My Truly Unique Experience with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

My Truly Unique Experience with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Colin Marquis

Because of COVID, people have been trying to find new media to enjoy. A couple months before we went into quarantine, I started watching a show called JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It was recommended to me many times by my friends, and I had heard a lot about it and seen many memes about it as well. The only problem was I had never watched anime before, and I didn’t really want to. Once I finally decided to watch it, I was hooked for the first few episodes.Then, due to multiple issues with the story, I stopped watching for a few days; but after part 1 was over, I watched it pretty consistently. When the quarantine happened, I watched it constantly, and I finished parts 3, 4, and 5 within a few months. After that, I decided to go read the manga (which are just comics originating from Japan). That took me a few months, and now I find myself finishing the entire series—all in less than a year. The current part, part 8, is still coming out, but I am now up to date on the entire series.

I would definitely recommend it to anyone that thinks a battle series with really cool concepts sounds good because it definitely succeeds in that regard. It is all about fights and spectacle, but can also slow down and unpack darker themes about fate, death, and destiny. New fans do need to realize that the series is from Japan though, as they are a lot more ok with mature topics and themes. If you don’t mind it, though, you are in for a ride; it has some of the most fun in any series that I’ve read or watched. Each part is distinct, starring a different member of the Joestar lineage, which means each part has a new setting, cast, and plot. It really helps the pacing, as it’s a really long series; but because all the parts are so drastically different, it never gets stale. It also has some of my favorite characters in any series, and the whole package just comes together brilliantly. The producers add so much to the series, including a fantastic soundtrack for every season, and they just spend so much time and effort making visuals look as amazing as possible. The fights come alive in a way that they just didn’t in the original source material. It is a consistently good series that I never thought was bad. If you’re looking to have some fun for a good while, watch JoJo. For an in-depth review of each part, keep reading!

Part Reviews

Part 1: Phantom Blood

Phantom Blood is what got me interested in this show because the first three episodes do a really good job at setting up the world and getting viewers invested. Right after episode 3, we are introduced to the power system, Hamon. Hamon is essentially a breathing technique that can boost characters’ ability to engage in battles. The breathing channels energy from the sun so that Hamon users can fight the undead, as zombies and vampires are weak to sunlight. Hamon works really well, as in the first episodes we were introduced to a mask made of stone, which when getting blood on it, can turn anyone into a vampire. Though the mystery of who created the mask doesn’t fully develop until part 2, it creates questions that viewers want to see answered. The main villain of the part 1 (and of the whole series, by extension), Dio Brando, (later known as DIO) puts on the mask in order to become immortal, so Jonathan Joestar, also known as JoJo, needs to learn how to use Hamon to stop him. This is a fine setup on its own, but the issue is that Hamon is very poorly explained and confusing in part 1; and, before the final battle, we go through many fights with minor antagonists who are very uninteresting and forgettable. Dio, on his own, is a great villain; and the rivalry between him and JoJo is fantastic, but we don’t get a lot of that in the middle chunk of part 1. On the more positive side, part 1 still has some very likeable characters, such as Robert E.O. Speedwagon and Baron Zeppeli. The JoJo of part 1, Jonathan Joestar, is one of the more boring JoJos, just because he doesn’t really have a character arc, but that’s because his personality is already great. He stands up for what’s right and just overall strives to be a true gentleman, so he’s entertaining enough on his own. Overall, Phantom Blood is good, but it can be hard to get through at times. It definitely helps that it’s short, being only 44 chapters, or 9 episodes, if you prefer to watch it.  5/10

Part 2: Battle Tendency

This is one of my personal favorite parts. It is such a big improvement over Phantom Blood, and that all starts with the JoJo of part 2, Joseph Joestar. He can be a big, dumb jerk at times, but he’s really funny and endearing most of the time. He has a full character arc, becoming more righteous and less selfish by the end. The characters in part 2 are much more fleshed out than in part 1 as well, with Caesar Zeppeli being an improvement over his grandfather. Joseph and Caesar’s relationship feels real and organic. They start out with hating each other; but through all of their experiences, they become good friends in a way that leaves you satisfied. Their master, known as Lisa Lisa, is the first strong female in JoJo; and she has a good backstory (though obviously unplanned), so she’s a good addition as well. Another stand out character is Major Von Stroheim. He is a Nazi; and while that does contribute to questionable actions, he befriends JoJo to help defeat the villains. At heart he’s a good man who just got caught on the wrong side of the war. The villains of part 2 aren’t better than Dio, but they are really charming in their own way. The final battle with the main villain, Kars, ends with an epic chapter. Hamon is also used in a much less confusing and more grounded way, and they establish rules for what you can and can’t do with it. Part 2, in general, tries to make everything as realistic as possible, while very crazy things are happening at the same time. Viewers also receive a lot of satisfying answers to questions from part 1. Part 2 also has some of the best pacing and one of the best stories. The story flows very well without any unnecessary interruptions. Battle Tendency is amazing, and it’s one of my favorite packages as a whole when it comes to JoJo. 8/10

