JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 8: JoJolion

This review is intended for those who have finished the part and are aware of the plot. It’s impossible to do this manga justice without easily saying too much. Jojolion is one of the most easily spoilable manga in existence and you should go into it absolutely blind. For those who want a spoiler-free review, here it is: It’s the best manga I’ve ever read and you should definitely read it, too, if you have read parts 1-7, that is. Just trust me, bro. Jojolion is ending. I can’t believe it. I’ve spent the last four years reading it on a monthly basis and now….it’s finished andthere are like ten major plot points that we haven’t even begun to touch upon. I am not at all a fan of the rushed conclusion. There is potential for up to ten more volumes worth of content in the story in order to explain everything. Let’s address the “ending”: If all of these last few chapters, as well as all of the random unexplained plot points in the part, were simply as a build-up that would segway into part 9, I might actually end up liking them more for that. I have always been on board with what Araki does. Some JoJo “fans” only like some of the parts and completely bash on others or even tell newcomers to skip parts, which, on top of meaning that they would miss some amazing stories, completely ruins the impact of the story and misses the whole point of JoJo. These are not real fans and you should enjoy every part of JoJo for what it is. Each part is very heavily thematic. JoJo doesn’t need to wrap up every single thing at the end. It doesn’t need a Naruto-style narration and look into what the characters end up doing after the conflict is finished. It isn’t about bringing closure, it gives you more information than you need and leaves things to your imagination. From this perspective, if part 8 is about breaking a curse, it should end as soon as the curse is broken, right? The only problem is that by part 8, the writing has become so intricate, that leaving things out just isn’t right, nor what you’d expect from Araki. Random characters not coming back in no way affects the quality of part 3 since it doesn’t matter, but in part 8 it is a big deal, considering up to this point the part has relied on very intriguing mystery that requires extreme attention to detail. When you bring up small details back in a grand way constantly in a story, it makes the story a lot more enjoyable, but also makes the times you fail to do so so much worse, given that the audience has already acquired high expectations from you as a writer. Back to what I was saying, I’ve never been disappointed of any of the fights, the twists and turns or whatever is included into the story…..up until now. I’ve loved JoJo since episode one and has been my favourite series ever since the end of part 1. I like every chapter of Jojolion, even the last few. There is nothing wrong with them as chapters. The only bad thing about them is that Araki decided to make them the last few, despite the fact that they don’t feel like something that should be an ending to anything at all. I can remember when first starting part 4, I was really put off by the change in style and thought to myself “Really? A slice-of-life? No way that can be as interesting as the previous parts.” and at the beginning of part 7 I was thinking “Really? A western? I don’t think that’s gonna work with JoJo.” but Araki made it work brilliantly well. Since then I’ve always put blind trust in Araki during part 8. “Whatever this man’s doing, he knows what’s best more than I do. I shouldn’t criticize him. Just trust the plan!” Well now my faith had been shaken. At least with some other series that ended abruptly, their popularity had been declining for a while, so the publication forced their mangaka to wrap up the story quickly, like what happened to Bleach for example. This cannot possibly be the case here. JoJo parts 7 and 8 have been by far the most popular Ultra Jump titles and everything else on Ultra Jump is straight up obscure by comparison. Ever since Jojolion began its publication, most Ultra Jump covers have simply been a copy of the most recent monthly Jojolion chapter. It would make more sense for Jojolion to be the most milked part than to end abruptly. Furthermore, the last thirty or so chapters have all been very slow paced, with minimal dialogue, containing bits of dialogue that are not vital to the plot at all like Tooru’s “wireless charger” idea and have contained a lot of pages of nothing but art and detail to every single motion, showing that Araki still enjoys drawing as much as ever. Meanwhile, chapter 108 was incredibly rushed for no apparent reason, almost to the point where it felt like a fake-out. Why would Araki stall for 30 chapters and then go a mile a panel in third-to-last chapter? No matter how much I try to rationalize his decision, I can’t come up with any reason why he would voluntarily choose to end part 8 here in such a rushed ending, followed by a random flashback to a completely new storyline and setting, other than prepping up for a potential part 9. JoJo seems to operate in trilogies, where the first part in each trilogy is the setup, the second one is the more removed one from the story and the third is the payoff/resolution with very climactic ending. I’m talking about parts 1, 2 & 3 and 4, 5 & 6, and, potentially, 7, 8 & 9. Perhaps Araki wanted to leave out the resolution to part 8 to be a small part of part 9, adding to its epicness. If Araki can pull that off well, part 