Anime Review: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Parts 1-2)

Notice: This review will not cover the continuation of this anime, Stardust Crusaders, solely because the Stardust Crusaders storyline has not ended. I will only be reviewing 2012, though some comparisons to Stardust will probably appear. With that out of the way, let’s get started. 
Something I feel that the action genre lacks is punch and style. Most of these anime are aimed at the shonen demographic, and tend to follow the same exact formula every time. For example, let’s take a look at Black Bullet. There’s an edgy main protagonist that shouts out his fighting moves, female characters that have close to no purpose in the story, rushed and badly choreographed action, and a terrible sense of pacing. In other words, the execution of everything is pretty terrible. Or, how about Magical Warfare, a show that makes every other terrible show look like Fullmetal Alchemist? The anime just throws you into the action without any explanation, and then decides to throw in unnecessary fanservice. Or what about Needless, which has obnoxious characters and an obnoxious attitude that makes it so annoying? Well, what if I told you that there was a show that took all these action clichés, but didn’t do them terribly? In fact, the show handles itself in a way that these clichés don’t feel like clichés, but instead makes the show exciting, somehow intense, stylized, and immensely entertaining. This show is the topic of today’s review. Sit back, relax, and read on as I review the 2012 adaption of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

The Story and Characters:

So, before I begin, a little background. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is based off of the first two parts of the original manga, written in the 1980s by Hirohiko Araki. The first part is Phantom Blood, which takes place in Victorian Era England. Points for taking place in my favorite time period, Phantom Blood! Anyway, the story focuses on a rivalry between Jonathan Joestar, the heir to the prestigious Joestar Family, and Dio, his adopted brother. This rivalry kicks the story into gear, as blood is spilt, new powers are discovered, and tragedy occurs. The second part, Battle Tendency, takes place in the 1930s, and involves the characters travelling all around the world. There’s a new protagonist, Joseph Joestar, and he has to finish what his grandfather Jonathon started back in the 1880s. Honestly, you don’t need to know more than that, because if I say anything else, it will probably ruin the fun, and it’s best to go into this show with as clean a slate as possible. As for the stories themselves, well, I’ll have to split this into two parts:

Phantom Blood:

Something I’ve noticed while reading reviews for this show is that people generally don’t like this arc that much, and to be honest, I can see why, for three main reasons. Firstly, it is rather rushed and it takes a bit of time to process what’s happening because of that, and when you’re trying to construct a relatively straightforward over-the-top action show, that’s a bad sign. Secondly, the show takes itself a bit too seriously in this story arc. Yes, it is self-aware of how ridiculous it is, but it always felt like the show was holding back on just how ridiculous it could get, like it was somehow playing it safe while having the potential to be something completely ludicrous. Finally, Jonathan isn’t that great a protagonist. Okay, he’s not terrible, and I was able to get behind his character, but my main issue with his character is that he’s absolutely perfect in nearly every way, and that makes him rather hard to relate to at points. Though, his character does develop throughout the arc. In the beginning, when he’s a child, he’s pretty much a self-entitled brat with a hero complex, but when Dio comes along, that changes. By the end of the arc, Jonathan grows into a righteous gentleman, despite being pushed around and basically abused by Dio throughout his life. I will also say that Jonathan’s the most tragic main character, and, well, it is because of Dio. Speaking of, my criticisms of the Phantom Blood arc end here, and what better way to end it than to talk about Dio Brando? Dio is by far the best part of Phantom Blood, and is one of the best villain characters I’ve seen in quite some time. He’s just so entertainingly evil, and is actually a threatening opponent! Also, unlike the stereotypical anime villain, Dio actually has reasons for being evil. Dio grew up in a poor household with an abusive alcoholic father and a mother who died long ago. As he is growing up, Dio lives under the fantasy that he deserves better than what he got, as he is very intelligent but lacks opportunity. Because of this, he grows to resent his father and look for ways to move forward. When he gets adopted by the Joestars, he sees the bratty Jonathan and immediately despises him, since he probably can’t comprehend that this insolent and little brat had opportunities that he obviously didn’t appreciate. So, Dio tries to take Jonathan’s spot and put him in his place. And so begins a rivalry to last throughout the ages, and yeah, it literally lasts throughout the ages. Dio will continue to haunt the Joestar family for generations, but more on that later. Then there are the side characters, which are all pretty great: there’s Erina Pendelton, Will Zeppeli, and Speedwagon, who are all memorable in their own ways. Overall, while this arc is still enjoyable to watch, it has its problems, and can feel a bit boring at points.

