JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an anime that needs no introduction. Or, at least, it certainly feels that way, for me. It might not be as ubiquitous as Naruto, Dragon Ball, Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, or My Hero Academia, but JoJo's Bizarre Adventure certainly has a presence. If you find yourself in an anime space, chances are you've heard of it even if you didn't watch it nor plan on watching it. A lot of this can be attributed to its fanbase. It has an easily verifiable reputation for being..."loud," for lack of a better term. JoJo fans are very enthusiastic about the show, to the point where JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure can be nigh-inescapable. Without having so much as seen an episode, you'll probably know who Dio is, you might know who Angelois, you might know who Smokey is, and you'll probably know who Jotaro is even if not by name. "Is that a JoJo reference" is an ironic and unironic meme. The YouTube comments for songs such as "Roundabout" will no doubt be peppered with people who know the song not for being a 1971 prog rock classic by British rock band Yes, but instead as the ending theme for the 2012 Japanese animated television show, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Roundabout itself became a Vine meme. JoJo fans may be among the biggest anime hype men you'll encounter, catapulting the series into [public consciousness echelons] it couldn't reach through its popularity. This isn't to say that JJBA isn't popular, — after all, no matter how passionate you are about something, if it's just you talking about it, your voice will be drowned out — it's just that I'm pretty sure it's not as popular as your awareness of it would lead you to believe. Naturally, the zealousness of the fandom has led many to be turned off from the show because they find its fans obnoxious. I personally can't really fault people for being passionate about something as long as they're not toxic. And fortunately, from what I can tell, JoJo fans aren't particularly toxic.
And that's not even getting into the series' popularity in its home country. From what I can gather, JoJo’s pretty big in Japan. While it still might have not been "huge," it was consistently a popular series. Before the anime series that we know today, JJBA received two OVAs, a movie, and several video games. Besides the manga being well-liked in-and-of-itself (Stardust Crusaders in particular), it also commanded respect and attention for being a long-running franchise that introduced or codified several shonen tropes. It may come as a surprise to some that JJBA made its debut in 1987, appearing at the tail-end of Fist of the North Star's manga run. Furthermore, this makes it contemporaries with manga such as Saint Seiya and Dragon Ball. There's no definitive reason for why it took so long to get a proper anime adaption. Some believe that the animation is so complex that the technology to replicate the art and action faithfully yet economically wouldn't appear until the New Tens. Others cite an interview where Araki says he didn't want kids watching JoJo, necessitating a TV adaption to be held off until the wide-proliferation of evening-to-late-night anime slots in the mid-noughties. The OVAs for Part 3 and the movie for Part 1 were critically and/or commercially lackluster, disincentivizing studios from putting the time and money into making a full-blown anime for the series. Another reason, still, is that I could just be vastly overestimating how popular JJBA is in Japan and that it was never quite popular enough that execs felt that adapting it would be a sure-fire way to print money. Either way, the anime adaptation we know today was announced to coincide with the series' twenty-fifth anniversary, along with a game for the PS3. The hype was apparently drummed up enough support for the show to be a success (though the lovingly faithful direction certainly helped) and the rest, as they say, is history.
Me deciding to watch JoJo's Bizarre Adventure feels like a long-time coming. JoJo has been a show that's been on my radar for a while now. I recall going to karaoke with a a group of acquaintances and listening to them sing Bloody Stream, the second opening to JJBA. I remember watching a compilation of Vine Roundabout memes. My freshman roommate showed me clips of Jotaro and his Stand's ridiculous rapid fire punches (and he might have also shown me the clip of Joseph Joestar pumping the diner full of lead) I was introduced to "Last Train Home" and Roundabout in full because of that same roommate. I'll often reference JoJo memes and use them as reactions when I'm with friends. It felt like I was partially a JoJo fan. And I wasn't exactly on the fence about watching it: it seemed like a show that I'd like well enough. In fact, it was a show I expected to have a lot of fun with. Since my buddy had good things to say about it, I planned on getting around to it eventually. By the time I decided I wanted to watch JJBA, there were already one-hundred-fifty-two episodes and five seasons. I found myself a bit daunted. But early last month, an anime adaption of JoJo's sixth part, Stone Ocean, was announced and I thought it was the perfect time to finally jump aboard the JoJo train, length be damned. If I can keep up with an anime series long as Gundam, I can watch anything-not-named-Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
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)
And what's the end result? Does it live up to the hype? Or did years and years of exposure ultimately lead to me building it up in my mind, leading to disapp—
It's the former, unquestionably. The show met my expectations with its humor, its style, its musical references, and adrenaline-pumping action. While the second part is stronger than the first, I had a lot of fun with this season as a whole and I'm excited to continue my journey with the Joestars. I've heard that some will suggest that new fans skip this season. As someone who's a new fan himself and as someone who acknowledges a lot of my passing knowledge of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure comes from Stardust Crusaders and beyond, I want to say how much I vehemently disagree with the idea that this season should be skipped. I had a good time watching it and even if it's not "peak" JoJo (whatever that may be; I'm a new fan after all), you'll still probably enjoy yourself and if the later parts are better, then you'll just enjoy them all the more.
