning and ready to leave. In spite of the possibility of a trap, the group soon realizes that they have no choice but to get on the train. They decide to risk it and ride the locomotive to reach Aswan.
The locomotive is particularly bizarre, looking like a strange mixture of old and new technology. Absalom, the train driver, politely welcomes Jotaro and the rest of the group, announcing from his cabin through a loudspeaker that the locomotive (called Satanic Coupler) will reach Hell City at 4:00 p.m.
After having rested for one hour, Kakyoin notices that the sandstorm has finally stopped. His comrades however are astonished by the incredible landscape that is now surrounding the train: hundreds and hundreds of mirages all around them, produced by the same Stand who had attacked them in the previous days. Trying to get off the train, the group realizes that the doors and window panes won't open and that Satanic Coupler is actually a Stand controlled by Absalom. The evil Stand user reveals that he just couldn't have left them dying in the desert; he wants to kill them all with his own hands and also wants them to suffer as much as possible before dying, apparently, because of their crime of being "part of the civilization."
Satanic Coupler proves to be immune to all of their attacks; the rubber inner walls of the Stand cause the attacks to get reflected back at Jotaro and the others. Deprived of their physical strength, Absalom has them immobilized and psychologically tortures them as the mirage stand creates visions of a city that avoids all logic. Driven by his curiosity concerning the appearance and functionality of modern trains, Absalom decides to suck the information he needs from his hostages and to use the data he has collected to upgrade his Stand. Despite being physically and mentally exhausted, Jotaro and Polnareff come up with an ingenious trick to fool Absalom; they manage to temporarily free themselves and to create an escape by informing the Stand of the existence of openable windows on locomotives. The Stand immediately upgrades its previously fixed windows, unwittingly providing an escape route for its prisoners.
Jotaro and Polnareff bounce off the train, but are capable of freeing only Iggy, while the others are still trapped inside the locomotive. They escape in the streets of the mirage city created by the mirage Stand, but Satanic Coupler effectively tracks them down. Cornered, Iggy activates The Fool and uses it to attack the window pane of the driver's cabin from which Absalom is controlling his Stand. He is sitting next to his sister, Michal, the wielder of the mirage creating Stand, Dark Mirage. Frightened by The Fool's attack, Michal withdraws her Stand, causing the mirage city to disappear. Iggy manages to temporarily deprive the enemies of their sight by covering Satanic Coupler's window pane with his sand. Jotaro, Polnareff and Iggy hide under Jotaro's uniform while Absalom leaves the battlefield, believing them to have flown away with the dog's Stand.
After the sunset, the three Stand users start to collapse from exhaustion. Before collapsing, Jotaro recognizes the upcoming landscape from The Little Prince novel he read as a child. As he dozes off, a young desert nomad, who Jotaro believes to be The Little Prince, comes across the Stand users. The boy goes to his village and brings the villagers to save them. The village chief gives them food and water and reveals that Absalom used to live in their village until four years ago. He then tells them Absalom's story. As a child, he used to believe that the civilized world was the promised land. He was particularly fond of trains and railways, his biggest obsession. Four years ago, while Absalom was visiting Cairo with his sister and his parents, the bus they were riding stopped on a grade crossing and was crushed by a train. His parents died, Absalom's legs were broken and Michal had her throat slashed by a steel splinter. The rescuers gave priority to the local residents and wealthy people, meaning that he and his sister were the last to receive assistance. As a result, Michal lost her voice and Absalom developed a strong hatred towards the civilized world. He later met a man called DIO in Cairo who persuaded him to become his servant after promising to heal his sister's wound and giving them both a Stand.
