File:JoJo's Bizarre Adventure The Animation Japanese Poster.png
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 THE ANIMATION, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Za Animēshon) is the TV anime adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure produced by David Production and Warner Bros. Japan. It was first announced on July 5, 2012 during the Hirohiko Araki JoJo Exhibition 2012 press conference alongside All-Star Battle, coinciding with the manga's 25th Anniversary.[1]
Initially, the name only referred to the first season, which adapted both Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. However, it was expanded to encompass subsequent seasons as they released. Though the name was phased out in marketing for the fourth season, it was later revived for merchandise relevant to the anime's 10th Anniversary celebration.
Before the decision was made to adapt JoJo's Bizarre Adventure into a TV anime, producer Hiroyuki Omori of Warner Bros. Japan was approached by an anime-related company regarding the matter. Omori was unsure if modern audiences would want to see an adaptation of the earlier parts of the series, as the muscular gekiga art style was very different from other anime series that aired at the time. Despite this, Omori decided to go ahead with producing a TV anime adaptation of the series, saying that the "power of the original work" has not faded despite the "outdated" designs.
Omori then needed to find a fitting production studio to animate the series. He wished to find a studio that could "draw powerful muscle movements" due to the muscular character designs of the early parts of the series. After careful consideration, he chose David Production after seeing their work on The Book of Bantorra, which displayed "powerful linework and careful animation."[2]
By the time production on the series began, the core team was composed of Tsuda, Suzuki, Kasama, Omori, Kobayashi and Soejima. The team decided to follow the source material down to every minute detail, one of them being the unique onomatopoeia used in the manga. The team felt that if they didn't follow the manga so faithfully and resorted to using general anime production techniques, it would no longer be JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but rather JoJo's Ordinary Adventure. The guidelines the team set for themselves in the first production meeting became a sort of overall guide for how the series would be produced moving forward throughout future seasons.[2]
The first two seasons of the anime were greenlit in 2011. The first season was to adapt the first two parts of the manga, Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency, while the second would adapt the third part, Stardust Crusaders. However, pre-production for the first season would not begin until as late as March 2012, four months before its announcement at Hirohiko Araki JoJo Exhibition 2012.[3] After the success of the first season, David Production began work on animating the second season as soon as it concluded, with pre-production starting as early as July 2013 and the official announcement occurring in Weekly Shonen Jump on October 16, 2013.[4]
Following the success of the first two seasons, a third season of the anime entered production in May 2015, set to adapt Diamond is Unbreakable. According to character designer and chief animation director Terumi Nishii, "pleasing the 'boy's love' (yaoi) fans" was taken into account when designing the characters for season three, though they retained her regular style.[5] The season was announced at the end of "The Last Crusaders" event celebrating the previous season on October 24, 2015.
According to producer Nobutaka Kasama, the fourth season, an adaptation of Vento Aureo, was greenlit in January 2017.[6] Takahiro Kishida, who had previously worked as an animation director for the D'Arby the Gambler episode in the 1993 OVA series, was brought back as the character designer for season four. On July 25, 2017, the directors for the season went on a trip to Italy to begin location scouting, which lasted roughly eight to nine days.[7] Season four was officially announced by Hirohiko Araki on June 21, 2018, at the end of a live news conference for his Ripples of Adventure art exhibition.
