The year is 1868; English nobleman George Joestar and his son Jonathan become indebted to Dario Brando after being rescued from a carriage incident. What the Joestars don't realize, however, is that Dario had no intention of helping them; he believed they were dead and was trying to ransack their belongings. After Dario's death 12 years later, George—hoping to repay his debt—adopts his son, Dio.
While he publicly fawns over his new father, Dio secretly plans to steal the Joestar fortune. His first step is to create a divide between George and Jonathan. By constantly outdoing his foster brother, Dio firmly makes his place in the Joestar family. But when Dio pushes Jonathan too far, Jonathan defeats him in a brawl.
Years later, the two appear to be close friends to the outside world. But trouble brews again when George falls ill, as Jonathan suspects that Dio is somehow behind the incident—and it appears he has more tricks up his sleeve.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
microwavey
This is my favorite series ever, and it finally got a real weekly anime adaptation after 25 years—the ‘94 and ‘00 OVAs and the Phantom Blood movie, which never saw DVD/home video release do not count—there is definitely some bias in this review. That said, there’s a reason I still didn’t give it a perfect score, and it’s because I’m still trying to keep a hint of objectivity in here. Art - 8/10 I suppose I’ll start off with how it adapted the source material. Unlike the OVAs and Phantom Blood movie, there were no cuts in content, and it actually adapted parts 1 and 2 ofthe manga: Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. The studio, David Production, did what I would consider a masterful job in terms of bringing out Araki Hirohiko’s style into the manga. He is an artist, and you can see his art evolve throughout the long-running JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise. DP hired multiple art directors and tried to incorporate the different faces and builds in body throughout the series. Also, because there is no such thing as “canon” colors for characters, DP, in an unexpected but very innovative manner, used their poor budget to their advantage—by changing color schemes and using colorful abstract backgrounds during monologues and still-frames. I’ll give the art by itself a 10/10, even though sometimes Jonathan and Joseph, the titular JoJos in this series, suffer from Gorilla Face Syndrome, since the BD/DVDs are doing a great job of fixing it.
On still-frames, this is one of TWO flaws I found throughout the whole series. DP was contracted by Warner Bros. and they were given a pretty weak budget to work with. As a result, some might say that there are lots of times where this show is more of a “live-manga” or stream of the manga. The “animated” SFX from the source material, plentiful still-frames, and lack of actual animation at times are what add to this idea. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not like every episode is a slideshow; however, there are DEFINITELY times when it feels that way—I’m looking at you, episode 16. Honestly, I feel like DP made it up to us with some episodes that were battle-heavy, like episode 20 and most definitely the final 3 or so episodes. Especially the last one. For this I will have to give the animation itself a 7/10. The distinct art style and use of colors boost it up to an 8 for me.
Sound - 8/10
So-no Chi no Sa-da-me, JOOOOOOOOO~JO! There are two opening themes, JOJO~Sono Chi no Sadame~ by Hiroaki “TOMMY” Tominaga , and BLOODY STREAM by Coda. Both were tailored for their respective Part in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, in both lyrics, atmosphere, and animation itself—we actually get some pretty good CG depicting events in Parts 1 and 2. They were extremely catchy, and I never skipped them. The ending theme was Roundabout by progressive rock band YES, which actually came out in the 70s—and influenced the original manga! and I applaud DP for that choice. The song’s lyrics fit extremely well and it is actually one of Araki Hirohiko’s favorite bands! Also, because it is an 8 minute song, they used different snippets, some soft, some more intense, depending on what kind of note the episode ended on. That was genius and definitely made the watching experience better. If it were up to the OP and ED alone I'd give the sound a 10/10
As for the actual soundtrack, because of the difference in atmosphere between Parts 1 and 2, or at least I assume it’s for that reason, DP hired two composers and gave us two soundtracks per part. Phantom Blood was mostly orchestral, very fitting with the late Victorian feel we get when we think of England in the 1880s. It fit extremely well and I applaud Matsuo Hayato for his beautiful soundtrack. Part 2, being much more dynamic and quite literally “all over the place”, has Iwasaki Taku, who worked with his friends Lotus Juice. The soundtrack he made has soft, orchestral pieces and, well, everything. He has rap/hip-hop, rock, metal, DUBSTEP, and even flutes and drums that bring a middle-eastern feel. Personally, I thought the dubstep was actually very good and tamer than most, and that it fit well the middle-eastern sounds he composed for with the Pillar Men, the main antagonists of Part 2. The sound direction, however, was not as amazing. Iwasaki Taku complained himself, over Twitter, that his songs were not being used correctly, and, after paying close attention to episodes 22 and 23, I can’t say I disagree. David Productions flubbed it when it came to transitioning the music and providing an appropriate atmosphere with the songs in those two episodes. For that reason, although the music itself was superb, I will have to give it an 8 total.
Story - 9/10
Story is pretty simple, to say the least. The original story came out in 1987, in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump. Phantom Blood can be pretty much summed up as Castlevania with Hokuto no Ken elements, which shouldn’t be seen as bad in any way. Araki Hirohiko wanted to make a solid base so that he could evolve his work throughout time, and I think he did a pretty good job, taking in the work of contemporaries around him. The first part is hot-blooded, fast-paced, and the definition of “camp”. Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando are probably the most one-dimensional characters you will ever find, but it is because they were so static, they polarized each other and made the fight between them so interesting. Dio Part 1's main antagonist, from the first episode, is depicted to us as the very definition of EVIL at the age of 12! Although the story is simple, the characters are definitely what make the sure. In Battle Tendency, the story takes a more adventurous route and we see our new JoJo, Joseph Joestar, go from New York, to Mexico, to Italy, to Sweden, and it’s amazing. The main antagonists of this part are a powerful trio of “Pillar Men” called Wham, ACDC, and Cars, responsible for the creation of the stone mask that set the events in Part 1. The continuity is great and you definitely feel time passing as you watch the series, characters like Speedwagon and Erina are shown old, and with every major timeskip you see differences in character design. Story, when it boils down to it, just has to be interesting. I was definitely interested in the stories for Parts 1 and 2 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. They were simple, straight, and to the point, which made it possible to expand more on the character dynamics, arguably the strongest part of this series. There were no long and obnoxious training arcs, the fights are NOT dragged out—probably the most common flaw in shonen battle series—and if there are cliches, they are exaggerated to their extremes. This series does not take itself that seriously, and when it does, you can bet that you’ll be on the edge of your seat. Story gets a 9/10 from me.
Character - 10/10
As for the characters. Araki sure knows how to get you attached to characters. And then rip them away from you. There are definitely deaths in this series and they are dramatic and will definitely tug at your heart. Also, the voice actors are passionate and work admirably together. Takehito Koyasu, with his smooth, deep voice will send chills down your spine whenever Dio is formulating a plot or mocking JoJo. Okitsu Kazuyuki may be a newbie, unlike the slew of veterans in the rest of the cast, but he makes Jonathan Joestar so damn LIKABLE with his passionate screams, calm reassurance, and definitely makes the heart of gold in this character shine brightly. Sugita Tomokazu, probably best known for his characteristic shonen gag voice as Gintoki (Gintama) and serious/apathetic voice as Kyon (Haruhi Suzumiya series), makes a perfect Joseph Joestar, because Joseph embodies the ideal shonen protagonist—smart, strong, funny, and extremely expressive. Basically, where the animation fell short, I believe that the voice actors definitely picked up the slack. Everyone has fun, because this is supposed to be a fun series. I love it. Characters get 5/5 from me. Both as they were written and how they were acted, you can definitely feel the chemistry between all the voices and that made it way more enjoyable.
Enjoyment - 10/10
Enjoyment. I keep on mentioning this when I score each aspect of the show for this review. Ultimately, when you watch an anime, or any show, movie, etc; you do so because you want to enjoy and be entertained. I can almost guarantee that if you go and watch this show with a blank slate and just a pure, unadulterated desire to be entertained, you will not come out disappointed. Just keep in mind that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a series that is 25 years in the making, and this is but the beginning. It is without a doubt my favorite manga series, and this long-awaited anime adaption gives it the justice that it deserves. If you watch it, and enjoy it, like I said you probably will, then I implore to take up the manga. You can skip right to Part 3, the most popular arc in the franchise, but I recommend reading from the beginning, you’ll pick out some tiny things left out that couldn’t be conveyed through the anime, and you’ll see the evolution of Araki Hirohiko’s art throughout the ages.
But first, if you watch the anime, I recommend Muda Muda Muda Subs [MMM] subs or CommieSubs [Commie]. They are the most accurate subs and if you prefer a better script, go with MMM, if you want better typesetting and subtitled SFX, go with Commie. Personally, I used MMM because they are a group that got together solely for this series, released in a timely schedule with accurate subs, took advice/criticism well, and also have better encoding.
I hope that after this review some of you watch this show and develop the same love I have for it!
literaturenerd
Overview: Nearly every review of JoJo 2012 praises it as a MASTERPIECE, because it represents a triumphant return for the macho manly anime of the past. I have a slightly different perspective than most critics on MAL, so unsurprisingly my conclusion was a little different as well. If I was born between 1995 and 2000 and grew up during the "sparkling kawaii desu moe" era of anime where every male protagonist is a whiny pussy, I too would be inclined to give Jojo a 10/10 out of sheer novelty alone. However, I was born in the 1980s and I actually remember the GAR days of manlyanime. In the 1990s, you watched anime largely by going to the video store and renting whatever anime was available. Almost ALL of it was cheaply licensed, ultraviolent OVAs from the late 80s and early 90s. Were those anime better? Well believe it or not...no, not really. There were indeed some awesome anime like Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken), but for every Fist of the North Star there was absolute garbage like: Genocyber, Violence Jack, MD Geist, Mad Bull 34, Angel Cop, etc. Simply being macho didn't make an anime good by default back in the 1990s, and that shouldn't be any different today! I am going to look at Jojo from a fair and objective view rather then simply heap praise on it based on principle alone.
Story and Characters: 6/10
(SPOILERS!)
The 2012 JoJo anime adapts the first 2 arcs of the manga, so this is the JoJo series you should watch first sequentially! JoJo is about the Joestar family and their epic feats of badassery over the generations. The first generation of Joestar asskicking takes place in Victorian England with Jonathan Joestar, whom I will call Johnny JoJo. The dumbass father of Johnny JoJo decides to adopt the blatantly evil son of a man who "saved his life" when he had a carriage accident. Even though it is later revealed that papa Joestar knew that Brando was a dishonest man and wasn't actually trying to save him, he adopts Dio anyway and continuously believes Dio over his own son despite the fact that Dio may as well have "evil" tattooed on his forehead. Dio is a 1 dimensional bully who exists to make Johnny JoJo miserable, steal his father's affection, and ultimately try steal his inheritance. Dio will perform some act of over the top evil like brutally murder Johnny's dog, and papa Joestar will instantly believe Dio's side of the story, simply to frustrate the viewers. This is like that Spongebob episode where Spongebob adopts an evil lamprey as a pet and keeps blaming the obviously innocent Gary the snail whenever anything goes wrong. The difference is that JoJo isn't a comedy cartoon for small children. It is a Shonen demographic anime that actually expects us to take this seriously! Johnny JoJo discovers that Dio is attempting to poison his father and inherit the fortune, so he goes to find the poison shop where Dio has been purchasing his product. Johnny JoJo proves Dio is guilty, but Dio uses a mystical artifact Johnny has been studying to transform himself into a vampire and start wrecking shit. Dio kills papa Joestar and seemingly gets killed in turn by Johnny, but it turns out Dio survived and wants to create a vampire army to take over the world. Johnny takes some mystical martial arts training to unleash sunlight with punches (just go with it) and goes on a crusade to take out Dio. Unfortunately, that son of a bitch simply won't stay down and eventually Johnny must sacrifice his own life in manly fashion to save his wife and unborn child.
