Is JoJo's the craziest mainstream manga ever made? I think it just might be. There has certainly been crazier manga, but they were more experimental or niche. JoJo’s is not only one of the craziest manga ever made, it’s also one of the most popular. Spanning 25 years, encompassing eight different series within the JoJo’s master universe, tallying up to 117 volumes with, according to Wikipedia, 95 million individual copies sold—this is a mega franchise. And, as I mentioned, completely crazy!

I guess that’s what makes me so happy about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure—it shows that weird stuff can find mainstream success. I'm a weirdo! I love weird stuff! But as a creation, being weird alone won’t make you big bucks—you also have to have some kind of mainstream appeal. To use a musical analogy, which is fitting considering many of the characters’ names in this manga are based on musicians and bands, it’s kind of like Prince versus Frank Zappa. Both had a lot of talent. Both were really eccentric. However, Prince had mainstream appeal, a.k.a. pop sensibility, and Zappa not as much. Or he chose not to follow that path. Either way, Prince has outsold Zappa by a tremendous margin and has earned his place among the gods of Rock and Roll. Much like mangaka Araki Sensei has earned his place among the gods of manga.

And just like it’s fun to listen to the early works of a great musical artist, it’s wonderful to read the earlier parts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Especially this volume, which is the conclusion of the Battle Tendency arc.

The first JoJo’s arc, Phantom Blood, was all about Dio’s quest for eternal life and power and Jonathan Joestar’s quest to kick Dio’s butt. This arc introduces Jonathan’s grandson, Joseph Joestar. Throughout the four volumes that make up this arc, Joseph battles the Pillar Men, who are responsible for creating the stone mask which gave Dio immortality in the first arc. Volume four is the final volume and features the big showdown between JoJo and Kars, the leader of the Pillar Men!

The Pillar Men are evil! And a lot of fun, because they have lived thousands of years and look down on humans as insects. Except for those pesky Hamon users, who have been thorns in their side for eons. And that’s precisely what JoJo and his allies are, Hamon users. Hamon is a light-based energy that is very deadly to the vampire-like Pillar Men.

The Pillar Men also have amazing character designs that are based on ancient statues, according to the character creation notes in the back of the books. They are also garbed in exotic-looking clothes (well, what clothes they are wearing) which give them a godlike appearance. And they're armed with fantastic powers that make them seemingly impossible to beat. They can control the molecules in their body to the extent that they can twist themselves into virtually any shape. They can also phase into other living beings. They’re super strong, super-fast and incredibly tough. And they have crazy super attacks on top of all that!

But Joseph Joestar and his mentor Lisa Lisa have some powers of their own. Lisa Lisa is a Hamon master which gives her the ability to manipulate light energy which is like kryptonite to the vampire-like Pillar Men. She’s also cool. So cool she keeps her sunglasses on this entire volume! According to Araki Sensei's notes in an earlier volume, she’s one of the earliest strong female characters in SJ manga. Up to that point, female characters were usually sister-types or motherly. Lisa Lisa is a butt-kicker, through and through.

Joseph Joestar, although relatively new to Hamon, excels at using it. He’s also got another talent that comes in handy over and over—he’s a trickster! He has magician-level ability to use misdirection and a variety of complex tricks. This combined with his natural pluckiness and Hamon gives him the edge he needs to fight creatures far beyond most mortal’s powers.

This volume focuses on two major battles, the first is JoJo versus Wamuu, who is second in power to Kars. And it’s a chariot race! With giant vampire warhorses of unimaginable strength! Each lap wins the victor a new terrible weapon to use in the race, starting first with a giant hammer! Obviously, I don’t want to spoil the outcome, but I will say that I’ve been surprised by crazy stuff in JoJo’s many times, but this battle still blew me away. I just couldn’t believe what I was reading. I had to get up from my desk, run over to my SJ workmates and show them immediately. It was that bonkers! You know you have a special manga on your hands when you are compelled to get up from your desk and run around showing people. That’s JoJo's for ya!

The second battle is the showdown with Kars. And this battle ups the ante on the previous one by quite a bit. Everybody gets in on the action and the fight escalates to a wild chase with one jaw-dropping scene after another. Each getting more and more out of control until it crescendos with a climax that tops almost anything I’ve read in all my days of manga. This may seem like hyperbole, but this whole series is like hyperbole!

Another fun thing about reading this volume, beyond the story conclusion, is seeing Araki Sensei’s art evolve. The bodies are still inhumanly muscular, the texturing is still dense and gritty, and the backgrounds still dark. But the art is getting cleaner, the action easier to understand and enemies aren’t changing size or becoming giant as they were in earlier volumes. It’s really cool to see the subtle differences between each volume as he continues to refine his style.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the key reasons I believe this manga is so successful—it’s funny. Like, laugh out loud funny. It’s filled with hilarious characters, genuinely funny jokes, and outlandish comedic scenarios. And at the center of it all is Joseph Joestar, who is always clowning around, even at the most improbable times. His goofy sense of humor and crazy gags give the manga a bit of levity and are the perfect foil for the overly-serious nature of the ancient Pillar Men. 

This is one hell of a story arc that concludes in an absolutely spectacular fashion. It also sets up the next arc which cemented JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure as a true Shonen Jump legend. If you’ve only read Stardust Crusaders, that’s like only listening to Prince’s greatest hits. You’re missing those great early jams!

Disclosure: I am the editor of the manga. How could I possibly write a fair review? I can't! Because I'm also a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fanboy! This is a super-biased review! 

Oh, and if you want to read the first JoJo's story arc, Phantom Blood, you can for free! New chapters go up weekly right here! 

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure--Part 2: Battle Tendency Vol. 4 by Hirohiko Araki is available here. 

Urian Brown