Welcome to The Indiependent’s Top TV of the Decade! Deputy Opinion editor Jacob Fleming explores the cult-hit anime, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure…
This popular manga written by Hirohiko Araki had received a number of poor film and TV adaptations before David Production released the rights to produce their own anime. With this, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood was released in 2012 and created one of the largest cult followings in the world. The term “Is that a mother-fucking JoJo’s reference?” has dominated the meme community for years and the anime only fuelled this fandom.
Following the Joestar bloodline from Victorian England, World War II, the 1980s, rural Japan in 1999 all the way to contemporary Italy, we experience the rather bizarre lives of Jonathan, Joseph Jotaro, Josuke and Giorno. The fate of their bloodline is tied to the villainous Dio Brando and the madness he unleashes with the stone masks that transform each wearer into a vampire. The show soon evolves into something completely different by the time part 3, Stardust Crusaders, is released. We are introduced to these supernatural powers involved called stands: metaphorical and spiritual extensions of their users. Each stand is unique with their own powers and quite honestly make for epic battles.
It’s not as crazy as it sounds, but it’s as bonkers as any other anime. Once invested, I promise you’ll be wishing you had similar powers to ‘The World’, ‘Golden Experience’ or ‘Killer Queen’. With some of the most brilliantly written fights, iconic villains and most meme-able moments in all of meme history, I thank every day I was introduced to the extraordinarily crazy world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. With the 2018-19’s adaptation of part 5, Golden Wind, standing above the rest, now is a great time to experience JoJo before Araki forgets to release the next part.
Words by Jacob Fleming