DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ActionJoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Phantom Blood
MANGA ActionJoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Sentou Chouryuu
MOVIE ActionJoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Phantom Blood
ANIME ActionJoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stardust Crusaders

REVIEWS

• 

  ReBuggy

  70/100
  "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an unusual series."

  JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an unusual series, and not just because it contains adventures that could be described as "bizarre." No, it's unusual in that it is difficult to provide an objective review on the show. There are several reasons for this. The first is that the season is divided into two separate arcs that are wildly different, with the first 9 episodes covering the Phantom Blood arc and the last 17 episodes covering Battle Tendency. The second is that it is a very direct translation of the manga, which means that elements that worked better on the page are unable to translate to the screen well. But most importantly, many elements in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are flat-out bad, but the show manages to be enjoyable despite--or even because of--them.

  The first arc, Phantom Blood, tells the story of Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando. Jonathan (who goes by the nickname JoJo) is a young man who strives to become a true gentleman. Dio, meanwhile, can pretty much only be described as pure evil. After Jonathan's father takes Dio in after his own father's death, fulfilling a promise he had made to the man, Dio attempts to make JoJo's life hell for pretty much no real reason. The larger plot is kicked off by an ancient stone mask displayed in the house. When this mask comes into contact with blood, it grows spikes that, if worn, would pierce its wearer's brain. JoJo and Dio accidentally discover this and begin researching the mask on their own. Dio is the one to ultimately discover its true purpose and ends up using it to become a vampire. The rest of the story follows JoJo as he learns how to harness the energy of the sun through a martial art called Hamon and use it to stop Dio's vampire rampage.

  Phantom Blood is a rocky start to the series. The first episode is so unpleasant to watch that I almost didn't continue on to the second one. It is just an extended sequence of Dio actively attempting to make JoJo's life miserable for no good reason. It's not as if JoJo did something that would warrant the sort of actions Dio takes. Dio's thought process is simply "how do I make JoJo's life as miserable as possible?" The series also suffers from underdeveloped or unmemorable characters. Apart from Dio, the villains are largely just generic vampires or ghouls that lack much personality. Will Zeppeli is a bit quirky, but he enters and leaves the story suddenly with no real sense of actually belonging. Erina, Jonathan's love interest, barely even speaks, and almost all the other characters are completely irrelevant to the plot. Some characters only seem to exist so that someone can stand on the sidelines and explain what's happening to manga readers--which makes the characters completely redundant in the anime. Our leads are not much better. Dio has very little character beyond being pure evil, and while Jonathan's nobility is conceptually interesting and makes him something of a badass, it also makes him seem one-note and bland.

  Despite that, there are elements of a good story. JoJo and Dio have a Cain and Abel type of relationship, Hamon and the stone mask are interesting worldbuilding elements, and most events are framed in a melodramatic way that makes them engaging. It's enjoyable to watch, but the flaws keep it from being as gripping as it should.

  The second arc, Battle Tendency, is a bit stronger. It focuses on Jonathan Joestar's grandson, Joseph Joestar (also nicknamed JoJo), as he encounters the Pillar Men, the creators of the stone mask in Phantom Blood. In order to combat this group of superhumans, he undergoes training alongside Caesar Zeppeli, Will Zeppeli's grandson, in order to properly master Hamon.

  I found Joseph to be a much more interesting protagonist since he's a trickster character. He isn't as powerful as his grandfather was, so he uses guile to outwit his enemies. In addition, more characters seem to have more presence in the story. Speedwagon is the head of the Speedwagon foundation and is able to provide resources when need be. Erina is the matriarch of the Joestar family and is able to provide direction to the unfocused Joseph. Caesar is a friendly rival to Joseph and is actually more powerful than him, so he's able to fight alongside him and even have his own battles. Even the Nazis Joseph encounters early in the arc end up being valuable allies later on. Everything just ties together a little bit better.

  This is not to say that Battle Tendency is not without its flaws. It too has its share of completely superfluous characters who only exist to do play-by-play of events we just saw, and a big revelation that shows up near the end is indirectly spelled out earlier in the series. The fact that it's not touched upon until later can lead the viewer to believe that there's a bit of a plot hole. And it's also dumb. It's very dumb. Due to Joseph's character, it's even dumber than Phantom Blood. But hey, while that's a turnoff to some, it's also a selling point to others.