I'm going to come right out and say it, Dio is a SHIT excuse for a villain. There are many things that can make a great villain: complex motivations, based on a historical figure, or even being extremely evil in an interesting fashion that is fun and frightening to watch. Dio is a cliche bully archetype that gets turned into a vampire, then decides to take over the world because he wasn't already cliche enough. In a way, Dio does remind me of the villains from oldschool GAR anime like: the bullies in Genocyber that randomly decide to rape a homeless child, or the bully in Devilman who decides to butcher the class bunnies for no reason. However, those bullies were quickly and brutally dispatched because that kind of character isn't very interesting. They exist to piss off the audience and grant a cathartic revenge fantasy when they get killed. Dio just lingers on and on like a sulfurous fart that won't go away. Johnny JoJo is a gentlemen and a badass, but his character depth never goes beyond that. He doesn't have a strong internal struggle or ambiguous goals or anything that makes complex character. I know that isn't the point of JoJo, but a show aimed at older audiences should probably try to have SOME level of complexity unless the action is so awesome it doesn't matter. However, JoJo isn't a non-step action violence fest like Hellsing Ultimate. JoJo actually does take a LOT of time to focus on plot and characters, which is why it is disappointing that the plot isn't very good and the characters are paper thin archetypes.
After a decent but certainly not masterful arc 1, we get to see the adventures of Johnny JoJo's grandson: Joey JoJo. Joey JoJo must go to Mexico to fight against the evil vampires that created the mystical mask from part 1. He teams up with the grandson of one his grandfather's old allies along with a surprisingly friendly Nazi dude named Rudol Von Stroheim. I guess the writer of JoJo meant to use the name "Rudolph" because "Rudol" isn't even a real German name. Rudol's catchphrase is German (insert whatever) is the best! Characters with goofy catchphrases can work like Korbowitz in Berserk or Armstrong in FMA, but I wasn't really feeling this one. Honestly I just found myself wishing this guy would be replaced with Captain Germany the manly werewolf from Hellsing. This second arc does have some pretty awesome action scenes including Joey JoJo punching the vampire leader into Outer fucking SPACE! However, the plot and characters still come WAY short of being called a masterpiece or anything approaching a masterpiece.
Art: 7/10
The art and animation is heavily stylized and admittedly does a good job creating the look and feel of anime from yesteryear. There are lots of still-shots to recreate the look of cheap animation from the days where anime had extremely limited budgets. There are plenty of "action lines" that the old anime had in abundance especially pre-1990. I think my favorite part of JoJo might actually be the art because it really does recapture and recreate what anime used to look like and now no longer even resembles.
Overall: 6/10
Does JoJo do a decent job capturing what old school anime used to look and feel like? Yeah, and that is why it isn't a bad show. Does being retro make it a masterpiece by default? Absolutely not. The story may not suffer from pointless "tournament arcs" like so many shonen anime, but the plot isn't honestly very good. Like the characters, the plot is very simplistic and doesn't exactly carry JoJo into the realms of truly great anime. The male characters are actually manly and don't resemble either Keitaro Urashima from Love Hina or Shinji Ikari from NGE, the 2 characters that basically convinced anime executives that Otaku identify more with Beta males and completely neutered anime. However, JoJo's mediocre action and old school animation doesn't quite make up for its simplistic and overall lackluster story and characters. At the end of the day, JoJo 2012 is a good anime, but is JUST a good anime. It doesn't nearly deserve the ratings it has received on MAL, or the praise it receives on 4chan. I WOULD recommend it to younger viewers who want to see what old anime was like, but I caution against the kind of blind praise that has already made this anime absurdly overrated.
Stark700
It's time to take a trip back to the 1800s, an age of time when the Napoleonic era and the rise of many colonies took place among various empires. History isn't easy to trace with certain origins but Jojo's Bizarre Adventure has its origins traced back with its original series. The fantastic journey finally begins! Yup, it's here and and this series suddenly is one hell of an anime that will not only bring some nostologia but excitement to you. Join Jojo Joestar and his many bizarre adventures as he embarges on a journey and learn about the wonders of the world. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (2012)is a reboot in the title of the same name based on a collection of manga written by Hirohiko Araki. He has also collaborated in other works but Jojo is his most famous presentation. The series picks up its way from the 19th century focused on Jojo Joestar and...his bizarre adventures as he fights equally bizarre adversaries.
I have not read or seen the original series but this reboot has made a strong impression on me. The premise of the series is based the Joestar family. He is the titular character and judging by the title, the adventures are based on his experiences. To me, I consider this series to be a classic, nostalgic, and exhilarating tale. It is nostalgic because the period of time the series takes place. Think about it: the 19th century. It's a time when technology is nothing compared to what we have today. Everything is realistic, artistic, and presented in a natural form. This setup is quite lucid and easy to understand with even new viewers to anime. Hell, if I could understand it, anyone probably can.
The story starts off well and immediately wastes no time getting to the drama. In fact, we are already introduced some intense rivalry between Jonathan Joestar (Jojo) and Dio. It gets to the point and doesn't push itself to make any surprises. Well, I for one was surprised by how well the series executed its starting points and made a strong impression on me.
On the surface, viewers can clearly see that Jonathan Joestar (Jojo) is a nobleman with a heart of gold and cares others above his well-being. This is proved through his actions, words, and his way of helping out others. He is also seen as a tough fellow who doesn't let anyone push him around, especially Dio. This clearly sets up the rivalry between Jojo and Dio as the two seems to be on the opposite side of things. We already know that Jojo is a noble man. However, Dio is far from that as viewers can see him as a selfish, impure, and ill-mannered individual. His behavior, dialogue, and actions makes him a dangerous adversary as he not only has the physical prowess but aptitude and brilliance to match his capacity. This combination makes the rivalry that more exciting. To add onto to the drama, we also have a love interest. Unfortunately, events becomes inevitable as a seemingly potential romance is ruined by Dio. Talk about being a spoiled brat. It is quite intense to watch the drama between the duo especially when we see the clear gap between the the two. It's almost like David vs. Goliath as Jojo plays the role of the underdog.
Beyond the rivalry, there also exists a mysterious object that can seemingly turn the tide. It is a mysterious mask that seems to have ancient powers. These powers manifests by the spills of blood which leads to devastating results. It's definitely fun and exciting to see how far the rivalry will take now given that lives are also at stake.
The story focuses on this mysterious object and among other artifacts later on. In fact, the story itself is actually divided into two separate arcs that follows a different generations of Jojo Joestar. The first arc known as Phantom Blood details on the rivalry between the duo. The second arc marks a glorious adventure starring Joseph Joestar (a descendent from the previous storyline) along with a new friend. Together, they embark on an adventure like never before taking on adversaries, improving themselves, and learning about the world and its wonders.
In terms of the story, I found both arcs presented quite well. The first arc, also known as Phantom Blood, starts off in an explosive and dramatic action detailing the intense rivalry between Jojo and Dio. On the other hand, the second arc (known as Battle Tendency) follows on a more adventurous tale in contrast to Phantom Blood. We meet the next descendent of the Jojo generation. He meets Caesar and although their relationship starts off like oil and water, over time, the duo gains mutual respect for one and the other. Unfortunately though, there is more conflict than just that as a trio of powerful antagonists are introduced in the latter half. This threat puts Jojo and Caesar in jeopardy and forces them to train themselves like never before. Ultimately, the two arcs are separate entities but are quite an entertaining watch.
Now, I probably haven't touched much on the topic of this as much as I should have been but perhaps the characters of the series are the most interesting aspects that connects the show together. Jojo is the dynamic titular character of the series which follows a generation pattern. I've already talked about the first generation but both Jonathan and Joseph Joestar shares many aspects in terms of personality. Both characters are fiercely loyal, passionate, courageous, loving, and always looks after other people's well-being above their own. Although lacking in depth initution or acumen, they both are often able to come up with strategies that catches their adversaries off on guard. In particular, it is their determination to protect what they hold dear that pushes them to be their best.
Let's not get too attached though because the Jojo franchise also offers many other fascinating characters from its collection. Previous characters such as Erina and Speedweagon makes their returns to provide valuable assistance. More importantly though are the new characters that really makes this show shine. We have Caesar who viewers may see as a polar opposite of Joseph Joestar. Caesar is a man that is confident, casual, and often likes to hang around the ladies. In sharp contrast, he is a man that Jojo loathes at first. Yet later on, we can see that they get along quite well and even risks lives for one and the other. On a more mature side, there is also Lisa Lisa, a deadly beauty to the eye who provides invaluable aid to Jojo and Caesar. Like most battle shounens, there are the antagonists. In the first arc, there's Dio. The second half introduces a trio of antagonists known as the Pillar Men. Their elemental powers pushes the duo of Jojo and Caesar over the edge and presents an intense challenge like they never faced before. It's also humorous to watch some of their random gags sometimes even if they are randomly peculiar; i.e. Wham's tendency to reflexively attack others when someone steps on his shadow, AC/DC's crying, and Cars' passion to protect living things (other than humans of course).
The action of the series is ridiculous. However, I mean 'ridiculous' in a good way because the over exaggerated way it is being portrayed. Every attack is spoken directly with dialogue and a stamp of dynamic that is humorous, entertaining, delightful, and grabs interest to viewers. Who wants to just watch characters shouting resolves like “I'm going to save you, I swear!” all the time? In this series, the characters presents their attacks in an enthralling way that stimulates attention while often making jokes about the dialogues themselves. Some of the characters' names are parodies as well such as AC/DC that is based off the Australia band of the same name. Most of the male characters also are manly with their flexed biceps and strong attitudes. It contrasts some of the shows I've seen and presented in a more old school way. The female characters in the show are also well portrayed with their maturity rather than being a stubborn, jealous, or tsundere as of many today's anime series.
As for the animation, the series has a edgy way of production. The artwork might not be what people see nowadays. In fact, it's more classic, nostalgic, and holds that old 1900's style. David Production (Level E, Inu x Boku SS, Dogs: Bullets & Carnage) handles the artwork and they did a beautifully good job in my opinion. It protrays the old 1800s well with the old school vehicles, Victorian style architectures, and some of the ancient artifacts. It's like going back in time and relieving those old school memories.
The soundtrack of the series is also well performed. The first and second OP songs are very well orchestrated that is classic to the ears. Hell, I could set "BLOODY STREAM" by Coda on repeat all night long. It's not only entertaining to watch but also artistic with those manly poses from the main characters. Its definite old school theme sticks well is adapted. Likely wise, the ED song produces a similar feeling of that nostologia of the 1800's where adventures and collecting treasures are a source of many people's inspirations.
