Rohan Kishibe ★ TSKR History
A detailed chronological summary of the life of Rohan Kishibe in the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan series.
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
At a Confessional
The mangaka heard a horror story from a mysterious sinner confession. As he is visiting Italy, Rohan decides to research the churches, especially for their architecture and spiritual background. He walks into a confession booth to research the interior, but mistakenly walks into the side reserved for the priest. Shortly after, a man walks into the other side of the booth and confesses his sin to Rohan, believing him to be the priest. Rohan hears his confession anyway, interested in getting information out of the man's horror story. The man tells he has been cursed by the spirit of a beggar he had been responsible for the death, who would come to take him at his happiest moment. After telling the story, where the man continues to explain his sins and why he was still alive after apparently killed by the spirit, it is revealed that he had found a servant who was willing to do anything for him, and used plastic surgery to alter both his and the servant's appearances, thereby fooling the beggar into dogging the servant instead. The spirits of the beggar and the beheaded servant then dog the man, and both vow to watch him around the clock to make sure that he does not do anything suspicious again. Rohan watches on with curiosity, deciding to interview him later if given the chance, as he didn't know what happened to the man after that.
In the OVA adaptation, some context in given to Rohan's narration. He is reminded of the confessor's story because Koichi Hirose asks him to make him able to speak Italian. Rohan then narrates the story. In the meantime, other characters such as Okuyasu Nijimura and Yukako Yamagishi have sat on the table and comment on the story.
Mutsu-kabe Hill
In order to research a Yokai legend for his manga, Rohan buys six mountains to prevent a corporation from building a resort road in that area.
After meeting Naoko Osato on the mountains, Rohan uses Heaven's Door on her and discovers the story of her accidental murder of Gunpei Kamafusa, a gardener whose body never stopped bleeding and whom Naoko has been obliged to take care of since then. Suspecting him to be a yokai, Rohan investigates the region around Naoko's house until he comes across a young girl. The girl tells Rohan she's not allowed to talk to strangers and runs away, and when Rohan tries to catch her, the girl falls and hits her head on a rock, bleeding just like Gunpei. Rohan realizes this girl is actually Naoko's daughter with Gunpei. Surprised the man who became a corpse was able to impregnate Naoko despite being dead, Rohan soon realizes the girl is a yokai trying to possess him. He uses Heaven's Door and notices the girl's memories is starting to fade away because she is dying, so he quickly writes one last memory: "I don't know Rohan Kishibe. Even if I meet him, I won't see him". When the girl comes back she briefly shows her true form to Rohan but leaves after not seeing him. Saved, Rohan names the creature the Mutsu-kabe Hill Yokai, and declares his research complete.
Rohan then meets with his editor Minoru Kaigamori and asks for an advance on his manuscript fees due to being bankrupt. The value of the land he bought became worthless since the plans for construction stopped. He has to live at Koichi's house and even had to sell all of his Sailor Moon merchandise, Led Zeppelin record sleeves and his Rurouni Kenshin volumes. His only remaining asset is a Nicolas de Staël artbook. His editor thinks he's crazy until Rohan explains what he discovered on his adventure.
In the OVA adaptation, when Rohan meets Naoko Osato's daughter in the mountains, the mangaka is accompanied by Batsudera, a real estate agent trying to convince Rohan to sell his land. While Batsudera is occupied, Rohan encounters Naoko's daughter and Batsudera's imminent return as the young girl seemingly lays dead in front of Rohan makes his predicament all the more tense.
As Rohan tells his story, a number of characters such as Okuyasu Nijimura, Koichi Hirose or Mikitaka Hazekura have snuck in and listened to the story.
Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci
Rohan, accompanied by an interpreter, goes to a Gucci factory to investigate about his grandmother's treasured bag, that has the strange ability to vanish valuable things. He is informed by the leather goods artisan in charge that it is one of three bags created by a genius artisan from Gucci. Rohan asks for the bag to be fixed, even though the artisan tells him he doesn't understand the bag's true purpose. The interpreter gets Rohan drunk and steals all his valuable things, except for the bag, leaving him wandering alone. Fortunately, he finds an umbrella and a firelighter to shield himself from the rain. Rohan finds a hotel but is unable to pay for any room. It is then that a man shows interest in Rohan's recently found umbrella, offering the exact value of the bills Rohan made the bag vanish for it. Rohan then comes to the conclusion that the bag had a Stand bound to it, with the ability to take away valuable items but giving back their equivalent during misfortune, but laments that he had the bag fixed and now can't make use of the Stand anymore.
