JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 1: Phantom Blood

Introduction:
You can tell that Araki wasn't a very experienced Mangaka. I could've easilty dropped this manga completely but I'm glad I didn't, this manga wasn't bad but it had so many flaws.

Story:
This is probably the best thing about this part, the story. While the story is really simple compared to other parts, the story is still a little "bizarre". The story does everything it needs to do pretty good but I do have two problems, it wasn't unique enough and it manages to start getting a little boring even though this is by far the shortest JoJo part.
7/10

Art:
I don't have a lot to say about the art. Araki is an amazing artist but he hadn't really delevoped his own art-style. This manga uses the classic 80's "buff guy" art-style and sometimes the art feels a little wieird and not in a good way but it usually holds up.
6/10

Character:
This is my biggest problem with Phantom Blood. There were a few characters who were always fun to see and read about but there was not a single charcter that felt fleshed out.
5/10

Enjoyment:
Not a lot to say here, Phantom Blood sometimes felt a little boring and slow but the fights were pretty good.
6/10

Story: 7/10
Art: 6/10
Character: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Average: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is Hirohiko Araki's magnum opus, with the recent fantastic anime adaptions by David Production. JoJo has been receiving universal acclaim and fans from all over the world.

JoJo is amazing for its ingenious structure, that of dividing the series into separate parts. Each part featuring its own storyline and protagonist that is of the same family tree, thus allowing Araki to dynamically juggle between different themes within the same continuity.

The stories can vary heavily, from the hero battling an evil but charming vampire (Part 1: Phantom Blood), to battling Aztec male stripper gods with the help of cyborg nazis (Part 2: Battle Tendency), to an adventure through Egypt to fight your family’s 100-year-old archenemy (Part 3: Stardust Crusaders), eventually leading to horseback ridding race to find the remnants of Jesus Christ (Part 7: Steel Ball Run). The franchise never grows stale even to this day and is still incredibly unique. Araki deserves all the respect in the world for the amazing stories he has created.

Part 1 Phantom Blood, which covers the first 44 chapters of the manga (volumes 1 - 5), is the weakest part in the entire series, but an important landmark for planting the seeds and much of the foundation for the future parts. During its publishing run in Weekly Shonen Jump, it was one of the many series inspired by Fist of the North Star, featuring lots of muscular men full of testosterone, but having the anomaly featuring a foreign protagonist and a setting outside of Japan.

Phantom Blood is set in England, between 1880-1889, following Jonathan "JoJo" Joestar as he attempts to stop his evil adoptive brother Dio Brando from taking over the world after the latter gained vampiric powers from a stone mask. JoJo uses the power of Hamon, a breathing technique that allows him to project “Ripple energy”, energy that is similar to that of the sun. Hamon uses a lot of thought and it isn't just a power about destruction, Araki is creative with the use of it. Parts 1 and 2 are the only parts of JoJo to not feature Stands, the main fighting superpower from Part 3 onwards.

The story is simple yet entertaining to read through, starting out with 5 introduction chapters showing the relationship between JoJo and Dio, then a time skip where the core story unfolds and the ensuing madness begins. The issues with part 1 of JoJo are that it does not set a great representation of the absurdity that is to follow in the later parts, and you can tell that Araki still was setting up the foundations. Many people refer to Phantom Blood as the worst part of JoJo, I can understand all the criticism. The series does require a bit of time for its foundations to set in in order for it to pick up its pace, but if you require a sense of “wow” after hearing so much about this franchise and you wish to have a great first impression, then perhaps start with episode 1 of the phenomenal anime adaption by David Production.

Jonathan is not that great of a character; he is portrayed as a pure gentleman and is designed to be intentional as a goody-two-shoes protagonist so that it would contrast with Dio, whose characterization is so stereotypically evil it is ridiculous. However, for Dio it works, especially in the later parts, despite his overly evil persona he has a great character design and so much charisma. While Jonathan’s character design and color scheme in the manga is like a Kenshiro clone, thankfully David Production in the anime decided to replace his color scheme.

The remaining characters in Part 1, just side characters. They fit in the story decently, but none are overly memorably besides Speedwagon and Zeppeli. The manga does keep your attention as any character could die at any moment, as Araki is not afraid to kill off his characters.

The art is very good and has many beautiful double-page spreads, environments, and facial details. It is no secret that JoJo is well known for its various poses of characters, it all contributes to Araki’s great understanding of the human figure. The art style is unique, later on, Araki’s art style has a large evolution change, as the characters change from a muscular/buff physique to a slim more gay design.

