Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Review (Re-Upload)

NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MULTIPLE SPOILERS. IF INTERESTED IN WATCHING IT, DON'T READ THIS IF YOU WANT A FRESH EXPERIENCE.

“We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious effort; the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life.”    –Theodore Roosevelt

Jotaro, the third Jojo, is the most popular Jojo in Japan,
whereas Joseph is the most popular in America.
Go figure.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a, pardon the pun, “bizarre” anime. It blends aspects of multiple anime styles (and even animation styles midfights), combining action, adventure, comedy, drama, mystery, horror, etc. All this being said, Jojo is a shounen at heart, and is a damn good one at that. Just like Hunter X Hunter, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is an anime, and not even being biased when I say this, where no one hates it and the only ones that may say they do haven’t seen it all. Now, just for fair warning, Jojo is right at the top of my anime rankings with Hunter X Hunter and Black Lagoon (specifically my second favorite), so expect a semi-biased review, but really there’s no real way I CAN’T be biased, since the show is just so purely amazing that NOT being biased would end up underrating the anime itsel- oh screw it, enough explaining. On to the review!

Jonathan Joestar, the first Jojo,
 is arguably the greatest Ripple user
 out of all Jojo's

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has a (once again, pun totally intended) “bizarre” plot, or at least a hard to understand one for an outsider who hasn’t watched the show. Essentially, the show follows the lives and adventures of members of the Joestar family, all of which have the nickname “Jojo”. Each “Jojo” shares common traits with all the other Jojo’s: they are all incredibly caring at heart, inherently powerful (both mentally and physically), and are dutifully dedicated to their family. The story beings with Part 1: Phantom Blood, which follows the life of the very first “Jojo”: Jonathan Joestar. Jonathan is the nicest and most chivalrous Jojo, who is at the heart of the Joestar/Brando feud (AKA Jojo vs Dio). Dio, his adopted brother (adopted as a favor to his late father), sets out to ruin Jojo’s life and become the rich, a dream his late (and douchebag) father dreamed of as well. Through this feuding, Dio manages to discover the secret behind the Joestar family treasure, a mysterious stone mask, which holds the power to turn a human into a vampire if worn with blood smeared upon it. Using this, Dio becomes an immensely powerful vampire and begins to terrorize the British countryside, prompting Jojo (who is taught by a man by the name of Zepelli in the art of Hamon, a type of life energy that emulates sunlight that allows him to kill the undead) to defeat him once and for all. After Part 1 (episodes 1-9), the show moves

Joseph Joestar, second and my
personal favorite Jojo (he shows up
older in Part 3 as well).

on to Part 2: Battle Tendency. This part takes place during the 1930’s, prior to the outbreak of World War 2, and follows Joseph Joestar (my personal favorite Jojo). This part follows up on the history of the stone mask, explaining its history and creators (who Jojo proceeds to beat the living crap out of. Multiple times.). Finally, we come to Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, which is currently ongoing (resuming its second half in January). This part follows Jotaro Kujo, the grandson of Joseph Joestar (Jotaro’s mother is Joseph’s daughter, if that helps clarify his last name). Once again featuring Dio as the antagonist, Stardust Crusaders centers around Jotaro, Joseph, and three other accomplices traversing the world to get to Dio in Egypt, so that they may defeat him once and for all (Spoiler Alert: Jonathan didn’t, although he almost did.), and in the process saving Jotaro’s mother from the curse Dio has inflicted upon her. This part differs from the other parts in that, instead of using Hamon to defeat enemies like Joseph and Jonathan did, the use of Stands (or ethereal beings that are controlled by users) are the main means of fighting. These Stands are characterized by tarot cards, and through this their powers, strengths, and weaknesses are formed. This part, although not being finished and incredibly different from the other two, is amazing in its own right and is just as good as Battle Tendency (Opinion, I know, but screw it).

Jotaro Kujo, grandson of Joseph Joestar
is the third and most recently
animated Jojo.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a masterpiece not only due to its originality but also due to its crisp and heavily manga-influenced art style, hilarious interactions and events the characters come across, as well as a kick ass soundtrack (my personal favorite OST, to be exact). Likewise, the plots of all the parts intertwine masterfully, further influencing the sense of fate spurred by the actions and lives of their fathers (and even mothers, in some cases). The anime itself reflects upon the themes of human greed, tenacity, but most importantly on how the actions of our fathers will come to influence the actions of our sons- presenting how fate cannot be escaped, but can be acted upon in multiple ways.

Honestly, and like I said before I’m not even trying to be biased here, I can’t think of ANY cons to the show. At most, my only argument about it is probably how they seemed to rush the Battle Tendency arc, which was only 16 episodes (I wish it had run longer than Stardust Crusaders to be honest, but what can ya do). Seriously though, there is nothing that I can think of that was bad about this show: It is essentially perfect in everything it does. Romance? Happy and meaningful relationships occur, so yes. Action? Shit loads in every episode, yes. Comedy? “Ooooh noooooo!”, which means yes. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure does everything right, and that’s all there is to say about it.

Here’s The Rundown:
+Great and copious amounts of action

+Amazing, positive central themes encouraged by the show

+Perfect sound, animation, characters, everything

-I need more Joseph Joestar man :(

Overall, I can easily and soundly rate Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure a perfect score: 10/10