Phantom Blood

"This is a story about the mysterious Stone Mask excavated from Mexico and the two boys destined for bizarre adventures!"

- Narrator,

Phantom Blood (ファントムブラッド) is the first part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from January to October 1987 under the title of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 1, Jonathan Joestar: His Youth, and was collected into five volumes by Jump Comics. The title Phantom Blood was first officially used in the book JOJO A-GO!GO!, and then later used for the Bunkoban release of the manga.

The part has received two anime adaptations: a 2007 film by Studio A.P.P.P. and a 2012 TV series by David Production. It was also adapted into a 2006 PlayStation 2 game by and.

The story follows Jonathan Joestar as he matures with and eventually battles his adoptive brother, the cunning and merciless Dio Brando.

Plot Summary
"Put simply, the theme of this work is 'living'. Through the two main characters, I want to examine two ways of living. It's all about singing the hymn of the battle between 'human' and 'non-human' ..."

- Hirohiko Araki, author's note, Vol. 1

Prologue
Between the 12th and 16th centuries, an Aztec chieftain wearing a Stone Mask stains his Mask with a young woman's blood, as part of an Aztec tribe's human sacrifice. This causes many spikes to sprout from the mask, nonlethally piercing the man's skull. The man claims to have gained eternal life, showing off his ability to suck another tribesman's blood with his finger as well as his superhuman strength. It is revealed that this tribe attempted to take over the world, only to vanish for unknown reasons.

In 1880, at, England, a young Jonathan Joestar (known to his friends as JoJo) peacefully lives at his father George Joestar I's wealthy estate. Another young boy from, Dio Brando, is adopted by them due to his father Dario Brando's death. George believed that he and his infant son were rescued by Dario during a stagecoach accident in which his wife lost her life; in reality, Dario was attempting to loot their corpses. Jonathan attempts to befriend Dio, unaware of his plan to break his spirit through constant bullying and earn George's trust so that he can become the sole heir to the Joestar fortune.

Dio Brando the Invader
As part of his scheme, Dio torments Jonathan in various ways: he knees his dog Danny in the jaw, violently beats him in a boxing match, and turns all of his friends against him, all the while presenting himself before Jonathan's father as a better gentleman and student than his adoptive brother. When Jonathan finds solace in a relationship with Erina Pendleton, Dio steals her first kiss.

This final affront makes Jonathan angry enough to openly confront Dio, and gives him the strength to beat him for the first time. A few droplets of Dio's blood fall onto the Stone Mask, causing its spikes to extend and push it off the wall. Only Dio and Jonathan witness the mask's activation; while the former maintains it to be nothing more than a torture instrument, the young Joestar will eventually begin pursuing research in the fields of archaeology and ethnology to discover the history behind the artifact. Dio learns from the fight that Jonathan is tougher than he thought; after burning Danny in an incinerator as revenge, he decides to bide his time and try to earn Jonathan's trust.

A Letter from the Past
Seven years later, in the year 1888, Jonathan and Dio have become friendly and trustworthy toward each other. The two have also become top students, nearing graduation in their respective fields. The two visit George, who has fallen ill in the interim. Jonathan becomes suspicious of Dio's excessive care for him, certain that he has ulterior motives. While continuing his research on the Stone Mask, Jonathan discovers the letter written by Dario Brando that was sent to George Joestar upon his death. In the letter, Dario describes his symptoms, which are identical to George's mysterious illness. Jonathan confronts Dio, believing that Dio must have poisoned his father and is planning to do the same with his own father. Jonathan steals a dose of George's medicine for testing, and Dio decides to dispose of Jonathan before he is exposed.



Dio reasons that if he makes Jonathan wear the mask and then activates it with blood, his ensuing death will be written off as a research accident due to his known interest in the artifact. However, to be assured of the lethal effect of the mask, Dio takes to the streets and uses it on a drunken beggar. To his horror, the mask's spikes do not kill his test subject, but rather transform him into a Vampire blessed with superhuman strength and eternal youth. The vampire tries to suck Dio's blood, but Dio is saved from the monster's attack when the sun rises, causing it to disintegrate.

