JoJo'sBizarreAdventure is one of the longest-running series in the world. The popular manga by Hirohiko Araki has continued to improve with every single part, which is one of the key reasons why JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has managed to stay relevant for so long.
Hirohiko Araki's efforts have ensured that the series continues to attract more fans. The anime adaptations for the series are outstanding, and recently Netflix confirmed that the Stone Ocean adaptation would be released in December 2021. Araki's format of dividing his series into parts has been welcomed by the fans and has been pivotal for the series' success. But, what makes it so effective?
Why Divide The Series
Most other popular manga series don't follow the JoJo structure of dividing their narratives into several parts, but Araki has been able to craft an incredibly successful story by doing so. There are several reasons why Araki has stuck with this format. One of the main reasons is that each individual part focuses on a particular protagonist and antagonist.
Part 1: Phantom Blood has Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando in the spotlight. Both of the characters have a huge impact on the series, aside from their roles in Phantom Blood. In each part, Araki focused on a particular group of characters with almost every one of these characters being able to get enough screen time and development.
Another good thing about this format is that it allows the readers to bond with a certain character. Other manga/anime series almost always end up with a problem where not every character gets enough attention, as they're gradually phased out by the long-running narrative. However, with JoJo's various parts, Araki is able to explore every kind of character and it allows fans to watch their favorite characters in action.
The Reset With Every Arc Is An Underrated Tool
So far there have been a total of eight different JoJo parts. Each part is different from the previous one in one way or the other. It would be fair to say that with each passing part, Araki gets better at his craft. Almost every JoJo fan will agree with the sentiment that Araki's writing and art improve with every part. So, it is fair to say that along with the story, Araki also evolves as a writer.
When SteelBallRun finished, it took the entire world by storm. The quality of writing was so high that it was widely accepted as one of the best manga of all time. Currently, Steel Ball Run is ranked 2nd on MyAnimeList, which goes to show how highly the series is rated. Originally, Steel Ball Run was categorized as a separate series, but it reverted to being a part of the JoJo series when it moved to Ultra Jump. Later, Araki revealed in an interview that he already planned to make SteelBallRun a part of the overarching JoJo series.
How Is Araki Able To Reinvent The Series
With every part, Araki is able to renew the interest of his readers. Each part has a satisfactory conclusion, but they are also linked to each other. Araki tied the first six parts in various ways— bringing back older characters, making references, flashbacks, etc. From Phantom Blood to Stone Ocean, there are several instances where Araki uses older characters from the previous parts to purport a point. DIO was relevant in almost every single part— the main antagonist in Part 1 and 3, mentioned almost every single time with the Stand arrow, and he also influenced Enrico Pucci, who is among the strongest characters in StoneOcean.
Another Araki specialty is to keep the fan favorites involved in the other parts. One of the recurring names in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is that of Jotaro Kujo. He made his debut in Stardust Crusaders, where he joined his grandfather, Joseph, on a quest to defeat DIO. Despite being the protagonist of Part 3, Jotaro is not particularly an eye-catching character and lacked the charisma of his predecessors. For the majority of Part 3, Jotaro served as more of a bruiser alongside his Star Platinum, one of the strongest stands in JoJo'sBizarreAdventure.
However, he really developed as a character in the next few parts. In Part 4, he acted as a mentor for Josuke and even helped him to take down Yoshikage Kage, who had been terrorizing the city of Morioh. In Part 6, Jotaro was once again at the center of things alongside his daughter. The dynamic that this introduced and the eventual developments that came from it really solidified his position as one of the best characters in the JoJo series.
The JoJo series also boasts of some of the most incredible secondary characters. The Zeppeli's, Speedwagon, Bucciarati, and so many more have contributed just as much to the various narratives as any Joestar or Joestar descendant has. On various occasions these secondary characters have managed to steal the spotlight from the main character, benefitting from the anthology format the series makes use of.
Does It Have Any Drawbacks?
The process of splitting a series into several parts comes with its drawbacks. For many fans having a lot of parts is confusing. While most entries can serve as their own standalone story, reading or watching one part before another might be detrimental to one's experience with the series. It's very possible that a newcomer might actually end up spoiling the series for themselves, though this is easily avoidable if one just approaches the series by release date.
Another issue with the division is that even though a handful of characters reappear in the other parts, most of them stop existing after a specific part. This has been a very common complaint from the fans of the series. However, the pros heavily outweigh the cons, which is why JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's unique structure has allowed it to grow into one of the most popular anime and manga series in the world.