JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Is to Thank For Yandere's Rise
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a series that has little need to flaunt. Creator Hirohiko Araki began the manga decades ago, and its legacy has undergone all sorts of iterations. These days, the shonen is as mainstream as they come as anime has blown up globally. And as new fans come to JoJo by the day, well – it is only right they give thanks to Araki for making yandere a thing.
No, seriously – the creator is considered to have started anime's yandere obsession. The artist pitched the archetype in the early '90s with Yukako Yamagashi, and the industry has not looked back since.
The tidbit surfaced on social media at the start of the year, and the fact does bear contextualization. Araki introduced Yukako in Diamond Is Breakable, so the character was a product of the '90s. In fact, Yukako's personality bares striking similarities to Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's Misery. And given Kathy Bates made the role famous on film two years before Diamond Is Unbreakable launched, well – you can piece together Araki's inspiration.
In interviews at the time, the creator of JoJo admitted he wanted to create a character who had a personality opposite of moe which was popular in the industry. Moe characters were often portrayed as vulnerable, caring leads with inherent innocence none could shake. This trope exists to this day as many know, so back then, Araki turned Yukako into the opposite of moe. This is how the yandere archetype came to be, and it is characterized by a character who loves as fiercely as a moe figure but in a twisted sense. Yandere leads are often deranged and unstable in their affection, and Yukako fits that bill exactly.
Yukako's popularity helped push the yandere archetype into the manga industry as a whole, and the term itself sprung up in the following years. As for Araki, well – his inspiration for the archetype has gotten him in trouble at home if reports are to believe. Pushing aside Misery, Araki once said in an interview Yukako was created when the artist studied his recent marriage.
"I think my experience being married was reflected in my work," Araki shared. "Instead of drawing women just for the sake of it, I started trying to draw the other side of women that you don't usually get to see. I think getting married and having a family has added a lot of depth to my work."
Did you know about JoJo's yandere history...? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.