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 (1999-2001)
In 1999, following Rohan's humiliating defeat against Josuke Higashikata, he decided to put Pink Dark Boy on hiatus for the summer and travel to Italy in order to search for ideas on his manga. As he is visiting Venice, 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 is given to Rohan's narration. He is reminded of the confessor's story because Koichi Hirose asked him to make him able to speak Italian to prepare for a trip to Italy, as depicted in Vento Aureo. Rohan then narrates the story. In the meantime, other characters such as Okuyasu Nijimura and Yukako Yamagishi have sat on the table and commented on the story.
Mutsu-kabe Hill (2006)
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, Koichi and 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 his grandmother's treasured Gucci 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 (2006)
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 upon 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
At the gym in the Morioh Grand Hotel, 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 against Rohan, 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.
Hot Summer Martha (2021-22)
The story begins on July 7, 2021. Rohan Kishibe is living through the lockdown imposed in Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He's adopted a puppy named Bakin and is working on a one-shot titled "Hot Summer Martha". At the beginning of the story, Rohan is arguing with his current editor Kyoka Izumi about the design of the titular character, because Izumi fears that they may be sued over Hot Summer Martha's three circles design while Rohan argues that he's been inspired by older sources anyway. Rohan also rebukes a woman who claims to be his fan and who's been trespassing on his property.
Frustrated, Rohan goes on a walk to calm himself. In the temple ground of Morioh, Rohan finds a peculiar old yew tree and uncovers a hidden cavity on which there is a shrine. Curious, Rohan observes the shrine then goes back home.
To his dismay Rohan discovers that three months have passed in the blink of an eye. Worse, Rohan notices that Hot Summer Martha's design has been changed. He calls Kyoka and argues with her but she says that a designer was involved and that Rohan approved the renewed design. Besides, the one-shot has already been published. Rohan also discovers that the fan from earlier (named "Eve") is now living in his home. Looking at footage from the security camera, Rohan discovers that someone with his appearance seems to have taken his place.
Rohan rushes back to the yew tree and talks with two monks who manage the area. The monks explain to him that Rohan uncovered a cursed mirror. Anyone who is reflected into the mirror with be replaced by the "Yabubako-Hoshi" for three months, the creature then committing mischief in the meantime. Rohan wishes to undo the design change on "Hot Summer Martha" and thus the monks tell him to rotate the shrine without getting reflected. Rohan figures that using his Stand Heaven's Door will be enough.
Unfortunately, Rohan loses another three months. He goes back home only to find Bakin all grown up and seriously mistreated. Rohan also finds and unconscious Kyoka in his closet. Eve sneaks on Rohan and injects sedative in his neck, stunning him. Now pregnant, Eve is paranoid about Kyoka and wants to be with him forever, and explains that she'll kill Kyoka and make him an accomplice. Immobilized, Rohan manages to goad Eve into looking at his history to "check if he was cheating on Eve" and thus is able to command Eve to go rotate the mirror for him. All the bad deeds of the Yabubako-Hoshi are undone. Bakin is now a healthy and well-behaved dog and Kyoka is unharmed. However, Rohan discovers that Hot Summer Martha's design hasn't changed and realizes that it is Kyoka who changed the design.
Drip Painting Style
Rohan is working on Pink Dark Boy in his office as Bakin watches. Kyoka arrives and is impressed to see his drip painting style but points out that the way Rohan is doing it isn't improvised or random since he's precisely aiming the drops of ink. She offers Rohan café au lait and then pretends to spill some on his manuscript, before laughing that she's just kidding. However, she notices that Rohan is crying. Confused, Kyoka mentions that she thought the story he's working on has a happy ending. Rohan starts describing "Episode 11". It's a story that tells of the time Rohan was invited to interview at the home of a "decent person" with a certain background. Although he usually draws manga with the intention of providing hope to his readers, there isn't a single positive thing in this story. He then reminisces this dreadful episode.
Rohan was invited to a certain environmental activist's house who advocated for a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Rohan somehow learns about the activist's plan to blow up a power plant and rushes to the power plant in his SUV as fast he can. He spots the Eco-terrorist slipping inside of a woman's car and starts tailgating her. The woman, named Mitsuki Murase, is afraid by Rohan's behavior and starts screaming. To stop her, Rohan throws the fire extinguisher at her windshield, causing it to crack. However, she continues driving ahead past Rohan's car, breaking his car's right headlight. Rohan continues pursuing her as Mitsuki laments that she needs to pick her daughter up. She exasperatedly yells at Rohan that she'll be the one to kill him rather than the other way around. Rohan finally catches up to be beside her car and yells at her to open the window. He exclaims that she has to pull over because there's a man that climbed into the backseat of her car and is currently behind her.
