ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5- Golden Wind,’ Volume 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 5- Golden Wind, Volume 1 is by mangaka Hirohiko Araki, translated to English by Nathan A. Collins and published by Viz Media. After the events of Diamond is Unbreakable, Araki is back with a whole new main cast and crew in a whole different country. Taking place in Naples, Italy, readers follow a new bizarre adventure with Golden Wind Volume 1.

Instantly, this part feels different from all of its predecessors. Araki’s art style has shifted once again and features much slimmer and refined bodies that mimic the feel of supermodels. There is intense intricacy in character designs ranging from twisted bob cuts to donut-ringed golden tressels and high fashion on every character, making it feel like they’re wearing Gucci and Versace. Visually, Golden Wind Volume 1 stuns right from the start. Following Jotaro Kujo and Koichi Hirose, they are on a mission to find a potentially dangerous 15-year-old boy. There are mystery elements immediately in place as opposed to going straight for action, and it works so well.

Along the way, readers discover what is so important about Giorno Giovanna and his connections to the Joestar lineage. For first-time readers, the news is delivered in a wonderful flashback that blends and honors the Joestar family. For returning fans, it’s wonderful to see how the manga delivers such key information.  The story revolves around Giorno infiltrating the crime organization in Naples, harming children while instantly framing our big bad of the series as a mystery. Readers do not know who the main antagonist is; not even gang members of Passione know who their boss is. Araki is going for a long-haul action mystery in Golden Wind Volume One, and the setup is phenomenally written.  Readers get only a few members of Passione introduced to them, the main “Jojo crew” hasn’t been established yet, and there are only two stand fights present within this volume, but it builds intrigue and keeps you wanting more.

The best part of Golden Wind Volume One has to be the use of more space and dimension bending stands. Araki toys withstand users being able to physically alter the state of life with energy through Giorno. It makes for interesting combat as Giorno doesn’t need to physically harm others.  He can provide a person too much life force to the point where their mind is thinking faster than their body can react, causing his opponent not to be able to pack punches. Another stand user readers meet in this volume can create physical pockets of space and meld them together. It sounds a little wild, and seeing Araki be able to clearly depict his ideas of space manipulation is breathtaking. My favorite instance of this is when Giorno is fighting his opponent Bruno Bucciarati. Bruno uses his stand to hide from Giorno by taking a zipper to the wall, climbing in, and zipping himself in that place. It’s mind-boggling how concise and non-confusing this action is because Araki’s artwork is so detailed, nuanced, and crisp that readers can follow along.

Golden Wind Volume 1 is the by-product of all the great changes and explorations of Araki from Diamond is Unbreakable.  The art style shifts and the narrative’s mystery makes following Giorno as he navigates the crime-ridden streets of Naples, Italy, a joy read and a fun one at that.  New readers will be able to pick up Golden Wind Volume 1 regardless of if they have seen the anime or read any other parts, and fans of the anime should pick this up as well.

Arriving everywhere where the manga is sold on August 3rd, you can also pre-order using our Rightstuff affiliate link here.