9 will be the best, but enough wishful thinking! If, however, there really ends up being no part 9 and chapter 110 of Jojolion is the end of JoJo, it will be the biggest disappointment of my life and that’s not an exaggeration in the slightest. It would honestly be even worse and even more underwhelming than the ending of Bleach. It’s like if on chapter 1021 or whatever in One Piece you had some of the Strawhats fight and defeat some minor villain and go do something else afterwards and everything from the story to the art was excellent, but for some reason the chapter ended with a text of Oda saying “Next chapter is the last one. I’m wrapping up the story here” and the fans will never even see the full resolution to the arc, let alone the story or THE one piece. I’m not caught up to One Piece and just used it as an example, because I’m sure that the fans would be absolutely devastated by that. Jojolion feels like it’s been building up and building up to something amazing and it was exciting to read it the whole time, but then it never pays off the hype. However, an underwhelming ending does not make this a bad part. I’ve always scratched my head at why people seem to believe that a bad ending can make or break a story. If you read 110 excellent chapters and have a great time all throughout it, why would a bad ending undo all of that? It wouldn’t. Would a bad ending undo all the laughter and feels you got so far? No, it wouldn’t. Part 8 is easily my favourite JoJo part and there is literally nothing that could happen at the end that would change that. EDIT: The last chapter is finally out and it was great. I think I’m depressed now, not just because this story is ending, but because of the uncertain fate of certain characters like Holly and Josefumi’s family, as well as the giant loss that the Higashikata family had to endure. Also, we got an anouncement for part 9, so fingers crossed it answers at least some of the things that Jojolion left out. Story: 10+/10 Let’s start with the writing. It’s the best. In existence. In all of history. In all of manga. That I’ve read. Which is not much, I guess. But still, it’s unlikely to be easily topped by anything. At the beginning we get a narration from this beautiful bae, explaining how not too long ago the small Japanese town of Morioh got hit by this bizarre natural disaster (or calamity, if you will….) where unexplained seismic activity caused the ground to rupture near the beach at the river delta and create these sharp cliffs, that devastated some houses that happened to be built over that area, and that people there called the “wall eyes” for some reason. Yes, this is the same Morioh as in part 4….well, kind of, but it’s set in the SBR universe. Going from 1890 to 2011 is by far the biggest part skip in JoJo and changing the setting from a western taking place in America in the same time period as part 1 to a repeat of part 4’s setting in the same time period as part 6 is a decision which leads to part 8 intentionally seeming very vastly separated from the events and continuity of part 7. That beautiful bae I talked about is actually an alternate version of Koichi, so it makes sense for her to be the first character we see, right before she “bumps” into a JoJo. We start off the story with the protagonist, who we’re gonna call Gappy, because of the enormous gap in his teeth, that makes him look like a gay sailor reimagining of Spongebob Squarepants on DeviantArt, being found buried in the ground by hot Koichi, who later goes into a will-they-won’t-they type relationship with him. He of course has the Joestar birthmark, making it obvious that he will be the main JoJo of the part, but also has these weird bleeding bite marks around it, and from the birthmark comes a soap bubble. He asks who he is, setting up the amnesia trope, but for the main character at the beginning of a JoJo part? Oh, and he’s wearing a sailor hat even as he comes out of the literal ground. Then hot Koichi’s ugly and weird boyfriend comes out of nowhere looking for her and sees her with a naked man right behind the wall eyes (which I imagine might be a very weirdly romantic spot for couples) and understandably gets the wrong idea. He tries to get into a fight and picks up a large rock, but is quickly bodied by Gappy. When the soap bubble bursts, the ugly dude’s eyes do so as well. Later, they are somehow restored perfectly. Hot Koichi calls an ambulance, but they end up only carrying some other guy, who was also buried with Gappy, but we never get to see. Mind you, this is only the first chapter….and it ends with hot Koichi explaining how Gappy very clearly has four testicles. Weird start, but okay. I think we can officially call this part, the sequel to Steel Ball Run, Four Ball Run. Terrible joke, I know. Are confused yet? Don’t worry, it will get much more confusing than this. Even if you didn’t feel the “bizarre” vibe during this 103 volume, 7 part adventure so far, Jojolion will definitely slap that label in it for you, too. After the incident, Yasuho (hot Koichi) tries to retrieve Gappy from hospital to learn more about him. Here, his incredible intelligence is shown by the fact that he can instantly identify animal species just by looking at them and give us some encyclopedia-style facts about them. This is a nice set up to show us that, while this character does act silly due to his lack of awareness of his surroundings and strange behavior, he is still a JoJo, so he still has the innate ability to come up with completely out-of-the box ideas to get out of