As soon as Rohan shouts, the man behind her places his hands around Mitsuki's face and snaps her neck. Both cars crash into the guardrail. Rohan manages to crawl out, bleeding from his head, nose, and mouth. He's on the phone with the police and asks why they aren't there yet. He informs them about the murder and that this guy is too much for him to handle alone; they'll need to block the roads and bring all the riot police that they can get in order to stop him. Looking at Mitsuki's upside down car, Rohan wonders why he got himself involved in this.
The man crawls out of Mitsuki's car and climbs on top of it, eerily noting Rohan's recent adoption of Bakin. He remarks that Rohan will probably be able to make 15 to 20 years' worth of happy memories with the dog, but that they will soon become painful to remember due to the effects of climate change. He cites a 2018 prediction from the IPCC about the Earth's average temperature rising towards a point of no return at an alarming rate. He uses this as evidence that Bakin won't be able to have the happy life his owner wishes for him.
The eco-terrorist continues his speech, going into details about his past. 12 years prior, he joined an environmental organization dedicated to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but their leader was paid off by a big company that planned to invest in the deforestation of tropical rainforests. In spite of that, the man tried continuing his work but was arrested several times by security officials, had people trying to kill him, lost his job, and his family abandoned him. Now sick of everything, the man reveals his goal of blowing himself up at the nearby power plant. He is wearing 40kg of ANFO explosives along with nails and screws, and also carrying hydrogen fuel tanks and liquid oxidizers under his coat and in his backpack. All of these are wired to switches strapped to both of his palms.
Rohan retorts that the man needs therapy and wonders why he invited Rohan to his house since Rohan is just a manga artist and not a journalist. The eco-terrorist claims that TV reporters would distort the truth and spread fake news about what happened, but Rohan could depict the truth in his manga using what he's about to see now. He lured Rohan all the way to this specific spot to keep him safe, and he just happened to kill that woman because she was driving nearby. Hearing the police sirens approaching, the man starts making his move. Rohan cries for him to stop and go do his plan somewhere else since Morioh is his birth town. Rohan looks around and notices the nearby burs on the ground. He's thankful that Mitsuki's car is outdated and powered by gasoline, wondering if it's just a stroke of irony or the whim of the mountain gods. Summoning Heaven's Door, Rohan writes on the burs to shrivel up until they're hollow, then suck up fumes from the exhaust pipe of Mitsuki's car, and finally stick to the eco-terrorist's clothes. After the burs do so, the man falls unconscious due to the carbon monoxide released from all of them.
Back in the present, Rohan asks Kyoka what she's doing. She had just warmed up pasta in the microwave and asks Rohan if he wants some. Rohan angrily points out that he has never permitted food in his workroom but Kyoka's tomato sauce dripped onto his manuscript and made two orange dots. Angered, Rohan yells at her and tells her to get out.
TV Drama
Rohan Kishibe's story is sensibly different to the original spin-offs in the TV Drama adaptation, as the drama cuts any tie to the original series and thus any mention of Stands, Morioh and any character from the "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" franchise is omitted, barring one exception.
In the TV Drama, Rohan Kishibe is once again a famous mangaka whose series Pink Dark Boy is a huge success among children, although he now works for a Shueisha knock-off named "Shumeisha". At the beginning of the series, Rohan meets his new editor Kyoka Izumi with whom he will share several adventures.
Kyoka persuades Rohan to go to a village of millionaires situated in the middle of the mountains, something which interests Rohan due to the many mysteries surrounding it. Rohan does some research on the village and notes that it used to be considered sacred grounds. He and Kyoka are informed that breaking etiquette is forbidden in the village. In there, Kyoka tries to buy a villa from one of the inhabitants, represented by the young bulter Ikkyu, but she breaks etiquette and she learns through the phone that her boyfriend and dog have been involved in an accident. Rohan turns Kyoka into a book before she can commit any further breach and then turns Ikkyu into a book to learn what is up with the village. He learns with worry that the village is under the rule of gods in the mountains who punish anyone who breaches etiquette by taking something precious to the offendant. Rohan suddenly loses the use of his arm. To gain it back, Rohan must find the proper way to eat maize. Thankfully, he knows how to eat the maize properly and also tricks Ikkyu into breaching etiquette. Thus, Rohan also saves Kyoka's loved ones. Rohan decides to withdraw using anything about the village so that his readers won't be attracted to it.