Overall Part 1 Phantom Blood, despite it being the worst part in the series I’m giving it a 7/10 just for the seeds it planted for the future arcs.

I believe that although it is shorter than the other parts of Jojo, it is a great introduction toward the Joestar family and also to Dio. This review is short, but I wouldn't have Jojo start any other way differently except this part being longer. However, this did start the Jojo series and we cannot forget its place in history. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous and looks even beter if you can get your hands on the colorized versions. I believe this sets the tone of the series. People such as Dio set the tone for later antigonist which means that although the first part may feel like it has flaws, it fits perfectly into the Jojo universe.

Ah, Jojo part one. Many people think this is the worst part, and I can under-stand them (get it ?), but are they right ? And most importantly, is it really necessary to compete on which Jojo part is the best ? I don't think so, and even if people don't like that much Phantom Blood, I find it absolutely amazing. Yes, it may be the worst Jojo part, but I think it's an excellent manga.

Let's talk about the story. At first encounter, Phantom Blood seems to be a historical-like manga, and we may follow the hellish life of Jonathan Joestar. It may have been interesting, but not enough to be a legend. So, everything go downhill : Dio become a freaking vampire, and Jonathan learn an ancient technique from an odd guy to beat him. The story of how a rich English man became a mix between Buffy the vampire killer and Simon Belmont is really cool and innovating.

Unfortunately, even if the story is great, the characters are not the same. Personally, I think they are really great and endearing, but we must recognize they have a dichotomous mind : either they are totally good, or they are totally bad. This doesn't hit me the first time I read it, but after finishing other part, I realize : the character development in Phantom Blood isn't that great.

As for the art, I find this part really interesting. We can see the drawing evolution of Araki in just 5 tomes. At first, I can understand you can find it "ugly" or "not that good", but this is an important part of Araki's work.

To conclude, Phantom Blood is an incredible manga, and one of the most important Jojo part. I can understand you don't like it, but here's my thoughts : don't force yourself to like it, or even read it. go read another mangas, get experience through them, and then come back to Phantom Blood. You will not regret it !

NO SPOILERS
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a marvel. A true epic spanning over 30 years in publication, however the series is only starting to get popular in places that aren't Japan. And for anyone coming into the series, most likely watching another part in the series, they might wonder if this part is worth going back to. I'd say yes, however, prepare for a bizarre manga that, while it may not live up to other parts in the series, is a wonderful read.

STORY
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The story follows Jonathan Joestar, son of the rich Jorge Joestar, embarking on a quest to stop his evil adopted brother Dio from taking over the world using an old mask Jonathan's father dug up when he was a baby. And.... That's pretty much it. Yes, the story evolves as more characters and fighting styles are added into the mix, but... It's a very simple story. If you're coming in from a later part( most likely Part 3), you might think this isn't up to snuff to the newer parts, and that's totally wrong. Part 1 may be simple, but it's full enjoyment doesn't come from the story alone. (9/10)

ART
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Hirohiko Araki is now known for his very interesting artstyle that isn't contemporary with other manga, but the same can't be said for part 1, especially early on. The art is very reminiscent of other manga that were running at the same time, namely Fist of the North Star. It isn't bad, but don't expect the crazier designs seen in other parts. Near the end of the part, the artwork does become more interesting, and you start to see glimpses of what's to come. (9/10)

CHARACTER
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If I had one major gripe with this part as a whole, it would be it's main character. Jonathan suffers from what I call 'Superman syndrome'. He's a paragon of everything good, a gentlemen, but.... That's pretty much it. Even Araki has expressed displeasure with how he handled Jonathan's character, saying he wish he gave him a weakness. Side characters, and our main antagonist, make up for this in spades. Many staples, including Araki's favorite Speedwagon and one of the best villains of all time, Dio, make their first appearances in this part, and they're as wonderful as you would expect.(8/10)

ENJOYMENT
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Part 1 is a part I often reread a lot. It's that enjoyable. It's simple enough that I don't get tired of it, but engaging enough to keep me invested. A great read. (9/10)

OVERALL
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Part 1 isn't perfect. I would say it's my least favorite part in Jojo. But it's still an amazing read. Hype until the bittersweet ending, I would say this is a great part that, whether you are a new fan or a fan coming back from another part, is worth a read.(9/10)









Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1: Phantom Blood is available in the US from Viz Media in both Physical and Digital formats.

