JoJoLands chapter 1: Jodio Joestar introduces a life of crime in modern Hawaii
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: JoJoLands chapter 1 was released on Friday, February 17, bringing with it an exciting beginning to what is likely the franchise’s final installment. Even though just one issue has been released, fans are already raving about the part’s plotline and its similarities and inverses to previous parts.
JoJoLands chapter 1 is also celebrated for its extremely modern setting, featuring plenty of real-world references that establish it as taking place in the present day. While not much is known yet, fans are excited to dive into the series following the highly-anticipated release of the first issue.
JoJoLands chapter 1 introduces fans to Jodio Joestar, a fresh new JoJo with a personality of his own
JoJoLands chapter 1: A run-in with the law ahead of a life of crime
UNREAL
current JoJo fans have just witnessed the beginning of a new part with THE JOJOLands manga
Here's a new preview of it !! https://t.co/lqq58gGPPJ
JoJolands chapter 1, titled Mechanism, begins with a brief color page featuring various Stands from previous parts. Tusk, Gold Experience, Star Platinum, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (D4C), Stone Free, Soft & Wet, The World, Killer Queen, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Ballbreaker, S*x Pistols, and two stands that seemingly haven’t appeared in last parts are included.
On the color page is a quote from “a certain mangaka,” likely meaning Araki himself, which reads as follows:
“There exist powers that have a form and shape but cannot be seen. They are called 'Stands.' They have always existed everywhere– those who cannot see them are simply not trying to.”
This leads into the cover page for JoJoLands chapter 1, featuring protagonist Jodio Joestar on one page with a summary of what the story is about. The message is the same as that of the Ultra Jump teaser synopsis released several weeks prior, adding that this is the story of Jodio Joestar.
THE JOJOLands manga is OUT https://t.co/56zqFWlKSH
On the other side of the page, a volcano is seen erupting while two people whose faces are unseen ride in a boat nearby in the ocean. The left side of the page establishes the setting as Hawaii as the issue’s story content begins. Fans are taken to O’ahu island, where two Honolulu police Police Department officers pulled over a truck.
The fatter officer of the two steps out of the car and approaches the truck, where an apparently-female person in a bikini is driving, and the protagonist, Jodio Joestar, is in the passenger seat. JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees the officer ask the woman to turn the music off and not make any weird movements while Jodio eats some food.
The woman says that the officer’s face is a little close before pointing out how she wasn’t speeding and asking why she was pulled over. The officer tells her to be quiet and that he’s the one asking questions here. He tells her to put her hands on the steering wheel and show him her license and registration.
This boy an absolute MENACE, the most chaotic energy from a JoJo introduction so far https://t.co/k94RNUAuaZ
The officer answers that she was swerving on the road, so he’ll ask her a few questions. She agrees to do as he says, pulling out her license and registration from her bikini bottoms and handing them to the officer. The officer skeptically looks at them before scratching the picture on her license but eventually walks off and says he’ll be right back.
The woman asks Jodio if she is doing something wrong, saying she didn’t think she was swerving or speeding. Jodio responds that it’s because she was “jamming out to Dua Lipa so hard,” who is a real-life musical artist. JoJoLands chapter 1 sees the two laugh over the joke when the officer suddenly comes back and taps the window again.
The officer asks how old Jodio, her passenger, is, but she responds by asking what that has to do with her driving. She then tells the officer that he is 15. The officer asks if the pickup truck is hers, and the woman responds that it’s hers and that she’s 18. She claims the truck is her dad’s before apparently moving towards the officer and getting yelled at for it.
// jojolands / part 9 spoilers
theyre soo silly https://t.co/A9xJIm1ylH
She responds that the officer’s face is too close, saying that she’s worried about COVID. This is most likely a reference to the COVID-19 pandemic. Combining this assumption with the knowledge that the setting is Hawaii and no one is wearing masks, the exact setting of JoJoLands chapter 1 is likely sometime after March 2022. This was when Hawaii ended its state-wide mask mandate.
The officer asks her if she’s insinuating that she doesn’t want him getting close to her because of his race. The woman says that she didn’t say anything like that, but the officer instructs her to step out of the car since he will conduct a search. The woman questions if he’s serious and what she did, but the officer simply tells her to get out and get up against the car.
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees the officer approach and grab her, asking if she has any weapons or drugs on her person or in the car. The woman says no, as it becomes clear that the officer is doing this body search for s*xual reasons. However, as his advances make this clear, he claims that he has probable cause, which allows him to conduct “inspections without a warrant as he sees fit.”
this is a holy day for jojo fans it doesn’t matter what part you’re on, you may read jojolands chapter 1 as a treat. it’s not part skipping it’s just festivities
He then spreads her legs by shifting them with his feet, saying that she said she couldn’t be hiding anything, but insinuating that she’s hiding something in a body cavity. He also adds that she has more “places” to hide things than a man. The other officer, meanwhile, gets out of the car and asks if his partner is okay, prompting the fatter officer to say he’s fine.
