Interview:Popcult Japan (June 2022)
An interview with Hirohiko Araki from the documentary Popcult Japan by German public TV channel MDR Fernsehen. The was posted on June 2, 2022 and aired on June 16, 2022.[1]
Interview
Manga and anime are inseparably connected with the cultural living of japan. The beginnings of the comic art go back to the 8th century. Since WW2 the industry is booming, the selection of stories grows bigger, more and more niches find their place. Soon, there will be nothing that doesn't already exist. Manga for boys, manga for girls, manga for art enthusiasts, for sport fans, even for gourmets. Their artists, called mangaka in japan, get praised like superstars. Yet they often live isolated, work behind closed doors on their masterpieces.
A: “In the end its always about the character. I think that a good character who captivates everyone, if that may be a main character or a side character, creates the base requirement for a good manga. And then there’s the world in which these characters move around. How an author creates this world and if he succeeds in making it unique, essentially determines the quality of their story.”
In a small atelier in tokyo one of these superstars grants us insight into his work. 1986 Hirohiko Araki starts a series that nowadays is one of the most sold manga in the world: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. So far 131 volumes have been released in japan.
C: “Oh my god it’s really you! What an honor, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cathy Cat”
A: “Hello, the pleasure is all mine”
C: “So this is the master’s workplace”
A: (chuckles) “Yes, this is my office. I usually work over here.”
(they walk over to his desk)
C: “So this is where you work on your stories?”
A: “Yes that is correct, this is the only spot where I work at. Over there are my assistants and a few other things”
C: “Oh and these are your drawings”
A: “Yes, go ahead, take a look at them”
C: “Wow, I’m thrilled”
A: “I’m currently working on my newest idea, of course I can’t say anything about the contents”
The story begins with the bitter feud between Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando. The hateful Dio managed to get a hold of a mysterious mask, which bestows supernatural powers on him. Arakis manga is brutal, over the top and extremely entertaining.
A: “I wanted to create a shonen manga, so a manga for boys, which main topic was supposed to be a horror story. The typical shonen at that time were Dragon Ball, City Hunter and Fist of the North Star. The topics were widely spread, although most of them were already taken. So if I wanted to publish a soccer manga, because I really liked it back then, I wasn’t able to because it already existed. The publisher said no. So I had to choose a topic that wasn’t taken at the time and since I was a fan of horror movies, I made a horror story. Unfortunately they then told me you can’t write a horror story for a shonen. I ended up doing it anyways.”
Shortly after JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure gets published in the Shonen Jump magazine. One of the big magazines in which shonen manga get published on a weekly basis. Almost every big manga starts here. For Araki, 20 years old at the time, this is the final confirmation for his talent. Since his youth he aspires to be a pro, sending in his first drawings as a student to the publishers.
A: “I was supposed to study for school, so I was secretly drawing and hid my drawings under my school books. Unlike today, many parents thought that reading too many manga makes one stupid; and if you listened to rock music as well you’d become a criminal sooner or later. Mangaka wasn’t a job to my parents, so I kept working in secret and hoped they would accept it once I made a breakthrough.”
However the life of a mangaka isn’t very glamorous most of the time, merciless deadlines, massive pressure and extreme work hours; in an industry that requires creativity on the production line. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure turns into a hit, even beyond the borders of japan. 120 million copies have been sold until now. The artwork, enduring generations, has even made it into the Louvre. 2012 the series receives an elaborate anime adaptation, making Araki especially popular abroad.
A: “The energy of a good picture can be seen at first glance, if a japanese person looks at a painting from europe, he is moved by it. The same thing happens with japanese paintings, people on the whole world can understand it. They are universal. I think this is the beauty of drawing manga.”
[Translated by B1ackZer0]