Phantom Blood in a nutshell

Battle Tendency:

In this arc, however, all of my previous problems with Phantom Blood vanish, and what’s left over creates something that is truly spectacular in my opinion. Battle Tendency is what I wanted Jojo to be when I first watched it and more. There’s no holding back on how preposterous the content is this time around, as the show constantly tops itself with newfound absurdity every fight. This arc is also freaking hilarious! Seriously, nearly every joke in this arc hits its mark, and had me laughing quite a few times. Most of the time, it was making fun of how strange the show is, but a good percentage of the comedy came from the main protagonist, Joseph Joestar. Unlike Jonathan, Joseph is a fantastic main character. He’s rather laid back and likes to mess around with people (and hilarity ensues), but he also has a short temper, and can get really pissed off when people don’t take him seriously when he’s trying to be serious. He’s also very observant, and uses this ability to give himself advantages during battle. For example, he uses his enemies’ arrogance to provoke them to let him live, so that he can fight them again later when he’s stronger. Okay, that’s a bit of a cliché, but it felt like Joseph could get away with it because his enemies (the Pillar Men) are incredibly strong, and don’t think they can be beaten. So, when Joseph promises them that he’ll be able to beat them later, well, they underestimate him, since they’ve defeated so many other humans in the past. Good reasoning, no? And, ultimately, what makes Battle Tendency so good is how it pays attention to small details like that. The show makes it clear through characterization what the character’s motivations are, and who they are, making the situations plausible. Well, as plausible as you can get considering what Jojo is about, but again, it’s these tiny details that help make it seem plausible. In other words, Jojo is great at covering its tracks, and manages to explain its logic in a concise manner so that, while it’s ridiculous, makes sense in the world the anime has built. This is why I don’t think calling Jojo “dumb fun” really does it any justice, because while it knows what it is and loves to flaunt its ridiculousness, it never does so to a point where the audience feels that what it’s doing is improbable. And, in my opinion, the writers had to know what they were doing in order to make me come up with that conclusion. This is what puts Jojo above shows like Date A Live, Valvrave the Liberator, and Twintails, which are all self-aware about how stupid they are, but none of them really paid attention to what they were doing, which can result in the audience thinking that the anime is dumb. That’s not what Jojo is; it’s the exact opposite, and because of that, it’s an anime that I’ve been waiting to watch for a very long time: a show that knows what it is, loves what it is, and fully takes advantage of every opportunity it comes across, leading to an immensely satisfying experience. Finally, there are the side characters: Smokey, Speedwagon (again), Lisa Lisa, Cesar Zeppeli, Strohiem, and the three Pillar Men (Kars, ACDC, and Wham). They’re all great, though my favorite character is definitely Joseph. In fact, he’s become one of my favorite characters period, because he’s just a joy to watch. Overall, Battle Tendency fixed the problems of the first arc and delivered a story filled with over-the-top ridiculousness and great characters.

A clip of Joseph's hilarity, because why not?