situations any non-genius, real life person would probably just give up on life in. We also see that this is not your typical amnesia plot, but Araki in fact goes all out to show us that this character is truly lost in this world. He doesn’t simply not know who he is, but he doesn’t even know how to chew properly. In other words, he doesn’t know how to human. He’s like an alien. Societal norms don’t apply to him, which leads to some pretty hilarious antics. It simultaneously creates visual and narrative gags that make the part really enjoyable to read early on, sets up for (even more than usually with JoJo) unorthodox solutions to problems posed onto him, that make the part really engaging to read midway through AND unseen character growth, that makes the part rewarding to read in the late game. Looking for clothes that match his hat, they enter a shop, whose owner tells Gappy that he looks identical to the man who bought the matching sailor outfit, Yoshikage Kira. They break into Kira’s house, there they find molds of human hands and there is even a picture of the Mona Lisa on the wall. Then they find a woman naked in the bathtub, but she isn’t casually washing herself. She calls for help and show Gappy a picture book of her and/or other women being treated with some seriously weird and intense BDSM crap by this man, Kira, who looks just about identical to Gappy. Upon this sight Yasuho understandably gets the wrong idea and runs away while crying. What ensues is an unusual stand fight, where traps set up by someone else, such as needles in the bath towels and flip flops nearly cause Gappy to injure himself, and on the occasion that he does, his limbs with cuts on them start acting according to someone else’s puppeteering. Gappy summons his stand, shows off his ability in two very clever ways, by removing the friction from the ground on the floor below and the ability of the wall to make any sound, even when being smashed, and bombards the user with an “ORA ORA” rush, after which Yasuho turns back grieving and with the guilt that she left without giving Gappy a chance to speak. Gappy proceeds to tell Yasuho to look in some random direction before smashing the perpetrator (Ojiro)’s face in. Gappy thinks Ojiro is the real Kira and Ojiro thinks Gappy is Kira, since he looks exactly alike. Question: What did we learn from these few chapters? 1)Yoshikage Kira exists in this universe and is still a hand freak and possibly a real danger. This will obviously come back later. 2)Gappy is most likely Yoshikage Kira, who somehow lost his memories. The idea that they are just two people who happen to look identical, except for the haircut and wear the same clothing, seems ludicrous. The story has to, at some point, go back to this. 3)Some woman is being held captive and the signs on her hands indicate a stand ability is at play. 4)This is a more R-rated part than previous ones. 5)Yasuho is a sensitive and kind person who cannot tolerate cruelty. This will come back later for her character. 6)Gappy’s stand design and ability. My favourite stand ability of any main JoJo based on its broad and cool potential applications, which will be explored later in the part. 7)Gappy is another genius JoJo, who knows how to utilize to the full extend the capabilities of his stand and we’ve only gotten a little taste of that. We will see more of it later into the part. 8)Stands and stand abilities in Jojolion are a lot more intricate, specific and, usually, less overpowered in a broad sense, but more so in a well thought out scenario. Stand battles will also be a lot more abstract and feel less and less like battles. The barrages are mainly used as a finishing move more so than the means by which one defeats an enemy. If you are here mainly for action and action sequences, you can leave. This is the part in JoJo that is the least “action” based and the action tag takes a back seat to other genres to be finally fully explored within JoJo. This will be the case for all the fights in the part and will be important to remember later as some of the most bizarre sequences in JoJo ever will unfold. 9)Yasuho is ALWAYS willing to give others a second chance. This will come back almost at the end of the part. 10)We introduced a character, seemingly a minor villain who, believe it or not, will come back 90 later. 11)Everything so far was just bait. The story will go back to it later. 12)Kira has gone missing….duh! Of course we’re gonna find out what exactly is going on with Kira/Gappy….later. 13)Gappy, despite seeming goofy as hell with his actions, innocence and SpongeBob teeth, is actually really violent towards his enemies. Kira confirmed??? Well….you guessed it. This will come back later. Not only can we learn SO much from these few chapters, which will likely be adapted into just one episode in the anime version, right at the beginning, but none of it is useless information or information that will only serve the current arc or defeating the current obstacle. It is all vital to the plot of the part on a fundamental level. It gives you ALL the context you need to be invested in the mystery and characters of this part. It gives you just enough information to make you excited about what you’re in for with this part, but just short of enough information in order to fully grasp what’s going on and where the story might be heading in the future. And all of that is without even discussing things like the fact that Gappy somehow instinctively knew how to use his stand, signifying that in one form or another, he has used it