JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is not a typical series. For one, it doesn’t follow a single narrative. Instead, it’s broken up into separate parts each with its own set of characters, villains, setting, story, and even its own unique JoJo protagonist. It’s a novel way to set up a series, and it’s proved to stand the test of time as the series is over 30 years old.
The way JoJo’s is formatted means that it never feels stale, as each part is constantly reinventing itself. While there’s no JoJo’s part that’s bad, some parts are more popular than others. Here’s how they stack up.
Updated April 17th, 2023 by Xandalee Joseph: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure continues to be extremely popular because of the vast worldbuilding, powerful Stands, and colorful characters. We’ve revamped this list with even more info about Jojo’s exciting parts.
8 Phantom Blood
Part 1
Phantom Blood was the very first part of JoJo’s and tells the story of the gentlemanly Jonathan Joestar as he grows and matures into a warrior to combat the scheming and ruthless Dio Brando, his adopted brother. There was drama and betrayal, a gothic setting, and even vampires, but it still ends up being the weakest part of the series.
It’s not that this arc was bad, per see; it was just that when series creator Hirohiko Araki was writing this part, he was still finding his voice and confidence as a writer, so it didn’t quite feel like the JoJo’s people know today. The series has evolved in major ways since Phantom Blood.
7 Stone Ocean
Part 6
Framed for a crime she did not commit, Jolyne Cujoh, the main protagonist of Stone Ocean, is sent to Green Dolphin Street Prison. While serving her sentence, Jolyne develops a clever, powerful Stand and investigates a mystery surrounding the prison’s priest, Father Enrico Pucci.
Stone Ocean featured some of the strangest Stands in the series, as well as a mostly female cast of characters and the return of Jotaro Kujo, but it still suffered because of its setting. Since most of this part takes place within the prison walls, it wasn’t long before things started to feel stagnant.
6 Diamond Is Unbreakable
Part 4
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure had always been fabulous, but it was Diamond is Unbreakable that took the series from fabulously buff guys to fabulously fabulous guys. This part centers around Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of Part 2’s Joseph Joestar, as he investigates a series of murders in his hometown.
Any story involving a murder mystery centering on a David Bowie look-a-like serial killer is sure to stick in people’s minds Diamond is Unbreakable still remains many fans’ favorite part, and even manages to include a scene of the protagonist punching a plate of spaghetti and have it make sense.
5 Battle Tendency
Part 2
Phantom Blood had some pretty bizarre happenings but Part 2, Battle Tendency, is when the series began to come into its own. Battle Tendency focused on Jonathan Joestar’s grandson, Joseph Joestar, and continues the story of the mysterious Stone Masks that turn people into vampires. Joseph is in almost every way the polar opposite of his grandfather but they both have the same spirit for justice.
Battle Tendency was also the last part of JoJo’s that featured Hamon (aka Ripple) before Stands made an appearance, and this part is the singular reason why there are still people who prefer Ripple to Stands. In short, Battle Tendency took everything people thought they knew about JoJo’s after Phantom Blood and turned it on its head.
4 JoJolion
Part 8
JoJolion is the most recent part of the JoJo’s manga, and the ninth part, The JoJolands, is set to release in 2023. It takes place in a new version of Morioh during the new continuity that was established in Part 7. JoJolion follows a different version of Josuke Higashikata as he tries to recover the memory of who he is.
Eventually, the ghosts of his previous life come to haunt him, and he gets tied up in an impending threat. All the characters in JoJolion are dripping with psychological depth, from the main players and villains down to the minor, one-off characters. Between that and the focus on strategic Stand battles, it’s no wonder that JoJolion has been so well-received.
3 Stardust Crusaders
Part 3
By and large the most well-known of all the JoJo’s parts, Stardust Crusaders changed the series formula in some major ways. The biggest shake-up to the series was the introduction of Stands, physical manifestations of a person’s fighting spirit and soul, and they’ve been the main power system in the series ever since.
Stardust Crusaders was a major hit with its delinquent main character, Jotaro Kujo, and it’s the first part to include the previous JoJo’s protagonist among its main characters. It’s the part that’s referenced the most in other anime, the part that many cite as their favorite, and the part that draws in people who were on the fence about the series.
2 Golden Wind
Part 5
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind follows Giorno Giovanna, Dio Brando’s illegitimate son, chasing his dream to rise in the ranks within the Neapolitan mafia to rid it of its corruption and become a “Gang-Star.” Giorno is a JoJo by technicality, as Dio made off with Jonathan’s body at the end of Phantom Blood.
Golden Wind was hugely popular in Japan when it was released, but in English-speaking countries, it wasn’t as well-received due to poor fan translations. Thankfully, Golden Wind has since been given much better translations, as well as an anime adaptation, so people can fully appreciate how great the story is.
1 Steel Ball Run
Part 7
The most major change to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure came with the seventh part of the series, Steel Ball Run. In many ways, this part can be considered a reboot of the series. It technically takes place in an alternate universe where some familiar names crop up. However, the characters with those names are anything but familiar.
Steel Ball Run follows Johnny Joestar, an alternate version of Jonathan Joestar, as he competes in a cross-country race across the United States. It begins as a race for $50 million dollars, but it soon becomes a race against the President of the United States to collect the mummified body parts of Jesus Christ. It’s a wild adventure that’s easily the best JoJo’s story — at least for now.
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