Interview:Da Vinci (August 2005): Difference between revisions

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'''Returning to the starting point with Part 7: Steel Ball Run!'''

 

 

{{Size|15|'''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is not over'''}}

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'''''[[Steel Ball Run]]'', Part 7 of the long-running comic ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'', which began serialization in ''[[Weekly Shonen Jump]]'' in 1986 and currently moved to ''[[Ultra Jump]]'', continues the story of the ''JoJo'' lineage and destiny even today. However, the setting overlaps with the same time period as [[Phantom Blood|Part 1]], the end of the 19th century. Of course, [[Johnny Joestar|JoJo]], [[Diego Brando|Dio]] as well as [[Stand]] abilities make an appearance. Is this a parallel world, and will we also return to the starting point of their lineage? ''SBR'', which is said to be conscious of the culmination of his hard work, is bursting with dynamic vitality and also appears to rapidly become a masterpiece!'''

You probably know that the serialization of ''JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure'' (JoJo), which illustrates a bloodline that was enthralled by fate, is still running today. It started serialization from 1986 onwards and was continually written under the title ''JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure'' until ''[[Stone Ocean|Part 6: Stone Ocean]]''. However, the ''JoJo'' series is now entering a new phase. First off, the title was changed to ''Steel Ball Run'' (''SBR''). Additionally, the period setting has become the end of the 19th century, just like when Part 1 was first serialized. Does this mean that time has come full circle, and that the series starts again from zero after breaking into a parallel world due to the shocking ending of Part 6? Or is this story connected to the story of the Joestar family in a loop? In this new world both JoJo and Dio make an appearance, [[Gyro Zeppeli|Zeppeli]] is a semi-main character (in Part 1, a character named [[Will Anthonio Zeppeli|Baron Zeppeli]] appeared), and deeply familiar names reappear. Furthermore, the serialization moved from Weekly Shonen Jump to the monthly magazine Ultra Jump. It appears as though ''SBR'' becomes a break in the ''JoJo'' series in various aspects. The family tree which was present in the comic’s opening page has disappeared since ''SBR'', but the story is still a story about JoJo. What does the author Araki Hirohiko have in mind for the new developments in the ''JoJo'' series? One thing that we know for certain is his clear determination to not let ''JoJo'' come to an end.

 

 

In a western-style house that appears as if it materializes the drawn world of ''JoJo'', we began our interview surrounding a marble round table. The owner of the house is just as cheerful and energetic as a young boy. First off, I asked him about what the true intention of once again returning to the setting of the end of the 19th century in ''Part 7: Steel Ball Run'' is.

There are developments as if there would be another big bang, the way the universe contracted, having entirely expanded to its limits. Individual stories center suspense and battle tactics, but when you take an extensive view at the ''JoJo'' series as a whole, its grand concept makes you feel like you’re reading the latest cosmology or Indian philosophy.

 

 

The fundamental themes of ''JoJo'' are “fate” and “destiny”. It seems that by entering a parallel world in ''SBR'', the theme of “destiny” will no longer rise to the surface through bloodlines, but through other aspects from here on out. I asked Mr. Araki about his view on destiny that he attempts to illustrate.

That is the overarching theme of ''JoJo'', “an ode to humanity”. Even if fate can’t be changed, one lives on without being disheartened. The straightforward spirituality one feels in ''JoJo'' is probably due to this unwavering theme.

 

 

Still, even though I have been reading ''JoJo'' since it was first serialized, I never would have imagined that it would continue to a total of 85 volumes. Looking back once more, what does Mr. Araki think about having continued until now? I asked him about the resulting changes from Part 1 to ''Part 7: Steel Ball Run''.

'''Araki:''' I didn’t think that I’d continue until now, but I believe that I’d keep pursuing the themes depicted in ''JoJo''. It feels like destiny, and the time passed so quickly. Whichever author it is, I think they have one or two masterpieces. Even if you’re reading {{W|Osamu_Tezuka| Mr. Osamu Tezuka}} as a single stream, you get the feeling that a theme continues in all of his works. I am also conscious of the image of manga that seems like a collection of short stories which form a large river.