Millionaire Village
Rohan and a manga editor by the name of Kyoka Izumi go to investigate a hidden village located in the mountains for his new one-shot at her suggestion. Initially believing it to be related to the mountains he previously bought, Rohan agrees after Izumi tells him how every resident in there became rich at the age of 25. Izumi plans to buy a house in there, as she now is 25 too. They are greeted by the butler Ikkyu, who tests them about good manners. After Izumi fails the test, Rohan discovers that a bird he found earlier had died, while Izumi's mother and fiancee died in a car crash. Rohan becomes suspicious and uses Heaven's Door on Ikkyu to discover the mystery behind the village and trick Ikkyu to break a rule by writing on him.
The village was under a curse that gave things to anyone who showed good manners, while those who didn't lose things. Ikkyu claims that this time Rohan broke a rule, as he hadn't given permission to be turned into a book, and Izumi starts to have a heart attack. Rohan begs for another test to save Izumi and is successful in it, all the while making Ikkyu break a rule (as he wrote earlier). Ikkyu says Rohan cheated and asks for another test, but Rohan denies it and carries Izumi away from the village. He notices the bird also returned to good health.
Poaching Seashore
At Tonio Trussardi's trattoria, Rohan eats an abalone risotto to heal his eye strain. Although they temporarily shrivel, the eyes soon return to full health and the mangaka compliments the chef, also spotting a wheel-chair bound woman in a corner of the restaurant.
Thankful, Tonio asks Rohan for a favor, to help him harvest some disk abalones, a unique type of abalone only found near Morioh. Researching them, Rohan notably learns that they're a traditional delicacy, are preys to octopi, and more importantly that they're invaluable so Rohan guesses that Tonio is asking him to go poaching. Tonio has done his own research and explains that despite the security surrounding their breeding area, there are a precise path and night known since times immemorial during which the duo will be able to harvest the abalone which will be freely swimming in the water.
On this night, Rohan and Tonio sneak toward the poaching reef. Rohan inquires about the woman, leading Tonio to tearfully reveal that he seeks the abalone to cure his girlfriend's disease. Waist-deep into the water, the duo see the spectacle of the swarm of swimming abalones. In joy, Rohan is momentarily distracted and notices that Tonio has sunken at the bottom of the sea: the abalones have stuck onto his body, weighting him down. Tonio is drowning, and Rohan decides to use Tonio's rope on the surface to pull him to safety. While he tries to save the Italian, several abalones also begin to stick themselves onto him. Unable to break their shell, push himself up from the bottom, and only getting more abalone stuck on him, Rohan helplessly sinks. At the bottom, Rohan sees several skeletons and understands that the fabled path and full moon are traps to punish unsuspecting poachers. Thankfully, several octopi are near, and Rohan uses Heaven's Door to command them to target the abalones on him and Tonio, saving the day.
Later, Rohan savors an octopus dish with Okuyasu, Koichi, and Josuke, discussing about octopi. Rohan tries to shout for Tonio, asking for an abalone dish, but seeing Tonio with his cured girlfriend, decides to leave them be.
A Rainy Monday
Rohan sits in a restaurant, using Heaven's Door on a chicken drumstick to examine how safe the chicken is to eat. Talking about miscellaneous subjects including environmental change, Rohan uses a perspective trick to make it appear he's slammed the drumstick inside his smartphone. He then begins telling the story.
It is heavily raining when Rohan reaches a train station. Having a meeting in S-City Rohan decides to use the train. Strangely, people distracted by their smartphones keep bumping on Rohan. In fact the whole train station is on their phones, distractedly walking around. Eventually, he preemptively shouts at a tall, obese man who nearly walks into him. The man on his phone suddenly takes notice of Rohan, and apologizes profusely. Before Rohan can lecture his interlocutor any further, a woman with a stroller - also on her phone - pushes Rohan into the train tracks. The woman screams in horror as trains are arriving from both sides of the station, but Rohan has ample time to save himself. As the obese man tries to reach for Rohan to lift him back to safety, Rohan is highly suspicious. Thinking he's under attack from someone, the mangaka hesitates to grab the man's hand. Unfortunately, the obese man is accidentally pushed into the train tracks too as the trains approach. Using Heaven's Door, Rohan manages to push himself between the train tracks and transforms the man into a book, managing to fit themselves between both passing trains. He also reads his story and only learn that he's a victim like him: something is currently attacking them, but Rohan has no idea who and the duo are suspicious of everyone.
