JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has been running almost constantly for 30 years now. It has been able to achieve because of the very nature of it's structure. JoJo is not one story but in fact 8 and counting stories. Regardless of this, you'd still think that mangaka Hirohiko Araki would inevitably have run out of ideas by this point, and telling someone the premise of this part would make them think that this is the case. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 8: JoJolion follows Josuke Higashikata as he solves a mystery in the town of Morioh. This is a virtually identical set-up to Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable, yet somehow, this part manages to feel so fresh and new. This part had a very tough act to follow, Part 7: Steel Ball Run was phenomenal and many western fans consider it to be Araki's magnum opus, but I'm starting to think that JoJolion just might have it outclassed.
Story: 9
To be more specific than my previous synopsis, JoJolion follows an amnesiac who goes by the name of Josuke Higashikata, and the girl who found him, named Yasuho Hirose, as they work to uncover the mystery of Josuke's identity and along the way begin to uncover a much larger conspiracy. Every JoJo part could be described as being a different genre. Part 2 is an adventure, part 4 is slice-of-life, part 7 is a race, and Part 8 is a mystery. So far, JoJolion has been one of the best paced mysteries I've ever experienced. New information is revealed basically every arc, yet you always feel like there's so much that you don't know and every twist and turn is engaging without feeling like it's out of nowhere. The story is also very versatile. One moment you're watching the main characters participate in a stag beetle fight, and the next they're getting chased by a mini tornado. Each arc feels unique while still being a major part of the overall story.
Art: 8
The art in Part 8 is overall very good, but not outstanding. The issue of every character's faces looking the same up-close, which was rampant in Part 7 is mostly gone, but other than that, it's only as good as any other JoJo part.
Character: 10
The characters in Part 8, so far, are some of the best in all of JoJo. The main character, Josuke, manages to be even more entertaining than the protagonist of Part 4 with whom he shares his name. In fact, I'd venture as far as to say that he's as entertaining as Part 2's Joseph Joestar. Yet despite his sense of "fun" he still manages to be a somewhat deep and engaging character, something that Joseph and the other Josuke failed at. This is why'd I'd consider him to be tied with Part 7's Johnny as the best JoJo. The side cast is also very strong. Yasuho, unlike most JoJo love interests, actually has a stand of her own and participates in the action. Lastly, the Higashikata family are a strange bunch of characters. Daiya is absolutely adorable, if a bit underutilized, Joshu is one of my favorite examples of a "love to hate" type of character, Tsurugi absolutely hilarious to watch once you know more about her (which I won't spoil), Norisuke is very intriguing and morally grey, and saying anything about the eldest sibling, Joubin would be a spoiler, but just know that he's a very interesting character and I can't wait to see more of him.
Enjoyment: 10
If there's one word to describe this part of JoJo, it is "enjoyable". The main character's very fun, the side characters are all fun, the stands are all fun, and the situation that the characters get put in are all very fun. Several of my favorite non-main-villain-fight arcs of JoJo come from this part.
Overall: 10
After reading Steel Ball Run, I though there was no way anything afterwards could top it, but JoJolion has honestly made me reconsider that. I don't think I'm ready to call it my favorite part until it's finished, but it's absolutely one of the best and well-worth reading.
UPDATE (March 2020)
This part has really hit its stride in the past few years so I felt that I should update this review as I now consider this to easily be my favorite part. The arcs that have occurred since I initially wrote this review have been some of my all time favorites.
As the story approaches its climax, some major changes have been happening to the characters and without spoiling anything I think this part contains some of the best character arcs of the entire series. It is now clear that the main theme of this part is identity and the question of how one should choose to define oneself. The way that each of the main characters embodies a different angle to this question is simply brilliant. I love how so many of the characters (especially the antagonists) define themselves based on their profession (i.e. what they are) rather than who they are. The main two protagonists, Josuke and Yasuho, in contrast don't really have a strong sense of what they are and as a result struggle to answer the question of who they are. This becomes one of the biggest internal conflicts for these two and the way that it develops over the course of the story is brilliant.
Overall this part just feels a lot more measured and intentional than any previous part. This is the first part to be released entirely on a monthly schedule and I feel that Araki really took advantage of this to put a lot more thought into where he was going with this story than he ever has before. Characters and elements that were set up years and years ago are suddenly coming back and becoming integral to the plot in a way that feels very intentional and natural. It's satisfying to see these things that were introduced so long ago finally reveal their place in the larger narrative like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle finally coming together.
A lot of people seem to be bothered by the fact that there is not really a central "main villain" in this part, or at least not one that is clearly the final boss that the heroes must take down, but I really don't see this as an issue. It's not like there are no threats or antagonistic forces opposing the heroes. It's just that those antagonistic forces can't be attributed to a single, evil, bad guy and I think that's a lot more nuanced and interesting than having a tradition main villain.
