Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1-Phantom Blood, Vol. 1 by Hirohiko Araki

10 reviews

wouterk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This is a review for the whole Phantom Blood Arc. A great series with a great start. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, is exactly that, Bizarre. In this first series we learn about the origin of Dio and his intrinsic evilness. We see how the feud with the Joestar family starts, a battle between good and evil over generations.

The Drawing style from the 80s is really recognizable and these volumes have very awesome panels. The story is great as well. The hype that the Anime had makes you almost forget how dark this series is. Trigger warnings for bullying, animal cruelty, violence against infants, psychological and physical torture, blood and gore. Still if you can handle this, The story and world building are equally fascinating and engaging.  I loved the forms of vampirism, including freezing powers, versus the literal breath of love, light and heat called Hamon.

A great series, on to Battle Tendency!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Violence, Bullying, and Gore

ambenicole418's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

JoJo: *simply existing*
Dio (for no reason whatsoever): “Hmm 🤔 what can I do to make JoJo’s life a living hell today?”

How do you come straight out the gate kicking someone’s dog???? What ever happened to “Hello. How are you? My name is…..” 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

scoobygirl93's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder

pomegranate_muse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Violence

seriouslybookedup's review against another edition

dark

2.5

From the first few pages, it's apparent that this is one of those mangas that was A Product of Its Time. Everything about it screams 1980's. Right in the beginning we get an egregious characterization of Aztecs as murderous cannibals in possession of magical objects. Then, we go right into a fever dream of a plot that should have ended with Dio being spectacularly KO'd after he kicks JoJo's dog. I know we're supposed to think JoJo is a forgiving, stand-up guy for attempting a relationship with Dio after that incident, but I just thought he was a pathetic idiot.

I wanted to read this because I'm newish to manga and this seemed like a seminal piece of work that kept cropping up - I wanted to be in "in the know." I can admit, there's a certain appeal. The art style is so bizarrely cartoonish, it's hard NOT to keep turning the pages to see these figures warped and expanded in some truly outlandish proportions. I kept having to remind myself that these beefy, grotesque dudes are supposed to be young boys in the first half of the volume and not roided-up swolbros.

The story is manic. I literally laughed out loud when JoJo, in a fit of despair, rolls himself down a hill and into a creek. Or when he was sobbing in bed, thinking about his dead mother then abruptly stops crying when he spots a chocolate bar on his nightstand and eats it like the Cookie Monster - apropos of absolutely nothing. So clearly, this manga is not taking itself too seriously.

I can't help but want to know what happens next but I can't say I'm enjoying myself or see myself sticking with the series long-term. There are at least two graphic depictions of dog abuse that I didn't think would bother me but it did. (Edit: I'm coming back after watching episode one of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure on Netflix to point out that the graphic scene of the dog jumping out of the furnace is conspicuously missing from the anime. Ah, so I wasn't alone in thinking it was a bridge too far...). 

Plus, Dio is an obnoxious villain who I hope dies soon. And JoJo, so far, is a real wimpy twit of a protagonist. The dialogue and story assume the audience has the mental reasoning of an 8-year old boy with characters loudly and declaratively stating every thought or action that's taking place. But the violence also assumes the audience should have the emotional intelligence of at least a teenager. There's absolutely no nuance.

I plan on getting the second volume to see if it improves (or at least get some satisfaction if Dio dies) but I may just move ahead to a newer story arc and hope that I've learned enough lore for it to make sense.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Animal death, Violence, Blood, Bullying, and Cultural appropriation

maxor76's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I like Jonathan, sure he might be a little boring but. In seriousness i dont mind his character, he does what he needs to do and is a good starting point for the series. He is simply a gentleman dealing with his abusive brother.
I like the added story you get here too, like the reason why Dio

killed Danny

The art is also just charming to say the least.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

kaitieg97's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

That was in fact bizarre! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Blood, Gore, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent

neonthenerd's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Animal death, and Car accident

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Addiction, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

gracemck's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence

stormywolf's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 This month's pick in Maven of the Eventide's (aka Elisa Hansen's) Vampire Book Club was a first for me: my very first official (not fan-translated) Manga ever, and also my first foray into the world of JoJo. Sure, I've seen enough of JoJo here and there to know of him—his style, the references, and what have you—but I'd never actually gone and experienced it for myself. Not even an episode of the anime. So, with an open mind and bated breath, I took the plunge into the bizarre world of JoJo and DIO!

Read my full review at The Wolf's Den

Overall, I'm glad I took a chance with Phantom Blood. While it suffers a bit from its over-reliance on action over characters (possibly a product of its 80s publication), it still has enough quirkiness to keep it endearing. If you enjoy gothic horror, over-the-top villainy, 80s-inspired musclemen, or other Japanese entertainment (anime/manga) and you haven't checked out JoJo yet, I'd definitely recommend it. And if you're interested, check out the Vampire Book Club's synopsis and discussion, and join us in the future for more fangtastic and bizarre tales. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, and Cannibalism

Minor: Misogyny and Xenophobia