Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan

Template:Book Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan^[1] (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 Kishibe Rohan Meets 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.

An anthology of short stories based on the series was released with various issues of Ultra Jump from July 19, 2017 to 2018. The stories were written by multiple Japanese authors, including Ballad Kitaguni, Ryo Yoshigami, Yusuke Iba, and Mirei Miyamoto.

A live action TV drama adaptation with three episodes will air from December 28, 2020 to December 30, 2020.

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 Shonen 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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:

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 16: At a Confessional (Weekly Shonen Jump - July 1997^[4])
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 2: Mutsu-kabe Hill (Jump Square - January 2008^[5])
Kishibe Rohan Meets Gucci (Spur - October 2011)
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 5: Millionaire Village (Weekly Shonen Jump - October 2012^[6])
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 6: Poaching Seashore (Weekly Shonen Jump - October 2013^[7])
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan - Episode 4: The Harvest Moon (Shōnen Jump+ - September 2014)
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 Shonen Jump - March 2018^[10])

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~) Kishibe Rohan Meets Gucci (岸辺露伴グッチへ行く, Kishibe Rohan Gutchi e Iku)	Nov 19, 2013^[1] Feb 19, 2014^[11] Jul 19, 2018^[12] Jan 8, 2015^[13] Apr 6, 2016^[14]
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^[15] Mar 13, 2019^[16] Nov 13, 2019^[17]

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