Although though JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has a long history of fame, one of its most well-known features is the combat style that makes use of Stands. The JoJo characters have been wielding a variety of various Stands with incredible and scary powers since since Part Three, named Stardust Crusaders. The 174 many sorts of Stands, each one distinctive in their appearance, strength, and power, include Jotaro Kujo's Star Platinum, DIO's The World, and Jolyne Kujoh's Stone Free.
The JoJo universe's heroes, however, used a very different and basic power before Stands was introduced: Hamon. Joseph Joestar, who had mastered the enigmatic martial art of Hamon in Part One of Phantom Blood, had the ability to control his breathing, convert his life force into sunshine energy, and launch powerful physical strikes. Yet when Stardust Crusaders approached, Stands began to take the place of Hamon; even the Part One returnee Dio Brando had his own Stand. The creator, Hirohiko Araki, noticed several narrative advantages that led to this modification, and she also wanted the comic to differentiate itself from the other martial arts manga that were popular in the late 1980s.
JoJo's Has a Fighting Style That Was Comparable to Other Martial Arts Comics of the Late 1980s
In the late 1980s, martial arts manga that threw fists was not limited to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Fighting manga series like Dragon Ball Z and Fist on the North Star incorporated power levels through martial arts and power-ups using chi-like techniques. The energy controlled and unleashed by Hamon was very similar to the chi of DBZ, making the series one of many in terms of visual battles and directly vying with the top martial arts manga series.
The problem with this form of battle is that it requires the author to continuously raising the power levels of their characters in order to heighten the stakes of the tale, as can be seen in more modern anime like Naruto. To demonstrate the characters' evolution to the point where they can deliver world-ending punches, as in DBZ, new and more powerful martial arts must be introduced to replace the characters' beginning talents. While some titles and their fame may benefit from this, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure would not have developed into the illustrious series it is today if it had continued along this path.
A Fresh Direction of Fighting Techniques and Power-Ups Was Provided by JoJo's Stands
The introduction of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure stands altered the entire series' landscape. It enabled Araki to completely reshape power dynamics and conflict into a far more intense, thoughtful, and intricate style of combat. The only limitation to Araki's creation of Stands was his own imagination, which allowed powerful characters to be thwarted by weaker ones with more lethal Stands. Araki not only created one of the most unique manga series of all time by redirecting the series' intentions, but he also significantly increased the series' popularity. When Stardust Crusaders was released in the early 1990s, a new manga style was born.
If Araki had continued down the pathway of Hamon and simply focused on making characters more powerful through the martial arts format, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure would surely never have hit the level of popularity that it did, dwarfed by the likes of Dragon Ball Z. Discarding Hamon for Stands ensured its longevity and popularity, to the point where it's now known as one of the longest-running manga series ever produced -- a feat that may not have been possible had Araki not made the decision to spice up his characters' combat style.
