This is the first post of what I intend to be a series of posts regarding “Media I like a lot, but that I don’t actually think is all that great“, or the MILALBIDATIATG tag.
JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure, JJBA, or just JoJo, is a supernatural, Shōnen (“for boys”), and adventure manga and anime series that is extremely popular in online circles. I just finished re-watching all 5 parts of the currently-aired anime and would like to take a moment to give a review of them all.
To give you a better idea of the premise, in case you aren’t already aware of it, I’m just going to copy-paste this excerpt from the Wikipedia page on the series.
The universe of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a reflection of the real world with the added existence of supernatural forces and beings.[2] In this setting, some people are capable of transforming their inner spiritual power into a Stand (スタンド, Sutando); another significant form of energy is Hamon (波紋, “Ripple”), a martial arts technique that allows its user to focus bodily energy into sunlight via controlled breathing. The narrative of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is split into parts with independent stories and different characters. Each of the series’ protagonists is a member of the Joestar family, whose mainline descendants possess a star-shaped birthmark above their left shoulder blade and a name that can be abbreviated to the titular “JoJo”.[a] The first six parts take place within a single continuity whose generational conflict stems from the rivalry between Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, while the latter two parts take place in an alternate universe where the Joestar family tree is heavily altered.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure#Plot
Each part is vastly different and the only recurring elements are very different each time they come up. For example, the most iconic “mechanic” of the series, Stands, go from being named/designed after Tarot Cards to being named after Egyptian Gods to being named/designed after bands and songs from popular culture. Because each part is so different, it’s worth looking at them independently, in-depth.
I’ve always been warm to the series, but even while watching it for the first time I noticed a lot of things that were, for lack of a better term, contestable. I think the best thing I have to say about it as a whole is that the consistent pop culture (mostly music) references and how they are implemented is really amusing throughout. (Also hilarious is the localized names for these references that try to dodge copyright, and the characters speaking in Japanese saying English names).
It’s funny just how much of an English-speaking audience there is for this series. There is a dub, but as with most newly-airing anime fans watch the subtitled version as soon as it’s available. The way the fans of it talk about this series, you’d think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but honestly I know that most of them are just being hysterical and that they are more than aware of its flaws. It’s fun to be hysterical, so I don’t even blame them.
I have to wonder if what viewers tend to think of certain aspects of JoJo is just cultural differences. For example, many character designs are interpreted as homoerotic (I can definitely see why, though… the recurring villain literally recruits buff guys with his shining muscles). Recurring, repeatedly-shouted phrases (“ORAORAORAORA”, “MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA”) are meme’d to death, but I feel like that’s definitely not something that’s unique to JoJo.
Anyways, onto my thoughts for the individual parts:
Part 1: Phantom Blood
This part is where it all begins. British rich kid Johnathan Joestar meets his evil adoptive brother DIO Brando, and things start to go wrong in Johnathan’s up-to-this-point-perfect life. It really, really sets you up to hate DIO for many parts to come. After failing to take the family fortune, DIO turns into a vampire via an ancient Stone Mask and destroys the family mansion. Miraculously, Johnathan survives, even after he fought his super-powered vampire brother. He embarks on an adventure to finally defeat DIO. Along the way, he learns the first “power system” of the series, Hamon, (literally Ripple), which allows the user control over life energy by use of breathing techniques. Or something like that.
In my opinion the best part of this part is the supporting characters. Baron Zepelli and Robert E. O. Speedwagon have lots of great lines and their legacies are both very important for the rest of the series.
Unfortunately, this is widely regarded as the weakest part. This part is only 9 episodes long in the anime. It’s so short because there just isn’t much there.
The design of the characters, of adult Johnathan specifically, is already ridiculous from the get-go. That dude is massive and jacked. It only gets more ridiculous from here. It’s great.
Part 2: Battle Tendency
In the late 1930’s, Speedwagon, now 75, is seeking the origin of the Stone Masks. With his foundation, they discover a strange cavern in Mexico filled with similar masks, and a mysterious figure stuck inside a central pillar. A minor character from Part 1, Straizo, now very old and seeking immortality, uses the mask and becomes a vampire.
Johnathan’s grandson Joseph Joestar, living in New York, has Hamon powers as well. Joseph saves a young African-American named Smokey from some corrupt and racist cops with his Hamon ability, despite having his wallet stolen by Smokey.
