November Rain on the Weather Forecast of O’ahu, Hawaii: ‘The JoJoLands’ Part 9 Out Now

There are events in one’s life that are rare but repeat themselves occasionally. Halley’s Comet is one such example, it comes around every 75 years; if you’re lucky you see it twice, mostly you’ll see it once. In a similar fashion, mangaka Hirohiko Araki’s long-running (36 years) manga series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s ninth part, The JoJoLands, has begun serialization.

It’s a most momentous occasion, witnessing an era of an all-new JoJo protagonist. Part Eight –  JoJolion – that preceded this, had a decade-long run starting from May 2011 to August 2021. Part Nine is set in the same universe as Part Seven Steel Ball Run and JoJolion. With anime and manga becoming increasingly mainstream and popular across the globe, more and more fans are eagerly looking forward to this new series. After all, the first part began in 1987 and that’s a long, long time ago for some. For a lot of JoJo fans, this is a novel experience because we get to follow the next generation of JoJo from the very beginning, in real-time every month.

JoJoLands’ 70-page first chapter opens with a bang.  

So, pack your bags and fasten your seatbelts, because this time we’re leaving the seaside town of Morioh, Japan and landing straight in O’ahu, Hawaii.

Two teens are cruising down the street in O’ahu when they get pulled over by cops for a routine inspection. Things go sour when one of the cops attempts to molest the older of the two. That’s when Jodio Joestar gets out of the car in order to defend his older brother. Behind him towers his impressive stand November Rain (YES! YES! YES! Rejoice, Guns N’ Roses fans) and rains (pun intended) hell. After torching the evidence of the altercation and changing the license plate number via the stand Smooth Operators, the two drive away and complete their drug deal with the local gangster.

This time round, our protagonist isn’t exactly a morally upstanding citizen, nor does he pretend to be. 15-year-old Jodio Joestar introduces himself and gives us glimpse into his life. He lives with his older brother Dragona and mother Barbara Ann (daughter of Joseph Joestar and Suzi Q). He reiterates that he and his brother work hard to ensure their mother has a comfortable life and they don’t mind getting their hands dirty to do so. He then demonstrates, with practiced ease, a drug deal he makes with a senior of his in high school. He’s been doing this for a while now, since he was 11 years old.   

The 1990 Scorsese film GoodFellas – adapted from Wiseguy, the non-fiction novel by Nicholas Pileggi – opens with the line “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” In a similar vein, the gangster Jodio states, “This is a story about how I got filthy rich.” With the first-person narration, the criminal ‘ecosystem’ described by Jodio, the ‘mechanism’ of it all, it definitely has some GoodFellas vibes to it.    

Before you wonder whether in true shounen manga protagonist fashion, perhaps he means rich in friends or rich in experiences? Surely Jodio doesn’t mean rich as in cold hard cash, right? Right?

No.

Jodio explicitly says, “What, you think ‘filthy rich’ is an exaggeration? You think I sound like one stuck up son of a bitch, right? By ‘filthy rich’ I do mean making fat stacks of money.”

He’s upfront about it, cocky and confident: “Not humble enough for you? Too bad…cause I’m definitely going to get my hands on it.”  

Jodio, Dragona along with another petty criminal high school student, Paco Lovelantes, (stand user of The Hustle) are called in by their principal Meryl May Qi, who also happens to own the Iko Iko boutique. Not to discipline them, no; Meryl May Qi is actually the leader of a criminal organization that recruits high schoolers!

Word on the street is that a Japanese tourist has landed on the shores of Hawaii and in his possession is a natural 24-karat blue diamond. Jodio and the gang now have to go and steal it by any means necessary.

What’s more surreal is that this time The JoJoLands is set in the present era, with Dragona expressing concerns over Covid. Looks like the pandemic has spread itself into the bizarre universe of JoJo.  

There’s so much to unpack here (70 pages of it). JoJoLands in a way draws many parallels from Part 5 Golden Wind, which was set in Naples, Italy. The Part 5 protagonist was fifteen-year-old Giorno Giovanna, DIO’s son. Giorno – whose dream is to become a “gang-star,” the leader of the mafia organization Passione albeit for a good cause – wants to keep the streets safe and makes sure the kids don’t do drugs. He’s got a noble cause with good intentions, your friendly neighborhood gangster.

Jodio, on the other hand, is already peddling drugs to high schoolers with no qualms whatsoever. He even justifies his methods, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Even his name JoDIO spells trouble. His absent father is another question mark and if it does run parallel to Part 5, we may have a Brando on our hands.

Part 5 began with the arrival of Koichi Hirose in Naples. A teen from the Part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable universe’s Morioh, Hirose has been tasked to investigate Dio’s son by Jotaro Kujo (the third JoJo). Does that mean that Part Eight’s equivalent of Koichi, Yasuho Hirose, is the mysterious Japanese tourist? Or will it be Gappy? Or has Meryl May Qi been misinformed and it’s both of them? Or could it be someone totally unrelated. The plot thickens.

The stage is set.

A heist in Hawaii.

A criminal organization comprising high schoolers (led by their principal no less).

An enigmatic tourist.

A 24-karat blue diamond.

An interesting cocktail and explosive, to say the least. Looks like Part Nine is going to be a stormy ride. Better to pack an umbrella to brace for the cold November Rain.