History Manga / JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood

* AnAesop: Just because the villain had a [[DarkAndTroubledPast traumatic childhood,]] it doesn't make them sympathetic and it certainly doesn't justify their horrific actions.

*** Dio is obsessed with weath and immortality, completely abandoning his humanity to attain them. Speedwagon becomes extremely wealthy, but uses his wealth for the betterment of humanity and his legacy lives on through the foundation he established, which is a form of immortality.

* SoreLoser: How does Dio respond to Jonathan beating his ass in a fistfight? [[spoiler: By tying up and stuffing his dog Danny in an incinerator to be ''burned alive.'' To say Dio is a sore loser would be a '''''massive''''' understatement.]]

%% Needs improvement * UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper: ZOMBIE JACK THE RIPPER!!!!

In the late 1880s, [[LonelyRichKid rich kid]] [[ButtMonkey Jonathan Joestar]] (a.k.a. [=JoJo=]) is introduced to a [[SelfMadeOrphan newly orphaned youth]] named [[DevilInPlainSight Dio Brando]]. Jonathan's wealthy father George takes the boy in and raises him as his own to return the favor for Dio's late father, who accidentally saved George and Jonathan after a buggy crash that killed George's wife and Jonathan's mother, Mary. However, Dio is secretly scheming to take Jonathan's place as the favored son and heir to the Joestar family fortune. He torments Jonathan throughout their childhood in an attempt to break him, from [[KickTheDog kneeing Jonathan's dog in the jaw]] for no reason to [[SacredFirstKiss stealing his girlfriend's first kiss]]. When Jonathan's resolve seems insurmountable, however, Dio takes a new approach: building up a bond between them over many years while poisoning George. Things become complicated when Jonathan learns of these plans and confronts Dio, only for Dio to become a ''[[GenreShift vampire]]'' using an ancient stone mask that Jonathan had been researching. After a [[{{Pun}} fiery]] [[BattleAmongstTheFlames battle]], Jonathan is informed by a man named [[MentorArchetype William A. Zeppeli]] that Dio is still alive and plans to take over the world. He sets out on an adventure to train in the ways of [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]] and destroy his undying foe for good.

And then Zeppeli [[ItMakesSenseInContext punches a frog]].

...

[[WidgetSeries It only gets weirder from this point on]].

* AbusiveParents: Dio's father was an abusive alcoholic who treated his wife and son like crap.

* DecoyProtagonist: Jonathan Joestar, the original [=JoJo=], is seemingly set up to be the hero of the entire storyline, as indicated by the title of the manga being possessive of his name and ''Phantom Blood'' originally being called ''Jonathan Joestar: His Youth''. However, [[spoiler:he dies in the epilogue of this part]], and is succeeded by a number of characters that inherit his nickname.
** Season 1 of the anime plays into this trope more by cutting straight to Joseph Joestar's story in Manga/BattleTendency (Episodes 10-26 of the anime) after [[spoiler:Jonathan's death]].

* HumanSacrifice: A {{Mayincatec}} tribe is seen sacrificing a woman in the first chapter so their leader can transform into a Vampire.

* UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper: ZOMBIE JACK THE RIPPER!!!!

* LetThePastBurn: Jonathan's [[spoiler:house burning down]] marks the end of the first arc of this part, and the Genre Shift from Glamorous Manly Elizabethan Melodrama to Glamorous Manly Supernatural Horror-Adventure.

* OffModel: The 2012 anime often had animation errors, such as shading being wrong or a characters face not matching their established facial structure. These were largely fixed in DVD releases.

* PutOnABus: [[spoiler: After the finale, fans had to wait two years for Dio to make his return in ''Stardust Crusaders''.]]

* SequelHook: The 2012 anime [[AdaptationExpansion adds]] a lingering shot of a man inside of a pillar, hinting at the then-soon adaptation of the [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency next part]].

In the late 1880s, [[LonelyRichKid rich kid]] [[ButtMonkey Jonathan Joestar]] (a.k.a. [=JoJo=]) is introduced to a [[SelfMadeOrphan newly orphaned youth]] named [[DevilInPlainSight Dio Brando]]. Jonathan's wealthy father George takes the boy in and raises him as his own to return the favor for Dio's late father, who accidentally saved George and Jonathan after a buggy crash that killed George's wife and Jonathan's mother, Mary. However, Dio is secretly scheming to take Jonathan's place as the favored son and heir to the Joestar family fortune. He torments Jonathan throughout their childhood in an attempt to break him, from [[KickTheDog kneeing Jonathan's dog in the jaw]] for no reason to [[SacredFirstKiss stealing his girlfriend's first kiss]]. When Jonathan's resolve seems insurmountable, however, Dio takes a new approach: building up a bond between them over many years while poisoning George. Things become complicated when Jonathan learns of these plans and confronts Dio, only for Dio to become a ''[[GenreShift vampire]]'' using an ancient stone mask that Jonathan had been researching. After a [[{{Pun}} fiery]] [[BattleAmongstTheFlames battle]], Jonathan is informed by a man named [[TheMentor William A. Zeppeli]] that Dio is still alive and plans to take over the world. He sets out on an adventure to train in the ways of [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]] and destroy his undying foe for good.

* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler: Jonathan]], despite an excruciatingly drawn out and painful death, ultimately goes out with a serene smile on his face.

