Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: An introduction, primer, and retrospective by Odradek

Odradek · 2014-01-14 18:44:21

Introduction

Jojo was as man who thought he was a loner

But he knew it couldn't last

-The Beatles

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a Shonen(later Seinen Manga) created by Hirohiko Araki in the December of 1986. Araki was a young Manga artist who had little success with his two previous manga, Baoh and Gorgeous Irene and started out with a manga that could best be described as a sort of Victorian Fist of the North Star, starring a young Victorian nobleman facing off against a vampire with the use of a magical martial arts-related energy. Things changed when the protagonist of what would become known as Part 1 of a (so far) eight part manga, Jonathan Joestar died on a ship facing off against his mortal enemy and the action shifted ahead 50 years and the series became about the adventures of his street smart grandson Joseph Joestar.

This is what would end up accounting for the series's longevity. Instead of stretching out the adventures of one character for years, Araki would switch to a new protagonist, always having some variation of "Jojo" in their name whenever the last protagonist completed their arc or attained their goal. The series has ended up having eight Jojos, taking place over a hundred years and two timelines and featuring multiple different explanations for where the character's powers were coming from.

The series is notable for several reasons. First off is the sheer strangeness of some of the situations and enemies the protagonists encounter. Characters have included a cyborg, a sentient being composed of a colony of plankton, a dimension hopping US president and a trio of South American millennia old super beings named Cars, Wham, and ACDC(more on the musical names later). Second off is the unique way of battles the characters tend to engage in. Rather than being a Dragon Ball Z-esque clash over who can get the highest power level, fights in Jojo tend to be battles over whoever can exploit their powers the best, and figure out and outwit the opponents. In the words of a fan "Punching is the reward at the end of a fight, while the actual fight consists of beating your opponent at a chess game and all the chess pieces are Rubik's cubes.". While there are times when a character will get a new superpower to counter the villain's, there is generally still a lot of hard work involving thinking and out-thinking to do.

Finally there are the innumerable music references in the manga. Characters and powers will often be named after famous bands, musicians, and songs. This was the result of the creator listening to American music on the radio while he drew, getting stuck on names, then deciding to name characters after music he enjoyed. This has kept up for decades. This has also accounted for the lack of localization the series has had. Publishers don't want to have to deal with copyright claims and legal battles involved with, let's say, asking Prince if it's okay for an Italian gangster to have a power known as "Gold Experience". That said, in the wake of the popularity of the recent anime adaptation of Parts 1 and 2, and the upcoming adaptation of Part 3 as well as a fighting game coming to the United States, Viz manga is offering a for-download translation of Part 3 with some names changed.

Speaking of adaptations. the manga has spawned two OVA adaptations of Part 3, as well as an upcoming TV adaptation, a maligned movie adaptation of Part 1, a celebrated TV adaptation of Part 1 and 2, and five video games. Part 3 of the manga is one of the most iconic Shonen stories of all time, and is massively influential in the genre. All in all, a pretty good job for a punchyman manga called "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure".

One-Winged Eagle · 2014-01-14 19:39:36

I like Jojo a lot.

Füschlatz · 2014-01-14 19:42:26

I watched through the first three episodes of the 2012 anime with a friend a few days ago, and I've been meaning to catch up on the remaining twenty-three at some point...

Odradek · 2014-01-16 15:01:27

Hey so my Primer is gonna take the form of a Q&A about commonly asked questions by newbies about the series. Anybody have some questions I might not think of?

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-16 15:11:25

Are all of those fancy poses possible in real life?

Sredni Vashtar · 2014-01-16 15:12:55

When did Dio Brando first reach memetic status? Was it a slow climb to ZA WARUDO-wide fame, or was he an instant star?

Imipolex G · 2014-01-16 15:16:32

what is the fanservice level?

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-16 16:01:14

Exactly how much of a dork is Jotaro?

Tanya · 2014-01-16 16:35:00

Do you count how many breads you've eaten?

