Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan

One-Shots

OVA

Template:Book Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (岸辺露伴は動かない, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai, lit. Rohan Kishibe Does Not Move!) is the name of a series of one-shots featuring titular character, Rohan Kishibe, as the narrator and/or protagonist. These one-shots are often published in Weekly Shonen Jump or Jump Square.

A volume compiling the first five chapters, including Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci, was released on November 19, 2013. A second volume containing another four chapters was released on March 13, 2019.

An OVA adaptation by David Production was announced on April 15, 2016 and was released as a promotional DVD to those who had purchased the entirety of the Diamond is Unbreakable anime adaptation before a specific deadline. The series has since then had multiple episodes released through various means.

Summary

The Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan series is a set of short stories, each spanning a single chapter of around 40 to 60 pages and usually organized into disordered "episodes". They all feature Rohan Kishibe, who frequently witnesses and subsequently makes an account of the supernatural phenomena around him.

The first chapter of the series, At a Confessional, was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 7, 1997, under the restriction set by the magazine's editorial team that it couldn't be related to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. As a workaround, Araki took inspiration from the 1950's TV show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and made Rohan the narrator of the one-shot. The series name, Rohan Kishibe Does Not Move, was initially derived from the fact that Rohan is not the main protagonist of At a Confessional, but rather a "navigator" or onlooker of the story who ultimately does nothing.

The series features many esoteric creatures other than Stands, such as Yōkai, eldritch species, or divinities. The plot of each chapter is generally separated from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure storyline, although characters from Diamond is Unbreakable and the town of Morioh regularly make an appearance.

Releases

In ascending chronological order:

1. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 16: At a Confessional (Weekly Shōnen Jump - July 1997)
2. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 2: Mutsu-kabe Hill (Jump Square - January 2008)
3. Kishibe Rohan Meets Gucci (Spur - August 2011)
4. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 5: Millionaire Village (Weekly Shōnen Jump - October 2012)
5. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 6: Poaching Seashore (Weekly Shōnen Jump - October 2013)
6. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 4: The Harvest Moon (Shōnen Jump+ - September 2014)
7. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 7: A Rainy Monday (Jump Square - January 2016)
8. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 8: Deoxyribonucleic Acid (Bessatsu Margaret - September 2017)
9. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 9: The Run (Weekly Shōnen Jump - March 2018)

Volumes

Title		ISBN
Chapters	Release Date	Cover
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (岸辺露伴は動かない Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai)		978-4-08-870872-0 978-8-86-920168-4 978-2-7560-7851-9
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 16: At a Confessional (岸辺露伴は動かない 〜エピソード16:懺悔室〜, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai ~Episōdo 16: Zange-shitsu~) Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 2: Mutsu-kabe Hill (岸辺露伴は動かない 〜エピソード2:六壁坂〜, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai ~Episōdo 2: Mutsukabezaka~) Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 5: Millionaire Village (岸辺露伴は動かない 〜エピソード5:富豪村〜, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai ~Episōdo 5: Fugō-mura~) Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 6: Poaching Seashore (岸辺露伴は動かない 〜エピソード6:密漁海岸〜, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai ~Episōdo 6: Mitsuryō Kaigan~) Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci (岸辺露伴 グッチへ行く, Kishibe Rohan Gutchi e Iku)	Nov 19, 2013 Feb 19, 2014 Jul 19, 2018 Jan 8, 2015 Apr 6, 2016
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Vol.2 (岸辺露伴は動かない 2 Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai 2)		978-4-0890-8314-7 978-2-413-01532-1
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 4: The Harvest Moon (望月家のお月見 岸辺露伴は動かない エピソード4, Mochizuki-ke no Otsukimi Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Episōdo 4) Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 7: A Rainy Monday (岸辺露伴は動かない ～エピソード7 月曜日-天気雨～, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai ~Episōdo 7: Getsuyōbi - Tenkiame~) Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 8: Deoxyribonucleic Acid (岸辺露伴は動かない エピソード#8 D・N・A(ディー・エヌ・エー), Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Episōdo 8 Dī Enu Ē) Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 9: The Run (岸辺露伴は動かない エピソード#9 ザ・ラン, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Episōdo 9 Za Ran)	Jul 19, 2018 Mar 13, 2019 Nov 13, 2019

