To Be Continued
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"To Be Continued" is a staple of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, first appearing in Chapter 167 of the manga, and then later appearing in almost every episode of the series's anime adaptation. It is typicially represented by a uniquely-styled arrow pointing left with the English words "To Be Continued" written within.
In the anime adaptation, it usually shows at the very end of that episode's story, whether that be before or after the closing credits, although there are some exceptions as listed below. When the arrow appears, the frame also usually freezes with a special filter style and colors. In the case of Season 1, a part of Roundabout will also play alongside the arrow's appearance to then transition into the ending credits' animation.
Exceptions
Manga
- Several chapters have the "To Be Continued" text typeset rather than hand-written. These include:
- Chapter 167: Sun, Part 2
- Chapter 173: Death Thirteen, Part 6
- Chapter 237: D'Arby the Player, Part 11
- Chapter 245: The Miasma of the Void, Vanilla Ice, Part 8
- Steel Ball Run Extra Chapter 1: ~How the Steel Ball Run Race Got Started~
- JoJolion Chapter 1: Welcome to Morioh
- In many cases, the arrow containing the "To Be Continued" text is expanded to hold additional text. Examples include:
- Chapter 341: Shigechi's Harvest, Part 7
- Chapter 409: Enigma Boy, Part 6
- JoJolion Chapter 56: Milagroman, Part 1
- JoJolion Chapter 71: The Qing Dynasty Hair Clip
- In Chapter 173 and Chapter 245, the "To Be Continued" text is accompanied by the Japanese translation "つづく."
- In Chapter 245, Chapter 302, and SBR Extra Chapter 1, the "To Be Continued" text is written without an arrow, and is instead housed within a box or dedicated panel.
- Chapter 384 and Chapter 540 feature a TBC arrow midway through the chapter; the latter example also features an arrow at the end of the chapter, making it the only chapter with two TBC arrows.
- The TBC arrow in Stone Ocean Chapter 25: Ermes's Sticker, Part 5 folds in on itself to fit within a narrow panel at the edge of the page.
- The arrow in JoJolion Chapter 42: Doobie Wah, Part 4 does not accompany the last panel or paragraph on the chapter's final page, instead highlighting the first of the page's four panels.
- JoJolion Chapter 70: Urban Guerrilla and Doremifasolati Do, Part 3 features an arrow at the end of the chapter, but the typical "To Be Continued" text is missing, and the text inside instead confirms the status of Urban Guerrilla and Doremifasolati Do.
Anime
- There are a few episodes in the anime that lack any To Be Continued whatsoever. A common cause for these is instead finishing with "Part X: End", although the endings to Part 1 and Part 2 are exceptions due to teasing their subsequent Parts. The episodes that do not contain TBC are as follows:
- Stardust Crusaders Episode 48: The Faraway Journey, Farewell Friends
- Diamond is Unbreakable Episode 39: Goodbye, Morioh - The Golden Heart
- Golden Wind Episode 28: Beneath a Sky on the Verge of Falling
- Golden Wind Episode 39: Sleeping Slaves
- Stone Ocean Episode 38: What a Wonderful World
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Episode 16: Ripple Teacher Lisa Lisa is unique in that it has no image to accompany the TBC arrow, only having a crimson background and the TBC big and center.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Episode 17: Laying a Deeper Trap! has the only TBC shot to include visual narration text.
- There was a case where the TBC was only added later on in the Blu-ray release, this being JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Episode 26: The Man Who Became a God.
- Stardust Crusaders Episode 28: Anubis, Part 1 has the only TBC shot that continues to move after the arrow appears, the frame slowly zooming in.
- Diamond is Unbreakable Episode 13: We Picked Up Something Crazy! has the only TBC shot that continues with the animation rather than freeze-framing. It's therefore also one of the few to not have the iconic TBC filter over itself.
- Diamond is Unbreakable Episode 19: Shigechi's Harvest, Part 2 has the narrator say "To be continued!" as well.
- Diamond is Unbreakable Episode 28: Highway Star, Part 1 is the only to have multiple instances of the TBC arrow shot, one happening halfway through the episode to wrap up the I'm an Alien story arc, and another at the end of the episode as normal. This is due to Chapter 384: Highway Star, Part 1 also having a To Be Continued arrow midway through itself.
Usage
Ever since it's debut in the JoJo manga, the To Be Continued arrow has been used many times throughout other JoJo media, still being one of the most recognisable symbols of the franchise today.
Besides official usage, To Be Continued has been referenced many times by other works and become one of the more popular icons in internet meme culture. Many examples of this can be seen on the References to JoJo page.
Manga
Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
Part 5: Vento Aureo
Part 6: Stone Ocean
Part 7: Steel Ball Run
Part 8: JoJolion
Anime
Season 1: Phantom Blood
Season 1: Battle Tendency
Season 2: Stardust Crusaders
Season 3: Diamond is Unbreakable
Season 4: Golden Wind
Season 5: Stone Ocean
Video Games
This section requires expansion.
Capcom Fighters
In JoJo's Venture and its revisions, the arrow appears at the end of every battle, excluding singleplayer battles lost by the player. It also appears at the end of either arcade revision's Location Test demo in the Japanese region setting. The end-of-match arrow is heavily based on the one seen in Chapter 226: The Gatekeeper of Hell, Pet Shop, Part 5, while the Location Test arrow is instead taken from Chapter 221: Hol Horse and Boingo, Part 5. Ellipses are added to both arrows to better match those seen in later Parts.
GioGio's Bizarre Adventure
In GioGio's Bizarre Adventure, the arrow appears whenever the player clears a stage, either by defeating an enemy, surviving until a timer expires, or triggering an alternate win condition. The arrow itself is sourced from the final page of Chapter 523: The Mystery of King Crimson, Part 6, though the shape has been slightly redrawn.
All-Star Battle
The "To Be Continued" arrow makes a minor appearance in All-Star Battle at the end of JoJolion's Story Mode, as well as the end of most DLC battles' ending text (with the exceptions of Fugo's and Ikuro's battles, which take place after the main story). The text is sourced from Stone Ocean Chapter 2: Stone Ocean, Part 2, while the shape of the arrow itself is taken from Stone Ocean Chapter 50: Torrential Downpour Warning, Part 3.
Last Survivor
In Last Survivor, when the winner defeats the final opposing player, the arrow appears as the loser falls to the ground in slow motion. The arrow itself is identical to the one seen in the anime.
Other official media
This section requires expansion.
