Author's Note/Vento Aureo

In every volume of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the front folded flap of the dust jacket usually contains a picture of Hirohiko Araki himself, and more than often a note to the reader. The quotes are always different from each other, and are usually about Araki expressing his opinion on certain subjects. These subjects can be about anything, including information about characters or the story itself. The following notes and pictures below are from the volumes of Part V: Vento Aureo.

Vol. 48

Quote	Picture
“ I went to Italy to do some research, and there was something that I found a bit strange: their policemen. Policemen in airports or jails carry machine guns. This made me wonder if things were pretty dangerous, but then I saw policemen wearing capes and carrying swords — the old-fashioned kind that soldiers in the past used to carry. And then I thought, do they use both the swords and the machine guns to fight against evildoers? The more I use my imagination, the more intense the battle seems to me in my mind. ” —Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 49

Quote	Picture
“ It may be because recently I'm only interested in listening to female singers, but even when it comes to mangakas or writers — specifically in the field of the horror genre — when I read something that makes me go "man, this person comes up with really freaky stuff", the creator usually tends to be female. I wont name any specific names, but there you go. This is just a personal opinion, but I don't think there've been any female prodigies in the architectural or art world. But when it comes to things pertaining to 'atmosphere and mood', there are a lot of women that put me to shame, and I learn a lot from them. That's what I've been concentrating on recently as I look at the world. ” —Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 50

Quote	Picture
“ I must be the only one who cares, but I often nearly drown myself. Not in the sea or in a river, no, I narrowly escape death drinking a glass of water. I only need a mouthful of water to suffocate, and I find myself unable to breathe. Generally, if I stay calm, I manage to get my breath back little by little, but recently, I almost passed out. That was a close one. That day, I miraculously escaped death, to everyone's indifference. ” —- Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 51

Quote	Picture
“ The sewage in my workplace has become a bit clogged, which made me wonder if the pipes were dirty or if they were being cleaned, but then i remembered, "Wait, the sewage underwent construction a year ago." Because of that killer premonition, I rang up the repair shop for the place they dug up. I was going to say to those workers, "Your cheap construction work is unacceptable! I don't know what kind of amateurs break up the water flow like this!" However, before I could ask the dealers another question, another person promptly said, "Sorry, we were just being careless." ...My Bad. (Continued in Volume 52) ” —Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 52

Quote	Picture
“ Thinking about the last five years, I've realized we've had four incidents with construction workers. They certainly think I'm a greenhorn because I think I had to put up with all their phoney excuses. I deeply respect craftsmen, they have jobs you can be proud of...However the ones who came to my house must go make trouble somewhere else. With such a state of mind, they can only annoy people...(Of course I could get a refund by showing the proofs of their shoddy work) ” —Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 53

Quote	Picture
“ In my childhood, I heard the following kinds of rumors about being a cartoonist. Cartoonists secretly keep a real handgun in their basements. They can just ask anyone to get naked when they're drawing models of men or women. There's a person who just gives out ideas and can give them from anywhere in the world. Every fourth day of the week, they're night shift is spent golfing and playing on a yacht. How much truth is there in all this? I can't tell you. ” —Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 54

Quote	Picture
“ Of all my possessions, the domestic appliance I've been having for the most time is a mixed oven-toaster. I got it for free from a friend who bought the toaster in 1978 under the pretense that it was battered, and it came with me when I left my hometown to go to the capital in 1984. Granted it's messed up, but it's been 13 years I use it. It hasn't shown any deficiency either. An old style spring timer, no useless function, it's easy to toast bread with it. It's orange and tasteless, but since it's really helpful, I'm talking about it. ” —-Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 55

Quote	Picture
“ Observation of the nature surrounding us, n°3. My workplace( at the second floor) shelters a wide range of lifeforms. First, the ants. They sometimes stroll on my sketches; I tried to find where they came from... only to see them come out of the electrical outlet. Since there was nothing I could do, I let them be. Then the lizards. Surely coming from the airducts, they only come out at night so I also leave them alone. Finally the sparrows. Even if I regularly close the doors and the windows, sometimes they come flying around the studio. When do they come from, this is a complete mystery. ” —-Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 56

Quote	Picture
“ I have been asking myself for a long time: why do foreign movies come out in Japan so much later than in other countries? When it's an American blockbuster, I can understand that it comes out after the United States, but looking at the "Men in Black" trailer, at the end I saw the names of every country it was already out. I realized how much Japan was lagging behind! My patriotism took a heavy hit and that's why I've decided to talk about it! Please show us these movies sooner! ” —-Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 57

Quote	Picture
“ Sometimes when reading famous people's biographies, I find common points and that profoundly touches me and gives me courage. In the Post-War period lived a famous stylist by the name of Christian Dior. Rumours had it that he couldn't keep himself from gardening when returning from work. And I thought "I'm like him!! Gardening appease my heart!! And I hate cats'droppings!!" ” —-Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 58

Quote	Picture
“ Do you have specific scenes that make you really enthusiastic? I don't know if it is due to my psychological state, but I am really moved when I see sailing ships going a full speed on TV. That's much better than trains or racing cars! Seeing Ultraman's eyes and luminous signal shining in the dark while he fights giant monsters in town or in the mountains also exalts me. In general, I prefer to look at big objects at night. ” —-Hirohiko Araki

Vol. 59

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“ I'll carry on with my praising of movies scenes that make me enthusiastic. I like it when a chase between cops and gangsters is happening when it rains. I can't express what I'm feeling with words alone, and that's what's making these exalting scenes so particular. Cops and rain simply go well together. The scene when we see a man riding a horse across the steppe amazes me too. When I saw that for the first time, I instinctly understood what being cool meant! ” —-Hirohiko Araki