The following morning Jotaro, Polnareff, and Iggy leave the village in order to set the others free, having been informed on Absalom's whereabouts. Absalom has upgraded his Stand once again and it is now faster than ever. Attempting to kill Jotaro, Satanic Coupler accidentally rushes against a little kid from the village. The boy was bringing Polnareff his wallet which he left behind at the village. Jotaro recognizes the kid as The Little Prince and tells Polnareff to take the boy back to the village for medical assistance, leaving Jotaro and Iggy alone on the battlefield. Coming up with an ingenious scheme, Iggy creates a Jotaro sand clone and uses it to fool Absalom while Jotaro manages to board Satanic Coupler, destroy its tow hook and free his comrades by detaching the wagon from the locomotive.
Cornered, Absalom exploits Michal's Stand to recreate the mirage city, the group is able to avoid any psychological damage this time and flee from Satanic Coupler which chases after them. Meanwhile Polnareff has come back from the village and falls in a flaming trap set by Michal. He however manages to locate her position by closely analyzing his surroundings and stabs her with his Silver Chariot. Jotaro believes he has finally found a way to defeat Satanic Coupler, but needs his grandfather's help. Joseph uses his Stand to cut his mechanical arm off and throws it in between the locomotive's wheels. Now unable to move, Satanic Coupler is repeatedly hit by Star Platinum's fist barrage directed at his weak spot: the lower part of the locomotive.
The two Stand users are defeated, but Absalom won't give up. As a last resort, he creates a miniaturized version of his Stand and uses it to enter Avdol's body, threatening to kill him. However, Kakyoin and Jotaro easily handle the situation by miniaturizing their own Stands and destroying Satanic Coupler in Avdol's body.
Jotaro and the others are forced to leave the battlefield in a hurry; the villagers have arrived and believe them to have injured the little kid, as well as their friends, Michal and Absalom. A tear falls from Absalom's eyes, who now understands where he and Michal really belong. On the evening of the fifth day, as the group closes in on a city, Jotaro sees the landscape from The Little Prince again, disappointing him as he had thought the landscape was unique. Jotaro thinks about the village chief, who had suggested that those who ignore reality might be the happiest. Jotaro finally begins to understand the chief's words and Absalom's hell. As the sun starts to set, Polnareff tells Jotaro to hurry up and join them.
The Gravestone of Hot Sand
Following the "battle" against Hol Horse and Boingo, Jotaro splits up from Joseph commenting that they'll meet up at sunset, making Joseph wonder if they have enough time. Meanwhile, Polnareff was recently ambushed by a seemingly endless amount of enemy Stands taking the form of mummies and ancient warriors. He is taken by surprise again and crushed by an ancient Roman war chariot. Believing him to be dead, a strange old man wielding a book referred to as The Genesis of the Universe goes looking for Polnareff's friends.
While visiting some bookstalls in the streets of Cairo, Joseph and Avdol sense the presence of an enemy Stand user. In order not to get the local people involved, they enter a nearby alley. The two are transported to the gates of the underworld with 42 judges. Believing it to be an illusion, Avdol burns the 42 judges. However, Joseph realizes they are not illusions and commands Avdol to stop, who becomes discouraged at burning actual humans. The enemy introduces himself as The Scribe Ani, a mummy-like old man wielding The Genesis of Universe, a book Stand capable of summoning the historical events written in its pages. Joseph had heard about Ani and his book. He attempts to flee with Avdol as Ani summons soldiers, The Sphinx, and a ship full of soldiers to attack the two. Jotaro, who is still split from the group, learns from a merchant where his grandfather is in exchange for buying a perfume bottle. The merchant tells him that Joseph went into a nearby alley and Jotaro goes to look for him.
Joseph and Avdol are attacked by a statue of Pinedjem of Luxor but Polnareff comes to their rescue. He attempts to attack the statue but The Genesis of Universe makes it crumble, its pieces falling on the Frenchman. Avdol attempts to help his friend but he is severely injured by an ancient Roman soldier attacking him in the back. After defeating the Roman soldier, Joseph and Polnareff use their Stands to communicate, creating a scheme to defeat the enemy Stand. They perform a pincer attack and manage to slightly damage the book, but are overwhelmed by yet another army summoned by Ani.
