Manga Reviews Reviews

Manga Review: Rohan at the Louvre (2010) By Hirohiko Araki

Commissioned by the Musee de Louvre and published into English by Publications, “” takes the popular character from the “Jojo's Bizarre Adventure” series and has him unravel a mystery within the museum's archives. While staying with family, Rohan meets a young attractive woman who takes an interest in his art, and confides in him the story of a painting she saw as a kid, which embodies evil intent. After the young girl disappears, the renowned mangaka books a flight to Paris to try to confirm the existence of the evil painting at the Louvre where it is rumored to be housed.

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Mangaka created one of the most avid fanbases with his long running series “Jojo's Bizarre Adventure”, a series that most are familiar withm through watching it themselves or having that one friend who is first to recommend it whenever anime is discussed. Over the years, it has almost created its own sub culture of fans, that is meme heavy with almost every moment in pop culture being responded with “Is that a Jojo reference?”. Regardless of how one feels about the fandom around the iconic series, for people in the fandom it is hard not to get excited towards any work tied into the world of ‘Jojo', and “Rohan at the Louvre” boasts a great deal for existing fans to want to seek out this edition.

Araki's artwork is an eclectic mix of influences, with overly muscular figures clothed in unrealistic fashion, and often bearing names based on cheesy 80's rock icons. The artwork can warp the overly expressive characters into extreme body horror from one panel to the next. This over the top style has seldom been presented in a full color edition, let alone on large scale, glossy paper. Consequently, the riotous spirit of Araki's visual aesthetic feels fully realized, presenting a deeper insight and perspective on his artistic prowess. Overall, the edition is a glorious way for fans to get lost in the Mangaka's art, which has gained him so much admiration among fans.

The one obvious downside of this edition is it is not friendly to those outside of the fandom, particularly with little backstory or explanation of Rohan's abilities. In spite of the story being engaging within the lore of the series, and the art of Araki (as usual) being beautifully detailed and presented at its best, it is hard to see the lack of background drawing in new fans. Thankfully, for those who find the idea of characters from prominent series getting a similar treatment, there is a series of graphic novels available over at NBM, including an edition from prominent Japanese mangaka Jiro Taniguchi.

For fans familiar with the property, the story presents a decent mystery in typical Araki style, with a mysterious persona with some unknown power waiting to spring an attack on the protagonist. Furthermore, the mix of violence and superpowers gets the same attention to detail as the typical story arc in the mangaka's work. The approach can be seen as rather formulaic for Araki, and won't stand out among the many ordeals he has put his heroes through. However, given the proof of success in this format, the narrative still delivers in a way that will appeal to existing fans. Particularly, there is a degree of romance within the character of Rohan that feels less explored over others in “Jojo”, arguably making him the best fit to visit the Louvre (outside of his love of the arts).

“Rohan at the Museum” is a title that seems somewhat overlooked in the “Jojo” universe, mostly just in being a side story unrelated to any of the main characters. However, given the glossy and colorful presentation in large print, it strikes me as a title that should have any fan of Araki's work clamoring for this release. For myself being such a huge fan of the mangaka and the series, this edition feels like a proper celebration of the Araki's artistic talent. It is unfortunate that this release, which so gloriously captures the essence of Araki's prowess, will not speak to those outside of the established fandom. Overall, this is a true treat for fans of Araki, and if you count yourselves amongst that very vocal group, this edition should not be overlooked.

About the author

Adam Symchuk

Adam Symchuk is a Canadian born freelance writer and editor who has been writing for Asian Movie Pulse since 2018. He is currently focused on covering manga, manhwa and light novels having reviewed hundreds of titles in the past two years.

His love of film came from horror and exploitation films from Japan that he devoured in his teens. His love of comics came from falling in love with the works of Shuzo Oshimi, Junji Ito, Hideshi Hino, and Inio Asano but has expanded to a general love of the medium and all its genres.

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