Overall, this series gets a score of “9” from me. It has gar characters, that old school feeling, and very entertaining dialogues. It doesn't force itself either because all of them are spoken with humor as opposed for a purpose. The characters are appealing with their personalities and their interactions. From what I see, they are natural and falls in the case of a glorious presentation. The nostalgic music and artwork also gives fresh breath of cool air. No random fan service, no confusing plot twists, no cheap humor, no regrets. This series is definitely one hell of an adventure and worth your time.
TheShikiMaSTER
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure isn't just about silly glitz and glamour that some people seem to assume upon viewing. When watching it, It almost gave me that first impression, but to my curiosity and interest it became something more than just this being a generic show. It is an undeniably fun series first of all. Secondly, it is a shounen that is unique and different to a hell of a lot of shounen animes out there today that I feel bring an interesting blend of Dark comical yet a wacky and serious tone to viewing and the thing I love the most about this show is thatits able to shift really well in between those elements where other shows seemingly get lost within those transition and after just give up its own originality of what it was and what it wanted it to be in the process.
Thankfully JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a show that never loses its own identity or what its trying to be which is why its one of my favourite animes
Its like to entertain in style which is why I appreciate this a lot.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga is something ongoing from this point on in its entirety to the story stretching back to 1986 when other well known shows like Hokuto no ken, Dragon ball, Sakigake!! Otokojuku etc so yeah it goes back a long time to the grand daddies of the shounen genres of the past.
As I give my review of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (2012) without spoilers please be aware that this anime only covers the events of 2 timeline within the story first being
Part 1 Phantom Blood containing episodes from 1 - 9 and Part 2 Battle Tendency containing episodes from 10 - 26 showing the main characters each being a member of the Joestar family in different timelines along with a different story from the manga as you see the family tree starts to keep going and going embracing a previous heritage notion from their own.
Now to get a look into about the main characters
we begin our focus on the life of the very first Joestar of the bloodline and of course in the story of Part 1 in the year of 1887.
Johnathan Joestar: The main protagonist of part 1 hes a decent physically strong british nobleman as well being a Manly son of a gun, he is always thinking positive about those around him and is very polite, he seems like an ordinary gentleman.
But he has a dark cloud looming around him in the form of his step brother Dio who turns his world upside down and for the most part are always against one another forming a rocky yet typical rivalry between the 2 that later on becomes the very battle between good versus evil where johnathan has to match his demonic and vastly cunning step brother by learning about a power source known as
The ripple which allows him to use a mystical ancient martial art that mixes in naturalistic elements to combat against Dio's power
and speaking of Dio..
Dio Brando: The main antagonist of part 1 (as well as a my favourite character) He is not only a sinister human being at heart but also has a deep seeded hate towards his step brother Jonathan due to his social standing at the beginning of his childhood being raised by a poor Englishmen Dario Brando with a deceitful, uncaring personality who then became Dio's father after finding him in a wreckage of a carriage crash that had involve the father and mother of Jonathan.
Dario raises Dio due to the circumstance that he did so only to gain profit off the joestar of some of their possessions resounding into a horrible upbringing of Dio in his childhood that grew with a passion to hate step father Dario and than later turns his attention to becoming part of the joestar family and tearing them apart from the inside.
Dio is not only a constant threat to the joestar family in the series and within the manga itself but that he also later on is possessed by a strange stone mask that resides in the joestar's household that he later takes giving him deadly mysterious powers of a vampire.
On top of that he has an unquenchable appetite for being ambitious and dangerous. what I like is how crafty his personality seems to be, he might seem like a stereotypical villain but he's someone I feel keeps part 1 very engaging to watch along with other characters in part 1 that also play a major key role for Johnathan Joestar and Dio Brando's progression and development.
Part 2 Battle Tendency is the time skip way after the events that took place 50 years ago. The year is 1938 around the era of World War 2 we now are introduced to the other main character of the story at this time
Joseph Joestar: He is the grandson of Jonathan Joestar, A very entertaining, funny and charming character to say the least, his mission becomes more similar to his grandfather where his actions take root to put a stop to the evil curse of the stone mask's own power that now has its creators resurrected to threaten all of humanity they are known as the pillar men, the 3 pillar men that go by the name of Esidisi (ACDC), Wamuu (Wham) and their Leader Cars (kars), they are pretty much the antagonists at this point of the story and are very dedicated and dangerous threat to anyone that tries to stop them which make the trio powerful villains also in their own right.
The story and characters are really well done in this anime that becomes to the point where it feels so natural with a lot of the characters they have their strengths and weakness through the show as you see.
And while the story and characters are engaging they are by no means picture perfect and what I mean by that is the way certain character's aspiration and motives sometimes look like they are trying too hard to amuse us the viewers, which might seem like the case or so? they either are represented just purposefully that way because the writing tries to portray the characters to be so in this manner of being either on the outrageous end of the spectrum or just trying to be forcefully entertaining in or both?
and for me with some scenarios in the anime it doesn't seem that well balanced on those terms, which might indicate some certain scenes of being unbalanced due to its stylistic nature here and there in my opinion.
It could also feel like a hit or miss to others while experiencing this since at times they can be some annoying sarcasms and while I do applaud them trying to explore these facets of the characters, it kinda gives me those in between moods of ''should I be taking this seriously or not?''
When I really want to know and understand about something in the series or just to decipher what certain characters have mentioned it leaves out certain explanation for logical understanding on some of the mad stuff that are going on in this anime that you will see while watching it which might not make a lot of sense, it is kinda hard to unravel some things that happen within those moments of the show.
The animation is nicely handled by the studio behind this and for the most part its pretty colourful along with the art style of MANime!! that shows it clear as day which can be said the same of the manga that it carries itself from.
The sound is clearly based of western music that is heard in the Opening and the Closings and it fits brilliantly which gives me that charismatic impression that Hirohiko Araki gets from his influence on these types of music artist and scores and funny enough its even shows with the names of the characters having an inspiration from these certain music artist or other establishments.
The voice acting was also dramatically over the top which adds to the theme
that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has this in abundance of manly troupes the anime goes along with, I really loved Koyasu Takehito performance as Dio.
This series is enjoyable to say the least and feels really dynamic and worth your time if you want to be entertained in some ways depending on your preference of course and for me its no secret that its one of my favourite of all time simply put it deserves an overall score of 9 out of 10.
THEAnimeHERO
This adaptation of JoJo covers Part 1: Phantom Blood & Part 2:Battle Tendency. Both parts are unique 80's horror shonen filled with MANLINESS! The following will be split into two reviews per part below. The reason for this is that every JoJo part should NOT be skipped as each have their own tone. Examples include: Phantom Blood being a classical vampire hunter story while Battle Tendency feels very much like an Indiana Jones film. However, both animes are filled with stylish colors, great characters & outstanding music!! PART 1: PHANTOM BLOOD (EPS 1-9) The beginning of JoJo seems a bit rough at first but manages to givethe outline for its primary themes of the series. Taking place in the late 1880's in England, we are introduced to the Joestar family & the Brando Family. The story starts to move when Dio Brando is adopted into the Joestar family as Dio is an ambitious jerk who wishes to rob the family of its fortune & would resort to murder.
Jonathan Joestar is our JoJo for the series whose life changes once Dio discovers the stone mask using it to make himself a vampire. The rest of the series involves Jonathan learning the Ripple martial art to battle against Dio & his vampire army & going on an adventure involving zombies, Jack The Ripper, martial artists, bizarre super powers, over the top dialogue & manly tears.
Being inspired by Fist Of The North Star & possibly Bram Stroker's Dracula, Phantom Blood is a blend of manly characters & horror elements making it a unique short tale. To some people, Jonathan comes off a rather too "good hearted", however having experiencing Fist Of The North Star (specifically The Shin Arc chapters 1-10/episodes 1-22) the "corny moments" come off as very tragic to me.
Part 1 feels more like a classical tale of vampire hunters especially with its location & time period as we have normal humans battling against the forces of darkness. This is further aided with its music as it has the feel of an epic tale & often resorts to something akin to immediate music.
While the concepts of Stands & its much later "Bizarre" quality weren't developed yet, this story almost works as a stand alone with its tragic finale giving much highlight to fans of Manly series such as Sakigake Otokojuku, Riki-Oh, Cyber Blue, Kongo Bancho & Fist Of The North Star respectively.
Phantom Blood may not be the best part of JoJo but serves as a teaser of what the series can become as it expresses the original themes Hirohiko Araki thought of: The struggle of humanity, the temptation of evil, the strive for perfection & the importance of family.
PART 2: BATTLE TENDENCY (EPS 10-26)
50 years after the events of Phantom Blood, Joseph Joestar makes his debut as the grandson of Jonathan Joestar. The story begins once Straights uses the stone mask battling Joseph who then later encounters The Wermacht & the series villains; The Pillar Men who created The Stone Masks of Part 1.
This story continues the original message of the importance of family as history repeats itself with the descendants of The Joestars & The Zeppelis having to face Aztec Vampires. Battle Tendency succeeds as a sequel as it vastly improves The Ripple technique along with having 3 major enemies this time around. Much like part 1, this sequel contains over the top dialogue, manly battles, creative abilities & flourishes more into comedy while still retaining its signature horror.
Joseph Joestar is vastly different from his grandfather, as he comes off as more rebellious & comedic which more fans seem to like as a leading JoJo. Other differences in Part 2 is being more expressive in flamboyancy in ways serving as a contrast to the more masculine tone of part 1. This is aided by its opening & villains The Pillarmen as the fabulous colors pay homage to Araki's coloring style & foreshadows its future in Part 5. While it may deter to some viewers, this part does retain its masculine audience as the characters continue to carry various warrior ideologies. The tone for this series is more adventurous as it contains more locations than the 1st series as well as a bigger roster of leading characters. Aiding these characters are various theme music used in this anime as it ranges from 90's rap, upbeat pop, german lyrics, dubstep, electro, rock, classical & even Italian singing. Note the anime uses mostly instrumental tracks while the OST contain lyrics within their songs.
Part 2 is about breaking The Joestar family curse & the passing of lineage as it displays how men learn to accept their pasts & discover the value of the next generation. Most of the content in Battle Tendency is greatly appreciated due to the tragic events that occurred in part 1 as it helps the viewer see the progress of not just a family but the author's writing style.
Look forward to Part 3 Stardust Crusaders as it focuses more on horror & introduces its iconic STANDS creating the structure of the following parts of JoJo.
Rage-The-Dragoon
The keyword "Bizarre" in it's title is more then appropriate. And considering the many details the show has it's difficult to find a point to start talking about it to explain everything, but I'm going to give an attempt. The First thing to address is probably the story and the storytelling of JoJo. where it basically does everything wrong in such a way that it becomes hysterical to watch and not to mention the big layer of 80's cheese that covers it all. JoJo tells it's story through the worst way possible "exposition". and not just a little bit. The characters will explain literally EVERYTHING that is happening infront of you, and it's not just done in your typical anime fashion. No, Every Character will explain things as if they are pooping out the biggest turd of their life that was been clogging their bowels for weeks. making it hysterical to hear them do so. Jojo's story itself is very simplistic in each arc. protagonist faces an evil that is bent on world domination. and that's about it. however This is the first series I've ever seen that has multiple shifting protagonists. without spoiling to much, I can say that each story arc headlines the offspring of the previous protagonist. which keeps the show very fresh, because of the shift in characters.