  If you're watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, it's probably not because it's good. It's just because it's fun. It's ridiculous, it's stupid, it's overblown...and yet it's fun. Usually, when bad shows take themselves seriously, they become worse. But when JoJo takes itself seriously, the act of taking itself seriously becomes a joke in and of itself. It's emotional, it's melodramatic, and it's dumb. So basically, it's a shounen anime, but it's so unique in how it's structured and the types of characters that it uses that it doesn't feel like a shounen anime--at least, not the type that people are used to. It's not going to be an anime for everyone, but it's one that fans of comedy or action should at least give it a shot. Four stars.

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• 

  Azureal

  71/100
  A fun and zany show but not without it's faults.

  JoJo's Bizzare Adventure is a series that I used to avoid mainly because of the fanbase... (and as irony may have it, I'm now sinking into the fandom) but I eventually gave in. I sat down and watched Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency and now that I've finished it, I figured that a review is a given.
  Though one thing is for certain, the word ''bizzare'' isn't just for show.

  The show's overdescriptive manner and fittingly bizzare contents managed to captivate me and now I'm hooked.

  CONTAINS SPOILERS

  ---

  PART 1 - Phantom Blood [EP 1 - 9]

  

  The beginning of the story and the ground for everything else to come.
  It all starts with Dio Brando's arrival as Jonathan Joestar's adopted brother to accomplish his goal of overtaking the Joestar mansion and heritage.

  The Phantom Blood arc is split in 2 halves - the first half being Jonathan and Dio's childhood as they grow up in the same household while Jonathan has to endure Dio's constant torture and eventual mutual peace. But that's just on the surface, Dio only got on good terms with JoJo to put his plan in motion.
  Jonathan reveals his scheme to everyone and as it crumbles down, Dio kills Jonathan's father and casts away his humanity to become a vampire.
  With JoJo going through deadly hurdles to eventually destroy Dio and the mask and bring peace back to his and everyone else's lives, eventually succeeding but forfeiting his own life in the process, leaving behind his pregnant wife as a set up for the next arc.

  Phantom Blood's pacing is extremely fast and haphazard but that's one of it's charms alongside the bizzare characters and great art direction.
  While the fast pace made the arc more enjoyable in a certain aspect, it's also the reason why some other moments just fell short, it sucked the impact out of them.

  And the overall writing had a few misses here and there, mainly in the first half, as a lot of the issues that were present could've been solved simply by logic (I know, it's not something I should look for in JoJo) and Jonathan just properly explaining what's actually happening and what Dio's true personality is to his father.

  The characterization for everyone is as simple as it gets, but that's not bad, since JoJo's greatness comes with it's simplicity. Everyone's based around a single trait. Jonathan wants to be a true gentleman, and his behaviour over the course of the series certainly lives up to that. Meanwhile Dio's just straight up rotten to the core. He's violent, arrogant and selfish. Although that's something most likely caused by the harsh enviorment he was raised in, while JoJo was pampered and spoiled.
  Although as Part 1 went on, I didn't really get attached to a single character besides Dio and Jonathan.

  Overall Part 1 is a fun arc with interesting concepts and ideas that were executed properly,
  It's got a lot of charm thanks to it's bizzare cast of characters, the captivating art and great soundtrack but some aspects could've been executed better, and without pulling my punches... the writing is actually kind of bad, as a core part of JoJo lies in complete ass pulls... and it isn't consistent in executing them properly. Not for part 1 at the very least.

  ---

  PART 2 - Battle Tendency [EP 10-26]

  

  This is the the longer part of the two. It's also a lot more consistent in structure, making it easier to follow.
  It takes places 2 generations later, with our main protagonist being Joseph Joestar, the grandson of the late Jonathan Joestar as he gets pulled into events caused by what happened 50 years ago. He's the only one who can defeat the Pillar Men, the ones who inadvertently started everything. JoJo, together with Speedwagon seeks out Caesar A. Zepelli to improve his Hamon, and over tough experiences together, the two form a manly bond and set out to defeat the Pillar Men. As the events unfold Joseph learns more about Hamon and gets stronger and stronger and eventually defeats the Pillar Men, though not without losses along the way.

