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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? What's that?: Hirohiko Araki's long-running Shonen/Seinen manga series, famous for its strategic battle scenarios, nausea-inducing gore, pseudo-historic references, and, of course, men, men who look like women, women who look like men who look like women, and plankton who look like women, making FABULOUS POSES.

Despite running for 25 years, JoJo has never received a proper anime. There was a multi-episode OVA produced a few years back covering bits and pieces of Part 3, and an infamous theatrical film of Part 1 that Araki himself disliked and subsequently blocked from being released on DVD, so much of the series remained unanimated...until now. Although no exact schedule has been released, it is believed that as long as the show does well rating rise and the production crew are able to stay afloat, every part of the manga will be animated eventually. Cross your fingers, folks!

What's the plot?: Well, it's pretty...bizarre. But, I'll let Anime News Network sum up the basic premise of Phantom Blood, the first part of the series:

Late 19th century. Young, handsome and wealthy English nobleman Jonathan Joestar seems to have everything people crave for. His lowly-born adopted brother Dio Brando, brought into the family by Jonathan's father George, is particularly jealous of Jonathan. When Jonathan found out Dio's horrible secret, he tried to use an stone mask that looks like a torture instrument to kill Jonathan, who's into archaeology and might make the death looks like an accident. However, the stone mask is anything but a simple instrument.

And that's just the first few episodes...the series takes tons of twists and turns from there, as it spans multiple time periods and locales, from WWII New York to 2012 Florida, throughout (currently) 8 Parts featuring their own colorful and odd cast of characters. There's never a dull moment! And, because the anime has 25 years to work from, it's unlikely we'll see any filler episodes made to fill up time either.

Who's animating it?: David Production, a little known production company formed by a former GONZO President. Their body of work is rather small, and I don't know anything about their prior work myself, so it's quite interesting to see how well they'll adapt such a series. Will they capture Araki's magic? Or will they end up creating a complete flop that's canceled after Part 1? We shall see!

Series Director: Kenichi Suzuki
Director: Naokatsu Tsuda
Series Composition: Yasuko Kobayashi
Script: Yasuko Kobayashi (ep 1)
Storyboard: Naokatsu Tsuda (ep 1)
Episode Director: Kouta Okuno (ep 1)
Music: Hayato Matsuo
Original creator: Hirohiko Araki
Character Design: Takako Shimizu
Art Director: Shunichiro Yoshihara
Chief Animation Director: Takako Shimizu
Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
Director of Photography: Kazuhiro Yamada

What about voice actors?:

Kazuyuki Okitsu as Jonathan Joestar
Takehito Koyasu as Dio Brando
Ayako Kawasumi as Erina Pendleton
Toru Ohkawa as Narrator
Yoku Shioya as Will A. Zeppeli
Youji Ueda as Robert E.O. Speedwagon

Media

25th Anniversary Anime Announcement

"Phantom Blood" Trailer

Opening "JoJo ~Sono Chi no Sadame~" by Hiroaki "Tommy" Tominaga" [COMING SOON]

Ending "Roundabout" by Yes

Where Can I Watch It: Fridays in Japan.

The Blu-Ray Discs releasing in 2013 are said to contain English Subs! Unfortunately, they cost around 100$ each, plus shipping and handling fees, and it's unknown what episodes will be included in the announced 9 Volume Set.

SPOILER NOTICE: SPOILER-TAG ALL MANGA SPOILERS! DON'T RUIN THE ANIME FOR NEWCOMERS!

 

[Ultimadrago]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=494546

There's already an existing thread for this anime.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Well, fuck.

That thread must've been KING CRIMSON'D on me because I searched and no luck.