Ani prepares to send the Stand users to the gates of the underworld, reminding them that Avdol had just burned the 42 judges. Before he can, Jotaro interrupts the old man, appearing behind him. He ignores Joseph's warning about attacking, believing he is close enough to defeat Ani before he can summon his Stand. Unbeknownst to him, Ani has secretly already summoned the most powerful creature hidden in the book's pages: the beast-goddess Ammit. Jotaro attempts an ORA ORA Stand barrage but the creature is so powerful that even Star Platinum cannot stand a chance against it. The creature attempts to attack Jotaro's heart but disappears before it gets the chance. By combining their Stand powers, Joseph and Polnareff had managed to locate and destroy the part of the book in which the powerful goddess Ammit was described. Being out of Jotaro's range due to Ammit, Ani attempts to summon another creature but Jotaro throws the perfume bottle the merchant had sold him earlier, blinding Ani and allowing him to get close enough. He performs an ORA ORA Stand barrage on Ani, destroying the old man's mummified body and his Stand, The Genesis of Universe.
With the battle concluded, the group tends to their wounds and questions the identity of the old man. Joseph asks Jotaro what he thinks, but Jotaro replies that it doesn't matter anymore, as it's just sand in the desert now.
Appearances
Postscript
PostscriptAn author is someone who is unable to read his own work. So, to be able to enjoy my own work through media outside the manga—what a shocking and thrilling experience!
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has been adapted into drama CDs and an animated video (which releases Friday, November 19th), and now JUMP j BOOKS has published it as a novel. Coming into contact with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure as written by others allows me to discover new things in it that even I hadn't seen before. By reading new ideas from other creators within their stories, I am able to understand objectively how others perceive my work, and recognize unknown charms in it that I'd never have noticed otherwise.
It's the same kind of fresh discovery as realizing Japan's strong points while visiting a foreign country, or learning about your own unknown charms from others. In that way, enjoying and discovering your own work through the eyes of a reader—for an author, there is no experience more thrilling.
Also, I helped with this novel's creation through the illustrations. Drawing illustrations for a novel imagined by others was a much different challenge than manga, where the pictures are created based on your own image. It was a fresh and thrilling assignment. Do you think the illustrations fit the writer's image? Finally, I'm currently working on Part 4 of the serialization, which features Josuke Higashikata as the protagonist. It was a joy, as an author, to reunite with my old friends: the high schooler Jotaro, Joseph, Polnareff, Kakyoin, Avdol, and Iggy.「作者」というのは、自分の作品を読むことができないものです。だから、自分の作品が漫画以外のメディアになり、楽しむことができる――これは、何とスリリングなできごとであろうか！
『ジョジョの奇妙な冒険』は、CDブック化、ビデオアニメ化（11月19日（金）発売）され、今こうしてJ―BOOKSに於て活字化されたわけですが、こうした「他人」の手による『ジョジョの奇妙な冒険」に触れると、今まで見えてこなかった新たな発見があります。
他のクリエイターの手による新しいアイデア、ストーリーを読むことによって、 自分の作品が「他人」にどう読まれているかが客観的にわかり、今まで気づかずにいた自分の作品の思わぬ「魅力」を見つけることができるのです。
「外国」に出かけて改めて「日本」の良さに気づいたり、「他人」に指摘されて「自分」の思わぬ「魅力」を知ったりといった、そんな新鮮な発見と同じことだと思います。
こうして、「読者」の目で自分の作品を楽しみ、発見する――作者にとってこれ以上のスリリングな体験はありません。
また、今回、この小説にイラストレーションという形で参加したわけですが、「他人」のイメージした「小説」にイラストを描いていくということは、自分のイメージを絵にしてゆく「漫画」と違った作業で、新鮮でスリリングな仕事でした。小説を書いた方のイメージにぴったり合ったイラストになっているでしょうか？ 最後に、現在連載の方は、東方仗助を主人公にした第4部を描いているのですが、高校生の承太郎、ジョセフ、ポルナレフ、花京院、アヴドゥル、ギーと旧友に再会したょうて作者としては楽もいです。PostscriptLe Bizzarre Avventure di JoJo constitutes the longest Japanese comic book series ever published in Italy. Thanks to its structure (now commonly called ‘generational saga’), it has successfully been able to span an entire decade. Starting from the distant November, 1993, when it cropped up on Italian bookstalls, which was when the publishing phenomenon of manga was still in its beginning.
