Hirohiko Araki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hirohiko Araki
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Araki at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2013
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| Born | June 7, 1960 Sendai, Japan |
| Occupation | Manga artist |
| Period | 1980–present |
| Genre | Action, adventure, supernatural |
| Subject | Shōnen manga, seinen manga |
| Notable works | |
| Spouse | Asami Araki |
| Children | 2 |
Toshiyuki Araki (Japanese: 荒木 利之, Hepburn: Araki Toshiyuki, born June 7, 1960), better known as Hirohiko Araki (荒木 飛呂彦, Araki Hirohiko), is a famous Japanese manga artist. He is best known for creating the super popular series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. This series started way back in 1987. It has sold over 120 million copies, making it one of the best-selling manga series ever!
Contents
About Hirohiko Araki
His Early Life
Hirohiko Araki grew up in Sendai, Japan. He lived with his parents and two younger twin sisters. He often spent time alone in his room reading manga. He says his sisters' teasing made him want to escape into stories.
Araki was also inspired by his father's art books. He especially liked the work of French artist Paul Gauguin. He started drawing his own manga in secret. When a school friend praised his drawings, he felt encouraged.
He sent his first manga to a magazine when he was in high school. But all his early works were rejected. Other young artists were already getting published. So, Araki decided to visit publishers in Tokyo himself. He wanted to know why his manga wasn't chosen. He took a manga called Poker Under Arms with him. An editor at Shueisha told him his work had potential. He advised Araki to improve it for a big competition called the Tezuka Awards.
Starting His Manga Career
Araki left college before finishing his degree. He made his official debut in 1980. His first published work was Poker Under Arms. It was even chosen as a "Selected Work" at the Tezuka Award that year.
His first series to be published regularly was Cool Shock B.T. in 1983. It was about a young magician who solved mysteries. Then came Baoh in 1984. This series was known for its action and intense scenes. It told the story of a man who gets special powers from a parasite. He then fights against an evil group.
By 1985, with his series The Gorgeous Irene, Araki's unique art style really started to show. He became known for drawing characters who were very muscular and strong. Later, his art style became even more detailed and dramatic.
The World of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Araki's most famous work is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which started in 1987. This series is huge and has many different parts!
The story begins in England in the 1880s. It follows a character named Jonathan Joestar, also known as JoJo. His adopted brother, Dio Brando, becomes a vampire. Jonathan then learns a special breathing technique called Hamon. This gives him powers to fight Dio.
Later parts of JoJo follow different members of the Joestar family. Each part is set in a new time and place around the world. The third part, Stardust Crusaders, became very popular. It introduced a new kind of power called Stands. Stands are like powerful spirit guardians that fight alongside their users. Stands are still a main part of the series today.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is still being published over 30 years later! It has also been made into many other things, like anime and video games. By 2022, over 120 million copies of the manga had been sold. From 2011 to 2021, Araki worked on JoJolion, which was the eighth main story arc.
Recent Creative Works
Hirohiko Araki has worked on many interesting projects. In 2009, he was one of five artists chosen by the famous Musée du Louvre in Paris. He created an original manga story set in the museum. This piece was called Rohan at the Louvre. It starred Rohan Kishibe, a character from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The artwork was shown at a special exhibit. Rohan at the Louvre was highly praised. It was later published as a manga in France, Japan, and the US.
Araki also teamed up with the luxury fashion brand Gucci. In 2011, a special exhibition called "Gucci x Hirohiko Araki x Spur" was held in Tokyo. It celebrated Gucci's 90th anniversary. The exhibit featured a life-size figure of Rohan Kishibe. It also showed many illustrations by Araki, including his own fashion designs. For the fashion magazine Spur, Araki drew a full-color manga called Kishibe Rohan meets Gucci.. Later, he drew another JoJo story for Spur called Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci. This one featured Jolyne Cujoh from Part 6 of JoJo.
In 2012, a "Hirohiko Araki JoJo Exhibition" opened in his hometown of Sendai. This celebrated the 25th anniversary of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It later moved to Tokyo.
Araki has also designed album covers for musicians. He drew the cover for Sayuri Ishikawa's 2012 album X -Cross-. On the cover, she is doing one of the famous poses from the JoJo series.
In 2015, Araki released a book called Manga in Theory and Practice (荒木飛呂彦の漫画術, Araki Hirohiko no Manga Jutsu). This book explains his methods for creating manga. It was later translated into English.
Araki created an official poster for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. It was titled The Sky above The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa. This artwork was inspired by the famous Japanese woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. In 2024, he created a public art display called The Fountain Boy for Ōsaka Station.
