On Feb. 17, the long-running series "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" will return to its monthly schedule. Artist Hirohiko Araki has spent the last year on hiatus, and the speculation around the manga has reached a fever pitch in the last few months, as marketing for the beginning of part nine, "JOJOlands," began earlier this year.
For many, "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," or "JoJo," is an impenetrable media franchise. Spanning over 35 years, several on-screen adaptations, video games and spin-off series, "JoJo" has become a daunting media franchise recognizable to most by its memes.
Beyond the collective internet humor is a franchise that has maintained an audience throughout its run and brings in new fans each year. This is in part to "JoJo" having a unique blend of elements, its themes and the diligent community of content creators surrounding it.
"JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" began as a manga in 1987. Since its creation, it has been adapted several times, with the most well-known coming in 2012. The series follows each generation of the Joestar family, and each arc of the story follows a new character on a new adventure.
These adventures mix elements of action, horror, mystery and humor in subversive ways. The bizarre titular nature comes through an interweaving of these elements with the main supernatural element of the series: "stands."
Stands are an extension of a character's spirit and take on several forms, names and abilities across the series. A prominent example is the Killer Queen, named after the Queen song that allows the user to destroy any object he's touched with a snap.
A character's stand exists to add tension and conflict to the series. These abilities are often fixed and rarely change. Instead, stands represent an inherent aspect of the character that they learn to control. Often the limited focus of the more peculiar stands encourages creative and surprising uses of their abilities.
"JoJo" is a show interested in the growth of the characters throughout a story, compared to other series like "Dragon Ball Z," where characters develop exponentially to meet obstacles, a trope found throughout shōnen. "JoJo" instead focuses on interpersonal exchanges and the battles of attrition that result in growth.
In an interview with the creator, he described it as the ability that "people are able to grow by overcoming obstacles through the power of the human spirit and strength ( … ) Within 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure,' there are fights and stories that involve various elements. However, in the end, people pull through without relying on machines and divine beings to determine fate themselves. Drawing people like that is my 'affirmation that humanity is wonderful.'"
This sentiment is established from the series' first arc in the fight between Johnathan Joestar and the dark knight Bruford. The protagonist Johnathan ceases his fight with Bruford as each character realizes the fight's fate. Johnathan's faith in the humanity of Bruford reaches out to the character and forms a bond beyond violence.
From this moment, a core element of "JoJo" is established, with some antagonists becoming companions in the protagonist's journey. In each arc from this original series, antagonism is often resolved through words and faith in others. The appeal to humanity becomes the strongest force.
This core element is the main draw of "JoJo." Though there is humor, intense action and a truly bizarre narrative, it is only a pretense for a discussion on humanity. It is not meant to flaunt action but to demonstrate the capacity for good and change that is inherent in us all.
Benjamin Ervin is a senior studying English literature and writing at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Benjamin know by emailing him be425014@ohio.edu.
