The story in JoJo is divided between two universes; the first detailed in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1987 to 2003, and the second primarily in seinen magazine Ultra Jump, from 2003/04 to the present.
The first begins with Part I: Phantom Blood; featuring the fraught and bloody relationship between usurper Dio Brando and hero Jonathan Joestar. Attrition between Jonathan's descendants (each identifiable as "JoJo") and their allies and Dio's followers characterizes a broad continuity to this series: In Part II, Jonathan's grandson Joseph combats the Pillar Men, creators of the Stone Mask which granted Dio his Vampiric powers; in Part III, Joseph's grandson Jotaro combats Dio's army of Stand users before Dio himself; in Part IV, Joseph's son Josuke faces a host of new Stand users in his community in Morioh, Japan; in Part V, Dio's sonGiorno fights for his position atop the mafia hierarchy in Italy; and in Part VI, Jotaro's daughter Jolyne battlesEnrico Pucci, Dio's acolyte.
The second universe begins with Part VII: Steel Ball Run; featuring many references to events in the former series. Set in 1890, SBR focuses on the fierce competition between dual protagonists Gyro Zeppeli andJohnny Joestar and various other agents for the acquisition of an invaluable, world-defining mystical object, under the cover of the epic American Steel Ball Run race. Leaping to the present day in Part VIII: JoJolion, secret implications to this history are investigated along with the mystery of the protagonist's ultimate identity and the paranormal circumstances surrounding his adoptive hometown.
Chapters and arcs in JoJo are diverse in tone, contributing to a span of genres including Action, Adventure, Comedy, Thriller, Mystery, Horror and Supernatural fiction. The thrust of the plot is met by precarious, melodramatic interactions between individuals defined by supernatural power and exclusive ambitions, attitudes or moral standards, along with a race among the emergent heroes of a given story to intercept a powerful central antagonist. The signature mechanic of the series is provided in the first two episodes by theRipple, wielded in the trained human body and transferred in hand-to-hand combat; and the supernatural, increasingly abstract combative Stand power thereafter. Recurrent subjects in the text of the manga may be condensed under themes of Fate, Fortunity, Justice and Redemption. Hirohiko Araki, asked in 2006 to summarize the work a phrase, answered "the enigma of human beings" and "a eulogy [to] [the] human";[3] and on his attitude to manga, "the salvation of the heart".[4]
Many references to modern film, television, fashion, popular music and fine art are readily identifiable throughout JoJo in many settings and both the characterization and nomenclature of the cast. Examples of physical, mathematical and psychological theory, biology, technology, mythology, natural phenomena, historic events, and segments of other artistic work inform the design and functionality of JoJo 's multitude of unique Stands. The series occasionally makes fanciful developments upon contemporary scientific theory in creation of the routes by which certain Stands and other powers exert an influence on nature.
Morioh, fictional Japanese town and base of Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable and as a distinct incarnation in the ongoing Part VIII: JoJolion shares its coordinates with Araki's hometown, Sendai,[5] assuming a more culturally detailed description and referencing more contemporary topics (such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake) than other settings. Stand-wielding mangaka Rohan Kishibe, a resident of Morioh introduced inDiamond is Unbreakable, returns as guide in a number of JoJo spin-offs.