Author's Notes

Author's Note Vol.1
“ Maybe you know, but Rohan Kishibe, the protagonist of this volume, is a character from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Series, in particular the fourth part, Diamond is Unbreakable. He is a mangaka and a Stand user able to transform someone into a book, thus accessing this person's life and thoughts, and also influentiate them by writing among the lines... This collection gathers several stories about the adventures he had during his research. The first chapter was written in 1997. I'm very happy to see them together here. These five horrifying stories bring us to Italy as well as in the middle of the Japanese mountains and the beach. I hope, with all my heart, that you'll enjoy reading them. ” —Hirohiko Araki “ The year is 1997. I received a request from the editorial department to write a short story. The conditions were that it had to be less than 45 pages, and spin offs or side stories to existing series were absolutely forbidden. And lo and behold, I made a spin off manga, (haha). I of course also made a version where Rohan doesn't appear, but I think it's far better with Rohan-sensei explaining everything, don't you? Feel free to read this story cutting out the sections where Rohan-sensei appears. It feels like a meal with no aroma, doesn't it? And now, it it weren't for that 'prohibition', I don't think I would have drawn any further Rohan spin off works. So more than anything, I want to say thanks for that. ” —Hirohiko Araki “ Whenever I approach writing a short story, I forever have a state of mind for "youth and horror". THis is the goal I set out with. I think "Mutsu-kabe Hill" is truly a strange story. And the more I wrote about it, the more I felt like the 'organism' that appears in this story exist out there in Japan somewhere. Uh-oh. Anyhow, why did I decide to name "Mutsu-kabe Hill" the way I did? Honestly, I don't remember at all. Sorry. That's a real uh-oh. ” —Hirohiko Araki “ The biggest boon of this "Millionaire Village" story was the woman editor character that appears in it, Izumi Kyouka. I felt nauseous trying to get her to look just right, but as a character, I really love her and I think she's a real masterwork, if I do say so myself. I'm just saying this to clear the air a little, but I didn't model her off of any editorial department I've ever been around. Really. I'm not just saying that as an excuse because I'm scared or anything like that. ” —Hirohiko Araki “ The reason I wanted to draw "Poaching Seashore" was because of the lines, "We'll poach them, and that's why I'm interested." Rohan is someone who'll sometimes cross the rules of modern society for something he deems more important. But one must not forget to pay respect to traditions and history. I believe the reason he didn't drown and survived in the end was because of that virtue. Also the chef Tonio Trussardi is a character originating from Part 4 of the "JoJo" Jump Comics series. ” —Hirohiko Araki “ What an honor! But also certainly a venture into the unknown! So I found myself drawing a manga that focused on a fashion brand "Gucci" bag. So, after struggling and worrying about what to make the story, my mind landed on 'Rohan'. Actually, using Rohan for the role was decided later on in the process. I'm really thankful to him, for he'll go to lots of different places to do research. And as soon as I made Rohan the protagonist, the story was done in the blink of an eye. What's more, I got to dress him up in Gucci fashion, and I was pretty happy about how good he looked. I dressed him up with the traditional Gucci bag and clothing that looked like it could be something from the designer Frida Giannini, someone for whom fashion design is everything. And I also would like to thank the magazine SPUR for their bravery and good judgement. ” —Hirohiko Araki
Author's Note Vol.2
“ Here is the second anthology that Rohan Kishibe, a mangaka and Stand User who can turn people into book to read their lives and put new orders in them, is presenting. This book is composed of several episodes that were initially published in different media. Now that I'm reading them again, I see that each episode has its now atmosphere depending on where it was published, for instance the Bessatsu Margaret or the smartphone app. Yet, I wasn't conscious about it when I was drawing them. Rohan Kishibe is such a lucky guy, isn't he? ” —Hirohiko Araki

