Disclaimer: This review covers the anime television series "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" from David Production, including the first season (consisting of the "Phantom Blood" and "Battle Tendancy" arcs) from 2012, and the second double-length season (consisting of the "Stardust Crusaders" arc) from 2014. If you are not from Japan, and had not heard of "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" by around 2009, I think you'd be forgiven. I certainly had never heard of it by then. That's despite the original manga series running from 1987 to present day (currently beyond 2020), over several separate story arcs, and being a huge hit in its time. There were attempts to adapt it into anime, including an OVA in 1993 and 2003, and a film in 2007, each from different studios (and the film, reportedly, never being properly released on home video). That's a lot of history of failure to adapt the story for a larger audience outside the source material. But then things changed: David Production began an ambitious adaptation of a tv anime in 2012, thus far adapting five of the eight story arcs, and ongoing. And by around 2015, it was almost impossible to NOT know about "Jojo." Thanks to the studio's commitment to the humor of the content, and a new trend in society regarding the Internet and social media called "memes." Comedic 10-second scenes taken out of context was common posting from anime content, and "Jojo's" series was rife with bizarre characters and one-liner lines that are easy to laugh at. The jokes could also be applied to unrelated topics: who hasn't heard of "It was me, Dio!", the "to be continued -->" sign paired with a bass-line riff of the ending credits song "Roundabout", or just the recognizable exclaimations that break the fourth wall and poses from muscular, fabulous men meant to intimidate a battle opponent? Surely, you've at least seen the hundred-punches-a-second while yelling "RORORORO!," or the Engrish catchphrase "Oh No!" Maybe the scene involving eating a cherry? And there's plenty more memes where that came from. Yes, "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" had a moment in the spotlight of anime culture in the 2010's, decades after it was first published. It's still not easy to pinpoint or describe that success from a marketing standpoint, however. Despite this, Viz Media did license and release the series on home video, giving the first few seasons premium Bluray sets with art cards and keyframe artbooks (and regular sets that came later). This is despite the series currently running at over 150 episodes and counting. In its popularity, a live-action film based on the fourth story arc was also released in the 2010's, and the manga artist's style was celebrated by the international fashion industry (among other things, a collaboration art exhibit between Hirohiko Araki and Gucci). Normally, an anime with over 50 episodes scares me, but I invested in buying the first 3 sets on Bluray, covering "Phantom Blood," "Battle Tendency," and "Stardust Crusaders," at a total of 74 episodes (these also happen to be the quintessesntial and most recognizable arcs, if only because they've been adapted previously, although the subsequent arc "Diamond is Unbreakable" received attention, if only because that was new to animation at the time and the farthest any adaptation had gotten).Now, the fun part: trying to describe the plot. "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure' has many arcs, each from a different time period and feautring a different hero in the Joestar family tree. It starts in Victorian England with Jonathan Joestar, a young gentleman living with adopted brother and rival Dio. Their competition goes too far, with Dio being the more sinister of the two, going as far as poisoning their father to inherit his fortune. Things turn for the worse when Dio discovers an artifact, a stone mask, in their home study, which clasps itself on his face, turning him into a powerful vampire. From there, Jonathan must defeat Dio, not only for his own honor, but for the safety of the world. Their battle takes Jonathan on a globe-trotting adventure to learn the magic technique of "Hamon," the one martial art that could bring down the immortal demon. From there, "Battle Tendency" (merged with the first season) jumps to a descendent named Joseph Joestar in pre-WWII America. Not ever having met his deceased grandfather from the first story, he's a bit of a pompous hooligan with a tendancy to start fights, and has a natural gift for the power of Hamon. This gets him sweeped up into defeating new nemeses, awakened from an underground Roman tomb, traveling from America to Italy and everywhere in between. Finally, "Stardust Crusaders" follows Jotaro Kujo, a Japanese descendent to Joseph, and ther adventures with a newly awakened Dio. As the first opening theme song states, this is an epic of "a fate determined by his blood!!! ... JOJO... JOJO... JOJO... JOJO..."Unlike other anime, this series is heavily inspired by international settings, especially European. It's a shonen-style action adventure, with the type of episodic training, battles and nonsense you might expect in a show like "Naurto" or "One Piece" (with characters constantly having internal monologues about the strength of their HAMON), but with "Fist of the North Style" levels of violence (limbs get cut, heads explode, etc.). Despite the supernatural turn, it doesn't seem all that bizarre at first, although by the time the show finishes "Battle Tendency," it's fully embraced its campy sense of humor. Online fans seem to agree that the first season is a little bit of a chore, but that it gets better and better with each subsquent season. 
