JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is perhaps one of the most influential manga of all time. Since its initial 1987 publication, the series consistently releases new material by way of its anthological format, and it’s been adapted into a number of different media, such as video games and light novels. Then there’s the anime adaption, arguably the most important of all, running semi-regularly since 2012.
I will say, however — while most streaming services hosting the JoJos anime have it set up so you can watch it in the order it should be viewed, it doesn’t hurt to have a helpful resource. And, given the story is composed of multiple generations’ fight against the supernatural across multiple dimensions and timelines, you might feel more at ease if we provide an at-a-glance reference.
So, here’s the order we think you should watch JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It might seem pretty basic to some, but if you’re gonna get into the everlasting war between the Joestars and Dio Brando, it’s good to know where to start — and where to end.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Watch Order
Part I: Phantom Blood (S1, E1—E9)
Aired from: October. 6, 2012 — December 1, 2012
So — starting things off with a bang is the first half of the first season, also known as Phantom Blood. In this part, we’re introduced to the major players: the well-to-do Jonathan Joestar, the down-on-his-luck orphan Dio Brando, the rough-and-tumble Robert E.O. Speedwagon, and the mystic supernatural master known as Will A. Zeppeli. If you haven’t picked up on the theme yet, there are a lot of musical references in this series, from characters to the strange powers they’ve inherited.
Jonathan and Dio are adoptive brothers until the latter uncovers an ancient stone mask that transforms him into a vampire. In a quest to avenge his father and end Dio’s plague of villainy once and for all, Jonathan teams up with Will A. Zeppeli and Robert E.O. Speedwagon and masters the art of Hamon.
Part II: Battle Tendency (S2, E10—E26)
Aired from: December 8, 2012 — April 6, 2013
In the second part, we leave the world of 1800s England behind for 1900s North America, Mexico, and Europe. It introduces a new member of the Joestar clan, Joseph (who will be around for a while, so get used to his wacky persona and wild sense of humor). Joseph, the grandson of Jonathan, teams up with Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli and the enigmatic Hamon teacher Lisa Lisa to take on the Pillar Men Santana, Esidisi, Wamuu, and Kars. And if you didn’t believe me about the musical references, you do now.
Part III: Stardust Crusaders (S3, E1—E48)
Aired from: April 5, 2014 — June 20, 2015
I hope you missed Dio because he’s back. This time, he’s going by the moniker DIO (in all caps, trust me, it makes a huge distinction), and laying down roots in Egypt. To take the immortal vampire down for good, Joseph Joestar enlists his grandson, Jotaro Kujo. He also recruits a ragtag team of “stand” users Avdol, Kakyoin, Polnareff, and a Boston Terrier named Iggy.
It needs to be mentioned here that this part forgoes Hamon in exchange for a new power system: Stands. Stands are ethereal manifestations of a person’s energy that are wholly unique and never duplicated. In this part, the naming scheme is based on tarot cards, but in future parts, all stands are named after either a musical artist, a song, or an album — turning the musical references up to 11.
Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable (S4, E1—E39)
Aired from: April 2, 2016 — December 24, 2016
In the next part, we once again take a step further in the Joestar lineage, this time following Joseph’s illegitimate son, Josuke Higashikata, in the small, sleepy town of Morioh. Josuke teams up with a wide cast of eccentric characters like Okuyasu Nijimura, Koichi Hirose, and the protagonist of Stardust Crusaders, Jotaro Kujo, to solve a string of murders disrupting normal life in Morioh.
Part V: Golden Wind (S5, E1—E39)
Aired from: October 6, 2018 — July 28, 2019
This time around, we’re heading straight for Italy and following the — well, technically, he’s DIO’s son, but to fully explain how this genealogy works, we’d have to spoil some things that are best left unspoiled, so let’s just call him the son of DIO, Giorno Giovanna. What matters is that he’s still GioGio and that he, like his father, hopes to take over the Italian mob.
Part VI: Stone Ocean (S6, E1—E38)
Aired from: December 1, 2021 — December 1, 2022
And lastly, for now, anyway, we have Stone Ocean. In this part, we follow Jotaro’s estranged daughter, Jolyne Cujoh, who was framed for murder and locked up at Green Dolphin Street Prison. Inexplicably, when Jotaro visits her, they’re attacked by stand users being manipulated from behind the scenes by a shady individual connected to their family’s past.
As of writing, that’s all the mainline seasons of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure! In the manga, there are still two completed parts left to be animated — Steel Ball Run and JoJolion. There’s also one on the way called The JoJoLands. But, despite that, there’s still plenty of content to whet your whistle in the meantime. So, if this guide helped you in any way, why not tell us your favorite Stand in the comments?