Part 3: Stardust Crusaders

Stardust Crusaders is full of high highs and very low lows. To start, it has probably my favorite main cast in JoJo. They aren’t the most fleshed out characters; but they are very fun, and they develop different friendships with each other, which I appreciate. My favorite character from this part is Jean Pierre Polnareff. He has the most episodes featuring him and the most development in general. The story setup for this part is great too. The mother of Jotaro (the new JoJo) has fallen ill due to a virus that is affecting the whole Joestar lineage, so they have to go to Egypt in order to kill the person responsible for releasing it. DIO comes back in this part, and he’s more evil than ever. Now, with new abilities, he wants to destroy the entire Joestar bloodline. A big plus for this part are the addition of Stands. Stands are a new concept to part 3, and they appear in every subsequent part after. They are a manifestation of your fighting spirit, taking the form of a ghostly being or object. They sound pretty lame, and they aren’t well implemented into this part at all; but Stands will be a mainstay for the rest of the series, and they are used much better later on. Each person’s Stand is unique to that person, and the main heroes have some cool Stands. However, the problem is that none of the enemy Stand users have any personality, and the only reason that the fights even happen is so they can get slightly closer to Egypt. Also, Hirohiko Araki (the creator) decided to name all of the Stands after tarot cards. Unfortunately, there are a lot of tarot cards, and writers felt the need to use up every single one. This makes part 3 really slowly paced, and honestly really hard to get through. It goes on for 48 episodes in total, and it feels really sluggish—until the second half. At the halfway point of part 3, they get to Egypt, and then the fights get way more creative and cool. DIO’s fight in particular is amazing, and one of the best in the show, but it doesn’t make up for the first half. In my opinion, the first half of part 3 has some of the worst stuff in all of JoJo. Part 1 is sluggish, but at least it’s really short. Part 3 is really sluggish, AND it’s very long. It’s better to watch it with a friend or family member. I was watching it with my brother during the two weeks where we didn’t have homework in quarantine, and it was a lot of fun. Go into it with an open mind, enjoy the Stands, and you’ll like part 3. 6/10

Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable

To start with part 4, all I’ll say is that Araki definitely learned from his mistakes in part 3. He learned how to utilize his Stand system in a way that doesn’t bore you to tears while still keeping the fights fun and interesting. Part 4 has some of the most memorable characters in the series, with people like Josuke Higashikata, Okuyasu Nijimura, and Rohan Kishibe, the latter of which even gets his own spinoff series. All of the different relationships between the main cast are what make them work, such as Rohan taking a liking to Koichi, while he intensely hates Josuke. They all feel like real people. This is because Araki changed his artstyle from more muscular characters to ones with more realistic proportions, but also because the main cast is mostly kids still in high school. Viewers see Josuke, the JoJo of part 4, doing stuff like playing video games, hanging out with his friends, or just causing mischief. Even the Stand battles are much less violent, with most of the enemies only ending up in the hospital—compared to the Crusaders, who just mindlessly mowed down their enemies. The first half of part 4 is very simple and fun, with the gang just walking around and sometimes finding enemies, but the second half really picks up when the main villain is introduced. His name is Yoshikage Kira, and he is what is probably the best villain in all of JoJo. He’s not someone who wants to destroy the world; all he wants is to live a quiet life while also doing what brings him peace, which is killing women and severing their hands. He’s only a serial killer; and while he does have a very deadly Stand (named Killer Queen), he’s not a villain that is going to go out of his way to destroy the heroes. He’s only trying to defend his peaceful and happy life, in his eyes. He’s not my personal favorite villain in the series, but the way he was written was fantastic and not like any other main villain that I’ve ever seen. A twist that happens halfway through part 4 makes Kira a smarter villain than he first seems, and he’s just really fun to watch. In my opinion, the final battle left something to be desired; but it all wraps up in a positive way. It leaves viewers satisfied with the adventure that just happened, but also leaves them wanting more of these characters. If you enjoy a more slice-of-life formula in a show, then part 4 is for you. 8/10

