JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE P1 + P2 FULL REVIEW
Joseph once said "Spaghetti al Nero di sepia looks bad, but it's a real treat." which is basically a fancy and a silly way to say 'never judge a book by it's cover.'
As someone who kept hearing the word "JoJo" literally everywhere, with all the reference jokes, the goddamn memes and cool art style (I really think its cool) I was genuinely interested, and felt the need to check it out because for one thing i was curious about it because its a fresh breath of air and the hype was insane. Can't say I was disappointed.
So here's my opinion of it.
But before we start, I want to address what I mean by it being a fresh breath of air: honestly I like how it doesn't follow the 'set of rules and patterns' almost every Shounen follows, it's unique. It has multiple parts with each having a different protagonist that's different than the previous, and the fact that the protagonists being consistent of one lineage/bloodline also gives a good vibe, as you can call it a curse. The concept is also new, with each part having a different antagonists and side characters with a whole new plot or a connected one but 100 years later. you can obviously tell after multiple shows that fall in the same genre that this one is a fresh breathe of air.
alright since I made my point through, I want to conclude that this passage will contain the following topics that I'm going to analyze throughly. each part of the two parts individually.
- Plot
- Main character
- Side Cast
- World Building
- Power System
- Animation and Soundtracks
Part 1:
other elements are involved but are lowkey undermined by the main plot, for example it does talk about the morality of humans and their diversity, chivalry, tragedy, consequences, jealousy and envy, how much hatred and neglect can affect others mentally and hence their actions, and bad parenting and upbringings and how much this affects the offsprings.
thing is, this part contains a few plot holes that are too apparent to be ignored, for example Zeppelli, how did he know about Dio and that the mask was in the possession of the Joestars and that he should go to Jonathan exactly to defeat Dio? or how would he and his father find the stone mask to begin with, this might have been explained in the manga for all I know. but certainly these were missing from the story in the anime.
Spoiler, click to view
thats all ignoring the biggest plot hole out there, in the begging of part 3 some fishermen pulled out a coffin that had the name DIO engraved into it. how? from where he heck did that come from? didn't Erina use the one that was available to escape?okay, here's an update: a few of you guys did make it clear for me that there was a hidden compartment in there, I can't for the life of me remember if it was mentioned in the anime, but I'm positive it wasn't, thanks for the info either way.
and the message basically is:
- don't be a shit dad.
- be grateful to those who were good to you
- dont be a greedy fuck.
although part 1 was only 9 episodes, the plot is honestly barely 4.9/10
Part 2:
the base of the plot goes back over 12,000 years, where the "pillar men" lived at a time, so basically part 2 talks about how these immortal pillar men came to continue their search of the Aja stone. and here comes our new Main Character Joseph - Jojo - to stop them. (no it wasn't a coincidence.)
thats the surface of the story, but we can notice it also discusses other themes, it goes through ancient and modern civilizations, culture and society, waging wars, power and strength seeking, loyalty, morals, conquering, loneliness and its effects, seeking revenge for the sake of it, human bonding and not to mention betrayal and stumbling upon hardships.
it also goes over basic thematic topics, such as: friendship, semi-adventure, camaraderie, developments and immense effort.
the plot is still simple, but its perfect simplicity is what makes it good. 6/10.
Part 1:
Jojo here was a nobility, lazing around as much as he pleases, living the perfect privileged life, care-freely with a loving parent. although upon Dio's arrival Jonathan was forced out of that life and thus he matured rather quickly. and with maturing, you can notice that he somewhat learned how to adapt, he learned that he cannot stay the same, that he needs to stand up for himself more and be stronger, that he cant let Dio get what he pleases, that he can be someone people can depend on, and thats definitely a character growth.
he kept taking steps forward towards his goal of becoming a gentleman, dealing with the harshness of his those around him's temperament, and managed to overcome any type of struggle.
Jonathan is the product of his childhood, circumstances and those surrounding him, given that the majority of his childhood was peaceful (Dio did clam down for a while) shaped him up to be the gentleman he aspired to be, a person able to distinguish the right from wrong, a person who's able grow while facing an obstacle instead of giving in. and not to mention he was never really alone as he had Erina while everybody else ignored him, she was an undeniably a great support.