before, or things like the man Gappy envisions in a vague flashback-like sequence he gets out of nowhere, despite having no other memories whatsoever, which is still an enigma to this day, even as Jojolion just finished. It is a sequence so minor that you probably completely forgot about after your first reading, since you already have so much to take in with what’s going on, but simultaneously so major that ten years later people, myself included, are hardcore theorizing on those four panels, that it could even be the final villain of the JJBA, appearing and being fleshed out in the next part. After this, Yasuho tries to introduce him into the Higashikata family. He also takes up the name Josuke, after Yasuho straight up tells this mofo that he looks like a dog, and couples with the surname of the Joshu’s family, it all comes together to reveal who he is supposed to be an alternate universe version of……sorta. After the fight, where he proves to be a good guy to Yasuho and clearing up the misunderstanding by defeating the current enemy at stake, this feels earned for Gappy, but he has yet to earn his position as a family member in the eyes of each one of the Higashikata family members. His interactions with Joshu are already set up to be interesting, but we have yet to see the interactions with the other children, who he has to take on, in a non-combative way, one by one. We can also draw an easy mind map of the events as they unfold: Naked amnesiac -> naked body and hat -> misunderstanding -> fight -> ability -> injury -> hospital -> ability again -> hat again -> store -> identity -> location of residence of the identity aka old home -> hostage -> dark past -> red herring enemy -> ability, in full form this time -> revelation -> new home -> new family -> new conflicts and new bonds -> new things to laugh and cry about The only issue with having a supernatural series where random people all over the world have unique superpowers, where the main characters have to fight a central villain and all the henchmen he puppeteers is that the only way to do it is with the “enemy of the week” forman or, in this case, “stand user of the week” format. Now, I LOVE this story structure and it’s for the same reasons I love tournament arcs. It’s just an easy convenient way to have as many fights one after another with minimum filler in between. But I’ve heard a lot of complaints from a lot of different people, who have a strong distaste for this format and I can see how it can get repetitive for them. This is one of the most common criticisms of JJBA as a whole, as every part in it has this structure to some extent. But you can already see, with this setup, that Jojolion is different. In fact, it is the furthest from this narrative structure that JJBA has ever been the plot progression is unpredictable, yet so smooth, you rarely even notice that we’ve changed the scene un until the setting intervenes with the story. Arcs blend into one another, despite having a very distinct feel to them. Obviously I didn’t think about all of this while reading it, but breaking it down to its elements and revelations about the story elements like now solidifies this introduction arc as the best not just in all of JoJo for me, but in all of manga. I’ve never seen a first arc this gripping. Not only did I read the first two volumes in, what feels like, a heartbeat or a single breath, but I subconsciously absorbed all of this information, that takes far more time for me to write about in this paragraph than to experience while reading the manga. Sometimes it’s just fun to read the most recent chapter of an utterly unpredictable series, be confused, put on a tinfoil hat and theorize endlessly about what’s going to come next in the story and how it’s all gonna tie up together at the end. Typically, those theories are far too grand, because we imagine what we most hope for, these series being as good as possible for our particular tastes, but also way off, because at the time of coming up with them, we miss and have to assume essential information that we’re not supposed to have, that the author has yet to reveal. I assure you, there is no better series for this than Jojolion. For the first half of Jojolion, the big question is “What is Josuke’s true identity?”. As it already did with Kira, it will give you red herrings, it will confuse you. He obviously has the birthmark, therefore he must also be a Joestar. Him reading the family tree and history in the basement of the Higashikata house is another thing that puts you off, as not many potential candidates are there, and there are even unnamed or not shown characters, who are canonically in the family tree, possibly setting up future characters. The family’s maid even has an excellent arc, that gives a partial explanation to Josuke’s bizarre anatomy, but things aren’t fully revealed up until the end of the Vitamin C arc, one of the greatest arcs in all of JoJo, that simultaneously concludes Josuke’s identity arc, Hato’s arc, the oldest daughter of Norisuke and Kato, two new, yet old, characters, shows the last of the Higashikata children’s stand ability AND somehow does all of this without contradicting any of the previous, seemingly self-contradictory evidence, AND still leaves room for speculation on certain things to do with Josuke’s past, all while providing an excellent battle, frightening new threat, both stand and stand-user-wise, and a heartbreaking backstory. On top of everything, this arc hits even harder when you listen to Vitamin C and read the lyrics carefully. For