How JoJo's Bizarre Adventure makes Brilliant Fights

One of the biggest things that has made JoJo's Bizarre Adventure iconic in the world of manga and anime have been its fights, and in this analysis I'd like to break down how its fights have been so brilliantly done. I won't be covering the more standard stuff. Characters whose motivations we can root for, beautiful animation, hype music, are all indeed things that make JoJo fights great. But that can be said for a lot of other anime with great fights. So today I'll be focusing on the things that make fights in JoJo unique- things that other anime don't do.

Spoilers up till the current anime season, Part 5: Vento Aureo.

STANDS

The crux of what makes JoJo fights so entertaining is the power system that the show uses called "Stands". While its earlier power system "Hamon" made for some great fights in the series' early parts, it was rather vaguely defined and we were unsure about what it could and could not do outside of obliterating vampires. "Stands" allowed for basically any kind of superpower or ability imaginable- from basic control over fire (Magician's Red) to the ability to rapidly age people based on body temperature (Grateful Dead). Each stand has its own limitations and weaknesses, and all stands generally share a set of rules.

TACTICS

Ever since Part 1, the fights in JoJo have been about tactics. While some are less tactical than others (compare early Part 3 fights to anything from Part 5), and may contain an asspull or inconsistency, they are generally well written- making use of the protagonist's powers in unexpected ways and manipulating their environment to their advantage.

Johnathan vs Dio was one of the first truly tactical fights in JoJo

Take the fight on the castle between Johnathan and Dio in Part 1. Johnathan must find a way to inject Hamon into Dio's body. However, coming into physical contact with Dio would freeze Johnathan, rendering the circulation of his blood frozen and hence no Hamon would be generated. He counters this by using a sword to slice Dio in half and conduct Hamon through the sword, instead of having to directly touch Dio. Dio freezes the sword and its ice spreads to Johnathan's arms, preventing Hamon conduction. However, Johnathan reveals he's placed his sword in the nearby flame, melting the ice and allowing hamon to be conducted. In this part of the fight, Dio starts with an advantage, Johnathan counters, Dio counters again, and Johnathan reveals his counter to Dio's counter. This is a very basic example of the back and forth tactical scheming in every fight we see in JoJo, and I absolutely love how entertaining it is to see two opponents try to outsmart each other rather than just a raw showdown of "Who's stronger?".

Moving on to Stands allows for even more tactical scheming. The protagonist's powers are no longer limited to Hamon, which we had already seen much of its uses in part 1 and 2 so it would be less fresh. Instead, every protagonist has a different stand power that'd we've never seen before and they could use it in different ways than what we may expect.


COLOR SCHEME SHIFTS

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the only anime that I know that likes to change up its color scheme during its fights. Change in color schemes are typically used to mark turning points in a fight or when the fight becomes more intense. This is pays homage to the fact that there is no canon color scheme in the JoJo manga, but also gives the fights a surreal quality fitting with the show's nature. It's also just really cool to see characters in another color palette.

Bruno reveals his ace; he'd been finding a car the whole time so he could blow Secco's eardrums.
The decisive point of Bruno vs Secco.

Josuke confronts Kira outside after both sustaining heavy damage.
The climax of the final fight between Josuke and Kira.

THE DECISIVE POINT

JoJo fights are like a back and forth of checks in chess, but eventually one player pulls through with a final tactical move that leads to a checkmate. This is what I like to call the "decisive point" in JoJo fights. It completely counters the bad guy and sets up an incoming beatdown. Every decisive point is made excellent by innovative use of somebody's powers in a way that we did not imagine before, or by the manipulation of the environment. It basically functions to blow the viewer's mind. The main theme song of the part will also begin to play at this point- so when you hear it, you know the fight's over.

My favorite, but less conventional, decisive point because it looks like Mista lost.

But actually, Mista's tactic to pin Ghiaccio to the spike and his strong resolve has
allowed him to survive against White Album long enough for Giorno to come to the rescue.

BRUTAL BEATDOWNS

From Part 3 and onwards, following the decisive point comes the beatdown. Beatdowns in JoJo are different from beatdowns in other anime, because they're excessive. Why finish the enemy with one strong punch when you can barrage them with 7 pages worth? It's just so much more satisfying to see the enemy, especially if they're a scumbag, get an over the top beating. Who didn't enjoy Polnareff piercing multiple holes through dog-kicker Vanilla Ice? Accompanied by iconic stand cries and the main theme playing makes for a very cathartic finish to the fight.

Polnareff obliterates Vanilla Ice

SUMMARY

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure really makes some amazing fights. Its concept of Stands allows the author to write any kind of power in the show, instead of limiting himself with its older power system. The fights are a constant back and forth of outsmarting your opponent, which makes it so entertaining to watch. Changing color schemes make the fight more surreal and dramatic. Finally, the decisive point is always mindblowing and ensuing beatdown satisfying.