The officer then reaches into the front of the women’s bikini bottoms but pauses and seems confused by something. His reaction insinuates that the woman is actually a transgender man. Meanwhile, Jodio gets out of the car and is told to get back in by the other officer. Jodio then looks at the situation on the other side of the car, asking the officer what he thinks he’s doing.
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio cross over to the other side of the car as the other officer yells at him to freeze. Jodio then tells the fatter officer to take his hands “off [Jodio’s] bro’s body,” adding that if he doesn’t, he’ll kill him. The fatter officer asks him to repeat what he said while the transgender woman tells him to stop.
In JOJOLands Ch.1, the cop says, "Women have more hiding places than men." Which is a line used in Metal Gear Solid. One of the new characters introduced in this chapter is also called "Meryl" https://t.co/AxHfPIFHU4
Both officers now have their guns drawn and pointed at Jodio, telling him to get on his knees. The woman begs him to get back in the car while pleading with the officers not to point their guns at her little brother. With the two being related, this would suggest that Jodio calling her “bro” indicates her pronouns to be masculine rather than feminine, despite appearing to be a transgender woman.
The thinner officer tells Jodio to put his hands behind his head when Jodio suddenly attacks the officer with what appears to be a Stand power. The confusion from the fatter officer and the lack thereof from Jodio’s brother further suggests this. Fans then see Jodio’s stand, a sort of walker-like stand with four thin legs jutting out from a round central body with a head on top.
The fatter officer is still confused by what’s happening, asking Jodio what he did. JoJoLands chapter 1 then suddenly sees Jodio’s brother touch the fatter officer’s face and drag her hand across it, causing the eyeballs of the officer to droop off to the side. This causes the officer to miss his shot at Jodio, giving his Stand the opportunity to use its ability on the fatter officer.
the worst 15 year old you’ll ever meet
#jjba #JojoLands https://t.co/TZNIerBwUb
Jodio then steps on and breaks the officer’s arm before beating him up while his brother tries to stop him. Eventually, Jodio stops, only to walk up to the cop car and light it on fire. He explains that he’s destroying the data from their computers, adding that if they burn up the body cams as well, they should be okay since the cops will have no evidence.
Jodio’s brother acquiesces, adding that it’s good that they’re covering their tracks. However, he thinks of the security cameras along the road they came down and, on the way back potentially, deciding to change their license plate number just to be safe. Jodio’s brother then uses his own Stand ability to pull the numbers off the license plate, with his stand appearing as tiny, humanoid figures with tank treads for legs.
So far, these are the references I found in the first chapter of The JOJOLands.
Not sure if Jodio, Dragona, Paco and Meryl have references to them yet. https://t.co/tH8mDbAvm7
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio’s brother comment that the truck is stolen anyway, adding that they’re done with the fake ID they had. His Stand pulls his own picture off the ID to reveal that of a young girl. Jodio’s brother then thanks Jodio for what he did, as they add that they’re going to be late and need to go.
The two then head to what appears to be a junkyard with several other people present. The surfboards in the back of the truck they were in are being unloaded by armed men, who then pop them open to reveal bags of drugs inside. The men give someone a thumbs up, who then tosses some money to Jodio and his brother for their work.
JoJoLands chapter 1: Family matters
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 9: The JoJoLands https://t.co/WHlI80u2wh
JoJoLands chapter 1 sees the man complain about them being late before congratulating them and saying he’s looking forward to next time. He asks the two if they know anything about a burnt-out cop car they found on the other side of the warehouse district, but the two feign ignorance and leave.
Jodio asks how they’ll get home without the truck, with his brother saying they’ll walk for a bit before calling an Uber from a major road. JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio narrate about their mother, Barbara Ann Joestar, who gets up at 7.15 am each morning and starts her day by doing laundry.
She gets dressed in the bathroom and prepares toast, fruit, ham, eggs, and some fried broccoli for breakfast. She then gives good-morning kisses to her family, meaning Jodio and his brother, before hanging out the laundry to dry and leaving the house. She leaves to catch an 8.06 am bus to her job at a duty-free shop at the airport.
this meme is from 12 years in the future, you dont get it yet https://t.co/afWvSMuNFo
Then, a neighborhood boy shows up out of nowhere, offering to carry her bag, with someone else coming and bringing her an umbrella on days when it’s raining. Jodio then explains that this happens because the people of the neighborhood respect and love his mother, which makes her able to commute each day safely.