In the world of Manga and Anime you're likely to find many unusual stories that are massive and incredibly unique in scope, several of which garner high praise and several more that fall into obscurity. In this case while the aptly named JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has left a massive cultural impact on the Manga industry overall, its first saga "Phantom Blood" only brings a small (but very important) part of the overall appeal of the series.

To put things bluntly Phantom Blood's story isn't anything ground breaking: it is essentially what you'd get if you tried to cross Castlevania with a dark adventure series and feels more like a Seinin series than a Shonen series (what it actually is). It takes place in the 19th century and begins with the recently orphaned Dio Brando being adopted into the aristocratic Joestar family, where he proceeds to make his adoptive brother Jonathan Joestar's life a living hell by alienating everyone close to him in an attempt to become the favoured son in the Joestar family and presumably to become the biggest bastard that the world has ever seen in the process. Dio eventually becomes a vampire by way of a mysterious stone mask (just go with it) and like most villains sets his sights on world domination. Jonathan and his companions Robert E.O Speedwagon and Ripple master Will A. Zeppeli go on a mission to hunt Dio down and to destroy the accursed stone mask in the process. To summarize despite being weird the narrative is extremely linear and should not be taken too seriously, as it serves little more than a framing device for the fight scenes and gore. Which is all it really needs to do honestly.

As far as the characters are concerned the truth is that there isn't a whole lot to most of them; Jonathan is your typical naïve, idealistic hero on a mission to save the world and is easily the least interesting JoJo in the entire franchise, Speedwagon is Jonathan's sidekick and while he's not useless he mainly plays a supportive role in fights and frequently has the job of exclaiming about just how awful their current situation is and Zeppeli is the mentor figure with a sordid past involving the stone mask. Supporting characters while occasionally superficially interesting generally lack characterisation and are at worst are relegated into being two dimensional cannon-fodder. The character who really deserves special mention is Dio, who despite being a deplorable evil monster of a man is both extremely entertaining in a twisted sense and more fleshed out as a character than anybody else. Dio simply steals the show away from Jonathan whenever he's on the scene, the show and whatever he fancies taking away from his adoptive brother.

By far the strongest thing that Phantom Blood has going for it are the fight scenes, which are both highly entertaining and well thought out. Battles in this series are almost always about outsmarting the other person as opposed to the more common "overpowering the other guy" and this is something that continues on through the other parts. To combat Dio and his vampiric minions the series introduces a fighting style that utilises an energy source referred to as the Ripple (think chi combined with UV rays from the sun), which is used in conjunction with physical attacks. It's explained that only select few individuals can harness the power of the Ripple as it requires constant focus on the rhythm of ones own breathing (which of course Jonathan is capable of doing). While the concept of Ripple energy is interesting in itself, it is hardly anything unique and lacks anything to make it really stand out over similar concepts in other series. It's not until the next part in the series, “Battle Tendency” that it becomes something more unique and even then the concept is abandoned in the third series for something much more creative.

As for the art style of the series, it is quite reminiscent of "Fist of the North Star". Araki takes joy in drawing extremely muscle-bound main characters, wearing well designed and unique clothing and will almost always have a handsome face to top things off (Jonathan and Dio are prime Examples of this). Minor villains aren't quite as privileged in this regard as quite a few of them can be described as looking like hulking trolls, which can be distracting at times when its focusing just the two extremes without a sense of middle ground. Scenery is often inventive with a few locations later on that distinctly look like something out of a horror film, which again is very appropriate given Dio's vampiric nature. Overall despite some minor gripes, the art remains pleasantly consistent throughout the series' run.

In conclusion if you're just interested in an over the top action series or are just interested in the premise then this may be worth a look, if you want to get into JJBA however then it is a must read as it will give you a greater appreciation for the later parts in the series. In any case while Phantom Blood may have its flaws it is a truly unique journey that you're not likely to forget.

《TO BE CONTINUED||

It was not a bad start. The art was kind of dated but not that bad and the action was very over the top at some panels. The story was easy to follow, simple and abit naive. There was some unexpacted gore, i wouldn't expect such a level of gore from a shounen. I started to read Jojo because i heard that the manga will be very good in the future parts, especially starting with Part 3: Stardust Crusaders. But the part 1 was not bad for sure, if you can look over some naive parts of the story, they were some unintentinaly funny parts for me too anyway. I enjoyed that naive parts, aspecially Dio and Jonathan's fall from empty space between the stairs of the mansion in vol. 2, it took like half an hour for them to fall from such a short hight... xD

If you're looking for a shonen horror filled with MANLY characters then continue reading. This is part 1 of the entire JoJo's Bizarre Adventure working best as a trilogy with Battle Tendency & Stardust Crusaders.

