Part 9: The JOJOLands



Part 9 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, subtitled The JOJOLands, is likely the final part in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, and is preceded by JoJolion. Jodio Joestar is the protagonist, and the antagonist is currently unknown. The pursuers of the Lava Rocks are the villainous faction.

It is the third part set in the second continuity, that takes place in a parallel world from the first six parts. It tells the story of Jodio on his journey to become filthy rich through the means of a lava rock with the power to draw valuable things to itself.

Originally titled JOJOLANDS when it was announced, Part 9 is the ongoing most recent part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. It began serialization in monthly Ultra Jump in February 2023.

As of now Part 9 has yet to receive an official English translation.

JOJO Portal Site
''The story is set on Hawaii, a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean. Jodio Joestar, a young boy living on Oahu, has the ambition of becoming a millionaire. It means that while living on the island, he will be at the top of the "mechanism" of this world that he has to face every day. On islands where light and shadow interweave, an unpredictable story begins!''

The Villa on Hawaii Island
Jodio and Dragona Joestar, Paco Laborantes, and Usagi Aloha'oe are sent on a mission to infiltrate the villa of a rich Japanese tourist to steal a priceless diamond. They enter the villa and discover that it is owned by Japanese manga artist, Rohan Kishibe. While sneaking around his house they discover tons of volcanic rock, and one locked away in the same safe as the diamond they're there to steal. While on their way out, they are attacked by a Stand User cat, and caught by Rohan, who uses his Stand on them to determine they are not a threat. Jodio is able to free his friends and tie up Rohan, and he realizes that the cooled lava kept in the safe with the diamond is more valuable than the thing they came for. He takes it and makes a deal with Rohan before he leaves, and Rohan tells him that the "laws of nature" are within the lava, and he must accept the responsibility of taking it.

Battle in the Jungle
As the group leaves, they are followed by multiple of the cats that were in Rohan's villa, who attack them in the jungle. The group is tied down by their wire Stand, and Usagi is nowhere to be seen, so they assume he left and stole all their valuables, including the Lava Rock. The group continues to be attacked by the wire Stand, and they discover that it is coming from the cat's fur. They are at the brink of defeat when suddenly Usagi appears again and slams his car into the tree, knocking the cats out of the way. He uses the Lava Rock to lure the cats to him, and his Stand to trap them in a net. With the threat defeated, Jodio realizes that "something" was following Rohan even before he got his Hawaiian villa.

Chapters not yet in Tankōban format

 * Chapter 9: Owner of the Lava Rock

Creation & Development
The potential for a ninth part has been discussed by Araki multiple times throughout the span of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In an interview during with Aomaru Jump in 2004, Araki mentioned that he had the general outlines done for Parts 7, 8, and 9. In another interview with Jump Square in 2007, Araki stated that he wants to return to writing about the town of Morioh in Parts 8 and 9. During Lucca Con 2019, a fan asked Araki if he could make a new part in Italy, to which he replied that he would think about it. In an interview with Rurubu Morioh that came with JoJolion Volume 12, Araki said he wanted to write a story in a location with a "lonely feel" to it, like the Scottish Highlands.

Alternate titles for Part 9 before The JOJOLands was picked were JOJOLANDS, Made in JOJOLANDS, and JOJOLANDS 9.

Trivia

 * Its original release date of February 2023 makes the break between Parts 8 and 9 the longest wait between parts so far, being 18 months in total. The previous record was between Parts 6 and 7 which was 9 months long.
 * The JOJOL ands 's tentative title before release was "JOJOLANDS" in all capital letters. This makes Part 8 the only part not to have its name changed at all before or after its serialization.
 * Chapter 1 "De parture" is the longest chapter in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series to date, at 69 pages in length.
 * The graph ic d esigner who created the official The JOJOLands logo is named Noriko Narumi, and she also created the JoJolion logo as well.
 * Chapter 8, ti tled "Let's Go Look at Luxury Watches" in the magazine release, is a reference to the style of Part 4 arc titles. It is reminiscent of "Let's Go Eat Italian Food", "Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House", "Let's Go Hunting", and "Let's Live on a Transmission Tower." The chapter also has two of the main characters looking at something expensive they shouldn't be buying, similar to how Josuke, Okuyasu, and Shigechi visited the bank to scam them out of money they "earned."

Iconography
Some of the parts media has represented it with tropical themes, due to it taking place in Hawaii. This includes iconography of palm trees, volcanoes, and the ocean.

An arrow pointing upward is also used in the official logo design, which may represent Jodio's desire to rise above all the rest to become filthy rich. Jodio's main pose of his hands up may also reflect the theme of rising up. In an interview with Niroko Narumi, the graphic designer of the past two parts, she based the arrow motif on traffic signs after the feeling she got reading the first chapter. The upwards pointing arrows also represent volcanoes erupting vertically, and the desire of young people to climb "up and up," reflecting Jodio's desire to become rich. The sharp and triangular edges to the letters of the official logo were made with a traveling vibe in mind, representing things like tickets, airplanes, and passports.

Continuity

 * Jodio and Dragona are said to be the grandchildren of Joseph Joestar, making them first cousins of Yoshikage and Kei Kira. In the family tree revealing this, Kei is absent, however this may have been due to Yoshikage scrubbing her name from the records.
 * This reveal seemingly contradicts what is said in JoJolion, that is that Holy Joestar-Kira was Joseph's only daughter.
 * They also mention that they moved from Atlantic City, New Jersey, which is where Joseph got a job at a casino.
 * It is currently unknown how the protagonists of this part received their Stands. The method of receiving Stands in the past two parts was related to the Devil's Palms or Morioh's Wall Eyes, so there may possibly be a similar phenomenon in Hawaii, but that is unclear at the moment.
 * A character similar to Rohan Kishibe from the original series appears in Chapter 2. He has a dog named Bakin and the same character Pink Dark Boy, and has the same Stand, Heaven's Door. It seems at present that there is a distinction between their abilities, in that he has to actually touch his victim to open them up into a book.
 * The scene of Rohan touching Dragona's hand is very similar to that of his first scene grabbing Koichi's hand when he comes to his house in Part 5.
 * Three cat Stand Users appear in the second arc. This makes it the first animal Stand User in the main series since Coco Jumbo in Part 5, and the first Stand to share multiple users since Tattoo You! in Part 7.