Moving on the the art and animation.
One of the things I absolutely loathe is talking during battle scene's.
(Looking at you Bleach!)
because it kills the pacing and tension of the combat. As I explained above Jojo likes to explain A LOT but they manage to keep the pace up despite lengthy dialogues and maintain intense visuals to keep you on your toes during the fights. The visuals are very clean, sharp, and use some very unique color pallets to address dire situations. suddenly placing characters in a complete green pallet against a dark/pink background.
The animation to be fair is very limited and makes use of clever tricks to make a "less is more" kind of effect. flashy backgrounds, shaky cam, etc. which works very well for shows like this to maintain the high detail of characters, yet it makes the fights less dynamic.
The Music is phenomenal, very catchy and colorful, which matches the overall feel for the show. and a lot of different styles come to play, jazz, rock, even dub step. And choosing Roundabout by Yes as a title track!? is to me a strange choice but it works.
To be fair the Characters in the show come across rather weak.
As I mentioned earlier, because of the shifting protagonists we're also time skipping every arc. which only allows 1 or 2 characters from the previous arc to reappear. this makes it very hard to latch on to a character because the time spent with them is so limited. and the expositional nature of the series also pushes you away from a character. we are not allowed to get under their skin and get a chance to feel like they feel. because they will address their emotions the moment they bother them.
This is probably why the protagonist of the sequel, (Stardust Crusaders) Jotaro is one of the most popular protagonists of this series. because he hardly talks at all, he's mysterious, silent, you don't know everything about him and that is what makes you curious about a character.
However, in overall the show was still an enjoyable ride, the combat scene's are every enjoyable and varied, the character designs are incredibly flamboyant and unique. it's all around 80's cheesy fun. that deserves a decent 7.
ZephSilver
For veteran viewers that's been around long enough to notice it, the manly man protagonist has become something of a dying breed. A relic of anime's past that has been dwindling away year after year with no signs of slowing down. Many saw the change as a product of the times. Something that should simply be accepted as a predestined occurrence. The manly man was no longer marketable. Their role as a protagonist was brought to retirement, reduced to being a part of the growing collection of side character archetypes, stockpiled for future use as high school delinquents and muscle-bound uncles with far too muchgusto.
Sure, we've seen a few cases of deviance with shows like Kaiji, Cromartie High School, and to a lesser degree, Gurren Lagann, but there was never truly something that represented the MANLY MAN in its purest form..., until 2012. Almost like divine providence, or an act of public backlash, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure announced its TV debut. An anime that stood as an embodiment of this dying breed, completely packaged with macho-man poses, testosterone-fueled rants, and a whole lot of physical smack-downs. GAR resurrected in all its glory!
Self-aware in execution and oozing with machismo, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an unapologetic slug-fest that marches to the beat of its own drum. It doesn't waste its time trying to pander to modern day expectations but simply demands the viewer to accept it for what it is. It's a bully to the uninitiated but a celebratory return to those still nostalgic for the beef heads of 80-90s action-hero Americana.
In an industry that has become pro beta-male for over a decade, JoJo requires you to forget all common notions built up during that time period. It requires you to draw back to an era where chivalry wasn't there to simply admire your enemy but to swiftly kick their asses as well. To a time where protagonists weren't written to be afraid of a woman's touch, but fully embraced it. A time where conflict and friendships alike were solved over the neanderthal "punch first, ask questions later" logic; bonds formed by fists just as quickly as they end them. It's MANLY MAN shit! Stupid, illogical, exaggerated, hammy, so heterosexual that it borderlines on homoerotic..., but still AWESOME MANLY MAN SHIT!
To help facilitate this testosterone-driven nonsense, we're introduced to the Joestar family.
From one generation to the next, the Joestars' battle against the supernatural has been a long and arduous one. The 1st arc, consisting of episode 1-9, serves as our jumping off point for this journey to come. Because this arc has been set aside to perform all the necessary world-building required for the series, it could feel slow for those expecting all the crazy fights and epic poses that the internet has turned into full-time memes at this point. And while we certainly do get a serving of that early on, the focus for these 9-episodes are far tamer than what the rest of the series would eventually come to offer.
This is where we're first introduced to the Joestars and Brandos, two families with faiths intertwined by a red thread of ill-faith and bad-blood. Through a series of unfortunate events, the son of the Brando family, Dio, finds himself abducted into the Joestar family after his father dies of an unknown illness. It doesn't take long before the son of the Joestars, Jonathan, and Dio to develop a bitter rivalry; one that went from petty squabbles to a full-fledged vendetta after Dio's devilish schemes are unveiled.
Through that turmoil, we are introduced to the MacGuffin that would go on to become the source of all conflict in the series, and many other follow-up installments yet to come. The object in question is an ancient mask. The wearer of this mask is granted the rebirth abilities and supernatural power of a vampire. And as I'm sure you've guessed by now, Dio gets his hands on this mask and makes quick use of it. And so begins the conflict that would last for generations. To stand a fighting chance against Dio and his newly gained powers, Jonathan came to learn of a mysterious force known as the Ripple technique. With both sides armed with their respective abilities, the only thing left is to kick some ass!
This 1st arc doesn't truly pay off until viewed in conjunction with the 2nd half of the series (episode 10-26). Taking place 50 years after the events that occurred in the 1st half, we're introduced to Joseph, the grandson of the Joestar lineage, a kid that's an arbitrator of jokes and a whole lot of ass whippings. While he found himself confronting the same problems as his British ancestors, his methods of dealing with them are far less aristocratic. This is where Jojo truly becomes JOJO, as we're thrown into an adrenaline-driven narrative that takes the inklings of manliness only hinted at in the 1st half and amplifies it to insurmountable heights. With more battles, more poses, more manly moments, more epic face-offs, more white-knuckled encounters, and more bravado pumped into every scene; the 2nd half was pure awesomesauce! Action-packed and borderline nonsensical, for those only wanting a fix of GAR in their lives, look no further!
Bringing this work to life, David Production made sure that every frame was oozing with personality. One noteworthy example of this was how they manage to juxtapose flamboyancy with manliness in a way that felt domestic to the show. On paper, the thought of these two worlds intermixing would seem like a disaster, but with the right amount of care and effort, David Production proved that the integration of these two opposing elements was not only possible but worth the effort, as the end result was impressive to look at. It was like high-end fashion meet the robustness of Mad Max. As odd as that sounds, the self-awareness in which the creators treated the project made every bit of it easy to buy into.
This was further exemplified with a comic-book inspired art-style that they choose to incorporate, which used a mixture of pop art and bold graphic designs. This mixture of gusto and sass also bled into the characters. Every random pose highlighted with gonzo wall-texts and neon-color splashed everywhere. Outfits that looked like the illegitimate offspring of steroids and glitter dust. This weird hybrid of husky-man GAR and metrosexuality is a style that will become synonymous with the franchise.
The music choice was also a mix-bag, ranging from new-school EDM, synth-pop, orchestral ballads, and old-school J-rock. There was never a dull moment with this constant rotation of musical styles. The soundtrack added an extra punch to a show that's already dripping with style. It's sensory overload in the best way possible. Another thing worth noting was the opening song, a style that's deep-rooted in the machismo crooning commonly found in the 80s and early 90s with a graphic visual style adopted from contemporary art. And as if all this greatness wasn't enough, we're even blessed with a 70s prog-rock classic for an ending, "Roundabout" by YES. In a way, the opening and ending themes were a great reflection of Jojo itself: old-school meet new-school.
And that's ultimately the secret ingredient that makes JoJo so beloved by many. It's a love-letter to the past in an envelope from today.
A title that's full of style, charisma, and self-awareness, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure proves that you don't always need complexity to tell a compelling story, as long as you're fully committed and there's an undeniable passion behind it, even simple stories can become crowd-pleasers. And in that regard, JoJo was a success. It never tried to be more than what it was. It's an anime comfortable in its own skin. It just so happen that that "skin" is a muscle-bound brute with an odd obsession for fashion. If you're tired of seeing pushover beta-males and stories that take themselves way too seriously, then this title is for you. A title that has not only proven that GAR isn't a lost cause but also a missed part of the medium worth bringing back out of retirement.
vedatsvet
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is popular for it's manga and I had no idea what to expect when picking up this anime. Manga is not my means of entertainment but the anime as it was presented to me intrigued me to watch it. It was recommended to me as a masterpiece, a must watch and as one of the best shounen with intelligent fights. So is it a masterpiece? To put it objectively, yes and no.Please evaluate the review after you have read it, thank you. Keep reading. First of all for those who have no idea what this is about let me clear this up foryou. It's about the rivalry between good and evil,mortal and immortal, between men of courage and those who succumbed to their fear of death and their mortality, those who find love and happiness in a family and those who believe happiness is in power and immortality. It's about men doing manly things and accepting their role and fate it is as gar as something can be. Sounds simple right? Well that's because it is. The story is in no way complex and one might say it's cliche and we have seen this before but the selling point of this show is it's over the top execution and exaggeration in everything it does. Characters who seem like they can't speak in a normal way and just yell all the time on top of their lungs, ridiculous over the top situations, exaggerated statements of obvious things(eg. sky is blue, he punched him, he is falling OMG!!! etc), ludicrous fight scenes where the mc's stop in the middle of the fight to take a great pose just to seem cool or say something awesome, over the top moments and unrealistic conclusions of fight scenes or storyline. Here arises a question of whether is this good or bad, is it enjoyable or not, does this fit the anime or falls flat on their faces? It does and it doesn't.Let me explain.
The story consists of two parts or more accurately of two arcs. The first nine episodes are the 1st arc and the remaining episodes are the 2nd arc. Each arc has different main male character, different villains and stories but they are nicely connected together and to the main premise of the story. There are two magic elements that make this whole over the top approach work. The first is the fact that this show doesn't take itself too seriously like ever. The second and most crucial part in my opinion is the pace in which the story is developed. This is where the problem in the first arc lies for me. It was so horrible that I actually wanted to drop the show but glad that didn't. In the first part the pace is so fast that it overwhelms you with it ridiculousness, exaggeration and unrealism. Character development and story progression feels rushed. The motives for some characters to become close friends with mc are questionable and unrealistic. The main villain is bad just to be bad at least some of his actions indicate this or they are just plain stupid and pointless not to mention that some of his motives are not believable. So much stuff is unexplained or seems ridiculous that it falls literally flat on your face. Some people might like this but this is actually the main reason why someone might drop this show not giving it a chance which it deserves.
After that the second part comes and here is where the magic starts to happen.The pace slows down dramatically and becomes incredibly fitting to the show. The main character changes, the story gets a lot better and the villains are just incredible. The development and progression of the story and characters becomes perfect. Suddenly the intervals between the yelling, the over the top fights, the posing, the exaggerated claims, the ridiculous moments and the unrealistic elements fall in perfect equivalence and if before they were overwhelming now they start to entertain you. The enjoyment skyrockets. The dialogues are funny and even the statements of obvious facts start to be enjoyable.One last thing to mention about the story is that the fighting system is fairly simple although individual elements can be complex and on top of that some strategical thinking takes place in most of the battles fought.