The racist cops getting comically owned scene seems to be the first of a recurring trope of “unnamed and insignificant-to-the-plot bad person gets what they deserve” in this series. It’s a weird trope but it happens too many times to not be intentional. It’s unfortunate that the only reason this scene even happens is because Smokey is introduced as a pickpocket, no doubt a stereotype of black Americans.
He runs off to a cafe where his grandmother is waiting to meet with Speedwagon Foundation members informed that Speedwagon has likely been killed by Straizo. Later that day, Joseph is attacked by Straizo, because Straizo knows that Joseph Joestar is realistically the only person that might still know the Hamon technique. Joseph Joestar, using his extreme wit and tommy gun and grenade he somehow has in his jacket, kills Straizo relatively easily.
The Nazis (this takes place in the WWII era) have a base in Mexico where they are attempting to extract the figure from the pillar that was found in the cave. Speedwagon wasn’t dead – the Nazis have captured Speedwagon in an attempt to get information on the strange pillar. It’s the classic “Nazis indulge in supernatural research to seek power for the motherland” trope. Joseph goes all the way to Mexico to save Speedwagon on his own. Another idiot-gets-owned moment happens as Joseph tries to trick the hideous Nazi guards to let him in by dressing as a woman with tequila. After many experiments on the figure in the pillar, the Nazis, the Nazi Major Rudol von Stroheim, Speedwagon (still captured and in binds), and Joseph watch in horror as a man with inexplicable supernatural and superhuman abilities emerges from the pillar and somehow gets out of the holding room and into the observation room.
This man, assigned the name Santana, terrorizes the observers as he somehow clearly speaks the language already, absorbs some soldiers to “eat” them, and disassembles a rifle to learn about it. After a long battle, Santana is defeated only by Stroheim literally blowing himself up.
It’s revealed a similar structure with three men in it has been found in Italy. Also in Italy is Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, the grandson of Will Anthonio Zeppeli from part 1, whom Joseph must befriend. The three men in the structure are revealed to be the Pillar Men, ancient superbeings who have extreme intelligence, supernatural abilities, and near invincibility. Their only weakness is sunlight and Hamon. They have awoken and intend to use an ancient artifact as well combined their stone masks to become even more powerful, “the Ultimate Lifeform”.
The three are Kars, Esidisi, and Wamuu (named after The Cars, AC/DC, and Wham!). They are the main antagonists and Joseph and his new not-so-friendly-friend Caesar must master their Hamon powers to defeat them. The Nazis continue to show up at opportune moments, as they still want the power for themselves, but have the same goal as Joseph of stopping the Pillar Men and the extinction of humanity. And (spoilers) Stroheim is somehow still alive as a cyborg.
Since this story takes significant setup to get to the actual conflict, it’s already apparent that it’s much better than Part 1. Part 2 is definitely a fan favorite, and it’s my 2nd favorite of the 5 parts that have been animated. There are so many great lines and moments.
The ridiculous nature of the series really starts to take shape here. The characters do a lot of poses in their ridiculous designs. There’s plenty of nonsense “solutions” to the fights and a handful of dues-ex-machina moments. Sincerely, though, that’s part of what makes it great.
The Pillar Men’s theme is awesome, by the way:
Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
The most iconic JoJo part and the story arc that introduces the “Stands” system that will be used for the rest of the series. Stands are someone’s “spiritual energy” that can only be seen by other people with Stands (with a handful of exceptions…). A Stand has supernatural powers and abilities that are dependent on the kind of person using it. Apparently they are called “Stands” because they look like they stand next to you. Stands are supernatural and can only harm other Stands. Harming a Stand will harm the user.
The part opens with a coffin being lifted out of the sea with the word DIO on it in big, bold letters. It then skips to a scene where the ship that had lifted the coffin is found, mysteriously unoccupied and no evidence of anything happening
The main character is Jotaro Kujo, grandson of Joseph Joestar. Joseph Joestar is a Japanese delinquent who, at the very start of this part, has literally locked himself in a jail cell and refuses to leave. The year is 1988, and Jotaro claims he has been suddenly haunted by an “evil spirit” that only he can see. Joseph, knowing exactly what’s happening, brings his friend Muhammad Avdol to show Jotaro what Stands are. The reason Jotaro’s Stand came about so suddenly is because DIO, the vampire of the first part, has returned. Joseph uses his Stand to take a “spirit picture” of DIO, who is shown with the body of Johnathan Joestar. It’s explained that in the final moments of Part 1, DIO affixed his disembodied head to Johnathan’s body, and now that DIO has awoken, Johnathan’s stolen body sent a supernatural “distress signal” that activated stands in his descendants.
