The very first part of the JoJo series was originally written in 1987, and if you know your manga history, it’s pretty easy to tell. Phantom Blood is set in Victorian England and tells the tale of the noble Jonathan Joestar and his adoptive brother Dio Brando, who strives to one-up him in every way. Everyone is muscle-bound to a ridiculous degree (a la Fist of the North Star) and the plot follows a melodramatic good-versus-evil struggle with added elements of vampires, zombies, and magical sunshine kung-fu powers called Hamon.

Part 1 doesn’t have the intricately written Stand battles or the wacky hijinks of later parts, but the love-hate relationship between Jonathan and Dio is captivating and sets up the source of conflict for almost every part afterward. Plus, it’s still got all of the crazy poses and memeable moments you’d want!

Verdict: Watch Phantom Blood if you’re looking for the full JoJo experience. It’s old-fashioned in a sense, but the melodramatic tone works and it’s a great introduction to the series.

Jumping forward from Victorian England to 1930s New York, we meet our new protagonist—Jonathan’s grandson, Joseph Joestar. He’s just as intelligent and good-hearted as his gentlemanly ancestor, but Joseph has a silly streak a mile long. He uses sleight of hand and dirty tricks (like cross-dressing and playing dead) to outwit his opponents, who just so happen to be ancient Aztec vampire warriors this time around. He teams up with a Hamon master named Lisa Lisa and her tsundere student Caesar to defeat these unstoppable gods before they can take over the world.

Although relatively short and still lacking in the franchise’s signature Stand fights, Battle Tendency is tightly written and an absolute joy to watch. You could conceivably skip Phantom Blood to get here, but not knowing about Hamon, the Joestar and Zeppeli bloodlines, and the Stone Mask would really hurt your viewing experience. The anime consolidates both parts into one season, so watch them as a pair and have fun!

Verdict: Battle Tendency’s standout characteristics are its irresistibly likeable main character and well-crafted story. It can suddenly jump from comedy to drama, just like Joseph himself.

When your average Western nerd thinks of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Stardust Crusaders is what they’re picturing. It’s the most famous part in the franchise (we’ll explain why in the next article), featuring the introduction of Stands and everyone’s favorite badass delinquent, Jotaro Kujo.

Dio Brando has returned after 100 years (he’s a vampire and body-snatched Jonathan, so that’s why he’s alive in the 1980s... it’s complicated) and passed down the power of Stands to the Joestar family. A Stand is a manifestation of someone’s soul and can come in any number of forms, although the most iconic is a ghost-like guardian who fights on behalf of its user. Jotaro’s mother’s Stand is slowly killing her, so the half-Japanese high schooler sets off to Egypt to eradicate Dio for good. He’s joined by his grandfather Joseph and a Scooby Gang of other Stand users with colorful personalities and powers.

Stardust Crusaders is the most conventional part in terms of story structure, but it’s so stylish and bombastic that it feels fresh even today. We think it’s best to at least watch Phantom Blood before this part so you have context for Dio’s rivalry with the Joestars, but if you’re just here for the crazy fights and memes, we don’t blame you.

Verdict: Stardust Crusaders is famous for a reason—it pioneered a unique power system and showed it off with larger-than-life characters who are still iconic to this day. You owe it to yourself to check this one out.