Phantom Blood
Phantom Blood (ファントムブラッド Fantomu Buraddo) is the first story arc of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1987 for 44 chapters, which were later collected into 5 tankōbon volumes. It was licensed and released in North America by Viz Media.[1]
The arc was originally known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Jonathan Joestar: His Youth (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 第一部 ジョナサン·ジョースター ―その青春― JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Dai Ichi Bu Jonasan Jōsutā -Sono Seishun-), and was followed by Battle Tendency. Phantom Blood was adapted as a 2006 PlayStation 2 video game, a 2007 anime film, and as the first part of a 2012 television anime series by David Production.
Characters
Main characters
- Jonathan Joestar (ジョナサン・ジョースター Jonasan Jōsutā)
- Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu, Kazuya Nakai (Boyhood, PS2 Game), Hideyuki Tanaka (Youth, PS2 Game), Katsuyuki Konishi (Movie), Jūrōta Kosugi (Part 3 OVA), Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
- The main protagonist of this arc. Nicknamed "JoJo" for short, he is the son of George Joestar whose life turns to misery when Dio enters the household. After his father is killed by the vampirified Dio, Jonathan comes to learn the power of Hamon from Zeppeli and dies on a ship at a very young age.
- Dio Brando (ディオ・ブランドー Dio Burandō)
- Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu, Kenji Nojima (Boyhood, PS2 Game), Hikaru Midorikawa (Youth, PS2 Game and Movie), Nobuo Tanaka (Part 3 OVA), Patrick Seitz (English)
- The antagonist of this arc. The son of Dario Brando, he becomes a member of the Joestar household with the intent of inheriting it for himself. When this ultimately fails after Jonathan catches him in the act, he uses the stone mask to transform himself into a vampire. Named for Ronnie James Dio and Marlon Brando.
Jonathan's allies
- Robert E. O. Speedwagon (ロバート・E・O・スピードワゴン Robāto Ī Ō Supīdowagon)
- Voiced by: Yoji Ueda, Masaya Onosaka (PS2 Game) (Japanese); Keith Silverstein (English)
- Robert E. O. Speedwagon first appears as an Ogre Street thug boss attacking Jonathan, but soon realized the young man's worthiness and dedication, becoming his good friend. He helps uncover Dio's plot to poison George Joestar, and from that point onward remains by Jonathan's side, helping in whatever way he could to defeat Dio. By the 1930s he is the head of the Speedwagon Foundation, a giant oil company, which assists the Joestar family a great deal in story arcs 2-6. In 1952 he dies of a heart attack at age 89. Speedwagon's first three initials are R.E.O; REO Speedwagon is the name of an American rock band of the 1970s and 80s.
- Will A. Zeppeli (ウィル・A・ツェペリ Wiru Ē Tseperi)
- Voiced by: Yoku Shioya, Rikiya Koyama (PS2 Game and Movie) (Japanese); B.J. Oakie (English)
- Will A. Zeppeli was on a ship with a crew studying Aztec ruins when he was younger, when his father put on the mask and killed everyone in the crew but his son. After this horrific event, Will travels the world in order to destroy the mask, and sees a man cure someone using the Hamon. Will is then directed to his master Tonpetty, who teaches him to use the Hamon. However, Tonpetty foresees Will's death during his training, warning him that should he complete his training he will surely die. Will doesn't share this fact until the fight with Tarukus, where he afterwards gives his power to Jonathan, whom he trained after the Joestar's house burns down. His grandson, Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, is a major companion in Battle Tendency. His name is derived from the latter half of Led Zeppelin.
Friends and family
- Erina Pendleton (エリナ・ペンドルトン Erina Pendoruton)
- Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi, Aya Hisakawa (PS2 Game), Nana Mizuki (Movie), Michelle Ruff (English)
- Erina Pendleton first appears as a small girl, with Jonathan rescuing her from bullies. When she appears again, she and Jonathan are dating, and eventually fall in love. However, after Dio forcefully seizes, kisses, and then brutally beats her, she is humiliated and stays away from Jonathan for a long time. She did not appear again until after Dio's first near-defeat, when she nursed Jonathan back to health. After Jonathan finally defeated Dio using the Hamon, they subsequently renewed their relationship and got married. They took a ship to go on their honeymoon to America, but the voyage was cut short by the appearance of Dio. When the ship sinks, Jonathan stays behind, trying to kill Dio. Erina saves an orphaned infant and escapes. Years later, she and her grandson Joseph Joestar are the last of the Joestar family, and they travel to New York on the invitation of Speedwagon, which sets off the events of the second story arc Battle Tendency.
