Testify to the Gospel of Hirohiko Araki

This is a plea to all 17 people who read this blog. Jojo Bizarre's Adventure has resumed release in the U.S. The price point has been raised from 7.99 to 9.99 from volumes 13 and on, and the earlier pre-10 volumes may get kinda hard to find at this point, but still, buy it. Buy it so then Viz may be at least slightly compelled to release this-
Had I written this yesterday, I would have had nothing to say except for words of praise. Unfortunately, having read some more today, I'm rather peeved to find that Araki has killed off two of my favorite characters. Additionally, one of those characters was made to be an antagonist for a twist. Granted, the shock and surprise factor was certainly there (you can't really call out Araki on predictability), but after the character's setup, the twist is somewhat inconsistent and unsatisfying.
Nonetheless, Steel Ball Run is still punch-to-the-nuts exciting. It's premise involves a race across the United States from San Diego to New York in the late 19th century called the Steel Ball Run The cast that is assembled at the outset is dazzling. The protagonists are Gyro Zeppelli, an Italian son of an executioner who makes a pair of spinning steel balls far more awesome and devastating than they should be, and Johnny Joestar, a paralyzed ex-jockey who gains the stand of nail-shooting. In addition, there's Sandman, an Indian who beats horses while running on his feet, genius British horse racer Dio Brando, the noble cowboy Mountain Tim, Pocoloco, the luckiest black guy in the world, among many others. Araki is damn good at creating personalities and situations that are larger than life.
It goes without saying that, like the rest of the Jojo series, Steel Ball Run is fucking homoerotic manly. I saw a picture of Araki. He's a quirky-looking, modest 49 year old guy, so to see him conjure up such manliness with ease is a bit unexpected. What trials he underwent in his youth that left him with such an understanding of testosterone is a mystery to me. But anyway, I really appreciate the message that this guy brings. There is the occasional power-up, but, as usual, the fights are never won by purely outpowering an opponent. Instead, it's all a very cerebral game that involves utilizing existing abilities according to the circumstances at hand. Any stand can win a battle if its advantages are maximized, despite how lame-ass it may seem initially. Araki gives the impression that any ability can win any battle.
In addition, SBR also works by reinforcing a living, organic universe that extends far beyond the pages of the various books. I had a film professor tell me that many of the best franchises succeed because they generate worlds, landscapes that can fill myriad other stories besides the specific ones that have been depicted, really getting the imagination juices of an audience working. Giant Robo, Baccano are two particular series that create very open, wide-ranging universes. SBR similarly succeeds. While each series focuses on the Joestars and their friends, it's easy to see many other potential protagonists and stand powers lurking in the Jojo-verse.
Hmm...I think I've already wrote and repeated myself too much. Basically, to reduce this post to one simple sentence, buy Jojo, support Araki, pray for Steel Ball Run.


Random Addendum: Apparently, The Cove, that dolphin movie I wrote about earlier, was able to generate enough media attention in Japan to at least suspend dolphin killings for a day. For the time being, it's only a minor victory, the slaughtering should resume again fairly soon, but small or not, a win is a win.

Random Notes again (The Cove + More Sig Ikki impressions)

I came into The Cove somewhat skeptical of the film, despite its positive critical reception. I’m a fan of documentaries that give voices to multiple sides of an argument. The Cove doesn’t even pretend to give the pretense of being balanced as it explores the dolphin killing in Japan. It’s ruthlessly one-sided, never ceasing to press its audience to question the humanity of the dolphin-slaughtering fishermen. The thing doesn’t even faze from approaching racism when leveling its critique against the Japanese whaling industry. The editing is blatantly manipulative and dastardly. Some dirty B-roll is used, particularly when trying to lend characterizations to certain people. Yet despite coming in skeptical and aware of possible underhanded, manipulative techniques from the filmmakers, I still ate all of this shit up. The filmmakers know that it’s hard to hate on dolphins with their naturally cute looks, and they absolutely exploit that with numerous numerous shots that really get you to empathize with the plight of the poor creatures. Honestly, I’m even hard-pressed to call this thing a documentary. It’s more like a movie that just happens to use some “real” footage. And it’s a good thing in this case. With a group of likeable protagonists in the activists that seek to capture the footage at Taiji, an accumulation of antagonists that we come to despise through all too effective usage of B-roll, and an engrossing plot reminiscent of espionage and spy films, it’s not hard to become emotionally invested. Simply a effective piece. The Cove worked well enough that I canceled my plans to eat sushi for dinner.

In terms of Sig Ikki stuff, some new chapters have systematically popped up.

Chapter 2 of Dorohedoro left me somewhat disappointed after an interesting introduction, but it’s not surprising for manga to have throwaway chapters at the beginning while authors get warmed up. Works similarly for any medium.

I’m done with House of Five Leaves. I want to like the art, and indeed, the style is fairly distinctive, but there’s something off about the paneling that confuses and annoys me. More importantly, the writing just hasn’t really captured me. To use two vague words because I am a crappy writer myself who can’t specifically word anything, the writing is overly “muted” as opposed to “edgy.” Simply not really grabbing, though it is far from repulsive.

A new 4-panel manga, I am a Turtle, has popped up for the first time. I get the feeling it’s not really chuckle-funny in the way that the author wants it to be, but I do have a massive soft spot for turtles, so I’ll go ahead and say it’s cute and charming.

I’ll Give It My All...Tomorrow seems to be a keeper. It’s not overly optimistic, or abjectly pessimistic. Instead, it’s one of those rare things that’s really realist, carefully trekking through a tempered middle path that makes the protagonist as perceivable as the average underachieving guy down the street. At this point, despite having read only two chapters, I’m oddly confident that the author, Shunju Aono, won’t resort to cheap, Fuck My Life depths. Can’t wait for the first volume.