  The pace in Battle Tendency isn't as fast as Phantom Blood's, giving you more time to ease in into the premise and to get attached to the characters, which is great because the characters themselves are a lot more fleshed out than Part 1's cast. Not only is the nuance of the characters a couple notches above Phantom Blood's, the combat system itself is a lot more fleshed out, with us getting an actual idea on how Hamon works within the universe alongside a more appealing use for it.

  The writing is more tight and suspensful although it still keeps the same ''plot twist'' style where it just introduces stuff out of left field, every battle feels like a struggle and there were well executed twists that I didn't expect though, these kind of non-sense twists in battle actually work really well thanks to Joseph whose personality was literally made to be the protagonist of this series, except we all know he gets replaced with his brick of a grandson in the next part. We get to see the gradual pace and effort put in which JoJo learns how to use Hamon instead of magically being a prodigy at it.

  The characters as a cast also have a much better dynamic than Part 1's quickly put together group of characters that have no real synergy with each other (Dio and Jonathan are an exception).
  Joseph feels energetic and fresh, he's a joy to look at on the screen at all times and his defining trait of being a cunning trickster has a pretty wide application withing the story, unlike Jonathan's bland gentleman etiquette. Joseph also grows in the story to an extent, starting out as someone who's easier to anger but matures in some aspects over the course of the story.
  JoJo's main companion during the story is Caesar A. Zepelli, the grandson of Part 1's Will A. Zepelli. Unlike his grandpa, Caesar has a properly presented personality and his dynamic with Joseph feels like a brotherly bond, something that Part 1 tried to achieve with Jonathan and Will to an extent as suggested by Will's words ''you're both like a son and a brother to me'', though it didn't succeed.
  We also spend considerably more time with Caesar than we do with Will, which makes him a lot easier to get attached to.
  Part 2 as a whole feels like a natural successor to Part 1, with pretty much a similar overtone but much much better execution.

  The OST of Part 2 is a lot better, it's used at the most appropriate times, pulling you into the scene even more. Though I certainly didn't expect dubstep, it actually fit well.

  Overall, Part 2 is a fantastic experience, with a fun - unique cast, great soundtrack and better writing and is a natural improvement of everything in Part 1 by a large margin with some flaws that I think inherently come from Araki's writing and not the adaptation itself.
  While I've yet to see what's to come in the future Parts of JoJo's Bizzare Adventure, I can see why Part 2 receives the high praise that it does.

  Edit : I've seen Part 3. It's not nearly as good.

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• 

  CryingLad

  94/100
  A series that just keeps sucking you in.

  [This review will contain Spoilers for the show!]()

  
  

  [(SPOILER AHEAD) STORY:]()
  JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Season 1 contains Part 1 and 2. Keeping that in mind I shall first talk about Part 1.

  Part 1 of JoJo, my least favourite part and sole reason I didn't give this a 100/100. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad but compared to Part 2+ it is somewhat lacklustre. Though that being said it is important to watch Part 1 as it introduces us to the Joestars and the Dio.

  The Joestar family has a strong connection to "Justice" and "Gentlemanliness", this is important since through out the series and especially this part we get to see our hero, Jonathan Joestar, fight the evil that has been activated by Dio.
  To summarize Part 1:
  The story focuses on Jonathan Joestar, a gentleman and the symbol of good. He lost his mother in an accident and got robbed helped by the Brando family. After few years and the death of Dario (Dio's father), Dio is sent to the Joestar abode where he tries his best to take down JoJo and get rich quick.... until a day that changed everything.
  JoJo discovers that a Stone Mask they have in their mansion activates with blood, curious he decides to study it. That is the point in which Dio tries to poison JoJo's father, JoJo ventures to London where he meets best girl Speedwagon.
  During JoJo's journey Dio decides to take a peak at his belongings including the notes on the Mask, curious he takes the mask and tests it out on some strangers on the streets, he soon notices them turning into vampires, this is the most pivotal moment of the WHOLE series, ever since the show gets its famous Bizarre twist. Jonathan meets Zeppeli and trains with Hamon to defeat the Vampires and now evil vampire Dio. (Yes I skipped a LOT but stay with me, I still gotta do Part 2 xd)

  