the second half of Jojolion, the big question is “Who is the main villain?” This one is even more of an enigma while you’re reading it, with even more red herrings, plot twists, tinfoil hat theories and speculations. It didn’t help that by the time I was caught up with the series, the Vitamin C arc had already concluded and we were just scratching the surface with this second half of the story. It was all up in the air to where it could go. Is it gonna be Jobin? Damo? Kato? Flashback man? Tsurugi? Poor Tom? Norisuke? Toru? Joshu??? No ultimate villain/free for all? I’ll admit I was a hardcore devout “Jobin final villain” fan-theorist ever since he was first introduced and it was all the way up until chapter 95 that circumstances forced me to drop that worldview. In hindsight, that was really dumb and embarrassing, but for the time being, it’s more credit to Araki for making the part so well that literally anything goes for an ending and every scenario still has seeds planted early on, except possibly what he actually ended up doing. Steel Ball Run is usually regarded as the best part, and I can kind of see why, though I can’t see why anyone would think it’s surpasses other parts by more than just a small margin. Again, every part of JoJo is masterful, but I do have my favourites. I can guess as to why most people wouldn’t put this one over SBR. For one it’s not as “epic”. The first three parts of JoJo are absolutely epic, which is what made me fall in love with the show in the first place. Part 4, in contrast, is much smaller-scaled that the previous parts, which is also what put me off of it at first. Like I also said, once I gave it a chance I was pleasantly surprised. Part 7, being an alternate version of the first three parts, is also grandious and epic in story and execution. It may be just crossing the US instead of going from Japan to Cairo, but it’s still a crazy journey. Part 8, being an alternate version of mostly part 4, is likewise very similar in scale and, in fact, identical in setting to part 4 for the most part. It’s the least epic part. It’s even less so than part 4, as it doesn’t even keep to just the town of Morioh, but it spends most of its run in the middle of nowhere in rural Japan, which is one of the most anticlimactic settings you could do. Like I said, I fell in love with JoJo because of how intense it was, so the fact that where it is now is still 10/10 but for a completely different reason is insane to me. JoJo has changed so much over its 35 year run so far in both the storytelling and artistic departments, that it’s basically done a full 180, and still manages to not lose its readers’ interest and retain an essence that keeps it unique, though I can definitely see why a minority of people would be put off of what it has become. Its weak setting, combined with its confusing narrative and next level “bizarreness” can make Jojolion a love-it-or-hate-it type part, while for others it’s up there, but has to take a back seat to something more universally enjoyable like Steel Ball Run. The best way to describe Jojolion is that it’s like putting together a puzzle and each chapter of the series is like a new piece of the puzzle, but no piece is monochrome and actually adds more line work, more details, and even completely new things within it. However, you are not even given the box that the puzzle came in until halfway through, so you don’t even know what you’re building, and when you are finally given the box with the picture on it, you realize two things: 1)The picture on the box has a central part of it damaged and obscured, so it’s still not recognizable. You have to find out what it is by completing the puzzle yourself. At least now you have the general shape of the image you’re trying to put together. 2)The puzzle is actually composed of 5000 pieces, not 1000 like you initially thought, and up until now you’ve only worked on a small part of it, which you thought was the entirety. I have experienced great mysteries and have been caught up to many serializing shows, but have never experienced this level of writing, where each chapter adds context to not just one character or minor event, but the story as a whole. I have been caught up for four years now, and on a monthly basis, every chapter of second chapter has fundamentally changed my understanding of the plot. After each chapter I come up with pretty solid-sounding theories for what’s gonna happen next and I look up prominent theories online and believe the more believable ones with strong confidence, and each next chapter completely destroys that. And if every chapter changes everything I thought was gonna happen in the future, then every second chapter also changes my understanding of what was happening in the past and present. I’m gonna keep reiterating this until I’ve driven the point home: on an almost monthly basis, my fundamental understanding of what this part is even supposed to be about has changed drastically. Characters: 10/10 Jojolion features the best overall ensemble of a character cast in JoJo. I will detail a few here. Josuke When your main characters start at their lowest points, they are open to the greatest change and it is the greatest accomplishment and fulfillment to watch the process of their character development. When we see him for the first time, we know absolutely nothing, just like him. In fact, we adopt his perspective for nearly the entirety of the series (minus the flashbacks and narration). This has allowed the reader to most easily relate to Josuke’s woes and reactions