... but honestly, the first season was pretty good, and a good single-point of reference to what the series is all about (not to mention, necessary, as each following story references it heavily). I enjoyed the setting and over-the-top dialogue. And the story is dense, with more stuff happening in a single episode than some series do in a season (partly due to some pacing issues in condensing the first story). "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" is a lot of fun, only held back by the intimidating length of the series. Maybe it was due to my binging the series, but "Stardust Crusaders" was the weakest part of the three arcs for me. Set in the 1980's, it introduces "Stands," magical phantoms each hero (and enemy) uses to fight on their behalf. Instead of just one or two, we follow a band of five heroes (plus a dog named Iggy) on their quest from Japan to Egypt to find Dio, a long journey taken by land due to circumstances. And all along the way, one of Dio's minions appears to stop them. It's an anime trope as old as time, a "enemy of the week" setup with overtones of Digimon, Naruto, and so on. Compared to the first two arcs, which seemed so dense with story and events, "Stardust" seemed to be purely filler, with four-times the amount of episodes. Shonen-action is fun, but this became a drag fast. Of course, there's no risk to the heroes dying either... at least until the end, at which time the stakes felt real for the first time."Stardust Crusaders" also leans more heavily into its corniness, overusing the word "Bizarre" in dialog, and showing women fawning over the many broad-shouldered he-men. However, it increasingly relies on potty-humor, with gross jokes involving pee, poop, farts, and international toilets. I also began to notice that beyond the many bystanders that die in the series, many dogs die horrifically too. That's usually a big no-no to avoid attention from PETA, so animal lovers will want to avoid the series at all costs. By this point, "Jojo" seems to go out of its way to surprise and shock you in the middle of the otherwise mundane genre-tropes, to its detriment. Even though the story doesn't seem all that bizarre in context, the series itself does, especially relative to any other anime. For me, the challenge is "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" is trying to explain it to people. The story is weird. The humor is weird. Character names are weird. The art style is really weird, where all the men are muscular, Mr. Universe-style men, that seem to get increasingly fashionable and homoerotic as the series progresses. It's hard to market this to anyone who doesn't already get it. Of course, you can't really predict how to market anime... "Naruto" and "One Piece" have the ugliest character designs and biggest waste-of-time stories I've ever seen, but those remain among the most popular franchises ever produced. Indeed, the visuals are unique and decent, espcially when colors are concerned, but the character designs won't be for everyone. The animation is good enough, but kind-of disappointing, aside from the first couple of episodes in "Stardust Crusaders" (the quality drops back to normal after), and the extravagant CGI opening credits that look like video-game cutscenes in the best way. The music is probably the biggest standout, with opening themes that recall memories of older anime series (perhaps from the era when the manga originally released) that are still catchy and appropriate for Japanese karaoke bars. The jazzy ending English track "Roundabout" is iconic by this point ("Walk Like An Egyptian" also works as the first ending in "Stardust," although the second ending is a massive disappointment by comparison), and even the rock-jazz background tracks are fun to listen to, providing a lot of flair to the already foreward-style. English or Japanese dub, you'll be treated to over-the-top lines and exagerated drama. Of course, most viewers will want to hear the original Japanese to see how campy the acting was really meant to be (and in some scenes, it enhances the absurdity, but I appreciated the English dub plenty. "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" is a special show, and there's nothing else quite like it. It's not spectacular, per say, but it's a seemingly endless bounty of fun action and adventure. I'd strongly recommend sticking to just the first season ("Phantom Blood" and "Battle Tendancy") to decide if you're into it, and if you deem it worthwhile, "Stardust Crusaders" is a direct conclusion to the saga of stories that came before it (the first season is essential to fully appreciate "Stardust").