Written by Yasuko Kobayashi | Studio David Production | |
Genre Action, Adventure, Horror, Supernatural, Thriller, Drama Directed by Naokatsu Tsuda
Ken'ichi Suzuki Music by Hayato Matsuo (Part 1)
Taku Iwasaki (Part 2) Licensed by Viz Media (Blu-ray and merchandising rights)
Warner Bros. Entertainment (DVD rights) | ||
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken), also known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation, is an anime television series produced by David Production based on the manga of the same name by Hirohiko Araki. The series focuses around the mysterious adventures of the Joestar family, beginning with an encounter involving Jonathan Joestar, his adoptive brother Dio Brando and a mysterious stone mask. The series is broadcast on Tokyo MX before entering syndication on 4 JNN stations, BS11, and Animax. The first season, adapting the first two parts: Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency, aired in Japan between October 5, 2012 and April 5, 2013, and began airing on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in the United States on October 15, 2016. A second season covering the third part, Stardust Crusaders, aired between April 4, 2014 and June 19, 2015, and a third season covering the fourth part, Diamond Is Unbreakable, aired from April 1, 2016 to December 23, 2016. The series is distributed in North America by Warner Home Video for the DVD rights, while the Blu-Ray and merchandising rights for the series are owned by Viz Media.
Contents
Season 1
The first season aired in Japan between October 5, 2012 and April 5, 2013, with episodes 1-9 covering the Phantom Blood arc, and episodes 10-26 covering the Battle Tendency arc. The first part follows a young man named Jonathan Joestar who becomes involved in a battle against Dio Brando, who uses the power of a mysterious stone mask to become a vampire. The second part takes place fifty years later as Jonathan's grandson, Joseph Joestar, faces up against the stone mask's creators, the Pillar Men. The opening theme for the Phantom Blood arc is "JoJo ~Sono Chi no Sadame~" (ジョジョ～その血の運命～, "JoJo ~That Blood's Destiny~") by Hiroaki "Tommy" Tominaga, while the opening theme for the Battle Tendency arc is "Bloody Stream" by Coda. The ending theme for both arcs is British progressive rock band Yes' 1972 single "Roundabout". Phantom Blood's score was composed by Hayato Matsuo while Battle Tendency's was performed by Taku Iwasaki. The series was made available for streaming on Crunchyroll on April 4, 2014. Warner Home Video released the complete first season on DVD in North America on September 22, 2015 while Viz Media will release the series on Blu-ray Disc. On television, the series began airing on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on October 15, 2016.
Season 2
The second season, titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, adapts the series third story arc, Stardust Crusaders. Set in 1987, the story follows Joseph's grandson, Jotaro Kujo, and his companions as they seek to defeat DIO, who has placed a curse on his mother, using special abilities known as Stands. The series is split into two halves, each lasting 24 episodes. The first half aired in Japan between April 4, 2014 and September 12, 2014, while the second half, subtitled Battle in Egypt, aired between January 9, 2015 and June 19, 2015. For the first half, the opening theme is "Stand Proud" by Jin Hashimoto, while the ending theme is American band The Bangles' 1985 single "Walk Like an Egyptian". For the second half, the opening theme is "JoJo, Sono Chi no Kioku ~end of THE WORLD~" (ジョジョ その血の記憶～end of THE WORLD～, lit. "JoJo, That Blood's Memories (End of the World)") by JO☆STARS ~TOMMY,Coda,JIN~ (Hiroaki "Tommy" Tominaga, Coda, and Jin Hashimoto), while the main ending theme is Pat Metheny Group's "Last Train Home". An alternate ending theme, "Aku-yaku Kyōsōkyoku" (アク役♢協奏曲, "Evil Concerto"), is performed by Oingo and Boingo (Makoto Yasumura and Motoko Kumai) in episode 27, and by Hol Horse and Boingo (Hidenobu Kiuchi and Motoko Kumai) in episodes 36-37. The score is composed by Yugo Kanno. The series was simulcast by Crunchyroll, with some character names altered to avoid copyright infringement. An English dub of the first three episodes was streamed on July 5, 2014.
Season 3
On October 24, 2015, Warner Bros. Animation announced that production on a third season of the anime to focus on the 4th story arc of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Diamond Is Unbreakable. Set in 1999, eleven years after the events Stardust Crusaders, the series follows Joseph Joestar's illegitimate son Josuke Higashikata as he and his Stand-wielding friends in the town of Morioh in M-Prefecture's capital S-City become wrapped up in a murder mystery. The series is being directed by Naokatsu Tsuda and written by Yasuko Kobayashi with character design by Terumi Nishii and music by Yugo Kanno. The series began airing in Japan on April 1, 2016. The ending theme is Australian pop group Savage Garden's 1996 single "I Want You".
Reception
At the 2013 CEDEC Awards, the anime's opening sequence won in the Visual Arts division. The first DVD release of the TV anime was the fourth best-selling animation DVD in Japan for the week of January 28 to February 3, 2013, with 4,510 copies sold. Its Blu-ray version was the fourth best-selling animation Blu-ray for that same week, with 14,860 copies sold. The second volume ranked sixth in both animation DVDs and Blu-rays for the week of February 18–24, with 2,764 and 12,501 copies sold respectively. The anime's third volume was the sixth best-selling animation DVD, with 2,994 copies sold, and the second best-selling animation Blu-ray, with 13,536 copies sold, for the week of March 25–31.