The fifth season of the anime, adapting Stone Ocean, entered production sometime before October 2020.[8] The season was officially announced on April 4, 2021 during the JOESTAR The Inherited Soul event, with Fairouz Ai announced as the voice actress for Jolyne Cujoh.[9] Several events were announced on April 4 of the following year in commemoration of the anime's tenth anniversary.[10]
Media distribution service Crunchyroll obtained the streaming license for the anime before the premiere of season two, a license that would last through season four. In addition to streaming the Blu-ray edition of the anime's first season, the service would release each episode of the subsequent seasons with English subtitles an hour after the episode's premiere in Japan.[11]
In 2014, Crunchyroll announced that a test dub of season two's first three episodes produced by Warner Bros. would stream on July 5, featuring Matthew Mercer as Jotaro Kujo and Patrick Seitz as DIO. In 2015, it was announced that director Naokatsu Tsuda would premiere an English dub of the first season at that year's Anime Expo, later to be released on DVD by Warner Bros.[12]
VIZ Media, the official English distributor for the manga and series merchandise, announced in 2016 that they had also acquired the license to stream the anime on their own website,[13] and later the rights to produce the Blu-ray release and English dub for the series as well, using the same voice cast as Warner Bros.' earlier dubs.[14] The English dubs for the first four seasons aired on Adult Swim's Toonami block from October 2016 onward.[15]
On August 8, 2021, it was announced that season five would premiere worldwide exclusively on Netflix with a selection of international dubs, including the English dub provided by VIZ Media.[16] Later, during the Netflix Festival Japan live stream on November 8, 2021, Netflix announced that the first twelve episodes of the anime would be released worldwide on December 1, 2021 and aired on Japanese television from January 7, 2022 onward.[17] Over half a year later, on July 1, 2022, a new trailer debuted at the Warner Bros. panel at Anime Expo showcasing footage from episodes 13-24 of the season, which were announced to be releasing worldwide on Netflix on September 1, 2022 and airing on Japanese television from October 7, 2022 onward.[18] On October 7, 2022, the final fourteen episodes of season five were revealed to be releasing on Netflix on December 1, 2022, and later aired on Japanese television from December 23, 2022 onward.[19]
No. | Title | First Aired | Last Aired | Episodes | Blu-ray Volumes | Image |
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1 | ![]() |
October 6, 2012 | April 6, 2013 | 26 | 9 | |
The first season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure adapts Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency, Parts 1 and 2 of the manga. In the year 1888, a feud between English gentleman Jonathan Joestar and his wicked adoptive brother Dio Brando escalates into a battle for humanity when the latter uses an ancient stone mask to become a bloodthirsty vampire. 50 years later, Jonathan's grandson Joseph Joestar finds himself embroiled in conflict with the reawakened creators of the mask, who seek a legendary artifact that will grant them dominion over life itself. | ||||||
2 | ![]() |
April 5, 2014 | June 20, 2015 | 48 | 12 | |
The second season of the anime adapts Part 3 of the manga, Stardust Crusaders. In 1987, Joseph's delinquent grandson Jotaro Kujo suddenly awakens a mysterious power known as a Stand. The source of his new power is revealed to be none other than DIO, who has resurfaced after nearly a century, seized the body of his nemesis, and awakened a power of his own. When the life of Jotaro's mother is threatened by DIO's curse, Jotaro, Joseph, and their allies set out for Egypt to defeat him. | ||||||
3 | ![]() |
April 2, 2016 | December 24, 2016 | 39 | 13 | |
The third season of the anime adapts Diamond is Unbreakable, the fourth part of the manga. In the spring of 1999, Jotaro pays a visit to the quiet town of Morioh and reveals high school student Josuke Higashikata to be Joseph's bastard son. However, the two Joestars and their allies discover that a host of Stand users lurk in Josuke's hometown, with most given their power by a mystical Arrow. The heroes' investigation eventually leads them to cross paths with a serial killer named Yoshikage Kira, who will not tolerate any threat to his peaceful life. | ||||||
4 | ![]() |
October 6, 2018 | July 28, 2019 | 39 | 10 | |
The anime's fourth season adapts the manga's fifth part, Vento Aureo. Giorno Giovanna, DIO's son and a Joestar by blood, dreams of rising to power within the Italian gang Passione to reform it from the inside. An encounter in 2001 with righteous gangster Bruno Bucciarati allows Giorno to join the latter's team, who are soon tasked with protecting the daughter of the gang's mysterious boss. Unbeknownst to the team, the boss is willing to go to any lengths to conceal his true identity—even if it means subduing fate. | ||||||
5 | ![]() |
January 7, 2022 | April 8, 2023 | 38 | 3 | |
The fifth season of the anime adapts Part 6 of the manga, Stone Ocean. In 2011, Jolyne Cujoh is framed for murder and sentenced to 15 years in Green Dolphin Street Prison. Jotaro, her father, attempts to break her out, but the enigmatic Stand Whitesnake manages to steal his Stand ability and memories, leaving him in a comatose state. While gaining allies within prison, Jolyne pursues Whitesnake and its user, chaplain Enrico Pucci, hoping to save her father's life. However, she and her allies remain unaware of Pucci's true ambitions, which aim to control nothing less than the fate of humanity. | ||||||
N/A | ![]() |
December 18, 2021 | December 20, 2021 | 4 | 1 | ![]() |
The OVA series Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan adapts the manga spin-off of the same name. The series features Diamond is Unbreakable character Rohan Kishibe, who finds himself coming face-to-face with the unexplainable in a series of isolated incidents. Each episode is produced out-of-order, and the series has no set schedule. |
Several voice actors who voiced characters in other JoJo media returned for roles in Stardust Crusaders:
Several voice actors who voiced characters in other JoJo media returned for roles in Diamond is Unbreakable:
Several voice actors who voiced characters in other JoJo media returned for roles in Golden Wind:
Several voice actors who voiced characters in other JoJo media returned for roles in Stone Ocean:
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