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Taken for his 2018 art exhibition.

"Haraki-sensei of Gyo Gyo's Wonderful Adventure is handsome and doesn't grow old."
Gintoki Sakata, Gintama

Hirohiko Araki (荒木 飛呂彦; born June 7, 1960), is the legendary mangaka behind JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, one of the longest-running manga series ever, running continuously from 1987 to date. He is well-known for his distinctive (read: FABULOUS) art style, incredibly clever fights, use of strange character poses, unique sound effects, and his love of English and American rock and pop music. He is also a perfectly symmetrical immortal vampire. Or perhaps a fairy.

Other works by Hirohiko Araki:

  • Buso Poker (1980)
  • Autoto Man (1982)
  • Virginia ni Yohroshiku (1982)
  • Cool Shock B.T. (魔少年ビーティー Mashōnen Bī Tī 1982–1983)
  • Baoh (1984–1985)
  • Gorgeous Irene (1985–1986)
    • The Story of the Girl's Mansion (1985)
    • The Girl That Came to the Slums (1986)
  • The Lives of Eccentrics (2004); an Anthology Comic about several historical figures such as Ty Cobb, Nikola Tesla, and Typhoid Mary

JoJo spinoffs

  • Under Execution, Under Jailbreak (1999)
  • Dolce and His Master (1999)
  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Episode 16: At a Confessional (1999)
  • Dead Man's Questions (1999)
  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan ~Episode 2: Mutsukabezaka~ (2006)
  • Front cover of Cell (scientific journal) (September 7, 2007): Imagine that chemicals were stands. Apparently, the scientist who discovered that SCRAPPER blocks RIM1alpha was a big JJBA fan.
  • Rohan at the Louvre (2010)
  • Rohan da Gucci (2011)
  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan ~Episode 5: Millionaire Village~ (2012)
  • Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci (2013)
  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan ~Episode 6: Poaching Coast~ (2013)
  • Mochizuki Family Moon Viewing: Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan Episode 4 (2014)
  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan ~Episode 7: Monday, Rainy Weather~ (2015)
  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Episode 9: D.N.A (2017)
  • Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Episode 10: The Run (2018)

Tropes common in Araki's works beyond JJBA:

  • Anyone Can Die: To the point where he commonly crosses into We Have Reserves territory.
  • Art Evolution: One of the most prominent examples, Araki has had no less than four distinct art styles during his career. His first drawings featured cartoony characters like Tezuka's own characters. He was heavily inspired by Fist of the North Star, then his style evolved, before evolving further into a realistic art style since Steel Ball Run.
  • Ass-Kicking Pose: The man regularly puts fashion poses into a battle manga in a borderline gratuitous manner.
  • Author Appeal: Araki has many things he's fond of and includes in his writings.
    • American and British music, especially Progressive Rock. Hirohiko Araki is known for making numerous references to various music artists such as Queen, AC/DC, Prince, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and others. His characters will more often than not bear names meant to sound like one of his beloved rock bands, for instance, the fellow named Esidisi.
    • Hirohiko Araki is also a huge fashion buff, and regularly reads fashion magazines, pulling from this inspiration for the Impossibly Cool Clothes of his characters and the memetic Ass-Kicking Poses.
    • Italy, especially from The Renaissance Era. Araki draws inspiration from classic artists such as Michelangelo but also lauds Italian fashion, Italian cuisine, Italians themselves... Most characters of Golden Wind are Italians and most are undeniably badass or sympathetic.
    • This extends to his love for the Spaghetti Western Genre, particularly the Dollars Trilogy directed by Sergio Leone. Steel Ball Run is Arakai's long-awaited love letter to the Spaghetti Western, albeit with superpowers and much more fabulous clothing.
    • Clint Eastwood, "The Man With No Name" Anti-Hero of the Dollars Trilogy, is the direct stylistic inspiration for Jotaro Kujo.
    • Horror movies. Araki is very fond of B-rated horror movies because of the Narm Charm. This translates into many references to Horror Movies monsters. He also loves the Italian Splatterpunk Horror films of Dario Argento, who also shares Araki's propensity to injure eyes to shock the audience.invoked
    • One aspect of his signature style is the constant use of posing.
    • He mentions the Roots television series as an inspiration for making JoJo a generational story, since he thought very highly of works that could continually replace its protagonist and still be well-received.
  • Body Horror:
    • He's somewhat of a Nightmare Fetishist, especially where JoJo is concerned:
      Araki: Also, it's not related, but I actually enjoy drawing skin getting peeled.
    • Overall, Araki always had no compunction overtly depicting violence and horror in his works, even as early as Baoh, in which the eponymous character could make people melt with a touch.
  • Costume Porn: Even for historical figures.
  • Creator's Favorite: In terms of the memes surrounding JoJo's, Araki has stated that his personal favorite is "DAGA KOTOWARU".
  • The Fashionista: Araki is a connoisseur of fashion, with one of his favorite hobbies being reading fashion magazines. This ended up translating into his character designs being modeled after fashion artists in terms of both clothing and poses.
  • Foreign Culture Fetish: His fetish comes in two forms:
    • Araki is a huge fan of Italian culture, particularly anything from the Renaissance era, and always incorporates a nod to his favorite country in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
    • He is also a huge fan of American and British pop culture, music, and movies.
  • Gonk: If you're not a statuesque hero or villain in his works, you're a bizarre egg-shaped, vaguely humanoid person.
  • Humans Are Special: He's described JoJo's Bizarre Adventure as "an ode to humanity".
  • Kick the Dog: Villains in his works are frequently inclined to kill dogs or other animals. Araki himself is a dog lover, and sees animal cruelty as an easy indicator that a character is an irredeemable monster.
  • Older Than They Look: Araki has perpetually looked like he's in his 30s for 30+ years at this point, somehow having aged immaculately. This has led to jokes that he too has harnessed the power of the Stone Mask and become an immortal vampire.
  • Old Shame: He considers Gorgeous Irene to be this as he wrote it before he was married and had a more mature view of women.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: Araki goes all-out on subjugating villains in his works to the worst fates he's ever devised.
  • Promoted Fanboy:
    • Went from referencing Yes and Savage Garden in his work to them licensing their songs as the end themes for JJBA episodes.
    • His love for fashion designers. In 2011, Spur Magazine, a women's fashion magazine, hired him and Gucci to celebrate their 30th and 90th anniversaries, respectively, with a one-shot story.
  • Reference Overdosed: His love of non-Japanese rock and pop music (most are American and British, with a few non-Anglophone bands and artists thrown in for good measure) makes JoJo packed with references to bands, albums, and song names, to the point that translation attempts are blocked by trademark issues. His favorite bands can be identified by the prevalence to their works in the story, including The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Queen, Prince, and Yes (whose song "Roundabout" was chosen for the anime edition's first ending theme).
  • Signature Style: Araki is known for his works, who pretty much all feature handsome and hammy men in tacky clothes and making poses living through bizarre events.
  • Unsound Effect: Araki's works (particularly JJBA) utilize a lot of unique onomatopoeia. What is the sound of a frog being punched but only used as a conduit for life energy obtained from breathing and emulating the very power of the sun? MEMETAA
  • You Can't Fight Fate: Araki believes that our lives are directed by fate, crediting his own career to fateful meetings with an encouraging friend and a friendly editor who pushed him to pursue his hobby.
  • You Don't Look Like You: A consequence of his evolving art style. His old characters, like Jonathan Joestar and Gorgeous Irene, look almost nothing like how he used to draw them in their original mangas.

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