For Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, the ending of the sixth part, Stone Ocean, represented a major turning point for the series. Part 7 began a rebooted universe, which parts 8 and 9 take place in as well. That means that Stone Ocean‘s ending is the last time fans get to see the original Jojo continuity, and its ending can be a bit confusing to a casual viewer.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean follows Jolyne Cujoh, daughter of Jotaro Kujo, as she battles against a follower of Dio, Enrico Pucci, who aims to make Dio’s dream of Heaven a reality. Over the course of the story, Pucci amasses an incredible amount of power, until he eventually gains mastery over time and space, and intends to reset the universe, creating a new world in Dio’s image–one that would, of course, be without the Joestars. Jolyne, Jotaro and her friends must work together to put a stop to Pucci’s plan before it’s too late.

That’s the short version of what happens, at least, but the details are what can actually be a bit confusing to follow, especially given the final chapter.

Stone Ocean’s Ending Resets the Jojo Universe

Explaining Stone Ocean’s Ending

Pucci must be at a particular location to enact Dio’s plan, and that location happens to be Cape Canaveral, Florida. Pucci’s Stand evolves into a new form, granting him control over gravity, and later time itself. Using these new abilities, Pucci is able to accelerate the passage of time for the entire world, causing mass chaos and panic. He intends to fast-forward to the end of the universe, and in desperate attempts to stop him, Stone Ocean‘s heroes fall one after another–until finally all that’s left is the young child Emporio and a rapidly dying Jolyne.

Emporio and Pucci are sucked into a vortex as time reaches a point of singularity, being given a glimpse of the future that they would’ve had in the original universe if Pucci hadn’t overwritten it. Realizing Emporio is the only one who can interfere in his plan now, Pucci attempts to kill the boy, chasing him through a strange version of Green Dolphin Street Prison. Pucci’s plan, as he explains it, is to give everyone this glimpse of the future, forcing them to fully accept the fate that lies in store for them and finally eliminate the fear and anxiety that come with free will.

Pucci accidentally inserts the Stand disc for Weather Report into Emporio, giving the boy a chance to fight back. By using the Stand to turn the room into 100% oxygen, Emporio is able to kill Pucci, who is still under the effects of accelerated time. Pucci begs not to be killed until his plan is complete, but having watched all his friends die, Emporio has no sympathy for Pucci and ends him–thus canceling out the new universe Pucci was trying to create and leading to the birth of a completely different universe. Emporio, the only one with memories of the original universe, sees new versions of Jolyne and others, whose lives have never been touched by evil.

What Happened to Jojo’s Original Universe in Stone Ocean?

The Universe Was Still Reset, But Not as Pucci Wanted It

The ending of Stone Ocean relies somewhat on the idea of the Big Crunch, a hypothesized end of the universe in which everything condenses back into a single point, potentially exploding outward into a new Big Bang and creating a new universe in its place, giving existence a cyclical nature. By accelerating time, Pucci hurried the universe along to its end, so it’s fair to say that the original Jojo universe no longer exists. However, because Pucci died before it could be completed, he had no influence on how the new universe developed, and it turned out to be along very similar lines.

Characters who resemble the cast, but with different names, are shown in the ending. These are the counterparts of Jolyne and the others from the new universe, who’ve lived completely different lives and likely don’t even have Stand powers. In this universe, there was no such being as Dio, and thus no need for a Jojo–hence, this Jolyne is now known as Irene, symbolically ending the Jojo line.

It’s important to note that the new universe is not the same reboot universe seen in parts 7-9. The Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure reboot universe exists separately, as it’s one with a Jojo family once again, although they’ve largely lived very different lives. Still, the nature of Stone Ocean‘s ending made it necessary for the next part of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure to start fresh, so in that sense the reboot is still a direct result of how Stone Ocean ended.