JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Japanese: ジョジョの奇妙な冒険, Hepburn: JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump in 2005. The series is divided into a total of nine story arcs, each following a new protagonist bearing the "JoJo" nickname. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the largest ongoing manga series published by Shueisha by number of volumes, with its chapters collected in 134 tankōbon volumes as of April 2024.
A 13-episode original video animation series adapting the manga's third part, Stardust Crusaders, was produced by A.P.P.P. and released from 1993 to 2002. The studio later produced an anime film adapting the first part, Phantom Blood, which was released in theaters in Japan in 2007. In October 2012, an anime television series produced by David Production adapting Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency began broadcast on Tokyo MX. As of December 2022, the studio has produced five seasons consisting of 190 total episodes adapting through the manga's sixth part, Stone Ocean. A live-action film based on the fourth part, Diamond Is Unbreakable, was released in Japan in 2017.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is well-known for its art style and poses, frequent references to Western popular music and fashion, and battles centered around Stands, psycho-spiritual manifestations with unique supernatural abilities. The series had over 120 million copies in circulation by August 2023, making it one of the best-selling manga series in history, and it has spawned a media franchise including one-shot manga, light novels, and video games. The manga, TV anime, and live-action film are licensed in North America by Viz Media, which has produced various English-language releases of the series since 2005.
Plot
The universe of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a reflection of the real world with the added existence of supernatural forces and beings.[2] In this setting, some people are capable of transforming their inner spiritual power into a Stand (スタンド, Sutando); another significant form of energy is Hamon (波紋, "Ripple"), a martial arts technique that allows its user to focus bodily energy into sunlight via controlled breathing. The narrative of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is split into parts with independent stories and different characters. Each of the series' protagonists is a member of the Joestar family, whose mainline descendants possess a star-shaped birthmark above their left shoulder blade and a name that can be abbreviated to the titular "JoJo".[a] The first six parts take place within a single continuity whose generational conflict stems from the rivalry between Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, while the latter three parts take place in an alternate universe where the Joestar family tree is heavily altered.
Part 1: Phantom Blood (ファントムブラッド, Fantomu Buraddo) Volumes 1–5, 44 chapters. In the late 19th century, Jonathan Joestar, a young Englishman, faces off against his adopted brother Dio Brando, who uses an ancient Stone Mask to become a vampire. The story chronicles Jonathan’s struggle to protect his family and legacy, learning the art of Hamon to defeat Dio and his evil ambitions.
Part 2: Battle Tendency (戦闘潮流, Sentō Chōryū) Volumes 5–12, 69 chapters. In 1938, German researchers discover three lifeforms called Pillar Men, powerful humanoids responsible for the creation of the Stone Mask. The Pillar Men awaken and escape in search of the Red Stone of Aja, which will turn them into invincible superbeings. Joseph Joestar, Jonathan's grandson, unites with new allies and masters Hamon to defeat the Pillar Men and their leader Kars.
Part 3: Stardust Crusaders (スターダストクルセイダース, Sutādasuto Kuruseidāsu) Volumes 13–28, 152 chapters. In 1989, Dio Brando (now referred to as only "DIO") awakens after his coffin is salvaged from the ocean. Because Dio had managed to take over Jonathan's body, Stands (スタンド, Sutando) awaken in Jonathan's descendants, including Joseph, his daughter Holy Kujo, and his grandson Jotaro Kujo. Holy, however, is unable to control her own Stand, which begins to slowly kill her. Jotaro, Joseph, and their allies set out to defeat Dio before Holy's Stand takes her life, fighting off Dio's henchmen along the way.
Part 4: Diamond Is Unbreakable (ダイヤモンドは砕けない, Daiyamondo wa Kudakenai) Volumes 29–47, 174 chapters. In 1999, the Joestar family learns that Joseph has an illegitimate son, Josuke Higashikata, who lives in the fictional Japanese town of Morioh. While visiting Morioh, Jotaro learns of a mystical Bow and Arrow that bestows Stands upon those struck by it. As they hunt down the Bow and Arrow, Josuke, Jotaro, and their allies are targeted by Stand-using serial killer Yoshikage Kira and his father Yoshihiro, who see them as a threat to the former's peace and tranquility.
Part 5: Golden Wind (黄金の風, Ōgon no Kaze) Volumes 47–63, 155 chapters. Giorno Giovanna is the son of Dio, conceived while the vampire was in possession of Jonathan Joestar's body. In 2001, in Naples, Italy, Giorno seeks to become a mafia boss in order to eliminate drug dealers who sell their wares to children. Finding a powerful ally in Bruno Bucciarati, Giorno and Bucciarati's team rebel against the boss of the mafia to protect his daughter, Trish Una, whom he intends to kill in order to hide his identity.
Part 6: Stone Ocean (ストーンオーシャン, Sutōn Ōshan) Volumes 64–80, 158 chapters. In 2011, near Port St. Lucie, Florida, Jotaro Kujo's daughter Jolyne Cujoh is framed for murder and sent to prison. She works together with various allies to hunt down the person responsible for her framing: prison chaplain Enrico Pucci, a loyalist to Dio who seeks the creation of a new universe shaped to the late vampire's will.
Part 7: Steel Ball Run (スティール・ボール・ラン, Sutīru Bōru Ran) Volumes 81–104, 95 chapters. In the 1890s of an alternate universe, United States President Funny Valentine holds a cross-country horse race with a $50 million reward for the winner. Valentine secretly intends to use the race to gather the scattered parts of a holy corpse for his own nationalistic ends. Racers Gyro Zeppeli and Johnny Joestar uncover Valentine's ploy, and must defend themselves from both other racers and hired assassins.
Part 8: JoJolion (ジョジョリオン, Jojorion) Volumes 105–131, 110 chapters. In 2011, in the same universe as Steel Ball Run, the town of Morioh is devastated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Local college student Yasuho Hirose discovers an amnesiac young man buried in the rubble and puts him in the care of the Higashikata family, who give him the nickname "Josuke." As Josuke tries to uncover the secret of his past, he is also confronted by a local crime syndicate of inhuman beings dubbed Rock Humans, whose leader, Toru, seeks to use the mysterious Locacaca fruit to rise to the apex of society.
Part 9: The JoJoLands Volume 132 onwards. In modern day, siblings Jodio and Dragona Joestar work together in illegal activity on the island of Oahu, Hawaii to provide for and protect their mother. The two are joined by the kleptomaniac Paco Laburantes and the suspicious Usagi Alohaoe on a mission to steal a diamond from a rich Japanese tourist, but the mission is derailed when the group discovers something even more valuable.