Later, Rohan meets Jugo Shishi, a fellow mangaka from the same company. The events unfold almost exactly like in the original "Kushagara" short story. Kyoka is a partial witness to Rohan's encounter with the strange creature possessing Jugo Shishi and learns that he has some powers, which Rohan hastily justifies as being knowledge in hypnotherapy.
Some time after, Kyoka asks Rohan to use his "hypnotherapy" to cure Taro Hirai, Kyoka's boyfriend, from his mental afflictions. By accident, Rohan and Kyoka meet with Taro, but also Mai Katahira and her daughter Mao at the same time. The young Mao catches Rohan's interest notably because of her peculiar purple and green eyes and also because he notes that Mao was somehow interested in Taro. Rohan asks if Taro and Mai could be acquainted, which Kyoka denies. He decides to personally seek Mao and by examines her with Mai's permission. However, Rohan doesn't notice anything actually unusual in Mao. Mao disappears and finds Taro in a park. Rohan turns everybody into a book and discovers that Taro is linked to Mao because he's been grafted with the organs of Mao's late biological father. Taro forms a happy family with Mai and Mao.
In season 2, Rohan meets a fledgling model Yoma Hashimoto at the gym. He develops a rivalry with Yoma and they begin to play a game whereby both run on adjacent treadmills and try to reach the treadmill's maximum speed first, after which they try to grab a remote controller sitting between them which allows them to stop the treadmill. Rohan wins the first round. Later at night, Yoma finds Rohan at the gym and challenges him again. Rohan realizes that Yoma has become a murderer obsessed with running and must play along, pushed by his curiosity. Rohan turns Yoma into a book and sees that he's been possessed by a yokai. He thus must play the same game with Yoma but with the treadmills turned away from the window. Although Rohan loses, he's thankfully used Heaven's Door to command Yoma to stop his treadmill. Rohan manages to stop while Yoma slips out of the building. Rohan has nonetheless read the word "Mutsukabezaka" on Yoma and decides to investigate it. He buys a whole mountain range in order to investigate the area, bankrupting himself in the process.
While Kyoka tries to do research on yokais and other phenomenons, Rohan meets Masazo Kinoto, a corporate executive from a company who wants to persuade Rohan to sell the mountain range to them. Kinoto, however, hides his back from view, which makes Rohan curious. Rohan tricks Kinoto and watches the man's back, but then Kinoto dies on the spot. Later, Rohan finds out that he's been possessed by a yokai which will kill him if anyone sees his back. With great difficulty, Rohan manages to reach an alley connected to the underworld and the yokai is taken away by spirits.
Rohan has discovered that Yoma used to run into the mountains and that Kinoto got possessed when he got lost in the same area and thus Rohan goes to the Mutsukabe village to investigate. In there, he meets with Naoko Osato, the housewife of a rich local family. Naoko asks for an autograph for her son, and Rohan uses the opportunity to turn her into a book then reads her story. He thus learns that Naoko hides the corpse of her former boyfriend Gunpei Kamafusa in her attic and that the corpse is well preserved. Rohan realizes where the spot connecting the world to the "other world" is and goes to a forgotten path behind the Osato's mansion. In there, he meets Naoko's daughter and is almost trapped when it seems that the girl accidentally dies in front of him, but he writes on her and commands her to ignore Rohan. The girl leaves with her mother and Rohan sees that he's escaped from being enthralled to the yokai possessing Naoko Osato's daughter.
Back at Rohan's house, Kyoka happily announces that the editor have accepted to pay Rohan in advance and that he can buy his house back. When she mentions that the name Mutsukabe has the kanji for "six" in it, Kyoka wonders of there could be actually six of those yokais in the mountains. Rohan concurs but deems that his research is complete. He prefers not to bother the yokais in the mountain anymore. He announces that he's not got enough material for a 5 chapter mini-series and wants to go to work immediately.
