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Tohoku University / Aoyama Gakuin University Lecture by Araki

Lecture Opening Remarks
(Jokingly explains why he accepted the offer even though he isn't good at giving lectures)
Tohoku University version: "As a resident of Morioh, I just can't turn down this request from my hometown Tohoku University."
Aoyama Gakuin University version: "My daughter is taking the entrance exam for this school next year, and I wanted to make sure she won't say, 'My father was the one who got me rejected me last year.'" (audience laughter)

● Childhood Memories
"I was a boy who liked to chase mysteries, wondering why Picasso painted such strange pictures, as well as the mysteries of UFOs and ghosts. My curiosity got the better of me, and at the age of five, while looking at fish in a pond, I slipped and fell on my head, and my parents said I almost died from the fall. When my mother found me, I had sunk to the bottom of the pond so she grabbed my legs and pulled me back up to save my life. When I was a child in Sendai in winter, I used to love to follow the animal tracks on the snow in the morning. One day, while I was chasing after them, I fell into a ditch under the snow. As soon as I fell, I quickly turned around and grabbed the ground, which saved my life, but I was one step away from death. When I got home, they wouldn't let me in because of the smell of my body, so my parents sprayed me with water from a hose even though it was the middle of winter, and I almost died from that (laughs). Ever since that terrible experience, I have become a cautious person. When plasma flat-screen TVs came out, I spent a few years watching other manga artists who immediately jumped on the bandwagon, thinking, "they'll be cheaper and have better performance in a couple of years," and I'm still watching CRTs. (laughs)."

● How to Draw Manga Without Losing Money
"The name of this lecture is a bit crude, but it's called "How to Draw Manga Without Losing Money". In short, if you don't have a basic understanding of how to get your work published in magazines, you won't make it to the big time. In today's world, politicians are so desperate for power and influence that before they know it, they are covered in money from graft, and corporations are so focused on sales figures that they tend to go out of control, destroying the environment while not thinking about the workers. It is the same with manga. If you only pursue manga that sells, you and the publishers will fall into a pit. In order to get people to read your work, you have to sell it, but if you only think about selling it, you will go in the wrong direction. If there is an uncharted mountain and you don't even have a map to the base of the mountain, you don't know where the mountain is. If you have a basic map that takes you to the base of the mountain, you can climb an uncharted mountain and come back if you feel like you're in trouble. If you get into a slump, you can just go back to the base. These kinds of maps are absolutely necessary!"
"Every man needs a map... a map in his heart to ride across the wilderness." (SBR Volume 4)

● About the artwork - The first thing the reader encounters is the artwork
"There are many kinds of artwork, such as classic, cool, fantasy, and realistic, but I think the most important thing is that you can recognize the character from 15 meters away. When I was a rookie, I worked on Ring ni Kakero, Captain Tsubasa, and Fist of the North Star. One Piece (from a distance) is still recognizable these days. I can recognize a Picasso painting even if I've never seen it before, and I can recognize Mickey Mouse just from his silhouette if he draws three circles. Not only classical painters such as Michelangelo, but also Barnett Newman, who has been simply painting colors these days, even if has just painted orange. Ultraman, Spider-Man, Michael Jackson, you can tell at a glance that they are all global superstars. You can tell who Michael is even in the smallest of images. In this way, I believe in the pursuit of a design that can be seen from any angle is what painting is all about. If you are good at drawing, that's all that matters, but if you are not as good, that's not so important."

● About characters - After the artwork, the next thing that jumps out at you are the characters
"A hero is someone who fights alone. A hero is someone who fights alone in the end, even if he has friends. A character who says, "I'm counting on you," is not a hero (laughs). The basic principle of a hero is to fight for others in the shadows, even if the world discards them as a freak. The characters are divided into good and evil, and the evil ones, such as DIO and Kira, are very fun to draw. It relieves stress and makes you feel refreshed (laughs). Even the bad guys have their reasons. Kira just wants to live a quiet life, and I think readers can relate to that. It's fun to think about the minor details of the villains, like how Kira collects fingernails to check his physical condition, or how DIO really likes girls but is okay with guys (laughs). On the other hand, it's difficult to draw the good side of Joestar. Depending on how I depict justice and courage, readers may feel antagonized and say, "Why are they acting like a good kid?" But I have to draw these difficult things in order to make them stand out from the other characters. Just like drawing manga with black ink on white manuscript paper, the characters need to have both black and white to stand out from each other. I think it's vain to draw only evil in a manga. There is a sense of beauty in the world, and we need to do something with that as our goal. If you don't have a protagonist who is committed to justice, goodness, and hope, if you only draw evil, it may be popular for a while and become the talk of the town, but to transcend the times, you need something universal (good). The NG story is a combination of stupidity and idiocy. You can't make a story about forgetting your weapon or cell phone at home. It's obvious that they have them, and readers will be turned off by characters who are so stupid that they run upstairs instead of running outside. It's okay to have flaws like a fear of bugs, though. The main character is definitely someone who is lonely and fights for the sake of the people of the world."

