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By far the most recognised part of the series, Stardust Crusaders is the third part in the long running manga franchise Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. While Part 3 is a clear step in the right direction for the series to head in, it is not without the stumbles that come from the introduction into a different focus point (namely the Stand based combat) and does affect its overall effectiveness.

Notably the first thing that a fan of the previous two parts will notice right off the bat is that in terms of the narrative’s strength, JJBA is at its most linear in Stardust Crusaders. The story opens ... in the year 1983 on the Atlantic Ocean where a crew of fisherman have discovered a metal casket with the word “DIO” inscribed upon its surface. Believing that this casket holds a great treasure inside they eagerly open it, but soon disappear and are never heard from again. Cut to 4 years later and Jotaro Kujo has placed himself into a jail cell, fearing himself to be possessed by a demon that goes unseen to those around him. Upon meeting with Jotaro, his grandfather Joseph Joestar (the main character of Part 2: Battle Tendency) and his friend Mohammed Abdul explain that this demon is in fact the physical embodiment of Jotaro’s own power known as a “Stand” and that its awakening was most likely triggered by the revival of the Joestar’s sworn enemy: Dio Brando. Jotaro’s mother soon falls ill as a result of Dio’s presence and it is left up to Jotaro and his allies to track down Dio’s Egyptian lair and defeat him in order to save not only her, but the world from Dio’s evil influence.

This synopsis essentially sums up Stardust Crusaders’ plot from beginning to end; with what is left unsaid being more character driven or not worth mentioning and actual story progression acting more as a backdrop for the fights that are to come. While this formula was used in both of the earlier parts of the series, it is worth noting that both stories had more, smaller objectives in-between to give the characters smaller victories/losses along the way. Stardust Crusaders does not have this: it instead relies on the readers to get soaked up in the fights with the promise of Dio held above their heads in order to keep them reading. It just doesn’t work as well compared to what Battle Tendency did story wise and does unfortunately leave a blemish on what is otherwise a very entertaining series.

Making up for the disappointingly linear plot of Stardust Crusaders are the crusaders themselves, who are all memorable in their own distinct characteristics. Jotaro takes over the reins from Joseph in this part to great effect: the biggest difference between the two is that while Joseph in part 2 was very much a trickster kind of character, Jotaro is more of a Silent Badass kind of guy. Despite the difference in personalities, both characters are very analytical fighters that will seek out their opponents weaknesses to turn against them and are ultimately driven by the will to do the right thing (even if Jotaro is more static in terms of his own motivations and emotions). Joseph reappears in this part to act as Jotaro’s mentor along this adventure and appears more level headed this time around, but is otherwise the same quirky character that served the readers well in the previous part. Without wanting to give too much away, the other characters whom make up Jotaro’s ensemble are all terrific, likeable characters in their own right and each have their own distinct motivations for helping the team. In particular, Noriaki Kakyoin and Jean-Pierre Polnareff both experience great characterisation early on and receive excellent character development as they overcome obstacles from their past and those set up by the villains to hinder the heroes quest. Unfortunately the villains (with the exception of Dio) are for the most part ineffective; they are mostly confined to appearing to a mini arc (generally spanning 3-6 chapters each), are mostly bland in terms of personality (with many of their motivations being only to aid Dio’s own will) and at worst will not intimidate the reader into thinking they pose any real threat despite their Stand powers. Another gripe to be had concerns Dio; while he’s a constant presence throughout the story, he remains largely unseen and does not end up taking any direct action himself till the very end of the series. These two factors can become distracting and ultimately does take away from the overall experience.

As with the previous two parts in the series, the absolute high point and main attraction are the fights that Jotaro and company have across their journey. Gone from this series (save for a couple of brief ineffectual instances from Joseph) is the Ripple fighting style that was the protagonists main form of combatting their vampiric enemies and in its place are the Stand powers; the embodiment of a beings inner fighting spirit. The different Stands in this series are each named after one of the Major Arcana of the Tarot Cards in this part (with a couple of exceptions) and all operate in different ways with vastly different powers/effects dependent on the power of the particular Stand, making them much more varied than the previous Ripple based combat. To this end, many fights involve the heroes working out the mechanics of the Stand’s ability and either trying to overcome them with their own abilities or by tracking down the Stand’s user and defeating them to get rid of the Stand. While this new dynamic of how battles are fought is an improvement from the less original concept of the Ripple, many of the Stands in this Part lack the originality seen in the other parts of the series: there are a couple repeated concepts (namely shape shifting), a few involve element manipulation (e.g. the ability to control fire, ice etc.) and for the most part lack the utility element featured by Stands later in the series (which is forgivable for a new concept but does detract from the series). It should be noted that battles get more entertaining the further the series progresses, leading to the final confrontation with Dio which is one of the best fights ever to be seen in manga form. When all is said and done the introduction of the Stand powers was a big step in the right direction and has solidified Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure as being a truly unique and entertaining series that has left an impact on Manga as a whole forever.