Holy Kujo (pronounced Holly), Jotaro’s mother, has also awakened a stand, except due to her lack of “potential” (… sexism…?) she is unable to control it and it has made her extremely sick. The gang plans to kill DIO so they can save Holy. DIO has recruited an absurd amount of stand users to take down the Joestars, and the gang must make their way around the world to get to him in Egypt.
Jotaro already encounters his first enemy at school shortly after. Noriaki Kakyoin is a Japanese student who apparently recently went on a trip to Egypt where he was brainwashed by DIO. After the first real Stand battle of the series, Kakyoin becomes an ally after Jotaro removes DIO’s vampiric “flesh bud” and convinces Kakyoin to join the party to fight DIO. The party gets on a plane to Egypt… but there’s already a Stand user on it. They are forced to fight it and Joseph miraculously lands the plane in Hong Kong to and decide to travel in a way that doesn’t put innocent lives in danger.
In Hong Kong, the group decides to get some food at a restaurant, where a French tourist joins them. This is, of course, another Stand user sent to track them down. Jean Pierre Polnareff is defeated by Avdol and his “flesh bud” is removed. He joins the group after explaining his backstory of looking for his sister’s murderer, who the group speculates to be one of DIO’s faithful.
After this, the main party is fully formed, and they go on an odyssey to Egypt to finally kill DIO before Holy’s stand kills her. They encounter many stand users along the way, all sent by DIO to kill the gang. No more of them join the group, because apparently DIO has multiple ways of convincing people to go after the Joestars and the flesh bud method is the only reversible one. Actually, when they get to Egypt, another main character is literally delivered to the party; a dog named Iggy whose stand is The Fool.
24 episodes are spent getting to Egypt, and another 24 are spent getting to DIO in Egypt. New Stand users appear and are quickly defeated in a rather predictable cycle. Stand battles tend to have the “talk, fight, talk, fight” problem that many fights in the Shōnen genre do. There’s definitely some interesting and engaging fights, but by and large this part is too long and too samey for its own good. The only interesting plot twist that happens is completely copped-out of later on – fans will know exactly what I’m talking about.
While there is some good fights, there’s definitely a lot of bad ones and there’s even a few actively disgusting/distasteful ones. The fights that made me cringe are (spoilers ahead, obviously):
- Forever/Strength; A young girl is creeped on by a perverted orangutan. No, I’m not kidding. It’s weird and gross.
- Mariah/Bastet; Joseph and Avdol get magnetically stuck to each other and are put in compromising and embarrassing positions. I didn’t find the “haha gay” to be all that funny.
- Alessi/Sethan; Polnareff gets de-aged as a result of Sethan’s Stand ability. A kind woman notices a helpless, dirty, and clearly panicked child Polnareff. She takes him home to bathe him, and Polnareff comments how weird it is that this and even says “I think I’m supposed to feel good.”
The artstyle is… something. Something a lot of people point out is the character’s shoulders – they are often compared to tires on a car. I have to say, after reading that for the first time I couldn’t un-see it. For parts 1 and 2, I do think the characters look ridiculous, but it’s from a design perspective, which makes it a fun kind of ridiculous. Part 3’s artstyle is just… too much. I dunno, I can’t put my finger on it. It’s not unwatchable, but it adds to my gripes with this part for sure.
Overall, part 3 is my 2nd to least favorite. If part 1 wasn’t so short and basic, part 3 probably would be my least favorite period. Part 3 is just written in such a way to be a tiring adventure. It’s absolutely intentional – the author has stated to be inspired by the film Around the World in 80 Days. I just am not a fan of the structure of this part. The conclusion and final battle is absolutely awesome, but I just don’t know that the amount of watch time it takes to get there is worth it.
Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
Every part is very different in its structure, but part 4 really stands out in this regard. It’s kind of a bunch of little adventures that are all connected in a small-city setting. You can describe it as having a “slice-of-life” feel. It’s hard to describe the events of this part, because the big, main conflict doesn’t reveal itself until very, very late. But I like this part a lot for exactly that reason.
The year is 1999 – going on 10 years since the end of Part 3. In Morioh, Japan, Jotaro, now an adult, is searching for a boy named Josuke Higashikata. Josuke is apparently the bastard son of Joseph Joestar, and technically Jotaro’s uncle. He finds him, and quickly observes that Josuke has some kind of power as he observes him heal a turtle that was injured in a fight with Josuke’s upperclassmen.