● About the story - The story is a fusion of pictures and characters in motion. There are four points (introduction, development, twist, and conclusion) (see Kishōtenketsu)
"Some manga artists say, "As long as you have characters, the story will come naturally." But without a story, the characters alone will not be enough to make it timeless. The characters need to move on the basis of a solid story.
(1) The protagonist is suddenly thrown into a difficult situation. (2) The protagonist tries to overcome the difficulty. (3) The protagonist tries to overcome the difficulty, but it gets worse and the situation becomes even more desperate. (4) There is a happy ending.
This can be said not only for shonen manga but also for romance stories. The ironclad rule is to make the situation worse and bring a happy ending at the end. For example, the girl you like has a boyfriend, and it turns out that the boyfriend is the main character's brother. Anything like this that is off this model will not be well received. However, knowing this rule, it is good to intentionally deviate from it and present it as a new revision. There is also a happy ending where the main character loses. Even if they lose, they die to save their friends, or to leave something for their descendants, or to die for a noble cause, which is sad, but I think it's also a happy ending. Also, my goal is to draw the reader in on the first page, because if they don't read the first page, they won't go on to the second page (laughs). About the new Rohan story I wrote for Jump SQ... I often get nosebleeds. In spring, I get nosebleeds from sniffing pollen, in summer from heat, in autumn from dryness, and in winter from eating too much chocolate. When I thought it would be scary if it didn't stop, I wrote it down, and it became material for the story."

● About the theme - The overarching theme is everything (the author's philosophy)
"First, the character (protagonist) and the story are connected. The theme that surrounds all of this is the artist's philosophy and view of life. The theme is the artist's philosophy and view of life. In Jojo's words, it is a "hymn to humanity"! What you should never do is to lecture your readers. If you preach, the reader will think, "I don't want to be told by you. The theme should be in the background, portrayed through the character's actions, or in the last line of the story. When I judge new writers, there are many who just tell the theme, and those don't get approved. It's not smart to have a protagonist who is fighting while saying, "I'm going to do something!" I think the basic principle of creation is to hide the theme in the background."

Q&A Section （学生）ジョジョの奇妙な冒険、連載20周年おめでとうございます。

（先生）ありがとうございます。

（学）20周年を迎えられてどんな感慨をもたれましたか。

（先生）若い芸人さんやミュージシャンの方が盛り上げて下さるんで有難いなぁと。20年やってきたのに何も言われないのは寂しい じゃないですか。

（学）連載を振り返ってみて印象に残っていることは？

（先生）色々ありますが、スタンドを初めて描いた時、周囲の皆から「読んだ人は分からないよ」と言われて、人気も全然出なくて、 その時に一人の編集者だけが味方をしてくれて、それで勇気づけられて描いたことですね。

（学）スティール・ボール・ランではジャイロがスタンドではなく鉄球を使っていますね。

（先生）あれは波紋とダブらせてるんですよね。ツェペリの血統だし（笑）。

（学）連載が週刊から月刊に変わったことで何が大きく変わりましたか。

（先生）週刊だと月に80枚描かねばならず40歳を超えるとすごく体力的に辛いんですよ。それに月刊はページ数の制約が週刊より 自由なので描きたいことが表現しやすいです。

（学）制作に行き詰まることはありますか。

（先生）腰が痛くて行き詰まることがあります（笑）。生活の中で常に謎を意識していればアイデアは湧きますね。画家（ゴーギャン）が タヒチまで行って絵を描くのも謎だし、いろんな謎からアイデアは出てきます。

（学）スタンドを考える時は、アーティストとの名前から能力を連想するのですか？それとも能力にあった名前を後から探すのですか？

（先生）アイデアにマッチしたものを探してきて、怒られないような範囲で付けてます。（場内爆笑）

（学）一番好きなスタンドはなんですか。

（先生）重ちーのハーヴェスト。あの頃僕はＣＤのクーポン券とか集めてて、ベッドの下とかに落とすと“ハーヴェスト便利だろうなぁ”って（笑）。

（Ｋ）４部といえばどうして間田や玉美は最初身長が高かったのに小さくなったのですか。 （鬼）あれ、最後は60ｃｍくらいじゃないですか？康一君は55ｃｍくらいで。

（先生）デザイン上の理由っす（笑）。週刊だから直せないんですよ。月刊なら直せるんですが。 ※これについては後の会話で「あれは康一君の心理が反映されていて、最初は玉美が怖くて大きく見えたんです」とも。