 

 

In the ''JoJo'' series, Mr. Araki was first focused on the relationship between grandfather and grandson. This seems to give the impression of Mr. Araki himself having been a “grandfather’s boy”. What kind of boyhood did Mr. Araki have?

This is what must have led Mr. Araki to continue drawing the single grand story of ''JoJo''. Unless there are dramatic changes, Mr. Araki told us he intends to continue drawing ''JoJo'' for as long as he lives.

 

 

When Mr. Araki thinks about the story, he says that he begins by meticulously making a map of the city and blueprints for rooms. Aside from that, as far as important characters are concerned, he draws up their personal histories, which include everything to a brief personal record of their parents. Furthermore, if the setting is overseas, he says that before he starts to draw, he actually travels there for research and gets a sense of not only the atmosphere of the city, but also on the location of the streets and the distances between them.

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'''第7部『STEEL BALL RUN』で原点回帰！'''

 

 

{{Size|15|'''『ジョジョの奇妙な冒険』は終わらない'''}}

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'''1986年から『週刊少年ジャンプ』で連載がはじまった'''<br/>

　ひとつ、確実にわかることは、『ジョジョ』を「終わらせない」という明確な意志である。

 

 

　まるで『ジョジョ』で描かれる世界観を実体化したかのような西洋風のご自宅で、大理石の円卓を囲みインタビューははじまった。館の主はまるで少年のように快活でエネルギッシュだ。<br/>

　まるで限界まで膨張した宇宙が収縮に向かい、再びビッグバンを起こしたかのような展開である。ひとつひとつの物語はサスペンスや戦いのかけ引きが中心だが、『ジョジョ』シリーズ全体を見渡したとき、その壮大な構想は最新宇宙論かインド哲学でも読んでいる気分にさせる。

 

 

『ジョジョ』の根底にある「因縁」そして「運命」というテーマ。『SBR』でパラレルワールドに入ったことで、今後この「運命」というテーマが、これまでのように血筋としてではなく、違う様相で浮かび上がってくるように思う。荒木さんの描こうとする「運命観」をうかがった。

　それが『ジョジョ』最大のテーマ“人間賛歌”なのだろう。たとえ運命が変えられないとしても、そこで挫けずに肯定して生きる。『ジョジョ』に感じる真っ直ぐな精神性は、この揺るぎないテーマがあるからだろう。

 

 

　それにしても、連載当初から読んできたが、まさか累計85巻まで続くとは想像もしていなかった。あらためて振り返り、ここまで続いたことを荒木さんはどう思われるだろう？

「ここまで続くとは自分でも思ってなかったけど、『ジョジョ』で描いているテーマは追っていくだろうな、とは思ってました。運命を感じるし、あっという間でした。どんな作家でも代表作は一つか二つだと思うんです。手塚治虫先生でもひとつの流れとして読むと、すべての作品のテーマが続いている感じがする。短編小説が集まって大きな河になっているようなイメージのマンガを僕も意識しています」

 

 

『ジョジョ』シリーズで荒木さんが最初にこだわった「祖父と孫」という関係。それは荒木さん自身が「お爺ちゃん子だった」という影響があるらしい。どんな少年時代だったのだろうか？

　それが荒木さんにとって『ジョジョ』というひとつの長大な物語を描き続けることにつながっていったのだろう。劇的な変化がない限り、荒木さんは『ジョジョ』を生涯描き続けていくつもりだと話してくれた。

 

 

　荒木さんがストーリーを考える際、街の地図や部屋の見取り図を綿密に作ることからはじめるという。さらに重要なキャラクターに関しては親の略歴まで含む履歴書を作成する。さらに舞台が海外であれば実際に取材旅行をし、街の雰囲気だけでなく道の位置や距離感まで把握してから描きはじめるという。