- Poco (ポコ Poko)
- Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi, Daisuke Sakaguchi (PS2 Game) (Japanese); Amanda Celine Miller (English)
- Poco is a young boy who lives in the village of Windknights. He fell in with the heroes after unsuccessfully trying to steal from them. His chief contribution was crawling through a narrow hole into the room where Tarukus and Jonathan Joestar were having their "chain match", so that the door could be opened and Zeppeli could help Jonathan. Dio Brando later captured his sister Peggy (Voiced by: Aya Endō, Junko Hagimori (PS2 Game) (Japanese); Johanna Luis (English)) and Jonathan rescued her from Doobie. He is named after the 70s rock group Poco, which was formed from ex-members of Buffalo Springfield.
- George Joestar I (ジョージ・ジョースターI世 Jōji Jōsutā Issei)
- Voiced by: Masashi Sugawara, Tsutomu Isobe (PS2 Game and Movie) (Japanese); Marc Diraison (English)
- George Joestar is Jonathan's father. He lost his wife in a carriage accident where he met Dario Brando. After Dario's death, Dio went to live with George and Jonathan at the Joestar Estate (because George thinks Dario saved his life so he takes in Dio as thanks, when in actuality George knew this was not true but still took Dio in). Eight years later George falls ill from unknown causes. After Jonathan returned from Ogre Street, Dio attacked Jonathan with a knife, which George blocked and got stabbed in the back. George's blood lands on Dio, who is wearing the Stone Mask, turning Dio into a vampire as he dies.
- Danny (ダニー Danī)
- Danny is Jonathan's pet dog, bought by his father while still a puppy when Jonathan was five years old. Jonathan and Danny didn't get along for a while, which caused Danny to bite Jonathan. Jonathan, in turn, attacked Danny by throwing stones at him. One day, while swimming in a river, Jonathan started drowning and was saved by Danny, which made them the best of friends. When Dio arrived, he kneed Danny in the jaw and later put him into a box, planning to incinerate the dog. Danny was burned to death and buried in the backyard of the Joestar Estate.
- Tonpetty (トンペティ Tonpeti)
- Voiced by: Tamio Ōki, Osamu Saka (PS2 Game), Yoshisada Sakaguchi (Movie) (Japanese); Geoffery Chalmers (English)
Tonpetty is a Hamon master who trained Zeppeli, as well as others. He trained the then 25-year-old Zeppeli in the ways of Hamon and eventually revealed to him that he would face a gruesome death. The only other known Hamon students of Tonpetty are Dire and Straizo, both who accompanied him to Dio's town. However, they did not meet with Jonathan and Speedwagon until after Zeppeli had died. During the final battle between Jonathan and Dio, Dire is killed, and Tonpetty and Straizo help kill Dio's remaining zombies. After the battle, Tonpetty is last seen at the docks (together with Straizo, Speedwagon, and others) to say farewell to Jonathan and Erina as they go on their honeymoon. Named after singer Tom Petty.
- Dire (ダイアー Daiā)
- Voiced by: Taketora, Yukitoshi Hori (PS2 Game), (Japanese); George C. Cole (English)
- Dire is a Hamon user and a student of Hamon master Tonpetty. He first properly introduced himself after a short match against Jonathan. Before Dio and Jonathan had their last fight, Dire fought Dio to avenge Zeppeli. However, even Dire's best attack, the Thunder Split Attack, didn't stand a chance against Dio's Freezing Attack, which completely turned his body into ice and then shattered it. Dire, now only a head, was able to use his last ounce of Hamon energy to shoot a rose into Dio's eye. For that, Dire's head was turned into ice as well and destroyed. He, along with Straizo, were named after the band Dire Straits.
- Straizo (ストレイツォ Sutoreitso)
- Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita, Hiroaki Miura (PS2 Game) (Japanese); Dave Mallow (English)
- Straizo is another of Tonpetty's followers. He aids Jonathan in the fight against Dio and his minions. However, in the 1930s during part 2 Battle Tendency, he betrays Speedwagon and puts on one of the newly discovered Stone Masks. He explained that he had always envied Dio's strength and beauty and, as a result, desired to stop his aging process. He dies after battling and losing to Joseph Joestar in New York City, overloading his own vampire body with Hamon energy. He is also the adoptive father of Lisa Lisa. He, along with Dire, were named after the band Dire Straits.