Short Story Collection

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection (岸辺露伴は動かない 短編 小説集, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū) is an anthology of short stories released with various issues of Ultra Jump. The first and second were included with the August and September 2017 issues to coincide with the 9th episode release of the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan series, while the third was released later with the January 2018 issue. Published by Shueisha, the stories are written by various Japanese authors, with original concept by Hirohiko Araki, all revolving around the adventures of Rohan Kishibe.

The first volume includes three short stories (159 pages) written by Ballad Kitaguni (北國 ばらっど, Kitaguni Baraddo) and Ryo Yoshigami (吉上 亮, Yoshigami Ryō). The second contains two short stories (95 pages) written by Yusuke Iba (維羽 裕介, Iba Yūsuke) and Mirei Miyamoto (宮本 深礼, Miyamoto Mirei), and the third contains another two short stories (117 pages) written by previous writers, Ballad Kitaguni and 'Mirei Miyamoto.

A compilation volume containing all the stories (with two new ones), titled Rohan Kishibe Does Not Shout: Short Story Collection (岸辺露伴は叫ばない 短編 小説集, Kishibe Rohan wa Sakebanai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū), was released on June 19, 2018. A second story collection titled Rohan Kishibe Does Not Frolic: Short Story Collection (岸辺露伴は戯れない 短編 小説集, Kishibe Rohan wa Jarenai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū), will also be released on July 19, 2018.

Title
Chapters	Release Date	ISBN	Cover
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection (1) (岸辺露伴は動かない 短編 小説集 (1) Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū (1))
"Box of Happiness" (辛福の箱, Kōfuku no Hako) "Kushagara" (くしゃがら) "Blackstar"	August 2017	491-0118-13087-1 (Ultra Jump)
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection (2) (岸辺露伴は動かない 短編 小説集 (2) Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū (2))
"Censored Equation" (検閲方程式, Kenetsu Hōteishiki) "Yū Yanagidai" (夕柳台)	September 2017	491-0118-13097-0 (Ultra Jump)
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection (3) (岸辺露伴は動かない 短編 小説集 (3) Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū (3))
"Blood-Stained Coat" (血栞塗, Chi Shiori Mitoro) "Symmetry Room" (シンメトリー・ルーム, Shinmetorī Rūmu)	January 2018	491-0118-13018-5 (Ultra Jump)
Rohan Kishibe Does Not Shout: Short Story Collection (岸辺露伴は叫ばない 短編 小説集 Kishibe Rohan wa Sakebanai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū)
"Kushagara" (くしゃがら) "Blackstar." "Blood-Stained Coat" (血栞塗, Chi Shiori Mitoro) "Censored Equation" (検閲方程式, Kenetsu Hōteishiki) "Okami-sama" (オカミサマ)	June 19, 2018	978-4-08-703455-4
Rohan Kishibe Does Not Frolic: Short Story Collection (岸辺露伴は戯れない 短編 小説集 Kishibe Rohan wa Jarenai Tanpen Shōsetsu-shū)
"Box of Happiness" (辛福の箱, Kōfuku no Hako) "Yū Yanagidai" (夕柳台) "Symmetry Room" (シンメトリー・ルーム, Shinmetorī Rūmu) "Gleaner's Paradise" (楽園の落穂, Rakuen no Ochibo)	July 19, 2018	978-4-08-703457-8

Gallery

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  Inside cover of the volume release

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  Volume 1 Clean

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  The illustration found in Volume 1

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  Volume 1 Rohan's profile

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  Volume 2 Clean

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  The illustration found in Volume 2

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  Volume 2 Rohan's profile

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  Ad for Volume 2 on sale

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  Card from Kishibe Rohan does not Shout

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  Card from Kishibe Rohan does not Frolic