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

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Claiming that "manga is the greatest comprehensive artwork," Araki unveils the secrets of drawing manga, which he has never revealed before, while using his works as examples. The book reveals his manga techniques, including specific methodologies such as the "Golden Ratio of Beauty" necessary for drawing artwork, the "Personal Investigation Report" essential for character modeling, and storytelling methods inspired by Ernest Hemmingway. The obi band that comes with the book features a self-portrait of Araki with his character Rohan Kishibe. A ese respecto, podríamos decir que el tema detrás del libro no es la creación. Es la mirada. La necesidad de educar la mirada para crear cualquier cosa. five-part system he call “The Royal Road” Themes, Characters, Setting, Story and Art. Manga, he argues, is “the most powerful multidisciplinary art form…A creative person without the ability to draw can become an author or scriptwriter, and one without the ability to write can become a painter. But a mangaka must be able to do everything.” 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. Are among the reasons Araki is one of the best mangakas of all time. He's a honed automaton with more emotion than most, and you can feel it from the drawings, his expression through figures in passionate motion - he's always having fun, and keeping his love of art afloat. I don't think I've seen a truly, truly lazy drawing from him. Especially in his later years.

Araki Sensei: Because there are times when I find inspiration for characters and Stands through music.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.

SJ: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has a lot of horror elements and quite a bit of gore. What are your favorite horror movies?

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the hero must always rise, or always fall, but never go through ups and downs, because that confuses the reader and looses their interest... In conclusion, Araki wants readers to know about his Golden Way to manga craftsmanship, without feeling beholden to any narrow specifications of what it means to make manga, and yet he wants only the best, most long-running manga out of you. In short, he has good ideas for how to make successful manga, but his ideas of success could use some qualifying. This is one lesson not taught in his art of mangacraft, perhaps better suited for his editors: know your reader. When Araki talks about sending his first winning submission to a shonen weekly at the age of sixteen, I can picture someone of the same age reading Manga Theory and Practice. They may be startled to see he had mastered a style so early on, but rather than be intimidated, a young reader will almost certainly be encouraged to start writing immediately. And that’s what makes Araki so special: he has a voice that is easy to relate with as a young reader. But then in his conclusion he says good writing is like drinking a fine single malt Scotch. I picture the 16 year old, emboldened to draw manga, studying guns, gulping a glass of Balvenie and spitting it out, confused. There’s some solace in knowing the teenager will know how to depict it accurately now. The original Japanese cover in question. The chapter that puzzles me the most is the one about characters. I agree with Arawi that they are at the core of the plotting, more than the story itself. But the view on the subject of the author feels quite strict. Arguments are of the kind: 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." He then goes on to recount how important titles are. In particular he enjoys striking, absurd ones, or ones with the character's name (which, well, makes sense.)

At the most basic level, the first panel should illustrate the five Ws and one H—in other words, who is doing what, and when and where, and why and how." 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.” A lot of the advice here is specifically for the Japanese manga market, because this is just a translation of a Japanese book for a Japanese audience, not an edition for foreigners. In Dio’s case, I depicted him as coming from an unfortunate upbringing, saddled with a father who had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. [...] Con lo anterior dicho, Manga in Theory and Practice no es un libro bien ejecutado, empero dista mucho de la mediocridad; tampoco es debidamente manual ni efectivamente memoria. Es muchas cosas sin atinar en alguna, aunque como experimento resulta entretenido. Útil para quien no sepa NADA sobre la construcción de un Manga (u obra literaria), acaso un “must-have” para el fandom arriba citado, y una lectura que no está de más—la representación ideal para aquél meme que dice “No es lo que esperaba pero estoy satisfecho”. Probablemente en un futuro no muy distante Araki se tomará el tiempo para escribir un segundo volumen—“Manga in Life”, llamémoslo—entonces con más confianza (y acontecimientos). Theory and Practice, de momento, se queda como inclusión válida pero insuficiente en su carrera.

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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. I put more emphasis on giving readers different feelings and impressions through different color combinations.

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. reminds me of The Pledge, Turn, and Prestige employed by magicians and improvisors. As well as, of course, the three act structure, heroes circle, and kabuki theatre, among other frameworks. 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.Be thorough in research, rooting your story in its setting using minute details - phone types, chart topping songs, or even just flora and natural detail. He also recommends visiting the location, if it's a place that exists in life. He travelled to Egypt numerous times, and trekked the distance of Steel Ball Run by himself. No hay truco. Ni talento ni genio ni excepcionalidad. Sólo el trabajo duro, metódico e inteligente de ir generando un diccionario cada vez más grande. Aprender lo que funciona, y explotarlo, aprender lo que no funciona, y evitarlo. Observar no hasta que la narrativa y el arte sean nuestra segunda piel, sino hasta que lo sean la curiosidad y la necesidad de observar.