Vampires and Zombies
- Wang Chen (ワンチェン Wan Chen)
- Voiced by: Hiroshi Naka, Kazumi Tanaka (PS2 Game), Jun Itoda (Movie) (Japanese); Doug Stone (English)
- Wang Chen is a mysterious apothecary who provides Dio with the poison to kill George Joestar, the same kind he used to kill his own father Dario years ago. Later, he gets brought back to the Joestar Estate and narrowly escapes the flames. As Wang Chen searches for the Stone Mask in the rubble, Dio emerges and turns him into his zombie servant. He serves loyally, and after Dio's penultimate defeat, he takes his master's head on board the ship carrying Jonathan and Erina, where he meets his end. Wang Chen is named after 80s pop duo Wang Chung.
- Bruford (ブラフォード Burafōdo) and Tarukus (タルカス Tarukasu)
- Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda, Nobutoshi Canna (PS2 Game), Tōru Nara (Movie) (Japanese); Tony Oliver (English)
- Voiced by: Tetsu Inada, Daisuke Gōri (PS2 Game), Yoshinori Sonobe (Movie) (Japanese); Taylor Henry (English)
- Bruford and Tarukus are zombies resurrected by Dio to fight Jonathan, Zeppeli, and Speedwagon. Centuries before, they were followers of Mary Stuart, and were beheaded for attempting to rise against and kill Elizabeth I. Bruford is able, as a zombie, to use his hair to attack or entangle foes using his Danse Macabre Hair attack. He is, despite being haunted by revenge, a noble soul, and finally Jonathan is able to awaken this nobility. When his soul returns to him, he disintegrates peacefully. Tarukus, however, is not, and is more ruthless in his fight with Jonathan, even going so far as to nearly strangle the young man to death in a tethered match, as Tarukus easily outweighs him. It is only after Zeppeli's interference and his passing on his life force to Jonathan in a Final Hamon (after Tarukus dismembers his body) is Jonathan able to defeat the bruting Tarukus. Bruford gets his name from Bill Bruford, drummer for King Crimson and Yes. Tarukus is named after the album Tarkus, by 70s progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
- Jack the Ripper (切り裂きジャック(ジャック・ザ・リパー) Jakku Za Ripā)
- Voiced by: Naomi Kusumi, Hisao Egawa (PS2 Game) (Japanese); George C. Cole (English)
- A renowned serial killer in London, who later becomes one of Dio Brando's servants as a zombie. He confronted Jonathan and his group while they were on their way to the Windknights City in a cave. At first, Zeppeli fights him, overwhelming Jack with his many Hamon techniques (as well as teaching Jonathan different battle tactics on how to defeat zombies). After Zeppeli deals a blow to the head, Jack attempts to escape but Jonathan pursues him, finishing him off with a Hamon overdrive.
- Doobie (怪人ドゥービー Kaijin Dūbī)
- Voiced by: Yuichi Ishigami (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)
- Doobie is a zombie who serves Dio Brando. His head is infested with snakes. Dio leaves Poco's sister to his tender mercies, but Jonathan takes care of him before he has a chance to do any real harm. Musical reference is The Doobie Brothers.
- Page (ペイジ Peiji) , Jones (ジョーンズ Jōnzu) , Plant (プラント Puranto) , and Bornnam (ボーンナム Bōnnamu)
- Voiced by: Taketora (Plant, 2012 Anime), Yoshihiro Kanemitsu (Jones, PS2 Game)
- Page, Jones, Plant, and Bornnam are four zombies Dio conjures in an effort to defeat Straizo. They are named after Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones, from the band Led Zeppelin.
- Adams (アダムス Adamusu)
- Voiced by: Hidenori Takahashi (Japanese); Anthony Hansen (English)
- A resident of Windknight's Lot who Poco has met prior. Unaware to the group, he has been turned into a Zombie who tries to kill Poco and the others until Jonathan stops him. Adams is named after Bryan Adams.
- Lion King Winzaleo (獅子王ウィンザレオ Shishiō Winzareo) , Lightning Knight Eijkman (イナズマの騎士アイクマン Inazuma no Kishi Aikuman) , and Poison-Eyed Caineghis (独眼のカイネギス Dokugan no Kainegisu)
- Knights who previously underwent the Trial of the 77 Rings. While they only appear briefly in the manga, their roles are expanded in the video game based on the 2005 film. Winzaleo possesses super strength not unlike Tarukus, Eijkman can shoot lightning and control the wind, and Caineghis can release poison from his empty eye socket.
