Easily one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Created by Hirohiko Araki back in 1987, it's been running ever since, separated into eight different parts with eight different "JoJos" as the protagonist of each. Infamous for its flashy outfits and poses, psychic manifestations called Stands that have supernatural powers and its constant Western musical references, Jojo is an icon in both the manga and anime industries and is a powerhouse that is still going strong.
This is why many find it an overwhelming task to get into the franchise, as there are eight different parts to the story. Thankfully, these separate chunks are in chronological order, making them fairly accessible. The manga just finished Chapter 105 of JoJolion, Part 8 of the series. The anime is currently caught up to Part 5, with Part 6 now in production. There's a lot of JoJo to get through, so the easiest place to start is simple -- just begin at the beginning.
Whether hard copy or digital, JoJo is readily accessible. For those that prefer physical copies, American distributor VIZ Media sells the manga on sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Indigo for those in Canada. Anywhere that regularly stocks manga should also have copies available. They are sold by volume and divided into each part -- Part 1: Phantom Blood, Part 2: Battle Tendency, Part 3: Stardust Crusaders and Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable. Unfortunately, Part 5: Golden Wind, Part 6: Stone Ocean, Part 7: Steel Ball Run and Part 8: JoJolion are currently unavailable in English legally. Each hardcover volume is around the $20 range.
If you prefer your manga digitally, there are plenty of ways to read it online. Amazon sells Kindle and Comixology versions of the volumes for around $10 a piece. VIZ Media also lets you read the first three chapters for free on the Shonen Jump app. For $1.99 a month, the entire collection of Parts 1-4 become available through the app, along with a huge digital vault of Shonen Jump manga archives.
Now is the perfect time to start the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime because not all parts of the manga have been adapted yet, leaving plenty of time to catch up. Netflix has Parts 1, 2 and 3, but they will be taken off soon. Luckily there's Crunchyroll, which has all of the adapted parts, including the re-edit of Parts 1 and 2. Crunchyroll Premium costs $7.99 a month for the Fan Pass, which is their most basic subscription plan. But this is enough to get you full access, ad-free, to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Hulu also has Parts 1 through 4, missing only the last part so far. If you have a preference for subs or dubs, Crunchyroll offers both, while Hulu only has dubs for a portion of Part 1. The dubs of JoJo are notorious for their hilarity, turning a shonen manga into an outright comedy.
The simplest way to start Jojo is to go right to the beginning. While some people skip Part 1 and 2 because they're a bit slower than the others, to get the full lineage of the Joestar family and to understand the story in its entirety, watching from Part 1 is essential. It provides the backstory and the premise for the entire saga. It's also important to know all the different JoJos: Jonathan, Joseph, Jotaro, Josuke, Giorno, Jolyne, Johnny and the other Josuke. While it seems like a lot, each JoJo is incredibly different from one another, and sometimes there are older family members featured in newer Parts.
For one of the most popular and iconic anime and manga series out there, it's great that it's so easy to access its content, making it easy to get new fans on board and ready to meet the last three JoJos in anime form.
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