Hirohiko Araki es un gran maestro del manga. Con su extravagante JoJo's Bizarre Adventure no sólo ha conseguido fusionar el canon clásico griego con la estética manga, el hiper-dinamismo y las historias cuasi-mitológicas rayano la parodia histérica, sino también algo mucho más difícil: un estilo propio capaz de encandilar al público. Originally, I went into this book thinking that maybe I should write a manga because that was what I was interested in, and I figured I would hire an artist to do that portion. This might be a little hard to put into words, but when I draw using physical media, I almost feel like I’m caressing the drawing, and I start to feel affection for my characters. That even applies—given enough time—to characters that I don’t like when I first create them. Sometimes I’ll even cry when they die."

Let's get this outta the way. I very much like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ( JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken.) That said, I don't think it's perfect and is marred by numerous errors, mostly owing to the unforgiving nature of the drafting, creating, publishing, mangaka. I believe just about anyone interested in storytelling will get something out of "Manga in Theory and Practice". I don't know of another book like it on the market right now. Agree. Again, not just attributed to art. For me, art also acts as a time conduit by which to extend an individual's life. Let's say an author spends eight years on a book you can read in four hours and then reiterate the gained knowledge of: the author has dilated time required to achieve those epiphanies. It's my belief that this is why our societies grow 'wiser' - as they accelerate ascertainment of knowledge and improve the time required to share the information. Is worthwhile advice given to many children but often forgotten later down the line, especially in writing. It shouldn't be outwardly apparent all the time, sometimes illusionary, but they are the words that glue together intrigue.

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Overall, I enjoyed reading it, and as I said above, I recommend it to new writers and Shonen manga fans. Araki himself says this book is really intended as a “passing of the torch” book where he shares his secrets with the next generation of manga producers, and that’s what it is. There isn’t likely to be too many mind-blowing ideas here, but there is a lot of things worth thinking about, and I’m very glad I was able to read it. Like I said above, if you enjoyed this, try Bakuman next, which is a dramatized version of this topic. (And an amazing one at that.) Araki Sensei: I think it can be applied, but I'm not too familiar with American/Western comics so I can't give specific examples. However, I believe that detailed, precise manga panel development designed to depict intricate emotions is the defining feature of Japanese manga, and that approach can be applied in various forms.

There may be nothing more beautiful than a person who pursues something important, regardless of society’s approval, and even if it means standing alone." You worked for several years with a weekly deadline as part of Shonen Jump, until transitioning to a monthly deadline when JoJo's Bizarre Adventure moved to Ultra Jump in 2004. What are your feelings on the weekly vs. monthly model of creating manga? Likewise, I've been drawing inspiration from Greco-Roman statues and post-enlightened paintings for my writing. Something about the depth and complexity of a statue is awe inspiring; I'd very much like to visit Italy, myself sometime. My work centers around protagonists who grow as they overcome hardship. In creating Johnny, I didn't necessarily set out to depict a hero with a disability. He was the end result of my pursuit to create a character who could grow, both physically and mentally, during a race where he would be forced not only to rely on other people, but horses as well.He then goes on to recount how important titles are. In particular he enjoys striking, absurd ones, or ones with the character's name (which, well, makes sense.) A ese respecto, podríamos decir que el tema detrás del libro no es la creación. Es la mirada. La necesidad de educar la mirada para crear cualquier cosa. SJ: There's been a major JoJo revival the last ten years with all the anime series being made. How does it feel to have your series reach new heights of popularity again after so many years? When an artist gives form to something invisible, their state of mind will be reflected in the picture whether they’re aware of it or not. Any attempts at fake sincerity will be in vain. The readers will always see through to the truth." Araki’s thoughts on the relationship between Setting, Story and Character and how they’re all tied together by Theme are worth remembering and a good primer for new writers. He also gives a lot of good tips and suggestions about those elements of story and how they work in a Shonen comic.

You've spoken in other interviews about how you drew muscular body types in Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency because Stallone and Schwarzenegger were popular at the time. You've also said that you moved to thinner body types for Diamond is Unbreakable and Vento Aureo because readers were losing interest in muscle men and you wanted to do more with your interest in fashion. Steel Ball Run and JoJolion seem to represent another big shift in the evolution of your art style. What inspired the looks of Steel Ball Run and JoJolion? they influence one another, and are not mutually exclusive. He also stresses the importance of questioning why you enjoy the things you enjoy, and over analyse their latent informative content. The most important part of a character is their motivation. What does your protagonist want to accomplish? [...] Your characters’ motivations have to gain the interest and empathy of your readers. A good motivation is one that makes the reader wonder what will happen to that character, and what that character will do, because then the reader will want to keep reading. [...] You need to include in your main characters weaknesses or faults, or more human desires." SJ: How do you come up with the Stand powers? Do you come up with the character or their powers first?

From an instructional perspective, this is an excellent book to the extent that it clearly identifies the elements of manga, the way these elements connect, shape, and depend on each other, and it communicates something of the mythos, lexis (linguistic and visual) and ethos that makes manga, manga. It's the ethos part of the equation that makes this book problematic. the hero must always rise, or always fall, but never go through ups and downs, because that confuses the reader and looses their interest...