Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan



Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is a canon spin-off series to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that takes place in Morioh, the setting of Diamond is Unbreakable. Rohan Kishibe is the protagonist, and this series lacks an overall main antagonist and villainous faction.

It is an anthology series featuring Rohan Kishibe as the protagonist/ narrator throughout every chapter. The stories deal with other supernatural abilities besides Stands, including the likes of ghosts, avatars of Greek Gods, Yokai, and ancient cursed doppelgangers.

Chapters release infrequently and have released over the course of seven different magazines. Four chapters have released in Weekly Shonen Jump, two in Jump Square and Ultra Jump, and one each in Spur, Shonen Jump+, Bessatsu Margaret, and JOJO magazine.

Starting in 2016 a couple of the one-shot chapters for TSKR began being adapted into an OVA by David Productions. The first episode released was Millionaire Village, in 2017, and in 2018 Mutsu-Kabe Hill was animated. Two years later in 2020, The Run and At a Confessional were released. As of now only four out of the twelve TSKR chapters have been adapted.

In 2020 Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe was adapted into a live-action-drama series that made up three episodes. In the following two years two more seasons would be released, adapting seven more stories, including arcs originally from Diamond is Unbreakable and the Rohan Kishibe Short Story Collections. In May 2023 a film adaptation of Rohan at the Louvre based on the drama series released.

The series was officially released in English in 2022.

Netflix Description
A popular manga creator becomes enmeshed while conducting research: Stand User Kishibe Rohan visits Italy, goes bankrupt, and more.

Summary
Rohan Kishibe, famous manga artist featured in Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable, details his findings of supernatural phenomenon. He is joined by Kyoka Izumi as he discovers a village of millionaires that has very strict rules on who can live there, details the story of a vengeful spirit in the forest of Mutsu-Kabe Hill, reminisces on his rivalry with the Avatar of the Greek God Hermes, and describes to Koichi Hirose the time he visited Italy and heard the story of a vengeful ghost.

Chapters not yet in Tankoban format

 * Episode 10: Hot Summer Martha
 * Episode 11: Drip Painting Style, Part 1
 * Episode 11: Drip Painting Style, Part 2

Drama original episodes
These are episodes of the TSKR TV drama that are either original or based on media that isn't the original Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan manga.

Rohan at the Louvre (2010)
Another addition to the Rohan saga, this is a non-canon story that acts as promotion for Araki's artwork being shown at the Louvre in Paris. It tells the story of Rohan visiting this art museum and discovering some dark secrets about some of the contents in this facility. It is confirmed to be non-canon because it conflicts with the information already provided to us in the official JoJo lore.

An official hardcover English translation was released in April 2012 for a limited time.

Rohan at the Louvre received a film adaptation on May 26th, 2023, twelve years since the original release in Japan. The film is based on the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan TV Drama series that has been releasing since 2020, and Issey Takahashi and Marie Iitoyo reprised their roles as Rohan Kishibe and Kyoka Izumi respectively. The film was released officially with English subtitles on September 22nd, 2023.

Rohan at the Louvre is also received a novelization written by Ballad Kitaguni released alongside the film in May 2023.

Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection (2017 - Ongoing)
A light-novel of a group of short stories written in the style of the Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe series by Ballad Kitaguni and other authors. They are first released in monthly Ultra Jump in smaller booklets with 2-3 chapters in them, and later on in 2018 the three original booklets were compiled into two volumes with an additional chapter only for the book release added. The stories released within the first two volumes were Kushagara, Blackstar, Blood-Stained Bookmark, Censored Equation, Okami-Sama, Box of Happiness, Yuyaganidai, Symmetry Room, and Gleanings of Paradise.

In October 2021 two brand new Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection chapters released. The two new chapters released in 2021 were Golden Melody and Original Author Kishibe Rohan. These two chapters, with the addition of a new story titled The Five-Bedroom House With A..., were compiled in a third volume in December 2022.

Rohan au Louvre VISUAL BOOK (2023)
An official picture album book by the Rohan au Louvre film production committee, released alongside the film. Featured in it is concept art, interviews and looks at the film behind the scenes. It includes thousands of carefully selected photographs showcasing the passionate performances of the main cast, off-shots, and valuable backstage moments.

It features a long discussion between Rohan Kishibe's actor, Issey Takahashi, the director Kazutaka Watanabe, and screenwriter Yasuko Kobayashi. There are numerous valuable testimonies from the cast and staff who shaped the live-action adaptation. The book is presented in a hardcover format, similar to the original collector's edition of the Rohan au Louvre manga. It is the second visual novel released alongside a JoJo live-action film, after the Diamond is Unbreakable - Chapter 1 Visual Novel that released in 2017

Trivia

 * The spin-off series Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (in Japanese "Rohan Kishibe Does Not Move") is titled that because the stories are meant to be about Rohan as an onlooker to the events portrayed, so he "does not move," because he is merely telling the story.
 * Hot Summer Martha and Drip Painting Style are the first canon pieces of JoJo media to take place post-Stone Ocean (being in 2021 and 2022).
 * It is theorized that TSKR takes place in a "floating timeline" due to some minor inconsistencies, such as the map of Morioh in Poaching Seashore being the same as the Morioh from JoJolion. In these two chapters as well, Rohan is seen with a collection of figures in his room, some of which resemble Stands that only exist in the new universe such as Soft & Wet.
 * Rohan Goes to Gucci, which was originally included in Volume 1, is absent from the English release.

Iconography
The most common piece of imagery used for this spin-off is Rohan's iconic fountain pen. It is a symbol used on all of the volume illustrations in both manga volumes, and is most associated with Rohan, not only because it is his item of choice to write and draw manga with, but also because it is what he uses to draw in midair to summon his Stand. The tip of a fountain pen is also embedded in many of Rohan's various outfits he is seen wearing throughout all of his appearances. Rohan's iconic earrings are also in the shape of the tip of a fountain pen.

Not as common, but semi-frequently used instead of the fountain pen, is the paintbrush. Most likely due to the fact that Rohan is an artist, other than being a writer, but the paintbrush is depicted on and around Rohan in both of the volume arts released for the spin-off.

Continuity

 * The first story, At a Confessional, reveals where Rohan learned Italian from and how he was able to teach it to Koichi in Part 5.
 * Tonio Trussardi, who previously was introduced in the Let's Eat Italian Food arc in Part 4, appears as a major character in the chapter Poaching Seashore. It is revealed in this chapter that Tonio is from Amalfi, Italy, and he has a girlfriend there with a brain tumor that Pearl Jam can't heal. It's revealed that he came to Morioh in the first place to catch abalones to incorporate into his cooking in order to heal her.
 * Hot Summer Martha and Drip Painting Style are the first two stories to be canonically placed in the timeline after the events of Stone Ocean.
 * An error exists in Hot Summer Martha- While the events of this chapter take place in 2021 and 2022, Kyoka is mentioned to still be 25 years old, which was originally said to be her age in Millionaire Village. At this point she should be around 34 years old.