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-16 16:36:11

How extensive are the references to JJBA in the Touhou series?

Sredni Vashtar · 2014-01-16 16:50:26

(Contrary to the silly phrasing, my question was actually serious.)

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-16 17:09:14

(So's my third one. The other two are mostly silly, but I would appreciate answers)

One-Winged Eagle · 2014-01-16 17:13:45

When's the anime for Part 3: Stardust Crusaders coming out again?

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-16 17:29:55

How has Jojo been a visual inspiration for media following it?

Odradek · 2014-01-17 15:51:46

Primer

Okay, you've sold me on this story. So where should I start?

Okay so there are three possible answers to this question, and what answer you go with depends on how much you're willing to read. The three answers are:

Start at Part 1: Nothing like starting from the beginning. Starting here will give you a background on how things began, inform you about the character of Dio Brando, who has a huge impact on most of the parts that come after. However, Part 1 is easily the weakest part with occasionally Liefeldian artwork and without the headgames that would make the fights after so fun.

Start at Part 3: This was a fresh start for the series. After being threatened with cancellation, Araki came up with the "Stand" system of powers to replace the Ripple Users, vampires, and other assorted creatures that populated Part 1 and 2, which the series has stuck with ever since. It's a globetrotting adventure across the Globe featuring more of an ensemble cast than previous parts and it's a huge amount of fun. However, you will be skipping Part 2, which is IMO one of the best parts. Alternatively you could watch the anime of Parts 1 and 2 and then start here.

Start at Part 7: Part 7 actually takes place in an alternate universe following the weird ambiguous ending of Part 6. After the manga became a monthly Seinen series, this part is better planned out and more satisfying than some of the slapdash pacing and planning that plagued the later parts of Jojo after Part 4. It has two great main characters, an excellent villain, and freshly reworks a lot of concepts and characters from Part 1 in wildly diverging ways. A very good place to start. Is now being followed by Part 8, a reworking of Part 4 that is a fairly large and interesting departure for the story.

So what's this "Stand" thing I keep hearing about?

The Stand concept is something that Araki came up with to creatively illustrate psychic powers. Rather than having two men scrunching up their faces at each other and occasionally getting nose bleeds until one keels over and dies, in JJBA everyone's power is represented as a sort of psychic guardian angel that interacts with things to represent doing things with psychic powers. Stands as they are called, have varying levels of effectiveness in combat, but everyone of them tends to get at least one special ability in addition to the(general) freebie power of telekinesis. As time has gone on, the telekinesis has been de-emphasized and the powers have gotten a boost. The powers can range from aging people, to preventing someone from talking, to blowing things up, to straight up disintegration. Villains almost invariably seem to end up with some form of time manipulation by the end of the story.

There's also the Ripple and it's alternative counterpart, the Spin, but those only really matter in Parts 1-2 and 7 respectively.

For reference here are some stands

Are all of those fancy poses possible in real life?

Try it yourself!

When did Dio Brando first reach memetic status? Was it a slow climb to ZA WARUDO-wide fame, or was he an instant star?

Dio's rise to fame came with his inclusion in the Part 3 fighting game and OVA. A big boost came from this particular flash animation

He's reclaimed his stardom with the release of the new adaption of Part 1 and new fighting game in which he is one of the god-tier characters.

what is the fanservice level?

Exactly how much of a dork is Jotaro?

"Nice watch. Too bad I'll have to break it. Your face that is."

Do you count how many breads you've eaten?

23523850923853.333

How extensive are the references to JJBA in the Touhou series?/How has Jojo been a visual inspiration for media following it?

This page might be of help!

When's the anime for Part 3: Stardust Crusaders coming out again?

April 4th

Imipolex G · 2014-01-17 16:04:09

Salix Babylonika · 2014-01-17 16:35:16

what constitutes a disco pirate?

One-Winged Eagle · 2014-01-17 19:09:33

Wham is the coolest.