Soundtrack in this anime is top notch. From your typical action and tension scenes to your melodramatic moments ost's are in perfect synch and fit incredibly well to every scene. Voice actors are just insanely good and bring out the manliness and badassness of the characters in the right fashion not to mention how well they fit to every character with no exceptions.
Animation is amazing.Bright and intense colors are very pleasing to the eye and they enhance the over the top effect of the anime awesomely well. The facial expressions are distinct and the surrounding backgrounds are well portrayed which accomplishes the atmosphere and the mood of every scene. The battle scenes are very well depicted although the details of the background are left out it's in no way at the expense of the enjoyment overall. The only flaw that could be noticed is that at some moments it felt like I was watching a series of still frames but other than that it was very good.
One aspect where this show exceeds is it's characters. The writer knows how to create enjoyable and memorable characters. Mostly this is true in the second arc because the pace is what determines the development of the characters as well. That doesn't mean that we don't come across with likeable characters in the first part. The second part has the most perfect male lead ever. Masculinity level over 9000. He is funny,smart,strong,charming and generally a badass. Side characters are very likable and memorable as well and almost none of them is pointless to the story. Villains are well developed and have their own personalities and ethics, some of them are real warriors and men with a capital "M". You will definitely feel attached to some characters in a minor or a major way. They pose, they scream on top of their lungs, they have their own code and morals in life which they follow,they chase their goals and accept their fate like true warriors, they spout exaggerated claims and they are really enjoyable to watch.
Enjoyment factor is over the roof. If you are like me than you might find the first 9 episodes horrible but I strongly recommend to stick with it until episode 11 and then decide if you want to drop this show or not. If you want an easy fun ride where real men embroil themselves in epic fights for their honor, pride, their code in life or to protect their loved ones and humanity and they do it in an exaggerated, over the top, ridiculous way than this show is for you. Stop everything you are doing and go watch this but leave your critical self out the door and don't expect realism in a show where its primal goal is to amuse its viewers. Although you will find your fair share of intelligence,drama,action and comedy. I would have scored this a 9 if it wasn't for the first arc.
Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Characters: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
*Every feedback is appreciated, thank you.*
jawnmewn
If I had to describe JoJo's Bizarre Adventures with one word, that word would be, without a doubt, passion. A story of young and righteous men and their fight to secure a safe future for their families, friends, and ultimately, the world. A record of a fierce rivalry between the ultimate evil and a man who serves the side of justice, and the legacy they leave behind. A tale of fleeting romance, brotherly bonds, and, of course, hot blooded battles. This is the epitome of JoJo, one of the most unconventional, interesting, and captivating shows I have had the pleasure of watching thus far. JoJo's BizarreAdventures' 26 episodes are split into two arcs, Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. Phantom Blood tells the story of Jonathan Joestar, better known as JoJo, heir to the wealthy Joestar family fortune, and his fated encounter with Dio Brando, the son of a lowly con man, and how one ancient stone mask forever changed the fates of not only JoJo and Dio, but those who would eventually follow in their footsteps. Battle Tendency follows the life of Joseph Joestar, Jonathan's grandson and also known as JoJo, and how his grandfather's legacy ultimately involves him in a struggle to save the world from certain doom. Through larger than life battles, passionate characters, and, for lack of a more appropriate word, bizarre situations, JoJo's unique definition of the word "epic" certainly makes this show entertaining and addicting to watch.
Even in the face of insane and unconventional battle scenes along with plot that was so over the top that it could have been considered silly, the aspect of JoJo that stood out the most, that was the most memorable, and that was the show's strongest selling point was its cast of characters, heroes and villains alike. Each important character has a unique personality along with their own strengths and weaknesses, and they all give you a good reason to either cheer for them or to absolutely hate their guts. You would be hard pressed to find another cast of characters that drew you to them quite like JoJo's cast of characters.
Jonathan Joestar epitomizes the image of a true hero. He fights for the honor of his family, radiates an aura of kindness and gentleness, and protects those who are powerless. While mild mannered, he fights with the tenacity of a true warrior, and never gives up as long as he draws breath. His grandson, Joseph Joestar, while not as good-willed and honest as his grandfather, still shows genuine empathy towards his loved ones and respect towards his enemies. A fighter who relies more on his quick wits and brilliant battle strategy creating abilities rather than overwhelming his opponents through feats of strength; he utilizes the weaknesses of his adversaries and manipulates them to his advantage.
It is rare these days to find a villain that truly embraces the meaning of evil, and one such villain that pulls it off excellently is Dio Brando. A man who will kill your dog because you angered him, steal the first kiss of the girl you're in love with, and simply physically beat you up from time to time can't be described with any other word other than evil. Treating the family that took him in after he is left penniless and alone in the world as a stepping stone to wealth and power, and taking every opportunity to trample upon JoJo's kindness and goodwill, he makes one believe that some people are simply born bad. A good villain should make your blood boil, send chills down your spine, or give you a sense of odd respect every time you see him, and Dio Brando is precisely the kind of man that will evoke all of the said reactions at the same time. The Pillar Men are the kind of villains that don't seem like evil incarnate, but their lack of empathy and desire to attain absolute power make them fine antagonists in their own right. I will refrain from describing them in greater detail due to spoilers, but they themselves will tell you exactly what kind of personalities they have; you can be sure of that.
Watching JoJo was like reading an antique comic book from the turn of the century, both in art style and literal sense. The end of each episode made me immediately load the next episode, akin to eagerly turning the page of an action comic book to see what comes next. The age old sound effects of BAM!, or POW!, or ORAORAORA! (okay maybe not that last one), make the battle scenes much more entertaining, and I found my eyes glued to the screen for the whole 25 minutes of each episode. The story is fairly well written and fluid, and they take the time to explain any inconsistencies when they arise. While the action or story can become a bit overwhelming to the point where it seems silly, or ridiculous, or unnecessary, that is simply part of the experience of watching JoJo. When you take a show for what it is, you are then able to appreciate it more; JoJo is no different.
The art seems to be, as stated before, straight out of a vintage comic book. Bold lines, action sounds, and muscular men make up 90% of JoJo's art, with the occasional beautiful woman. The animation is quite graphic, and is not for the faint of heart. There are bloody battle scenes, grotesque zombies and vampires, along with a whole plethora of other strange and insane scenes. The soundtrack is another one of JoJo's strong points. The OP for both arcs are catchy and will stay with you for awhile; the ED is "Roundabout" from an English progressive band called Yes, and suits the show very well (there are many allusions to famous music bands and icons throughout the show).
JoJo's Bizarre Adventures is not a show for everyone. If you're the more logical or rational type who dislikes anything over the top and/or unnecessary/pointless, JoJo won't be your cup of tea. However, it is definitely a show worth checking out if you enjoy action, passion, and, of course, the age old fight between heroes trying to save the world and villains who are trying to either destroy or rule it. And remember, any resistance in enjoying the show is, in Dio's words, MUDAMUDAMUDA!
Benduski
JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken I'm new to Jojo, i haven't read the manga so i didn't knew what i was getting into, nor i was expecting more than one protagonist, i instantly thought it was similar to Hokuto no Ken with a Castlevania type of vampires, and that was great, i was really surprised at everything this anime had to offer. Story The story has two parts, Part 1 is Phantom Blood and Part two is Battle Tendency; Part 1 starts with the story of two young boys that met in their youth, Jonathan Joestar (JoJo) a boy from a wealthy and respected family and with astrong will and caring for people, and from the other side we have Dio Brando a boy from a poor family that arrived at the Joestar's mansion because Dio's father ''saved'' JoJo's father and owes him his life, so he takes Dio as his son, and since his arrival he is shown as a evil person, making Jojo's life miserable.
There's a mask that will tie their destiny, for the worst (this part was the serious one and the bloodiest one) and Jojo will learn a technique to fight back, and it's called Hamon, a power using his energy.
Part 2 starts 50 years later, more adventurous than part 1 and is focused on not only one mask but the creatures that created the masks, Cars, AC/DC, Wham and another creature Santana, fighting against them is Joseph Joestar, Jonathan's niece, alongside with other companions to his adventure. It has a lot of comedy than drama but with SpeedWagon in both parts everything gets more dramatic x10, it was funny even tho the scenes weren't funny, it was the exaggeration of him. I liked that they didn't put filler eps. with their training. The key of the story is the characters, the characters makes the story so amazing and enjoyable, filled with exaggeration and the vogue poses were hilarious, if you pay attention you will see a couple of background characters making poses, and how can i forget the crying machos full of testosterone, nothing manlier than a big muscular man crying for his Bro.
Art & Animation
The art style is something that i liked a lot instantly, it has a manga like art style, i really enjoyed seeing that kind of animation, and sometimes the colors changed in some dialogues, i can point out a lot more, but is as simple as that, the animation was outstanding.
Sound
The music was almost perfect, you can enjoy the really amazing VA to both great OP and the great ED just like the sound effects and the almost outstanding background music, but there was something that i couldn't stand, the thing is i like Electronica and its ramifications except aggrotech and the awful dubstep, and this anime has dubstep in some fights and not because i hate that ''music'', i can't see dubstep fitting in an anime that has a lot of references of Rock, so it dropped the quality for me, but taking out that negative disgrace and put in everything else the sound in general was great.
Character
The characters are really important in this anime, without the amazing characters everything else would drop in quality, the story wouldn't be the same if they weren't made like they actually are, so much character development and that's something important, i wouldn't thought this would made me shed tears, but it did, 3 times. It's important to point out that almost every characters has a name of a rock band or a rock band member, i spotted every single one and i laughed at how little time Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham were on screen.
-Jonathan Joestar is a great character, seeing how much he grew from a boy who couldn't fight and was beaten by Dio in everything until he snapped and made a killer combo on him, it was wow, and then to a very mature and kind person, too much kind for his own good, but he can't be blame, it was his nature.
-Dio Brando is one evil dude, that wanted to get rid of the Joestar's so he could take their fortune, he is one though hard to kill bastard who hates and respects Jonathan.
-Will Zeppelli is a great character, is a shame that he wasn't that much on screen.
-SpeedWagon is a unique character, he lived as a thug until he met Jonathan and his kindness, after that he followed him and considered him as a friend; But how can one character make everything more dramatic, the character that relates everything and explains attacks, happenings, he explains everything even the little details and the obvious things, if only he had a kid to pass that greatness.
-Joseph Joestar is more of a goof, always taunting at his enemies, and staying cool and having an Ace out of his sleeve everytime for any situation, he is much less serious than Jonathan but is a kind person like him in his own way.
-Ceasar Zeppeli is Will's niece, he is a casanova with a dark past to him, he has a competitive relation with JoJo, competing to outbest eachother and later on both developing a Bromance.
And then there are other great characters like Wham, Strotheim and a bunch more that are great, there are a lot of characters for me to write about them, but it would be too long, i only have to point out that the VA on everyone was really amazing, even the support characters have the same engage as the main characters, that's why the characters are outstanding.
Enjoyment
What else can i write, with the combination of everything that i wrote already, you have an outstanding enjoyment.
