Landmark franchiseJoJo’s Bizarre Adventurehas spawned a number of memes, but creatorHirohiko Arakihas shown that one of its most ubiquitous criticisms misses the point of the series entirely. Withthe wildly influential shonen-redefining seriesnow spanning nine parts across four decades, there’s no question thatsome degree of inconsistency is inevitable (and even warranted). One dominant cliché,“Araki forgot”, is frequently deployed to undermine or otherwise explain away seeming inconsistencies inJojo’s narrative.
“Araki forgot” even finds itselfconstantly used by mega-fans, as a symbol of an allegiance to the franchise despite perceived inconsistency. Although a lot of the usage of “Araki forgot” is tongue-in-cheek, Hirohiko Araki published a book in 2017 calledManga in Theory and Practicethat demonstrates his storytelling to be far more thoughtful than even longtime fans usually realize. The book shows that even in the cases where “Araki forgot” something, there’s usually a good reason behind it—and the way it explains Araki’s approach toJoJo’s Bizarre Adventureis sure to fascinate the franchise’s fans.
JoJo’s Storytelling Puts Araki’s Basic Principles First
Araki Has A Few Basic Ideas He Always Prioritizes InJoJo
InManga in Theory and Practice, Hirohiko Araki outlines two basic principles that he uses in everything he writes. The first is what he calls the “four fundamentals of manga structure”, and the second is a storytelling throughline he calls “ki-shou-ten-ketsu”. Araki also makes a point of how, for a manga to be good while violating these rules,the writer has to at least be aware of them.
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The four fundamentals of manga structure arecharacters,story,setting,and themes. For Araki, a good story has to make developing these factors a significant priority. Araki emphasizes the detail that has to go into these factors, and gives pointers for building them out.
More interesting is Araki’s notion of “ki-shou-ten-ketsu”. This is the basic narrative fold that Araki thinks every story has to fall into, and he thinks that it can be identified everywhere, even in daily life, and that internalizing its structure makes for better storytelling. The translator chooses to render these terms as “introduction,development,twist,andresolution”. To drive this concept home, Araki gives the example of how he builds the story intheJoJospinoffThusSpoke Kishibe Rohan.
Araki Puts Far More Thought Into JoJo Than Fans Realize
The Master Mangaka’s Storytelling Is Meticulous
The meme “Araki forgot” implies that Araki is careless in his approach to storytelling, but what Araki’s book reveals is thathe’s anything but. In fact, Araki puts an incredible amount of thought behind his manga. As an example, Araki describes his process for character creation, which involves a long questionnaire investigating the most minute details of a character’s life, background, and personality. The “golden ingredient” for a manga ischaracters who are so detailed that they can essentially act the story out on their own, he says.
On the subject of settings, Araki uses his past struggles withBaoh: the Visitor(1984) to drive homethe importance of sophisticated study of a manga’s settings. After making his viewers unhappy with unrealistic details aboutBaoh’s setting, Araki has since made it a prerogative to inquire into every aspect of a setting he wants to use in a story. ForJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, he describes how, in crafting the idea for Part 7 (Steel Ball Run), he had to personally experience and break down the finer details of terrains, cultures, and histories in the American Midwest.
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This painstaking level of detail is also evident in, for instance, Part 5 (Golden Wind) and its breathtakingly detailed depiction of Italy. For Araki, the central concepts of setting, characters, and story comprisean unwavering constant from which no good mangaka can deviate. Some story parts that have been accused of being examples of “Araki forgot” can be explained by the fact that all of these, ultimately, are subject to Araki’s prioritization of themes above all else and his personal approach to publishing manga.
“Araki Forgot” Misses The Point Of JoJo’sBizarre AdventureEntirely
JoJoIs Meant To Be Treated Like A Live Performance
Araki, for all intents and purposes, “performs"Jojo.The concept of treatingJojoas a live performance is central to Araki’s approach as a mangaka. He wants to put on a performance by crafting a story that readers will love, even if minor details don’t always add up.
Jojois improvisational for Araki, and if “Araki forgot”, then it’s on purpose.
This “live performance” approach requires Araki to balance spontaneity and detail, andthe cipher of Araki’s spontaneous storytelling is his total intention to execute certain themes. ConsiderJosuke’s savior, a story that is frequently accused of being left unexplained. The ambiguity makes total sense when viewed through the lens of the theme of “not judging books by their covers”, which Araki heavily prioritized.
In this way,JoJois improvisational for Araki, and if “Araki forgot”,then it’s on purpose. Araki says that ideas are limitless and that good ideas come from nowhere. He also heavily emphasizes not seeing reality in entertainment, saying that even biographies of great figures are constructed narratives full of inconsistencies.
The improvisational aspect is the nucleus of what makesJojoso irresistible, to begin with. There are few better examples of this thanStone Ocean’s notorious teaser for Giorno’s appearanceshowing the part’s ending being scrapped at the last second. Araki implements great ideas, trying to prioritize a fully enjoyable story and a general clarity in his themes above all else. Hirohiko Araki’sManga in Theory and Practiceshows that behindJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s most obnoxious meme, there’s just a major misunderstanding propped up by an overly rigid way of evaluating a story’s value.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Hirohiko Araki. It follows the adventures of the Joestar family, spanning generations, each with unique abilities and battling supernatural enemies. Known for its eccentric characters, distinctive art style, and creative battles, it includes manga, anime, games, and merchandise.