Part 5: Golden Wind

Part 5 is one of the best parts in JoJo. It has the best main cast in the entire series (all with differing goals and backstories), but they are mostly all working for the same purpose. The plot of Golden Wind seems pretty simple to start: Giorno Giovanna (the JoJo of part 5) wants to stop the drug trade in order to stop kids from being affected by drugs. However, part 5 ends up a story all about fate, abandonment and relationships. Most of the main characters have been wronged by the world, and it all leads back to the drug trade and the mafia. They all end up in bad situations, such as Narancia being stuck on the streets with a fatal infection without anyone to take care of him, as his mother had died; or Mista getting jail time for shooting some men in order to save a woman being assaulted; or Abbacchio being labeled as a corrupt cop and getting his partner killed.These characters have all been saved by Bruno Bucciarati. Bucciarati is one of the best characters in JoJo, as he is a very kind person that believes in helping others that need it. He lets them join his team, so they can feel that they belong somewhere. Part 5 is full of relationships like these, and more of them show up as the show progresses. When Trish (the boss’s daughter) shows up, they end up having to protect her, and get her to the boss. But halfway through part 5, something happens that causes her to join the gang in order to bring down the boss as well; and then, even more relationships develop between her and the other characters. The main villain, Diavolo, on the other hand, decides to turn away from any relationships, as he feels that connections to people and—by extension—your past can make you weak. The relationships between the heroes drives them to stay alive throughout part 5, and this also translates into the Stand battles. The Stand battles in this part are some of the best in the series, as almost every Stand in part 5 is very powerful. Normally, it’s uninteresting to see overpowered abilities facing off against each other, but every Stand has limitations so that no Stand is completely invincible. Part 5 also begins to use Stand battles to progress the story in a meaningful way instead of just being there for the sake of a fight, and this is refreshing. Part 5 is also the latest part to be adapted into animation (as of December, 2020), and the show is absolutely stunning visually. The animation is clean, detailed, and fluid. The voice acting is also amazing as always, and the soundtrack is fantastic as well. Golden Wind is one of the best parts in the entire saga, and it gets a high recommendation from me. 9/10

Part 6: Stone Ocean

The highs in part 6 aren’t as high as those in part 5, but Stone Ocean is amazing on its own. In my opinion, the story setup for part 6 is one of the best in the series. It starts with Jolyne Cujoh (the daughter of a previous JoJo, Jotaro Kujo,) getting sent to prison even though she did nothing wrong. She ends up developing a Stand while there; and right as the audience gets used to the setting and the new JoJo, the main villain appears and disables Jotaro by taking away his Stand and his memories. Jolyne then begins a quest to save her father, Jotaro. It really is a great beginning, and I praise Stone Ocean for that. I also praise it for being unique and different, having a mostly female cast—especially back in 2001, when people couldn’t really imagine a female character taking punches. Jolyne is one of my personal favorite JoJos, and the other two major female characters, Hermes Costello and Foo Fighters, are great as well. Foo Fighters, in particular, is one of my favorite JoJo characters, as she is just such a likeable and fun person; I always enjoyed seeing her. Themes in part 6 aren’t as well defined as in part 5, so a lot of part 6 is held up by the characters; but they are all pretty good. I don’t like any of them as much as previous characters, aside from the previously mentioned Foo Fighters and Jolyne. Also, Narciso Annasui is just a really hilarious, endearing character, as he loves Jolyne and would do anything to protect her, while having a dark side to him. Aside from those three, Weather Report is also an amazing character. I can’t explain why without spoiling it, but he had his memory taken by the main villain as well; so as part 6 progresses, we learn more about his backstory and who he used to be. Though the villain of part 6  isn’t nearly as good as a lot of the past villains, Enrico Pucci sets himself apart from the others by being a priest that idolized DIO, and trying to carry out his plan after his death. His and DIO’s plan was called “the heaven plan.” This plan involves repeating fourteen phrases while standing at the right coordinates, which would grant them a power that would allow everybody in the world the ability to see their own fate in order to live a better life. While that is a noble goal in concept, Pucci murders and cheats in order to do this; and, as Weather Report puts it, “You’re the worst kind of evil… the kind of evil that doesn’t know it’s evil.” Pucci put blind faith in DIO, and truly believes in the heaven plan. All of these characters are great, and the character designs in part 6 are amazing, rivaling designs in Golden Wind in a lot of areas; in fact, I like them even more. The Stands especially look amazing, and I think that some of the Stands in part 6 have some of the best designs in the entire series. Aside from that, part 6 continues the trend of enemy Stands actually leading the heroes closer to the goal of defeating Pucci. Because part 6 is mostly confined to a prison setting, there is some added tension during some fights, as they are always pursued by the guards while trying to accomplish the goal of fighting the enemy Stand. The Stands are just as creative as they always are, but you can tell that the Stands are getting very overpowered at this point in the series because each part needs to be even bigger and better than the last. This is probably why the author decides to start over, with parts 7 and 8 taking place in a new continuity. Some of the Stands have really bad fights attached to them in this part, unfortunately. However, as the ending of the first universe, part 6 is good. The ending is one of the best in the series, but there was some missed potential. I am very excited for this part to be animated though, and I’m sure when the anime for it comes out it’s going to be great. 7/10