Jotaro reveals to Josuke there is a powerful, criminal Stand user in Morioh. This character is quickly dealt with. After that, Josuke encounters the Nijimura Brothers, who have a bow and arrow that can forcefully awaken stands in people. Obviously, the arrow becomes an important plot object. After fighting them, it’s revealed that the Nijimura brothers are trying to awaken Stand users to kill their dad, who was apparently corrupted by DIO. Now a grotesque mass, the senior Nijimura will not die and regenerates inconceivably. The arrow is then stolen by a Stand that the Nijimura brothers created, Red Hot Chili Pepper, who escapes. Red Hot Chili Pepper having the arrow is now the central conflict.
The story then follows a loop of “new Stand users either attack or otherwise interact with the main characters while Jotaro attempts to find the arrow”. The main characters are courageous Josuke, timid-but-reliable student Koichi Hirose, dumb-but-good-guy Okuyasu Nijimura, manga artist Rohan Kishibe, Jotaro, and later on an extremely elderly Joseph.
This part give a better picture of stand “classifications” (like “close range power type” and “automatic remote stand”) and introduces some non-combat stands that are interesting for the slice-of-life stories. There’s a wide variety and it’s a welcome change to the stands that have only been used for violence. This part also has some standard supernatural elements, namely ghosts.
The final villain, Yoshikage Kira, is very iconic, and very creepy. Spoilers, but, he’s a serial killer in hiding who the group desperately needs to find. Surely you’ve seen this quote or something like it somewhere on the internet:
My name is Yoshikage Kira. I’m 33 years old. My house is in the northeast section of Morioh, where all the villas are, and I am not married. I work as an employee for the Kame Yu department stores, and I get home every day by 8 PM at the latest. I don’t smoke, but I occasionally drink. I’m in bed by 11 PM, and make sure I get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. After having a glass of warm milk and doing about twenty minutes of stretches before going to bed, I usually have no problems sleeping until morning. Just like a baby, I wake up without any fatigue or stress in the morning. I was told there were no issues at my last check-up. I’m trying to explain that I’m a person who wishes to live a very quiet life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me happiness. Although, if I were to fight I wouldn’t lose to anyone.
Yoshikage kira
Kira is a perfect villain, one that viewers love to hate. He’s cold, conniving, and extremely clever. The conclusion to this part is also very good and satisfying,
The artstyle is really toned down from part 3. There’s still some silly character designs, but in general the whole thing looks a lot more… grounded, and the author definitely wanted to move away from the buff tough guy standard. I prefer this artstyle and design tendencies to Part 3’s, but honestly this part doesn’t contribute as much to what makes JoJo as a series what it is.
Unfortunately, a really cool and intentional art decision from the manga is completely lost in the anime; the character Koichi Hirose is canonically an average height for his age, but he is depicted as very short (just under 3 feet) in both the anime and manga. When Koichi defeats a character in the manga, they are drawn as short in future appearances, to demonstrate that they’ve been humiliated. In the anime, however, the characters that get “shortened” are always shown at a similar height to Koichi. It’s an unfortunate loss of meaning between the two mediums.
There’s a couple more “unnamed idiot gets owned” moments in this part. One of the upperclassmen that threaten Josuke gets his face literally rearranged. When Josuke’s mom gets catcalled by a stranger when she’s driving to work, she slams his head into the glass of her convertible. A man who apparently steals his neighbor’s underwear dies. They don’t really add anything to the story, but again these happens frequently enough that they are intentionally written in, and I guess they a bit of “swift justice” type comic relief is entertaining.
There’s a lot of good adventures in this part, and no particularly distasteful things come to mind. It’s a lot of people’s favorite part for a reason. I guess the villains are really disgusting people, and you might find their backstories unsettling and unnecessary, but obviously it’s set up so that they get what’s coming to them. Unfortunately, Part 4 is just barely beat out by Part 2 in terms of my favorite parts. They would be tied if I didn’t make myself order them for this post.
Part 5: Vento Aureo / Golden Wind
In 2001, Koichi Hirose arrives in Naples, Italy at Jotaro’s request to find Giorno Giovanna, who is revealed as DIO’s son (… procreated Johnathan Joestar’s body). Stand users are fated to meet when close in proximity, and Giorno meets Koichi at the airport almost immediately. Giorno is only 15, but he’s already a delinquent, running a scammy taxi business from the airport. Giorno pays off some corrupt cops to allow his business. Giorno attempts to steal Koichi’s luggage to pawn it off, but his car is attacked by Koichi’s stand and halted. Giorno still manages to escape with Koichi’s stuff, though.
