JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a multigenerational saga that follows the Joestar family through centuries of conflict with supernatural evil. The series begins in 1880s England with Phantom Blood, where noble Jonathan Joestar battles his adoptive brother Dio Brando after Dio becomes a vampire. Subsequent arcs leap through time and across the globe: Joseph Joestar in 1930s New York, Jotaro Kujo in 1980s Japan (where the iconic Stand battle system debuts), then to 1990s Italy, 2000s Florida, an alternate 1890s America, and modern-day Japan. Each part introduces a new JoJo protagonist with a self-contained story, yet all are connected through bloodline, fate, and recurring motifs like the mysterious Arrow that awakens Stands.

The series was created solely by Hirohiko Araki, born June 7, 1960 in Sendai, Japan. He launched the manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in December 1986, and it has run continuously ever since. Araki's art style draws from Italian Renaissance sculpture, horror manga like Devilman, and Western fashion magazines. He has stated the core theme is the triumph of the human spirit, and he continues to write and draw the series with no end in sight.

First collected in tankobon form by Shueisha on August 10, 1987, the series has over 135 volumes in Japan as of 2025. English publication by Viz Media began in 2005, releasing all parts in hardcover and paperback. The manga has sold over 120 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling series ever. It defies simple genre labels, blending action, horror, supernatural adventure, comedy, and drama. Key themes include fate and legacy, courage and sacrifice, creative problem-solving in Stand battles, and heavy references to Western music and fashion.[edit]