29 years later, the most overlooked JoJo's Bizarre Adventure movie deserves another shot

Part 1's intimate stakes paved the path for a delightful and inventive franchise JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always been larger-than-life. This delightfully absurdist story about the Joestar family legacy has consistently pushed the limits of reality, space, and time. The concept of Stands — the physical manifestation of a person’s fighting spirit — has now become the primary draw of Hirohiko Araki’s beloved manga series. But Stands were introduced in Stardust Crusaders (Part 3), allowing Araki to incorporate inventive battle mechanics and move sets that truly live up to the franchise title. While a post-Stands JoJo-verse has undoubtedly elevated the saga to greater heights, the stories that preceded Stardust Crusaders — Phantom Blood (Part 1) and Battle Tendency (Part 2) — get overlooked due to their relatively grounded settings. The most scathing criticism of the franchise is often directed at 1987's Phantom Blood manga, the humble origins of Araki’s magnum opus that lay the foundation for the Joestar family saga. Although this opening story has its flaws, Phantom Blood functions perfectly as an archetypal tale about good versus evil. Set in 19th-century England, Phantom Blood o