Interview with Hirohiko Araki ‘s Beloved Prince 2
-In addition to Prince, Jojo is interspersed with the names of works by many other artists, including Queen, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. Are there any artists or works that Mr. Araki is particularly fond of these days?
Ambient is music proposed by Brian Eno, a composer from England.
The genre is called “ambient music,” and its definition is very vague.
▲「ambient music」
-There is a fictional character in “JoJorion” as the Aphex Brothers, isn’t there?
Araki: I may not use it as the name of my stand, but I do listen to that kind of music. I also listened to Pharrell’s (Williams) group and so on.
-N.E.R.D.?
Araki: Yes, I did. Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” is also very Prince-like. The concept is a weird beat from the 80s, and the way it comes in irregularly, not together all the time, reminds me of Prince.
-Billy Irish’s second album “Happier Than Ever” came out the other day, have you heard it?
Araki: I haven’t heard that one yet, but I did listen to the last one (“When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”). Billy Irish also has some Prince-like parts, doesn’t he?
-She’s the kind of person who can be considered a star leading the youth of today.
Araki: Yes, she is. But the new music is sick to some extent (laugh). I think that part is very current. There is a part of you that is somewhat heartbroken, and you bring a part of you that strikes a nerve as a sound. That is what is so unique about young people.
-Your interview with Osamu Iguchi of King Gnu, which was published in “AERA,” became a big topic of conversation. Do you have a particular favorite song by a Japanese artist?
Araki: I don’t really listen to Japanese artists. But I am attracted to music like King Gnu that is different from the rest, like “What are these people? King Gnu was a surprise. And then there is Higedan (Official Bearded Man-dism). They create rhythms that are a little hard to follow and melodies that are unthinkable.
-I think “Pretender” is actually a very complex melody.
Araki: It is complicated, isn’t it? It’s amazing that you can put them all together in one piece. From my point of view, it’s impossible.
-In the beginning of the interview, you mentioned that you feel the musician’s way of thinking, fashion, and attitude toward the times when you listen to his music, as if you were standing next to him. Could you tell us a little more about what music means to you, Mr. Araki?
Araki: Music is a symbol of a way of thinking and an era, isn’t it? I don’t want to show the sick or negative aspects of my work, and I want to look forward to the future. The same is true of “Jojo. But the fact that there are works that are not positive is also a new feeling for me, and I think I need to learn about that as well. Right now, I am interested in people who are not good. I like people like that. I am interested in people whose humanity is falling apart.
-What do you mean by not good people?
Araki: People try to improve their lives and move up, don’t they? They want to be great to a certain degree or rich. I am interested in people who are not that kind of people, but people who are on their own way to ruin themselves or cause trouble for the world and their families.
Are you talking about real evil?
Araki: I don’t mean evil. There is a reason for that sort of thing. In “JOJOLION,” there is a second son named Tsunehide (higashikata), who is not a good person, but a lovable guy. I drew a story with him as the main character once, and I would like to draw him again. I really like the way he runs after money and other desires.
-It’s the cursed stand “Milagroman” that keeps increasing the amount of money you have one after another, isn’t it? I think that Sander McQueen in Part 6 “Stone Ocean” is the most evil or bad person in my opinion. I think his stand “Highway to Hell”, which drives the person he wants to involve to commit suicide together with him, is an ability that can be called “true evil”, where hostility does not exist and there is no malice.
Araki: That may be so. But basically, in “JoJo,” I avoided characters who went in a negative direction. When I was younger, I decided to stop portraying characters who were suicidal or trying to take themselves in a negative direction, and from then on, I only portrayed “aspiring evil” or people like that… (my thinking changed) I guess that’s when .
-How do you usually listen to music?
Araki: I download music and then listen to it, but basically I want it on CD. I go out and buy them every time. I like to read the information written in small letters on the CⅮ package. Also, I want the jacket, more than anything. I want the jackets, no matter how weird the picture is. I have a shelf of CDs at home, and I love just looking at them. While the order of the songs is important, the order of the albums is also important. I put them in order of release. I think, “Where should I put ‘The Black Album’ (1994)? I don’t like it if it’s out of order.
-Originally, the album was supposed to be released in 1987, and it was released seven years later, you know? I think it would be fun to actually go to the store and look at it. There are some unexpected encounters and such.
Araki: I want to go buy it, not on the Internet, and I’ll buy it in bulk. When you go there yourself, you get information about music and other things you don’t know, and you can meet a lot of different kinds of music. I’m no good ……,” but when I listen to it months later, sometimes it’s good, and I get a different feeling from it.
