Part 0: Whole Lotta Love
I loved JoJo since the first time I’ve read it years ago and I still love it now, it’s one of the few manga series that personally resonated with me like none other. While I hope to be as fair in this review as possible when it comes to pointing out the highs and lows of Phantom Blood, keep in mind that all this is coming from someone who’s a fan of series despite all the flaws than be found within.

Part 1: Brothers in Arms
Phantom Blood is the first part of the gigantic franchise JoJo has become and I think many consider it to be least distinct one. There’s a very good reason for it. While the later parts delve deep into high concept super powers and weird plots that on the surface shouldn’t make as much sense as they do, Phantom Blood is a far more conventional narrative.

After his carriage crashes off a cliff, George Joestar is knocked unconscious, the driver is impaled on a broken wheel and his wife sacrificed her life trying to protect baby Jonathan. Dario Brando, Dio’s father sees this as an opportunity to get some valuable loot but George comes to consciousness. He mistakingly thinks that Dario was trying to save him and promises him a handsome reward and gratitude. Some years later Dario is on his deathbed and uses kindness of George to send Dio to his house where he would live as an adopted son of Joestar family.

What follows after is an ever-escalating clash between Dio and Joseph. From their design to their personality the two are entirely different. Jonathan is an embodiment of justice and virtue, he’s a man who will do everything in his power to protect others. On the other side Dio is an incredibly evil and calculating bastard who will do everything he can to gain more wealth and power.

This central conflict is why I believe the overall goal of the manga was to tell a story about virtue and honor triumphing over depravity and corruption and Dio represents. In a I feel it’s similar to Hokuto no Ken which beyond being an action packed martial arts manga followed a strong character with a bleeding heart who without fail would save others from overwhelming evil.

Part 2: Strange Highway
So far Phantom Blood sounds fairly mediocre, right? Well it would be if not for Araki’s creativity and passion for crafting exciting stories that can be traced all the way from his debut works. Phantom Blood has a lot to offer when it comes to eccentric characters and imaginative action scenes. While Jonathan is fairly standard for a story like this but his companions include a street thug with overwhelming respect for strong willed and natured people and has a tendency to narrate his own feelings, more so than anyone else at least. Next in line you have Zeppeli, an italian sailor who resigned his life to training in Sendo, finding the stone mask and destroying what is and should never be while looking fabulous in the process. While this will very much depend on the reader I found their dynamic to be amusing throughout, from Speedwagon’s nearly comedic overreactions to Zeppeli’s unusual training methods that include trying to destroy a vampire without spilling a drop of wine.

Hamon or Ripple is another part of what makes Phantom Blood so entertaining. While the concept of versatile superpowers is as old as dirt in shonen the applications for Ripple remain fresh and sometimes surprising throughout the 44 chapters. From standing on water and sending out wine shurikens to making a leaf glider or spraying out your own blood or other liquids through wounds to avoid poisoning or other unwanted effects. While it might seem convenient I think it accomplishes a lot to make the adventure feel exciting in unpredictable ways. On top of that when used it combat it makes for some pretty gruesome attacks as sunlight energy melts whoever tries to oppose a ripple user.

It’s interesting to me how much effort Araki puts into establishing the superpower itself. Instead of going the usual route and saying “well it’s just a special thing some people can do let’s get back to the story” he actually made up its own backstory and the method behind it which feeds into thematic core of the manga. It also serves as an example of another thing I like about Araki, which is his enthusiasm in fleshing out his settings or just plain sharing some information with the viewer that he finds interesting like the occasional tidbits he throws in about 19th century England. This is much less prominent in Part 1 than it is in future manga but I find it charming nonetheless.

Part 3: Damn the Torpedoes
Obviously however, not everything is good. There are some noticeable flaws in Phantom Blood that need to be acknowledge.

One of the most prevalent I think is Araki’s reliance on narration to add nuance to either characters or their surroundings that doesn’t always need to be there. While yes the nuance is there there are many moments where a reader could’ve been informed about them in a way that’s much more subtle. Does Speedwagon really need to comment on how hard Erina was overworking herself to take care of Jonathan when it already would’ve worked without text? There’s an example of something like this in every other chapters and while it’s not especially egregious in my opinion it does sour the taste.

Next comes the Ripple. Yes, while the scenes it was used for are universally entertaining, it occasionally feels like new powers and techniques just sort of come out of nowhere only to get a brief explanation shortly after they’re used as if to justify their existence. Araki has gotten a lot better at introducing powers as it went on and I doubt he’d leave Ripple as is, seeing how The Spin’s execution in Part 7 was much more consistent.

The art is also often cited as one of the weaker aspects of Phantom Blood and it’s understandable. When it comes to inanimate objects Araki’s grasp of fundamentals is strong throughout but when it comes to people I feel like he valued dramatic exaggerations a lot more than accurate anatomy. While I do agree that it’s not always a pleasure to look at the dramatic aspect does come true. It’s hard not to feel the sheer energy, impact and threat emanating from certain attacks when they are drawn as if jumping out of a page or dominate entire panels where the target feels like a bug compared to the magnitude of force that’s about to crash on them. So, while on technical aspect it’s far, far from perfect the art still serves a tangible purpose. Some people might not agree with this but I feel like this sort of flawed art is still a lot more entertaining than something that feels like it was drawn my a machine cause there’s a very human charm to imperfections.

Lastly I’d like to sandbag the series a little and offer my two cents on something that people always bring up when talking about why Part 1 is the worst or the weakest in the series.

“Jonathan is a boring, bland protagonist and a bad character”. This is something I can’t agree with. Yes he’s a simple character without complex goals or struggles but that doesn't make him bad. If you’re willing to pay attention there are many beats in first two volume that work towards building up Jonathan’s personality. From how he came to form a relationship with his dog to his mentality when it comes to fighting which can be traced from his very first fight and is kept consistent throughout with exceptions only serving to prove the rule. At the same time Jonathan’s naivety is often conveyed to be a flaw since a character that’s much less restricted by moral code would have an easier time (see Joseph). It drives him to take risks which ultimately drove the story forward.

Another complaint I saw being thrown around is that he’s a reactionary character which seems to stem from people thinking that there’s never a case where such a character is acceptable. All it means is that Jonathan more often than not reacts to ploys caused by Dio instead of being in control of events and serving as their catalyst. When the main antagonist is nigh on a mysterious force of nature what else is expected of the main character but to react while trying to figure out a way to fight back? This is nothing new in fiction and I find it hard to take this complaint seriously.

Part 4: Pieces of Eight
To sum it up. Phantom Blood is a unique and unforgettable adventure that succeeds despite any flaws thanks to the charm and sheer creativity behind it and while future parts do overshadow it by turning down the flaws and cranking up pros to 11, it wouldn't be fair to judge Part 1 based on what it’s not. It set out a goal and achieved with flying colors. It’s a manga that deserves to be read.