I tip my hat off for him, his mentality and will are really strong and truly admirable.
I cant say much about Jonathan since he literally appeared in nine episodes, but he was most definitely the base for everything, the standpoint where the plot went on for generations. he's a solid 6/10.
Part 2:
Joseph Joestar, the epic awesome dude with many good and bad qualities.
look, Joseph is my favorite JoJo but I'll try not to be biased.
He's arguably one of the really executed well -not best- and overall entertaining character I've come across. lets be real Joseph has all the qualities needed to be a great character, he's a pretty much a complex and a compelling character, a one full package: character depth, wits, brains, decent past, a great development and growth, relatability, overall entertaining with a great sense humor and is a top-tier strategist.
He's also flawed: selfish, arrogant, stubborn, and is quite a pervert.
Generally saying, Joseph is molded pretty well, his reckless actions and mindset, it all aligns with his tough upbringings -which was pretty much bittersweet- way of growing, his type of persona and origin really well.
And I guess its quite known that a person is a byproduct of their surroundings and circumstances.
First glance, Joseph might come off as a lucky buff delinquent young man, who likes to joke around and mess with people.
But to be honest, I suppose his selfish exterior is justified since he grew up without parents and only had his granny and Speedwagon, his acquaintances were limited and he only cared for himself, Erina and Speedwagon and nobody else.
but we see him grow out of this at later points of the series; such as sympathizing with Ceaser at the death of his friend. He starts to care for others and expands his vision further more. and thats on character development. [1]
One thing that goes hard for him is his sense of humor, he wins his fights in the most laughable ways, he cheats, he tricks, all in all, he plays it smart to ensure his victory, the way doesn't matter. and thats what makes it fun, he's unpredictable and guessing what he will do next is fun but in general he comes up with a new idea each time. thats all more of a proof that he's one of a smartass. [arguably the smartest Jojo]
[honestly, coming up with a Tommy Gun and grenades outta nowhere was a great gag]
He also never gives up, even if using cheap tricks was an option he would use it.
Let's be real, all I mentioned above with other moments such as "your next line is going to be...!!!" or the whole prediction moments make him so damn enjoyable, no single moment with him is dull. charismatic as hell if you ask me.
Spoiler, click to view
Honorable mentions: peeping on his mom while not knowing she was his mother in the first place, as given I was spoiled that Lisa Lisa was his mother, I burst out laughing when he said that "NICEE"Last thing I want to address more clearly is his character development, and to be clear, character development doesn't mean growing in strength or getting power ups, its by growing up to be a better person with few new ideals and to lessen your flaws. he realized that he wasn't alone anymore, that he had people who cared for him, he realized there was no reason to be selfish anymore. he has come a long way from fighting only himself to save all humanity with no regrets. he basically was able to make use of hidden qualities within him such as willingness, acceptance, realization and kind-heartedness.
Given how much of a versatile character Joseph is, he can be placed in any situation and still seem to fit perfectly in it. I'm not reaching, I just understood his character more clearly and thus I give him 9.3/10.
Part 1:
The characters here are limited, and they can be counted on fingers.
But let's be real, the characters here were bad. Dio Brando, a decent villain writing-wise but he's just a piece of shit with nothing to support why, his backstory is the lamest I've seen, sure his father was abusive but thats not a good reason for him to want to conquer over the world for it or make Jojo's life hell, the guy literally tried to befriend him. guess he's just naturally born evil which is valid. please do take note im talking about Dio Brando and not DIO.
as far as im concerned, Dio is a decent villain with too little to support why, he's intelligent and has a really strong will, the fact that he rejected his humanity says a lot about him, his determination is solid steel, he thrives to achieve what's he sets to do no matter the hardships, he wants to achieve the impossible that he nearly doesn't acknowledge the word anymore. and God his confidence, its too excessive but lets be fair its attractive.
his design is cool too, your typical evil English man.
