Manga in Theory and Practice: How to Create Villains

Araki Hirohiko no Mangajutsu #2

by Hirohiko Araki

Manga in Theory and How to Create Villains gives you a front-row seat as the maestro shares the techniques of making a great villain, examines his own work, and breaks down the four basic structures of manga. With commentary from his editor, investigations into characters like DIO, and a study of the panel layout of The JOJOLands, this book will be a crucial part of your manga development.

Genres: Art

192 pages, Hardcover

Published August 25, 2026

About the author

Hirohiko Araki ( 荒木飛呂彦) is a Japanese manga artist. He left school before graduation from Miyagi University of Education.

He enjoys the baseball manga Kyojin No Hoshii (Star of the Giants); the video games Mario Kart and Bomberman; and likes Prince and other African-American singers, as well as jazz, rock, and rap.

He is a recipient the Tezuka Award for manga.

Reviews

[Kate Dash]

Books about the craft of creating memorable manga characters are incredibly rare, and whenever Hirohiko Araki decides to share his creative process, it’s worth paying attention.
What I appreciated most is that this isn’t just a collection of “how I became successful” stories. Araki breaks down storytelling fundamentals that apply far beyond manga. The discussion about properly structuring a story—understanding where the introduction ends, how to build toward a satisfying climax, and how to deliver a meaningful conclusion—was one of the most valuable parts for me. Just as important is his emphasis on balancing the character arc with the plot instead of letting one overshadow the other.
I also loved his advice on getting to know your characters as if they were real people. Giving them hobbies, habits, preferences, and even conducting imaginary interviews with them might sound simple, but it’s an incredibly effective exercise for creating believable personalities.
The section on villains was easily my favorite. Araki explains that compelling antagonists aren’t created by making them “evil for the sake of being evil.” The most memorable villains have their own logic, motivations, and twisted moral code. Reading his breakdown of iconic JoJo antagonists—and why they work so well—was fascinating.
Even if you’re not planning to draw manga, there’s a surprising amount to learn here about storytelling, character writing, and narrative structure. It’s the kind of creative book that makes you want to immediately open your notebook and start brainstorming new ideas.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca]

While not quite as thorough as the first book, this is still an excellent craft manual, not just for writing manga, but for any writing project.

[David L.]

Viz Media needs better QC because I found at least 4 typos, one of which was the word "villains" (as "villians" of course). Not worth the asking price but it's Araki so we gotta pay Shonen Jump whatever they ask for :(

Review itself: Not super in-depth on the titular topic, but a good companion to his previous book. Some nice philosophizing about manga. Gives a brief background on Jojolands.

[Vanessa]

荒木先生らしさが詰まった新漫画術でした。歴代の悪役たちがどのように構成されていったのか、本来なら言葉で説明するのが難しい技術的な部分から漫画を作る際の心得まで、荒木先生の人間性が垣間見える内容で良かったです。

[Tayler (Pyrrha)]

"I pray with all my heart that those who want to become mangaka will advance the craft and find glory. Please go out and make wonderful works." - Hirohiko Araki

Interesting and fun but not as thorough as the first book. Still works as a nice companion piece but I did want a little more from it. I felt a lot of the information was a little surface level (that could be due to the translations), but I would have liked a more detailed step by step break down of his work for examples to really highlight the process (maybe even Araki breaking down other Mangaka works for examples also). This felt more like a quick seminar about the topic and then some extra tips on the side.

Considering that this cost $25, I would rent it (Library, friend, ect.) vs. buying it unless you are truly studying manga and want/need the references.

[Colemizzy]

Super cool!
This is just a continuation of the last book with the same essence. This is absolute peak too because the guru araki references the other guru oda so yea super cool. I wish he delve a little bit more into his theory’s are artist and the change of times as I share that belief that artist are some of the most perceptive people in regards to society in general but I understand that’s not what the book is about.
“believe that artists might be the first of us to perceive the concepts of every upcoming era.”