The arcs of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are separated into "parts" each following a different member of the Joestar line (kind of). The first season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure contains both Part 1, Phantom Blood and Part 2, Battle Tendency. Phantom Blood follows Jonathan Joestar, the heir to the illustrious Joestar family in Britain. His life begins falling apart when his father adopts the son of an acquaintance. Said son is Dio Brando; a young man who appears virtuous when JoJo's father is around, but in truth, he is manipulative, petty, and vindictive. Dio begins to relentlessly bully JoJo as soon as he meets him. As the two grow older, their lives are changed when Dio begins taking interest in a mysterious, eerie mask kept in the Joestar manor. Part 2 picks up forty-nine years after Part 1, following Jonathan's grandson, Joseph Joestar as he finds himself embroiled in a battle against supernatural beings. Joining Caesar Zeppeli, a descendent of his grandfather's teacher, he must master the secret technique of hamon to save the world from the dastardly, handsome Pillar Men.
I'll begin by addressing points that encompass both Parts 1 and 2. Fortunately, the common ground between the two parts ends up being positive.
One of the first things you'll notice about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is that it's absolutely both dripping in charm and style. This is may sound vague, trust me, it's there and it helps to make JJBA one of the most distinctive anime I have had the pleasure of watching.
This charm and style manifest in something simple, yet deceptively vital to any work involving characters, something that you probably don't stop to think about all too often: the character names. The main character of Part 1 is Jonathan Joestar, which Araki chose in part because he wanted the main character to have alliterative initials, which are naturally striking. "JoJo" as a nickname is quite simple, yet extremely striking, punchy, and fun to say, which fits this series nicely. Dio's name (in addition sharing his name with the band) and the Italian word for God) was chosen because it compliments "JoJo"; it's essentially just as striking. This isn't to say all names are chosen because they're cool — others were just chosen due to something Araki loved: music. The musical references brought silly little smiles to my face, especially if they were bands I recognized. To wit, there's Esidisi, Lisa Lisa, Wammu, Kars, Zepelli, Speedwagon, Dire and Straizo, and Smokey. It's amazing that something that really doesn't play a role in the show itself can still play a big part of my enjoyment of it. It helps make the show charming, it gives it an identity that I can't help loving.
The show wears its stunning and striking style on its sleeve via its visual-audio design. Scenes will suddenly take on bright colors to highlight the action and enhance the mood, panels will crowd the screen. Onomatopoeia of sound effects will fill the screen and JJBA makes absolutely liberal use of closeups and dramatic pauses. This is one of the most sound-effect-heavy shows I've watched and you're honestly missing out if you opt to just read the subtitles. All these design choices aid in making it feel like you've picked up not an original, visual work but the adaptation of a manga.
The voice acting isn't a slouch, either. It's one of the most fun aspects of the show because the voice actors themselves sound like they're having a blast. Dio is the role that was made for Takehito Koyasu, which isn't something that I say lightly since the man's in goddamn everything. He does a really good job injecting personality into the character. We logically shouldn't feel much but contempt for Dio, but with every "muda, muda, muda,," "it was me, Dio," "uriii," "okay, okay," or "goodbye, JoJo" it's not hard to crack a smile. He's the type of villain you love to hate and while you tell yourself you wish he'd just stay dead, a part of you admits you miss him when he goes. While Dio's definitely the highlight, most characters pull their weight in terms of being bombastic presences. Speedwagon's voice actor, Youji Ueda is really good at hamming it up and Joseph Joestar's cocky personality is portrayed excellently. As a diehard dub defender, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of the few anime I made a point to watch subbed, as a lot of the effect of comedic English one liners is lost, some musical references are taken out, and I hear that, moreso than most anime, the dub doesn't do it justice.
This style might make it hard to get immersed, to believe it in the way you would another anime, but not every anime needs to be realistic, needs to be believed. I appreciate JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for deciding to buck against the notions that visual media shouldn't draw attention to itself and that adaptations shouldn't draw attention to the original. JoJo's distinct style makes every episode exciting. I still ended up getting hype during some of the more lull Part 1 episodes due to how striking and energizing the show is. It's kind of hard to be bored when the audio-visual design is doing jumping jacks and the announcer is hyping up the entire thing with the zeal of a wrestling match.
