Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga

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No todos los días se tiene la oportunidad de leer un texto íntegro y (casi) sin ilustraciones de un mangaka tan relevante como Hirohiko Araki, creador de JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, una obra que no obstante correspondería a un Nivel 2 de clásicos en el mundo Manga (donde el Nivel 1 son los títulos que todo el mundo, quizás, podría reconocer sin necesidad de haber leído el Manga o visto el anime—Dragon Ball o Naruto, por ejemplo), ha adquirido una popularidad muy sustancial en México y Latinoamérica, cosechando de paso un fandom detestable e indispensable a partes iguales. Araki, pues, es un autor de tremendo talento, y su semi-autobiografía funciona como resultado conceptual a una creciente demanda por su trabajo, así como la justicia nunca concebida por otros grandes de antaño que se fueron sin dejar algún documento que precisara sus memorias. 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. I believe that the fundamental role of art is to make the invisible visible. Whatever the artist wants to express, be it love, friendship, justice, or something else—these are not things that can be seen by the eye, and the artist must turn these invisible ideas into a visible picture.

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." But sometimes the difference between good and evil may depend on your readers’ viewpoints. As I’ve grown older, I’ve found that good and evil are not so easily delineated, and I’ve taken more interest in the reasons why people do bad things."True, with admitted exception and alternative or fringe forms, of other mediums. Whether it be Jay, Gatsby, and Daisy; or the Xenomorph, the Babadook, the velociraptor of Jurassic Park. Could go on; characters are, often, key. I could name a ton of exceptions but the case is still a strong one. Especially if the metric result is 'popularity' or 'success' (often the same thing to some.) SJ: Much of the emphasis of your new book, Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga is on shonen manga storytelling—is your advice the same for other kinds of manga? Also, do any Western comics come close to capturing the manga panel development work you describe in your book? If so, which ones? Major props to him for admitting the earlier arcs were marginally defined by their abundance of dichotomies. I was drawn to it for the same reasons I was drawn to Sonic Adventure 2, Yin and Yang, and the colour grey. But while fantastic for superficial reasons, it's too reductive, as he admits and says he learned from (and I believe) later on. Perhaps JoJolion was a test of this, and that's where my complex feelings towards it lie.

Because he uses Sazae-san (about a housewife, c.1948) and Chibi Maruko-chan (about a little girl, c.1986) as early examples of strong character-driven manga, it comes as a bit of a surprise when Araki advises on whether and how to include “female characters” in a story. He reassures us, in the year of our lord two thousand and seventeen, that: “Nowadays both men and women can become heroes. Up until around the 1980s, male characters had to be dynamic and take action and female characters had to be delicate and passive. But now, that’s no longer necessary.” 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. You get a behind the scenes look at his Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure series, and the thoughts, ideas and approaches that went into making it the series it is. (I have to say, as a Jojo’s fan, I really enjoyed all the tidbits about the series he scatters throughout the book.) If you find a theme that interests you and connects with you on a personal level – even if you think that theme may be too dark to sell – you should resolve to create your manga around that theme. Your manga's success will not depend upon a seemingly salable theme. Whatever your theme is, if it feels right to you, and you layer upon it characters and story that move you, it will undoubtedly be an interesting work, and one that readers will welcome.

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And on the one hand he says you can have a “macho female” like Sarah Connor in Terminator II, but: “I don’t pay any attention to the difference between men and women, aside from possibly setting them apart through clothing or makeup or sometimes including observations based on women around me, like when I’ve wondered How long is she going to dry her hair? or What is she doing in the bath for an entire hour?” Reading this book has confirmed some of my suspicions of JoJolion's 'shoddy writing' but beautiful execution. It was deliberate, him employing the tropes and mechanics he'd neglected or despised in the past, and an opportunity for him to indulge in all he'd once strove to avoid. It was him letting go and having fun again.

Many of the references to Japanese media and culture may be lost on western readers too. Ever heard of East Asian Blood-Type Horoscopes? Or Sazae-san? 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“). 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 Manga in Theory and Practice, you say that the theme of all 8 parts of JoJo is "an affirmation that humanity is wonderful". Could you elaborate on that? Excellent advice book; however, the English paragraph structure is not present, and the copy I received was printed on inexpensive non-acid free paper. CAUTION: There is minimal surprises of adult references in this book. The Ki-Sho-Ten-Ketsu story structure he outlines is a good one for short story writers to keep in mind, and simple and flexible while still offering a straightforward way to structure your stories. (One of his two Implementation chapters acts as an example in great detail, which is also nice. Although after you read it, you can look at any Shonen comic and see it in action immediately.)