Part 7: Steel Ball Run

Part 7 is the start of the alternate universe, where Araki decided to create a separate continuity. Some people even think that this universe is an improvement over the original. It does have two really fantastic parts under its belt, so I can definitely agree. Steel Ball Run goes back in time, to the 1800s, back when America was still being developed. So this part is essentially a western with cowboys and horse races; and while it sounds weird, it makes a lot of sense and creates a really unique setting for the JoJo universe. Part seven is very weird in general, but it works really well. It is the peak of JoJo, where all of the concepts just work, and everything comes together very well. The main villain of the part is named Funny Valentine. He’s the president of the United States, but he’s an amazing villain. He has a really amazing Stand, and his philosophies and motivations make sense. The JoJo of part 7 and his crew are actually some of the best characters in the series. Johnny Joestar is one of the best developed JoJos, both figuratively and literally.While regaining the use of his legs, (after being paralyzed a long time ago), he goes on a journey in order to stop the president. While doing all of this, he also evolves his Stand more and more; and eventually, it grows along with him. A friend of Johnny’s, Gyro Zeppeli, is also one of the best characters in the entire series. As an executioner from Europe, his family tries to get him to kill people, despite him not really enjoying it. When he ends up having to execute a kid, he travels to America to take part in the Steel Ball Run race to get enough money to bail the kid out of prison. Also, an anti-hero that shows up every now and then is Diego Brando, who isn’t nearly as evil as his counterpart DIO, but he is definitely more developed. He’s all on his own, so he goes after Johnny and Gyro a lot. However, Diego realizes what Valentine is trying to do, so Diego goes to fight him as well. Valentine’s plan is to find all of the parts of the “holy corpse” in order to be a good president, using its holy power to get rid of all of the bad things in the country. The holy corpse parts are parts of Jesus Christ, so they are a huge part of the story. Everyone is trying to take possession of them, all for different reasons. Johnny wants them to heal his legs, Diego wants them to rule the country, Hot Pants wants them to atone for her sins, and Valentine just wants to make America better. What’s even more interesting about Valentine is that his actions are righteous, and more heroic than Johnny’s. Johnny does want to keep the parts of the holy corpse from Valentine, because Valentine is killing people to get all of the parts; but Johnny wants them for a selfish reason, in a way that only services him. The corpse creates a really cool dynamic where everybody is fighting over it, and viewers are not sure who to root for; but it’s very entertaining. Another thing that sets part seven apart is the Spin. The Spin is a new power system that isn’t Hamon or Stands, but is a completely new thing. It involves the “golden rectangle”, which you might’ve heard about in math class. It is essentially a way to unlock the power of infinity, so the spin allows someone to find a golden rectangle in nature, and then they can spin something of theirs to turn it into a weapon. In the case of Gyro, they are two balls made of steel, which he spins very fast and throws at his enemies and Johnny spins his fingernails and shoots them like bullets. It is a very cool and fresh power system. Although its abilities and limitations aren’t always clear, it creates cool battle strategies and adds a lot of new lore to how Stands work, as the spin is connected to unlocking a Stand. Now, part seven is pretty awesome, but it doesn’t always live up to that quality standard. Unfortunately, some of the Stands in this part are either very boring or their fights are very anticlimactic. A lot of the early Stand battles are shockingly lame, as a lot of them just involve Gyro getting close enough to the enemy to throw the steel balls at them. For pretty much the first thirty chapters, Steel Ball Run is pretty boring. That may not sound that bad, but there are only 95 chapters in it, so much of part 7 doesn’t have interesting battles. There are multiple exceptions, and a lot of the Stands in this part are pretty awesome; but there are not enough exceptions to save the early parts of the story. Fortunately, once the final battle starts, it’s hard to stop reading. It’s very long, but the final battle with Valentine and Diego is one of the best endings in the series. Steel Ball Run is a very mature, unique, and fun story that goes down as one of the best things that Araki has ever written. 9/10

