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Watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure isn't just watching an anime. It's a wacky, weird, and wild experience that I can't recommend enough to anyone who wants to dip their toes into the craziness that is "JoJo's." It's got more buff men then the World Powerlifting Championships and more insanity than your crazy ex-girlified after one too many shots of fireball. The perfect combination. However, for all the fun that this series provides, Part 1 of JoJo's, Phantom Blood (the first 9 episodes), is one of the most mid anime I've ever seen.

Phantom Blood revolves around two characters, Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando. Jonathan is ... the goody two shoes protagonist that fights for the sake of justice and those he cares about. Nothing wrong with this, but his selflessness is not really developed and is just a given fact of the story. Dio is the antagonist that gets adopted into Jonathan's family, which sparks the conflict of the show. He is ambitious, selfish, and ruthless, as he plans to exploit the Joestar family despite them being kind enough to adopt him. He wants to become powerful in order to make a better life and leave his awful childhood behind. This conflict forms the backbone of Phantom Blood, and Jonathan and Dio play off each other nicely. Jonathan feels righteous fury at Dio's deeds and vows to stop him, while Dio is doom-driven to reach his goals. All of this is wrapped up in a really cool stylized animation that only adds to the show. However, besides this main conflict, Phantom Blood felt pretty lack luster. I didn't actually care about any of the other characters besides Speedwagon. Nobody felt like they mattered beside Jonathan and Dio. Also, the plot itself is mediocre at best; Jonathan and Dio learn new powers to fight each other that aren't that interesting. They are very cookie-cutter anime powers. Although Phantom Blood sets up the over-the-top vibe of JoJo very well, the actual story elements of Part 1 are uninspired, leading to a pretty mid couple of episodes and the worst JoJo's has to offer.

Part 2 of JoJo's, Battle Tendency, doesn't change much plot-quality wise. The plot is still mediocre, being very cookie-cutter and bland. However, Battle Tendency massively upgrades from the boring characters in Part 1 to the cool and crazy that the series is known for in Part 2. The protagonist shifts from Jonathan to Joseph Joestar, Jonathan's grandson. Joseph could honestly single-handedly carry Part 2. He is a hotheaded, impetuous, and confrontational young man, quick to violently respond to the slightest provocation. He's a near 180 from Jonathan and my god, he is entertaining to watch. When I first watched Battle Tendency, I was beaming like a toddler at Joseph's shenanigans. I will never forget when Joseph just pulled out a Tommy gun on the first episode and fired away at the seemingly invincible enemy. Unlike Phantom Blood, I also became incredibly invested in the side characters. A brash Italian, a bad-ass MILF, and (I kid you not) an actual Nazi are just some of the few wacky and lovable characters that you encounter in Part 2. And they're all freaking amazing and fun to watch. All these characters helped Joseph develop into a strong and focused hero. The villains are also extremely cool. The pillar men are re-awakened Aztec gods who want a special stone in Joseph's possession, and will do anything to get it. This creates memorable conflicts between the lovable cast and the powerful villains. The animation style is the cherry on top. It was animated with a really cool stylized approach like the manga it's based on, but it still feels like one fluid work rather than it being chopped up like a power point presentation. However, I think the writing for the villains is questionable at times, with one of the pillar men only existing to show Joseph's growth in powers, while the main pillar man is just naturally evil. The actual plot is also extremely bland like Part 1; the entire plot can be summed up by "Everyone wants a certain stone."

Overall, although JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an extremely fun experience that I can't recommend enough, Part 1 is a slog to get through and the show is pretty boring at first. The unpredictable, crazy experience that is JoJo's doesn't really start until Part 2.

P.S. - The openings slap harder than my dad after waking up piss-drunk on the floor.