Part 1: Phantom Blood



Part 1 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, subtitled Phantom Blood, is the first installment of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, and is succeeded by Battle Tendency. Jonathan Joestar is the JoJo and Dio Brando is the main antagonist. Dio's zombies are the villainous faction of this part.

This part introduces the world of JoJo, the Joestar lineage, and the beginning of their intertwined fate with Dio Brando.

Originally published under the title Jonathan Joestar - His Youth, the manga was serialized from December 1986 to October 1987 in Weekly Shonen Jump. The part was later renamed to Phantom Bloodline in JOJO A-GO!GO! in 2000.

In 2006 Part 1 was adapted into an action-adventure beat-em-up game on the PlayStation 2 created by Bandai Namco. It was released in commemoration of the series 20th anniversary.

A feature film adapting Phantom Blood was released in 2007, created by Studio A.P.P.P.. It was never released outside of theaters and is now considered "lost media."

The current anime adaptation of the JoJo series, titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation, first adapted Part 1 to TV in 2012.

In February 2024, a musical is set to adapt Phantom Blood at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. It will be the first theater adaptation of a mainline part, and also the first rendition of Part 1 characters played by real life actors.

The Part 1 manga was officially released in English in 2014.

Crunchyroll Description
''In ancient Mexico, people of Aztec had prospered. They had historic and strange "Stone Mask". It was a miraculous mask which brings eternal life and the power of authentic ruler. But the mask suddenly disappeared. A long time after that, in late 19th centuries when the thought and life of people were suddenly changing, Jonathan Joestar met with Dio Brando―. They spend time together through boyhood to youth, and the "Stone Mask" brings curious fate to them―.''

Summary
The first part of JoJo, set in England 1880, follows Jonathan Joestar in his training of Hamon in order to defeat his evil adopted brother Dio, who is transformed into an immortal vampire by an ancient Stone Mask. Jonathan uses Hamon, an ancient breathing technique passed down through the Zeppeli family, to defeat Dio and his horde of zombies and other vampires. At the end of the story, Jonathan sacrifices himself to defeat his adopted brother once and for all, helping his pregnant wife to live another day.

Cast

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Creation & Development
When the series first began, Araki only initially planned for it to make up three parts, ending with the final confrontation with Dio, with three different JoJo's to follow in each part, meaning that Joseph and Jotaro's characters were all planned from the very beginning.

Araki came up with the idea for Hamon while thinking about ways to reach your body limits, and to what extent you can transform. He discussed scientific research conducted about "air" that people have, like an aura.

The title Phantom Blood was added to Part 1 later in the series, and according to Araki in the JOJOVELLER Stand Book, the title is in reference to the blood relationship between Jonathan and Dio, and the fantasy magic that comes to mind with the word bloodline.

Trivia

 * This is the first of two parts not to include or mention Stands before they are introduced in Part 3.FotNS logo.jpg
 * A lot of Part 1 was inspired by another manga series titled "Fist of the North Star."
 * The JoJo official logo (the supertitle in a white and pink gradient) is inspired by the Fist of the North Star logo.
 * Although it can also be argued that it's inspired by the Indiana Jones logo, however the colors and format speak for themselves.
 * Many panels in Phantom Blood (and in subsequent parts, but most prominently in Part 1,) copy almost exactly certain panels in FotNS.
 * Jonathan takes major design inspiration from Kenshiro.
 * This is the first part in the series where the protagonist dies in the part he is introduced.

Iconography
Phantom Blood is represented most often by the Stone Mask, the McGuffin that the story primarily revolves around. Appearing or at least being mentioned in almost every episode, and being the sole reason Dio has the powers he does, it is an iconic part of Phantom Blood 's themes. It is used in a handful of different logo designs representing Part 1, including the one in the limited edition Bunkoban release of the manga, and in the 2024 Phantom Blood musical adaptation. It is used prominently in the OP song Sono Chino Sadame for the anime's first season, with the sequence ending with the mask falling into the ocean, and on the cover of the PS2 videogame adaptation. It is by far the most common icon that represents this part.

Another common icon in regard to Phantom Blood is the Ripple, the main power system of this part and its successor.

Continuity

 * The Joestar Birthmark, which is formally introduced in Part 3, is totally absent from this part because Araki didn't write that plot point in yet. While the birthmark is absent in the manga, the anime adaptation added it in retroactively to fit with what's known in Part 3.
 * The Stone Mask is discovered for the first time this part, which is later revealed to be a creation of the Pillar Men in Part 2.
 * The post credit scene in the anime adaptation adds a scene of Santana in a pillar being discovered in Mexico.
 * Will Zeppeli says in this part that he died with no offspring, but this is revealed to not be true in Part 2 where his son and grandson take center focus in the plot.
 * Erina saves a baby from the boat in the final battle, who eventually grows up to be Lisa Lisa, Joseph Joestar's mother.
 * Dio survives the boat explosion, as revealed in Part 3, and the reason for this is currently unclear. He supposedly found a way into the coffin Erina escaped on in another compartment, but this likely wasn't written this way back in Part 1.
 * The novel Jorge Joestar attempts to explain this by saying that Dio completely survived the explosion and tormented Erina in that coffin for days before she was rescued, and he was placed under that compartment.

Gallery
"'Jonathan's courageous death ends Part 1! However, I've already started writing the concept for Part 2, so please look forward to it.'"