Lemmy7003
After a decidedly mixed adaption of Part 3, and a critically panned feature movie of Part 1, it took until 2012 until we got the definitive adaption of Araki's magnum opus; Jojo's Bizzare Adventure, the anime now famous for it huge, muscular men and overall crazy adventures. Story: The first 'season' of Jojo covers the first two arcs of Araki's manga; Part 1: Phantom Blood and Part 2: Battle Tendency. Phantom Blood features primarilly Jonathon Joestar, a wealthy astroicrat living with his father George Joestar, with the addition of Dio Brando, who has come to stay due to a promise from George. However, things take a decidedlydark and insane turn when Dio, in his lust for power, seeks the power of an ancient stone mask.
Meanwhile, Battle Tendency features the grandson of Jonathon, Joseph, who must take up battle against the legendary Pillar Men, the creators of the stone mask Dio was involved in. Part 2 takes a slightly more comedic tone to it's story, while holding the same tension that Part 1 did; this is mostly due to the voice talents of Tomokazu Sugita, who voices Joseph.
To be honest, the plot for Part 1 is not that in-depth. It's most Jonathon fighting a couple of villains, but his motivations, his character interactions, and the inclusion of Speedwagon makes up for the plot in this part, and is honestly much, much better then it's manga counterpart.
Part 2 has a much more engaging storyline, but upping the stakes much higher, with Joseph literally facing death every couple of episodes. The story is also notably much more often emotionally satisfying - this isn't to say Part 1 isn't at times emotionally satisfying, it's just that Part 2 does it far more often.
Characters:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure features a wide cast of characters, but focuses on a select few each part. Part 1 mostly focuses on Jonathon and Dio, with added roles from Zepelli and Speedwagon. Jonathon, whilst admittedly not the most interesting of the Jojos, is great fun, and Dio will always go down as one of the morally worst people in the series - and anime in general. And of course, Speedwagon is a fan favorite, due to his overreacting attitude, and overall strange uses, such as the infamous "seal abilities".
Part 2's cast is much bigger, and ultimately much more entertaining. Joseph is a blast, arguably one of the funniest Jojos (that I've seen so far), and his companion Ceasar Zepelli is a bit of a badass, despite his...less then intimidating abilities. The banter between the two is fantastic. Speedwagon is just as great int his part as well, and new additions like Lisa Lisa and Stroheim (one of my personal unexpected favorites) are really great additions too.
Art and Sound:
To be honest, for the longest time, I was turned off by Jojo, even the anime, due to it's slightly less-then-conventional art. By chance I saw the anime on a TV, and then I decided to give it a shot. No regrets. The art perfectly compliments the insane proportions of Araki's creation, and even beyond it's really great. I still have issues with it from time to time, but for the most part the art is really good, and compliments this anime perfectly. The animation is of a consistent quality throughout the show.
The openings to both the Parts, for Phantom Blood; "JoJo (Sono Chi no Sadame)" and Battle Tendency "Bloody Stream" are an absolute blast, and some of the best openings released in 2012. The ending theme, "Roundabout" perfectly compliments the style of Araki's writing, which names many characters after famous Western singers and bands, such as Dio and R.E.O Speedwagon. The music within the show is generally pretty good, but beyond the openings, and the insert song employed in the final episode, it isn't anything that really stands out.
Enjoyment and Conclusion:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a standout anime; not just because it's a damn good anime, but because it's unique in it's character design, which David Production has recreated Araki's style perfectly, and produced what is more or less a pseudo cult anime. Jojo is absolute blast, and any minor issues I have with the show are blown away due to the fact that it's really just an absolute ton of fun.
All in all, this was one of my favorite anime of 2012, behind maybe just Psycho-ass, but it will go down as one of the most unique and acclaimed anime in a while, and just like it's original manga, will maintain a healthy a devoted fan base.
BanjoTheBear
(This has been adapted from my reddit thread) Nothing on this planet exists quite like the notion of family. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents; everyone has or has had them. And while we may not always get along over the dinner table, deep down the connections we share with our family are unlike anything else we know. Many times, these bonds are tested, often verging on the point of breaking. But with a careful hand (and maybe a bit of Hamon), the ties that bind us can truly never be broken. Such is the tale of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and what a taleit is.
STORY
Our story begins with Jonathon Joestar, a young boy who earns himself a new brother, Dio Brando. After many altercations, the two find themselves at a crossroad.
Immediately when the anime begins, it gives off an enticing presence. It's not overpowering, but you know right from the get-go that this one behaves completely different from anything before it. The overly detailed characters, the verbose explanations, and the over-the-top outcomes of anything that goes on culminate in this amazing vibe the show gives off. It might be somewhat unfair to say, but it's better to experience it than to have it described to you. That's how unmistakable and unique the show feels.
The story, getting slightly spoiler-y, spans multiple generations of the Jojo family tree. It's actually quite fascinating for two reasons: it shifts the focus from one main character to the next and allows for complete and fulfilling story arcs. Time skips in any show are always a tricky thing to pull off, because it requires the audience to reinvest themselves in characters that either had rushed/skipped character development or in ones that are brand new.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure opts for a mix of the two. It utilizes both old and new characters to make the transition easier. By providing the old ones, we as an audience already understand and know their background. Their purpose, then, was to serve as catalysts for the new. In this way, the new characters never feel distant, since their literal familial history gives them the needed personality and character traits. Now, obviously, the later characters stand apart from their ancestors in one form or another, but the way in which everything tied together so nicely was great to see.
If there was an award in "Explaining the Current Predicament," Jojo's Bizarre Adventure would win with flying colors. No matter the situation, no matter how dire things may seem, the show will, without fail, explain exactly what is going on. Interestingly enough, this never gets old. This is most likely due to the nature of the show itself being incredibly over-the-top and crazy in the first place. The overall goals during each arc are simple, and are not the focus. Instead, it's what is happening then and now. Whether Jojo is running with a football or holding a glass of water, every detail is looked at. This further adds to the already awesome presence the show gives off.
One final note. Being completely honest, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is the same from beginning to end. It doesn't explore any themes, it's not trying to enlighten you, and it never provides a new insight on life. It's a wacky ride from start to finish. And while in context it is coherent in the story it tells, there is really nothing here to analyze. It's tough men and women fighting to save the world.
ANIMATION
Another standout feature in this adventure is the art style that the anime adopts.
First and foremost come the character designs themselves. Gone are the days of huge eyes and scraggly teenagers late into high school. No, the characters here are "real" men and women. Taking place in areas outside of Japan, the characters fit the part, both in aesthetic and physical appearance. Furthermore, everyone is heavily detailed. Contours on their faces, sharp lines for their muscles, and varying outfit choices make them stand out not only from among different shows but from one another as well.
Second, the style. Style here isn't so much the art but in how it is presented. In this case, it is done in "comic book" fashion. Actions sometimes get accompanying onomatopoeia, facial close-ups, frame breaks; it really feels like a comic book has come to life right before your eyes.
Last but not least is in the art itself. The show essentially takes all the colors of the rainbow, puts them in a bucket, grabs a handful of this paint, and chucks it at the drawings. What we get are a flurry and amalgamation of colors that are constantly changing. It not only makes the scenes contain varying and interesting color palettes, but makes the different scenarios refreshing to look at since they morph every few minutes or so. It's a really cool effect that the show employs masterfully.
One of the show's faults comes in its actual animation. For the most part, it is quite minimal. The massive amount of character details, the cool presentation, and the revolving art are the portions of the show that saw the majority of the resources, leaving little for this section.
CHARACTERS
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure has a slew of characters, but I'll talk about some of the more important ones: Baron and Caesar Zeppeli, Speedwagon, Jojo, and of course, Dio.
Baron and Caesar are what most men aspire to be: charming with the ladies, strong both physically and mentally, and stalwart in their convictions. But above all else, they have the innate ability to do whatever it takes to turn the situation in their favor. If anything, their characters serve to demonstrate that sometimes we can't always do things on our own. Sometimes, we require a little outside influence.
Speedwagon is that guy you wish you had as a friend. It doesn't matter what you may be doing, he always has your back through thick and thin. And if we had to give that explanatory award to one individual, Speedwagon earns it without a doubt. Almost exclusively there to give us the rundown of what is going on at that very second, his "power" isn't demonstrated until much later, and even then it is only alluded to. Constantly in the shadows of the more vocal and obtuse men of the show, he may seem like a side character, but there is no Jojo without Speedwagon.
Jojo is definitely a good protagonist. Smart, strong, and skilled in many arts, his ability to turn a situation in his favor is rivaled by no one. His success as a "Hamon" user makes him a force to be reckoned with, and his chivalrous ways allow him to be the true gentleman that he's always been. Right alongside Speedwagon and the others, you'll be calling out "Jojo!" right up until the finish. At this point, you may be asking yourself, "Yea, but which one?" To which I respond, "Exactly."
Arguably the best character from the show is Dio Brando. His characterization is interesting because of how well it plays with the family idea. Driven by hate towards his own father and the Joestar name, he makes it his mission to thwart Jojo whenever he can. He's not necessarily wrong, just completely misguided. He's intelligent and honorable as a warrior, and his ideals about obtaining power and ruling over all are evil. But these goals mirror his true feelings; he's extremely lonely. Pushing Jojo and Jojo's father away was more instinctual than intentional. He never really experienced true love, in any form, in order to allow him to realize that what he always really wanted was right next to him all along.
SOUND
The first OP sort of "sets the stage" for what the show is all about. It's not so much a song as it is a small poem. The best part is actually the "Jojo" part that happens a select view times; it sort of sounds like the beating of a heart.
The second OP is more artistic in its lyrics and presentation. The trumpets, vocals, and continuous drum/cymbal beat make it a bit more lively, coinciding with the more lively atmosphere and characters.
The ED is obviously the most interesting. Not only because it is a Western song, but why it was chosen in the first place. My interpretation is not so much in the lyrics themselves but in just the title alone: "Roundabout." That is, as is demonstrated by Jojo time and again, the solution to the problem at hand is almost always quite roundabout.
The rest of the soundtrack does have some good pieces, such as the triumphant score that plays when Jojo is going to win or the Pillar Men's more Aztec sounding piece. Also of note here is the sound effect, used to great effect, when the camera is zooming in or moving from one scene to the next.
Voice acting wise, I found everyone did fine work in the roles they represented. This is especially true for characters like Speedwagon or Von Stroheim who consistently had to scream or elevate their voices to match the scenarios at hand.
ENJOYMENT
I can't recall not laughing during any single episode for this one. There was always something ridiculous happening on screen, from the comedic writing to the crazy yet "realistic" answers for the zany holes that the characters found themselves in. Even just Speedwagon saying, "What?!" or the bad guy at the time going, "Impossible!" would always give me the biggest grin imaginable.
The show is not afraid of showing some rather gruesome material. Things such as accordian'd fingers, heads chopped horizontally at nose-level, and melting flesh are the norm. If someone gets unsettled by such content, the anime might not be for them. But if you can handle such brutality, it just makes the entire experience that much more enjoyable.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is just straight up fun. It's presentation, the story, and the writing make it supremely different from almost any other show out there. On enjoyment alone the show could be considered perfection. It honestly is that much of a great time. But considering the whole package, the final product doesn't quite reach that status. Yet it goes without saying there isn't and probably will never be anything quite like Jojo.
