WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, streaming now on Netflix.
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is a perfect series for Netflix, as it's an easy binge, but also infinitely re-watchable. Every story in this short series packs in so many small but horrifying details and philosophical ideas that viewers will almost certainly miss things the first time -- and the series only gets scarier the more of these you pick up on.
This list will rank all four episodes of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan from the least horrifying to the most, based on the episodes' imagery, intensity, the implications behind the stories' events and the overall creepiness of the characters.
4. "At a Confessional"
In this story, Rohan is a completely passive listener, hearing out the life story of a wealthy Italian businessman and how he attempted to escape the wrath of spirits he'd scorned. This story is not horrifying in the traditional sense, except for some grotesque imagery from those possessed by the spirits, but their anger is justifiable, making the story more of a thriller.
Since the protagonist of this episode actually deserves punishment for his actions, and we already know that he is alive before hearing the story, there isn't much about his success to get emotionally invested in. However, the tale is still a testament to Araki’s storytelling skills -- only he can make someone throwing popcorn into their mouth such an intense experience.
This episode is actually the most JoJo-esque episode in the whole series. The idea of fatalism and people who would do anything to escape fate is a central theme to every JoJo series, and this is also a theme of this episode. The suspenseful battle of wits and guts in the popcorn-eating scene is also reminiscent of many classic JoJo fights. Even without the overt scare, it is still a great story to watch… while eating popcorn.
3. "Millionaire Village"
“Manners maketh the man” is the biggest takeaway from this story about a god who values manners above all else. Once someone passes several etiquette tests, they will receive the god's blessing and become a successful millionaire. Some of the rules that Rohan and his editor must follow are obscure, but if violated, they will lose something they value in exchange for disrespecting the god.
Herein lays the most horrifying implication of this story: if even Rohan had to use his Stand to pass the tests, how do ordinary people without Rohan’s knowledge or abilities pass them? And how much did how many sacrifice to secure their position in this exclusive millionaire village?
2. "The Run"
Rohan’s curious personality often leads him to meet strange characters that become inspirations for his manga, but it can also lead him into dangerous situations, like when he accidentally gets involved with one Yoma Hashimoto. Yoma, a young man obsessed with exercise and bodybuilding, finds that his obsession causes him to become the avatar of the Greek god Hermes, whose winged symbol appears on his body. When Rohan agrees to a treadmill running game with Yoma, he finds himself trapped in a contest that could cost his life.
This is one of the very few times in the entire JoJo series that Rohan is actually in grave danger. After feeling strange about Yoma’s behavior, Rohan reads his mind with his Stand and finds that Yoma has already murdered his girlfriend and many others he felt were in his way. At this point, Yoma has gained superhuman athletic abilities through Hermes, so he could easily kill Rohan -- or he could've, had Rohan not cheated his way out of the game.
The most chilling part is that Yoma feels no guilt or remorse at all for what he did, most likely because gods in this universe do not operate on human rules, they do what they want and no one can stand in their way. Yoma's lack of humanity shows when he casually refers to himself as his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend, implying that she is already dead to him. The complete lack of human emotions, plus his obsessive personality, makes him one horrifying enemy that Rohan can only run away from.
1. "Mutsu-Kabe Hill"
It should hard to pack murder, vampirism and necrophilia into one short episode, but "Mutsu-Kabe Hill" manages it with ease. The story features a wealthy heiress who accidentally killed her lover. Upon discovering that his wound won't stop bleeding, she decides to hide his body in her attic and eventually has his daughter. The heiress is then possessed by a specter that acts like a parasite, it continues to thrive on the heiress’s guilt and her attempts to hide the truth -- all so it can reproduce.
This is a scary enough story just by description alone, add to this the gory imagery of a head wound that continues to spew an unbelievable amount of blood and a body that is mummified after the blood loss, it is a nerve-wracking story that's the stuff of nightmares. Compared to the other three stories, where it can be argued that Rohan or the protagonists deserve some punishment for their actions, in this story, the specter can possess anyone that it dies in front of, regardless of innocence. Rohan didn't do anything to the daughter, yet she still attempted to possess him, making this specter all the more sinister.
The connecting theme across the four stories of this series is Araki’s criticism of the class system, especially the idea of the wealthy getting their fortune and success through sacrificing their humanity. But this theme is the clearest in "Mutsu-Kabe Hill," best exemplified by the parasitic creature that thrives on the labors of others while they senselessly expand for their own selfish benefit. The fact that it is a situation reminiscent of real-life makes it the most horrifying story of all.
