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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 Jojo no Kimyō na Bōken) is a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha in their magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump, started in 1987 and went on to 2004. The current story arc was initially published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but was moved to Ultra Jump in 2005. It is currently Shōnen Jump's second longest running manga with 99 volumes and counting (only Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo, with over 160 volumes, has more.) It is the longest manga not to have a TV adaptation, although there are two OVA adaptations. The manga is published in English by Viz Media, starting from the third story arc. Thirteen volumes have been published. Originally published bimonthly, it has been reduced to a quarterly release.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Stand powersA "stand" (スタンド sutando) is a supernatural power in the manga and anime JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. When first presented in Part 3, Joseph Joestar referred to it as a "ghostly ripple" (幽波紋（スタンド） sutando, but without furigana would be pronounced yū hamon); it could conjecturally be said to be a semi-physical manifestation of one's hamon (ripple) powers as seen in Part 1 and Part 2. The exact requirements for a person to obtain a stand are unclear, although the series hints that it can be linked to bloodline, rigorous spiritual/hamon training, and/or exceptionally strong willpower. However, a stand may never manifest itself in one's life until it is amplified by certain conditions/factors. One of the known and most commonly used amplifying factors, is to pierce oneself with "stand arrows" created from a mysterious meteorite. However, it is often a gamble, as it would easily kill an unqualified person, and there is no apparent way to know if a person is qualified ahead of time; the Arrows do, however, tend to seek out qualified people on their own if there is someone to guide them. Another amplifying condition is done by simply being around powerful stand users, such as the case of Trisha Una's Spice Girl from Part 5, Golden Wind. A qualified existing stand user may also have their stand "upgraded" by piercing the arrow through the stand—this results in the Stand becoming a "Requiem" form of its previous self. However, this is also a gamble, as an unqualified stand user may render their new stand uncontrollable, and he or she may actually kill himself or herself in the process. Enrico Pucci of Part 6, Stone Ocean, was able to produce artificial stand users with his stand, Whitesnake, by stealing others' stands and "inserting" them into regular people. It is unclear as to whether or not these artificial stand users were capable of having stands of their own, but Enrico does claim that only certain individuals are qualified to have stands inserted. It is still unclear for the condition that one person can possess two stands. In Golden Wind there are examples of a single person possessing two stands because of the ability of an extraordinary stand. In Part 7, Steel Ball Run, a third amplifying factor is introduced by fusing parts of oneself with "The Saint"'s body parts. However, stands generated by this factor disappear as soon as the body parts defuse from one another. [edit] Media[edit] MangaThere have been seven parts to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, each featuring a different cast of characters. Main article: Phantom Blood JoJo's Bizarre Adventure volumes 1 to 5 Main article: Battle Tendency JoJo's Bizarre Adventure volumes 5 to 12 Main article: Stardust Crusaders JoJo's Bizarre Adventure volumes 12 to 28 Main article: Diamond is Unbreakable JoJo's Bizarre Adventure volumes 29 to 47 Main article: Vento Aureo JoJo's Bizarre Adventure volumes 47 to 63 Main article: Stone Ocean JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean volumes 1 (64) to 17 (80) Main article: Steel Ball Run Steel Ball Run volume 1 and onward [edit] AnimeMain article: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (OVA) Two OVA adaptations based on the Stardust Crusaders story arc was produced by Studio A.P.P.P. The original six-episode series was released in 1993, which begins during the middle of the original arc. A seven-episode prequel series was released in 2001, adapting the beginning of the story arc. Super Techno Arts produced an English adaptation of both, the original series and the prequel series, releasing all thirteen episodes as a six-volume DVD series between 2003 and 2005, with the episodes ordered by its fictional chronology. Due to legal reasons, names which referenced certain bands or singers had to be changed in the English translation. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, a feature film adaptation of the original story arc of the manga, was released theatrically on February 17, 2007 in Japan. The film was produced to commemorate 25th anniversary of creator Hirohiko Araki's career as a manga artist. The theme song was composed by the Japanese group SOUL'd OUT with their single "Voodoo Kingdom". This film has yet to be released on DVD. [edit] NovelIn 2000, it was announced that Otsuichi would be writing a novel based on Part 4. The novel proved difficult to complete; in Kono Mystery ga Sugoi 2004, Otsuichi claimed to have written over 2000 pages, but thrown them all out.[1] Intent on writing a novel that lived up to the manga, it took him until 2007 to complete it.[2]
[edit] Video gamesMain article: List of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure video games  Cover of the PlayStation version (U.S. version), featuring the face of Jotaro Kujo. Several video games have been adapted from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The first was an RPG, based on the third story, which was released in 1993 for the Super Famicom. Later, two fighting games for the arcade were also adapted from the third arc by Capcom, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (released as JoJo's Venture in the west) and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage for the Future, both in 1999 for arcade. The arcade games were ported to PlayStation and Dreamcast. The fighting games were the first piece of JoJo related media released in North America, exposing the characters to many western players. A third Capcom game was based on Part 5, titled GioGio no Kimyō na Bōken: Ōgon no Kaze and released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002. This game was scheduled for release in Europe as GioGio's Bizarre Adventure, but this did not come through because of the heavy references to band names, and Araki is unwilling to compromise in the change of names to avoid lawsuits. Capcom originally intended to release the game in the United States, even showing a playable version at the 2002 Electronic Entertainment Expo, but no further plans or official release date has been announced since then. A new game by Bandai, titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, was released on October 26, 2006 for the PlayStation 2. The story is based on the first arc and features action/adventure gameplay, similar to Golden Whirlwind. Araki has personally checked the quality of the game and its faithfulness to the original. The release of the game coincides with the release of the new movie and the 25th anniversary of Araki Hirohiko's manga career. The game itself includes a bonus disc celebrating 20 years of the JoJo franchise. Before the first JoJo's Bizarre Adventure game was released, Bandai released a Shōnen Jump crossover adventure game titled Famicom Jump: Hero Retsuden in 1989. Joseph Joestar from the second arc is one of the playable characters, while Santana and Speedwagon made cameo appearances. Its sequel Famicom Jump II: The Strongest Seven, released in 1991, features Jotaro as a selectable character. Joseph, Avdol, Kakyoin, and Polnareff also appears in this game. Both games were available on the Nintendo Famicom. Characters from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure were also featured in the Weekly Shōnen Jump crossover game Jump Superstars and its sequel Jump Ultimate Stars, including Jotaro Kujo and Dio Brando as playable characters. [edit] In popular culture
[edit] Reference to popular culture
[edit] Reception
[edit] ControversyIn May 2008, both Shueisha and Studio A.P.P.P halted shipments of JoJo after a complaint had been launched against them, because the series depicted the Koran as a book related to cold-blooded execution. A scene in the anime adaptation had used pages from the Qur'an in a book read by the villain. While the manga did not feature such as a scene, Viz Media and Shueisha ceased publication of the English language edition of the series for a year in 2008.[3] Viz resumed publication a year later, with the eleventh volume being published on April 7, 2009. [edit] References
[edit] External links
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