Returning home, still shaken from the recent events, Dio is surrounded by police constables summoned by Jonathan. In a daring trip to Ogre Street, Jonathan had managed to befriend the honorable criminal Robert E. O. Speedwagon, obtaining from him the address of the Chinese merchant Wang Chan, who had originally sold Dio the poison. Though Dio appears to be cornered, Dio brandishes the Stone Mask and attempts to stab Jonathan. Though George takes the blow, his blood is sufficient for the mask's activation, and Dio dons the Stone Mask triumphantly before being shot down by the policemen.

Youth with Dio
As George's life comes to an end, he tells Jonathan to forgive Dio and bury him alongside his father. Suddenly, Dio slaughters the policemen and wounds Speedwagon, having successfully become a vampire. In his attempts to kill the seemingly invulnerable creature, Jonathan resorts to burning down the Joestar Mansion while trapping Dio inside. With great difficulties and impressive feats of strength, Jonathan manages to skewer the vampire on the Statue of the Goddess of Love. Though Speedwagon fears the worst, Jonathan survives via being blown out of a window.

After the battle, Jonathan is hospitalized. Through chance, Erina Pendleton serves as his nurse, and the two rekindle their relationship. Meanwhile, Wang Chan searches the ruins of the mansion to find and sell the Stone Mask, but is instead zombified by Dio, who has survived his fight with Jonathan.

Ripple Overdrive
Some time after the fire, Jonathan and Erina meet Will Anthonio Zeppeli, an Italian baron who utilizes a strange energy called the Ripple (波紋). Zeppeli explains that the Ripple is a martial arts technique that allows the user to focus bodily energy into other kinds of energy, including sunlight energy, via proper breathing. After teaching Jonathan how to use the Ripple, the two encounter Wang Chan, who is defeated by Jonathan's Zoom Punch technique but escapes.

The two Ripple users, now accompanied by Speedwagon, take a stagecoach through the tunnel leading to the town of Windknight's Lot, where Wang Chan has escaped to, according to Speedwagon's information. However, the group is soon attacked by a zombified Jack the Ripper. Zeppeli manages to wound Jack, but he escapes into an underground labyrinth hidden in the tunnel. Zeppeli tells Jonathan to finish him off without spilling a drop of a glass of wine. In the tunnels, Jonathan learns to use the Ripple in conjunction with the glass to sense the zombie's position, and kills him via his Ripple Overdrive.

The group exits the tunnel, and Windknight's Lot comes into view. Suddenly, a boy named Poco steals the group's luggage, forcing Jonathan and Zeppeli to chase him. However, after being knocked down by Jonathan's Ripple, Poco retains no memory of his encounter with the group. Having been lured into a graveyard during the chase, the group realizes that Dio had hypnotized the boy to act as a trap. Dio appears to the group, having fully healed from his injuries, and his zombie army begins its assault. Zeppeli attacks Dio, but discovers with horror that Dio has developed a freezing technique to counter the Ripple. Though Jonathan steps in to assist Zeppeli, both are overwhelmed by Dio's ability and knocked away.

The Dark Knights
Now confident in his superiority to the Ripple users, Dio summons two exceptionally powerful zombies: Bruford and Tarkus, legendary knights who had served as key individuals in the 1565 feud between and. Having retained his pride, Bruford asks Dio to challenge Jonathan alone. Dio, assured of his victory, gives his assent and leaves for Windknight's Lot. With Tarkus preventing the group from interfering, Bruford and Jonathan have their duel. Though Bruford drives Jonathan underwater, Jonathan discovers that both water and the metal of Bruford's sword Luck easily conduct the Ripple, and manages to gravely injure the knight.

Bruford attempts one last attack, but stops his sword at the last moment; it is revealed that the Ripple has restored his noble human soul. After learning Jonathan's name, Bruford entrusts him with his sword, which he renames to Pluck with his blood, before succumbing to his injuries and disintegrating. Tarkus then begins his assault on the group, forcing them to flee using a glider made of leaves fused together by the Ripple. As the group flees, Zeppeli reveals how he came to learn the Ripple.

Tarkus suddenly jumps toward the group, causing them to crash into a cliffside castle that once served as a training ground for knights. Tarkus's incredible strength allows him to not only survive the fall, but to climb the wall towards the group. Jonathan steps inside the ruins to find a safe place for Poco to hide, but finds himself trapped by a collar around his neck as the door closes. Tarkus recognizes the Room of Dragon Decapitation, and collars himself to engage Jonathan in a Chain Deathmatch.

