Part 8 Jojolion

Josuke part 8's protagonist with his stand Soft and Wet

Well here we are at my final post! I will talk about Jojolion the most current part in the Jojo series. It is currently still in session so there is still plenty of story left to be so I will try to get in as deep as I can.

This takes place in the same universe as steel ball run but is up to the present. Over a hundreds years since the Steel Ball Run. A young girl named Yasuho Hirose finds a young man naked. As if seeing a naked man wasn't awkward enough she dicovers this man has odd physical traits he has two sets of irses, two tongues and even four testicles each differentiating in color. The boy appears to have no memory of anything prior to his arrival in the seatown of Morioh. He dons the name Josuke because Yasuho notes he has an appearance similar to her dog of the same name. He is later adopted by the Higashikata family coincidentally giving him the name Josuke Higashikata the same name as Part 4's protagonist, thus making him this universes Josuke. He learns of stands and discovers that those around him all seem to be capable of using them as well as himself. He finds himself wrapped up in the mystery of the life around him as well as slowly discovering himself. Like the reason he has two of certain body parts is because there is another person inside of him. This gives his stand a hybrid affect as if he had two stands.

This Jojo's stand called Soft and Wet that has two main effects. The ability to "plunder" which is the power to take something from any object, dead or a live and encase it in a bubble. This can be as simple as an item or even aspects such as site and friction. By removing friction his opponents become ridiculously slippery.He's even used it to painlessly remove all the fur off of a cat and create a replica for a distraction. He also can just create bubbles use them in battle similar to Casaer from part 2.

Jojolion does not appear to be ending anytime soon and neither does the Jojo series as a whole. I enjoyed talking with you about it. I tried my best to make it sound interesting without spoiling it for you and I hope I did! If not I still suggest you read it because it's probably way more interesting than reading this blog! Thank you all and have a wonderful holiday, should more parts come out I may continue this blog!

SAYONARA!

Part 7 Steel Ball Run

Gyro Zeppeli and Johnny Joestar racing on their horses

The first part of the series to take place as a result of the events in the previous part. After the universe gets completely rebooted history is altered as a result. People in the last universe appear differently at different times or just do not exist at all. This part takes place at the same time at the end of the 18th century however Jonathan Joestar is not the same. Johnny Joestar is an american horse racer who is paralyzed from the waste below as a result of his fame as a horse racer. He later finds Gyro Zeppeli (a rebooted version of Jonathan's mentor, Will Zeppeli) who would teach him the power of "Spin"  (much like his previous time line counter part taught his Jojo "Ripple.") At the same time they enter the "Steel Ball Run" horse race. A horse race across america with a cash prize 50 million dollars. During this time they would get entangled in a peculiar mystery revolving around mysterious "corpse parts."

What makes this part stand out is originally it was not advertised as a JoJo Series. It was just called Steel Ball Run. However after a transfer from publishers it was revealed this was indeed the 7th part to the Jojo series taking place in an alternate universe. This also made it the first series to be published out side of Shonen Jump. It was transferred to Ultra Jump a monthly manga magazine that would feature seinen. Seinen translates to "young man" the audience the series would target. So content was a bit more mature compared to other parts.

The combat is very unique in steel ball run. Since the story follows horse racers a good amount of battles take place on horses. Stands make a return in this series but a new concept is introduced. "Spin" much like "ripple" it involves channeling energy through the body however this energy doesn't channel sunlight but instead a spiral energy. Spiral energy can accelerate healing or decrease pain  twist people in ways that disguise them and can alter reality when heightened. combined with stand combat almost any tactic imaginable can be executed.

It's sad to think I draw near to my last post... I hope you guys have been enjoying this ride!

Part 6 Stone Ocean

The Cast of Stone Ocean (Jolyne Cujoh on left)

One of the most exciting parts in the series and the last one featured in the time line I have been discussing these past few posts. (That will be explained in the next post) This part follows the first female protagonist in the series, Jolyne Cujoh. Her last name may sound familiar... turns out she's the daughter of Jotaro Kujo the protagonist of part 3. After a bizarre series of unfortunate events Jolyne, or "JoJo" as her friends call, is taken to a prison. There she has to learn to survive amongst the inmates who all appear to have "Stand" abilities. Luckily her father managed to send her a gift that helped her awaken her own. Surviving prison life is one thing but finding out the truth behind her imprisonment is another. Definitely give this a read!

