Manga in Theory and Practice” ha sido diseñado cual guía o manual (en palabras del autor, un “know how” o “how to”) destinado, aunque no limitado, a los aspirantes al Manga como medio artístico y forma de vida. Como breviario, entonces, el libro está dividido en capítulos o secciones que siguen el orden cronológico de la producción de un Manga (Cómo comenzar, Personajes, Historia, Arte, etc.) donde todo se basa—el esqueleto, por ponerle un nombre—en las 5W1H (acrónimo popular que del inglés se traduce como Quién hace Qué, Cuándo, Dónde, Por Qué y Cómo) y las Cuatro Bases del Manga (Characters, Story, Setting, Themes), que pueden aplicarse, también, a otras formas de Arte, pero en especial al Teatro, el Cine y la Literatura. Información, claro, disponible en todo curso literario básico, pero que Araki esporádicamente presenta con acrónimos propios e ingeniosos. Como ejemplo de lo anterior está el “ki-sho-ten-ketsu”, donde “ki” es la introducción, “sho” el desarrollo, “ken” el giro o clímax, y “ketsu” el desenlace. Cualquier parecido con una clase de nivel primaria sobre las partes del cuento o la novela es mera coincidencia. Cualquiera el caso, la terminología empleada (el “Camino dorado”, “La inmutable regla para escribir historias”) es banal pero lo suficientemente atractiva como para no fabricar un sentimiento de monotonía. Asimismo, los “secretos” que el autor anuncia revelar—el currículo individual de sus personajes, la vasta investigación de ambiente y época, el detalle y motivo de algunos trazos, entre otros—son nada que alguien más, y con mejor detalle, no hubiera escrito antes, mas la ligereza del texto permite un ritmo dinámico y poco iterativo. Cabe anotarse, sin embargo, que el libro parece más bien dirigido a personas poco asiduas a la lectura. Los párrafos son breves y la constante inclusión de viñetas (espacio muerto) extienden una obra que de otra manera es muy concisa. 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." By the 4th chapter grandfather Hirohiko is telling you his stories, and then he starts including subjects that come to mind in related manner. However, the story no longer flows. In the middle of the 4th chapter to start taking limited bullet point notes. This is your grandfather Hikohiko, but he isn't telling you stories that you can follow anymore. What happened you ask? So you press on to read chapters 5,6, and 7, then you begin to realize that grandfather Hirohiko was not giving you advice anymore, it's his words, but someone has butchered them and rearranged them. His story no longer flows. Yet, in short burst of a form of mini stories. You slowly put down the book, and want to cry, for grandfather's Hirohiko's words have been cut-out, rearranged, and miss translated. You realize you no longer have a complete record of your grandfather's wisdom. You have most of his words, but it isn't the same, as it was in the beginning. the hero must always rise, or always fall, but never go through ups and downs, because that confuses the reader and looses their interest...

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. 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. In many ways, I agree. In some ways, I disagree. Still, nonetheless, those I admire fall in this camp.Which Stand powers were the most fun for youto draw? Are there any Stand powers which you had an especially difficult time depicting?

One that I had a difficult time with (not artistically, but rather in terms of plot and story development) is ‘ Killer Queen’ in Part 4. I felt that I may have made it too strong. It wouldn't have been a surprise if Josuke was not able to defeat it. I put more emphasis on giving readers different feelings and impressions through different color combinations. Manga in Theory and Practice es Araki abriéndonos su cabeza y enseñándonos todos sus secretos. Como él mismo señala, una idea tan mala como la del mago explicando sus trucos. He opens with the subtitle, “Returned to the Envelope Unread,” which reads as clumsily as he claims his failed submissions were in the beginning of his career. It is telling that he can’t describe his failures very well, because the leadfooted tone disappears when Araki starts discussing his triumphs. He is as good at talking about his greatness as he is poor at talking about his shortcomings, so I’d caution taking him too seriously when he waxes humble: His precision and planning behind proud achievements is as important on the confidence, even hubris, required to start any career in the arts. Araki’s methodology will do nothing if not impart confidence in craft. He calls his methodology the “Golden Way.”

Sometimes, maybe influenced by my physical state that day or some chemical change beyond my understanding, my drawings go better than I had anticipated and make me think, “This line is really great!” or “I nailed the curve of that cheek! It’s perfect!” When those drawings come like unexpected presents, when my art is better than me, I think that maybe it’s the god of manga descending to visit me." Qué quiere decir eso? Que el método de Araki es puramente observacional. Todo lo que nos da son tres reglas —la necesidad de calibrar los cuatro elementos regidores, que la historia tenga un orden ascendente y que el tema sea importante para nosotros como individuos— y todo lo demás que nos dice es «el resto es observar». Observar todo. He goes into detail about his own experiences moving up through the manga industry. It’s not quite “On Writing” (Stephen King’s book), but it does give you a feeling for his highs and lows in the industry. Araki is the creator of the long-running Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, which has sold over 100 million books worldwide. It’s been animated for television, OAVs and theatrical features, as well as adapted to novelizations, video games, etc. Araki was one of five artists featured in the 1990 exhibit Le Louvre invite la bande dessinée (“ The Louvre Invites Comic-Strip Art“). This is a really good primer on writing in general for new writers, whether you’re a visual artist or a pure writer, or both.

Araki Sensei: Because there are times when I find inspiration for characters and Stands through music. I think that even if you’re creating a manga that includes love and romance, you could have it be between two male characters, as long as that fits with your manga’s world. As long as your characters are appealing, you could get away with a world of all men. You have nothing to fear." Genuinely inspiring. "“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” - Haruki MurakamiAún explicando la necesidad de los cuatro elementos regidores de toda narración —personajes, historia, escenario y tema; en ese estricto orden de importancia— Araki siempre acaba poniendo algo de sí mismo entre líneas. Cual es el método que él utiliza, o ha utilizado, para llegar hasta sus conclusiones. Y en ese arranque metodológico, es donde deja ver lo obvio: consiste no en hacer, sino en mirar. 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." SJ: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has a lot of horror elements and quite a bit of gore. What are your favorite horror movies?