The Presentation:

The animation of Jojo is fairly average. Sometimes the movements were a bit clunky, sometimes the characters looked a bit off, and some scenes were so hilariously low-budget that it added to the overall insanity of the show, but there’s nothing too too wrong with it that it will break your immersion. However, the design is really where the show shines. Jojo has some of the most distinct character designs that I’ve seen in anime, and the backgrounds all look great! The colors are also really interesting and stylish, which separates Jojo from many other anime that stick to traditional color pallets. Though, sometimes they did go a bit overboard with the colors, but it didn't bother me too much. Also, the addition of huge words in the background like “menacing” really adds to the show, making it even more over the top and henceforth more entertaining. Now, let’s move on to the music. There were two composers for Jojo, one per part: Phantom Blood’s music was done by Hayato Matsuo, and Battle Tendency’s music was done by Taku Iwasaki. I haven’t seen any anime that the former composed for, and quite frankly, his work on Phantom Blood was okay. It fit the atmosphere of the show, but nothing really stood out. My favorite song from the OST is “Capture the Target” (Phantom Blood), but even then, I wouldn’t willingly go out of my way to listen to it. Battle Tendency, on the other hand, is another story. Taku Iwasaki is actually one of my favorite anime composers, as he also did Katanagatari, Soul Eater, Gurren Lagann, Jormungand, Gatchaman Crowds, and Noragami, all of which have great OSTs. Well, I haven’t seen Gurren Lagann or Gatchaman Crowds yet, but I’ve stumbled across their OSTs on Youtube, and I really liked both of them. When I learned that Iwasaki composed the music for Battle Tendency, I was pleasantly surprised. Iwasaki’s style is combining older-sounding music with electronic beats, which is apparent in Jojo’s OST, and I’d argue that this is his best soundtrack to date. The music just makes the entire show exciting and intense, and I can’t picture any other composer tackling Jojo. Heck, I normally hate soundtracks that use dubstep, but it really works in Jojo for whatever reason! My favorite songs are “Awaken”, “Propaganda”, “Avalon”, and "Pulse", which I highly recommend listening to. I’d also like to mention the phenomenal sound mixing in this show, along with the perfectly timed sound effects. I normally don’t bring this stuff up because I don’t think it’s that big a deal, but the addition of over the top sound effects really adds to the overall entertainment value in this case. Then, there are the openings, which are both fantastic in their own ways, though they do spoil a lot of the story if you know what to look for. The opening that’s the guiltiest of this is the Phantom Blood opening, which overtly spoils the first three episodes. So, don’t watch the OP until you get to episode 4. Then there's the ED, which, strangely enough, is "Roundabout" by the band Yes. I guess it's because the author loves American rock, but I was certainly surprised to see that as the ED, and I'm glad the show introduced me to that song. Finally, there’s the voice acting. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure 2012 does not have an English dub, and this is one of those cases where I wouldn’t want to watch an English version. The Japanese voice acting is so perfect that I seriously can’t imagine watching Jojo another way. The best performances go to Takehito Koyasu as Dio Brando, who, fun fact, also voiced Sugoh in Sword Art Online (he certainly stepped up his game) and Tomokazu Sugita as Joseph Joestar, who’s known for voicing Kyon in the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise. Both actors sounded like they were having a ton of fun in their roles, and it shows by how entertaining both characters are. Props to you, Japan.

"Capture The Target"

"Awaken"

"Propaganda"

"Avalon"

"Pulse"

Phantom Blood OP (full version):

Battle Tendency OP:

ED:

Conclusion: 

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is an extremely fun and over the top action anime that is actually sort of hard to recommend. It’s one of those shows where you’re either going to really love it or really dislike it, and even though I really loved the show, I can see why people wouldn’t like it at all. If you don’t enjoy shows that are incredibly insane, bizarre (cough cough), cliché, and downright absurd, even if they are self-aware about it, then you’re definitely not going to enjoy this at all. Also, if you’re looking for an incredibly smart show with deep ideas and themes...why did you even consider watching this show in the first place? Granted, Jojo is smart, but it’s not smart in the same way that a show like Ergo Proxy is smart, if you get what I’m saying. But, for me personally, this was the most fun I’ve ever had watching an anime, and even though it does have its problems, I love Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and I hope that you will too if you ever decide to watch it. I give the Phantom Blood arc a 7.5 out of 10, and the Battle Tendency arc a 9.5 out of 10. My overall score of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure 2012 is an 8.5 out of 10, and a recommendation to watch it. But, like always, it is up to you to decide your own opinions.

The next review will be on...something. Until then!