and to easily go along with anything that he does, even if his actions do involve the usual JoJo bizarreness, he always has a goal in mind. We feel sympathetic towards this character that woke up knowing nothing and it immediately thrown in a situation where he is cut with needles and razor blades and has to fight off a stranger with the ability to control his limbs and being bitten by snakes, only to then have to prove his worth to his adoptive family and constantly be dragged into “calamities”. He never wished for this, he never went on a big journey to stop some bad guy, knowing there were gonna be painful road blocks in the way. He just wants to live a normal life and find out who he is and what his place is in the world. While having zero knowledge on how the world around him works, he still retains the usual JoJo ability of outsmarting his opponents in unbelievable ways. Much like some of the previous JoJos, especially Giorno, he has his two sides to him. Normally, because of his amnesia, he acts like an innocent child, but when fighting an enemy stand user, he becomes violent, brutal, merciless. As I already stated, his interaction with Ojiro early on proves that and heavily foreshadows how future fights will play out. He is definitely not a “catch and release” (or “retire” as they did in part 3) type fighter. He is an effective rock human killing machine. The early JoJos tended to start with strength, intelligence, looks and luck all maxed out. While Josuke has all of those (he has a ripped body, is very clever and has a harem almost immediately) but you only really get to see his true badass personality emerge during the fights and slowly over the many arcs it fully replaces the goofy weirdo. Him being able to find his footing is an incredible process to watch and turns him into a character that is almost impossible to hate. After learning about his past and the only person he can consider a blood relative, Holly Joestar Kira, he goes on to do just about anything in order to harness the fruit’s ability, which is the only hope of healing her sickness. This is obviously mirroring how the driving force behind part 3 was Jotaro trying to save his mom and Joseph – his daughter, however the difference here is that Josuke doesn’t know Holly – he’s only seen her once, and he was already just as determined as Jotaro or any other JoJo was in protecting her before they even met. Jobin The reason I so heavily favoured the idea that he is the main villain, aside from the fact that he is an absolutely amazing character and would be a much better final villain, is just that he emanates this insanely cool villain aura. His whole character is a lot of fun and he is possibly the best minor villain in JoJo, unless you count Speedwagon or Stroheim. His introduction arc, which fans dub “Beetle Tendency” is surprisingly hype for what it is. Kato How many characters in fiction do you know that would talk about Inca no mazame potatoes in the middle of a fight and carry their crossdressing grandson in their pockets? Truly a great GILF. Joshu I absolutely loved Joshu from the start. I don’t think he’s a good person and he clearly isn’t supposed to be a particularly likeable one, and there are some actions of his that I will definitely not even try to defend. That’s not what I’m talking about. Nearly every scene in which Joshu has ever appeared has been hilarious and he does have a lot of redeeming moments and times to shine. I love his stand, I love every instance of him using it and I love his weird antics during the part. His little arc where he ended up getting more and more money by “chance” because of a curse that was placed on him was one of the most fun mini arcs I’ve ever red in anything. Despite his horrible haircut, there is a sense of “coolness” about him and whenever he does actually help in one way or another or accomplish something, he is somehow really badass. I can’t really explain why, but I absolutely adore this character. Yasuho What’s not to love about Yasuho? She is literally perfect, or at least impossible to dislike. She is incredibly kind to everyone and shows forgiveness and humility even to people who are clearly a threat. This leads to her only character flaw being that she might be a bit too trusting and naïve. Josefumi and Kira’s story is treated almost like a mythos in Jojolion, with her being the only thing linking it to the current events and characters. Tsurugi Extremely clever child, albeit a bit weird and creepy at times. Definitely not someone to underestimate and a very morally gray/questionable character that really had us there for a long time thinking he was gonna break bad - full on - because of the flash forward. Art: 8/10 when in black & white and 9/10 when in color Art has never been the strongest aspect of JoJo. It’s never been bad, but it’s the only aspect of JoJo, where I’m willing to admit that there are many series that beat the JJBA manga. In terms of detail in his drawings, Hirohiko Araki is obviously far surpassed by authors such as Yusuke Murata, Inio Asano, Kentaro Miura, Inoue Takehiko, Kaoru Mori and many others, so I cannot, with an honest look, tell you that JoJo is in that “best of the best” category. However, in terms of pure style, memorable character designs, good paneling and sheer ability to make anything epic, memable and memorable, Araki is definitely in the “best of the best” category. Araki really goes ham on (pun seriously not initially intended) the art in some specific chapters, typically after a hiatus when he had twice as