Have you ever seen the Shônen Jump style of manga? JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is similar to that; it's basically a fast-paced, blood pumping, beat-em-up type of anime that leaves you wanting more. Created by Araki Hirohiko in 1987, this is one of the longest running manga series, with over 50+ episodes. The story of JoJo is made of 5 parts: Part 1 sets the stage of the feud between Jonathan Joestar and his rival Dio Brando. In 1880's England, Jonathan's father brought back an ancient relic in the form of a stone mask, which was stolen by Dio, who planned on using it against the Joestar family. Activated by blood, the mask grants the wearer superhuman strength, speed and the power to regenerate, at the same time turning him into an undead. Jonathan was later taught the technique of the hamon, which is a form of martial arts that allows the practitioner to use his life force as a weapon. The first part ends after the duel between Jonathan and Dio, both being badly wounded and falling into the sea.

Part 2 describes the story of Joseph, Jonathan's grandson, who battles against the Ultimate Life Forms that made the stone mask, taking place in 1937 New York. Part 3 takes place in 1987 Egypt, where Dio was resurrected and Joseph's grandson, Kuujou Jotaro, must take on the mission to kill Dio once and for all. Part 4 centers around 1999 Japan, where Jotaro and Joseph's illegitimate son, Jousuke, make efforts to retrieve the artifact bow and arrow that grants "stand" power. Lastly, Part 5 is set in 2001 Naples and follows Giorno Giovanna, Dio's son, who became involved with an Italian organization of stand users called the "Passione." The title JoJo actually isn't a character; it's the combination of the first syllables of the first and last names of the main characters in each parts of the manga.

Ok, now you know the background, the anime actually takes place in part 3, a shorter version of course, which is composed of 6 OVA episodes. The intro describes the resurrection of Dio, who took over Jonathan's body and received the mysterious stand power. This endowment of the stand resonates through the Joestar family. Holly, Joseph's daughter and Jotaro's mother, was hospitalized because she could not control her stand and it is slowly consuming her. The story takes off with Jotaro leading a group of stand users on a mission to kill Dio, in order to save his mother.

Heirophant Green is just one of many impressive character designs.	Exciting battles, both stand based and otherwise, are commonplace in this anime.

What exactly is a stand? Basically, it is the manifestation of a person's ESP, or psychic power. It is called that because it "stands" next to its user. Stands grant their users superhuman strength, speed, power and other abilities. Certain people are strong enough to make their stands seen by other users, but a stand can only be harmed by another stand, and whatever damage is done to the user, it is also felt by the stand and vice versa. The first few stands we see are all based from Tarot cards. Here's a brief description of the ones possessed by the main characters in the anime. Kuujou Jotaro's stand is the Star Platinum, furiously fast and packed with powerful punches, he can beat someone to a pulp within seconds, and it allows Jotaro to see over a far distance. Joseph Joestar's stand is the Purple Hermit, fairly weak because it cannot manifest its presence, we basically see him shooting out tentacles at his opponents. Muhammad Abdul, a very close friend of Jotaro, possesses the Magician's Red, a fire based Stand. Noriaki Kakyouin is a quiet calculating fellow with the stand Heirophant Green. He can shoot energy blasts called the emerald splash. Jean-Pierre Polnareff is a hotheaded stand user with his Silver Chariot; he thinks violence can solve everything. Iggy the dog is a secret weapon sent to help them out, his stand, the Fool, being made of sand. Last but not least is Dio, whose stand, the World, has the ability to stop time. As you can imagine, he is a formidable opponent.

Character designer and animator Hayama Junichi, who also worked on the Fist of the North Star, is responsible for the great looking visuals in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The stands are some of the best drawings I have ever seen; they're very detailed, exotic and mysterious. Special effects look awesome and realistic, both blood gushing and bone crushing being commonplace in this anime. Although the anime is somewhat violent, most battles involve a lot of strategy and are fought with wits rather than brawn. Music in JoJo is very fitting but often forgettable; it is the only weak section in my opinion.

Right now, JoJo is only available as a fansub, which features excellent translations. I've heard, however, that JoJo is supposed to come out during the summer of 2000, distributed by Super Techno Arts, the American office of Studio APPP. Another 7 prequel OVA episodes are in the works and are scheduled to coincide with the American release of the 6 existing episodes. If you are looking for a fast paced action flick, with a lot of good-looking battles and great character designs, then JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the one for you. Even though the plot is somewhat complicated, it is nonetheless well thought out and very original.

Distributor: Super Techno Arts
Creator: Studio APPP
Released: 1993

Plot: A-
Character Design: A
Animation Quality: B
Music: B
Overall: A-