JOJOLOGY - The Evil of Yoshikage Kira -

By Hirohiko Araki: a thorough, frontal analysis of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Shueisha) from Part 1 through Part 4.

- Part 1: What is the "friendship" from Jonathan to DIO?
- Part 2: Why was Joseph's arm pierced by Kars?
- Part 3: The thing that had been lent to DIO a hundred years ago (to every person, to every thing)
- Part 4: What is the evil of Yoshikage Kira?

[Overview]
The serialization of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure spans roughly 40 years.

Its story, composition, dialogue, onomatopoeia, and posing have each established a distinctive style that has spread into internet culture as memes and taken root there. The anime adaptation has steadily progressed, and spin-offs have been adapted into live-action dramas and films. Its popularity is now global, and—as exhibitions at the Louvre show—its reach extends even into the art world.

Yet JoJo has never been placed at the center of the times; it has always occupied positions outside the mainstream and the conventional. Still, the reason it has been loved for so long is likely because a consistent drive to pursue "truth" runs beneath the work. JoJo can be described as a manga that remains heterodox while earnestly advancing a classic path.

Hirohiko Araki does not rest in existing forms of expression. He never stops challenging himself to depict new worlds with new expressive means, and as the volumes progress the themes continue to deepen. Reading this masterpiece—which has already surpassed 100 volumes—carefully from the beginning is not an easy task.

This book aims to provide a foundation so readers can immerse themselves in the world of the work without getting lost. First I outline how JoJo differs from other works and then present my answer to the question of "which part to start with." Using a detailed commentary on Part 1 as the basis to understand the "grammar of JoJo," I trace the transitions through Parts 2–4 by answering, for each, the question of what they are fighting against. I have also recorded personal thoughts and interpretations with particular emphasis in the interludes "On the Unconscious" and "DIO: 100 Years of Philosophy."