SUMMARY
Story: Good, Jojo makes its mark
Animation: Good, unique art style with little actual animation
Characters: Great, Jojo, Dio, Speedwagon, and the rest play their parts
Sound: Good, okay OPs, good ED, nice soundtrack, nice VA work
Enjoyment: Great, really nothing else like it
Final Score: 8/10
Flexicute
How to describe JoJo's Bizarre Adventure... Imagine Johnny Bravo and Zoolander fighting the Ginyu Force in a anime funded by Old Spice. Yes, I said it. It is a cavalcade of over-the-top manliness camp that couldn't bore you if it even tried. And that is what I will review JoJo for what it is, leaving any expectations of a deep, well written story at the door. Story: 7 JoJo's story takes place in several different time eras, from 19th century Britain to pre-World War 2 Europe (and Mexico, surprisingly). The accuracy of how it captures the essence of those eras is up to debate. A lotof things about the Hamon/Ripple tend to not make sense and even seem improvised, which adds to some humor about the science in JJBA.
Art: 8
The men are grotesquely muscular to the point of looking like caricatures of body builders, and yet somehow it all works in the context of JJBA. The series' use of colors, regardless of how bright and garish they are, is a surprising contrast to the gory, over-the-top action the series is known for.
Sound: 10
A reviewer once remarked that the sound effects and music in JJBA is just as over-the-top and irresponsibly loud as its artwork. Imagine a scene where you're in a Roman colloseum with loud dubstep music playing as the combat takes place. And this is an anime that takes place in 19th and early 20th century Europe, adapted from a manga that was made in the 80s. And yet.... it all works. Don't ask me how, it just does!
The opening theme songs definitely highlight the characters in a big way, and are just as fun to watch as the rest of the series. Big props for the series using "Roundabout" as the ending theme by the way, as it was the manga author's choice of music while writing JJBA.
Character: 7
Phantom Blood was pretty straightforward with its characterization. Jonathan Joestar is your usual average good guy fighting the cliched bad guy Dio. The second half, Battle Tendency, has much better characterization. Joseph Joestar is infinitely more entertaining than his grandfather Jon, and he has quite an interesting relationship with his partner slash rival Caesar Zeppeli, and their trainer slash mother figure Lisa Lisa.
Enjoyment: 15
JJBA is just one hilarious and exciting episode after another, even if the science of Hamon doesn't make sense. You'll need to cast your brain aside to enjoy it, however, or you'll find yourself rating this much lower than I did.
Overall: 8
You either love or hate JJBA (not surprisingly, many women including my girlfriend dislike it). It definitely feels like a "bro" type of anime, so you'll have a lot of fun watching this with your buddies.
maddynamite
When an anime is pigeonholed based on its most popular or well-known feature, it does a great disservice to the anime. People only see the show as a part of what makes it unique. Should you watch Jojo's Bizarre Adventure *only* because it is "GAR" or super-manly-moe-stomping-fun? Absolutely not. Should you watch Jojo's Bizarre Adventure because it has an interesting premise, great art, amazing music and voice acting performances, and some fascinating characters? Absolutely YES. Story: The show is divided into 2 parts, with different feels. The first is a Victorian-era action-adventure, with our hero learning to master a supernatural power, and fighting supernatural enemies. The secondis a globe-trotting comedy adventure with our hero learning to master a supernatural power, and fighting supernatural enemies. The shift from more action oriented to more comedy oriented is mostly due to the main character in each part, discussed below.
The show's pacing is very fast, and is probably the show's weakest point. So much material is covered in such a short time, that the viewer doesn't often have time to relax. The viewer has to keep up to speed, or else you're left behind. Not that it's a 100% bad thing; keeping the show moving leaves no room for fillers.
Art: The stylized manga has been adapted as a stylized anime. The use of freeze-frames and color-shifts are used liberally, as well as on-screen "sound effects". Overall, the show feels like a comic book brought to life. The use of color (not just in the color shifts) really adds a light-hearted feel to the show, especially in tense fight scenes.
As for quality, the show has consistent quality for both characters and backgrounds. The action and fight scenes are fluid, and don't suffer from any frame drops.
Sound: The Japanese dub is very good: if your native language is not Japanese, it can sometimes be hard picking up on the subtle things actors can do with their voices to convey a message. The actors all do this perfectly, and each role sounds natural.
The opening songs are upbeat and interesting. The ending song is "Roundabout", by Yes, which the manga author stated was influential when he was creating the manga. It not only has a great sound, and drives home the fact that so many characters' names are based on Western musicians, but it is often used in the final minutes in certain episodes as part of the soundtrack. The plucking of guitar strings adds a serious, melancholy note to depressing scenes, and adds a sense of mystery to cliffhanger endings. It's not often that music is used to complement the most climactic part of an episode this way, but it is used perfectly.
The rest of the OST is great, as well. The first part features Victorian-style music, with organs and harpsichords in minor keys. It fits the calm and collected demeanor of the main character, and the classical horror of the villain.
The second half is where the OST really shines. The second half, which is set in the 1930s and featuring a brash, over-the-top man, heavily features electronic and dubstep music. It's off-putting at first, but it's such a perfect compliment to the action on the screen that it simply feels right.
Character: The first part's hero, Jonathan, suffers from a minor lack of development. He is and always will be the perfect gentleman, fighting for good simply because it is good and righteous.
The villain, Dio, gets a little more characterization. You quickly realize that he wasn't born evil, but became evil due to his lust for power. He wanted to become powerful so that he would not have to live the cursed, poor life he was born into because of his father. Once he sees that his psychotic plans are thwarted, he sacrifices his humanity in exchange for unimaginable power. His pride would not allow him to accept defeat.
The hero of the second act, Joseph, is a polar opposite to Jonathan. Joseph is a smart-ass, quick-thinking punk. His sense of humor, especially during intense fights, is what makes Joseph so charming. That, and he's not afraid to run from a fight if he knows he's not going to win. He also goes through some development when he meets a man who is almost as arrogant as he is. Through tough trials, the two men become friends, and it's genuinely satisfying to see emotional development like that.
The cast of side and minor characters is immense, and varied. Some are powerful, and meant to be feared and respected; others are goofy and are there for comic relief. The designs and personalities of the characters are a great mix, and add a great deal of variety to the show.
Overall: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a great show because all of its different parts work together perfectly. It feels like each facet of the show inspired each other, and it has an innate flow that ties it all together. The fact that it's so over-the-top and fun is simply a side effect.
TL;DR 5 words/phrases to describe Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
great art, great music, fast paced, fun, Joseph is best Jojo
fezyk
If you don't feel like reading a full review of Jojo, all you have to know is this: This is the most fun you'll ever have watching a show. It sounds like hyperbole, and most of the time it would be, but this show is truly that fantastic. Let's skip the summary (which you can find above) and jump right into what makes this show so great. First of all, it is utterly absurd in the best ways possible. The evil villains are super evil, the good guys are super good, and everyone is SUPER MANLY! This is without a doubt the most gar show outthere (if you don't know the term gar, urban dictionary will help). Every single character is a super macho man who does super awesome macho man things. Not much stoicism in this show, as almost every single male character in this show cries manly tears on more than one occasion, shit, even our villains cry manly tears. It's super over the top emotions and reactions and faces and POSES! These characters strike so many ridiculous poses at any possible time they can. Exposition? They're doing poses. Emotional moment? They're doing poses. Confronting the bad guy? Everyone's doing poses. In the middle of a huge ass fight to decide whether you live or die? THEY'RE DOING POSES!! (I think you get the point)
Next is the action, and holy shit is it over the top. Throughout the show, Jojo fights just about anything you can think of, zombies, vampires, Nazis, monks, and cops to name a few. Jojo and his enemies are constantly blowing up shit, most of the time each other. This is easily one of the more violent shows up there, but it all really goes to enhance the world that these characters are in. What really makes these fights so fantastic, apart from all of the wonderful poses, is the extreme level of over the top they achieve. I would list some of them out right now, but i feel like that would ruin the originality of the moments when they occur. Safe to say that tons of shit happens that you will never see coming.
Finally, on a more serious note, the art and sound are just dynamite. Both do a fantastic job to enhance the show. The art especially. Oftentimes, you'll be watching a scene and the color scheme will change entirely. Blue hair becomes green, yellow becomes purple, shirts and backgrounds and faces, EVERYTHING'S NOW A DIFFERENT COLOR! There's no reason for it, it's just cool!
The story is pretty dumb, it's just basic action movie shit, but it's fine because, like everything else in this show, the story does not take itself seriously. It knows how absurd it gets at times and it embraces that absurdity. Easily the show's weakest point, but Jojo is not a show you watch for story, you watch it for hilarious over the top dialogue and action and colors. I give it an 8/10 simply because I don't think it's right to give this show anything higher without it exploring some sort of theme or having a point other than fun. But, fun is pretty great, and it's what the show cares about, and it's what the show excels at. If you're the kind of person that can enjoy something for the pure fun of it, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a must watch, and a personal top 10.
Akabawi
This thing a series that started mediocre just to end up being fantastically better than most shows out there!!!! Without Spoilers I will be talking about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure(2012) adaptation which covers Parts Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency from the original manga. Story 8/10 This Series is a series that never takes itself seriously its over the top ,its too ridiculous it is full of plot holes its the characters are freaking melodramatic but that is what makes it so good. Seriously I enjoyed the hell out of myself during part 2 but the same cannot be said in part 1 till the its last episodes. The Series featurea lot of cliche troupes with a series so expected but using unexpected events even if it is over the top , The use of speed chess gambit in the series was pretty good considering its time (It's pretty pretty old btw)!! even if things don't make sense ,Nice Factions appear It's really strong point is the variety of its fights. with every fight being completely different from before and memorable *Again not the phantom blood part*, So in short this series is too strong in part 2 but pretty weak in part 1 that I almost dropped it. I also like how it doesn't drag on the fights like most shounen do , and the danger feels real.
Art 9/10
I used to hate the art style at first but then you get used to those Bulky art style and its pretty good in the series though, the fights are well executed and I absolutely loved the art later on the animation is quite good, I can't believe this is low budget animation.
Sound 8/10
The Soundtracks in the first part were bland and not memorable, the Second part however was EPIC!!!, especially the pillar men's theme and the lots of DubStep soundtracks used in part 2. The Voice acting is ridiculous but its exactly what the series need, the series is not serious and so should the Voice acting be.
Character 8/10
Well again the same problem happens many characters that I used to hate got redeemed in part 2, in part 1 the main character is not cool , but that is changed for the better in part 2, the villains are wonderful and even the allies are , I also like how they don't ditch most characters just for the main character to do his job.
Enjoyment 8/10
Excluding part 1 that is a must watch that I nearly dropped the series because of it, The Enjoyment of part 2 was a 10/10 experience and I am now Thrilled with more Jojo that I am already watching Part 3 Stardust Crusaders by now. Now I can understand why the series is so hyped for
Note: Part 1 is 9 episodes long only and it episode 3 and 4 is why it was bad.
