JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Vol. 1
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- Create Date：2021-07-31 08:54:15
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Hirohiko Araki
- ISBN：1421578794
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Reviews
Jo Ladzinski
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Content warnings: Bullying， physical violence， harm against animalsJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a fantasy family saga about the Joestar family。 Our first Joestar is Jonathan， a British aristocrat whose father takes in Dio， a bit of a street urchin on dire straits。 However， not much is as it seems as Dio bullies Jonathan and tries to tear the Joestar family apart。The art sure is something。 There’s movement often at the expense of any understanding of human anatomy。 The poses are amazing， and there Content warnings: Bullying， physical violence， harm against animalsJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a fantasy family saga about the Joestar family。 Our first Joestar is Jonathan， a British aristocrat whose father takes in Dio， a bit of a street urchin on dire straits。 However， not much is as it seems as Dio bullies Jonathan and tries to tear the Joestar family apart。The art sure is something。 There’s movement often at the expense of any understanding of human anatomy。 The poses are amazing， and there is nothing heterosexual to be found here。 I also really enjoyed the development between Jonathan’s and Dio’s rivalry， especially as its revealed that one has several layers of ulterior motives。 It’s fun， it’s wild， and the adventure begins in earnest。 。。。more
Selena
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Just not my thing
Arsénico
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Buah！！ 5 estrellas porque me lo he pasado como una enana。 No esperaba nada de esta serie y menudo descubrimiento！！！
Vicki （The Wolf's Den）
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This month's pick in Maven of the Eventide's （aka Elisa Hansen's） Vampire Book Club was a first for me: my very first official （not fan-translated） Manga ever， and also my first foray into the world of JoJo。 Sure， I've seen enough of JoJo here and there to know of him—his style， the references， and what have you—but I'd never actually gone and experienced it for myself。 Not even an episode of the anime。 So， with an open mind and bated breath， I took the plunge into the bizarre world of JoJo and This month's pick in Maven of the Eventide's （aka Elisa Hansen's） Vampire Book Club was a first for me: my very first official （not fan-translated） Manga ever， and also my first foray into the world of JoJo。 Sure， I've seen enough of JoJo here and there to know of him—his style， the references， and what have you—but I'd never actually gone and experienced it for myself。 Not even an episode of the anime。 So， with an open mind and bated breath， I took the plunge into the bizarre world of JoJo and DIO！Okay， that was a LOT to process。 Where do I even begin？I guess I can start with our main characters。 We're first introduced to Dio Brando， a stuck up kid with a chip on his shoulder and zero respect for his dying father。 On his deathbed， his father tells him to seek out a man whose life he saved （allegedly） so that he can be raised in luxury， and that he should become rich himself。 Dio accepts this "inheritance" but vows to do so only for himself， not his scumbag of a father。 This sets Dio up fairly early as a sympathetic character: a poor upbringing by an alcoholic， lying， scumbag of a father， and orphaned at age 12。 He's then sent to live a life of luxury with what he presumes to be a couple blue bloods， and vows to become rich and powerful in spite of his origin by using any means he can。 And then he kicks a dog。 Welp， there went that。 He also forces a girl to kiss him， further tortures animals， and poisons people。 And that's all before becoming a vampire。 Yeah， if the dog kicking didn't clue you in， Dio is the villain of our story， and he certainly earns that moniker。 While he may evoke a bit of sympathy for his goal of tearing down the elites， his eventual abandonment of this goal， as well as his methods of torture and murder quickly killed any kinship I might have felt with him。 And things only got worse when he became a vampire。 In terms of villainy and personality， he became very one note: namely， "I， DIO， am a GOD， and will rule the world！" There's no longer any ambition， or fear， or even disgust， there is only maniacal laughter and praising himself every other sentence。 And yeah， sure， he was always arrogant， but he was also clever and careful， and both of those personality traits suddenly disappear when he's a vampire。 He's fun and campy and very over-the-top evil， but he's so one-note he's also kinda boring。Unfortunately JoJo， our titular character， isn't much better。 We first meet him also at age 12 as a brash， but good-hearted kid。 He gets along with others okay， but has always been a bit of a loner， such that his dog， Danny， is by far his bestest friend。 When his new adopted brother， Dio， shows up， he's quick to offer a friendly hand， but finds the new boy alarmingly destructive。 Still， he would never badmouth anybody without concrete proof， so keeps his opinions to himself and suffers through the abuse。 