Others
- Dario Brando (ダリオ・ブランドー Dario Burandō)
- Voiced by: Tadashi Miyazawa, Kōji Yada (PS2 Game), Kazuhiro Ozawa (Movie) (Japanese); Steve Kramer (English)
- Dario Brando is Dio's abusive and alcoholic father. One day, Dario notices a carriage accident and tries to steal from the corpses inside. There he met George Joestar, who thought that Dario had come to save him instead, at which point George made a debt to Dario for saving his life. He beat Dio and worked his wife to death. Dio then went to Ogre Street and bought oriental poison from a Chinese man named Wang Chen. On his death bed, he then had Dio go to the Joestar Estate to repay the debt.
- Police Inspector (警部 Keibu)
- Voiced by: Takashi Nagasako (Japanese); Joe J. Thomas (English)
- The police inspector who leads the group in the attempt to arrest Dio Brando. He is decapitated when Dio gains his vampire powers.
- Styx (スティクス Sutikusu)
- Voiced by: Masayuki Katō (Japanese); Chris Hackney (English)
- A priest who on a missionary trip to Mexico who is on the same boat as Jonathan and Erina as they head for their honeymoon in the United States. In his drunkenness, he unwittiningly unleashes Dio and Wang Chen on the unsuspecting passengers. He is named after the band Styx.
Chapters
The list below first includes the original volumization followed by Shueisha's 2002 re-release, with different titles. In the original volumization, chapters 45-47 are part of Battle Tendency.
No. | Title | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN | |
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1 | Dio the Invader Shinryakusha Dio (侵略者ディオ) | August 10, 1987[2] | ISBN 978-4-08-851126-9 | |
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The story begins in England, 1880 with young Jonathan Joestar, known to his friends as JoJo, living at his father George's wealthy estate. Another young man, Dio Brando, is adopted by them for having recently lost his father, Dario Brando. George believed that he and his infant son were rescued by Dario during a stagecoach accident, in which his wife lost her life, when in fact Dario was trying to loot their corpses. Jonathan attempts to befriend Dio, unaware of his plan to drive him into discredit and earn George's trust so that he can become the sole heir to the Joestar fortune. As part of his scheme to torment Jonathan, Dio violently beats him in a boxing match, turns his friends against him, steals his girlfriend Erina's first kiss, and even burns his dog Danny to death in an incinerator, while presenting himself before Jonathan's father as a better gentleman and student than his adoptive brother. | ||||
2 | The Thirst for Blood! Chi no Kawaki! (血の渇き! ) | January 8, 1988[3] | ISBN 978-4-08-851127-6 | |
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Seven years later, George falls ill. Jonathan becomes suspicious of Dio's excessive care for him and is certain that he has ulterior motives, especially after discovering an old letter written by Dario Brando on his deathbed requesting Lord Joestar to care for Dio. In his letter, Dario described his symptoms, which were identical to Lord Joestar's mysterious ailment. Jonathan believes that Dio must have poisoned his own father and plans to do the same with his father. Jonathan confronts him about his suspicions, and Dio decides to dispose of Jonathan before he is exposed.
During one of their initial scuffles soon after Dio's arrival at Joestar Estate, a few droplets of blood splattered onto an ancient mesoamerican stone mask Lord Joestar had acquired and left hanging from a wall in his vast mansion. When touched by blood, the mask extruded several bony hooks which, had anyone been wearing it on the face, would have pierced his skull at several points. Only Dio and Jonathan witnessed the fact and while the former maintained it to be nothing more than an instrument of torture and death, the young Joestar began pursuing research in the fields of Archaeology and Ethnology to find the history behind the artifact. Dio reasoned that if he made Jonathan wear the mask and then activated it in the manner previously described, his ensuing death could have been written off as a research accident due to his known interest towards the artifact. However, to be assured of the lethal effect of the mask, Dio experiments with it on a drunken beggar he finds in the dilapidated London boroughs he frequents to replenish his stash of poison. To his horror, the exposure to the mask's bony hooks not only does not kill his test subject, but instead rejuvenates and transforms him into a vampire. Dio is saved from the monster's attack when it is bathed in sunlight and dies. Returning home, still shaken from the recent events, Dio is surrounded by police constables summoned by Jonathan, who, in a daring raid to Ogre Street, managed to befriend the honorable criminal Robert E. O. Speedwagon and obtained from him the address of Chinese merchant Wang Chang, who provided Dio with the poison. A fight ensues and Dio, cornered, uses the mask on himself, becoming an unstoppable vampire and killing George. After a long duel, Jonathan is able to burn down the mansion, with Dio apparently inside. | ||||
3 | The Dark Knights Ankoku no Kishi-tachi (暗黒の騎士達) | April 8, 1988[4] | ISBN 978-4-08-851128-3 | |