Other characters were also basically an "eh", Zeppeli was an okayish character, theres not much to say, he deserves credits for his determination and sacrifices though. Erina was the love interest, her love was pure and she was determined but again theres not much to say. George Joestar was..well having his dad moment the whole time, and carrying around some ugly stone mask as a decor piece from who knows where.
Speedwagon was basically a commentator telling us uselessly what we are watching, (and this for a thing was an annoying trait we had to endure, personally I can say it pissed me off, and it wasn't only Speedwagon but multiple more characters), still he's a great character with immense loyalty and he was helpful at too many points throughout this part and legit almost all parts too indirectly, despite being an ordinary man with no super powers or anything super flashy. Looking at it, objectively he's the best JoBro.
Now, I genuinely don't understand what was the point of Dire and Straizo and that training guy (whatever was his name), they were added last minute and they did literally nothing, I was happy to see that there were more Hamon Users to help and for us to know more but no. they were useless. Dire literally died after 10 mins of his introduction in the stupidest way ever after being warned. so pointless.
One thing I found annoying was how underutilized Zeppeli was, he was supposed to be a strong Hamon user who thought Jonathan Hamon in the first place but he couldn't defeat anyone. side characters deserve to shine very once in a while.
3/10 and I'm being generous.
Part 2:
In this part, we notice a huge difference in the quality of the writing of the characters, their goals seem better shaped, their motives have been way clearer and they have noticeable development.
the same as in part 1, the cast may be limited but they're quite rich in elements, again, more definite goals and motives with memorable designs and personalities.
Still, its not honestly that good
In this part we come across yet another Zeppeli, the grandson. Ceaser started off as an arrogant womanizer hot stuff. Joseph and him didn't get along very well, their relationship was more of rivalry than just bro to bro, however that changed the moment Joseph showed sympathy toward his loss of his friend. Ceaser started respecting and encouraging Joseph more, seeing him as a good friend and an ally,
Spoiler, click to view
someone worthy to die for, which is lokwey a cliche but it was done really well, I mean his death was really sad, I admit I cried, and up to part 6, I think it was one of the most touching.Ceaser was a really good improvement from the previous characters, his motives were clear and his attitude made some sort of sense as it aligned with his past quite well, he's hot tempered but actually good at heart and he has a pride in being a Zeppeli. his character development is probably the best in the part and his conclusion is something thats really hard to forget.
We have Lisa Lisa now, a great character by all means, to be honest, the fact that she was written as a strong female character who needed no man and actually men needed her back in eighties is so heartwarming for me as a female myself, because that way of thinking was so uncommon.
now with the character, Lisa Lisa is quite a ruthless woman, the top in her field, she pulls herself together very well and refuses to show weaknesses, she's easily to take actions and is a quite of a sloppy character. she's admired by those around her.
Spoiler, click to view
she's a bad mom, I'll give her that.Rudol von Stroheim, a fucking Nazi whos apparently a good guy, oh well he was cool we have to give him that.
I suppose this concludes it for the allies, the other two Hamon men aren't even relevant enough that I dont remember their names to begin with.
Now, my issue isn't with the characters themselves, my issue is how none of them was able to do defeat any of the villains, in other words so underutilized, I love Joseph and I love it when he gets to shine but at least do Ceaser and Lisa Lisa justice and give them a single W.
I believe its poor writing to leave everything for the main character and leave the other characters just as plot devices and do nothing particularly impressive (Ceaser's fight against Wamu was amazing though, still it didnt end well) I mean, Come on Lisa Lisa had a great potential to give us an amazing fight but instead she was used as a hostage and a fucking guitar. (Kars a chad for real)
The villains? Kars is a one-dimensional character who's goal was pretty much the same as any other generic villain to exist: to conquer the world. the motive? a stupid God-complex.
but to be fair, he wanted to be able to stand in the sun, but he took it a bit too far, Kars is okay but he's my least favorite main Jojo villain.
Wamu (or Wham) was the only one I liked, he had more to his character and felt like a noble, prideful enemy who knew his limits and kept his word. I love this trope of villains.
ECDC I cant remember how he looked, whatever he did or how exactly you spell his name. thats how bad a character he is.
the characters are okay-ish but still not really good either, aside from Joseph and Ceaser the characters were pretty much lame. oh and Suzie Q is adorable.