In terms of art style, it was in Stardust Crusaders where Hirohiko Araki really started to change up his own drawing technique. While some things such as the overly muscled design of the main characters remained the same as what was used in the previous two parts, the way the characters were drawn shifted from the more angular and messy detail style last seen in Battle Tendency towards a more squared off style featuring cleaner lines. This change can also be seen in the design of the environments where the fights take place, with environment appearing slightly more angular as the series progresses. This is a change for the better; as this new drawing method allows for a greater distinction between different objects in a panel, makes the art easier to follow and moves away from being inspired by Fist of the North Star in order to gain its own identity artistically (something that the series up until this point had been lacking poses and fancy clothes aside). It's worth mentioning that this series can be very gory in sections; while Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency had their fair share of blood and guts, it feels as if Araki really stepped up just how horrific it appeared in this Part. Anyone who can't stomach graphic violence should therefore either avoid this series outright or do their best to overlook this.

So once all is said and done Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders is praise worthy, but is far from being a flawless work of fiction. If nothing else the success of this part gave the author a sense of what direction it would be best to take future Part’s towards (as it does more right than wrong) and with the invention of the Stands it now has something to make itself stand out as a truly unique series. If you’ve read the previous parts and enjoyed those then you’re in for a treat and if you’re new to the series but don’t want to read the preceding parts then it’s still worth checking out just to see if you like the concept of the Stands. It is one bizarre adventure that should not be missed.

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As the second Part of the long running series Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Battle Tendency finds itself in an interesting position that many other series would not find themselves in: it sits between what some might consider an average first act and a third act where many people say "is where the series becomes really good" and it is thus not unheard of for people to gloss over this part all together. Which is a shame as Part 2 is a great part in its own right and doesn't see half of the praise that it deserves.

While the story of Phantom Blood was difficult to explain ... due to just how bizarre yet oddly linear the narrative was on paper, Battle Tendency's is a case of it being both very weird in nature while also being much larger and better defined in scope. Events take place a few decades after the end of Phantom Blood, picking up in 1930's America when the world was on the edge of a second world war. We are quickly introduced to our protagonist Joseph Joestar, age 18 who is a nigh splitting image of his grandfather Jonathan. Joseph possesses an innate ability to harness the power of the Ripple, an ability that he has inherited from his grandfather before him and can use to great effect, quickly utilising it to rescue a pickpocket named Smokey Brown from a couple of corrupt police officers. Meanwhile we are reintroduced to his "Uncle", the aged Robert Speedwagon (who has managed to strike oil and create an organization in his name between the 50 year gap), where it is revealed that he has discovered ruins which allude to the origins of the vampire-creating stone mask. It is here that he uncovers the true origins of the accursed mask and a promise of a threat that is of a much greater scale: vampire transcending beings simply known as the Pillar men.

In summary it's basically more of the same nonsense that was present in Phantom Blood, but more refined and benefitting from a shift in genre; while it can be said that Phantom Blood's atmosphere was designed to reflect classic horror's like Dracula, Battle Tendency strives to provide a more traditional adventure series like Indiana Jones. This is especially apparent as the series visits multiple countries around the world as the story goes on. Note that while the series is more refined than its predecessor it still falls for similar pot holes that hurt the overall tone of the story (probably the best example of this is how the main characters are aided by the Nazi’s at one point without any sense of irony), which is more of a quirk of Hirohiko Araki’s writing style and continues to pop up throughout the series. In the end the story is what it is: the series is funny when it’s meant to be funny, sad when it’s meant to be sad and you're rooting for the main characters to overcome their enemies around every bend of the story, which is exactly what needed to be done.

In contrast to a majority of the characters in Phantom Blood, the characters in Battle Tendency are all interesting and more complex than how they initially appear. Joseph, despite the strong resemblance towards Jonathan (the previous part's protagonist for anyone unfamiliar) is about as similar to him as night is to day: while Jonathan was more of a stupidly naïve hero who always fought in a gentlemanly manner, Joseph starts out as a rebellious, jerk-ish hothead whom is not above fighting dirty or comically running away from a situation. This immediately makes his character a lot more interesting, as it shows that he's a far cry from Jonathan’s near messianic level of heroism yet maintains a sincere care for those who he makes deep connections towards. This causes him to give his all to protect them and in turn leads him into becoming a better person as a result. Overall he’s a much stronger main character than Jonathan was and the story benefits greatly from it. Supporting protagonists and secondary characters are likewise more interesting than in the previous part, with the important ones possessing a surprising amount of depth behind their surface personality traits. Special mentions go towards Caesar, eventual rival and friend of Joseph and Stroheim, a patriotic Nazi soldier whom Joseph encounters on his journey, as they both provide a great contrast between themselves and Joseph. The only real characters one could take an issue with are Suzi Q who was introduced solely to provide a love interest towards Joseph and the Pillar Men whom make some baffling poor decisions for beings of their age and intelligence level. To top things off they're frankly not as memorable or entertaining a villain as the first parts villain, Dio. Of course these are more nit-picky complaints than anything else and can easily be overlooked when focusing on the more positive aspects of the series.

