Reading this manga for the first time more than 35 years after it's original run I feel that there has to be some allowances for some of the more dated elements of the story. What are now clichés may not have been in 1987 (or perhaps not to the same extent as may be the case today) whether it is the impossibly evil step brother, the virtuous but dense as a doorknob father to the unapologetically anabolic physiques; it's all a bit antiquated but not entirely without charm.

The execution of this admittedly very simple, basic story is the main attraction. Nothing about Jonathan or Dio or really any of the other characters is unique to this story - in fact they hardly have much personality beyond the factory coat veneer of henchman, mentor, sidekick, main character's girlfriend etc but despite that through the little details like Dio's consistently hateful and aggressive facial expressions to Zeppeli's ridiculous but endearing diamond-pattern top hat, these kinds of micro genius decisions all converge together to produce something greater than the sum of it's parts.

But it is mostly style over substance. Jonathan manages something of a character arc but you'll still be hard pressed by the end of the story to recall his personality other than it progressed from "bizarrely naive" to "stoic".

My issues with the story are some of the more contrived elements. Characters who should be soundly defeated given the rules established in the universe, pull miracle reversals out of thin air often with large speech bubbles explaining, sometimes unconvincingly, how. The final blows in particular are over-explained in some of the fights to where you get the impression that Iraki himself was self-conscious of how much he was stretching things, even in a story like this.

Characters also change their resolve, allegiance and temperament on a dime. They'll be stubbornly one way and then based on some usually superficial new information, interaction or event they will suddenly change their mind and reconsider their life choices, for instance joining forces with the protagonist within a few panels of going after said protagonist with murderous intent. It doesn't feel real or that these are real characters so much as they are archetypes playing out their respective roles in this gauntlet that Iraki has them running around in.

It's mostly entertaining. The artwork, despite looking clumsy in many places, works well to communicate the energy and power behind physical attacks and blows with the aftermath panel making you almost wince at the whatever body part is being crushed brutally if overly cartoonishly. Some of the gratuitous violence is surprisingly eyebrow-raising. Not in a bad way but more just surprising for something that was serialized in a shonen publication in the late 80s.

Overall it is serviceable but reads like an slightly refined, quickly polished outline or sketch of what should be a more fleshed out story. It's very expository and campy but that coupled with the art style works on a few levels... It just isn't a very good stand alone manga - in fact it is remarkably bad in that regard despite having all the component pieces and elements of a proper start, middle and end.

As the first part of a long-running, very successful series it seems this work serves more as a world-building exercise and a foundation upon which more interesting stories and characters will later be told. That is my hope at any rate.

... Last updated on September 15th, 2024, 4:08pm

I'm pleasantly surprised by the start of this well known manga. Had very low expectations, more like those of a pure shounen, but the start was great, the fighting later on OK but not my cup of tea. A nice read, will keep on reading.

He was already perfectly capable of drawing the human body, but his choice in design was brought on by trends of the time that co-existed in both Japan & America in the 80s with Marvel & Image comics. I initially detested this art style when I started the franchise, but after experiencing the full evolution of Araki's art, I had a new perspective on it, & it's grown on me.

Jonathan & Dio are supposed to be about 12 years old in the first book, but you can be forgiven for thinking they're college aged. These thicc boys have the type of bodies you'd typically find in Freak Shows around the time the story takes place. The quickest way I can describe the character designs is "what if Rob Liefeld was a bara doujinshi artist." & for some reason they all have really tiny feet. But the background art is super detailed & every bit as good as the anatomy is bad. The art can also be very amusing when you get a weird action pose, or the unfortunate way the color pages muddied the faces when reprinted in B&W. There''s also some funny perspective issues & impossible anatomy poses that will make you chuckle. By volume 2 you can see a little art evolution in the face.