The beginning of JoJo seems a bit rough at first but manages to give the outline for its primary themes of the series. Taking place in the late 1880's in England, we are introduced to a prologue of an Aztec civilization having a ritual with a Stone Mask which would later embark as the symbolic plot device for this arc. The next few pages reveal the Joestar family & the Brando Family. The story starts to move when Dio Brando is adopted into the Joestar family as Dio is an ambitious jerk who wishes to rob the family of its fortune & would resort to murder.

Jonathan Joestar is our JoJo for the series whose life changes once Dio discovers the stone mask using it to make himself a vampire. The rest of the series involves Jonathan learning the Ripple martial art to battle against Dio & his vampire army & going on an adventure involving zombies, Jack The Ripper, martial artists, bizarre super powers, over the top dialogue & manly tears.

Being inspired by Fist Of The North Star & possibly Bram Stroker's Dracula, Phantom Blood is a blend of manly characters & horror elements making it a unique short tale. The flaws are part 1 are its rough artwork as Araki at the time was still pretty new to the business. To some people, Jonathan comes off a rather too "good hearted", however having experiencing Fist Of The North Star (specifically The Shin Arc chapters 1-10/episodes 1-22) the "corny moments" come off as very tragic to me.

While the concepts of Stands & its much later "Bizarre" quality weren't developed yet, this story almost works as a stand alone with its tragic finale giving much highlight to fans of Manly series such as Sakigake Otokojuku, Riki-Oh, Cyber Blue, Kongo Bancho & Fist Of The North Star respectively.

Phantom Blood may not be the best part of JoJo but serves as a teaser of what the series can become (at least in parts 1-4 when the tone slightly shifts in parts 5-8). Overall Phantom Blood expresses the original themes Hirohiko Araki thought of: The struggle of humanity, the temptation of evil, the strive for perfection & the importance of family.

*This is coming from someone who has not read any of the other parts of this series*

I was already captivated by this series by the second chapter. I finished this part in a day. This seems to be a very solid foundation to the rest of the series, and I am more than excited and eager to read the rest - you probably will be too!

This series, which has seemed to become a lot more appreciated in recent years, as popular as it is, a lot of people don't give it a chance, solely because of the art style. If you find the art style of this series a bit off-putting, I assure you to give it a try, because you WILL get used it very quickly - I didn't know how to feel about the art style before I started it either! In my case, I absolutely love it now.

I had a lot of appreciation for the fact that (at least for me), this series is captivating and fun to read, but still remains easy to understand and follow.

The main character of this series, "Jonathan 'JoJo' Joestar", is a comforting character that some of us may be able to relate to in some ways, but he's also unique.

The antagonist, Dio, although handsome, is cruel and clever and, to describe it in modern terms, "has literally no chill" - which made me want to read on.

This series does get bloody enough to make it questionable in suitability to younger audiences and the faint of heart, so keep that in mind.

Regardless - everything about this manga pushed me to keep reading. I definitely recommend giving this series a try.

Enjoy!

PB Isn't a bad manga, it's just the worst part of JoJo.

The story is basically Hokuto no Ken but with a strange power. Hamon is basically a ripoff of Hokuto Shinken, killing the enemies with just the touch. It was good on Hokuto no Ken, but not in JoJo. The power of sun/ripple/breath? WTF?

The art is good, but some characters are unproportional, with a big body and a small head. And the first JoJo is just a small kid in a big body.

Of course there's some good things, like SpeedWagon and Dio, but, in general, Phantom Blood isn't good, just fine to read.

Let me first start off by saying that I have never read or watched JoJo before reading Part 1 Phantom Blood. This is my first entry to the series and thus this review is from the perspective of a JoJo virgin.

Story: The story starts off by giving you a flashback about a cursed mask and then moving to modern day. This is a foreshadowing to future events and a central element of the plot. Ultimately, the story is about the duality struggle of good and evil, justice and wickedness. The author himself states that this extreme form of duality was purposefully used as a platform for the beginning of the series. This may put off some modern viewers who expect extreme depth in their characters; however, for a 1980s series JoJo does a solid job of making you care about the characters and the story.