Jonathan is unable to breathe properly due to the collar, rendering him unable to use the Ripple. Meanwhile, Poco recalls his sister's warnings about fear, and finds the courage to sneak inside the room and open the door from the inside, allowing Zeppeli and Speedwagon to enter. Zeppeli, remembering Tonpetty's prophecy of his death, sacrifices himself to save Jonathan and transfer all of his life energy to him. Empowered by Zeppeli's energy, Jonathan breaks his collar and pummels Tarkus. Afterward, the group says their last goodbyes to Zeppeli, who passes away peacefully.

The Three from a Faraway Land
The group finally reaches Windknight's Lot. A man named Adams accosts Poco about being up so late, only to reveal himself to be a zombie when the group turns their backs on him. Jonathan defeats Adams, but is immediately attacked by a man named Dire and his Thunder Split Attack technique. After Jonathan headbutts him, Dire ceases his attack and reveals that he was summoned by a letter from Zeppeli, along with his master Tonpetty and his fellow disciple Straizo. The group enter Dio's castle, where Jonathan rescues Poco's sister from the snake zombie Doobie before directly confronting Dio. Dire steps forward, claiming his right to avenge Zeppeli before Jonathan, having known him far longer. Dire attacks Dio with his special technique, Thunder Cross Split Attack, but Dio's freezing technique shatters his body before he can land a hit. Landing in a bowl of roses, Dire's head manages to fire a Ripple-infused rose into Dio's eye before shattering completely. Dio enters a fit of rage, calling upon his zombie horde to attack the group.

Fire and Ice
The battle between Dio and Jonathan begins. Jonathan throws a flurry of roses at Dio, moves to his blind spot, and slices Dio's head open with Bruford's sword Luck & Pluck. However, Dio reveals that he has frozen the sword, trapping Jonathan's arms and legs. Dio begins injecting his zombie essence into Jonathan's carotid artery, but Jonathan manages to defrost himself with the fires surrounding them and ejects the zombie essence from his bloodstream. By setting his own hand aflame, Jonathan manages to land a direct hit on Dio, filling his body with the Ripple. Dio is sent flying off a balcony, firing high-pressure fluid from his eyes as a laser as a last-ditch attack. Jonathan and the group finish off Dio's remaining zombies and destroy the Stone Mask the next morning, having successfully saved the town; the group remains unaware that Dio has managed to tear off his own head before the Ripple can reach it, and that he has escaped along with Wang Chan.

The Final Ripple
Three months after the events in Windknight's Lot, Jonathan marries Erina. Jonathan's friends see the couple off as they board a ship to America for their honeymoon. But in the middle of the voyage, Jonathan suddenly spots Wang Chan. After warning Erina to hide in her room, Jonathan chases Wang Chan into the engine room, where it is revealed that Dio's head has boarded the ship in secret within a special explosion-proof coffin. Dio reveals to Jonathan that he plans to kill him and attach his own head to Jonathan's body before arriving in America. Dio again fires the eye fluid attack, piercing Jonathan's neck and rendering him unable to breathe. Erina arrives to witness Jonathan's wounded state, but a horde of zombies appear behind her. Though Dio commands Wang Chan to slice off Jonathan's head, Jonathan uses the last of his Ripple to destroy Wang Chan's head, causing his body to jam the ship's screw shaft, causing an explosion.

Jonathan, further wounded by shrapnel from the engine, urges Erina to save an orphaned baby and escape, despite her own will to stay with him. Dio wraps his neck's tendrils around Jonathan's neck, but Jonathan uses the shrapnel to cut his tendrils and stab him. Jonathan grips Dio's head in his arms, reflecting on their intertwined fates. Dio offers Jonathan eternal life with Erina, only to find that Jonathan has already died from his wounds. As Erina hides inside Dio's coffin, the ship explodes with both men inside.

Erina reflects on the life Jonathan Joestar lived. Though history will never know Jonathan's heroic deeds, Erina resolves that his descendants, including the unborn child inside her, will hear of the life he lived. Two days later, Erina is rescued near the Canary Islands, bringing the tale of Jonathan's life to a close but beginning a new era of adventure.

Chapters
Phantom Blood consists of 44 chapters compiled into Volumes 1 through 5 of the Jump Comics trade paperbacks. Chapter titles often change between the original publication in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine and the paperback graphic novels, so both are included below (left for volume, right for magazine).