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However, Dio survives, and takes off to plot his revenge. At this time, Jonathan meets Will A. Zeppeli, an Italian baron and with a strange power called Hamon (波紋, lit. "the ripple"), subsequently revealed to be a martial arts technique that allows the user to focus bodily energy into other kinds of energy via proper breathing (primarily the energy of sunlight, which is effective against vampires). After teaching Jonathan how to use the Hamon, they set out to seek and defeat Dio, accompanied by Speedwagon. | ||||
4 | Chamber of the Two-Headed Dragon Sōshuryū no Ma e (双首竜の間へ) | June 10, 1988[5] | ISBN 978-4-08-851129-0 | |
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5 | The Final Hamon! Saigo no Hamon! (最後の波紋! ) | August 10, 1988[6] | ISBN 978-4-08-851130-6 | |
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No. | Title | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN | |
1 | Part 1: Phantom Blood 1 Part 1 Fantomu Buraddo 1 (Part1 ファントムブラッド1) | February 15, 2002[7] | ISBN 4-08-617784-6 | |
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2 | Part 1: Phantom Blood 2 Part 1 Fantomu Buraddo 2 (Part1 ファントムブラッド2) | February 15, 2002[8] | ISBN 4-08-617785-4 | |
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Their chase takes them to the village of Wind Knights Lot, where most of the villagers have been turned into zombies by Dio. Joining a young boy named Poco, whose sister was kidnapped by Dio, they fight their way to his castle while encountering Blueford and Tarukus, a pair of legendary knights resurrected by Dio. Zeppeli sacrifices himself in order to save Jonathan along the way, transferring his remaining Hamon into Jonathan before dying. Zeppeli's Hamon master, Tonpetty, and his two disciples Dire and Straizo then show up to help Jonathan and Speedwagon go on. | ||||
3 | Part 1: Phantom Blood 3 Part 1 Fantomu Buraddo 3 (Part1 ファントムブラッド3) | February 15, 2002[9] | ISBN 4-08-617786-2 | |
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Eventually, a fight between Dio's vampiric abilities and Jonathan's Hamon ends with a loss for Dio, but not before Dire is killed.
However, Dio tears off his own head before the Hamon power could reach it. Jonathan and company destroy the stone mask the next morning, having protected the town. Shortly after the events in Wind Knight's Lot, Jonathan marries Erina and while on board a ship to America, notices Wang Chan and follows him straight into a trap by Dio (now nothing more than a severed head), who had snuck on board the ship within a special coffin. Dio reveals to Jonathan that he plans to kill him and attach his own head to Jonathan's body before arriving in America. Although Dio manages to mortally wound Jonathan in front of Erina, Jonathan uses the last of his Hamon to attack Wang Chan, using him to jam the ship's engine to trigger an explosion. As he urges for Erina to flee, Jonathan is further wounded in the ensuing explosions by shrapnel from the engine. In a final attack, Dio ensnares Jonathan with tendrils from his neck and attempts to decapitate him, only for Jonathan to stab him with the shrapnel and thwart his assault. Jonathan holds Dio's head in his arms, reflecting on their fate as the ship begins to sink. Dio demands to be let free, only to find that Jonathan has already died from his wounds. The ship explodes with both men inside as Erina escapes in Dio's coffin, pregnant with Jonathan's child and protecting a surviving infant whose parents were killed in the attack on the ship. |
Related media
A video game based on Phantom Blood was released for the PlayStation 2 by Bandai. An animated film adaptation was released theatrically in Japan on February 17, 2007,[10] although it has yet to see a home video release of any kind. A television anime series, produced by David Production, adapted the Phantom Blood arc between October 5, 2012 and November 30, 2012. Jonathan Joestar, Will A. Zeppeli, and Dio Brando (with his separate incarnation of Stardust Crusaders) appear as playable characters in the PlayStation 3 fighting game, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle, developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai Games.
References
- ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-06-11/viz-media-adds-jojo-bizarre-adventure-phantom-blood
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Volume 1". Shueisha. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Volume 2". Shueisha. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Volume 3". Shueisha. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Volume 4". Shueisha. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Volume 5". Shueisha. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood 1". Shueisha. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood 2". Shueisha. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
- ↑ "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Phantom Blood 3". Shueisha. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
- ↑ ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 ファントム ブラッド (2007). allcinema.net (in Japanese). Stingray. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
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