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio ominously claim that it’s because he and his brother, Dragona, protect her, ensuring her social safety from “behind the scenes.” Jodio then talks about Dragona and says he goes for a jog to the coast each morning when he gets up and only eats watermelon for breakfast. His favorite motto, which he heard from an Indian yoga instructor, is “be sure not to push yourself too hard, but don’t give up.”
Jodio explains that Dragona loves girl-like fashion and works at a fashion boutique in Kalihi called Iko Iko. It’s then revealed that Dragona gets his chest from cosmetic injections, which Jodio says he has never actually seen done. Jodio then says that their parents came to Honolulu from Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the continental United States.
jodio when dragona eventually comes out #JojoLands https://t.co/RhBZYScpEm
However, their mother has been raising them alone because of a situation between their mother and father. Jodio shares that Joestar is his mother’s last name, and his full name is Jodio Joestar. JoJoLands chapter 1 shows a family tree as he explains all this, revealing Jodio as the grandson of Joseph Joestar and Suzy Q.
Jodio’s aunt on his mother’s side, the Joestar side, is Holy Joestar-Kira, the mother of JoJoLion’s Yoshikage Kira. Yoshikage Kira is one half of JoJoLion’s protagonist, Josuke “Gappy” Higashikata, who was born via the Rokakaka fruit’s equivalent exchange process between Kira and Josefumi Kujo.
JoJoLands chapter 1 sees Jodio on the school bus, as he is only 15 years old. However, he explains that he’s not going to school to learn, make friends, or create a clique. Another student then approaches him and asks if he brought “the stuff,” trying to offer him money as he says this.
dragona joestar https://t.co/W02mClUbMw
Jodio then begins fighting the kid but calls him over when they get to school and apologizes for what happened on the bus. He then says he “just remembered” that the money from before was what Jodio lent him a while back, taking the cash and telling the student not to flash cash inside the bus again.
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio tell the student to walk straight ahead when a man on a motorized scooter tells him to go “deep inside” the rain gutter. Following instructions, the student goes to the gutter and reaches inside, pulling out a bag of drugs stuck to the roof with tape.
Jodio then says hello to the principal, to whom he gives the notebook with the money inside, before explaining that he attends school for the “mechanism.” He explains that mechanisms “have power” but are invisible to the eyes. He then recounts when he was 11 years old, and someone from the neighborhood suddenly invited him to be a “gofer.”
JOJOLANDS 1 spoilers //
JOSEPH BEAT THE CHEATING ALLEGATIONS https://t.co/iHcyQTItvd
A gofer is someone who “simply transports things and hands them over to others,” according to Jodio. JoJoLands chapter 1 shows a young Jodio taking a stuffed bear filled with cash to an unknown location, explaining that just through that, he gets praise and earns pocket money. He gained recognition and trust by doing this simple job diligently and professionally.
Jodio then points to a student who is being bullied, saying that there’s not much difference between the two of them, but he lacks the respect and confidence Jodio has. Jodio then ponders how the student will likely stop coming to school for a while before explaining that he’s saying this is the story of him becoming “filthy rich.”
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio ask readers if it sounds like he’s exaggerating or if he sounds immodest and conceited. He explains that being filthy rich means earning lots of money, but the mechanisms are more important than that. He elaborates that mechanisms allow one to be winning from the start no matter who their enemies are.
I won twitter.com/julienforts/st… https://t.co/qhTCbllenY
He continues that trust mechanisms have power, explaining that even if the power known as the law isn’t obeyed, trust keeps one safe in this town. He then points out yet another boy his age, explaining that despite being physically larger than Jodio and pretty smart, Jodio gets respect while the boy is bullied and picked on.
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio explain that he prefers the word mechanism over the system because the concept is similar to an ecosystem. He explains that he hasn’t seen and can’t see the pinnacle of mechanisms yet, but they’ll come to appear before him and others as “forms and shapes.”
As Jodio is seen apparently climbing up an erupting volcano, he apologizes for the lack of modesty but says he’s becoming rich no matter what it takes.
JoJoLands chapter 1: Mechanisms at work
JOJOLANDS 1
The best JoJo just dropped, Dragona is my absolute favourite https://t.co/YGfxUFVIAK
JoJoLands chapter 1 then introduces the man on the scooter when Jodio was at school, calling him Paco Lovelantes. Jodio, now in a clothing store with Paco, elaborates that the two aren’t friends. Paco, age 19, is then revealed to still be in high school, with the missing chunk of his ear explained to be a consequence of his father’s domestic abuse.
Jodio then asks if the readers saw the “move” Paco just made, elaborating that he swiped a wallet from someone inside the store. Jodio explains that this is Paco’s Stand ability, which he isn’t trying to hide. Paco is said to love stealing, preferring the enjoyment he gets from it more than video games or food.
