JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 2 - Battle Tendency by Hirohiko Araki

Blurb:

The battle against evil takes a diabolical twist as more Pillar Men awaken! Now it is up to Joseph Joestar and his new ally Caesar Zeppeli to try and stop their nefarious plan! But these are creatures of unimaginable power, and JoJo and Caesar will have to get a lot stronger to even stand a chance!

Review:

I loved JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood so much that I ended up reading chapter 1 of Part 2 almost immediately after. And right off the bat, I could tell I was going to enjoy this one better. This part’s JoJo was a lot more likeable—despite being a lout—and the overall setting and plot seemed like improved versions of its predecessor. 

But was it really? 

SPOILERS AHEAD!

What I liked:

I’ll admit, I found the ending to Phantom Blood to be quite a bummer. After everything, the way Jonathan Joestar dies just didn’t sit well with me. However, I also know that there’s some kind of curse on the Joestar family, which kinda makes the ending fitting. While it took me a few chapters to actually start liking Jonathan, Joseph Joestar (Jonathan’s grandson) in Battle Tendency was an almost immediately easy MC to root for. 

Okay, he is crass, he is a man-child, and he can be a little too much at times. But he is also street smart and a hell of a lot more assertive than his grandfather, which was quite refreshing to be honest. To have an MC that actively drives the plot forward (as opposed to one who simply reacts to the villain’s plotting) made Battle Tendency a much more captivating story. And the story didn’t disappoint. 

Battle Tendency features a whole new mishmash of crazy plot points. We start with New York gangsters and cops, intercut with Speedwagon in a South American archeological site. We later deal with Nazis and their science experiments, coupled with an ancient race of god-like creatures who supposedly created the ‘Stone Mask’. If that’s not enough, we even visit Italy and Switzerland, get deeper lore of the Ripple Masters, and some epic fight sequences that outdo the ones in the previous part. 

Battle Tendency improves on many of Phantom Blood’s strengths, particularly the absurdity and the lore. You don’t know where everything is headed, and that’s the best part. Even the strange training sessions with Ripples are new and unique in their own ways, feeling fresh despite being so familiar. 

What’s more, the secondary characters in Battle Tendency are certainly an upgrade. Be it the Nazi Straizo or the female mentor Lisa Lisa, each feels better developed. Of course, there’s still a lot of room for improvement, but the growth is noticeable and serves to make Part 2 a lot more enjoyable. It was also interesting to see how the world has changed, and how the few characters that make it from Part 1 have changed with it. I’m guessing it’s this constantly evolving world and characters coupled with the consistent absurdity and wild world-building that makes JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure a much-loved manga & anime. It’s slowly making its way into my list of favorites. At the pace at which I’m reading, I predict that I’ll be all caught up with the manga before the end of next year.

What I didn’t like:

Despite improving on several elements from the previous part, Battle Tendency continues to suffer from some of the same issues as Phantom Blood. 

For starters, I liked how in the beginning Erina was reintroduced as the stern matriarch of the Joestar family. After the abysmal damsel-in-distress treatment that she got in Phantom Blood, I was looking forward to having her play a bigger, better role. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. She was just called that and then remained mostly absent from the story. Lisa Lisa, who I also had high expectations from, could have been a great female addition. But she too ended up being an object to be rescued in the finale. Her being a powerful ripple user made almost no difference, and I found that to be quite disappointing. I get that this is meant for young boys, and it’s also very old, but that’s what makes it a problem, no? Knowing that one of the later JoJos is a female makes me hopeful that Araki eventually improves on his portrayal of women. But Battle Tendency somehow had it better and worse than Phantom Blood.

Another issue—which did exist in the previous book as well—were some plot points that felt unplanned and random. For example, when Esidisi attacks Lisa Lisa’s home base in search of the Red Stone of Aja, I couldn’t help but wonder why they would do that when they’ve already set up a match with our heroes? The Pillar Men are thousands of years old. Surely, they can’t be this impatient. Likewise, the whole ‘mailing the Stone via regular post’ was so ludicrous that I felt robbed of a more interesting, creative conflict that could have served the same purpose. 

And lastly, the finale. Kars—the leader of the Pillar Men—was honestly quite a disappointing villain. Esidisi & Wamu were a lot more compelling with interesting combat sequences. But Kars’ battle, as well as his ending just felt underwhelming. 

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure still isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly evolving. I know that the next part introduces a whole new combat mechanic, which—I’ve already started reading so I know—is super creative and leads to a significant evolution in the art style and compositions. Trust me, things are getting crazier and crazier. 

I liked Battle Tendency a smidge more than Phantom Blood. It has its issues, but overall, it’s still enjoyable. 

Conclusion:

Some parts were better, others worse, but overall still as epic & absurd. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure continues in exactly the weird ways you’d expect (or won’t).

TL;DR:

WHAT I LIKED: Joseph Joestar, better secondary characters, interesting fight sequences

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: underwhelming climax, treatment of female characters, some odd plot points