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The JoJoLands
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Jodio Joestar
Manga
Written by	Hirohiko Araki
Published by	Shueisha
Imprint	Jump Comics
Magazine	Ultra Jump
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	February 17, 2023 – present
Volumes	5
Chronology
Preceded by: JoJolion
Anime and manga portal

The JoJoLands (stylized as The JOJOLands) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki, and the ninth part of the larger JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, as part of the rebooted continuity depicted in Steel Ball Run (2004–2011) and JoJolion (2011–2021). Set in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the early 2020s, it follows Jodio Joestar, a teenage gangster intent on becoming wealthy in the tropics. It is serialized by Shueisha in the seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump since February 17, 2023.

Plot

Jodio Joestar is a high schooler and gofer living with his family on Oahu, Hawaii. One day, his school principal and boss Meryl Mei Qi instructs Jodio, his older sibling Dragona, and their kleptomaniac classmate Paco Laburantes to perform a heist alongside suspicious client Usagi Alohaoe.

The gang of four arrive to Big Island to steal an expensive blue diamond from Japanese manga artist Rohan Kishibe and discover a Lava Rock that can attract anything of value that its holder touches. Despite Rohan's warnings, Jodio tells his gang about the rock's potential and the gang become a team of five with Big Island resident Charming Man becoming their new ally. Charming, who hoped to use the rock to investigate his younger brother's disappearance on the slopes of Hualālai, cryptically warns Jodio the potential consequences of using the rock solely to pursue riches.

Meryl Mei decides to use the Lava Rock to gain the assets of infrastructure development company Howler, currently owned by CEO Acca Howler, to access the slopes of Hualālai. The five are ordered to visit Hawaii State Land Registry Office with the Lava Rock and Howler agents Lulu and Bobby Jean arrive shortly after upon being notified that the company's deeds were being accessed. A series of events lead the gang and the agents to a nearby hospital while the government orders Howler's lands on Hualālai to be seized. Acca suspects the loss of his property to be related to a Lava Rock he encountered in the past, and secretly orders Lulu to take the rock back at all costs. However, Lulu is taken hostage after Jodio kills Bobby Jean and the gang is able to take the seized land for themselves via Howler's lender Dolphin Bank. Meryl Mei declares the gang has seven days to take all of Howler's wealth to avoid further escalation of danger. Meanwhile, Acca orders new agents Key West, Ningbo, and Laem Chabang to find Lulu and protect the company's interest.