As was the case with Phantom Blood, the combat is the absolute high point of the series and has matured to be a lot more creative in execution. The Ripple fighting style that appeared in previous series reappears here shockingly enough, but the utilisation in Battle Tendency favours focusing Ripple energy (basically chi mixed with UV rays for those unfamiliar) into other objects than transferring the energy into their foes by punching them. This logical evolution adds a broader range of combat possibilities and strategies that were simply in a state of infancy when the Ripple was used in the previous part and is nearly comparable to the “Stand” abilities that appear in part 3 onwards. The abilities that each of the Pillar Men possess are very entertaining as well (if a bit less creative) and subsequently provide excellent enemies to Joseph and Co.

The art style of the series is essentially more of the same as the previous arc; featuring handsome muscle-bound characters and beautiful women with a liking for uniquely styled clothing. Having said this there is definitely an evolution in Araki’s drawing style as lines appear bolder than what they did in Phantom Blood and panels appear somewhat neater, giving an impression of increased experience. Background art is worth a decent mention as well: this series visits a variety of different countries and is able to capture pure scenic at the best of times. All in all the artwork is something that you may enjoy, though it is hardly the author’s best work.

So is Battle Tendency a good manga to read? Yes, provided that you have read Phantom Blood before reading this part. It’s a superior series in nearly every way and gives a good indication of just what direction the series is heading towards. If Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was to be compared to a butterfly’s lifecycle; Battle Tendency would be Jojo’s chrysalis stage; in the middle of changing from its Phantom Blood larvae stage and heading towards its emergence from its cocoon (Stardust Crusaders), where it becomes something awe inspiring. If nothing else if you're planning to read this series the way through then this part is definitely worth the time you'd spend reading it.

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In the world of Manga and Anime you're likely to find many unusual stories that are massive and incredibly unique in scope, several of which garner high praise and several more that fall into obscurity. In this case while the aptly named JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has left a massive cultural impact on the Manga industry overall, its first saga "Phantom Blood" only brings a small (but very important) part of the overall appeal of the series.

To put things bluntly Phantom Blood's story isn't anything ground breaking: it is essentially what you'd get if you tried to cross Castlevania with a dark adventure series and feels ... more like a Seinin series than a Shonen series (what it actually is). It takes place in the 19th century and begins with the recently orphaned Dio Brando being adopted into the aristocratic Joestar family, where he proceeds to make his adoptive brother Jonathan Joestar's life a living hell by alienating everyone close to him in an attempt to become the favoured son in the Joestar family and presumably to become the biggest bastard that the world has ever seen in the process. Dio eventually becomes a vampire by way of a mysterious stone mask (just go with it) and like most villains sets his sights on world domination. Jonathan and his companions Robert E.O Speedwagon and Ripple master Will A. Zeppeli go on a mission to hunt Dio down and to destroy the accursed stone mask in the process. To summarize despite being weird the narrative is extremely linear and should not be taken too seriously, as it serves little more than a framing device for the fight scenes and gore. Which is all it really needs to do honestly.

As far as the characters are concerned the truth is that there isn't a whole lot to most of them; Jonathan is your typical naïve, idealistic hero on a mission to save the world and is easily the least interesting JoJo in the entire franchise, Speedwagon is Jonathan's sidekick and while he's not useless he mainly plays a supportive role in fights and frequently has the job of exclaiming about just how awful their current situation is and Zeppeli is the mentor figure with a sordid past involving the stone mask. Supporting characters while occasionally superficially interesting generally lack characterisation and are at worst are relegated into being two dimensional cannon-fodder. The character who really deserves special mention is Dio, who despite being a deplorable evil monster of a man is both extremely entertaining in a twisted sense and more fleshed out as a character than anybody else. Dio simply steals the show away from Jonathan whenever he's on the scene, the show and whatever he fancies taking away from his adoptive brother.

