This review contains spoilers for JoJolion

JoJolion is one of the most unique mangas I have read. Though only taking place in one town in Japan, the story feels very grand with loads of characters, interesting concepts, and entertaining fights. Some parts of this manga are some of the best JoJo I have ever consumed, however much else - and especially the last third - is somewhat underwhelming and sometimes even nonsensical.

Summary of the story:
JoJolion is the 8th part of Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Just like part 4 of the manga, this part takes place in the Japanese town of Morioh, however this time in a new timeline that it shares with part 7. It centers around the character Josuke, who is an amnesiac that was discovered by a girl named Yasuho. As he begins his journey of discovering who he is, he is taken into the Higashikata family who he soon realises are somehow connected to his past. Josuke learns that he is a creation of a mysterious fruit known as the Locacaca, which has fused two people together and created him. This fruit becomes the focal point of the story, as both Josuke and other parties become interested in it for their own goals. Josuke wants to use its healing properties to help his sick mother that he discovered is in the hospital, the next in line to become head of the Higashikata family, Jobin, is interested in it to break a curse that had been put under the family, affecting every firstborn of every generation, and the rock humans, a silicone-based species who hide within society, are interested in monopolising on the fruit to dominate the world. After a series of conflicts between these parties, the head of the rock humans conspiring to take over the word, Tooru, is defeated and the powers of the Locacaca fruit go to breaking the Higashikata curse. Josuke accepts that he was unable to save his mother, and instead abandons his past identities, truly embracing the identity of Josuke Higashikata.

Characters:
JoJolion continues a great trend starting at Stell Ball Run (part 7) of some absolutely amazing characters. The cast this time feels very big, not necessarily because it has a lot more characters than other parts, but because we get to learn so much about each.

Some of my favourites are Jobin, Damo, Kira, and Josefumi (can you tell which arc is my favourite?). Jobin especially stands out to me. He believes in strength above all else, but then also engages in 'childish' activities and hobbies, trying to make up for his lost childhood due to him once carrying the Higashikata curse. The way his past and his mother have shaped him into who he is in the present day of the manga is super cool. His stand is also sick. Another positive regarding the characters of the manga is the women. The female cast is noticeably more human and Araki seems to be a lot more confident in his abilities to write female characters (they were very weak in most previous parts). Yasuho stands out the most, probably being the best female character Araki has given us so far. (Lucy Steel is great too though). Many stands for the characters are also super cool and creative, often reflecting very well the user of that stand.

Not all characters are great though. One in particular that stands out to me, is the main antagonist of the part, Tooru. He is presented a bit late, which many JoJo antagonists have been before, but this time there was no build-up and he also first showed up at the very last arc. We do not really get to know him that well, in fact for the majority of the time he is pretending to be an ally and therefore is lying all the time. The only character trait you could really give him then is manipulative. He was very underwhelming and his stand was too powerful, as Araki couldn't even write a proper counter and just pulled a super powerful attack from Josuke out of nowhere (it had been teased a little earlier, but this kind of attack is what part 7's Johnny was mastering the ENTIRE part of Steel Ball Run). I also wasn't too fond of Mamezuku Rai, though that is mostly personal preference. Joshu Higashikata also never got the redemption arc it looked like he was going to, which made him a pretty weak character in the end I think.

The protagonist of the story, Josuke Higashikata, is someone I have mixed opinions on. He starts off amazing and unintentionally hilarious and only grows more likable as the story progresses. But then something happens... He reaches his goal - he has found out his identity mid-way through the part. What Araki then does is set a new goal for him. He now wants to save his mother in the hospital (well the mother of one of his identities, Kira). I think this is fair enough. Though he may not remember her in any way, this is the only living connection to his past identity that he knows of. I think I'd want to do the same. But the problem lies in then how he reaches the goal. He doesn't, which is fine, a protagonist can lose that is perfectly fine, but he does not seem to care whatsoever? He had one of his most heartfelt monologues to his mother shortly before the end, but now he just brushes off the fact he can't do anything to save her. He just mentions that there might be some fruits in the lands south, and then moves on to talk about something else with Yasuho. Josuke isn't the perfect hero morally speaking, but what is this? Why does he care so little now? I don't understand, it made everything he did after the Vitamin C arc completely irrelevant. He had no reason to do anything that he did afterward if his mother mattered so little to him. Maybe this will be touched on in 'JOJOLANDS', but that remains to be seen.

Art:
This is going to be rather brief, but I do really need to say something about this. The art is gorgeous! JoJolion looks absolutely beautiful, and the sort of late part 7 and early part 8 artstyle is my absolute favourite from Araki or even manga in general. So what about the late part 8? Well, to me it feels a little less detailed? I can't definitively say all that bothers me, because I know there is more to it, but all I can really think of is the less detail and some more inconsistent proportions. Also Araki why do you hate Speed King? is it just hard to draw?

I read most of the part coloured, up until the last third which hadn't been coloured by the time I was reading this part. And I know it isn't official, so there is no blame on Araki, but wow did the stand colouring get lazy in this part. That was bad.

Some last complaints:
One thing I haven't mentioned yet, which I definitely need to address, is all the abandoned ideas and rectons. What was up with the wall-eyes, the bitemarks, the baby, Josefumi's birthmark, the flashback man, the flashforward? For a story first set up with uncovering mysteries, there sure are a lot of mysteries presented at the start that are left unanswered. The flashforward was really weird and there was also a rock human upbringing retcon (but I will excuse it since it was more interesting, and gave something for Tooru when he sees the wasp in his memories at the end - even if it's super basic). For someone who's claimed to have planned all the way up to part 9, JoJolion sure felt like it was written as it went along sometimes. I suppose we will see if anything is cleared up in JOJOLANDS.

There's also the problem with the explosive spin, or the Soft & Wet: Go Beyond! It did not feel right whatsoever. This felt even more of an asspull than GER ever was. Sure it was teased in the ski lift place that his bubbles were spinning string, but this perfect spin is a technique that nobody just suddenly discovers they have. Gyro lost his life when he failed to do it, and Johnny spent the entire part he was in training the spin. This attack was ridiculous and was obviously just used because Araki couldn't be bothered to write a counter to Wonder of U. Which is really weird, because he already established that to beat it, you should let the stand come to you instead of pursuing it, so why was the fight not centered around that idea? Seemed stupid to me. I also just remembered Kei's death... What was that?

Conclusion:
Overall JoJolion, despite its many flaws, is still an enjoyable manga and one I recommend reading. The stands are at their most creative and many of the characters are at their best. I really enjoyed the first half of JoJolion, I'd probably call it my favourite part of the entire JoJo saga. If it had not made some of the mistakes later on in its last arc, this part could have been my favourite overall.

The best parts were the Vitamin C arc and the beetle fight. The worst part was the Wonder of U arc. Best character is Jobin Higashikata, though Ojiro was funny too.
7/10