Manga by Hirohiko Araki
- The Bottle (ザ・ボトル, Za Botoru, 1978)
- Poker Under Arms (武装ポーカー, Busō Pōkā, 1980)
- Outlaw Man (アウトロー・マン, Autorō Man, 1981)
- Say Hi to Virginia (バージニアによろしく, Bājinia ni Yoroshiku, 1982)
- B.T. "The Wicked Boy" (魔少年ビーティー, Mashōnen Bī Tī, October 23, 1982)
- Cool Shock B.T. (魔少年ビーティー, Mashōnen Bī Tī, September 20, 1983 – November 22, 1983)
- Baoh (バオー来訪者, Baō Raihōsha, October 9, 1984 – February 12, 1985)
- The Gorgeous Irene (ゴージャス☆アイリン, Gōjasu Airin, 1985 – 1986)
- The Lives of Eccentrics (変人偏屈列伝, Henjin Henkutsu Retsuden, 1989 – 2003)
- Under Execution, Under Jailbreak (死刑執行中脱獄進行中, Shikei Shikkōchū Datsugoku Shinkōchū, December 28, 1994)
- Dolce, and His Master. (ドルチ ～ダイ・ハード・ザ・キャット～, Doruchi Dai Hādo Za Kyatto, 1996)
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Series
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken, December 2, 1986 – present)
- Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (岸辺露伴は動かない, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai, June 24, 1997 – present) (Spin-off of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Deadman's Questions (デッドマンズQ, Deddomanzu Kuesuchonzu, June 2, 1999 – July 7, 1999) (Spin-off of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Oingo Boingo Brothers Adventure (オインゴとボインゴ兄弟 大冒険, Oingo to Boingo Kyōdai Daibōken, October 23, 2002) (Spin-off of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Rohan at the Louvre (岸辺露伴 ルーヴルへ行く, Kishibe Rohan Rūvuru e Iku, April 8, 2010) (Spin-off of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Kishibe Rohan meets Gucci. (岸辺露伴 グッチへ行く, Kishibe Rohan Gutchi e Iku, August 23, 2011) (Spin-off of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci (徐倫、GUCCIで飛ぶ, Jorīn, Gutchi de Tobu, December 22, 2012) (Spin-off of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Other Works and Collaborations
- Famicom Jump II: Saikyō no Shichinin (February 1991, designed a boss monster)
- JoJo 6251 (December 10, 1993, art and guidebook)
- JoJo A-Go!Go! (February 25, 2000, artbook)
- Music is the Key of Life (December 13, 2000, album by Sugiurumn, designed cover)
- Life Ground Music (February 27, 2002, album by Sugiurumn, designed cover)
- Spy! Boy Alex series of Her Majesty the Queen (2002, designed cover)
- "Catwalk" (April 26, 2006, single by Soul'd Out, designed cover)
- Uniqlo (2006, T-shirt design)
- Cell (September 7, 2007, designed front cover)
- "The Dancing Girl of Izu" (2008, designed cover)
- "Breeeeze Girl" (June 24, 2009, a single by Base Ball Bear, designed limited edition cover)
- Naruto (2009, special tenth anniversary illustration)
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Over Heaven (December 16, 2011, novel, designed cover)
- Ikinobiru tame no Lacan (Lacan for Survival) (2012, Tamaki Saitō book, designed paperback cover)
- Jorge Joestar (September 19, 2012, novel, illustrated by Araki)
- X -Cross- (September 19, 2012, an album by Sayuri Ishikawa, designed cover)
- Hirohiko Araki Works 1981-2012 (2012, artbook)
- JoJomenon (October 5, 2012, artbook)
- JoJoveller (September 19, 2013, artbook set)
- JoJonium (December 4, 2013 - March 4, 2015, designed covers for rerelease of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Loopified [Japanese Complete Edition] (October 8, 2014, album by Dirty Loops, designed cover)
- Main Themes (February 25, 2015, an album by Akira Senju, designed cover)
- Manga in Theory and Practice (荒木飛呂彦の漫画術, Araki Hirohiko no Manga Jutsu, April 17, 2015)
- Stormbreaker (novel, illustrations for Fantasy Press)
- Learning Japanese History Through Manga, Volume 2 (October 28, 2016, designed cover)
- Learning Japanese History Through Manga, Volume 18 (October 28, 2016, designed cover)
- UOMO (August 24, 2018, designed cover)
- The Sky above The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa (2020 Tokyo Paralympics poster)
Images for kids
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Cover of Weekly Shōnen Jump #1–2 of 1987 featuring Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
See also
In Spanish: Hirohiko Araki para niños