Characters

• Jodio Joestar is a 15-year-old gangster living with his family on Oahu, Hawaii, where he acts as a gofer for the state's underground drug trade. Despite his popularity among his peers, Jodio finds it difficult to be truly happy and is diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder by his school's psychotherapist. He doesn't intend to make friends, and his goal is to become incredibly rich by all means. Using his Stand, November Rain, he can generate raindrops and freely manipulate their weight.
• Dragona Joestar is Jodio's 18-year-old sibling who works with him in the underground drug trade. Dragona is assigned male at birth but presents feminine, having breast implants and wearing women's clothing. They work at Iko Iko, a fashion boutique run by their boss Meryl Mei Qi. Dragona wields the Stand Smooth Operators, a group of small robots that have the ability to displace anything, and slide things along the surfaces they are attached to. It can also apply to severe wounds.
• Paco Laburantes is a 19-year-old classmate of Jodio's and former military personnel. He comes from an abusive household, having one of his ears partially bitten off by his father, and engages in theft as if it were a sport. He is considered the de facto leader of the gang and is rather fond of Jodio and Dragona. Using his Stand, The Hustle, he has expert control over his own musculature, but also those of others; he can bulge and vibrate his muscles along with those of anyone he touches, aiding him in both sleights of hand and combat.
• Usagi Alohaoe is a 17-year-old classmate of Jodio's and takes part in the heist under Meryl Mei Qi's request. A frequent customer for drugs, the rest of the gang see him as a hinderance and an addict. Despite this, he attempts to be helpful and friendly towards each member at every opportunity. Usagi wields the Stand The Mattekudasai, which can take the form of another object upon the request of anyone besides himself.
• Charming Man is a 21-year-old resident of Big Island and new ally of Jodio. Believing there is a connection between the lava rock and his missing brother Mauka, Charming Man initially pursues the gang to find answers about his brother's disappearance. He is the owner of Wild Cat Size, a trio of cats that can manifest wire strings from their fur that latch on to anything near them and constrict themselves until they crush the trapped thing, via their Stand Cat Size. His own Stand, Bigmouth Strikes Again, gives him the ability to transform his body into sand fragments that not only disguise himself but also manipulate people's perception of depth. He can also blend in the scenery and create false images using the sand fragments.
• Meryl Mei Qi is the principal of Jodio's school and owner of fashion boutique Iko Iko. Using the boutique as a front for her criminal business, she acts as the gang's boss and has networks in places such as the airport and police. She instructs the gang to perform a heist on Big Island and requests they take Usagi Alohaoe with them. Following the group's return, she decides to have them take control of the Howler company using the Lava Rock.
• Barbara Ann Joestar is the daughter of Joseph Joestar from JoJolion and the mother of Jodio and Dragona Joestar. Everyone in the neighborhood respects and assists her due to her sons' reputation in crime. After her husband abandons the family, Barbara Ann is forced to raise Jodio and Dragona alone, leading the siblings to become involved in criminal activities for her sake without her knowledge.
• Rohan Kishibe is a successful Japanese manga artist visiting Big Island. Under the pretense of a 15-day vacation, Rohan conducts experiments using the wealth-attracting properties of certain lava rocks he found on Hualālai's slopes. Jodio and his gang are initially tasked to steal an expensive diamond from his villa after info about it is leaked to Meryl Mei. Like in Diamond Is Unbreakable and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, Rohan wields the Stand Heaven's Door, which allows him to temporarily turn living beings into books that he can freely read or write commands into.
• Howler Company is a water resource and water-power generation infrastructure company in Honolulu that owns several areas of land all across Hawaii. Originally Howler Farms, it was established by an Italian sailor shipwrecked in Hawaii in 1843 whose original surname was Latrato and changed to Howler after Hawaii joined the United States. After marrying a local woman and being granted approval by the Hawaiian royal family to own land, Latrato's discovery of hidden underground water on the northern mountainside slopes of Hualālai turned the barren, volcanic grounds into fertile meadows. Descendants of the Howler family eventually turned the farm into the Howler Company and amassed 50 billion dollars in assets from port rights, transportation, arms industries, etc. Although they claim to be nature conservationists, it is believed that the company is involved in illegal activities yet no proof of this has publicly come up due to employing Stand users to get rid of those who investigate too deeply into the company. Meryl sends Jodio’s gang to aid her in taking all of the company's assets via the Lava Rock.
  • Acca Howler is the current 8th head of the Howler family and CEO of the Howler Company. Wealthy and arrogant, he indulges in his luxuries and enjoys showing off his vast wealth and power. As a child, he found a Lava Rock that suddenly changed his flow of money and altered his life. Years later, he inherited the Howler Company and established a head office in Honolulu after receiving a 38 billion dollar loan from Dolphin Bank, which he loses after his land was seized by the government. He is a Stand user, and the Stand and its abilities are currently unknown.
  • Lulu is a demanding but intelligent orphaned girl affiliated with the Howler Company under Acca Howler’s orders. She and Bobby Jean are assigned to get rid of Jodio’s gang when they attempt to get the company land deeds but is later held hostage in Iko Iko. Her Stand is Bags Groove, a group of microscopic bug-like humanoid creatures that can inflict lesions and other symptoms such as rashes, pulmonary edema, and tumors onto victims who interfere in the company’s activities.
  • Bobby Jean is an investigative agent for the Howler Company, tracking down Jodio’s group after they viewed the company’s land deeds. As a respectable member of the company, he is straightforwardly secretive and respected by others but constantly bossed by his partner Lulu. He is later killed by Jodio after pursuing the gang at the hospital. With his Stand, Glory Days, he can control the movement and speed of the bullets he shoots from his FN FNX-45 Tactical semi-automatic pistol, equipped with a silencer.
  • Key West, Laem Chabang, & Ningbo are a lawyer, police officer, and fighter fighter hired by Howler to find Lulu. Former acquaintances of Bobby Jean, they align themselves with Acca to investigate Bobby Jean's mysterious death.

Production and release

The JoJoLands is written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was announced in August 2021 following the conclusion of JoJolion, the previous part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and began serialization in Shueisha's monthly seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump on February 17, 2023.

Volumes

The first chapter title of each pair is the title used in the collected volumes. The second is the title used in the original serialization in Ultra Jump.

