Oh hey, it’s been a while since I’ve written about anything JoJo. What does that mean? Well obviously, it means talking about more JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, though only in a smaller amount this time. Last time was Golden Wind. Stone Ocean has only been announced recently though I still feel like it’s going to air much sooner than people expect it to considering last time. For now, there is only Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe to talk about. This is an adaptation of a side story from lot of people’s favorite manga artist asshole from Diamond is Unbreakable, Rohane Kishibe. I’m so glad that Araki made this because it just adds a little more insanity to the JoJo universe in beautiful ways. This is on Netflix, everyone! Watch it!
So, who is Rohan Kishibe? Well, I already said who he in a shorter amount of detail. He is one of a few people in anime who have ever mastered Seto Kaiba energy to become a fan favorite. Rohan is a loveable asshole manga artist who only thinks about what works for him to create his art/manga. Rohan’s fashion sense is funky and also amazing. With his stand “Heaven’s Door”, he can open up people like a book to see all of their thoughts and memories and even change what people know or can do at his will. It’s horrifying. He can also use his stand power to create manga pages in seconds. Rohan is also stated to be Araki’s avatar in the JoJo Universe and even if Araki denies it, it’s still a possible truth.
Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe is four-episode ova featuring Rohan sharing four different stories that previously happened to him or were told to him by other people. One episode featured him talking to Koichi before he heads over to start Golden Wind. That one is a story about him being in Venice and one day, just walking into the priest’s side of a confessional. What he hears is the one of the weirdest, scariest, and yet wonderful story about a man confessing his sins of what happens after he got lucky for the first time ever. The weirdest part and we haven’t seen how it ends because its still going
Two stories feature very interesting cases of him either working alongside an editor as she tried to find her way into living on inside of a village of millionaires OR talking to an editor about why he bought a pair of forested mountains for his manga because of a death that occurred on them. As one would expect in the JoJo universe, they are also perfect blends of “can you believe this is happening, I have to keep watching”, comedy, and “the most horrifying thing you will ever see”. The first one is very good because it has Rohan challenging a god and winning. The other one, like the one from the previous paragraph, has excellent body horror that effortless works on me. JoJo is a master work of a lot of things combined into one and somehow, it works.
Lastly, the fourth story is a story that actively has Rohan in it but he’s not even a focus character at all. Instead, he is the victim of a crime of an insane model and madman who was over taken with something to the point where he must beat all competition to become the most muscle-bound person ever! His opponent? Obviously, Rohan! The guy is so obsessed with working out and Rohan has shown on his gym meetings that he is a formidable opponent (of course he is). That ending competition is one of the greatest things in anime history and I highly recommend going through Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe just for it.
In terms of art and animation, there was a lot of love and energy put into Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe by David Production who are the JoJo studio. Considering that it’s four episodes in length, I felt like I was watching the highest level of quality episodes possible from Diamond is Unbreakable. The animation was incredibly fluid and exciting by pulling out tons of good tricks and stand abilities all over the place. That means very good action animation, body horror animation, and much more. The character designs themselves are very consistent with Diamond is Unbreakable as well because one does not ruin the beauty that is Rohan Kishibe on screen. Everyone deserves to see him in his full glory.
What can I do here besides give Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe a solid? For its four-episode run, it shares some very unique stories with our wonderful ass hole, Rohan Kishibe. I love stories like these featuring a wandering hero who either tells someone else’s story or is just a side character to a different one as the point of view. JoJo doing these things with a complete and wonderful asshole of a character is just perfection for me. It’s catnip, pure catnip and it’s just so crazy. I do not want more Rohan Kishibe because I think four episodes is the perfect amount. However, I do want some more JoJo and there will be more in the future. Can’t wait!
Mechanical Anime Reviews 