The 19th century (1800s) fashion & hair styles are a little baffling on the men due to proportions, but they just seem totally off the mark most of the time. He gets it right with adult Erina, but she does wear a 1920s swimsuit. In chapter 21, there's a woman in a mid 20th century sheer chemise, & Jojo's Deetstalker has a short front bill & an elongated back bill to imitate wearing a backwards baseball cap. Liberties like this in period pieces annoy the hell out of me; it shows laziness & a lack of research.

Ogre Street is where the story starts getting into the fantasy elements hinted at in the very first chapter. It is basically the slums, but with a Mad Max vibe to it.

It has an interesting take on Vampires & zombies.

Jojo is a buttmonkey punching bag with the worst luck in the world who, despite growing up rich, has no class at all. Dio is like a psychopathic take on Geston from Beauty & the Beast, who is 200% spiteful sadist & is somehow sophisticated despite growing up lower middle class. The story definitely makes you want to root for Jojo to get his act together & come out on top. Unfortunately for him, this is one of those seinen series that likes to kill off & replace its cast.

There's an animal death scene on par with Michael the Cat from Mad Bull 34 that may not sit well with some readers.

The characters seem to predominantly be named after music bands & actors from the 80s. I hear latter seasons expand to using fashion designers.

Xeno Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter bears a striking resemblance to the man who sold Dio poison in volume 2, from his hair down to his clothes.

Speedwagon seems to have gone from robbing random people on the streets to being a goldhearted boot-licker after a single punch to the face. The best way to describe him is loyal dog, cheerleader, non-action guy, dude in distress, Captain Obvious, or exposition guy.

Zepelli comes off as a complete weirdo who knows too much, until he explains his backstory & how he's involved with the mask. The backstory was great, but the introduction to the character was beyond akward.

The weirdest character has to be Jack the Ripper.

... Last updated on February 23rd, 2019, 5:44am

"Disproportionate body/ies" should not be a category for ANY manga as every character has a disproportionate body. It's simply the reality of manga/anime and almost every cartoon for that matter. Look at the extremely exaggerated body figures almost all the women have. HUGE hips and tits. I don't think I have to point out all the exaggerated features of any character's face. Then there's what I call the "cool guy stance," where a male character stands with hands in pocket with their hips somewhat thrust forwards while leaning the upper body back, I guess in an attempt to look nonchalant or at ease. Not that this manga (so far) has people in such ridiculously odd poses and nobody find them weird. They all move and walk like I'd imagine a malfunctioning android to walk. That position is so uncomfortable and lame and you feel like you'll topple over. If there's any category that should be capable of being selected for any manga, it should be "realistic characters" or something like that.

After leaving this post to ferment for a couple days and read a bit farther, I forgot to add that this manga isn't terrible. Yeah, the dudes are overly buff. Bad. But look at the odd looking characters in One Piece and they're way worse, but that manga is good in most people's opinion. The thing that turned me off the most was their 80's hair. Zeppeli definitely secretly visits gay bars with that hair & mustache (thank God it doesn't go down to his chin lol). Speedwagon was a hardened criminal ready to kill Jojo at one point. Now he's become his cheerleader fanboy who only cries about wishing he could be of some use to Jojo. I think he'd settle for being a sex toy. I say just stop following him.
Another thing is their wounds heal too fast. The best example I can think of offhand is
Something else is their odd poses and movements. When it shows their fighting stance, you see mostly Eastern-style movements. Then how in one frame they'll notice an enemy about to perform an attack with only counter and the hero's extremely vulnerable, then they speak--quite a bit--about their past, and somehow, during that time they did a light-speed conversation, the hero is ready for the counter in the next frame despite having to move right through his opponent to get to this position and move faster than a bullet. Then the remaining ones look so damn goofy or like girl's dance moves. Half the time they move like how I'd a malfunctioning android to move. There's no real rhyme or reason for them, it just looks stupid though.
Apparently this manga did well, so maybe I'll check out a later "series." This one just isn't doing it for me. Had to give up during the "chain-neck death-match" lol. I won't rate this, because it'd be low mostly due to the times it was made (currently "cool" or "badass" hairstyles of the day).

... Last updated on July 23rd, 2014, 7:05pm