Chapters not in tankōbon format

The following chapters have not yet been released in collected tankōbon volumes:

• 21. "HOWLER Company Impropriety Suspicions" (HOWLER社不正疑惑, Haurā-sha Fusei Giwaku)

Reception

Interest in the series' launch was enough to prompt a second printing of its debut issue of Ultra Jump – only the fourth time this had happened in Ultra Jump's history, and the first time in eleven years. The first tankōbon volume debuted at the top of Oricon's weekly Japanese sales charts for print comics, and was reported by Comic Natalie to have been the week's highest and fourth-highest selling comic at the bookstores Tsutaya and Comic Zin, respectively. The second volume was Shueisha's eleventh highest first print run manga volume of 2023–2024 (period from April 2023–March 2024), with 350,000 copies printed.

It ranked fifteenth, along with The Ramparts of Ice, on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2024 for male readers.

Notes

1. Jodio Joestar (ジョディオ・ジョースター, Jodio Jōsutā)
2. November Rain (11月の雨（ノーヴェンバー・レイン）, Nōvenbā Rein)
3. Dragona Joestar (ドラゴナ・ジョースター, Doragona Jōsutā)
4. Smooth Operators (スムース・オペレイターズ, Sumūsu Opereitāzu)
5. Paco Laburantes (パコ・ラブランテス, Pako Raburantesu)
6. The Hustle (THE（ザ）ハッスル, Za Hassuru)
7. Usagi Alohaoe (ウサギ・アロハオエ, Usagi Arohaoe)
8. The Mattekudasai (THE MATTEKUDASAI（ザ・マッテクダサイ）, Za Mattekudasai)
9. Charming Man (チャーミング・マン, Chāmingu Man)
10. Mauka (マウカ, Mauka)
11. Wild Cat Size (ワイルド・キャット・サイズ, Wairudo Kyatto Saizu)
12. Cat Size (キャット・サイズ, Kyatto Saizu)
13. Bigmouth Strikes Again (ビッグマウス・ストライクス・アゲイン, Biggumausu Sutoraikusu Agein)
14. Meryl Mei Qi (メリル・メイ・チー, Meriru Mei Chī)
15. Barbara Ann Joestar (バーバラ・アン・ジョースター, Bābara An Jōsutā)
16. Rohan Kishibe (岸辺 露伴, Kishibe Rohan)
17. Heaven's Door (ヘブンズ・ドアー, Hebunzu Doā)
18. Howler Company (HOWLER（ハウラー）社, Haurā-sha)
19. Howler Farms (HOWLER（ハウラー）牧場, Haurā Bokujō)
20. Acca Howler (アッカ・ハウラー, Akka Haurā)
21. Lulu (ルル, Ruru)
22. Bags Groove (バグス・グルーヴ, Bagusu Gurūvu))
23. Bobby Jean (ボビー・ジーン, Bobī Jīn)
24. Glory Days (グローリー・デイズ, Gurōrī Deizu))
25. Key West (キー・ウエスト, Kī Uesuto)
26. Laem Chabang (レムチャバン, Remu Chaban)
27. Ningbo (寧波, Ninbō)

References

1. Harding, Daryl (February 16, 2023). "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Manga Names Part 9 Protagonist Jodio Joestar". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
2. Mateo, Alex (August 18, 2021). "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Series Teases JoJoLands Title, Announces 1st Spinoff Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
3. Valentine, Evan (August 18, 2021). "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Confirms Part 9, JoJo Lands". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
4. Valentine, Evan (February 16, 2023). "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The JoJoLands Launches Chapter 1". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
5. 「ジョジョ」第9部「The JOJOLands」1巻発売！歴史を一望できるカレンダーが999人に. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 18, 2023. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
6. "The JOJOLands 2" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
7. "The JOJOLands 3" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
8. "The JOJOLands 4" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
9. "The JOJOLands 5" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
10. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 27, 2023). "Ultra Jump Gets 1st Reprint in 11 Years Due to New The JoJoLands Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
11. オリコン週間 コミックランキング 2023年08月14日～2023年08月20日 (in Japanese). Oricon. August 28, 2023. Archived from the original on August 25, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
12. 【8月14日～8月20日】週間単行本売り上げランキング. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 22, 2023. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
13. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 7, 2024). "Manga With Biggest 1st Printings from Kodansha, Shogakukan, Shueisha: 2023–2024". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
14. Pineda, Rafael; Cayanan, Joanna (December 13, 2023). "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Editors Unveil 2024 Rankings (Updated)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.

External links

• Official website at Ultra Jump (in Japanese)
• The JoJoLands at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

• Manga series
• 2023 manga
• Anime and manga set in the United States
• Hawaii in fiction
• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
• Seinen manga
• Shueisha manga