By far the strongest thing that Phantom Blood has going for it are the fight scenes, which are both highly entertaining and well thought out. Battles in this series are almost always about outsmarting the other person as opposed to the more common "overpowering the other guy" and this is something that continues on through the other parts. To combat Dio and his vampiric minions the series introduces a fighting style that utilises an energy source referred to as the Ripple (think chi combined with UV rays from the sun), which is used in conjunction with physical attacks. It's explained that only select few individuals can harness the power of the Ripple as it requires constant focus on the rhythm of ones own breathing (which of course Jonathan is capable of doing). While the concept of Ripple energy is interesting in itself, it is hardly anything unique and lacks anything to make it really stand out over similar concepts in other series. It's not until the next part in the series, “Battle Tendency” that it becomes something more unique and even then the concept is abandoned in the third series for something much more creative.

As for the art style of the series, it is quite reminiscent of "Fist of the North Star". Araki takes joy in drawing extremely muscle-bound main characters, wearing well designed and unique clothing and will almost always have a handsome face to top things off (Jonathan and Dio are prime Examples of this). Minor villains aren't quite as privileged in this regard as quite a few of them can be described as looking like hulking trolls, which can be distracting at times when its focusing just the two extremes without a sense of middle ground. Scenery is often inventive with a few locations later on that distinctly look like something out of a horror film, which again is very appropriate given Dio's vampiric nature. Overall despite some minor gripes, the art remains pleasantly consistent throughout the series' run.

In conclusion if you're just interested in an over the top action series or are just interested in the premise then this may be worth a look, if you want to get into JJBA however then it is a must read as it will give you a greater appreciation for the later parts in the series. In any case while Phantom Blood may have its flaws it is a truly unique journey that you're not likely to forget.

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Okay first things first, having read through Ichi the Killer I feel obligated to say - nay warn - you that this series does NOT pull any punches. The imagery used is both graphic and perverse, many of the characters possess varying degrees of sadism/masochism and the implications that are brought up are quite disturbing all in all.

Now with all of this said it's important to note that it is because of these aspects that the story works; because Ichi the Killer does not filter content it can show the darkest part of the criminal underbelly in the least flattering light possible, a light a ... great many of us prefer not to acknowledge exists. Thus Ichi the Killer is constantly walking a thin line between alienating the audience and drawing them in deeper into the story.

The setting, as mentioned above, takes place in the criminal underbelly (in this case the Japanese red light district) and for the most part has an apartment complex occupied by multiple Yakuza gangs act as the key location. The complex serves a few functions, the most plot relevant one being that it's acts as a cease fire zone for the gangs, which allows for them to live side by side, interact with one another on a "business" level and sort out any problems the gangs may have with one another in a diplomatic manner.

This is where the plot kicks in. We are quickly introduced to four men sneaking into Yakuza holy ground who provide us with some exposition about events that have recently transpired. Through them we learn that their leader (simply referred to as Ji-Ji) arranged for the head of one such gang to be killed by the titular Ichi and that they are going up to clean up the crime scene before the other Yakuza learn of his death, and take whatever money there is in the groups vault. This of course sets off a chain reaction which brings in the underling of the deceased Yakuza boss, the sadomasochistic maniac Kakihara to discover the nature of his boss' disappearance, whilst punishing anyone who may be involved in a gruesome manner.

The story itself follows on the perspectives of Ichi, Kakihara, Ji-Ji and their respective associates throughout the story, giving you their perspectives of the events that have transpired so far. This allows the reader to have a certain level of familiarity with the plot, though it also purposefully withholds certain details to maintain a level of tension to balance this out. By the end of the series there are some unexplained points that could really use proper explanation and certain elements when the focus is squarely on Ichi do drag down plot progression early on, but neither of these stop the end of the series from having a certain kind of payoff.

The characters in general feel fleshed out (if a bit focused on a particular character trait) and play off each other well. As this is the kind of series where people are killed in particularly brutal ways characters will often get a bit of character development before they meet their maker, which helps them leave an impact on the reader even if they might not have particularly cared for the character that has just died.

A lot of the enjoyment from Ichi the Killer stems from the humour, which ranges from pitch black to comparatively light hearted, this helps balance out the pure sadism that is frequently displayed by several characters. It should be noted that if you're particularly sadistic yourself that you may get a kick from the over the top-ness of some of the violent scenes presented, though this becomes much harder to do as the scenes get increasingly bloodthirsty.

Finally, as the artwork is of particular mention, it has to be said that Ichi the Killer is superbly drawn. Both characters and background environments are consistently drawn on model and in high detail, with each character looking distinct enough that you'd be hard pressed mistaking a character from this Manga with a character from another one. Fittingly this also means that the torture scenes (all of which are downright sickening to think about) never miss a beat either so be sure to keep that in mind.

So if you're looking for a unique psychological Manga and can stomach themes of sadism/masochism, full frontal nudity, grotesque torture and violence that goes into overkill territory then I recommend giving this a read, though if you ever begin to get squeamish during or just by reading about it then give it a miss, if anything that's the sensible thing to do.