JoJo

[Bagheera]

Will someone explain this to me? It seems to be a thing, but I don't get it. It looks . . . I guess previews and clips don't do it justice, which is fine. But what is the big deal? Like I said, I don't get it.

I know it's "fabulous", but that doesn't help. I don't care if it's fabulous. I want to know why people think it's the rebirth of cool in anime form. Is it something to do with history or culture or irony? Something else? What?

[bobbyfischer's ghost]

I never understood it myself, the most I know about JoJo is the Za Warudo meme.

[InstrumentalityOne]

Old School shounen fighting manga spanning over several generations of characters with some aztec occult thrown in with 80s aesthetics/style.

[Fireball]

It's more of a cult thing. JoJo fans are a small but dedicated bunch that had to wait years for a decent anime. Of course there are going to be very outspoken now but it's hard to pinpoint what exactly makes JoJo so great because it constantly changes. The manga is divided into several parts which have different protagonists and take place in different places and times and no part is like the other. For example it starts out as a 1880 British gothic horror story, changes to a 30s NY pulp martial arts movie, and then becomes a sort of Japanese equivalent of a superhero comic. Consequentially you don't have to fear repetitions and everyone can find something he likes about it. The only constant theme is the focus on the Joestar family (hence the JoJo), it's extremly violent and it's loaded with references to western rock music; almost all the important characters' names refer to rock bands, musicians or albums. (Copyrights are one of the reasons it's so obscure in the west despite being heavily influenced by american pop culture). Carl Horn described JoJo once as "a glam rock version of "Fist of the North Star" and I would not disagree. If you are keen on fashion like myself you will enjoy that part too.

David Production has made a fantastic job as far as a faithful anime adaptation goes while remaining entertaining even though the first part being arguably the weakest. They seem to be aware of the low budget and concentrating on brisk pacing and "style" which is a good decision because honestly, what is JoJo without style?

All in all it's really great as far as old school fightan manga goes while at the same time standing out as very different. It's clever, it's grotesque (hence the bizarre) and it's shamelessly OVER THE TOP - and it works. It is entertainment in it's most juvenile form that will make your inner 80s child cry.

[Mr. Tines]

Will someone explain this to me?

At least in the first two stories, it's good old fashioned Boys' Own Adventures stuff that is so goddamn manly that it's outright homoerotic.

For a Japanese comic, this looks awfully like the better stuff that would have appeared in Lion when I was a kid, only with a bit more girls, swearing and a lot more explicit damage in combats.

In the first volume, we are introduced to Jonathan Joestar, and his adopted evil brother Dio, and the start of an involved mythos of super-beings and mystical powers.

The story starts as you might expect with an evil stepchild showing up the gallant but naive true son, but then takes a left turn when, exposed, Dio takes up the Stone Mask that Jonathan's father had acquired in his adventures and becomes a vampire. Gathering up a host of villains, including Jack the Ripper, Dio makes his evil plans; meanwhile Jonathan swears revenge, and with the help of a mysterious Italian traveller starts to master the power of "ripple", the pneuma that underlies all life.

So ensues an escalating batch of super-powered fights, before, at long last, Dio is defeated, and cast into the sea, to be lost forever. Yeah, right.

[Merridian]

Jojo kind of impossible to adequately and succinctly describe. Throw fashion magazines, how-to books on anatomical drawing, Shaw Brothers' kung fu movies, Japan, and bag full of mysterious recreational drugs into a blender, and the resulting sludge is probably similar to how Jojo reads. It's really fun, but it's also pretty long.

[Razeil100]

Dat first post in over a year.

JoJo, to me, has the spirit of hotblooded shonen and mecha shows. It's like Getter with FABULOUS. It's unique, has a large cast, and the dynamic is always changing so it stays fresh. The art is also very unique once Araki started to develop his own style and move away from HnK. It's not for everyone, sure. If you like manly men doing manly things, rivalries, and people screaming monologues at each other in the midst of battle while posing, it's certainly something to look into. The OP on the current show is absolutely fantastic also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v865zLEItzU

[Tokpile Quohog]

Jojo is what real men should read. It makes most other fighting manga look like the shit made by microbes that eat our shit. In the mainstream stuff you have stuff like the good going 'zomg fighting spirit I haz will to win' and proceeds to blow away any and all opposition no matter how improbable.