Tanya · 2014-01-18 21:15:41

For a more serious question, you answered what Stand powers are, but what gives stand powers? I saw it was like a bow, or an arrow, but that doesn't make sense because some people are born with stands?

Odradek · 2014-01-18 21:18:08

Counterclock said:
For a more serious question, you answered what Stand powers are, but what gives stand powers? I saw it was like a bow, or an arrow, but that doesn't make sense because some people are born with stands?

There are multiple ways. You can be born with a stand, spontaneously develop one from wanting something enough, or get scratched or hit by a mineral that in the series, was made into an arrow. A family member getting one increases your chances of having one.

One-Winged Eagle · 2014-01-19 03:34:51

You can also get Stand powers from the scattered body parts of Jesus Christ.

Odradek · 2014-01-20 14:15:52

Retrospective

Part 1

I'm a wheel, I'm a wheel,

I can roll, I can feel

(And) You can't stop me turning

'cause I'm the sun, I'm the sun,

I can move, I can run,

But you'll never stop me burning- Rainbow

Plot: In 1868, a Victorian aristocrat by the name of George Joestar is saved from death by a minor criminal and alcoholic layabout named Dario Brando. Years later, when Dario dies, George offers to let Dario's son, Dio be raised as his son along with his biological son, Jonathan. Unfortunately for Jonathan, Dio proves to be a uniquely conniving and amoral individual who wants to grasp everything denied to him by his abusive father and his dirt poor beginnings. Dio does everything possible to make Jonathan's life hell, until one day, when both have become adults, Jonathan finds proof that Dio is poisoning their father. But Dio has found a strange power in a stone mask that George Joestar found in Mexico, and is more than willing to forsake his humanity for power...

Overview: Part 1 of JJBA is easily the weakest part of the series, but it's still far from bad. It suffers from the villain being far more interesting than the hero and from being very basic in it's plot, characterization, and overall story. Not that there's nothing unusual here. Jonathan's mentor, mysterious Italian mystic Will A. Zeppelli is a fun character, as is Jonathan's stout companion, a former street thug named Robert E. O. Speedwagon. The level of bizarreness increases towards the end, as Dio finds stranger uses for his vampire powers. It's also the shortest of the parts, and can be read through fairly quickly. The recent anime adaptation covers the story in ten episodes, and is a lot of fun.

Next time things take a turn for the better with the introduction of Joseph Joestar one of the best protagonists in this, and any, manga, and a new stranger threat in the form of the Pillar Men.

Odradek · 2014-01-23 15:33:28

Update on the Myrmisphere.

The goosebumps thing is abandoned now. I've just run out of steam on it. I know you guys liked it, but it was a lot of work.

I want to get back to my New 52 Liveblog, and will do so as soon as I finish the Jojo retrospective. I've been busy with college but I'm aiming at one part a day over the three day weekend.

Odradek · 2014-01-23 22:03:50

Wake me up before you go-go

Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo

Wake me up before you go-go

I don't want to miss it when you hit that high

Wake me up before you go-go

'Cause I'm not plannin' on going solo

Wake me up before you go-go

Take me dancing tonight

I wanna hit that high (yeah, yeah)-Wham

Plot: In the 1930s, shortly before the beginning of WWII, a cave filled with vampire-creating stone masks with a central statue of a man in a pillar is found by wealthy oil baron Robert E. O. Speedwagon. Unfortunately for Speedwagon, the Third Reich has eyes for the potential of vampires in the upcoming war. Unfortunately for the Nazis, the man in the pillar isn't as dead and inert as he seems. Unfortunately for both of them, there's a brilliant young man named Joseph Joestar ready to make his mark in history...