Art: The art in Part 1 is nothing short of outstanding. I cannot for the life of me understand how this was published in weekly Shonen Jump because the quality of the art is just that good. Also, to the point about it being published in Shonen jump, this series is NOT a Shonen. There is blood, gore, grotesque imagery, cursing, and elements that make this series closer to a Seinen. The art isn't always perfect, minor and background characters could use work, though that would be nitpicking. I know some people aren't fans of the 80s muscle style and this series certainly embodies it like a stereotype. I'm personally a big fan of the art, maybe a bit less muscle would've been nice. They just don't make art like this anymore.

Character: The story revolves around 2 central characters and the struggle of good and evil. They each embody their respective elements of good and evil, with little signs of deviation. It may be a little too black and white for modern tastes. I personally enjoyed the characters and I knew going into it that this was an older series. Context is always important.

Enjoyment: It was a thrilling read throughout and very fast paced. The characters were built up and this only enhanced the latter parts of the series where things got quite intense.

Overall: I feel this series is certainly a worthy manga. I'm sure the lower score comes from the fact that the other parts are better. I can't comment on that how it compares to the anime. On its own, coming from a new fan, I'm very excited for the rest of the series. Fighting, horror, and seinen fans need to check this series out!

Viz Release: Let me just say that the hardcover Viz releases are the best I've ever owned. The translation is great, the quality of the pages are fantastic, and all this allows the art to shine at its highest levels. The interviews with the author at the end help you understand and appreciate the series even more. Worth every penny.

JoJo Part 1: Phantom Blood Review [English no first Language]
JoJo no kimyo na boken by Hirohiko Araki is one of the most long-lived manga battle shonen ever, serialized in Shonen Jump magazine starting from 1986 until arriving in Ultra Jump magazine in 2004, with the seventh series of the vein or JoJo Steel Ball Run. The most striking feature of the JoJo series and which has given them a prominent place in popular culture by influencing the mangaka of subsequent generations, are the fights which, thanks to the genius of the author, are bizarre and visionary, based on techniques capable of deforming and play with reality and with the very bodies of the protagonists (the concentric waves and the stands), and also equipped with an incredible strategic component that in every duel highlights the art of combat, cunning and twists . More than the supremacy of a character or the obtaining of a power capable of increasing it (as happens in many other fighting manga), Araki enhances and places at the center of his stories the ability to observe reality, which allows you to draw benefit from the smallest detail.
The real expedient that has allowed us to continue almost without interruptions from the end of the Eighties to today is that of the generational saga: the story is in fact divided into cycles, each set in a different historical period, and has as its protagonists the various descendants of the Joestar family (each characterized by the same nickname, JoJo), involved in a centuries-old struggle against Dio Brando, or with the consequences of his actions. This common thread allows the author to constantly play with his characters, with the settings, ideas and contents of each cycle, varying them and still maintaining a strong basic autonomy. This is especially noticeable from the third series onwards, in which the saga begins to become a laboratory of constant experimentation, in which Araki enjoys telling always different stories, inserting the most disparate cultural influences into it: cinema, music, scientific curiosities, history art, anecdotes from around the world. In the hands of the author, each side of reality, observed in its most unusual aspects, becomes a stimulus for surreal implications in the plots and in the fights.
Despite the bizarre setting, the plot follows the classic settings of the stories of revenge: training / pursuit of the villain / final showdown. However, there is the inclusion of concentric waves, an idea that begins to shift Araki's focus of interest towards the strategic component. Waves are not unlike other forms of inner energy seen in other stories of adventure and fantasy. The main difference is that they are based on a transmission of energy, with unpredictable and pseudo-scientific effects on the surrounding matter. This makes it possible to perform complex tactics, with the use of increasingly unusual conductive materials. The first part of this long manga cycle undoubtedly does not provide the best that Araki can offer, the basic concepts that support the work are still very simple and follow the canons, but the characters and the plot are accessible and offer many emotions , recommended reading before the approach to the following series in which the experimentation and madness typical of JoJo's bizarre adventures prevail.

