SPEEEEEEEEDWAGON-SAN!!
DIO!
CAESAR!
STROOOOOOOOHEEEIM!
Get ready for some shouty, shonen insanity, slap full of 70s and 80s rock band references, over the top 80s anime action, and matching music to keep you groovin'.
Overview:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a psychedelic jaunt back in time, back into a time when action was more brutal, characters were ultra macho, the story was as straight as they come, and a general air of kickass cheese surrounded everything- the 80's.
Without getting too much into story particulars, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure could be reviewed in separate parts, as the break between episodes 9 and 10 jumps us up in time and gives us the antics of another Jojo to be a(be)mused by. So, that said, I'm going to split my story and character ratings and try to get into the differences between the two.
I'll start with the categories common to both parts, and then get into that stuff people seem to care about.. story and characters.
Art: 8
Combining trippy psychedelic still frame complete with a swirling miasma of neon yellow, blue, green, and purple lights, flowers, zigzags, and whatever other random crap those hippies smoked with art made to look like a comic book (not cel shaded, unfortunately), and you have a formula for a rather refreshing art style. Character designs are very consistent, not always the most interesting settings, but well drawn- Venice in particular struck me.
Sound: 10
Well, our opening themes are written for the show, and are fine. The ending theme, however, is a hack fraud rip off of the seminal 70s English progressive band YES... wait, what's that? They licensed "Roundabout"? Yes, "Roundabout" is the closing theme (pun intended), in several different cuts, and it fits VERY well with the show, particularly with all of its references to 70s and 80s bands. Keyboard solo intact, it grooves you right into the next episode, and never got stale.
Enjoyment: 8
I probably beat this horse to death a couple of miles ago, but I'm going to drag it all the way- I grew up on 70s and 80s classic rock, and the umpteen million references in the show really entertained me. I read that the manga writer was listening to these bands at the time of writing (1989, whew) and they influenced the show, naturally. The character names coupled with a famous song from that era (that was no doubt not a cheap license) made it more fun. What does the dead horse mind anyway?
Story: 7 (2 pts part 1, 5 pts part 2 [not to MAL overall scale])
Here's where we branch off, and somebody will have to tell me to shut up.
Part 1: Phantom Blood
We begin our Bizarre Adventure (TM) in the late 1800's with big sissy Jonathan Joestar and his newly minted emo boy vampiric rival Dio (Ronnie James). Jojo the First's arc sort of follows the typical MORE POWER shonen trope- the seemingly unbeatable villain gains this unholy power and lords it over Jojo, meanwhile Jojo goes out and gets a power of his own, Hamon, a strange Force-like ability that operates on natural bodily flows of blood and breathing. Commence ever over the top battles that leave the characters in near death states while narrowly escaping to fight another shonen, another day. The Hamon abilities are expounded upon in much greater detail later. (think a little bit like Spiral Power from Gurren Lagann) The first section serves as necessary backstory and shouldn't be skipped, though it's definitely the weaker part.
Part 2: Battle Tendency
Skip ahead a number of years, and the next heir to the Jojo title, Joseph Joestar steps up. Being of a more rough cut than his predecessor, he has a tendency to get scrappy. Hence, the title of this segment. *boo*
Again, we have the More Power arc, but this time it's much more subtle. This Jojo already has Hamon, but actually learns how to harness it to a much fuller extent than Jojo1.. Fitting, as he ends up with three times the ridiculously overpowered enemies to fight. We have steampunk/mecha Nazis, we have zombie hordes, and the aforementioned trio of ancient godlike beings.
We get introduced to some new, but ambiguously familiar friends, and some recurring characters from part 1 who are welcome sights. Everyone plays a part, and there's even a real shocker of a scene pretty late in the show. (all i'm gonna say is "Darth Vader").
Characters: 7 (3 pts part 1, 3.5 pts part 2 [not to MAL overall scale])
Part 1: Phantom Blood
Our first Jojo is sort of all over the place. In the beginning he's an insecure, spoiled brat who can't stand up for himself, then progresses over the 9 episodes into a Dragonball Z type fighter. He is rather goal driven, that being to defeat his archnemesis and get the girl.
Villain numero uno is Dio. Dio is the antithesis to Jojo, naturally. Self assured, driven, and very, very angry at his perceived injustice. His character is a much more interesting villain than those present in part 2, due to the fact that he's not just a generic superpowered villain. His backstory is explored, and he has a clear motive for his world domination ambitions.
Part 2: Battle Tendency
Jojo 2 is a bit differentiated from his predecessor, and is a lot more entertaining to watch. He relies on trickery and last-ditch headlong rush tactics vs the brute strength of Jojo 1, which makes for unexpected and often humorous conclusions to conflicts against the beatup, knockdown, dragout fights in the first section. His dialogue and relationship to the supporting characters is also deeper and more interesting.
The villains lose some points this time around, as they're all essentially the same thing- three ancient, godlike supervillains. Their histories are practically irrelevant, all that anyone needs to know is that they're here, they want to rule the world, and this Jojo moron is in their way. Pretty bland as far as interesting bad guys go.
Overall: 7
I would give this series an 8 if it weren't for the first part of the show (1-9). It was too slow, and I really disliked the characters to the point where it became a chore to watch and I almost quit. Not to scare anyone off, but the second part is much improved, with better characters that are fun to watch, and a generally more interesting plot. If battle shonen are your thing, along with a healthy dose of goofy, 70s music, and a sprinkle of deus ex machina, give it a whirl.