In JJBA, you have characters who win by relying on their wits to effectively utilize their strengths and the opponents weakness. Heck, the only Jojo who was one of strongest characters in their respective arc was Jotaro with his Star Platinum and maybe Jousuke with Crazy Diamond. The fights are rarely straightforward, 'I punch you then you punch me' sort of affair. This is one of the reasons the series doesn't get stale after god knows how many years.

I just found out that the new Jojo anime was starting this season so I'm going to see if its any good.

EDIT: Just watched a couple of episodes. The feel that whoever casted the voices should be shot. Jonathan's voice is utter crap, Zeppili's voice is not as bad but still bad. Dio and Speedwagon are the only decent voices of all the main characters. Honestly, did anyone expect Jonathan to speak in this high childish voice? Just imagine Kenshiro from Fist of the north star talking in a voice like that, NO ONE WOULD TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY if he said "you're already dead".
As for the animation, I'm guessing (like all Jojo projects) they have no money so I don't mind that the animation and character designs are crap. Also the style of the manga doesn't really translate very well into animation since Jojo characters always have globs of stuff to say about whatever is happening at any given time.
So unless the last half of the series is godly, I along with a bunch of other fans will continue to wait for a good JJBA adaptation.

[BrikHaus]

Apparently, from what you guys have written, this is a show I need to watch immediately.

[Xard]

Apparently, from what you guys have written, this is a show I need to watch immediately.

I think JoJo would be to your tastes, yeah. You might want to check the original OVA series first but it's not like you have to do that

[Tokpile Quohog]

I think JoJo would be to your tastes, yeah. You might want to check the original OVA series first but it's not like you have to do that

I agree with this. The OVAs are much better and it deals with a story arc that is more accessible to people that are looking to get into Jojo. But they did this weird thing where they made the episodes for the 2nd half of the story first then made the 1st half of the story a few years later.

While the current anime captures some essence of JJBA better than the old OVAs, the OVAs are just better (the voice acting isn't shit either).

NOTE: the only thing that has surprised me and exceeded my expectations was the OP which rocks. I don't know if the studio had to create their own 3d models or simply borrowed them from the new JJBA fighting game but it's awesome.

[Azathoth]

Apparently, from what you guys have written, this is a show I need to watch immediately.

it's got Takehito Koyasu as a magic platinum blond aztec vampire pimp in victorian England

so yeah pretty much

[Fireball]

I don't mind Jonathan's voice. He is a softy at heart and I found him energetic enough when it matters. Takehito does the job but his Dio reminds me too much of all his other roles.

Taku Iwasaki is going to be the new composer when Battle Tendency starts on episode 10. ROW ROW FIGHT DA STONE MASK

So unless the last half of the series is godly, I along with a bunch of other fans will continue to wait for a good JJBA adaptation.

Good luck with that. Unlike the Phantom Blood Movie this new adaptation actually meets Araki's approval and they are planning to animate all parts.

[BrikHaus]

So, what's the order, then?

1) Second half of OVA
2) First half of OVA
3) TV series

Somebody want to help me out a bit with this?

[Final Messenger]

it goes TV series (which is currently airing) which covers part 1 phantom blood and part 2 battle tendency. Then it’s the second half of the ovas which cover the first part of stardust crusaders then the first half of the ovas which covers the second half of stardust crusaders. But the problem with the ovas is it cut out a ton from the manga. To truly cover all of stardust crusaders you’d need at least 30 episodes

[BrikHaus]

OK. My head is spinning now. Thanks for the info.

[Tokpile Quohog]

so we got series 1 of jjba wrapped up. I have to say, the last two episodes were terrific. I'm really looking forward to the 2nd story since joseph joestar is probably my favorite joestar.

[Fireball]

THIS GUY is awesome.

[Final Messenger]

THIS GUY is awesome.

truly amazing

a preview of what we can expect for part three Dio
http://youtu.be/NJWKYPH1MC0?t=3m12s

[moonwolf2024]

JoJo is the epitome the old school, kick ass, cool as a polar bears toenails storyline. It's got everything in it. How can you NOT like JoJo???