much time to draw out stuff just how he wanted it to look like. When I think of great artwork in JoJo, I always think of chapter 99 of JoJolion. It all looks great but there is one panel in particular where the more I look at it – the more details I notice with the landscape. Generally not a whole lot of detail is put into the characters, except when they are first introduced or on covers, and instead most of the ink work is focusing on the background art. The art is bizarre (pun fully intended) and honestly doesn’t feel like manga at all. It takes some time getting used to, but it really is in a realm of its own. It looks almost like he goes directly to inking and skips the pencil or shading process. Araki really likes to draw things out – the first five to ten pages of every chapter usually have zero dialogue. The whole head doctor/dangerous pursuit/endless calamity arc is about 8 volumes in length, but will most likely be adapted in 15 episodes or less as there is so much emphasis on every movement and detail in the art and so little dialogue. Unlike other authors, he hasn’t really complained about creative or artistic burnout or overworking himself because of a packed schedule. He must have used the stone mask on himself, because he seems just as youthful as ever and his stories are just as fresh and exciting as ever, even more so in recent years. Conclusion I believe Jojolion is the most well-written story I have ever experienced thus far in my life. Reading it has been some of the most mind-boggling experience of my life. I have probably, nay, definitely overhyped this manga to such an extent that no one will really agree, but I don’t care. I wanted to express how I feel now that it’s finished after ten years, four of which I have been strictly following it. Not only is this my favourite manga, but it’s something that I’m certain will adapt really well into anime form and be my favourite anime ever as well. Not only that, but there are several ways in which I think the anime will most likely improve from the manga. I am incredibly excited to be there on a monthly basis starting a new story in part 9. And, who knows, maybe after it's done I'll write an even more massive essay of a review. See you there. Godspeed!

- "This is a story about breacking a curse" - Here we are, after 10 years this part of JoJo is over. As usual Araki improves from part to part, and this is certainly his peak. Story: 8/10 Araki said "Let's take the atmosphere and style of Diamon is Unbreackable and make it even more interesting by putting some weird fruit" and it worked. I really loved the fourth part, and JoJolion was no exception. We start with the mystery of Josuke's identity, then move on to the rest of the HIgashikata family ... and his curse. Just like the Joestarcurse. A family that for generation was persecuted by the strange phenomeno of Stands. But in JoJolion there's more than this, there are the rock men, the wall of eyes, all connected at the end with Stell Ball Run. The storytelling ability of Araki manages to capture the reader and excite him as in SBR. Art: 10/10 I just love the Araki's artstyle and in this part it gets even more creative. Characters: 9/10 In the first universe of JoJo the protagonist is always shown as he is, and his past and character are immediately understood. Instead from SBR the protagonist becomes the most mysterious character, which we discover as the story continues. And so it also happens in JoJolion. At first Josuke seemed to me in some moments very similar to Shinji Hikari from Evangelion. Both in search of their identity, but Josuke has two. He does not know which of the two to be, and in the course of the manga many memories of Kira and Josefumi surface. Eventually he realizes that he has now become a Higashikata, and accepts his identity. I also loved Jobin's character, a little left out in the finale but still his backstory is very interesting. Oh and, MAMEZUKU MY BELOVED Overall: 9/10 I absolutely enjoyed this part. It became my favorite. I loved the setting of part 4, and this part makes it even better. Sooo, we're at the end of the review! Thanks for reading and sorry if it's not really good but i made this just after I finished reading the last chapter. See you in JoJoLANDS!

(this is a quick review, I didn't really feel like going into huge detail about every point I make) Honestly, the part isn't that bad, it's just the fandom that really gets to me. I hate how everyone who has read this part seems to think that this is the best part ever. This part is very bland, it takes out all of the life that Morioh had in part 4. It tried to do what part 5 did with its main villain, except instead of it being some big important figure it was just some guy. All of the side characters were extremely unlikablebesides the dad of the family. The main Jojo is leagues worse than OG part 4s Josuke. The main villain's stand is overhyped to shit. The ending is as cheesy as "It was friendship all along." A good amount of the stands are lame. There are no big "hype" moments that Jojo is well known for, and the one time there is about to be one you are practically cock blocked. The story does not know what it wants to be with a constant change in the mood every chapter. The whole main point of this part was to figure out Josukes main identity which is a decent concept that was executed so unbelievably poorly. You find out about 98% of Josuke's identity in the first 30 chapters or so, and afterward, it's clearly evident that Araki does not know where to go with the story.