Stone Ocean is also the first JoJo to be released in a setting ahead of the current year it's released taking place in 2011 while it was released between 2000-2003. It is set in America and features many famous spots including an epic battle at the Kennedy Space Center. The addition of a female protagonist really changes the feel of things as Jojo is almost famous for its lack of females in any roles. It also continues on the legacy of Dio but he is dead we still see what sinister influence he left behind though.

Alternate timelines are a new concept introduced in Stone Ocean. I'd rather not get to detailed about it to avoid spoilers but it plays a role in the following parts in the series. You can look forward to hearing about that in the next post!

Also fun fact! At this point in his career the artist of JoJo had become so popular and influential that Gucci partnered with him to release a clothing line based off his styles.

Part 5 Vento Aureo

The "Passione" gang: part 5's protagonists

We're not at Part 5 Vento Aureo. Vento Aureo is Italian for "Golden Wind." This story line also happens to take place in Italy. We follow a very unique JoJo this time, Giorno Giovanni A.K.A. GioGio... the son of DIO! Dio during his time in part 3 had apparently indulged around the world and left behind some offspring. However due to Dio's body being borrowed from Jonathan Joestar (the original JoJo) this boy possess the blood of both and thus the fate of both men. He is to live a bizarre life and also possess fantastic powers. GioGio was very interested in the mafia after an encounter with them during his child hood and strives to become a "Gangster Star" which is a gangster that only does crimes for the good of the people they protect. Whether or not that's an actual thing I have no clue. GioGio grows up and eventually joins Passione and works with a gang of boys (yes they're all boys) around his age. He soon gets a peculiar mission to escort a mysterious girl to his mafia boss. During so he is forced to fight against rival gangs all of which have stand powers. Luckily his gang is full of gifted stand users to help him fight back!

The story returns to the darker tones the previous arcs have had with lots more people dying. Game of Thrones could still learn a thing or too about killing off popular characters. It has the travel aspect that the previous arcs had as well. The gang goes on an adventure all over Italy traveling to many interesting cities.

As you may have picked up from the picture above the art style continues to develop more androgynous and now the clothes they characters wear have become more flamboyant and peculiar. It can be hard. Another interesting addition to the story is now stands can interact with their users. Some of them talk and even eat.

One of the biggest issues with this manga is that it has been poorly translated in the states and a lot of people have difficulty comprehending the dialogue from what translations have been put up online. However it is definitely worth trying to read because like all the parts its very interesting but also the art style is much more exciting too. Hope you guys give it a chance!

Part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable

You guys no the gist now right? new post new part! We're at Diamond is Unbreakable! The first part of many that have yet to be converted to anime. Like I said last post all future post will be about manga, the Japanese comics. Set in the late 90s the protagonist (or should I say Jojo) of this one is Josuke Higashikata a high schooler who is also the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar the protagonist of part 2 who's close to 80 now. (Talk about a foxy grandpa.) Jotaro and Joseph visit the boy while investigating a string of what they believe to be stand related murders. Things get bizarre pretty quick but unlike the previous parts there's very little traveling. It all takes place in the small town of Morioh, Japan. It has yet another extensive cast of characters including one based of the author himself!

While the story has the intense combat we've grown to love in previous parts it also has a lot of daily life stories. Simple humorous side stories like high school boys trying to pick up girls or make lots of cash fast. These are often refereed to as slice of life as they are some what relatable every day life scenarios.( as relatable as a high schooler with super natural powers can be of course...).

Another new feature in this anime is the author's change in the art style. While previous works had a heavily muscled masculine approach he now goes for a more androgynous take towards characters. He initially started with this approach but changed it all together by the end and stuck with it for the following series.

typical heavy masculine art style

Androgynous art style

So if you're interested in checking it out go to the manga site I listed in the earlier posts and enjoy!

Part 3 Stardust Crusaders

Stadust crusaders protagonists from left to right: Joseph, Kakyoin, Jotaro, Avdol, and Polnaroff

Hey guys this week I'm going to talk to you about part 3 of JoJo: Stardust Crusaders! This was the series that dramatically increased JoJo's popularity to a global scale. In fact this was the first JoJo part to get translated in america. Sadly this caused a lot of confusion and made it difficult for American fans to understand the story line prior to the series but luckily each part of JoJo is a story of its own that doesn't require an understanding of prior parts to get. It was released as a manga and also as a poorly dubbed OVA or original video animation, basically what the Japanese refer to as direct to video releases.