Jodio then explains that Paco’s muscles are unusual because they can grab onto things with muscles such as those on his elbows or the backs of his hand. Jodio likens this to someone who tenses up their muscles when a mosquito bites them so it can’t get away, as Paco’s muscles are seen bulging and hanging onto a wallet.
if dragona has a million fans, then i am one of them. if dragona has ten fans, then i am one of them. if dragona has only one fan then that is me. if dragona has no fans, then that means i am no longer on earth. if the world is against dragona then I am against the world
JoJoLands chapter 1 sees Jodio say he’ll explain it again the next time Paco does it when suddenly Dragona begins pulling on Paco’s ear. Dragona’s Stand begins affecting Paco’s ear, while Dragona tells him to give back the wallet and stop messing with his customers. Paco says he gave it back already, so he can stop before asking Dragona if he wants to go to a nearby gym.
Jodio explains that Paco wants to fight Dragona and not get in trouble for it. But the latter rejects the offer. Jodio’s principal from earlier then enters the store and announces that they have to close early, establishing that she owns the boutique Dragona works at. She then walks to the back office as Paco, Dragona, and Jodio watch silently.
Dragona then locks the doors and checks that no one is spying as Jodio explains that the trio was called to come here after school today. JoJoLands chapter 1 then reveals the principal to be 49 years old and named Meryl May Qi, with Jodio elaborating that she’s the owner of the boutique. Jodio also reveals that she is their “boss.”
Dragona even existing as a character is so cool to me. I know people are dying for him to actually be transfem but look at what we have man. It's not everyday you see a character IN MANGA that's non-gender conforming to this degree AND it isn't played as a joke or some fetish. https://t.co/faJnEERoLh
JoJoLands chapter 1 then sees Jodio explain that Meryl May designed all the posters, clothing, and merchandise in the store by herself. Jodio compliments her talent and work, saying she could live off of it full-time in Paris or Milan if she wanted. However, it’s just a side gig, with Iko Iko simply being a means of hiding her income from her criminal business.
Dragona then brings Meryl a glass of water before telling everyone to turn their cell phones off in a very principal-like manner. Meryl then shows them her phone, saying that she won’t be sending them what she’s about to show them. Jodio explains that she never leaves evidence behind, with him not even knowing her address.
JoJoLands chapter 1 then reveals that her photo is of a 24-karat natural diamond, blue and a round brilliant cut design. She claims its minimum market value to be 6 million dollars, elaborating that she got the info from a contact in customs at the airport. She explains that the person who owns it flew in from Narita airport in Japan, declaring it with customs when they entered the country.
Jojolands spoilers
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Jodio meeting Gappy in Chapter 2 will go like this https://t.co/LiF9e626sL
Meryl then reveals that this person owns a villa in Hawaii, sharing security details and adding that she can get them the floor plans later. The person in question lives alone and is staying in Hawaii for 15 days total, meaning they have 12 days left. Meryl then tempts them into stealing it by sharing its massive size and their cuts, which would be 18% for her and 2% for the three of them together.
JoJoLands chapter 1 then establishes Jodio as fairly smart by showing him doing the mental math, which sees their cut as being 120 thousand dollars. Split three-ways, this would be 40 thousand dollars for each of them. Seemingly satisfied with the cut, Jodio concludes that as a gofer, he has no say, meaning it’s up to Dragona and Paco.
However, the two are clearly interested in taking up the job. Meryl then suddenly says they’ll be going as a team of four, introducing the student to whom Jodio and Paco sold drugs earlier. Jodio asks if this is another one of the world’s mechanisms, adding that each team has its oddball.
ladies and gentlemen…frank https://t.co/Oee7gPmAOu
Paco complains and points out who the student is, but Meryl establishes that he’s not an addict and will be useful to them. Jodio then says that this is the beginning, seemingly lamenting having to bring a fourth person as well.
Jodio then elaborates that the boss was right in giving them a fourth member, adding that it wouldn’t have been enough no matter how many people they had. JoJoLands chapter 1 then ends by naming Jodio’s Stand as November Rain, Dragona’s Stand as Smooth Operators, and Paco’s Stand as The Hustle.
JoJoLands chapter 1: In summation
The JoJoLands Chapter 1 review: https://t.co/CiRGJuHRa0
Overall, JoJoLands chapter 1 is an incredibly engaging and exciting start to the series for fans of the franchise. Jodio is already an engaging protagonist, elevated by the fact that his JoBro is his biological brother, Dragona. Paco also seems like an exciting companion for the two, with the trio likely to form a tight-knit team eventually.
JoJoLands chapter 1’s decision to be set in the contemporary world is also exciting, giving the story an extra layer of suspension of disbelief. Jodio’s comments about mechanisms, which seem set to be a major part of the series, also seemingly tie into this decision in an interesting way.
Be sure to keep up with all JoJoLands manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.