As the one that started the larger series, it is pretty quick and simple for a forty-four chapter manga arc from the late eighties. They don't take too many risks and overall the series doesn't do much to show its style and uniqueness at this stage in Araki's career. It kind of feels like an old Robert Louis Stevenson novel mixed with Bram Stoker. For what its worth, it was my introduction to the series and it immediately grabbed me.
The art is definitely where it suffers. Part of Araki's charm is his really distinctive bodies, but there was some definite jank in these first chapters. It still shines at parts, but it borrows too heavily from "Hokuto no Ken" in terms of style. Araki carries that ultra-buff aesthetic into "Sento Churyu", but its more refined by that point.
The biggest draw to the inaugural arc of Jojo's is definitely the characters. Dio immediately makes an impact with a sort of evil seen in characters like Long John Silver. Just a sort of rotten core. He's so evil, so perverse, that he's kind of sympathetic. Don't get me wrong, when he hurts animals, it proves he's worse than Kars, but he is a foil to Jonathan. Jonathan is sympathetic as well, he's a good guy, but his extreme goodness contrasts with Dio's extreme evilness in a way that makes both characters appealing. These two lie in the balance of that dynamic, which is, I think, the intended crux of that conflict. This same appeal gets carried into Stardust Crusaders with Jotaro continuing it on.
Its a truly enjoyable manga, though not quite the experience as even Sento Churyu. Overall, a great arc, though too modest in showing what the larger series has to offer in terms of style, story, and uniqueness.

Danny. Good night sweet prince. :'(

before i get started i just want to say this is a review for the entire series that include parts 1-7 i will later wxplain why 8 isnt there

just to make you know the series better here is the name of the parts:
part 1 - phantom blood
part 2- Battle Tendency
part 3- stardust crusaders
part 4- diamond is unbrakable
part 5- Vento Aureo (golden wind)
part 6- stone ocean
part 7- steel ball run
part 8- jojolion

each part have a different stroy. part 1-6 exist in the first universe and part 7 and 8 exist in SBR universe (SBR=steel ball run AKA part 7) the first part was a little annoying at first but at the middle it begun to develop and it left me in awe/ the second part was as amazing as the first one but for me it was more interesting because all the traveling and the powers of the pillar men. part 3 had an interseting story and it developed in such an amazing way that i fell inlove with this part the first time i read it. part 4 didnt have a straight story line like the previous part but it was like a sitcom and i loved it because it was hillariously funny. part 5 was weird at first but at the end it became so interesting and there was alot of action and plot twist there that i LOVED. part 6 started strong and remained strong for the whole time this part had some romantic interst in it that i absolutely loved. part 7 started very weak but in the middle it became intense and unique like no part have been before. the reason i didnt wrote the shortened version of each part stories it that it contains ALOT of spoilers and i dont want to ruin you the franchise. part 8 is still going but its just at the beggining so i cant judge it.

the art, oh what can i say about the art?
well: at parts 1&2 the art was completely disproportionational and the battles were so hard to inderstand
part 3 made a HUGE difference in the art with the coming of stands (you gonna read the series to find out what it is) and everything was fixed
since part 4 and until now the art have been changed dreasticly. there were no more muscular character but now they were "bi-shounen" characters as the mangaka says.

now for the characters. they are pretty standart in every part there is:
the hero AKA Jojo
the idiot
a kind of old awesome man
and a woman that appear useless but in some cases she is stronger than most characters
but there is one thing i loved in jojo is that every character have flaws. one of my favourite characters is cripple and he is a protagonist in part 7 and the face that the mangaka made a cripple protagonist made me fall inlove AGAIN in the series. the fact that not every character is perfect and the realisem of everything that involve emotions made it truly amazing.

the enjoyment i had while reading this series was outstanding. not a thing that the major shounens of today can do. i truly got addicted and obssesd and i never had this thing with a series before i read jojo. one of the things that made me enjoy this series sooooooooo much is that there are alot of cultural references and it made me laugh alot of times

overall this manga was amazing for me. i fell inlove with every single detail and it quickly became my favourite all times. basically this manga is perfect (except the art in parts 1&2).

If I were to tell you that I though JoJo part 1 was the best in the series you would probably think I was some mediocre pretentious pseudo intellectual reviewer who has no idea what he is talking about , but it was ME! Speak The Weak!!!

