Creating Anime In A Fantasy World

Chapter 242: The Premiere of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure! (Part 4)

With the audience brimming with anticipation, the story of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure slowly unfolded on the screen.

After the tragic carriage accident that marked the prologue, the film leapt forward twelve years.

Under the strict guidance of Lord Joestar, his son—Jonathan Joestar—had grown into a healthy young man, the very image of a noble-born gentleman.

On the other side of fate, however, Dario Brando had sunk completely into ruin. His son—Dio Brando—was raised amidst the filth and desperation of the slums.

The film shifted fluidly between both households, making it clear to the audience that this tale would be carried by these two youths—Jonathan and Dio.

Even in their first appearances, their natures were drawn in stark contrast. Jonathan was naïve and straightforward, chasing his dream of becoming a refined gentleman. Dio, by contrast, had been forged in the chaos of poverty, his heart sharpened by suspicion and cunning.

One day, Jonathan encountered a young girl named Erina being harassed by two street thugs. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, voice ringing with resolve:

“Stop right there!”

“Hah? Who the hell are you? You even know this girl?”

“I don’t know her—but I have my own reason to fight!”

Throwing himself in front of Erina, Jonathan braced himself. But for all his spirit, the two punks easily overwhelmed him, beating him down mercilessly.

When they finally left, Erina rushed to his side, only for Jonathan to push her hand away.

“You don’t need to help me! I didn’t fight for your gratitude—I fought because I want to be a true gentleman!”

Bruised and battered, he forced himself upright, tugging at his disheveled clothes with stubborn dignity. Then, raising his voice with fierce conviction, he declared:

“When a girl like you is in trouble, even if the enemy is bigger than me—even if I get beaten into the ground—I must summon my courage and fight! And one day… one day, I will defeat them!”

Erina’s eyes widened, surprise giving way to an awed light as Jonathan turned and walked away, shoulders squared, carrying the pride of his dream.

At the same time, the scene shifted to Dio, who had just received his father’s dying words—to seize the Joestar fortune and become the richest man alive.

A few days later, Dario succumbed to his illness.

Standing before the grave, Dio’s gaze was cold as ice.

“Ugly, vile, treacherous… you made Mother suffer until the day she died. You were the worst kind of father. Richest man in the world, was it? Fine. I’ll show you. I’ll use anything I can, even that pampered Joestar noble—because that’s what trash like you deserves. Pfah!”

He spat on the gravestone, then turned his back on it without a shred of hesitation. In that moment, Dio swore an oath within his heart—to become the strongest man in existence.

. . .

The opening alone brimmed with detail and foreshadowing. Within mere minutes, the film had etched vivid portraits of Jonathan and Dio, the two leads of this grand tale.

The brisk pacing didn’t leave the audience confused—in fact, it pulled them in deeper, sparking a growing anticipation for what was to come.

Even those from the borderlands, who at first had no idea what a “movie” truly was, quickly grasped the story. Their wide eyes and rapt attention proved it—they, too, were hooked.

“So this is a movie? Amazing… it looks almost real.”

“Yeah… when I first heard people praising it, I thought they were exaggerating. But it’s really this lifelike.”

“The main character is Jonathan Joestar, right? I heard his nickname is JoJo. So this must be his story…”

“Jonathan really is a righteous young man. The whole gentleman thing sounds a little strange, but with that mindset, he’s bound to grow into a good person.”

“Compared to him, that Dio is already no good. He even schemes to steal the Joestar fortune… he’s just like his scoundrel of a father. They’re both rotten to the core.”

“Poor Lord Joestar. If it weren’t for that carriage accident, he never would’ve gotten tangled up with these wretches.”

“I can’t wait to see what happens next. Now I finally understand why everyone who’s seen a movie keeps saying it’s amazing.”

“Right? In just a few minutes, I feel completely drawn in.”

“…”

The audiences from the eastern and western territories spoke among themselves with growing excitement. Whatever doubts or prejudices they had about “movies” had been shattered in an instant—the story had seized them, pulling them entirely into its world.

By contrast, the southern audiences were far more seasoned. To them, the opening alone was enough to start speculation on how the plot might unfold.

After all, unlike Fate/Zero or Steins;Gate, which were clearly set in fantastical, alternate worlds, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure felt grounded—its setting far closer to the present age. That realism not only gave it more immersion, but also made it easier to guess how things might develop.

Yet even if they could predict some of the direction, their anticipation didn’t lessen in the slightest. If anything—it only grew stronger.

. . .

Imperial Mage Academy.

To the academy’s mages, the opening of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure felt rather ordinary. Stories about conflict between nobles and commoners were common enough in their world.

And mages, who prided themselves on their wisdom, had read countless tales in that same vein.

But even so, one detail in the film’s beginning stood out to them—a point of intrigue no ordinary viewer would notice.

The mask.

That strange mask, tucked away in Lord Joestar’s box, had reacted to blood.

“Did you see that mask? Why does Lord Joestar still have it, hanging in his hall after twelve years?”

“No idea… but it definitely looks creepy. Why would anyone keep something like that close at hand?”

“The way it reacted to blood was bizarre. All those spikes shooting out… imagine if someone wore it, then it activated. Wouldn’t it pierce straight through their skull?”

“Ugh, stop! Just thinking about it makes my head hurt.”

“No, the design didn’t look like it would destroy the skull. More like… it might pierce shallowly into the blood vessels instead. Painful, but not instantly fatal.”

“Either way, it’s clearly a key prop. That mask will definitely come into play later.”

“I agree. There’s no way it’s just for decoration.”

“…”

So the mages debated, intrigued despite themselves. To them, the noble-commoner drama alone wasn’t much of a surprise. But the mask—that single, sinister object—was more than enough to kindle their curiosity for what lay ahead.