Events conspire to have the obese man overwhelmed by a crowd of people falling into the train tracks. Rohan then witnesses something peculiar. A swarm of strange robotic-like insect all crawl out of the crowd's smartphone, even Rohan's, who realizes he also had been led into the obese man. It is explained that these creatures are a new species of insects soon to be announced by scientists a few years later as Coire electricus lorenzinia (コーイレ・エリクトリカス・ロレンチーニャ Kōire Erikutorikasu Rorenchīnya). Feeding off electromagnetic waves, the insect can control people to prey on the weak. The insects crawl over the obese man's heart. Rohan regrets not being able to save him, as he already had a heart disease and was about to die. The insects seemingly inflict a killing blow, harvesting his bioelectricity. As for the incoming trains, Rohan had commanded a train staffer to use a truck to force the trains to stop, saving the whole crowd. Out of the station, Rohan cancels his meeting but has an idea for a new manuscript.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid
Rohan Kishibe sits in a café along with Yukako Yamagishi and the same woman introduced earlier. She introduces herself as Mai Katahira then reveals a girl playing in a nearby playground is her daughter Mao. Just as she became newly-wed, her husband died away and Mai could not fall in love with anyone else. However, she went to a sperm bank to become pregnant with Mao. Mai then details all the bizarre behavior and physical characteristics of her daughter. She only speaks in reverse, does not make a noise when she walks, and somehow wets everything she walks into. Mao's appearance behind Rohan allows Mai to describe her child further: the young girl has no eyebrows nor eyelashes above her eyes, yet has long eyelashes below and has sideburns; finally she has grown a tail which when touched, makes Mao camouflage herself into her surroundings. Mai demonstrates Mao's power, to Rohan's astonishment. The mangaka uses Heaven's Door on Mao but finds that there is nothing inherently wrong with her. Although Yukako pleads Rohan to cure her, he retorts that there is nothing to cure and takes his leave, telling Mai to assume her choices.
Later, Yukako crosses paths with Rohan, and reveals to him that Mai has married Obanazawa three months after their meeting, which Yukako guesses was a ploy by Mao. She smirks at Rohan's surprise and leaves satisfied.
The Run
Rohan Kishibe appears, his right hand in a splint. Listing his injuries, Rohan regrets his foolish actions in a recent incident. These events are Episode 9: The Run.
At the gym, Rohan and aspiring model and athlete Yoma Hashimoto were running side by side on two treadmills which were connected to the same remote, sitting on a small table between them. The treadmills had a setting on which they would gradually accelerate up to 25kmph and the two would try to grab the remote first once at maximum speed. Remembering his last humiliating loss, Yoma tried to ignore Rohan who made the mistake of teasing him about his work, and thus he accepted the challenge, taking off his sweatshirt to reveal his new ripped body. Losing confidence, Rohan was amazed at the tremendous progress of his rival and noticed subtle wing-shaped muscles, from Yoma's legs to his back.
Wanting their game had to be "fair", Yoma grabbed a dumbbell and broke the window behind them with it. The loser would inevitably trip and thus propelled to a certain death by the treadmills. Panicking as they approached the 25kmph, Rohan tried to preemptively grab the remote, but Yoma intercepted him and broke three of his fingers. At this same moment, Rohan managed to use Heaven's Door and discovered that his obsession with fitness led him to kill his entourage for "interfering with his training". At 25kmph, Rohan was inevitably bested, but Yoma, claiming his victory, noticed too late the scribbling on his hand. Rohan used his Stand to make him use the remote on his treadmill instead. Yoma was flung out of the window while Rohan's treadmill stopped. They were at the 8th floor of the Morioh Grand Hotel.
Rohan has guessed that Yoma had become the avatar of the god of muscle: Hermes. In angering such a being, Rohan has learned that he'd crossed a red line. Hoping to not have invoked Yoma's wrath, all Rohan is worried about was to run from the spot he stood from.
TV Drama
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