Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the most influential series of all time and has influenced many other anime and manga. While the anime adaptation is rather recent, its manga by Hirohiko Araki has been ongoing since 1987. Over its serialization, its unique style and innovative ideas have inspired a wide variety of important series to come.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a series following different members of the Joestar family across time. While each part of the series has a different plot and characters they often share many important features. The style of the series is incredibly eccentric, featuring striking character designs and strange poses. Parts 3 and after all feature Stands, which are special abilities each character has that are unique among other Shonen series. These are the ten anime that have best followed up on the ideas that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure introduced and carried on its legacy in some way.
10 Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Parodied The Series’ Masculinity
Based on the manga by Yoshio Sawai
The first three parts of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure each feature a hulking and masculine man as the protagonist. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo takes this character type and makes it the focus of an utterly absurd story. It follows the titular character Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo as he fights against the evil forces of an emperor who wants to rid people of their hair. Many characters in this series have special abilities that could be compared to stands, such as the main character’s ability to weaponize his nose hair. All this makes Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo an absurd counterpart to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo is not currently available to stream in the US.
9 Death Note Makes the Mind Games Even Wilder
Based on the manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
A hallmark feature of fights in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is the intense mind games that the combatants engage in. Death Note distills these mind games down to their purest form and emerges as a series-long game of cat and mouse between a killer Light and the detective hunting him down L. The absurdity of the mental gymnastics each character uses even results in some hilarious scenes such as Light dramatically eating a potato chip. The campy greatness of these moments stems directly from the style of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Watch on Netflix
8 Kill la Kill Weaponizes the Series’ Fashion
This is an anime original story by Studio Trigger
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is known for its extreme fights and arguably even more extreme fashion. Kill la Kill is an anime that seamlessly weaves those two elements into one chaotic whole. It follows a girl named Ryuko who finds a living outfit that empowers her to fight against the domineering forces of her school in pursuit of her father’s killer. Many of these enemies also often use clothing-based weapons. The series is an over-the-top joyride that takes the general strange action of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and runs with it in a completely different yet still glorious direction.
Watch on Crunchyroll
7 Jujutsu Kaisen Shows Its Influence on The New Generation
Based on the manga by Gege Akutami
Jujutsu Kaisen‘s much-acclaimed power system would not exist without Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. While Cursed techniques are often more limited in scope than Stands, they are still built on a similar creativity and variety. Also, while Jujutsu Kaisen is generally less strange than Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, certain characters have quirks that could easily fit into Araki’s masterpiece, such as Aoi Todo who is obsessed with idols to the point of asking everyone he meets who their ideal woman is. Jujutsu Kaisen shows that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is still influencing the newest generation of manga.
Watch on Crunchyroll
6 Kakegurui Takes Its Gambling Battles Further
Based on the manga by Homura Kawamoto and Toru Naomura
Stand battles in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure can manifest in many ways, from typical brawls to high-stakes games of poker. Kakegurui was clearly influenced by the latter type of fight as it based an entire series around it. It takes place at a school where high-stakes gambling is common and follows Yumeko, who seeks to disrupt the status quo of the academy. Of course, Kakegurui treats these matches in a very different manner than Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure does, even going so far as to sexualize them, but its premise still stems from the innovation of Stand battles.
Watch on Netflix
5 Gurren Lagann Revels in the Series’ Masculinity
This is an anime original story written by Kazuki Nakashima
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has often been described as a pretty manly series, given its focus on incredibly buff men having serious battles. This sort of unabashed masculinity is what makes Gurren Lagann an utter blast to watch. It follows the ragtag trio of Kamina, Simon, and Yoko as they roam around the post-apocalyptic world they live in and fight threats to humanity with their robot in the coolest way possible. In this way, it also parallels Part 3’s focus on traveling across the world to fight a powerful foe. Any fans of Jotaro’s stoic coolness need to give Gurren Lagann a watch.
Watch on Crunchyroll
4 Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor Takes Its Silliest Battles Deadly Serious
Based on the manga by Nobuyuki Fukumoto
Some of the most intense battles in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure are waged through very standard games such as poker or video games. Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor also features a variety of high-stakes versions of normal games like Rock Paper Scissors or Mahjongg. However, what sets Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor apart is how grounded it makes these games. The series follows Kaiji, who is roped into participating in a number of underground gambling rings. The brutal desperation of the games in Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor actually manages to surpass the intensity that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure brought to similar games, which makes it a worthy successor.
Watch on Crunchyroll
3 Yu-Gi-Oh! Has Many Surprising Similarities
Based on the manga by Kazuki Takahashi
While Yu-Gi-Oh! and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure may appear quite different on the surface, they actually share a shocking number of similarities. Both franchises are split into multiple parts following different characters. Each series has characters who resolve their problems in manners different from a typical Shonen fight, with Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure using innovative stand battles and Yu-Gi-Oh! using a popular card game. Among the many shows that followed the influential series, Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the shows that aligns closest with the character designs of Araki’s masterpiece. These similarities make Yu-Gi-Oh! a spiritual successor to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Watch on Crunchyroll
2 Baki Also Showcases Muscular Men In Unique Fights
Based on the manga by Keisuke Itagaki
Just like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Baki features hypermasculine men fighting each other. Also like with Jojo’s, many of the men in Baki are hulking towers of muscle. But in Baki, this muscle isn’t just a stylistic choice, it is a representation of each combatant’s deadly physical potential. The series follows the fighter Baki as he battles a large variety of enemies with the goal of becoming stronger than his father. These enemies often have absurd techniques and feats that make their fights incredibly entertaining. This lends the series a surreal feeling quite akin to the atmosphere and tone of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Watch on Netflix
1 Hunter x Hunter Unlocked the Full Potential of Stands
Based on the manga by Yoshihiro Togashi
Hunter x Hunter is an incredibly innovative and influential series, but it is also clear that it in turn was heavily inspired by Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Araki’s manga paved the way for more fascinating and unique powers than in the series that preceded it and Hunter x Hunter is the series that took the fullest potential of what it pioneered. The Nen abilities in Hunter x Hunter are very similar in their uniqueness and variety in scope to the stands in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, a similarity which has only grown with the introduction of Nen Beasts. Their ubiquity and importance in the series make Hunter x Hunter the anime that has followed the legacy of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure best.
Watch on Crunchyroll