What would have initially seemed like a miniseries taking place in the United Kingdom at the end of the 1800s created some characters that caught everyone’s attention. Among them was Jonathan Joestar (the protagonist), Dio Brando (the bad guy), and the thug Speedwagon.
It was an action horror, which concluded leaving a door open for future events, thanks to the theory of the Ripple (a breathing technique aimed at dramatically improving physical faculties) and the mysterious Stone Mask (thanks to which a human being could become immortal).
The foundations were laid. And thus, in the second part the genius Hirohiko Araki could pick up the Joestar’s family strange events through one of their descendants, Joseph, who around the time of the Second World War finds himself taking up the task of saving the world from a menace of the ancient world. With that problem solved, Joseph can peacefully grow old until the day when, in the late half of the 80s, the threat of Dio Brando once again shakes things up for the Joestar family. And with this they develop the mysterious and powerful Stands.
It is right during this third part that the two stories of this book take place, that is, while the crusaders are headed to Cairo in the hopes of permanently putting to rest the evilest of comic book villains ever created. Cruel and immoral enough to go as far as to join his head to his adoptive brother Jonathan Joestar’s body in order to continue his dark existence in this world.
This book should be read as if it were an extra episode (or rather, two) of the comic book series, like some sort of sunken treasure that is found after many years. The manga of Le Bizzarre Avventure di JoJo is still being published in our country, and has reached the sixth part, taking place in 2011, where the protagonist is Jolyne Kujo, daughter of the same Jotaro present in these pages. In the meantime, the public has also become captivated by the events narrated in the urban thriller of the fourth part, taking place in 1999 (with Josuke Higashikata, illegitimate son of a very old Joseph), and the gangster tale of the fifth part, taking place in 2001 (Giorno Giovanna, descendant of Dio Brando and–for the reasons described previously –of Jonathan Joestar). And it is during this part, the entirety of which develops on Italian ground, where the next novel of Le Bizzarre Avventure di JoJo takes place, soon to be published by Kappa Edizioni.Le Bizzarre Avventure di JoJo costituiscono la più lunga serie a fumetti giapponese pubblicata in Italia. Grazie alla sua struttura (chiamata ormai comunemente 'saga generaziona-le'), ha potuto attraversare con successo un intero decennio, dal lontano novembre del 1993 quando apparve nelle edicole italiane, ovvero quando il fenomeno editoriale del manga era ancora agli inizi.
Quella che inizialmente doveva sembrare una miniserie ambientata alla fine del 1800 nel Regno Unito generò alcuni personaggi che conquistarono l'attenzione di tutti, fra cui Jonathan Joestar (il protagonista), Dio Brando (il cattivo di turno) e il ladro Speedwagon.
Si trattava di un horror d'azione, che si concluse lasciando una porta aperta a futuri eventi, grazie alla teoria delle Onde Concentriche (una tecnica di respirazione volta a migliorare a dismisura le capacità fisiche) e alla misteriosa Maschera di Pietra (grazie alla quale un essere umano poteva diventare immortale).
Le basi erano tracciate. E così, nella seconda serie il geniale Hirohiko Araki poté riprendere in mano le tenebrose vicende della famiglia Joestar attraverso uno dei suoi discendenti, Joseph, che durante gli anni della Seconda Guerra Mondiale si trova a dover salvare il mondo da una minaccia archeolo-gica. Risolto il problema, Joseph può invecchiare in santa pace fino al giorno in cui, nella seconda metà degli Anni Ottanta, la minaccia di Dio Brando torna a far tremare la famiglia Joestar, e con essa si sviluppano i misteriosi e potentissimi stand.
