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Ah, Jojo part one. Many people think this is the worst part, and I can under-stand them (get it ?), but are they right ? And most importantly, is it really necessary to compete on which Jojo part is the best ? I don't think so, and even if people don't like that much Phantom Blood, I find it absolutely amazing. Yes, it may be the worst Jojo part, but I think it's an excellent manga.

Let's talk about the story. At first encounter, Phantom Blood seems to be a historical-like manga, and we may follow the hellish life of Jonathan Joestar. It may have been ... interesting, but not enough to be a legend. So, everything go downhill : Dio become a freaking vampire, and Jonathan learn an ancient technique from an odd guy to beat him. The story of how a rich English man became a mix between Buffy the vampire killer and Simon Belmont is really cool and innovating.

Unfortunately, even if the story is great, the characters are not the same. Personally, I think they are really great and endearing, but we must recognize they have a dichotomous mind : either they are totally good, or they are totally bad. This doesn't hit me the first time I read it, but after finishing other part, I realize : the character development in Phantom Blood isn't that great.

As for the art, I find this part really interesting. We can see the drawing evolution of Araki in just 5 tomes. At first, I can understand you can find it "ugly" or "not that good", but this is an important part of Araki's work.

To conclude, Phantom Blood is an incredible manga, and one of the most important Jojo part. I can understand you don't like it, but here's my thoughts : don't force yourself to like it, or even read it. go read another mangas, get experience through them, and then come back to Phantom Blood. You will not regret it !

Definitely not the best from Tezuka, but still a nice one. Its themes reminded me of Black Jack, so I advise you to read some tomes of it before Alabaster.

There are some nice ideas and thoughts, especially the concept of Beauty, and the Envy inside everyone. The main characters are well-developed, but others are just completely useless. The art is Tezuka-like, so you will like it if you like his style, I cannot be entirely objective about it.

I advise you to read another manga from Tezuka (like Dororo, Adolf ni Tsugu or Black Jack), and then go back to this one.

Boys, what a damn piece of art we got here ! I'm not a professional, but I'll try to give you all a good review.

First, the story. Even if I love it, I must say it's a bit simple (excluding character's development), I mean, it's a series of fight, even if there are some events which come enrich the story. The humor, just like the fights, is pretty good.

Second, character's development. I rarely see a manga with such great and well-developed characters. Everyone is fascinating, even the useless ones. It make the story much better, because we know why all of them are fighting.

Finally, the ... art. Every panel is powerful enough to give you shivers. The fighting ones might be some of the best I have ever seen, and the funny ones are nice too. The cutting makes fights really energetic, we can feel every blows, and even the strength put in each one of them. There are some nice idea of drawing, it innovate every time and never let you getting bored.

To conclude, Kengan Ashura is one of the best manga I've ever read, it's an example for all fighting manga, you must absolutely read it !