This hype and excitement is also generated by the wonderfully brisk pace of the show. Watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure never feels like a slog, as the show never drags its feet, always knowing how to keep things moving. That said, JJBA isn't afraid to use fights that last for multiple episodes. In doing so, it creates uncertainty, and thus, tension. The "to be continued" marker before the ED is often pretty general, but sometimes it's used to create bonafide cliffhangers which entice me to watch the next episode. JoJo left me at the edge of my seat, always wanting for more
Just going from the meme, and the way people often talk about the show, it's easy to assume that this will just be a fairly goofy show that's practically allergic to genuine emotion. While I wasn't quite as flippant, I must admit that I expected the show to be extremely light throughout, but no. While the show never dips into grimdark territory, I was surprised to find that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure knows how to be serious. JJBA can get downright sad at times and I found myself pleasantly surprised. Character deaths are handed out like candy and those who survive often mourn them. It's a very basic thing to praise, but it's pretty remarkable that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure can be as fun as it is while still having a bit of gravitas. As of now, I wouldn't call JJBA anywhere approaching "deep," but it can be emotional and start to feel downright tragic at times.
Now with the general praises out of the way, it's time to dig into the individual parts.
One of the first things that I noticed about Phantom Blood was that it feels like a 1980s action anime. This wasn't a criticism (at least not initially), in fact, I thought it was extremely cool and retro. It was fun seeing a Fist of the North Star-esque property in 2012. The show really doesn't take a long time to get started and it does a good job of establishing its characters, why we should care about them, and who we should root for.
That said, Part 1 isn't that much to write home about. Sure, you can write home about it, but you probably won't be able to fill the entire page front and back. Its pace is fast, dare I say, a bit too fast. The events of Part 1 take up a measly nine episodes compared to Part 2's seventeen. We move a tad too fast for me to get too attached to anything, and there are distinct moments when I felt that things were adapted out, but no, from what I can tell, this is a pretty faithful adaptation. While the brevity is great in that it ensures that nothing overstays its welcome, its drawback is that the things that come leave so quickly that you'll be wondering why they showed up in the first place. It also doesn't help that Jonathan Joestar is kind of a boring protagonist. It was apparently marvel at the time to have a main character that lost a lot at the beginning, but nowadays, it doesn't feel like he brings anything noteworthy to the table and he just feels like a nothingburger character. It's not even so much that he's too pure of a hero, moreso that we don't see this shown in a meaningful way. It would have been interesting for him to have more unscrupulous allies to bounce off of, but as is, I generally struggled to care about Jonathan as a person.
Still, though, Part 1 isn't bad. At nine episodes, it would really have to try to be bad, and thankfully it doesn't. It did enough to leave me entertained, its highlights being Dio and its ending. I was really shocked to see Jonathan killed off. In that moment, I really did feel for the guy, since his selflessness finally clicked and it sunk in just how tragic of a life he had.
Part 1 probably just looks so weak because it's stacked up against Part 2 which is a vast improvement. Joseph Joestar is thankfully much more of a fun character than his grandfather. He's a ridiculous force of personality rivaling Dio and I loved the dynamic between him and his rival, Caesar. Unlike Jonathan, he also got notable development even if it wasn't the most tracked. The likes of Jotaro and Josuke are going to need to bring their A+ game if they hope to get my vote for my favorite JoJo. More episodes allows Part 2 to breathe in a way that Part 1 didn't while still feeling tense. The fights are even more elaborate than before, the Pillar Men more menacing than Dio. The story's more epic in scale, with the characters trotting the globe instead of being relegated to England. It's a bit of a nebulous thing to point out, but the show feels more urgent than before. All in all, Part 2 expands what made me love the first part of JoJo. Its certainly not perfect; Lisa Lisa is painfully underutilized and amounts to being a damsel in distress, the final fight with Kars is resolved in kind of a dumb way since he was made too powerful, among other things. But in general, I really liked Battle Tendency.
Me not giving this a higher score ultimately is less because JoJo's Bizarre Adventure did something wrong and more because it didn't do anything exceptional. Don't get me wrong, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a good show, great even. That said, while it impressed me, it never really made my jaw drop. And that's fine; this is the first season of a long-running series, after all. I'm sure things will get even better, but for now, it's just "pretty good" instead of "amazing." And that's good enough for me to continue this series. While Part 1 might have its problems, I don't think it should be skipped. I had a lot of fun with both parts and I suspect some emotional weight from future parts might be lost if you skip these — if nothing else, consider these parts essential for your investment in Joseph and Dio. But, again, this is a good show in-and-of-itself and I can't wait to see what the future seasons have in store for the Joestar lineage.