5/10 and again I'm generous.
There's not much to say here.
Part one was exclusive to England, more specifically the Joestar's mansion and that one village that was an army training grounds at some point. which, admittedly, is pretty creative with the whole main idea of the build-in-mountain sort of castle.
Part two featured both The US and Italy (which seems to be a favored setting by Araki).
But, as you can see, the setting is definitely a fresh breathe of air, as per as usual anime, the setting is mostly in Japan, we dont really get to explore the outside world within these fictional creations. It's always one of these three options:
A. a world building thats exclusive to the franchise.
B. Japan setting (mostly Tokyo).
and the seemingly uncommon option:
C. exploring the outside world.
It honestly seems like the third option is uncommon due to the short knowledge of the Mangkas when it comes to outside of Japan, and creating a new whole world seems risky, but within these two parts we get to explore England, The US and Italy, premises that are rather foreigner to normal Japanese fans and quite common for international fans.
The idea itself is neat, and shows Araki's knowledge but other than that there's not much to offer.
5.2/10 I guess?
Hamon, the sad lost Power System in JoJo.
Let's be real, we all miss Hamon, no? but the Stands are much better and more iconic so I'm not gonna even complain.
Hamon, the power that results from concentrating on the breathing that works on regulating the blood flow and streaming.
Hamon is another normal PS in just like any other Shounens, it allows the user to perform quite the bizarre powers to be able to defeat your opponents, -mainly vampires, or anyone that cant face the sun directly-.
Within part 1, we only saw a set of techniques (about like only 5) that were used, over and over, with nothing ultimately new.
However in part 2, the power is generally utilized much better, it now involved infusing it into objects or shaping it into bubbles (which was the coolest way Hamon was used, thank you Ceaser).
I liked the way Joseph wanted to create his own thing after seeing Ceaser's bubbles, I mean he was jealous lmao, so he came up with infusing his Hamon into cricket balls (or whatever these balls were honestly) and that was lowkey cool.
In general, in my view what made Hamon better was the way Joseph and Ceaser actually used it.
One more thing, I liked the fact Joseph and Ceaser had to undergo a whole hellish training to perfect their Hamon rather than just spend a goddamn single day like Jonathan did. I mean show us the struggle! its not cool to master it within a damn night.
6/10 I swear I didn't intend to rate everything this low, it just happened.
Now we talk for real, I do understand why some people might be shoed away because of the art style
(tch, weaklings) but personally, like many others, I find the art style to be iconic, I mean who doesn't like buff men, c'mon? but to not be biased, the overrate muscles in the thighs and arms was unreal, gladly this was a little bit adjusted in the 2nd part.
Spoiler, click to view
and pretty much erased from part 4 onwards...I was kinda sad about it.The animation was amazing, really. The pacing? PERFECTION. The art was cool. There's no filler or whatsoever. I mean is there more to ask for?
And now to the easiest 10 I have ever given.
the soundtracks, holy shit, JoJo easily wins this by lots, the openings NOT A SINGLE ONE WAS BAD, I mean how's this possible? (and im talking about the openings from part 1 to 6)
Okay so hear me out, this is a confession: I have never not skipped the opening in any anime before JoJo, I usually watched it once and I'd call it enough, yes thats true until JoJo happened, I couldn't bring myself to even skip them, Netflix would show me the "skip opening" bottom and i'd just turn blind, thats how good the songs and the visuals are. the endings are good too.
In addition to that, the character's themes were hitting hard, Jonathan's theme was more like him: gentle, soft, and lovely and filled with determination.
Joseph's however, was more like, lets go FUNKY. it starts off ominous and then goes hard. fitting indeed.
Animation and Art: 8/10
Soundtracks: 11/10
Part 2, to this day is still within the upper rated JoJo parts, I really enjoyed it and liked the characters. The way the fights, the plot, the characters were handled was pretty good. I love this part. 7.8/10.
You can check my bio for the rating system I base things off, 5 is considered OK and 7 is great.
Now, the next thing you're going to say is, "Whoa, this was a good review!"