È proprio all'interno di questa terza serie che si situano i due racconti di questo libro, ovvero mentre la compagnia si diri-ge al Cairo nel tentativo di eliminare una volta per tutte il più maligno dei cattivi da fumetto che sia mai stato creato al mondo, tanto crudele e privo di scrupoli da arrivare a unire la propria testa al corpo del fratellastro Jonathan Joestar pur di far proseguire la sua tenebrosa esistenza in questo mondo. Questo romanzo va dunque letto come se si trattasse di un episodio extra (o meglio, due) della serie a fumetti, come una sorta di tesoro sommerso che torna alla luce dopo anni e anni. Il manga de Le Bizzarre Avventure di JoJo è tuttora in corso di pubblicazione nel nostro paese, ed è giunto alla sesta serie, ambientata nel 2011, in cui la protagonista è Jolyne Kujo, figlia dello stesso Jotaro che agisce in queste pagine.
Nel frattempo, hanno affascinato il pubblico italiano anche le vicende narrate nel thriller metropolitano della quarta serie ambientata nel 1999 (con Josuke Higashikata, figlio illegittimo di un vecchissimo Joseph) e la gangster story della quinta serie ambientata nel 2001 (Giorno Giovanna, discendente di Dio Brando e - per le ragioni sopra descritte - di Jonathan Joestar): è proprio all'interno di questa saga, che si snoda completamente su suolo italiano, che è ambientato il successivo romanzo de Le Bizzarre Avventure di JoJo, di prossima pubblicazione per Kappa Edizioni.Gallery
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Jump Novel Vol. 4, April 1, 1993 -
Jump Novel Vol. 4, Clean -
Spine -
Italian cover, front -
Italian cover, back -
Jump Novel Vol. 4, Inside Illustration -
Jump Novel Vol. 4, Inside Illustration -
Jump Novel Vol. 4, Preview -
Jump Novel Vol. 4, Preview, Clean -
Jump Novel Vol. 4, Introduction -
Characters in the Novel, Part 1 -
Characters in the Novel, Part 2 -
Characters in the Novel, Part 3 -
JoJo's Adventure Map -
Michal's mirage of a boat -
Satanic Coupler disguised as a regular locomotive -
Kakyoin using Emerald Splash to try and escape Satanic Coupler -
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Jotaro's ORA ORA Stand barrage against Satanic Coupler -
The Crusaders -
Jean Pierre Polnareff (Colored) -
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Polnareff and Silver Chariot (Colored) -
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Magician's Red and the Assessors of Maat (Colored) -
Ani using The Genesis of Universe -
Ani and The Genesis of Universe (Colored) -
Joseph using Hermit Purple to escape the Sphinx with Avdol -
Jotaro looking for Joseph after splitting up -
Jotaro Kujo (Colored) -
The statue of Pinedjem of Luxor attacks Joseph, Avdol, and Polnareff -
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Avdol attacked by a roman solider -
The crusaders are attacked by a roman army The Genesis of Universe summoned -
Roman army (Colored) -
Crusaders summoned by The Genesis of Universe -
The beast-goddess Ammit summoned to attack Jotaro -
Ammit (Colored) -
Jotaro about to attack Ani -
Jotaro's ORA ORA attack against Ammit -
Star Platinum fighting Ammit (Colored) -
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The broken perfume bottle that Jotaro throws at Ani -
The Genesis of Universe crumbling into dirt with its destruction -
The Genesis of Universe destroyed (Colored)
Trivia
- A large majority of the illustrations for this novel appear to reference artwork from Antonio Lopez's book: Antonio's Tales from the 1001 Nights.