Overall (8 + 9 + 8 + 8 + 8) /5 = 8.2
Ceiling 8.2 gives a 9.
so its a 9/10 (Great)
ShaIIot
Let me just say, FUCK YES. After putting off JoJo for years, I finally watched it. Finally, I've seen what everybody has been talking about. For the first time, the crowd is right. This anime is a fucking masterpiece. Holy shit. This anime starts off on the wrong foot. The first part is pretty lame, slow, and would have caused me to drop JoJo's if I wasn't already dead-set on watching it in full. As a warning, don't drop this anime thinking it won't get better. It does. It gets so much better. This is now my favorite anime. Everything becomes godly in part 2. The art isbeautiful, colorful, unconfined. The OP is supremely catchy- but Pillar Men... dear god. The characters are charming and charismatic- almost never do they break character for the sake of the plot. Thoroughly amazing story.
This anime gets a solid 100/10 from me.
Newmn84
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, dear lord, what can I say about this anime other than that it definitely lives up to its name- it's bizarre. I'm going to say it flat out: the show is ridiculous in a good way. From the characters striking fabulous poses all over the place (you'll understand what I mean once you watch a few episodes) to the crazy battles, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is hype. In fact, it's even worth mentioning that Jojo's is so popular (or at least has enough cultural impact) in Japan that other anime airing during the same season directly reference it (OniAi and OreShura off thetop of my head).
The story of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure spans multiple generations of the Joestar family and is split into two parts. Personally, I liked the second part better than the first part because the second is much more comedic (mostly due to Joseph's character) while the first part takes on a more serious tone. While the overarching story may not be that complex, the real draw isn't so much about the story as it is about the battles. Believe me when I say that, especially with some of the stuff that happens in the battles, you could never predict what happens unless you painstakingly took hours to consider everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. The battles are awesome and there were more than a few moments that made me go "Holy crap!" Something to mention about the anime is that it is campy, or extremely over-exaggerated, even until the very end. Relating to that, battles often have what I refer to as "hype commentators" that analyze what just happened or what is currently happening. While this isn't exactly unheard of, the way it happens in Jojo's often goes above and beyond what you might find in other anime.
Now for the art and animation. The art style in Jojo's can be best described as clash of new and old, which is as it should be due to the fact that the manga was originally released in 1987. Even though I haven't read the manga, I can say based off simple observation that while the art style is indeed different, it definitely doesn't depart too drastically from the original. The character designs all have sharp and defined features, particularly in the face with most of the fighters being gigantic and ripped, the average person being, well, average, and the women's proportions are reasonable while still being able to look good and are never over-exaggerated. I never found the animation to be flat-out bad or too off in any aspect and, with some of the stunts that the characters pull off, that's impressive. It's worth mentioning that the anime animates the sound effects in certain scenes as if it were in a manga so you'll be seeing stuff like 「ゴゴゴゴゴゴ」all over the place, which I found to be a cool touch and something that just added to the uniqueness of the anime.
The characters of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure are a major draw to the series as well. The characters are varied and while some of them can fall into certain stereotypes, I never felt that they were bad characters. Take the two Jojos for example: Jonathan is a hulk of a man and the ideal gentleman while Joseph is a seemingly idiotic punk who is really a genius strategist. The eccentric cast of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is what truly brings the anime to life. All of the main cast are memorable and, in my eyes, all are irreplaceable. It is also worth mentioning that every character's name is based off songs or bands. This is most noticeable among the Pillar Men who are named Santana, ACDC, Wham, and Cars. While I don't think that the characters' personalities are meant to reflect the song or band they're based off of, I found it to be an interesting quirk nonetheless.
The music in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure seems to be a mix of just about everything with its tracks ranging from jazz to flamenco to dubstep and often will mix these aspects into some interesting combinations. While there were times when the background music was a bit intrusive (the dubstep especially), the problem was minor overall and didn't take away very much from the experience as a whole. Both openings are wild and intense and I personally would be willing to consider the first opening, "Jojo ~Sono Chi no Sadame~", as the official anthem for the series. As for the ending, "Roundabout" by Yes, I was initially taken by surprise; I never expected an anime to ever have a song completely in English, let alone one from a legitimate English-speaking band who got its start in 1968. While I didn't really think the song fit the anime, I did appreciate the nod to old rock and the author's love of music.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is exactly as its name implies, bizarre. Everything is just so over-the-top that the anime quickly becomes ridiculous and with everything from ancient, half-clothed men to a blood-thirsty killer squirrel, the anime fully embraces its own ridiculousness and makes it its own. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a wild ride full of the delightfully unexpected and rightfully earns its place as one of the craziest anime I've ever seen.
9 out of 10
Toastyy
"Nice catch!" My favorite line of the whole anime describes the feelings I had when I found this one. Jojo's bizarre adventure is the incarnation of what I expect from a shonen: Awesome fights that are appealing to the eye with a soundtrack that's supporting the scenery but not overwhelming it and Characters that surpass most of the ones we get to see from for example Naruto, Dbz etc. And would you believe it? This anime is based on a manga that was created in the late 80's and is still going. That must be one of the longest running shonen in history! ... Anywaysback to the review.
Story:
Well, since the Myanimelist summary is pretty accurate, I don't need to go too deep into it. But a short explanation wouldn't be wrong, would it:
The plot is divided into two parts: The first one is about Jonathan Joestar, the first JoJo, and his encounters with a mysterious mask that turns humans into vampires and his adopted brother Dio, who turns himself into one to rule over the world. On his way, Jojo1 encounters Speedwagon, a mobboss who joins JoJo1 on his journey after getting beat up but not killed by JoJo1 and zeppeli, who is a master of "Hamon" aka "Ripple" a force that equals the strength of light which was invented to defeat the vampires.
The second one is about jojo2 (I forgot his name while writing this), who's the grandson of JoJo1. This is arch starts at I think episode 10 and goes all the way until episode 26, so it's pretty elaborate.
To make it simple: JoJo2 has the power of Hamon aswell and needs to defeat the Pillarmen, a race of superhuman creatures which also want to achieve world domination. trust me, if I went deeper into the story it wouldn't have been spoilerfree.
I think it's a really interesting story with some things here and there that don't make any sense whatsoever but it's over all pretty well thought through.
8/10
Art:
Well, the artstyle is simply put amazing. Every character looks beatiful, seriously, every single one. Backrounds are very detailed with great locations, the Minions look disgusting, as intended, but not in a bad way. They even put the SFX bubbles in there like for example when someone gets shot or punched really hard there's a huge (Japanese) logo saying "BLAM". I love that kind of thing. But what's most important is that the fights look amazing. You could stop at any frame during a fight and you'd have an awesome wallpaper.
9/10
Sound:
This is where this anime shines for me: The sound. Like I said, the openings look awesome, but they sound even better. I even bought the OST overseas just to listen to it all day long, especially the second OP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnHyj7G1kjI
....anyways. The soundtrack consists of Theatrical pieces, Jazz, Rock and....dubstep. Yeah, dubstep. But don't worry, the dubstep soundtracks used here sound awesome and underline the action that is happening pretty well.
The voiceacting of the Japanese version is untouchable. You wanna know why? Because JoJo 2 is voiced by none other than Tomokazu Sugita, the voice of Gintoki from Gintama. His performance here is unbelievably good and should be heard by everyone. I'm being dead serious, especially because it fits so perfectly with the character. But not only his voice fits so good: Every character has a voice perfectly fitting. Especially the villains who always have an over the top "I am better than you" voice.
10/10
Character:
Characters.....well.....Every character is unique, or I at least think they are because I have never seen characters like these before (I will only talk about the maincharacters because I'm lazy :D):
First arch:
JoJo1 is a gentleman with a lot of sympathy for basically everyone. He's not the smartest person I have ever seen but he's not your typical cardboard cutout maincharacter who eats a lot, makes silly decisions and basically acts like a retard (Looking at you Naruto, Luffy and SonGoku). His only fault is that he's too naive.
Dio: He's the first villain of this anime and damn, he's amazing. He's a lot smarter than JoJo1, always having his plan of first getting a powerful rich man and then being a superhuman world dominating being. Also, he's a dick, but a gentleman dick. You wanna know why? *Spoiler* at one point, Dio let's one of his minions handle the immobilized JoJo1. When the minion talks and acts disrespectful towards JoJo1, Dio threatens his minion not to talk like that since JoJo1 was the one who defeated him. I think his words were "I am not going to let you talk about the man who nearly defeated the mighty Dio like that!".
Zeppeli: He's the most important guy in this story: He teaches JoJo1 hamon since JoJo1 has strong potential. He's an awesome guy with an awesome hat and a master of Hamon, which he likes to show off sometimes. Plus, his *SPOILER* Death was the most emotional thing I have seen since Ace's death in One Piece, giving all his remaining power to JoJo1. Sadly, he doesn't get enough screentime.
Second Arch:
JoJo2: joJo2 is nothing like JoJo1: He's an amazingly smart person being able to predict what people are going to do and say in the next few seconds and minutes. His catchphrase is "You're going to say .... now". AND THEY DO!
Anyways he's incredibly entertaining since he always acts like he's a retard simply to disguise his true thoughts. A mastermind at it's best, always having 7 more tricks up his sleeves.
Zeppeli2: Yeah, he's the grandson of the other Zeppeli, fighting with bubbles and shit. It sounds ridiculous but its actually a very interesting and effective fightingstyle. In the beginning, he's a women's magnet and doesn't hide it, who doesn't accept jojo2 at first, since they need to team up to save the world from the pillarmen. But as they undergo a special training, they grow together and become companions and friends alike.
Lisa Lisa: The strict but heartful tutor of jojo2 and Zeppeli2. She's a strong female character and the strongest ripple user so far. She seems to be untouchable for most of the time since she....well...never really fights at first. And when she finally does, she *SPOILER* gets fucked pretty hard since she couldn't see through the obvious trap of the mainvillain. I really liked her, though. She gets emotional but doesn't show it easily and can't help but to like Jojo2 and zeppeli2, even though they are, especially JoJo2, annoying the shit out of her.
The Pillarmen: There are a total of 4 Pillarmen, but only 3 of them really matter: Their names are (I'm not making this up) Santana, Wham, ACDC and Cars. Seriously. Someone must have been a fan of american music xD
Anyways, Santana is just an apprentice with nearly no screentime, Wham is an extremely respectful Soldier that nearly surpasses JoJo2's tactician skills and that JoJo2 even salutes to, ACDC is a real asshole and Cars, the strongest of them, is a mixed bag. He doesn't want to hurt living things like plants and stuff, but he wants to destory humanity. He has no respect towards anything at all and uses every trick in the book of traps to win fights. Sadly, he's up against jojo2 who's the juggernaut of tactics and tricks.
For some reason, every single one of these characters constantly makes some strange poses while fighting. I mean, they look pretty cool but....kinda stupid at the same time.
9/10
Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed watching this. I don't think I need to say much more. It's an awesome anime, go watch it right now if you're into shonen, if not....well watch it simply to say that you've watched an anime called Jojo's bizarre adventure.
10/10
Overall:
9.2/10
Ps: Sorry I didn't highlight more characters, but I'm already writing this for an hour so far and don't wanna spend all evening telling you how awesome the characters are.
