Hirohiko Araki

Hirohiko Araki (荒木 飛呂彦, Araki Hirohiko) is a mangaka and author of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, on which this wikia project is based.

Biography

 * Hirohiko Araki was born on June 7 1960 in Sendai, Japan.


 * Araki left before graduation from Miyagi University of Education.


 * Araki is best known for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, published in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before the series transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004.


 * Araki's Buso Poker was a "Selected Work" at the Tezuka Award in 1980.


 * In 2012, Araki celebrates his 30th year as a manga artist and the 25th anniversary of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Path to becoming a Manga Artist
The following information was compiled from a lecture Hirohiko Araki gave at Tokai Junior & High School in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, as part of their Saturday Program series, as transcribed/compiled by @JOJO, Japan's premier site for Jojo-related news.

In his youth, Araki lived with his father, an office worker, his mother, a stay-at-home mom, and his two younger identical twin sisters. Growing up, Araki figured he lived in a house without any snacks. In reality, his sisters would often eat all the snacks located in the house before he got home. Even when there were 3 snacks, 1 for each of them, the sisters would usually eat all 3 and then proceed to conceal any traces of evidence.

When his sister's evil doings came to light, a fight would erupt; and this would occur on a daily basis. Araki would often feel such a sense of exclusion and ill-will towards his sisters, that he didn't want to go home at times. He used to find relief in spending time alone in his room, reading classic manga from the 70's and his father's collection of art books, which Araki's assumes was his motive for drawing manga.

Araki drew his very first manga while he was in 4th grade. He attended a prep school through junior high and high school, which is where the first time a friend complimented him on a manga he drew. Araki figured that if his very first fan thought he was good, he might want to become a manga artist. So, he began to secretly draw manga when his parents weren't looking.

He first began submitting his work during his first year of high school; however, all of his submissions were rejected. At the same time, others artists who were around his age continued to make big splashes with their debuts. (Ex: Yudetamago, Masakazu Katsura) Araki could not understand why he was rejected at the time, so he decided to finish off a submission on an all-nighter,  go on a 4-hour trip to pay a visit to the editors in Tokyo, and ask them for an explanation.

At first he intended to visit Shogakukan, which published Shonen Sunday, but he was intimidated by the size of their building, and decided to take his submission into the smaller Shueisha (Publishers of Weekly Shonen Jump) building next door. It was noon when he visited, but one rookie editor (about 6'2", or 185cm, tall) happened to be there, so he showed him his work. The editor, after reading the first page, promptly quipped "your white-out's leaked (You haven't fixe it)": he was criticized every time the editor flipped through each page. Araki, exhausted from having been up all night, felt like he was going to pass out. However, after he was finished, he was told that it might be good, and was immediately told to fix it up for the Tezuka Awards in 5 days. That submission was "Buso Poker", which won the runner up prize at the Tezuka Awards.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
The story in JoJo begins within the deceitful relationship between villain Dio Brando, arriving from a poor and abusive background, and hero Jonathan Joestar, the son of a wealthy and benevolent Lord. Attrition between Jonathan's descendants and Dio's subjects and followers provides the main source of continuity in the series, which between the 19th century and the present day visits England, the U.S., Italy and Japan, most prominently.

The series spans a range of genres including Horror, Action, Adventure, Paranormal romance, Mystery and Thriller. Recurrent themes include Fate, Fortunity , Justice , Redemption , Psychology , and the human utility of Energy , Gravity and Time.

Many references to modern film, television, fashion, popular music and fine art are readily identifiable throughout JoJo in many settings and the characterization and background of the cast. Examples of scientific, mathematical and psychological theory, technology, myths, current events and natural phenomena inform the functions of JoJo's multitude of unique Stand powers.

Morioh, fictional Japanese town and base of Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable and the ongoing Part VIII: Jojolion is likely to represent Araki's own residence(s) and serve the most contemporary topics in JoJo (e.g. the 2011 Tohoku earthquake). Stand-wielding mangaka Rohan Kishibe, introduced in Diamond is Unbreakable and guide in a handful of JoJo spin-offs, seems likely as a self-insert.



Style and Influences
A consistent element of Araki's drawing is a highly dynamic treatment of the picture plane, to which anatomy, angle and range is subject.

In terms of cartooning, a comparison can be drawn between Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency and Stardust Crusaders (1987 - '92) and the masculine physiological ideals described by Tetsuo Hara in Fist of the North Star. Diamond is Unbreakable ('92 - '96) marks a transition to a more intersexual model. Steel Ball Run (2004 - '11) sees greater realism, along with the integration of ideals of beauty consistent with the mode in fashion modeling.

Araki has named Paul Gauguin and his approach and contribution to color theory as a key influence.

Publication
Many of Araki's creations including JoJo's Bizarre Adventure have been translated and released in Europe, but so far only JoJo and Baoh have been released in the U.S., one theory being that Araki's frequent references to Western music, film and others violate U.S. copyright law. Publications by Viz Media replace certain references within the copy of the manga with thematically comparable alternatives. The American localization of Capcom's fighting games based on JoJo follow the same procedure.

Works

 * Buso Poker (1980)
 * Autoto Man (1982)
 * Virginia ni Yohroshiku (1982)
 * Magic Boy B.T. (魔少年ビーティー mashōnen bītī 1982–1983)
 * Baoh (1984–1985)
 * Gorgeous Irene (1985–1986)


 * The Story of the Girl's Mansion (1985)
 * The Girl That Came to the Slums (1986)
 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1987—current)


 * Part I: Phantom Blood (1987-1988)
 * Part II: Battle Tendency (1988-1989)
 * Part III: Stardust Crusaders (1989-1992)
 * Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable (1992-1996)
 * Part V: Vento Aureo (1996-1999)
 * Part VI: Stone Ocean (2000-2003)
 * Part VII: Steel Ball Run (2004-2011)
 * Part VIII: Jojolion (2011-current)
 * JoJo 6251 (1993) (Artbook)
 * Under Execution, Under Jailbreak (Collection) (1999)
 * Under Execution Under Jailbreak (One Shot)
 * Dolce and His Master
 * Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe - Episode 16: At a Confessional
 * Dead Man's Questions
 * JOJO A-GO!GO! (2000) (Artbook)
 * The Lives of Eccentrics (1988-2004)
 * Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe - Mutsukabezaka (2006)
 * Front cover of Cell (scientific journal) (September 7, 2007)
 * Rohan at the Louvre (2010)
 * Rohan Kishibe Goes to Gucci (2011)
 * Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe - Episode 5: Village of Millionaires (2012)