Giorno’s Stand is Gold Experience, which allows him to “give life” to virtually any object. By turning Koichi’s luggage into a frog (ridiculous, I know), he can escape and have the luggage-frog return to him later.
Elsewhere, a gangster that goes by “Leaky-Eye Luca” beats up someone running a similar scam to Giorno’s. He says that the airport is “his territory” and any and all scams that happen in it need to give him a cut. The guy that’s getting beat up says there’s someone else not paying his fees – Giorno Giovanna. Luca finds Giorno and demands compensation. Giorno doesn’t give him anything, as all his money was given to the guards and the luggage-frog hasn’t returned to him just yet. In response, Luca prepares to attack Giorno with his shovel, but notices the frog hopping up to Giorno. He then attacks the frog, which is now climbing on Giorno, but the supernatural nature if it “reflects” the attack onto Luca. Luca dies instantly, with a distinct shovel shape to the back of his skull.
Later, Giorno boards a funicular (cable cars common in Italy) while being followed by gangster Bruno Bucciarati. Bucciarati explains that he can “taste liars”, and asks Giorno is he knows anything about Luca. Nervous, Giorno responds no. Bucciarati appears convinced and leaves Giorno alone, but Giorno realizes there is suddenly a human eyeball in his hand and freaks out. Bucciarati appears again, outside the window of the funicular, and literally licks Giorno and declares “This is the taste of a liar!”
This part is already off to a very intense start, and it doesn’t stop there. Bruno proceeds to torture Giorno for information, somehow placing Luca’s dead, amputated fingers in Giorno’s mouth. Giorno then realizes he can use his stand for combat, and initiates a stand battle with Bruno’s stand, Sticky Fingers.
Giorno’s backstory is revealed. Giorno’s Japanese mother met DIO in Egypt, gave birth to him, and somehow managed to return to Japan safely. Giorno’s mother is extremely neglectful. When Giorno was four years old, his mother married an abusive Italian man and they moved to Italy. As if Giorno’s childhood couldn’t get any worse, he was bullied by other children in Italy for being Japanese. One day, Giorno discovers a bloodied man laying in a grassy patch of a dark alley. Hurried gangsters pass by and ask Giorno if they have seen a man of his description. Giorno lies and shakes his head, while unknowingly hiding the unnamed gangster by accelerating the growth of the weeds around him with his unconscious stand powers.
After this, Giorno’s life suddenly takes a turn for the better. The gangster, thankful that Giorno saved his life, uses his methods to make Giorno’s stepfather to stop beating him, and to make the bullies be overly nice to him. Giorno looks up to this man, as he is the first person to ever treat him well. Trying to meet the man, who is still a gangster, Giorno comes across him having just shot someone. The gangster explains to the victim’s son that he was shot because he was a drug dealer who sold to women and children. This event form’s Giorno’s whole M.O.; Giorno wants to become a “Gang-Star”, his idealized version of an “ethical” gangster, if you will.
Back in present day, Giorno is shown fighting Bucciarati. Giorno unknowingly “overloads his target with life energy”, and causes Bucciarati’s sense to “go berserk”, meaning what Bucciarati sees and feels differs from what is actually happening. It’s ridiculous, but it’s JoJo. Unsure of what just happened and believing that Giorno is capable of killing him, Bucciarati decides to run away. Bucciarati hides amongst a nearby crowd, but Giorno turned one of Bucciarati’s punched-out teeth into a fly and instructed it to return to its origin. This allows Giorno to track him down, and another fight begins. Giorno ultimately wins, but spares Bucciarati. Bucciarati asks why, and Giorno states that he noticed Bucciarati was disturbed by a 13-year-old drug addict who was among the civilians, and states that Bucciarati is a good person.
Giorno then states his intention to join Bucciarati’s gang an become a “Gang-Star” in order to take on the powers that be within the organization. It’s really ridiculous, but Bucciarati accepts. The structure and name of the criminal organization is explained; at the top of Passione is The Boss, who nobody knows the identity, appearance, or powers of. Below him are Polpos, who give orders to specialized Teams. After going through an elaborate test and battle to prove his dedication and killing the polpo in the process, Giorno joins Bucciarati’s team and Bucciarati is elevated to a polpo.