  Moving on to Part 2, we are introduced to a new Joestar, Joseph Joestar is the main character of this one.
  He is much more crazy and wacky than Jonathan but still has his iconic Good Nature just like Jonathan did. This part is the one that has dragged me deeper and deeper into the series.
  To summarize Part 2:
  Joseph Joestar goes about his life unbeknownst to him he posses the power of Hamon.
  Joseph gets dragged into the bizarre world when get is told about Speedwagons "death" and when Straizo attacks him.
  Ever since that points JoJo has been on the hunt for Speedwagon. He soon finds out he is alive in a Nazi bunker with this "Pillar Man". These humanoid creatures have incredible power and could easily wipe the whole human race off the planet. There is more than 1 and they have been taking a nap for 2000 years but are soon waking up. Ever since then JoJo has been on a hunt for the Pillar Men because of both bravery and bad life decisions. There was an issue... JoJo did not have the power to defeat all of the Pillar men therefore he had to train, his master being "Lisa Lisa". He only had a month to train due to a challenge he set up with the Pillar Men, he has one month to train and win a battle with them or else rings inside him would break and kill him. This motivated JoJo quite a bit. (I won't go into more detail, I think ya get the gist)

  

  
  

  [CHARACTERS:]()
  Part 1 of JoJo introduces us to many good characters and one of the best villains in the series.

  Jonathan Joestar, the main character, he is a very Justice oriented Gentleman. He tries his hardest to bring peace and get along with everyone.
  But ever since Dio showed up and turned himself into a Vampire JoJo has been hard at work to defeat him and all the evil he's managed to bring upon this cursed land.

  Dio Brando, the main villain of the show, Dio did not have a good childhood. His father was an asshole and did not care for Dio. Because of that reason Dio has been an evil little soul who just wants easy money. Dio has shown us that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, he has done many disgusting things to piss off JoJo, like for example shove JoJo's dog into a furnace and let him burn.

  Speedwagon, best girl. Speedwagon does not really have any kind of purpose in the first part of JoJo, he's just there to be the narrator. Though that being said he has shown deep respect towards the Joestar family and became the number one best girl because of that.

  Lastly I shall be talking about Zeppeli, the one who taught JoJo the way of Hamon. He is a much more chaotic character compared to JoJo but still can keep his calm. He is very well versed in Hamon and too wants the Vampires and Stone Masks destroyed.

  These characters compared to the rest of the series aren't that good, apart from Speedwagon, but they do serve an important role like I mentioned earlier. They show us just how Bizarre this show is and also show us the way of the Joestars. Without this part the viewers would be left confused as to what the ulterior motives of the Joestar family is.

  

  
  

  [ART/ANIMATION:]()
  In this section of the already long enough review I won't be talking individually about the parts but instead comparing them and giving some insight on how it is.

  Part 1's art style and animation is the reason, in my opinion, that people turn away from JoJo. It feels clunky and looks a bit bulky. I personally did not have an issue with it when I first watched the show but looking back on it I get where people are coming from. In Part 2 the animation looks much more fluid and the fights are much more intricate, the art style too got a little upgrade. Going from mainly dark to more light colour pallete.
  Both parts still do have the Super Muscly guys but Part 2 lessens that down by a bit, so although my muscle mass does not increase as much now when watching JoJo I do get some visually appealing fights with Hamon. The details, too, have improved quite a bit between the two parts.

  

  
  

  [MUSIC:]()
  I shall be doing the same here as I did with the Art/Animation section.

  The OST of Part 1 is quiet and much more "Classical" (I suppose that description will do). This fits perfectly with the olden year theme that is going on especially when we get to the villages and castles that Dio has plundered.
  The OST for Part 2 is a bit louder and more "Modern". Especially the track "Awaken" the theme of the Pillar Men. This song in particular is the pure defenition of Part 2.

  Both of the OPs that play are very good. The songs and animation present are outstanding and to this day I still listen to them.

  

  
  

  [OVERALL OPINION:]()
  JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a series which manages to suck nearly anyone who watches it. Yes there are people who dislike this show but compared to the sheer amount of people who love this show they are quite small. I also keep hearing more and more people talking in real life about this show which indicated that it has hit the mainstream audience, say what you will about that but I personally think that this is great since it opens up more people to this cult fanbase of JoJo which is always great. Remember though, no Part skipping.

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