Years later， he has grown up to be a strong （and somewhat huge） young man with an interest in archeology。 This interest has one minor use to the plot and is never spoken of again。JoJo is a passive character， allowing things to happen around him before he takes any action himself: his father gets sick， he leaves to search for a cure; Dio forces a kiss on a girl， JoJo fights back; a strange man appears on the side of the road， JoJo accepts his offer to train; etc。 About the only proactive things he does are study archaeology， which is only used once， and decide to travel at the end of the book （though for all we know， it may have been suggested by his companion）。 Not that a character shouldn't react to what's happening around him， but when that's all he does for the entirety of the book， it gets old。 It also doesn't help that JoJo doesn't have much personality-wise。 He's a pure soul， always assuming the best of people， always sticking up for those in trouble， and always doing his best to help。 He's not the smartest kid （though that seems to have improved during the time-skip） but he's tenacious and a quick learner when it comes to physical training， mastering the strange man's techniques in only a week。 He's quintessentially good and hardworking， but he's just not as fun as his nemesis， which makes rooting for him kinda hard。 And that's why he has so many hype-men behind him。 Zeppeli， or that strange man I've been mentioning， is JoJo's teacher and the all-important exposition-giver of the book。 With so many strange and bizarre happenings， it's easy to get confused， so Zeppeli often steps in to give necessary backstory or explanations of techniques。 He's joined on the sidelines by Speedwagon， aka the character more useless than an actual child。 I swear， this man has one cool moment during his introduction， then spends the rest of the book either bemoaning his uselessness or hyping up his comrades。 Though I suppose eye-candy serves its own purpose。 Of course， I would be remiss not to mention the art in these。 The male characters are all total beefcakes， with muscles for days。 JoJo especially looks built like a tank。 The women weren't waifish either， though still keeping a more hourglass figure。 The action was a bit hard for me to follow at times， but I'm willing to chalk that up to tiredness and unfamiliarity with the medium。 But what really impressed me were the horror shots。 Sure， I knew there were vampires， but I had no idea about the body horror and graphic gore this book contained。 Most of it was stylized enough that I didn't have an issue， but I can see how some scenes wouldn't sit well with others （one part with a carotid artery made book club members sick）。 I'd definitely be interested in checking out the anime for a comparison， both for the art and the story。Speaking of which， the story was fine for the most part， but with it lacking compelling characters （for me） I was not as drawn in as I would have liked。 I was most engaged during the first volume， which covered the setup of the childhoods of JoJo and Dio， the vampire-making mask of the Aztecs， and the ultimate call-to-action for JoJo。 The mask itself was an interesting macguffin， though it seemed to lose its usefulness after the first volume。 I think it's mentioned once that it can be used to create vampires from corpses， but since it's never shown again， it seems mostly worthless after Dio's transformation。 The first fight scene was also pretty cool， with Dio showing off his new vampire powers and JoJo barely able to fight back。But then the story devolves into nothing but fight scenes。 We get JoJo's training， his first fight using that training， a couple harder fights with more players， and then the major confrontation。 I guess I knew this was an action series， so it wasn't really surprising that the second and third volumes were mostly full of fight scenes， but at the same time， that's not what the first volume really set up。 I was into the cleverness， the nuance， the experimentation， and the slow-building dread of the first volume， and for all that to be pushed aside for fight after fight after fight， with no plan other than to fight was kinda disappointing。Still， the book does have its interesting and charming elements。 I really liked the idea of the Ripples/Hamon， and their life-giving potential being the equal opposite to the vampire's destructive power。 It was cool seeing an "Eastern" technique originate from India （rather than China or Japan）， and having that up against vampires originating from Central America， all going head-to-head in Victorian England was wild。 Plus there were some genuinely funny， shocking， and awesome moments that helped break up the monotony of punching， usually coming from Dio or one of the other villains: Overall， I'm glad I took a chance with Phantom Blood。 While it suffers a bit from its over-reliance on action over characters （possibly a product of its 80s publication）， it still has enough quirkiness to keep it endearing。 If you enjoy gothic horror， over-the-top villainy， 80s-inspired musclemen， or other Japanese entertainment （anime/manga） and you haven't checked out JoJo yet， I'd definitely recommend it。 And if you're interested， check out the Vampire Book Club's synopsis and discussion， and join us in the future for more fangtastic and bizarre tales。 。。。more
