In 2022, the mobile game “Infinite Lost” developed by Shanghai Ziyi Network will be officially launched into public beta. In a mobile game market that was flooded with Japanese two-dimensional paintings at that time, “Infinite Lost” stood out with its unique style.
In addition to the exquisite painting, “Lost in Time” is also not sloppy in terms of plot. Not only does it show a sinful city influenced by mysterious forces, it also creates a large number of characters with distinctive personalities. Among them, the “Director” played by the player is the main line of the story and the center of the entire agency, and his presence can be described as “eye-catching”.
Different from the brave stories that promote “love and peace”, the characters in “Indefinitely Lost”, the “confined people”, are often burdened with heavy story backgrounds and are trapped in a disease called “mania” and difficult to control themselves. Such women are not recognized and understood by society, and are forced to wander in the “grey area” outside the order.
In order to fit this setting, “Lost” never shied away from elements such as “darkness” and “weirdness” in its plot, and boldly adopted a “dark, deep and residual” style of painting. It was once considered the best film in recent years. New Kaitan game work.
The unique world view setting and character creation make “Lost”, which “does not follow the routine”, become a “weirdo” in the second game market. In the eyes of passers-by, such works are not only difficult to imitate, but also difficult to have in-depth connections with other IPs.
However, there is a certain “gravity” between works. At the end of the spring of 2024, the “weirdo” still met its destined “genius”.
And the name of this genius is Hirohiko Araki.
“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”: a “special case” in juvenile comics
Speaking of “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” (hereinafter referred to as “JoJo”), this comic can indeed be regarded as a “weirdo” on JUMP.
At the beginning of the “JOJO” comic series, it was the time when tough guy comics such as “Fist of the North Star” were popular. Therefore, the character design of the early JOJO was mainly tough and bodybuilding, and it was once regarded as a fighting type comic by the outside world. But the author Hirohiko Araki is not satisfied with this. He carefully arranges every scene of dialogue and battle, and strives to create a work that “will never make readers bored.”
In order to enhance the atmosphere, Araki added onomatopoeia to the picture.
In order to achieve this goal, Araki broke the shackles of the unchanging protagonists of juvenile comics and passed on the title “JOJO” to nine generations of protagonists in nine works. Each work of the Nine Generations is independent of each other, completely different in subject matter and style, and echoes in some details, allowing readers to feel the changes of the times.
jojo through the ages
Correspondingly, the stories of “JOJO” are also very diverse, spanning more than a hundred years from 19th-century England to modern Japan, and the story stages are spread across many countries and regions around the world, depicting The customs and customs of different regions in different periods and under different cultural backgrounds are breathtaking.
In the third part of “Stardust Fighters”, the traveling route of the protagonist group
In terms of painting style, the author Araki created a unique style with reference to classical art and fashion models, and continuously improved and improved it in each work. In the end, JOJO has a unique aesthetic style, which is time-honored. It is still quite recognizable to this day.
The style of painting reflects the author’s pursuit of aesthetics
From the textured “Araki line” on the character’s face to the distinctive “JOJO stand” inspired by fashion models, and the bold and individual costume design, Araki not only goes beyond the common sense of shonen comics, but also goes beyond At the forefront of fashion trends.
JOJO’s own fashion atmosphere
Beginning in 2012, with the animation of the first six volumes of the original comic, the charm of “JOJO” began to gradually “break the circle”, prompting a series of linkages. With the successive linkages with brands such as Luckin and KFC, the influence of “JOJO” has begun to gradually spread.
On April 30, 2024, the JOJO linked version “Sea of Freedom” of “Infinite Lost” was officially launched, and JOJO’s adventure finally entered the domestic game industry.
The most unlikely linkage, but the most “right” linkage
This linkage has far-reaching significance for both JOJO fans and players.
First of all, this is JOJO’s first linkage in the domestic game industry. Before “Infinite Lost”, no domestic game had talked about linkage with JOJO’s IP. Cross-border linkage has to overcome many obstacles, let alone an old IP like JOJO?
For “Infinite Lost” itself, this linkage is also extremely challenging. Prior to this, most of the activities in “Infinite Lost” were original plots, and there were few such linkages that integrated other works and other world views. It’s okay if you don’t link it up. Do you have to eat JOJO for the first time? The pressure on the project team can be imagined. And how to match the game’s usual sexy and mature style with JOJO from the shounen manga? Another problem.