This part would have to seriously drop the ball on the ending in order for it to not be my favorite part by the end. I truly think this is the greatest work Araki has ever put out. JoJolion is an absolutely masterful piece of storytelling and it's one that will stay with you for years to come.
UPDATE (August 2021)
It has been just over 4 years since I originally wrote this review and the final chapter of JoJolion has just been released.
The most pressing thing I feel the need to address is that almost immediately after I wrote my chapter 95 update, the story started to go downhill. In the past few months, sentiment towards JoJolion has very much turned towards the negative, so I'd like to give my thoughts on this without spoiling the events that caused this negativity.
In my original review, I wrote "So far, JoJolion has been one of the best paced mysteries I've ever experienced." It is definitely true that upon seeing the conclusions to the mystery, I was left a bit disappointed. The initial setup for the final arc was absolutely masterful and it looked to be hinting at a truly grand final mystery. However, that setup ultimately falls flat with a vague and incomplete payoff. However, I don't think this ruins the part like a lot of people claim that it does.
I think that in a general sense, we place too much weight on endings in determining how good a piece of media is. The first 95 or so chapters of JoJolion are still a truly amazing story. I still stand by everything I said about them in the first two parts of this review. And it's not that the last 15 chapters are really all that bad. They still have a ton of great moments and payoffs to things that were set up long before. I would just say that they are a bit messy. They don't quite provide the clear and satisfying resolution that a lot of people were hoping for.
So I came out of this still loving JoJolion. My overall rating is still a 10 out of 10. To me, a 10 is not a perfect piece of media but one that is able to affect me on a personal level in a way that can't really be quantified. For JoJolion in particular, I think it comes down to the way that the themes resonate with me. In my chapter 95 update, I talked a lot about the way that this part handles the theme of identity. And the handling of this theme is something that remains consistently excellent throughout the entire story and it is wrapped up in a very satisfying way at the end. To me, this is the heart of JoJolion and any unresolved plot threads are very much secondary to the thematic resolution.
What I'd like to do now is to reevaluate JoJolion in each of the categories of Story, Art, Character, and Enjoyment. While my overall score is still a 10, my ratings in some of these categories have changed.
Story: 9
As I said, the story remains consistently great through the first 95 or so chapters (about 86% of the part overall). After that, the story is still good but it becomes noticeably more messy. It still has a lot of good moments, but it feels like Araki doesn't know how much time to spend on each aspect. Some sections are overly dragged out while others are frustratingly brushed passed. All of the pieces of a good finale are there, but they don't quite come together into a satisfying whole. However, that is just the second half of the last arc. I can't state enough how powerful and exciting and intriguing the rest of the story is. My opinion of the story has gone down, but not by all that much because the stuff that I loved in the first place is still there and it is most of the part.
Art: 10
One thing that actually got better in the final arc is the art quality. Araki really stepped up his game in the final battle. There are so many absolutely beautiful panels and iconic poses. I always thought it was good, but the final arc really made me realize just how great the art in this part has always been. This is probably the best looking part of the series. Araki just continues to get better and better at his craft.
Character: 10
I stand by everything I said about each of the characters in the original review so I'd like to talk here about how I feel about each of their character arcs.
With knowledge of the ending, it is clear that Josuke has a full character arc that is on the same level as that of Johnny Joestar from part 7. Prior to these parts, Araki tended to give his main characters more subtle and understated arcs, but for both Josuke and Johnny, their arc is one of the main focuses of the story and as a result they feel like the two most relatable and nuanced JoJos.
Yasuho Hirose is also an absolute gem of a character. She is in many ways the POV character and her dynamic with Josuke is one of the highlights of the part. The story is not as much about her arc as it is about Josuke's but she is still given a ton of focus and development.
These two are clearly intended to be the main duo of the part and as a result they have the most involved character arcs. Some might disagree, but I would not consider the rest of the Higashikata family to be main characters. Every single member of the family has some sort of character arc, but the prevalence and scope of those arcs are proportional to the character's role in the story. Characters that are more important like Tsurugi and Jobin have more involved arcs while characters like Daiya and Hato are less important to the story so they have smaller arcs that are mainly confined to one section of the story. Overall, I think they are all good characters.
Enjoyment: 10
I still greatly enjoy this part, but not really for the same reasons that I originally did. In the original review, I used this section to talk about how fun this part is. It does continue to have lots of fun moments throughout, but now I more enjoy things that I didn't really notice before like the art quality, and lots of little quirks that some of the characters have. In this part in particular, Araki really has a knack for conveying character through visual details, which can be easy to miss if you aren't looking for them. On first readthrough, I never really noticed just how much personality Araki is able to put into the small moments and subtle details. Especially for the characters of Karera Sakunami and Rai Mamezuku. These two in particular really come alive in the details of how they go about their lives.
So those are my thoughts on JoJolion. It's crazy to me that I have been following this story for almost 5 years now. I don't expect that I will make another update to this review. But the final chapter did just come out a few hours ago so if my opinions on this part change significantly, I may make another update.