The stories protagonist this time is Joseph Joestar's (our last protagonist) grandson Jotaro Kujo aka JoJo, (see the pattern?) a Japanese high school student. After hearing his grandson has locked himself in a prison cell after being "possessed by a demon" Joseph comes to visit immediately. He explains to his grandson that he has not been possessed but has acquired a bizarre new power known as a stand. People around the world have been acquiring stands as the result of the return of none other than Dio the antagonist of Part 1. His vampiric immortality allowed him to survive until now and it is up to the Joestars as well as they allies they make along the way to defeat Dio one last time.

Joseph and Stand Star Platinum

Part 3 introduces a new combat style that becomes the main fighting style of the series from then on. While part 2 had people fighting with hamon or vampiric abilities every character has a stand of some kind. A stand is a psychical entity that appears outside its user when summoned. There are many stands with many different powers. Jotaro's stand called Star Platinum has the ability to enhance precision dramatically increasing his vision and striking powers. Dio's stand called The World can stop time for ten seconds and also can be used to attack. Most stands have the ability to attack in a flurry of punches and their stand users then say a catch phrase while punching such as Jotaro saying "ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA." Not all stands are used for attacking however. Joseph's stand, Hemit Purple, can be used to smash polaroid cameras and result in them displaying an image they desire such as DIO's location. It can also hack into TV's and show live images of what they want. Stands come in all shapes and sizes from People to boats to even mini Suns. Not all stand users are people as well. One of Jotaro's allies is a dog capable of summoning a stand that can manipulate sand. The inclusion of stands made the series much more unique than other shonen that typically had a martial are of some kind and probably played a role in its dramatic increase in popularity.

Part 3 is the last of the series that is in an anime form and is still not yet completed as well. I recommend reading the manga first so you can appreciate the quality of the anime more. After this post I'm going to only be talking about parts that are in Manga format. 

"ORAORAORAORAORAORA"

Part 2 Battle Tendancy

So I realized I forgot to attach a link to where to watch this anime as well as any other anime so here you go: http://www.crunchyroll.com/jojos-bizarre-adventure/episode-01-dio-the-invader-652081

It's a link to the first episode!

CrunchyRoll is like the Netflix of anime. It has a huge library of anime of all kinds and even a couple of live action foreign dramas. The best part is it is free and updates regularly. Though premium members get direct release access of episodes and other bonuses like being able to stream on video games consoles. They also have a store with a neat merchandise from the shows you like. So there you go access to anime!

Not an anime fan? Want the original work? Most series before they were an anime start out as a manga(those comics I talked about in the last post) I'm sure you've heard the phrase the book is better than the movie and while that usually is the case I can honestly say I like the anime more than the manga. However the anime is not anywhere near caught up to the manga so I've gone ahead and read it all. I love JoJo so its all great to me. To those of you interested in reading the manga it can be found here: http://www.mangareader.net/jojos-bizarre-adventure-part-1-phantom-blood

Mangareader.net is a neat little site that has a vast library of translated manga scans so you can read comics and be caught up with them as they're released around the world. A great time waster when you're bored with facebook and youtube!

Part 2 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is called "Battle Tendancy." It starts off in 1939 New York and follows the adventures of a new JoJo, and my personal favorite, Joseph Joestar. Joseph is the grandson of the first parts Protagonist Jonathan. Like his Grandfather he has the ability to fight with Ripple but is no where near as trained as him. In fact aside from name their is hardly any similarities between the two. Joseph is no noble gentleman like his grandfather. He's an arrogant womanizing punk though a cunning at that. Shortly after moving from Britain to the States he finds himself rapped up in a fate similar to his grandfathers. He must master ripple and defeat vampires. As well as a new foe, ancient Aztec warriors known only as the Pillar men for they were found encased in pillars. They're really just vampires that feed off vampires and are crazy strong, but like vampires can be defeated by the sunlight. JoJo must fight alongside bizarre allies to defeat this menace. From lady Italian bubble blowers to even Nazis he must align with whoever it takes to defeat these monsters before they destroy the world.

My favorite part in the series I really recommend you give it a read!

Joseph Joestar Part 2's protagonist

Me cosplaying as Joseph Joestar at an Anime Convention