Rory C
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Definitely bizarre。This story dates back to 1986 and some of the unpleasant plot developments and weird anatomy depictions probably can be attributed to that。 Has a compulsive energy， and an ambition to it that is noteworthy。 Am curious to see how the author/artist skills will develop over the succeeding volumes。At my bookshop this series is quite popular with adolescent boys， and at times reading this I wonder if it was appropriate for that age group。 I guess that's why they like it so much。 Definitely bizarre。This story dates back to 1986 and some of the unpleasant plot developments and weird anatomy depictions probably can be attributed to that。 Has a compulsive energy， and an ambition to it that is noteworthy。 Am curious to see how the author/artist skills will develop over the succeeding volumes。At my bookshop this series is quite popular with adolescent boys， and at times reading this I wonder if it was appropriate for that age group。 I guess that's why they like it so much。 。。。more
carson celeste
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im a simple man… i love vampires and dio。
Anne-Christine
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Speedwagon is the ultimate waifu
Gaz Galey
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this was so weird， but lots of fun。
Serena
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Trying to read some volumes before I start the anime！ I think this set up the series really nicely。 I like the art style （even though the body proportions are a little weird to me）， and I’m excited to see where it goes。
Adrienne
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This was ok。 I'm not sure it was enough to get me to invest in such a long series though。 This was ok。 I'm not sure it was enough to get me to invest in such a long series though。 。。。more
Charon Lloyd-Roberts
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So first off， someone I interact with on Twitter got me into this series and I'm kind slowly falling down the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure rabbit hole。。。Jonathan Joestar is precious and Dio Brando may be cunning but I also admire the small moments when he actually does something admirable。But I don't like being left on a cliffhanger。 So first off， someone I interact with on Twitter got me into this series and I'm kind slowly falling down the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure rabbit hole。。。Jonathan Joestar is precious and Dio Brando may be cunning but I also admire the small moments when he actually does something admirable。But I don't like being left on a cliffhanger。 。。。more
Emmy Lou
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I'm not sure how I felt about this - my husband is crazy about JoJo's。 I've watched a few episodes of the anime and get the appeal。 I hadn't seen any from this arc though。 I think what I've seen is from Stardust Crusaders， with Jotaro and Joseph。 I did enjoy that。 I've ordered the next volume anyway - maybe this arc just isn't for me。 I'm not sure how I felt about this - my husband is crazy about JoJo's。 I've watched a few episodes of the anime and get the appeal。 I hadn't seen any from this arc though。 I think what I've seen is from Stardust Crusaders， with Jotaro and Joseph。 I did enjoy that。 I've ordered the next volume anyway - maybe this arc just isn't for me。 。。。more
sylvya_from_asgard
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Edizione bookporn e disegni spettacolari， meglio dell'anime。 Edizione bookporn e disegni spettacolari， meglio dell'anime。 。。。more
Ella
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-9/10-I tried getting into the anime like a year ago and turned it off after 2 minutes-Needless to say， I didn't have high hope for the manga-Boy was I wrong-It has an incredibly unique art style that I loved-A hint of horror which I enjoyed - Can't wait to see where it goes from here -9/10-I tried getting into the anime like a year ago and turned it off after 2 minutes-Needless to say， I didn't have high hope for the manga-Boy was I wrong-It has an incredibly unique art style that I loved-A hint of horror which I enjoyed - Can't wait to see where it goes from here 。。。more
Brittany
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For the longest time， I have sworn to my friends that I will never， in a million， gazillion years， that I will watch the show。 In fact， I said that I hate this show with a passion。。。until someone told me to read the manga， to see if I like it better。 So I did-after I got my vaccine， I went to Barnes and Nobles and got it。 Now that I have read it。。。I have to say， this book is a 3。5 out of stars for me-mostly because of Dio。Dio pretty much ruined the book for me for many reasons。 He has done so mu For the longest time， I have sworn to my friends that I will never， in a million， gazillion years， that I will watch the show。 In fact， I said that I hate this show with a passion。。。until someone told me to read the manga， to see if I like it better。 So I did-after I got my vaccine， I went to Barnes and Nobles and got it。 Now that I have read it。。。