Coming after several successful years for Araki and the continued rise of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure with its anime adaptation, Jojolion is a bold and ambitious entry in the series. It tries many new things and, as with Stone Ocean, proves to be very hit-or-miss: those willing to engage with its deeper themes will find a masterpiece, while others may find themselves disheartened. The difference here is that the work itself invites deeper thought and what is mostly in the way is an expectation of it to be somewhat like previous parts, notably parts 4 and 7. With that said, let’s explore Jojolion—its themes, structure, and howit compares to other Jojo's parts. We'll also touch on whether its beginning is misleading and how it fares against the series’ overall legacy. So, what is this show about? Each part of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure revolves around a central theme—often connected to karma and the broader concept of how our actions shape fate, family, and community. While each part introduces unique themes, they all fit into this overarching framework. In the first trilogy, Araki explores heroism. The second trilogy, while loosely connected, continues to explore karma. Steel Ball Run starts a new trilogy focusing on identity, outwardly exploring the world. In contrast, Jojolion goes in the opposite direction—its protagonist has everything he needs from the beginning but must look inward to find himself. It's important to distinguish Jojolion from Part 4. Though both parts take place in a town, Part 4 doesn't offer the same introspective focus. The original Josuke doesn’t engage in the kind of self-reflection that defines Jojolion’s Josuke. Those looking to relive Part 4 will likely be disappointed. First things later, let’s talk art direction. Araki’s artistic prowess continues to evolve in Jojolion. His compositions, often surreal and intricate, demonstrate his growing global recognition and creative confidence. With each part, Araki pushes the boundaries of his artistry, and Jojolion is no exception. While the "Spin" system from Steel Ball Run is absent here, the stand abilities in Jojolion take on a new degree of freedom. The static, familiar setting of Morioh allows for a deeper exploration of the stands’ potential, contributing to unique, imaginative battles. The more introspective nature of the story aligns perfectly with this shift in stand dynamics. So, how does it start? At first glance, Jojolion can seem like a mystery manga, which isn’t entirely accurate. Mystery elements are prominent in the first half, elevating Josuke’s journey of self-discovery. However, as the story progresses, Josuke’s focus shifts from searching for external clues to uncovering his own identity. Once this transition occurs, the narrative moves away from its mystery framework. What about the characters? The characters in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure often feel like hidden gems, full of depth that may not be immediately obvious. They enter and exit the narrative, sometimes without completing their arcs, which adds to the sense that they exist in a larger world beyond the scope of the story. This gives the series an authenticity, as though Araki is recounting events from a real world, where people have their own lives that occasionally intersect with the main plot. The stand battles in Jojolion are less about direct combat and more about solving puzzles, often revealing the inner complexities of the characters involved. Josuke, unlike Johnny, isn’t focused on growth in a traditional sense. His journey is more about self-discovery, and Araki handles this thematic shift with great care, creating some of the most intricate character-driven moments in the series. What about the story itself? Like other parts, Jojolion maintains an episodic structure, with each “episode” feeling more like a mini-arc. Each antagonist plays a crucial role, not just driving the plot forward but also adding layers to the overarching themes. The pacing, while deliberate, gives each encounter ample room to breathe, allowing the story and characters to develop naturally. One of Jojolion’s unique strengths lies in its introduction of two elements rarely seen in the Jojo’s universe: a romantic interest integral to the plot and multiple factions working independently, each with its own motivations. These additions bring a new level of complexity and emotional depth to the narrative. Then, what did I think of it as a whole? Jojolion is, without a doubt, my favorite manga. While Steel Ball Run appeals strongly to Western audiences and is often cited as the best part of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Jojolion has earned significant recognition in Japan. It is a masterpiece in its own right, though its bold choices will inevitably turn some readers away. Many approach Jojolion expecting something like parts 4 or 7. But doing so is a disservice—Jojolion isn’t trying to replicate those stories. In fact, it goes in the opposite direction, offering a new take on the series’ themes and structure. For those open to its deeper themes and introspective nature, it is an unforgettable experience.