3. December 2019, original post
OLD - Might need revision in wording and such.
Character: Noriaki Kakyoin
Part: III
OLD - Might need revision in wording and such.
Character: Noriaki Kakyoin
Part: III
Kakyoin's canon body type
Saying that Kakyoin is supposed to be buff and is only drawn slim in fan art because other crusaders are more buff is FAKE NEWS and I am here to tell you why with facts and research from multiple sources because that’s what I chose to do with my life. Factual Jojo research.
Firstly, the statement that Kakyoin is buff because the manga/anime portrays him as such ignores the fact that Araki had an obvious same body syndrome during SDC, as pretty much every male character was V-shaped. I doubt that this is a point of discussion since it’s a pretty well known and agreed upon fact.
Firstly, the statement that Kakyoin is buff because the manga/anime portrays him as such ignores the fact that Araki had an obvious same body syndrome during SDC, as pretty much every male character was V-shaped. I doubt that this is a point of discussion since it’s a pretty well known and agreed upon fact.
This description was written back when Stardust Crusaders was still being released, meaning that Kakyoin being slim was not a retcon or a recent development, he was always supposed to be like this.
And thirdly, he is quite clearly drawn to be notably slimmer than the confirmed buff dudes in Araki’s later, slightly less same-body-ish style. It’s seen very well on the Jojonium covers where there’s a selection of several confirmed muscular characters to compare him with (comparing arm thickness, chest width and shoulder width particularly). |
A very good comparison even goes as far back as the Capcom game from ‘98, released during the Vento Aureo style era;
Kakyoin and Polnareff are depicted in a very similar pose here, which makes their different body mass so clear that I don’t think you need me to point it out. And this concludes my debunking of the “Kakyoin is buff, actually” theory.
I do feel a need to say that it’s OBVIOUSLY not a bad thing if anyone wants to draw him in a style more reminiscent of SDC, but ignoring the later works and written words and claiming that he is canonically supposed to look like that and that it’s not just the author’s (charming) failings at drawing his own characters the way he envisioned them is disingenuous, and I don’t like that very much.
Peace!
PS: Also please don’t forget that Kakyoin is a feral mad lad, not a soft boy. _A small frame does not a soft boy make!
I do feel a need to say that it’s OBVIOUSLY not a bad thing if anyone wants to draw him in a style more reminiscent of SDC, but ignoring the later works and written words and claiming that he is canonically supposed to look like that and that it’s not just the author’s (charming) failings at drawing his own characters the way he envisioned them is disingenuous, and I don’t like that very much.
Peace!
PS: Also please don’t forget that Kakyoin is a feral mad lad, not a soft boy. _A small frame does not a soft boy make!