JoJonium 3 - Hirohiko Araki Speaks About Character Creation - Di

TL note: Sorry for the huge delay between the second and third installment (it was and is still convention season). It’s hard to fully convey how jovial Araki writes in these blurbs but it’s pretty funny so see him talking about serial killers in his usual playful tone.

DIO

Data

Birthday: Self reported, therefore, uncertain (From 1867 to 1868)

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Horoscope Sign: Unknown

Blood Type: Unknown



“Ultimate Evil” Isn’t Just Strength, It Must Also Be the Power to Control Others

Like I mentioned when I was talking about Jonathan, Dio was the one I wanted to draw in Part 1. If a human being were to go to the extreme, how far would they be able to go? I wanted to draw a character with that sort of ambition. I named him Dio (which means ‘god’ in Italian) to contrast sound-wise with JoJo. I’ve often heard theories that I took his name from the moped DIO…but I named him Dio before that came out! I wanted to set the record straight as I did about “Bizarre Adventure” in the last volume.

In terms of the contrast with Jonathan, the question was: what kind of guy would be the ultimate villain to a symbol of justice? And, what should he do to become a villain? Often, one compares “who’s stronger” or “who’s more awesome.” Like Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla or Schwarzenegger vs. Stallone. That type of contest or confrontation is what I was going for in the contrast between Dio and Jonathan.

Plus, FBI criminal profiling was all the rage at the time. The “scientific analysis of indiscriminate murder” was an influence Dio. [These murderers] are absolute scoundrels. That said, I think that these criminals are “awesomely strong dudes.” Why would they go so far? Can they do it? Also, I find that characteristic 'control of others’ quality that criminals have interesting. In a famous American case, the perpetrator imprisoned several women in one room and during the course of one night killed them one by one in an adjacent room. The victims all waited in room for their turn to be murdered. I thought their psychological state was quite bizarre… Normally one would wonder, why didn’t they run away? Or couldn’t they have cooperated and defeated their captor? There must have been a way to fight back. But in researching the process of “control" that led to this [state of mind], I uncovered what was effective [in controlling others]. There are various methods, including pure fear, but I felt curiously drawn to the act of controlling others itself.

So, Dio isn’t just simply strong, but became a character that rules over others or is admired and has many that serve him. Precisely because Dio is an adversary like that, there is suspense over "how can anyone triumph over a guy like that?” During serialization, I did not prepare weaknesses for Dio. Because the real pleasure is the suspense of having the ripple defeated and overcoming the strength of your foes. The stronger the foe, the better. But, it was kind of hard for me to think of a way to beat him.

Q: Why is Dio naked…?

A: Because he wanted to show his physical beauty.

If I wanted to draw him exactly as he was, I could, but characters are living things. I guess he looks like a different person if I draw him in my current style?