Overview: This is undoubtedly where the series gets good. Joseph Joestar is one of the series best protagonists. He's a hotblooded cocky Shonen hero who could teach Sun Tzu some lessons about tactics. The villains are a lot of fun, even if the final villain is a bit bland. Most importantly, the plot gets more creative and bizarre. The fights start involving crazy stratagems involving tommy guns and grenades, deadly squirrels and cybernetics, boiling blood and active volcanoes. This is when the series gains basically every hallmark it's known for today, save posing, which was already in Part 1, and Stands which will come up in the next part...

One-Winged Eagle · 2014-01-24 00:06:27

As beautiful and as ethereal as a bubble.

Odradek · 2014-01-24 21:25:59

Holy diver

You've been down too long in the midnight sea

Oh what's becoming of me- Ronnie James Dio

Plot: In the late eighties, a young man named Jotaro Kujo locks himself in a jail cell, claiming to be possessed by an evil spirit. Luckily, Jotaro's grandfather, world renowned adventurer Joseph Joestar explains that Jotaro has actually developed a unique power known as a Stand and further explains that the Joestar family's old nemesis Dio Brando, has re-emerged in Egypt wielding a powerful and mysterious Stand. Along with fellow student Noriaki Kakyoin, revenge-driven Frenchman Jean Pierre Polnareff, and a dog named Iggy, Jotaro sets out to Egypt to face off with Dio. But Jotaro and friends aren't the only one with Stands; in fact, Dio has gathered an army of Stand users to stop the intrepid heroes at any cost...

Overview: Part 3 is where the Stand concept comes into play, and the series shifts into more of a monster of the week set up. This would be bad if the series didn't continue to be imaginative, fun, and have excellent battle sequences. This part is an epic adventure with a single goal in mind and it's a lot of fun. As far as characterization goes, this is a bit weaker than Part 2. Jotaro, while being the single most iconic Jojo is a bit too stoic to be a great protagonist, and is often outshined by his grandfather and friends. That said, later parts do prove he works better as a side character and he's still far from outright personality free. Part 3 just builds as it goes, and the final fight is one of the series's finest moments. The next part is just as beloved by fans, while being a pretty big departure from Part 3...

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-25 17:10:32

I notice you didn't talk about Mohammad 'YES I AM' Avdol

Odradek · 2014-01-25 17:14:50

Oh shit, forgot him.

Odradek · 2014-01-25 18:58:05

Dynamite with a laser beam

Guaranteed to blow your mind

Anytime- Queen

Plot: A young man named Josuke Higashikata who has grown up without a father in the small Japanese town of Morioh-ko finds out one day that he is, in fact, the illegitimate child of a man named Joseph Joestar who he as never met. Moreover, Josuke has a Stand called Crazy Diamond that lets him instantly repair, fix, and heal any broken thing. Trouble starts when Josuke finds out that a weapon that can create Stands has gotten loose in Morioh and it's up to him and his friend Koichi Hirose to unravel the mystery, get the Stand problem under control, and unearth a serial killer who has been going undiscovered in Morioh for years.

Yeah that last bit is a doozy.

Overview: Okay so while Stardust Crusaders was Jojo doing standard adventure shonen, Part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable Diamond is Not Crash is Jojo doing almost magical realist slice of life. The focus is less on Josuke than on the growing community of Stand users in Morioh-Ko. Which isn't to say that fights do not happen and Josuke does not get into a motorcycle battle with a superfast Stand because that does happen. The side characters are, as a result of the more leisurely pace, better fleshed out than in Part 3 and are a lot of fun. Timid Koichi and perfectionist Mangaka Kishibe Rohan are the stand-outs. The villain is also great and a new kind of villain for the series. Rather than a force of nature like the Pillar Men or Dio, the villain of Part 4 is infuriatingly sneaky and great at living to fight another day. It should probably be noted that this part was originally scanslated by an insane Chinese man who did not speak English or Japanese very well. There is a project to do a complete accurate translation, but it's been stuck at three-fourths of the way through the story for a while. Next time GANGSTERS

BOY BAND GANGSTERS

Odradek · 2014-01-26 14:54:49

Everybody wants to sell what's already been sold

Everybody wants to tell what's already been told

What's the use of money if you ain't gonna break the mold?