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1 deconstructs the shounen genre through its dynamic story line that bends clichés and tropes in order to craft a unique in a manner that only Hirohiko Araki (JoJo mangaka) could. The story focuses on a rich boy named Jonathan Joestar (JoJo) who lives with his father, George in England. One day Jojo's father takes in an orphan named Dio Brando because Dio's father who passed away saved George's life! To Jojo's surprise Dio wants to ruin his privileged life and take the Joestar family fortune all for himself! What JoJo does that most shounen don't is portray a rich privileged character as a protagonist and the poor tragic character as a villain. Dio started from the bottom and when he got to the top he abused his newfound power to wreak havoc (not to mention act like a total badass)!

Unlike other shounen works JoJo part 1 also features a wide array of characters each with their own role in the series, no character in the Jojo series, part 1 in particular is forgettable. Who could ever forget famous lines like "Even Speedwagon is afraid!" and "It was me! Dio!!!" and even "WRYYYYY". Though its wit and general badassery Jojo part one offers a one of a kind experience that none of the other installments can even try to imitate. Jojo part 1 also incorporates a unique fighting system called hamon, I don't want to go too in depth about it though because I want to avoid spoilers so read it for yourself to find out.

The art in JoJo is perfect similar to the rest of it, it pays homage to the other classic shounen manga of its time such as Fist of the North Star while also maintain its own unique manly style, unlike the later parts which make use of a much more feminine and ugly style which is inspired by fashion magazines instead of classic works in the medium of manga.

The characters in JoJo are as I mentioned before unforgettable and extremely badass, there are no dense, intensive protagonists, no disgusting fan service, and no boring moe pandering. Only men in their most masculine state.

JoJo Part One is a masterpiece that defined the shounen genre and kick started a series that would go on for many years and attract a wide array of fans, sadly the work does not get as much praise as its deserves despite being one of the best works of literature in the shounen demographic.

At the time of writing, this is my first and only experience with the JoJo universe. So I'll give my opinion without knowing what is ahead and without a clear idea of where, in terms of quality, this first part of the JoJo series is in relation to the others.

What I can say for certain is that I enjoyed it, and by giving a look at the forum discussions for the last chapter I noticed that quite a few people did not. I can understand why, and I'm not saying this is a perfect manga (my score should reflect that) but claiming it's "awful" or "terrible" is definitely an exaggeration. Again, maybe it's considerably more flawed than the rest of the series (something I've heard multiple people claim) but it doesn't make Phantom Blood any less enjoyable.

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The story - 7

The story is a bit clichè, maybe even "generic" but it manages to put an interesting twist on the classic vampire tale. The initial mystery, that of the mask, was intriguing, and when things finally started to happen it just got better and better. "Finally" may not be the right word tho... the story is very fast-paced, maybe too much. The greatest flaw I can find is perhaps just that. Does the plot move too fast and should the author have devoted more time to character development? Probably, but all in all the story still gets a solid 7.

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The Art - 9

I'm not much of an expert on this, but my very subjective opinion is that the artwork was fantastic. I found myself looking at certain pages for a long time, admiring the details the mangaka put in. The drawings manage to convey all the right feelings and emotions, and the design of the characters themselves is also excellent. I would normally say this is not "my style" but I actually loved it, bizarre.

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Characters - 8

Honestly, without this cast the story wouldn't be half as good. Together with the art this may be the manga's strongest point. Unfortunately, the reason I'm giving it an 8 and not a 9 is that, like I said earlier, I wish more time was spent on exploring their backstories and personalities. What's there is great, but if it was developed more it could have become truly amazing. Speedwagon and Zeppeli are two great characters, and JoJo is a great protagonist. Dio manages to be the douchiest of douchebags.

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Enjoyment/Overall - 8

As I said earlier, this was my first experience with JoJo. I've since started the anime and I'll soon start reading part 2. I think Phantom Blood is a very solid beginning for a series that, from what I hear, will give me a good deal of enjoyment in the future. I highly recommend it!

P.S Oh, and the memes! It's worth reading just for those!

When I first heard about JoJo's Bizzare Adventure this was a fairly underground manga in the West. It was a known series, but there definitely were more people that knew the name but never bothered reading than the ones that did. Things started to change, however, in 2012 when a new anime adaptation of Jojo started and as it adapted more and more parts of the story, the amount of fans grew and grew. It's hard to be an anime fan now and not have heard of Jojo or met a fan of the series. It was only recently that I decided to cave in and check what the hype was all about, so join me as I go through the series and tell you what I think. Put your seat belts on as we go all the way back to 1986.

