Creating Anime In A Fantasy World

Chapter 262: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Screening Concludes! (Part 1)

When the first wave of audiences walked out of the theater—and began spontaneously recommending JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to everyone around them—the entire eastern and western territory soon knew one truth: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was absolutely incredible.

Before long, even more people poured into the cinemas to experience this breathtaking visual spectacle for themselves. And when they emerged, they too became walking advertisements—spreading the gospel of JoJo wherever they went.

Thus, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure spread like wildfire through the Empire’s eastern and western territories. Within half a day, nearly every tavern conversation revolved around one topic—JoJo.

Of course, the other film that premiered alongside it, Song of the Vampire, also drew its share of attention… though for rather different reasons.

While JoJo was showered with unanimous praise, Song of the Vampire became the target of near-universal condemnation.

Audiences leaving its screenings exhausted every insult they could think of to describe their disgust—and did everything they could to stop others from repeating their mistake.

Just hearing their accounts was enough to make anyone who had seen JoJo lose all interest in Song of the Vampire.

Unsurprisingly, in this climate—where nearly every viewer turned into a walking anti-fan—the film, already boycotted for its high ticket prices, was dealt an even heavier blow.

According to theater reports, not even a thousand tickets were sold the entire day, and most of those belonged to the first batch of naive, well-off customers who’d been duped by the title alone.

Several theaters even began considering removing Song of the Vampire entirely, dedicating all showings to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure instead.

For the southern nobles who had produced Song of the Vampire, the situation was nothing short of disastrous—especially when JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure next door had, within a single day, taken the entire Empire by storm.

Upon hearing the news, nearly every noble involved fell into grim silence.

. . .

And it wasn’t just the eastern and western territory—even the southern territory was swept up in the JoJo craze.

Unlike the rest of the Empire, where many people had been duped into buying tickets for Song of the Vampire simply out of ignorance of what a “movie” even was, only a few unlucky souls in the South made that mistake.

Those few stumbled out of theaters looking like they’d survived a catastrophe, cursing their luck and swearing they’d never imagined a film could be that horrendous.

Word of mouth spread quickly. The few southern audiences who had been hesitant because of the ticket price dropped their curiosity entirely.

Only a handful of stubborn skeptics went in to see for themselves—and when they came out, they too joined the ranks of furious critics.

The film’s sheer number of plot holes became a topic of entertainment in itself. Some eloquent viewers even made a living mocking it in taverns for days afterward.

It got to the point where “mocking terrible movies” became a profession of its own—though that, of course, had nothing to do with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Thanks to its outstanding quality—and the timing of its release on New Year’s Day—cinemas across the East, West, and South became the liveliest places in the entire Empire.

Since this world’s New Year celebrations didn’t feature any special festivals or events, movies naturally became the best way for people to pass the time.

And so, the cinema firmly took root in the three realms of the Empire, becoming the most beloved entertainment venue of all.

. . .

Imperial Mage Academy.

When JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure finally ended, even the mage—who prided themselves on their calm, rational minds—could not hide their frustration.

After all, the protagonist dying together with his enemy was a conclusion that no one could easily accept.

Still, after a moment of disbelief, they quickly adjusted their emotions—and began heatedly discussing this film which, though perhaps less philosophical than the earlier ones, was every bit as thrilling.

“Feels like the world of JoJo should be a lot bigger than what we saw. There were so many things left unexplained this time.”

“Yeah, exactly. Forget the Stone Mask for a second—those Hamon masters barely even appeared! And Dio… all he really showed was that freezing technique. He didn’t even seem that powerful.”

“The Stone Mask just gives off this feeling—like there’s something terrifying behind it. There’s no way something like that could’ve just appeared naturally in the world.”

“Totally agree. And the Hamon itself is so mysterious too. The movie never explained how that miraculous energy was invented or where it even comes from.”

“So… is JoJo just a one-off movie? There’s no sequel planned or anything?”

“No idea. But honestly, I’d love to see what happens next. Even though Jonathan died, I can’t help but feel he might come back somehow.”

“Come back to life? I doubt it. The movie went out of its way to show his death in such a grand, conclusive way. If anyone’s coming back, it’s probably Dio.”

“Dio’s return would be fine too! To be honest, he’s a really fascinating character. Sure, he’s a total villain, but with him around, everything feels so dramatic and intense.”

“Either way, I really want to see what happens next…”

“...”

The magi’s discussions echoed throughout the hall.

For them, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure wasn’t exactly filled with profound or scholarly material to dissect. The only two supernatural elements—vampires and the Hamon—were simple enough concepts for any magician to grasp.

And yet, despite its simplicity, the movie’s sheer quality made even these learned mage feel genuine excitement.

Whether it was the slightly stiff yet fiercely passionate battles, or the vividly human characters who filled the story, every single viewer left the theater feeling unsatisfied—not because the film was bad, but because they didn’t want it to end.

But end it did.

And this time, Edward hadn’t added any hint or teaser at the end. Which meant that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure might truly have no sequel in store.

The realization drew sighs of disappointment across the room. One by one, the mage collected themselves, murmuring in regret as they departed the theater.

Meanwhile, at the very top of the Mage Tower, the Arch Mages sat quietly, their eyes lingering on the final, fading image on the screen.

They didn’t have much to say either. After all, the film hadn’t contained any knowledge that defied reason or rewrote the laws of magic—most of its concepts were firmly grounded in reality.

Even so, the Arch Mages couldn’t help but admit—it was a magnificent film.

And like everyone else who had seen it, they too felt that lingering sense of yearning for just a little more.