（学）杜王町の名所はモデルがあるのですか。たとえばアンジェロ岩とか。

（先生）そうですね。アンジェロ岩は松島のナントカ岩からとってるんですよ。

（学）これまでにイタリアやアメリカが舞台になりましたが、今後の舞台にしたい土地とかありますか。

（先生）やっぱ杜王町に帰ってきたいですね。露伴の読み切りを描いた時に、故郷に戻ってきた気がした。また描きたいです。

（学）今までに体験された奇妙なことを教えて下さい。

（先生）つい最近なんだけど、スポーツジムでシャワーを浴びてたら、あるオジサンに尻尾が生えてたんですよ。ビックリしてその事を ジムの人に報告したら“この人頭おかしいんじゃないか”という目で見られました（笑）。

（Ｋ）それってDioの恐竜化みたいですね（笑）。

（先生）あと、家の近所で猫が車にひかれたんですが、その猫はパッと立ってタタタタって走っていったんですよ。“アイツ、不死身だなぁ”って 感心したので、漫画家の迫先生に“スゴイ猫がいるんですよ！”って話をしたら「先生それね、死んでるのに気付かないんですよ」って。 でも次の日もいましたからね、そいつ。絶対あの猫は不死身なんですよ（笑）

（K）ノトーリアスBIG…。

（学）そのうち草と合体していたりして…。

（先生）本当に見たんですから、言っておくけど！（場内爆笑）

（学）ジョジョという作品のバックボーンにあるものは何ですか。

（先生）ズバリ、血統ですね。

（K）先生、アブドゥルの血統に厳しくないですか？

（先生）アブドゥルねぇ～。（場内爆笑）

（学）拝見してるとお三方はとても親しいようですけど、知り合ったのはどういうきっかけなんですか。やはりジョジョ立ちですか。

（先生）一昨年くらいに、噂でスゴイのがあるって聞いてパソコンで見せてもらって、大阪城の前でやってるのが、なんかこう、地球（アース）アート みたいな感じで、それに新興宗教みたいな感じもして（場内爆笑）、今までにない異世界というか、新しい芸術として僕は感じていて、 パーティーの時とかにこうやって来てもらってるんですよ。

（学）一番愛着のあるキャラクターは？

（先生）東方仗助です。承太郎までは神話的な憧れの人物だったけど、仗助は友達を描いている気がして、億泰と仗助が喋ってる 場面は描いててもすごく楽しかった。

（学）仙台に帰ると必ず立ち寄るところはあるんですか。

（先生）牛タン屋には必ず行きます。僕が住んでた頃は牛タンは名物じゃなかったのに、いつのまにか誰かが名物にしていて（笑）。

（学）ジョジョに影響を受けている若手マンガ家とかはどう思われますか。

（先生）真似されるのは光栄なので、どんどん真似して漫画界を発展させていって欲しいですね。

（学）先生から見て後継者的な方はいるのですか。

（先生）後継者は大亜門かなぁ。（場内爆笑）

（学）ネタはアリですか（笑）。

（先生）大亜門はしょっちゅう謝りに来てるんで。（再び爆笑）

（鬼）僕は全巻持ってます（笑）。

（学）逆に影響を受けた先輩のマンガ家はどなたですか。

（先生）先輩全員から影響を受けていますが、中でも『バビル２世』の横山光輝先生は感情を排した表現がすごいなと。『バビル２世』 はサスペンスだけをひたすら描いて、感情とかはあまり描かないんですよ。あと、『巨人の星』の梶原一騎先生からはセリフの言い回しの 影響を受けてます。「～だ！」と言い切る感じは梶原一騎なんですよ。

（学）“圧迫祭り”にはビックリしたのですが、あれはどこから出てきたんですか。（笑）

（先生）ウチの奥さんがよく突撃してきて「圧迫祭りだ、圧迫祭りだ」って言うんですよ。（場内爆笑）

（Ｋ）ジャイロの“モツァレラチーズの歌”も楽しかったです。（笑）

（先生）暗い話が続くと緩急が必要で、読者をリラックスさせておいてから恐怖に突き落としてやれみたいな（笑）。

（学）“４・２・０”（シツレイ）のギャグも楽しかったです。

（先生）ああいう会話が大事。仗助と億泰との関係もそうだけど、何気ない会話で読者に仲の良さを伝えたいんです。この２人は 絶対に裏切ったりしないんだなっていう。

（学）今後、恋愛モノとかそういう変わったものを描いてみようとかありますか。

（先生）ジョジョの中で恋愛させるのはできるけど、２人が出会うシーンは特殊な状況で、爪が剥がれたりするんでしょうね（笑）。

（学）最後に会場の若い学生たちに一言お願いします。

（先生）大学生はこれから社会に出て行くわけじゃないですか。基本地図を知ってて外れるのは戻ってこれるからいいんですけど、 知らないで外れると暴走するんじゃないかと、今日はそのことをマンガを通して言いたかったんです。