Part 8: JoJolion

As of December 2020, JoJolion isn’t finished; but if I had to guess, we’re very close to the end. Part 8 excels above all others when it comes to its story and its pacing. I was barely ever bored reading this part. It reveals new plot twists as it goes along, so it doesn’t get stale. In addition to this, the art style is the best of any part, as the author toned down the amount of muscles and how big characters are in general, starting to make the characters look more realistic. This started all the way back in part 4, but it wasn’t perfected until part 8. Even though the art style is amazing, this is only scratching the surface on why JoJolion is amazing. To start with the basic premise of the story, it is about our new JoJo (who remains nameless for a few chapters) waking up near the town of Morioh on the ground next to a geographical phenomenon called the Wall Eyes. He doesn’t remember anything about who he is. A girl named Yasuho Hirose finds him and helps him figure out who is. He is adopted by the Higashikata family and given the nickname Josuke. It seems like a really simple premise; and it is at first, but we slowly learn more and more about who Josuke is and where he came from. I really can’t spoil any of it, because all of the revelations about him are really fantastic. Yasuho is a great, well-developed character as well. She’s more than just Josuke’s love interest. She’s actually my favorite character in this part, as I love her personality, her relationships, her backstory, and her Stand is my favorite in part 8. There’s only one other “main” character, named Rai Mamezuku. He isn’t introduced until more than 60 chapters in, but he’s great as well. This main trio works very well, and the characters all have great chemistry and different relationships with each other. For example, Mamezuku and Josuke get along great, but Mamezuku dislikes Yasuho immensely. Part 8 is really good at conveying relationships that feel real, probably the best since part 5. Another thing that Araki excels at in part 8 is making characters that feel realistic and relatable. For example, Yasuho’s backstory includes her parents getting divorced and her friends abandoning her, which leads her into a depression. Details like that make the audience feel so much more connected to the characters than in other parts. JoJolion is also amazing with it’s worldbuilding and its fights. It adds so much lore to the “Steel Ball Run Universe,” as fans call it, such as entirely new ways of gaining Stands and entirely new species to the JoJo universe. Something that part 8 and 7 have in common is they’re both conceptually weird, even for JoJo standards, but somehow Araki makes them work. After Josuke does find out who he is, which I won’t spoil, the plot transitions into a search for a fruit called the Rokakaka Fruit, which can help heal Josuke’s sick mother. However, he has to go through multiple Stand battles fighting for the fruit because people sell it in a drug cartel-esque organization, and then more people try to steal it for research purposes. Just like Valentine’s goal, this goal isn’t evil itself, but they are experimenting on people to achieve it and killing people to get more of the fruit. The minor villains are always great in this part, with the exception of a few whose personalities I don’t even remember. The weird thing about JoJolion is readers don’t even get a true main villain until more than 70 chapters in, which is really bizarre, even for JoJo. It doesn’t help that JoJo is coming out monthly now, instead of weekly, so it was almost a decade before we had a true main villain. Despite a few blemishes, JoJolion is a phenomenal reading experience that isn’t my favorite JoJo part, but it is probably on the same level as Steel Ball Run as one of the best parts. 9/10

Final Thoughts:

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a fantastic series with plenty of clever concepts, interesting and likable characters, and thrilling fights that make it one of the best battle series I’ve ever seen. I would seriously recommend it. It’s a really long series; but it really is worth it in my eyes, as it’s a truly unique experience. The animation is great in the anime version, the hand drawn art is amazing in the manga version. Also, as the art style evolves, you can feel Araki improve as a writer as well; each part just gets better and better, in my opinion. All of this together just makes it one of my personal favorite series in general, as well. The community online can be a bit toxic at times, but there’s really interesting videos out there ranging from character analyses, to arguments over which Stand would win if put in a fight against another Stand, or sharing fan-made creations just showing how many people love this series. It feels really good to be a new member of this fanbase that does, unfortunately, get hate for being too enthusiastic; but I think that just shows how many people love it and how excited people are about it. There are still infinite possibilities in Stand abilities, new stories to read, and new characters to explore. Hirohiko Araki is in his sixties now, but he is still going strong publishing a chapter every month (excluding hiatuses, which do happen, but are rare). He doesn’t show any signs of stopping anytime soon. I will personally follow all of it: new parts getting adapted into the anime, the inevitable part 9, and anything else that comes out. I love this series wholeheartedly, and I hope that I’ve inspired even one of you to try watching or reading it.