This is where the “story loop” if you will begins. Bucciarati’s gang takes on different gang-related tasks (while trying to be ethical, or something) . Eventually they find themselves tasked with bringing The Boss’s daughter, Trish, to him. However, after realizing The Boss intends to kill his daughter, they betray him and miraculously escape with Trish. The other Teams want to find Trish to get a better idea of The Boss’s identity, and The Boss sends his best people after the Bucciarati gang after being betrayed. It’s a bloodbath.
I think the best thing about this part is the great cast of characters. Although Giorno Giovanna is the titular JoJo in this part and is definitely important to the plot, this part likes to show the importance of the whole gang. Bruno Bucciarati is the leader and his stand Sticky Fingers can create zippers, allowing him to separate, combine, and create holes on anything. Guido Mista is a gunslinger with the stand Sex Pistols, six individual bullet-seize remote stands that can redirect his revolver’s bullets to hit targets even around corners with extreme precision. Leone Abbacchio is a disgraced cop whose stand, Moody Blues, can replay any person’s actions at any given point if they were in the same vicinity. Narancia Ghirga is a crass teenager with the stand Aerosmith, a small fighter plane that can track and shoot enemies. Pannacotta Fugo is a young guy with anger issues and the terrifying Purple Haze stand that releases an inconceivably deadly virus that destroys life. Trish Una, The Boss’s daughter, is also a major character and (spoilers) user of the stand Spice Girl, who can make anything soft and bouncy.
If you can’t tell by the way I’m describing it… Part 5 is my favorite part. There’s just so much action, and so much JoJo-brand wackiness and (for lack of a better term) bullshit, all in an intense and high-stakes package. This part takes place over the course of only a couple days, and there is never a dull moment or boring battle. It’s action, action, action, which is suitable for the characters’ occupation and the setting. The cast is thoroughly enjoyable and their stands are cool and interesting. There is a lot of good moments. Have you seen the torture dance? (content warning; graphic anime gangster torture)
The artstyle of this part is also peak JoJo. I can best describe it as halfway between Part 3 an Part 4’s artstyles with an extra degree of detail and absurdity in character designs/
That’s not to say this part is perfect. In fact, it’s far from it. This part has by far the highest amount of “that doesn’t make any sense” moments. Indeed, the main character’s stand has simply way too many abilities relating to the vague concept of “giving life” and gets out of terrible situations miraculously. A lot of the battles have the strangest solutions. But before you have time to think about the bullshit that just happened, the plot has already presented another hurdle in the team’s path. The final battle in particular seems to be a point of contention for a lot of people, and I have to agree. It quite literally makes things up that aren’t explained as it goes along. But then it gets to the extremely satisfying final conclusion, and you can’t even be mad.
Fans of the series in the west praise and meme on the series for its borderline homoerotic moments, and this part includes a handful of definitely-openly-gay characters. Unfortunately, they are all villains. Obviously, this is not the kind of representation that LGBTQ+ people are fond of. But it’s something… I guess. For some reason, the anime feels the need to add an “unnamed idiot gets owned” moment in Fugo’s backstory; a pedophile professor sexually harasses a very young Fugo, and then Fugo beats him up. Besides that scene, I don’t think it ever shows the character’s homosexuality to be a condition of their villainy, but I’m sure it still leaves a bit to be desired.
Another particularly cringe-y choice is how the character Trish dresses and how the characters bring it up multiple times. Her design is a tad too revealing for a 15 year old character. That’s not to say she’s not an interesting character – she starts as a spoiled-rotten, detached girl, but has some character development over the course of the part.
Future Parts
There’s (currently) 3 more Parts after Part 5: Stone Ocean, which follows Jotaro’s daughter Jolyne, Steel Ball Run, which “resets” the series into an alternate timeline, and finally JoJolion, which is ongoing and continues the different timeline from Steel Ball Run. Part 6: Stone Ocean has been announced to be receiving an anime adaptation, but no further details have been made public yet. I have only watched the anime and am unlikely to catch up to the manga, so I will continue to wait for Part 6 and watch it when I have the time.
The first part, Phantom Blood, was written in 1987, and Part 8, JoJolion, has continued to this day since May 2011. JoJo has no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Conclusion
JoJo is really a blast to watch and tune in to, but it’s got it’s fair share of problems, things I don’t like, technicalities, retcons, and overly-absurd aspects. It’s super popular on internet circles, and the anime is definitely worth watching. There’s so many great moments, characters, fights, and references. But it’s really not as unfathomably fantastic as the fandom would have you believe.
I like it a lot. But I don’t actually think it’s all that great.