You mentioned in the comic that -CAN was a band that you had a shocking encounter with after several decades.
Araki: That’s right. At that time, Soft Machine was music that I didn’t understand , but when I heard CAN 20 to 30 years later, I thought, “Wow! I was like, “Wow! I didn’t know this kind of music existed back then. And the fact that there was a Japanese member in the band was amazing.
-It was Mr. Damo Suzuki, wasn’t it? Back to Prince, how did you feel when you heard “Welcome 2 America”?
Araki: First of all, I was happy to hear that he was releasing another new work, but at the same time and I had always thought there was a stock of works, but I wondered if this song was properly completed. I wondered if Prince would have made at least one more tweak if he were still alive. I was also wondering before I heard if Prince had decided on the order of the songs. I was sure there must be something perfect. But when I listened to it, I found that every song has a phrase that always resonates with me, and the sound is calm and nice. It has a different kind of soothing atmosphere.
-The first half is a bit jazzy, and “Hot Summer” is very pop.
Araki: It has a unique European feel to it, so much so that I thought it might have been written by a European. I also like the order of the first four songs, and the “2” in the title is great again. This is Prince. The way “Born 2 Die” and “1010 (Rin Tin Tin)” lead into “Yes” is very Prince-like. I’m very happy.
-The title track, “Welcome 2 America,” is a song about social conditions, racial tensions, and gender, which Prince has been spelling out in his lyrics since the beginning.
Araki: I guess living in America makes you think in your own way. For myself, I try to keep political messages out as much as possible. In “Jojo,” I try not to say anything unnecessary.
Hirohiko Araki ‘s talk about Jojo
-Jotaro kujo and the rest of Joestar’s group in Part III are a diverse group of people, aren’t they?
Araki: Yes, I do. But, you know, I couldn’t include women. I felt that I couldn’t have a pretty girl in a life-and-death fistfight, or in a scene where the characters would have to take the 「Ora Ora Ora」 punch if they were bad. （I stopped thinking that way around Jolyne(Stone Ocean).
-Do you mean you became like that in your time?
Araki: I guess it was the times. Readers of 「JUMP」 don’t care if a woman is depicted in the magazine anymore. In the past, readers would reject the idea. If they refused, the series would end.That was still the case in Japan in the 1980s. I think that even in shōnen manga, the perception of gender and social conditions is changing. In Part 3, I actually wanted to have more girls in that world. I only managed to get a little bit of her out…
-I think there was a runaway girl, Anne.
Araki: She was there, but she retired in the middle of the story. I thought I could go with the storyline (and the girl), but it didn’t work out. I wanted to include her in the group, but I thought it would be too tough for the long trip, so I decided to go with just the guys.
-The girl didn’t have the ability to stand, did she?
Araki: There was a pattern of letting her grow. Stand can be strong no matter how crude it is.
-There was also a dog named Iggy in Joestar’s group, wasn’t there?
Araki: That’s right. Actually, I wanted to create a structure that had a variety of people in it. I wanted to have that kind of lineup because I was conscious of the period and the flow of 「Seven Samurai」.
-You have seen a lot of Prince’s live video works, haven’t you?
Araki: I actually have several of them on Blu-ray. I like the live performance of “Sign O’ The Times” (1987), which is interesting no matter how many times I watch it.
-What do you think is the charm of Prince’s live performances?
Araki: I think it’s that he tries to make it fun, like a party. There are a lot of ideas to attract people, and they play new songs every time. We don’t really stick to our past work. I also like the way you sometimes play the drums. I went to see the Japan concerts of “Batman” (1989) and “Diamonds And Pearls” (1991). I went to the Nippon Budokan and Tokyo Dome about three times.
-How was it to see a live concert?
Araki: It was great. I remember it very well. The way they enlivened the audience, perhaps influenced by James Brown, was in keeping with the feel of past soul music concerts, and they played and sang well.
-Last but not least, what kind of Existence does Prince have for you?
Araki: He always gives me courage to create. He is reassuring. Whenever I am in doubt, I listen to his past works and think, “If it were Prince, he wouldn’t stick to boring things,” or “He would have broken through. I was also encouraged by the fact that his works were consistently released. I am grateful to him for being my target.
-So you are saying that the spirit of Prince will continue to live on in Mr. Araki’s works.
Araki: Of course, he will live on in my future works.
Thank you for watching. See you soon.
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