Even at the center of fire there is cold

All that glitters ain't gold-Prince

Plot: Italian teenager Giorno Giovanna has had a hard life. His mother met his real father(who he has never met) in Egypt. His mother has neglected him, his stepfather has abused him, and he grows more like his real father every day to the point where his hair has even turned blonde. But Giorno has a dream: one day he will join the local mafia, reform it from the inside, and use it to become a force for good in Italy. But things are different than you might expect: the local Mafia, Passione has a mysterious boss who is able to grant his followers Stands. Giorno joins a gang of superpowered Mafiosi led by the determined charismatic Bruno Buccellati and is assigned by the boss to find and protect the boss's own long-lost daughter. But there are traitors within Passione and the boss has more planned than Giorno knows...

Overview: Okay, so if Part 1 is the weakest part, Part 5 is the second weakest. This is partially due to a bad translation that was easy to read, but eliminated character traits, important plot points, and poorly explained several Stands, most notably the villain's. As a result of poor plotting, and the author not quite planning out the future of Part 5, a member of the gang gets written out for being too overpowered, Giorno takes a backseat and ends up becoming team healer, and Bruno Buccellati ends up seeming like the real protagonist. This is not entirely a bad thing, because Bruno is awesome. That said, some of the fights are great, the final villain has an interesting, if overpowered ability and the climax is so bizarrely plotted and full of non sequiturs that it kind of becomes a fascinating trainwreck. This part is more popular in Japan among the yaoi scene for reasons that are, of course, mysterious

Next time: much less fanservice than you would expect from the premise

Odradek · 2014-01-27 16:18:08

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold

And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed

With a word she can get what she came for.

Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven-Led Zeppelin

I'm taking my ride with destiny

Willing to play my part

Living with painful memories

Loving with all my heart

Made in heaven, made in heaven

It was all meant to be, yeah- Freddie Mercury

Plot: Things are not going well for Jolyne Kujo, a 19 year old Japanese-American woman. Her boyfriend framed her for a manslaughter that was his own fault, her distant and cold father Jotaro is nowhere to be seen, and she's going to a prison in her native state of Florida. But Jolyne is developing a strange new power, and she's not about to spend the rest of her life rotting in prison. And the prison's chaplain has plans of his own...

Overview: Okay so Part 6 gets a lot of criticism because of a slow start and an ending that's controversial to say the least, but I think it's pretty good. Jolyne is one of, if not the best Jojos since Joseph, and the villain is my favorite bad guy of the series, with a final plan the likes of which I've never seen. The midsection of the Manga is all great fights, and Jolyne goes through some great character development. Her allies, Emporio, Hermes Costello Weather Report(not his real name), and Foo Fighters(actually her real name) are pretty cool too.

Next time Superboy prime punches the walls of reality a few times and we get a new universe...

One-Winged Eagle · 2014-01-27 18:38:43

I like that Jolyne is a thing.

Hexartes · 2014-01-28 17:17:36

For those unaware, I've started to read Jojo. Woooo

Odradek · 2014-01-28 17:38:11

Kexruct said:
For those unaware, I've started to read Jojo. Woooo

Yaaaaaaay.

Where are you reading it at?

Hexartes · 2014-01-28 17:58:13

Started from the beginning.

Go hard or go home.

Odradek · 2014-01-28 17:59:51

Kexruct said:
Started from the beginning.

Go hard or go home.

No I mean what site?

Hexartes · 2014-01-28 18:04:55

Oh, derp. Batoto.net.

Yarrun XIX · 2014-01-28 20:41:40

Stealing Kex's idea.

RocketRunner · 2014-01-28 22:45:48

Yeah, Batoto's good.

I'm also glad this thread exists.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: An introduction, primer, and retrospective by Odradek

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