Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is unusual. It’s divided into chapters with their own characters, villains, settings, stories, and Jojos. It’s a novel way to start a series, and it’s held up for over 30 years.
Jojo’s format keeps things fresh. Each part reinvents itself, and while no Jojo’s part is poor, some are more popular than others. Compare them.
Today, we’re ranking JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure from worst to best.
8. Phantom Blood
Phantom Blood began Jojo’s. The sweet Jonathan Joestar becomes a warrior to fight his adopted brother Dio Brando. Drama, betrayal, vampires, and a gothic setting made it the poorest chapter of the series.
This arc wasn’t horrible, but series creator Hirohiko Araki was still discovering his writing voice, so it didn’t feel like Jojo’s.
7. Stone Ocean
Stone Ocean’s main character, Jolyne Cujoh, is sentenced to Green Dolphin Street Prison for a crime she didn’t commit, where she develops a Stand and explores Father Enrico Pucci’s mystery.
This segment had some of the series’ oddest Stands, a primarily female cast, and Jotaro Kujo’s reappearance, but its setting hurt it. Since this chapter took place mostly in prison, it became stagnant quickly.
6. Diamond Is Unbreakable
Diamond is Unbreakable took Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure from buff to fantastic. Joskuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of part 2’s Joseph Joestar, investigates a string of killings in his hometown.
Diamond is Unbreakable, a murder mystery about a David Bowie look-alike serial murderer, is still a fan favorite.
5. Battle Tendency
Battle Tendency was the series’ turning point after Phantom Blood’s odd events. Battle Tendency followed Joseph Joestar, Jonathan’s grandson, and the Stone Masks that converted people into vampires.
Joseph is practically the opposite of his grandfather, but they both love justice.
This was Jojo’s last part before Stands appeared, and it’s the sole reason why some people still prefer the Ripple to Stands. Battle Tendency flipped everything about Jojo’s post-Phantom Blood.
4. Jojolion
Jojolion is the manga’s latest Jojo. Part 7 introduced a new continuity in Morioh. Jojolion follows a new Josuke Higashikata as he struggles to remember who he is until his past haunts him and he becomes embroiled in peril.
Jojolion’s primary protagonists, villains, and one-off characters are all psychologically complex. That and the strategic Stand battles make Jojolion so popular.
3. Crusaders
Stardust Crusaders, Jojo’s most famous segment, altered the series’ formula. Stands, physical expressions of a person’s fighting energy, were the series’ largest change.
Stardust Crusaders was popular. It’s cited the most in other anime, many people’s favorite, and the section that draws in undecided viewers.
2. GOLDEN WIND
Golden Wind, the latest Jojo’s part to be animated, follows Dio Brando’s illegitimate son Giorno Giovanna’s quest to clean up the Neapolitan mafia and become a “Gang-Star”.
Poor fan translations made Golden Wind less popular in English-speaking nations than in Japan. Thankfully, Golden Wind has received better translations and an anime adaptation so people can fully understand the story.
1. Steel Ball Run
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s eighth installment, Steel Ball Run, changed the most. This portion reboots the series in several ways.
In an alternate reality, familiar names appear. Those names belong to strange characters.
Johnny Joestar, an alternate Jonathan Joestar, races across the US in Steel Ball Run.
The competition for $50 million turns into a race against the president of the United States to acquire Jesus Christ’s mummified body parts.
It’s a wild trip that’s one of Jojo’s best and one of the best medium stories.