** Two towards ''Literature/LesMiserables'' (the book). Both are in regards to Dario Brando. First, George mistakes Dario, who was trying to loot him, as his savior; this is just as Marius' father mistakes Thenadiers as his savior when Thenadiers was trying to loot his "corpse" on a battlefield. Secondly, George also claims that he gave Dario the ring that Dario himself stole to save Dario from being locked up for years; this is similar to how the bishop Myriel claims that he had given Jean Valjean the silverware Valjean had stolen to save Valjean from being sent back to prison. Araki would [[AllThereInTheManual later list]] ''Les Miserables'' as [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo Giorno's]] favorite book.

Then Zeppeli [[ItMakesSenseInContext punches a frog]], [[WidgetSeries and it only gets weirder from here]].

Then Zeppeli [[ItMakesSenseInContext punches a frog]], [[WidgetSeries and it all goes downhill from here]].

** The first time Wang Chen and Dio met, he tells the story of a man who had the same kind of ears as Dio. He had a tough life, but managed to live to be 183 years old. After Dio became a vampire, he became immortal, [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders and managed to live at least to be 120 years old.]]

* FaceHeelDoorSlam: In college, it seems as if Dio and Jonathan have finally made up and have formed a lifelong friendship. [[spoiler: Of course Dio hasn't changed his ways at all and officially shows his true colors after he kills George Joestar to activate the Stone Mask.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''♫ Sono chi no sadame![[labelnote:*]]A fate determined by his blood[[/labelnote]] [[TitleDrop JOOOOOOOOOOOJO!!]] ♫'']]

In the late 1800s, [[LonelyRichKid rich kid]] [[ButtMonkey Jonathan Joestar]] (a.k.a. [=JoJo=]) is introduced to a [[SelfMadeOrphan newly orphaned youth]] named [[DevilInPlainSight Dio Brando]]. Jonathan's wealthy father George takes the boy in and raises him as his own to return the favor for Dio's late father, who accidentally saved George and Jonathan after a buggy crash that killed George's wife and Jonathan's mother, Mary. However, Dio is secretly scheming to take Jonathan's place as the favored son and heir to the Joestar family fortune. He torments Jonathan throughout their childhood in an attempt to break him, from [[KickTheDog kneeing Jonathan's dog in the jaw]] for no reason to [[SacredFirstKiss stealing his girlfriend's first kiss]]. When Jonathan's resolve seems insurmountable, however, Dio takes a new approach: building up a bond between them over many years while poisoning George. Things become complicated when Jonathan learns of these plans and confronts Dio, only for Dio to become a ''[[GenreShift vampire]]'' using an ancient stone mask that Jonathan had been researching. After a [[{{Pun}} fiery]] [[BattleAmongstTheFlames battle]], Jonathan is informed by a man named [[TheMentor William A. Zeppeli]] that Dio is still alive and plans to take over the world. He sets out on an adventure to train in the ways of [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]] and destroy his undying foe for good.

* BittersweetEnding: This part ends on a doozy: [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies Dio successfully kills Jonathan]]]] and despite Jonathan's best efforts, [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Dio would eventually return]]. However, [[spoiler:Jonathan's sacrifice]] delays Dio from conquering the world for a hundred years and saves Erina and the infant who would become [[spoiler:Lisa Lisa]], allowing his legacy to later truly end Dio's evil and protect the world from other threats.

[[caption-width-right:350:''♫ Sono chi no sadame![[labelnote:Translation]]A fate determined by his blood[[/labelnote]] [[TitleDrop JOOOOOOOOOOOJO!!]] ♫'']]

** All together now: '''"DIOOOOOOOOOOO!"''', screamed several times by Jonathan (most notably when he arrives to kick Dio's ass for stealing a kiss from Irina, his love).

In the late 1800s, [[LonelyRichKid rich kid]] [[ButtMonkey Jonathan Joestar]] (a.k.a. [=JoJo=]) is introduced to a [[SelfMadeOrphan newly orphaned youth]] named [[DevilInPlainSight Dio Brando]]. Jonathan's wealthy father George takes the boy in and raises him as his own to return the favor for Dio's late father, who accidentally saved George and Jonathan after a buggy crash that killed George's wife and Jonathan's mother, Mary. However, Dio is secretly scheming to take Jonathan's place as the favored son and heir to the Joestar family fortune. He torments Jonathan throughout their childhood in an attempt to break him, from [[KickTheDog kneeing Jonathan's dog in the jaw]] for no reason to [[SacredFirstKiss stealing his girlfriend's first kiss]]. When Jonathan's resolve seems insurmountable, however, Dio takes a new approach: building up a bond between them over many years while poisoning George. Things become complicated when Jonathan learns of these plans and confronts Dio, only for Dio to become a ''[[GenreShift vampire]]'' using an ancient stone mask that Jonathan had been researching. After a [[{{Pun}} fiery]] battle, Jonathan is informed by a man named William A. Zeppeli that Dio is still alive and plans to take over the world. He sets out on an adventure to train in the ways of [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]] and destroy his undying foe for good.

* AttackHello: Baron Zeppeli introduces himself to Jonathan with a gut punch which has the effect of healing Jonathan's broken arm, likewise Dire introduces himself to Jonathan by testing him with a weakened version of his "ultimate attack".

** Previously in ''Manga/KannazukiNoMiko'', a character voiced by Creator/AyakoKawasumi and Creator/MichelleRuff stole someone else's SacredFirstKiss [[DudeShesLikeInAComa while the latter was unconscious.]] And when this manga got an anime adaptation latter, the two got to voice someone whose SacredFirstKiss was stolen from her... ''while conscious''.

* BilingualBonus: Early in the series, [[BigBad Dio]] claims to be [[AGodAmI a God in all but name]]. Dio is Italian for God.