Last week, the world (especially the citizens of Japan) read the final installment of Hirohiko Araki’s mega-popular manga series, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: JOJOLlands. While I was worried if Araki should continue the series with another saga after its previous installment, JoJolyon, it ended so suddenlypeople of Twitter, TikTok and Reddit are treating this chapter as a second renaissance for the series, and I tend to agree with them. The first chapter of JOJOLlands proves that Araki still has more strange stories worth telling.
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JOJOLlands, the ninth installment in the Joestar family’s epic story, takes place in present-day Hawaii on the island of O’ahu. Unlike Golden wind about Joestar’s war on drugs, JOJOLands is about a pair of Joestars who sell drugs to their community. The story follows Jodio Joestar and Dragon Joestarthe series’ first pair of Joestar siblings as they and their ragtag band of high school smugglers attempt to steal an ungodly expensive diamond.
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The fact that Jodio and Dragona are the first JJBA being siblings isn’t the only thing that makes them a unique duo in the series’ mythos. Jodio’s namesake references iconic characters in the first chapter of the series, and Dragona is the first canonical gender non-conforming character in the series.
Jodio Joestar’s name is an amalgamation of Jonathan Jostarthe hero of part one, and God Brando, the ongoing antagonist of the series. Although this isn’t the first time Araki has introduced a character he shares connections with Dio and Jonathan, Jodio excels because he knows he’s cool as shit, and he’s not afraid to let the reader know with painfully funny details. in JOJOLlands, Jodio serves as the series’ reliable (as far as we know) narrator. When exposed to the illegal Good boys– in the style of activities that he and his companions get involved in, Jodio literally does “I have better bitch/clothes/money memes than TikTok” when emphasizing how the bullied rub crying on the floor has nothing on Jojo’s swagger. I love this cheeky kid.
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But the showstopper of JOJOLlands‘ first chapter, “Mechanisms” is not Jodio, but his older brother, Dragona, who serves as the first main character of the GNC series. Although he’s never seen Dragon do this first-hand, Jodio says that “the roundness of his chest is due to cosmetic injections.” Fans theorized that Dragona may have used his ghost-like power stance called “Smooth Operators” to inject himself into his chest. Jodio also gives readers the highlight of Dragon’s exposition by revealing that she “loves girls’ fashion and works at a fashion boutique in Kalihi called Iko Iko,” because of course she does. It is JJBA we are talking about.
Apart from the cute Joestar duo, JOJOLlands it’s so exciting because it’s the first JJBA part to take place in the modern day. Phantom blood took place in the late 1880s and steadily progressed to 2011. JOJOLlands takes place sometime between 2020 and 2023 – evidence of this time period comes at the beginning of its first chapter, when Dragona snaps at a perverted police officer standing too close to him, saying “I don’t want to get covid” .
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In a typical JJBA fashion, JOJOLand wastes no time in establishing his contemporary musical references at the beginning of this chapter either. Jodio’s first line is about how Dragona blasting Dua Lipa’s music in their getaway car is the reason they got pulled over. This occurs before the duo “attack and dethrone God” by having their positions, November rain and Smooth operators, hit the brakes of a couple of chauvinist cops and set their patrol car on fire. The kids are fine.
JOJOLlands is off to a strong start and I hope Jodio’s over-the-top snubbing of Joestar’s youth is forgotten by Soft and wet return of Josuke “Gappy” Higashitaka.