A Breakdown of JoJo History Before Diamond is Unbreakable

The series first debuted in January of 1987 and was written and illustrated by Hirohiko
Araki. It has long since withheld the test of time and has been one of the most popular
mangas in Japan now for almost three decades, spanning 110 volumes and has sold over 80 million copies in Japan alone. Fans of the series will know how the Joestar legacy came to be and how Stands came about, but for those who have just started venturing into this series, here are summaries for the three arcs that came before the most recent installment, Diamond is Unbreakable.

JoJo’s Beginning

The series originally starts off with the first installment, Phantom Blood, which takes place in the 1880’s of England. The story follows Jonathan Joestar (JoJo) and his adopted brother Dio Brando, the antagonist of the series, who maintains his legacy throughout the entirety of the JoJo series as the source for every act of evil committed. Dio, ever the exemplar of villainy, tries to kill off his and Jonathan’s father, George Joestar, in order to gain the vast inheritance that is the Joestar legacy. When caught red-handed for his misdeed, Dio puts on an ancient Mesoamerican mask that turns him into a vampire. In order to defeat his step-brother, JoJo learns the martial arts technique, Hamon (“ripple”), and goes to Dio’s castle in order to destroy him. After a heated battle ensures, Dio is thought to be left for dead. However, before he is about to be killed, he cuts off his own head. While on board a ship to America with his new wife, Erina, JoJo gets tricked into a trap made by Dio and is told his body will be the new vessel for Dio’s head. The final battle between the two ensues and the ship is destroyed, leaving JoJo mortally wounded, and Dio struggling to escape Jojo’s hold while the two brothers get dragged down into the ocean with the sinking ship. Erina survives, pregnant with Jonathan’s child, while protecting an infant whose parents are killed during the attack. Their future grandchild later becomes the main protagonist for the second installment of the series, Battle Tendency.

Battle Tendency begins with Joseph Joestar (also known as JoJo), the previously mentioned grandson of Jonathan and Erina, whose story of misadventure begins in New York in 1938, 49 years after Jonathan’s death. His story begins when he discovers that his “uncle” Robert E. O. Speedwagon is being held captive by a group of Nazi scientists in a place where ancient masks just like the Mesoamerican mask destroyed by his grandfather are being studied along with a man called “Pillar Man” who turns out to be a member of an ancient race of humanoids that have exceptional power and whose goals are to obtain total immortality and become the “Ultimate Beings”. “Pillar Man” awakens and his name is revealed to be Santana, one of the four Pillar Men and main antagonists of Battle Tendency. Joseph teams up with the supporting protagonist, a fellow Hamon user named Caesar Zeppeli.  Before Joseph and Caesar can make it to Italy in time to stop the awakening of the other three Pillar Men Wamuu, Esidisi, and Kars, they are resurrected. Joseph then manages to convince them to postpone their fight and let him master his Hamon power in order to become a worthy opponent. The Pillar Men agree, under the condition he is to be poisoned by them and given only a month to live unless he manages to kill them and obtain the antidote within the short amount of time. Joseph then meets Caesar’s teacher, the mysterious lady Lisa Lisa who protects the Red Stone of Aja, the last essential piece needed for the Pillar Men to achieve their goal of perfect immortality. Joseph trains and eventually kills Esidisi not long after they make their way to Switzerland. Caesar decidedly takes on Wamuu by himself and dies, but not before obtaining the antidote for Joseph. Joseph manages to defeat Wamuu in battle, but Lisa Lisa is cheated against by Kars who stabs her in the back and steals the Red Stone of Aja. Kars gains immortality and then becomes immune to sunlight and Hamon. Joseph loses his left hand after chasing Kars into an active volcano while trying to stop him. Using the Red Stone of Aja in his defense, both Joseph and Kars are sent into the stratosphere where Kars unexpectedly gets struck by volcanic rocks and gets sent hurdling into space where he is to live undying for the rest of eternity. Everyone believes Joseph is dead by the end of the event, but is proven wrong when Joseph shows up with his new wife Suzi Q at his funeral. Their lives continue in peace until 1987, with the beginning of the third installment, Stardust Crusaders, where Joseph makes an emergency trip to see his daughter, Holly, in Japan, where news of his grandson’s power emerges.

Reaching the third and most popular arc of the JoJo series, the Stardust Crusaders installment takes place in 1989 and follows the adventures of Jotaro Kujo, the grandson of Joseph Joestar. Believing he is possessed by an evil spirit, Jotaro refuses to leave his jail cell. It isn’t until his grandfather, Joseph, arrives with his friend Mohammad Avdol that one of the most important and iconic elements of the series that still continues to follow throughout the rest of JoJo history is introduced—the spiritual manifestations of psychic powered beings known as Stands. Jotaro comes to find that his “evil spirit” is a Stand named Star Platinum who possesses immense strength and accuracy in his attacks. Joseph reveals that both his and Jotaro’s Stands have appeared because of the reemergence of Dio Brando (at this point he is now referred to as “DIO”). It turns out DIO survived the shipwreck and managed to attach himself to Jonathan’s body where he then began to develop a Stand. DIO vows revenge on the Joestar family and sends Noriako Kakyoin, to kill Jotaro. Kakyoin is defeated but quickly becomes Jotaro’s ally after he is no longer under DIO’s mind control. Soon after this event, it is discovered that Holly has developed a Stand as well. The plot of the arc arises when it is determined that unless they kill Dio within the next fifty days in order to stop his Stand’s influence, Holly will die from her own Stand. Star Platinum helps to determine that DIO is located somewhere in Egypt. Along the group’s journey to destroy DIO and save Holly, they meet Jean Pierre Polnareff and Iggy, who join their cause. Many of DIO’s men come after them, but are all defeated. All members of the group head towards DIO’s mansion with the exception of Avdol and Iggy who died in battle. The final fight against DIO causes two more members of the group to die as well. Joseph, as well as Kakyoin, whose life was forfeited at the price of having discovered that DIO’s Stand, The World, has the ability to stop time. Jotaro fights off against DIO and defeats him for good. He then uses the remains of DIO to resurrect Joseph through a blood transfusion. After bidding Polnareff farewell, the two Joestar legacies head home to a recovering Holly.

The legacy continues on a refreshingly new path in Diamond is Unbreakable. If you’re interested in reading more about the newest addition to the series, check out the article DIAMOND DYNASTY for more details.

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