There are many difficulties. It is no wonder that before the official version trailer was officially released, the outside world was not optimistic about the promotion of this linkage. Many players even believe that being able to link up in the form of skins is already the limit.
However, after the linkage version was actually launched, the performance of the linkage was outstanding.
First of all, in the protagonist group of “JOJO’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Sea”, headed by the protagonist “Kujo Xuren”, “FF” and “Weather Forecast” have all joined the card pool as “confined people”. It also comes with brand new original paintings and models.
The linkage as an original character can only be said to have exceeded the expectations of players and fans to a certain extent. What is the quality of the linkage? Can “JOJO” hold up the style of painting?
The answer is obvious to all. Although the previous painting styles of JOJO and “Infinite Lost” are very different, the painters of “Infinite Lost” were able to successfully integrate the two art styles. Whether it is the realistic painting style of the original work or the charm of Araki hidden in the characters’ eyebrows, they have been perfectly preserved.
In terms of results, this time “Infinite Lost” even completed an artistic style showoff.
Not only are the vertical paintings of the incarcerated people, “Infinitely Lost” invested a lot of art resources in this linkage, not only preparing vertical paintings for the three “incarcerated people” who entered the card pool, but also preparing other characters in the plot. , scenes were heavily redrawn. In terms of music, the composition not only maintains a high quality level, but also fits JOJO’s original style, which is very rare.
The full respect for the original work has become another highlight of this collaboration, causing many players to call it “full of JO flavor”.
But to achieve such a “matching taste”, in addition to the art team’s dedication, another deep-seated reason lies in the commonality of content between the two.
As the author said before, the painting style of “Infinite Lost” and “JOJO” are relatively niche in their respective markets, and can even be said to be “unique”. It’s just that the former wins with a “minority” style of painting, while the latter “doesn’t need to imitate others, and others can’t imitate.”
In terms of plot and character creation, the two are also highly compatible.
Although it was originally a juvenile comic published in Jump, “JOJO” is very “bold” in terms of characters and plot: the second protagonist “Joseph Joestar” is a playboy who hates hard work and has a bit of a gangster vibe; The popular protagonist “Jotaro Kujo” first appeared as a “bad guy” who sent gangsters to the hospital; the protagonist of the fifth film “Giorno Giovanna” has dreamed of becoming a gang boss since he was a child… This kind of development , it doesn’t look like a shounen manga at all.
Jotaro calls his mother “mother-in-law”
The most “wonderful” coincidence is that the joint “Sea of Stone” and “Lost” are both set in a prison as the main stage. Some netizens even joked: “This is Xu Lun’s ‘second entry into the palace’ “.
If the above are just “similarities” in appearance, then in terms of plot, the spirit conveyed by the two is more consistent.
Although it uses “evil people” and “cage” as its themes, “JOJO” has never given up on praising the human spirit. “The hymn of mankind is the hymn of courage, and the greatness of mankind is the greatness of courage!” – “Gold The word “spirit” is mentioned repeatedly by the author in the plot.
In the dark destiny, the great spirit of never giving up and never compromising to difficulties is also reflected in “Indefinitely Lost”.
The “gray-haired girl” who died with hope, “Earlsie” who sacrificed himself to fight for hope for the players, “Julian”, the disabled and strong-willed refugee leader… Although their situations were all very desperate, they never gave up for a moment. Fate bows its head.
The repetition of these “knives” at the beginning of the event is actually echoing the theme of “Sea of Stone”
Just like “the stand-in and the stand-in will attract each other”, maybe the two works are destined to attract each other.
This time, look up at the starry sky on the sea of stones
Through the “Sea of Freedom” version, it is not difficult for us to feel the sincerity of the “Lost in Time” production team for the JOJO linkage. Behind the cross-border linkage is the love for their own products and the team’s persistence in content.
Although the voyage on the “Ocean of Stone” has not yet ended, we have reason to believe that as long as the team of “Infinite Lost” continues to follow the starlight guidance of “content first”, their journey will continue.
“Of course I choose to look at the stars. I want to keep looking at the light of the stars.” Kujo Xu Lun said.