I have to say， this book is a 3。5 out of stars for me-mostly because of Dio。Dio pretty much ruined the book for me for many reasons。 He has done so much terrible shit to everyone around him-and for what？ Because he's plain evil， money hungry （yes I said it， money fucking hungry， fight me） and he made Jonathan Joestar's life a living hell。 I mean， this man has done so much shit throughout the book， that when it came to Jonathan's father， he poisoned him the same way he poisoned his own father。 But thank god for Jonathan who found the guy and found the antidote to save his own father， even though Dio ruins his whole life because Joanthan was a sweet and kind boy。 Now here's the shocking part: I was honestly worried and sad for Jonathan Joestar。 He didn't deserve what Dio did to him-all he was was a nice young man， living in a nice house with his father， had a dog that loved him back， and then here comes someone who hates you for no reason， wants to make you an outcast FOR NO REASON， and wants to make you have no friends， no girlfriends， no nothing because to them， you are beneath this person。 But at LEAST Jonathan rose up from all of that and continued to do what he was supposed to do， amid all the bullshit Dio put him through。 I will be continuing to read the manga because it's actually a really good story， but I just want to kill Dio in his sleep or send him to Florida so he can fight the legendary stand。。。。FLORIDIA MAN （joke from my friend because I was contemplating how to kill Dio。） 。。。more
Niall
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It’s a strange one， but I liked it。 Dio Brando is not a nice person
Kawal
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Okay， I know part one isn't the most popular part， but after reading the first volume， I realize now how much plot was happening in such a short part。 Within just this first volume so much happens， from character introductions to the plot progressing so quickly。 I honestly think Part 1 is so good， and reading it was so much fun。 This volume was such a great introduction to this world， but also the series in general。 Reading JJBA will be just as fun of an experience as it was watching it for the Okay， I know part one isn't the most popular part， but after reading the first volume， I realize now how much plot was happening in such a short part。 Within just this first volume so much happens， from character introductions to the plot progressing so quickly。 I honestly think Part 1 is so good， and reading it was so much fun。 This volume was such a great introduction to this world， but also the series in general。 Reading JJBA will be just as fun of an experience as it was watching it for the first time， and honestly I can't say that for all manga series。phantom blood reading vlog: https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=DVLb9。。。 。。。more
Shaun
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It's a hyper-masculine and overblown 19th Century gothic horror on drugs at the beginning and I am already hooked on this shit。 It's a hyper-masculine and overblown 19th Century gothic horror on drugs at the beginning and I am already hooked on this shit。 。。。more
O。 U。
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I feel like when you start discussing "art"（whatever that means）， it ends up either turning into a circlejerk， or an argument。 I still remember a heated argument I had with an ex-girlfriend over Jackson Pollock back in high school。 At the time， I hadn't really thought of art outside of the spectrum of painting， like movies， books， games， etc。 I remember I made the argument "He's just throwing paint on a canvas！ That's it！ That doesn't take skill！ I could do that！" Now， years later， I'd probably I feel like when you start discussing "art"（whatever that means）， it ends up either turning into a circlejerk， or an argument。 I still remember a heated argument I had with an ex-girlfriend over Jackson Pollock back in high school。 At the time， I hadn't really thought of art outside of the spectrum of painting， like movies， books， games， etc。 I remember I made the argument "He's just throwing paint on a canvas！ That's it！ That doesn't take skill！ I could do that！" Now， years later， I'd probably say something like "Well， it's subjective。 I think the real art was in the movements he made while he made these paintings。 Think of the tension that might've been deep inside him when he flicked his brush at the canvas。 How violent， how sporadic those must've been。 I mean， within the context of him being a volatile alcoholic， can't you feel that stress radiating off these paintings？" or something like that。 I think Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is one of those kinds of things。 You only need to read the first few pages to feel the heart， the confidence of the story。 The author used modeling magazines for the poses， he was obsessed with American Rock which is why you have characters with names like "Robert E。O。 Speedwagon"， and insanely buff men。 It's all such a weird， dare I say bizarre， mix of things that just somehow works！ I've never seen something so perfectly crafted and uplifted by its art style。 It's some really powerful stuff。 The characters are incredible， the artwork is incredible， the fucking LOOK of the volumes are absolutely incredible！ The story？ 。。。。 The story？ Well， it's alright。 Do keep in mind that this is only a critique of Part One's story。 This series， as a whole， works if you suspend your disbelief。 It's easier in later parts where things are oftentimes ridiculous and the author doesn't try to explain it， you're just there along for the bizarre adventure。 Part One is steeped in our world， and the author tries to explain some of the weirder directions he takes。 I feel like that takes away from the piece， the pacing loses steam as he's trying to explain why this is a thing， or why that turned out the way it did。 Combine that with what is mostly a typical good vs。 evil story， and the story might not sit too well with you。 Phantom Blood is both hurt and helped by its short length。 Though I would consider the middle portion to be its weakest point， I think the ending is incredibly strong。 I think the series grows into itself with Part Two "Battle Tendency"， and keeps getting better and better throughout the rest of it。 It wouldn't have been able to do that though had Phantom Blood not been as strong and steadfast as it was。 4。5/5。 https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=MTW4sIL9Dpw Had to do it to 'em。 。。。more
Torin
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GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD
Rioden
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Apt title。
Morgan Young
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I’m only taking away a star because the dog died！ Besides that， this was really excellent。
Abigail
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Not my thing， but I can see why it's so popular。 Not my thing， but I can see why it's so popular。 。。。more
Joshua Southern
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'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' is a tough thing to rate or review。 It lives up to its name。 Famously one of the strangest， most inaccessible， beloved manga （and anime） of all time， this is my first foray into JoJo's beyond the odd clip on YouTube， out of context image or 'there's a stand for that' meme。 The art is weird， the story and characters over the top and borderline nonsensical in places， and I think I really like it？The reason this gets a three star review as opposed to anything higher is th 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' is a tough thing to rate or review。 It lives up to its name。 Famously one of the strangest， most inaccessible， beloved manga （and anime） of all time， this is my first foray into JoJo's beyond the odd clip on YouTube， out of context image or 'there's a stand for that' meme。 The art is weird， the story and characters over the top and borderline nonsensical in places， and I think I really like it？The reason this gets a three star review as opposed to anything higher is the relative slowness of the beginning （of course this is the first volume of the first part， so slowness is to be expected， but the pacing still feels quite strange to begin with） and the initial difficulty to "get it"。 That said， it's still a compelling read for all of its oddity， and the latter half of the volume picks up IMMENSELY。 I get the feeling that this was an introduction that intentionally throws a lot of peculiarity at you in order to ease you into the world and prepare you for the wild ride to come， and I'm certainly looking forward to continuing and seeing what Hirohiko Araki has come up with。 It's sure to be crazy。 。。。more
Gigi Bell
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danny :（（
Carmen DiProspero
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This will only appeal to hardcore fans of the series。 If you are offended by sibling rivalry， cruelty to animals， family issues， extreme violence， cursed masks， and young women bring near raped， this is purely not， repeat NOT， for the faint at heart。 If you want to know the origins of the Joestar family and less squeamish for previously mentioned twerks， then by all means， check it out。
Isaiah Boisseau
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a great start to a great series！ some people might find it boring， and might want to skip to part 2 or 3， but this part is important because it gives you foundational knowledge about the rest of the series。
Re Yu
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Great beginning
Alicia
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I don't get it？ There wasn't a redeeming quality for me but I picked it up because we ordered it and know it's a popular subject for our kids。 But I don't get it。 The artwork didn't capture me but neither did the dialogue or characters and I found myself feeling the 'bizarre' of the bizarre adventures like what is really the point？ Why is he so angry？ What is with the rage？ I don't get it？ There wasn't a redeeming quality for me but I picked it up because we ordered it and know it's a popular subject for our kids。 But I don't get it。 The artwork didn't capture me but neither did the dialogue or characters and I found myself feeling the 'bizarre' of the bizarre adventures like what is really the point？ Why is he so angry？ What is with the rage？ 。。。more
Antonio Campos
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