Manga in Theory and Practice: The Craft of Creating Manga: 1

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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. He then discusses how, essentially, the use of effective friction between characters and motivations can create intrigue and fascination, as well as an enthusiastic reader-base. Manga have become so popular in Japan and throughout the world, that an increasing number of young people aspire to become mangaka, or manga artists. As its title suggests, Hirohiko Araki’s Manga in Theory and Practice is a how-to guide, designed to help young artists find their way. Araki says, “I want this book to be a kind of map in which are recorded the many different roads to creating manga. It’s a map for climbing undiscovered mountains. It’s a map for exploring undeveloped and undiscovered lands.” It was at 'story taboos' that I became convinced of something. He lists four things to avoid, and I believe he is not just 'guilty' but trademarked by three of them... Most specifically in JoJolion's conclusion, which he almost directly alludes to here. I'm convinced JoJolion was written around and through this book, almost self referring and recurring into itself. It explains a lot, from Gappy's duality to The Wonder of U. 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?

The book's main flaw - and it's a serious one - is its uncritical use of racial and gender bias. Araki writes and draws shonen, the most popular manga genre, aimed at boys and young men, as opposed to shojo (manga for girls). (Other genres include josei (for women 18-40), gekiga ( "dramatic pictures," complex narratives for adults), yaoi (or Boy's Love, about gay male relationships written by and for women), yuri (lesbian romance), bara (explicit gay narratives), Adventure, Sports, and Comedy). Much of his advice - such as the hero never being allowed to fail - is shaped by his experience writing weekly and monthly shonen where each installment has to excite the reader enough to read the next episode. Extensive reader surveys are conducted, and the least popular manga get cut. As such, the system, while an effective marketing device, has to play into the existing biases of its young male audience. It's a machine for perpetuating patriarchal attitudes about gender and reflects a shallow reasoning about emotions, personality, and success based on pop psychology. The upside is that its themes often convey positive moral messages about perseverance, friendship, and justice. Further, manga had grown as an industry to reflect a more inclusive perspective that values diversity. 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."

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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? He then proceeds to layout his indispensable character creation sheets, alongside how he likes to interplay various characters against one another to create scenarios.

Major props to him for admitting the earlier In many ways, I agree. In some ways, I disagree. Still, nonetheless, those I admire fall in this camp. I bring these notes with me to the meeting, and as I talk with my editor, I revise and add to them. Additions come through our exchange of ideas, and if something seems weak, I’ll rework the idea, which may result in needing to perform additional research.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. My closing conclusion is this: ultimately, the 'golden way' or 'royal road' to Hirohiko Araki is alike to Shelley's 'sublime.' That is to say, it is directly linked to his philosophy on the 'Golden Ratio' or symmetrical perfection; divine beauty derived by synchronised, synergised points of emphasis. He understands he does not achieve this all the time, but aims to achieve it where possible by refining his style and attitudes accordingly to maximise the propensity. Hirohiko Araki advice is an excellent contribute to the mangaka community; however, this book the reader will only get to the middle of Chapter 3 before putting the book down to take notes for contemplation of putting the puzzle together. The Shueisha Inc. who translated this from Japanese into English did not properly structure the paragraphs of this book. Blame Shueisha Inc. editorial staff for disrupting the flow of the story, not Hirohiko -since English is not Hirohiko's native language! keeping up a serialized manga requires great amounts of time and stamina. Missing a deadline will begin to exact a mental and physical toll, and once you finish your assignment and it comes time to face the next week’s planning meeting, you’ll already be exhausted in mind and body. Under those conditions, continuing to make good manga is not possible. If you can’t find time to do this kind of research, or even to watch movies or read books or other activities to help find ideas, you’ll wither as a mangaka." That said, there's a great variance in terms of how useful any given craft manual is for its given field. The best ones are up-to-date without giving any easily outdated information, less useful ones will focus specifically on the trends of a given time. In part this is why Araki's Manga in Theory and Practice is one of the better ones – Araki goes over the changes in his own manga as time has passed, from how his storylines have changed to go along with prevailing tastes to artistic choices pertinent to when he began versus now, but all without ever telling the reader what trends they should follow. Araki's advice to seek out trends but then not necessarily wed yourself to them is timeless advice – unless we somehow end up in the world as represented by My Little Sister Can Read Kanji, awareness of trends versus religious adherence to them will always be an important distinction to make in creative works.