Now, Jojo is huge and there's a lot of people that love it to death, but lets be fair, most of them will tell you that Part 1 is weak compared to the rest of the series. Sure, there's a lot of fans of it, and even people who prefer it, but the consensus is that it's not the best part, and I can see why.
When I first started reading I liked a couple of things, I like the atmosphere, that Castlevaniaesque vibe it had, it's definitely different than most manga that I tend to read, and I think that's probably because it's not a Japanese setting. It had this mysterious and Gothic aura to it that I really appreciated.

It's in this setting, in Victorian England, that we meet our main characters, the titular JoJo, Jonathan Joestar, who was very happy boy until the day his father introduces him to the newest member of the family, "It was me!" Dio Brando, who is basically Satan. Phantom Blood works around the fact that these two characters are the basic opposites of one another, natural enemies in a battle between morally good and morally bad. This is very cool in concept, but in reality, Dio is somehow the best character in the manga and even then, he is just "evil" and Jonathan is the most bland main character I think I've read. It's easily the worst character in the Jojo parts I've read and it's probably the worst character I've ever encountered.

And this is my main problem. I definitely have more gripes with part 1, that I'll talk about in a bit, but I would've excused it if I enjoyed the characters. If you read my reviews, or just know me, you may notice that I like works that have a good cast in it, and maybe I give it more importance than other people might give, depending on the story told, but I still think it's a very important aspect regardless. Because the story itself isn't bad, I like the setting, I like the mask a lot, I think it's interesting, the story around it is probably the best part of the first two parts of Jojo's, but alone it can't save it. And the main character is the one that I have more problems with, but I can't say that I found any of the supporting cast interesting. Really didn't care for Zeppeli or Speedwagon, and much less for characters like Dire or Straits.

Plus, it's not just the characters, there's a lot of points that, to be fair happen in a lot of other manga that I read from the time, like Devilman and Saint Seya, so one could blame it's age, but I've also read other manga from the same time that doesn't really have these flaws. I'm mostly talking about the dialogues, they are clunky, they feel unnatural, which doesn't help the characters either, because now they're not only bland, but every time they talk I feel a disconnect from the series, because people just don't talk like that.

The art too, I appreciate the designs, I think that amidst everything that I'm criticizing about the characters, their designs are unique and it helps them look varied, but the art itself is not that great. The poses they do, I know it's a meme now and part of the appeal to some people, but they don't look good to me, they are just... well... bizarre and look very ridiculous and non-human. Before I read Part 1 I've seen some artwork of Araki, so I know that he is good, that his art is amazing, but it's amazing now, definitely wasn't in 1986, and that's fine, I appreciate that he improved a lot, but we're judging Phantom Blood for what it is, and while it's not the worst art that I've come across, or course not, but it's quite ugly.

Ultimately, even knowing that the first part was probably the weakest, I still got considerably disappointed. It has a good concept, but there's too many flaws to make this an enjoyable experience. Thankfully a lot of problems I talk about would be improved in later parts, but talking about Phantom Blood on it's own, is it a mark on manga history? Yes, definitely! But is it good? Well, in my opinion, not so much.

I love Jojo. I seriously do. Honestly though, I think Phantom blood is my least favorite story. Not because I hate it, but because Jojo just gets better and better over time. This part did set up a strong foundation for the rest of the series though. It is a story of a wealthy boy, Johnathan Joestar, suddenly having his life turned to hell by his adoptive brother Dio Brando. As they grow into young adulthood, Dio suddenly becomes a vampire and only Jojo can stop him. This part isn't as flashy as the other parts of Jojo, but it does maintain the solid jojo characteristics of "good-of-heart" and honor. Part 1 also does a good job at establishing Araki's credibility as a writer. Araki is able to maintain a unique story atmosphere, while keeping things detailed and appealing. Araki had a similar approach to his first published work, Baoh, but it was not nearly executed as well as in Jojo.

The best thing part 1 does is introduce Dio. Dio is a really amazing character, and VERY IMPORTANT to Jojo. Part 1 is the only time we get to see real character development in Dio, and it gives us the context we need to understand his influence.

This part might be a bit a bit on the bland side, but it is still enjoyable. Seeing characters like Dio do there thing is exciting,and will have you on the edge of your seat sometimes. With this though, the big thing with part 1 is context. Is Phantom Blood a strong start? Not necessarily, but it is a required start. Every part (even later alternate universe parts) are built around the key points of Phantom Blood.It is needed to better understand the rest of the series. It is because of this that it holds a special place in fans' hearts, even if it isn't the best part of the epic manga series.