Out of the animated parts, so far for me it's 5=4>2>3>1
Part 1 is fine. I have come to appreciate it the more of Jojo I have seen and read, but it is definitely the weakest part of the series. Not bad but pales in comparison to what comes after it by far.
Part 2 is fantastic. Great Jojo, great fights, good story and pacing, the perfect amount of absolute bullshit plot and asspulls. This is the part that made me a permanent Jojo fan.
Part 3 is one I have a love/ hate relationship with. The first half is rough (for me at least). It made me drop the series for a good few weeks and I slogged through it to get to the back half and get to the "good stuff" in Parts 3 and 4 I'd heard about. The pace in awful. The fights are repetitive and go on way longer than needed a large portion of the first half, the stands are really boring for the most part and are not used or shown in the best way, the main cast isn't really explored all too well. I definitely liked it much better on rewatch but it is still my least favorite section of the series. The second half, however, is brilliant. The stands and minor villains are much more interesting, weird, and lovable. The pace is still a little too long in places, especially in a certain video game related fight, but definitely better than the first half. And of course, the final fight with DIO is great and made up for any missteps the part had made earlier and cemented Part 3 as the legendary arc of Jojo that has shaped modern manga and anime.
Part 4 is what made me see the series as more than just funny memes and cool fights (though there's still plenty of that). The fights and stands are much more creative, weird (really weird at points), and interesting. Some of the best arcs and fights in the entire series live here (Hi, Sheer Heart Attack and Bites the Dust). The main cast is lovable and most develop nicely (my favorites being Rohan and Josuke). The first half is a little slow, but develops Morioh into a town that we grow to love. The villain is one of the best in any form of media. Overall, a great Part.
Part 5 is really underrated in my opinion. It is definitely a part I can see people not appreciating, especially after the previous parts and what they set you up to expect. It really requires much more effort on the readers/watchers part to piece together what the part is trying to say and do. Many people misinterpret what the ending is about(or where the ending even starts for that matter) and that obviously greatly affects people's enjoyment of the part. They also seem to misinterpret the purpose of some characters and plot points or miss some symbolism that is surrounding some characters and situations. This part deals much more heavily in the themes and ideas that Araki was trying to convey rather than strictly for the purpose of good story telling which I find really cool and refreshing but obviously others do not. I can't really say I can change anyone's mind if they think it's a bad part cause I'd have to write an essay about it and you'd have to read it. I can recommend the video by a Youtuber named Oceaniz called The Brilliance of Golden Wind, but it is an hour long video and so much like any essay I could write on the topic I can understand people not having or not wanting to give that much time to a story they didn't enjoy. Also Nux Taku's video on the same topic is pretty good. |