Fans of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are excited as a new part of the manga, dubbed The JOJOLands, has just launched in Japan, and this new part looks like it will be a wild ride even by Jojo‘s already high standards.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has become a modern manga success story, developing a massive international audience. But how can North American Jojo fans dive into The JOJOLands?
What is The JOJOLands?
Written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki, The JOJOLands is the 9th part of the long-running JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise. The JOJOLands is the first new manga part since JoJolion launched in 2011. While little is known about the plot’s trajectory at the current time, the first chapter does give fans some tantalizing hints of what’s to come.
Set in the same universe as previous parts JoJolion and Steel Ball Run, but whisking readers to a modern tropical environment, the chapter introduces Jodio Joestar and Dragona Joestar, two Stand users who use the November Rain and Smooth Operator Stands. While it is not totally clear what these Stands can do, the short fight from the first chapter suggests that November Rain can unleash a barrage of rain-like projectiles while Smooth Operator allows the user to move objects around on a surface. Though, as is Jojo tradition, we’ll likely learn more about the intricacies of these Stands as the story goes on.
Plus, the first chapter didn’t introduce readers to a villain or an overarching plot yet, meaning there is still plenty to be excited for, and the story could go in many unexpected directions.
How can you read The JOJOLands?
The JOJOLands began its serialization on Feb 17, 2023, on the pages of Shueisha’s Ultra Jump magazine. Alas, there have been no announced plans for the manga to be localized in America, meaning there is no official way for American Jojo fans to jump into the action.
However, it is likely that Viz Media, the company that has brought other Jojo manga parts to the US, will eventually announce their plans to localize The JOJOLands, as the franchise is one of their biggest sellers. Meaning it is a question of when rather than if the series comes to America.
But there is often a massive gap between a chapter coming out in Japan and Viz Media localizing it. So, Jojo fans will need to be very patient as it might be a while before they can officially step foot into The JOJOLands.