This 6 part OVA of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure takes place during the 3rd generation of the ongoing manga of the same name. The manga which started back in 1987 and is still going to over 70 issues (after 63 issues, Araki Hirohiko started the numbering at 1 again...) and is in its 6th generation of characters. This particular arc of the story jumps right in the heart of everything so some people may be confused as to what is going on. It can be viewed as a stand alone piece with the viewer filling in the pieces as we go along or for deeper understand, reading of the manga is necessary. I saw the anime first and was so intrigued by its originality that I started reading the manga to understand everything better.
This generation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure follows the story of Jotarou Kujo and his grandfather Joseph Joestar along with their companions they met along the way. All of them are "Stand Users" which to normal people would be considered telekinetic powers, but take the shape of something humanoid to some degree. If I say more, I might ruin the surprises... Jotarou and company are after a Vampire (something you dont know unless you read the manga) named Dio who is also a Stand User and battle his legion of Stand Users in often bizarre but original battles (hence Jojo's Bizarre Adventure). Dio is a 100 year old Vampire who a century ago, Joseph's grandfather Jonathan defeated and thought was dead during a decisive battle (1st Generation of the manga).
During that 100 years, Dio's head took over Jonathan body and was resurrected when his coffin was salvaged by grave robbers. Now the bloodline of the Joestars must once again confront Dio for an intense showdown of various and bizarre sorts! Not recommended for the faint of heart, but for someone who wants a good action flick with lots of depth. Need to be a thinker for this one. Theres something for both anime and non-anime fans.
Outstanding directing by Hiroyuki Kitokubo (Goldenboy, Blood: The Last Vampire, "Tale of Two Robots" from Robot Carnival) and sound directing by Tom Myers at Skywalker Sound. This is the only Japanese anime to be recorded at Skywalker Sound (You know, Lucusfilms!) which should also tell you about the quality of this anime.
The series was so popular that currently a new 7 part OVA is in production as a prequel to these six episodes. While this 6 part series covers the second half of the 3rd generation, the new prequel covers the first half of the 3rd generation.
My rating 10 out of 10.
