Apr 13, 2020
At the time of writing, this is my first and only experience with the JoJo universe. So I'll give my opinion without knowing what is ahead and without a clear idea of where, in terms of quality, this first part of the JoJo series is in relation to the others.
What I can say for certain is that I enjoyed it, and by giving a look at the forum discussions for the last chapter I noticed that quite a few people did not. I can understand why, and I'm not saying this is a perfect manga (my score should reflect that) but claiming it's "awful"
...
or "terrible" is definitely an exaggeration. Again, maybe it's considerably more flawed than the rest of the series (something I've heard multiple people claim) but it doesn't make Phantom Blood any less enjoyable.
--
The story - 7
The story is a bit clichè, maybe even "generic" but it manages to put an interesting twist on the classic vampire tale. The initial mystery, that of the mask, was intriguing, and when things finally started to happen it just got better and better. "Finally" may not be the right word tho... the story is very fast-paced, maybe too much. The greatest flaw I can find is perhaps just that. Does the plot move too fast and should the author have devoted more time to character development? Probably, but all in all the story still gets a solid 7.
--
The Art - 9
I'm not much of an expert on this, but my very subjective opinion is that the artwork was fantastic. I found myself looking at certain pages for a long time, admiring the details the mangaka put in. The drawings manage to convey all the right feelings and emotions, and the design of the characters themselves is also excellent. I would normally say this is not "my style" but I actually loved it, bizarre.
--
Characters - 8
Honestly, without this cast the story wouldn't be half as good. Together with the art this may be the manga's strongest point. Unfortunately, the reason I'm giving it an 8 and not a 9 is that, like I said earlier, I wish more time was spent on exploring their backstories and personalities. What's there is great, but if it was developed more it could have become truly amazing. Speedwagon and Zeppeli are two great characters, and JoJo is a great protagonist. Dio manages to be the douchiest of douchebags.
--
Enjoyment/Overall - 8
As I said earlier, this was my first experience with JoJo. I've since started the anime and I'll soon start reading part 2. I think Phantom Blood is a very solid beginning for a series that, from what I hear, will give me a good deal of enjoyment in the future. I highly recommend it!
P.S Oh, and the memes! It's worth reading just for those!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
