Rohan Kishibe/Personality and Relationships

Personality
"Did you think the great Kishibe Rohan draws comics because he wants money?! I draw comics because I "WANT TO BE READ"! That's the one and only reason. I couldn't care less about anything else!"

- Rohan Kishibe

Rohan is very much aware of his nearly superhuman skill and his success in his profession as a mangaka, thus his attitude towards others is seen as arrogant. This even borders on a narcissistic personality disorder, as Rohan generally looks down at everyone in some way or another and genuinely believes there is no one on Earth greater than him. He doesn't take well to criticism and has a deep-seated need to consistently make exciting chapters for his manga, fearing being forgotten about if he doesn't. He doesn't socialize much, as he finds most people to be "incompatible with his wavelength" (especially Josuke, whom he greatly dislikes). Even Koichi Hirose, the one person Rohan does consider his friend, frequently calls him overbearing and pushy, especially when Rohan successfully manipulates Koichi into assisting him in his work research several times. He even states he loves saying his famous catchphrase "I refuse" to those who he says think of themselves as hot shit. Rohan is also an expert at psychological mind tricks. He tends to cover up his true feelings with his arrogance, although he is not without his sincere moments, as seen when bidding farewell to the ghost of Reimi Sugimoto.

Being very successful at his job results in massive wealth - evident by his house worth several million yen or the Gucci watch he wears. He does, however, make it a point that he never was interested in gaining fame and wealth. His only passion is to create manga, and he goes to great lengths for his research to make his work feel as "realistic" as possible. At one point, he spends his entire fortune on buying a bunch of mountains where he heard a demon resided, causing him to spend his time at Koichi's home until his next paycheck. He is eccentric in his mannerisms, and could even be said to be slightly childish. Even though he acts indifferent to the affairs of others, he does believe in the forces of good, making him a valuable ally in the chase against Yoshikage Kira – especially after hearing the tragic story of Reimi, of which he is directly involved. He also seems to believe in age-elitism, where those who are younger should respect those who are older. For example, he tells Ken Oyanagi, who is only eleven years old, that as his elder he should give him some advice. In addition, he tells Josuke to respect his elders when Josuke doesn't greet him while on the bus in the Highway Star arc. His respect for Joseph Joestar seems to further imply this. Regardless of his elitism, Rohan appears to care for the lives of people younger than him as he risks his own life to save Shizuka, Ken, and Josuke on separate occasions.

Acquaintances
Despite loving his manga more than anything else, even over friends and family, Rohan still maintains relationships with the protagonists; albeit some being strained.


