Illustrations take inspiration from classic bijinga posters.

You won’t find many manga artists with steadier work than Hirohiko Araki. All the way back in 1987 the first chapter of Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was published, and the series is still running to this day, when the manga/anime franchise is arguably more popular than ever.

But just because Araki has dedicated close to 40 years of his life now to writing and drawing the JoJo manga doesn’t mean that he can’t find time now and again for side projects. There was his collaboration with Italian luxury brand Bulgari a while back, and now Araki is lending his talents to a collaborative partner whose products are a bit more in reach of those of us with common-man budgets: beer!

Specifically, it’s Yebisu Beer that Araki is lending his artistic talents, though the all-malt sub-brand now produced by Sapporo does often bill itself as “the beer that’s a little luxurious.”

For the special illustrated cans, Araki didn’t just slap some JoJo’s key art on them and call it a day. Instead, he took inspiration from the bijinga (“beautiful woman painting”) poster advertisements that used to be common for Japan’s breweries, like the ones seen below.

Araki has created two illustrations, one for 350-mililiter (11.8-ounce) cans featuring a woman in a red kimono…

…and the other for 500-mililiter cans, with a woman clad in a white kimono.

▼ For reference, Yebisu’s normal cans, with a drawing of the fisherman god of prosperity of the same name, are pretty cool too.

In addition to the cans, Araki’s illustrations are also going to be used for decorative ceramic plates and coasters, which are being given away as part of a promotion for purchasers of six-packs of the Araki cans. When you open the pack, if you spot a post card with 当たり (“winner”) written on it, you can mail it in to claim your prize.

▼ Yebisu is giving away 500 small plates, which include a display stand…

▼ …and 5,000 bundles of metallic coasters and two-can boxed sets.

The special Araki-illustrated Yebisu cans go on sale, for a limited time, on February 12.

Source: Sapporo Beer via Japaaan
Top image: Sapporo Beer
Insert images: Sapporo Beer (1, 2)
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