Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is a spin-off of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure universe, and true to the franchise’s form, it’s densely packed with the supernatural–specifically monsters. Of course, these aren’t stereotypical storybook monsters; they’re much more insidious than that. These are spirits that regularly wreak havoc within the Jojo world, often playing into and exploiting the negative sides of human nature for their gain. The four-episode series seamlessly weaves anxiety, violence, and even mild gore into the plot, and these thriller/horror vibes are reminiscent of early Jojo’s spooky themes.
The show follows 27-year-old Kishibe Rohan, an overly-confident manga artist, as he recounts his dealings with the dark entities that always loom nearby in the supernatural anime of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure world. He helps combat evil with his sharp thinking and help from his Stand, Heaven’s Door, which allows him the ability to literally rewrite peoples’ minds and souls. He reads their inner workings and past experiences like a book, and he can alter the past and future by editing what’s written. But he doesn’t use his ability frivolously within the series. In fact, he uses it to save himself and others from harm.
And there’s plenty of potential harm to go around. Though the show’s episodic nature means there is no main villain, this allows each monster and antagonist to have their moments in the sun – which is well deserved, given how unique (and how unsettling) each one of them is.
The Confessional Ghost
In episode 1, viewers meet the spin-off’s first monster – albeit through someone else. Kishibe recalls how he impersonated a priest in a church confessional while he was visiting Italy, only to hear a dreadful confession. The Jojo’s spin-off’s main character listens to a man divulge that he’s been followed for decades by a spirit who seeks to unleash the same pain on him that he once bestowed on someone else. The monster tells him that it’ll wait until his life’s happiest moment, and purposely snatch that joy away from him, and it does – as although the man tries to trick it by having a servant get plastic surgery to look like him, this merely results in both the spirit he initially mistreated, and the servant he tricked into being killed instead of him.
The Mutsukabezaka
The next monster viewers encounter is “The Spirit of Mutsu-kabe Hill.” This sinister entity lives within people, waiting for the perfect moment to make its host die in front of someone else, sending the witness’s life into despair and guilt. It can be transferred from parents to offspring, as the initial man that the series shows falling victim to a monster-orchestrated demise has a daughter who then takes on the dark being herself. Luckily, Kishibe is able to save the little girl’s life with Heaven’s Door, thwarting at least one attempt against her from the death-wielding spirit.
The Gods of The Mountains
The next monster is actually more than just a singular villain; they’re the “Gods of the Hill” in Millionaire village (who are never seen) and their monotone, detached butler who communicates for them. Ever the hero, Kishibe saves the manga editor he’s with from the malicious bosses who seek to inflict loss on anyone who doesn’t specifically gain from their time in the village.
Hermes
The final monster of the series is Hermes, the “God of Muscle.” This entity possesses a young man looking to physically better himself, slowly transforming him into a murderous gym fanatic whose muscles are actually too toned for his own good. He and Kishibe engage in a life-or-death treadmill duel, where the show’s star has to use his Stand to save himself from sure demise. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan truly channels the surreal nature and phantasmagoric antagonists that have been part of what makes the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise so beloved. This bite-sized spin-off is worth the watch, but be warned: there are monsters at every turn.