 * Koichi Hirose: Koichi was one of the first people Rohan met upon his return to Morioh. Despite trapping Koichi and using him for new manga ideas, Rohan shows more trust and friendship towards Koichi than the rest of Morioh's inhabitants. While Koichi is often perturbed by Rohan's near-obsessive behavior over him, he also has attempted to help Rohan in return.
 * Reimi Sugimoto: Reimi was a babysitter for Rohan when he was four years old. As a ghost, Reimi still treats Rohan as though he were a child. While he often acts resentful towards her treatment of him, he also shows unceasing determination to find her killer, as Reimi had sacrificed herself to save Rohan's life as a child.
 * Josuke Higashikata: Josuke and Rohan loathe each other, with their relationship being strained at best. This first started when Rohan kidnapped Koichi to use as material and nearly had Okuyasu commit suicide. Rohan also insulted Josuke's hair, causing Josuke to beat him until he was in the hospital for a month. Rohan views Josuke as simple-minded, and Josuke is often annoyed by Rohan's arrogance. As a result, Josuke was not above scamming Rohan for money. However, Josuke has tried on at least two occasions to patch up the relationship between the two. During the RPS Kid arc, he asked Rohan if he wanted to sit with him, Okuyasu, and Yukako. He also hoped to patch up their relationship after their battle against Highway Star, though Rohan's stubbornness and grudge prevented this. Despite their sharply contrasting personalities and rough history together, Rohan shows some trust in Josuke, proven when risking his own life to allow Josuke to escape from Highway Star.
 * Jotaro Kujo: Jotaro and Rohan seem to have a relationship based on mutual respect. Rohan seems to regard Jotaro as knowledgeable, and Jotaro trusts Rohan despite being a former enemy. They've shown to be capable of working together, such as in the final battle against Kira when they're stuck in the time loop. Rohan also has the phone number of Jotaro's hotel room in his address book, which implies they have been in contact for other purposes beforehand.
 * Okuyasu Nijimura: They only truly interact once, when Okuyasu goes to save Koichi from Rohan. Rohan used Heaven's Door to manipulate Okuyasu, nearly causing him to commit suicide by burning himself. While the two aren't seen together afterwards, it is safe to say they don't have a good relationship since Okuyasu holds a grudge against Rohan for what he did while Rohan is mostly indifferent to Okuyasu.
 * Joseph Joestar: Unlike with most people, he seems rather polite to Joseph, possibly since Joseph is his elder (and often refers to him as Joestar-san or Mr. Joestar). Joseph has been shown to be a fan of Rohan's works, something Rohan appreciates. He usually speaks calmly to Joseph, such as when he explains his investigation in uncovering Kira's whereabouts. He even states one of the main reasons he tolerates Josuke is out of respect for Mr. Joestar, further demonstrating his respect for him.
 * Tonio Trussardi: Although both characters do not interact in the manga, they are featured in Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 6: Poaching Seashore as allies. In the one-shot, Tonio and Rohan are portrayed as friends, even though Rohan disapproved of Tonio coming to Morioh in order to cook. Rohan changed his mind after eating Tonio's abalone risotto, and the two cooperated to go poaching for a rare type of abalones. During their escapade, Rohan ended up saving Tonio's life.
 * Yukako Yamagishi: While the two have no interaction, Rohan learned about her after reading Koichi's memories using Heaven's Door. When Josuke asks if Rohan wants to sit with him, Okuyasu and Yukako, he declines while referring to Yukako as a crazy bitch (or the moody Yukako depending on translations).
 * Shizuka Joestar: The two have little interaction though Rohan once scared her by using the flash on his camera. On another occasion, Rohan used her invisibility powers to force Ken's hand into a rock in Janken, causing Ken to lose against Rohan. He seems to care for her, as he became worried when he lost her and helped Joseph and Josuke look for her.
 * Hayato Kawajiri: Rohan noticed that Hayato was in the background of many of the pictures he took of people who were possibly Kira in disguise and tailed him. He tried to get information out of him, though Hayato refused, knowing that telling him anything would activate Bites the Dust and kill Rohan. Rohan did eventually get killed by Bites the Dust since he used Heaven's Door to read Hayato's memories, much to Hayato's horror. Luckily, his fate is avoided thanks to Josuke.
 * Toshikazu Hazamada: Toshikazu was a huge fan of Rohan who accidentally learned about his address and decided to visit the mangaka himself. He was impressed by Rohan and stated he truly admired him from the bottom of his heart even after Rohan used Heaven's Door on him. In contrast, Rohan read through Toshikazu's memories and learned of his sordid personality and actions and frankly dismissed him, much to Toshikazu's sadness.
 * Tamami Kobayashi: The two worked together in the I Am an Alien arc to expose Josuke's cheating during a game of Cee-lo between Josuke and Rohan where it was obvious the dice they used were somehow rigged to let Josuke win (it was Mikitaka disguised as dice and constantly throwing winning tosses for Josuke). Although they were not able to find out how Josuke cheated, Tamami still charged Rohan for his services. However, in Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 2: Mutsu-kabe Hill, he is shown to be a fan of Rohan and asks for his autograph, which is a stark contrast to their more professional relationship during their first on-screen meeting.
 * Akira Otoishi: Akira meets Rohan with Tamami after he is released from prison and excitedly asks for Rohan's autograph, claiming to be a big fan of his. Rohan's editor Minoru Kagamari harshly denies, saying that Rohan is busy, but Rohan scolds his editor and gives the two of them an autograph.

Enemies

 * Yoshikage Kira: While initially only interested in chasing down the serial killer in order to improve the quality of his manga, Rohan takes Kira much more seriously after learning that the man had killed his childhood babysitter. Evidently, all of Rohan's attempts at tracking Kira down have been done alone, with limited help from his allies.
 * Ken Oyanagi: Ken initially annoyed Rohan greatly when they first met by challenging him multiple times to Janken (Rock, Paper, Scissors). Because of this, Rohan felt little remorse for making him upset, eventually reaching the point of spontaneously punching him in the face out of irritation. When Rohan learned that Ken was actually attempting to steal Heaven's Door's ability in order to gain power, he acted diligently to beat him, and happily gloated in his victory. Rohan had a change of attitude after seeing Ken attempt suicide over the thought of losing his own Stand, claiming that he is moved whenever he sees people whom are dramatic like him.
 * Yuya Fungami/Highway Star: Though Rohan did not meet Yuya personally, he ended up a victim of his Stand. Rohan was shown to have enjoyed defying Highway Star, despite being completely at its mercy.


 * Masazo Kinoto: The architect was hired to inspect Rohan's house after it was burned in order to agree on a rebuilding plan. Upon their meeting, Rohan immediately used Heaven's Door in order to check if he was an enemy Stand user. Learning of Masazo's abnormal fear of having his back seen piqued his curiosity. During the inspection, Rohan tried time and time again to look at Masazo's back, and was eventually successful. This was the cause of Masazo's death, as his own Stand drained his life force and latched onto Rohan.
 * Cheap Trick: The Stand was an immediate threat to Rohan once it attached to him, making constant attempts to get other people to see his back in order to kill him. When he was able to remove the Stand via Reimi's Alley, he uses Heaven's Door to write in it "I'm going to Hell" before it gets dragged off into the unknown.

Relationships in Eyes of Heaven
(The information below derives from a Video Game not written by Araki. As such, it may not be considered canon.)
 * Jotaro Kujo: While their relationship is about the as it was in the manga, Rohan expressed a desire to draw Jotaro in his prime after seeing his strength.
 * Yukako Yamagishi: Yukako is annoyed by Rohan's teasing of Koichi and threatens him. Rohan is also unnerved by Yukako's violent tendencies and will state there is no difference when she is under the control of Heaven Assention DIO.