As the 35th year of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure wraps up, eager fans can finally set a date for the highly anticipated 9th part of the generation-spanning saga.
In the winter issue of JoJo Magazine, a special edition released to celebrate the 35th anniversary, it was revealed that part 9, known by its first announced title JoJolands, will begin serialization on February 17, 2023, in Ultra Jump, which has been the home of JoJo since 2004. Part 8 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, called JoJolion, was completed back in August 2021, at which time series creator Hirohiko Araki announced a hiatus before resuming with part 9. In the time since, Araki has contributed special art to JoJo Magazine and written three chapters of his JoJo spinoff series, Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe.
Fans of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure have been awaiting the release of JoJo Magazine’s winter edition in hopes that it would have information on JoJos Bizarre Adventure part 9. The actual page within the magazine that announced the release date doesn’t include much else, simply reading “The 9th Part The JoJolands Begins Serialization 02/17/2023.” That would seem to indicate the official title will be The JoJolands, a minor change from its tentative title that was previously revealed. So far, little is known about part 9, even now that its release date is here. The story is said to take place in the same alternate continuity as parts 7 and 8. In a recent interview, Araki also stated that the story of part 9 would be following a “descendant of Joseph Joestar.” The alternate continuity’s Joseph Joestar only appeared in the last two chapters of JoJolion, and was shown to still have his classic stand, Hermit Purple, despite having lived a very different life from his counterpart.
What Are The Jojolands?
The only clue as to the meaning of part 9’s title has been a line of dialog at the end of JoJolion, where characters speculate whether or not the Locacaca fruit, a very important object in JoJolion, still exists in the world. Josuke says that “They might exist, in some land in the islands to the south [of Japan].” It seems likely that the land mentioned here will be the eponymous JoJolands, but it’s not certain. Given the protagonist will be related to Joseph, who (while born in Japan this time) did live out his life in America, the setting could also be American again, and some fans have even speculated based on past comments by Araki that Scotland might be a potential setting as well. A new image from Ultra Jump depicting a sailboat would seem to lean toward the Pacific Islands theory, however. A timeframe for the setting has not yet been made clear either; JoJolion was set in 2011, when it was written, but Joseph Joestar was a young man in 1941, so depending on how closely descended part 9’s hero is, it could be set anywhere from 1960 to 2023, or perhaps even slightly in the future, as Stone Ocean was at the time of its release.
Regardless of what Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure part 9 may hold, fans of the series now know exactly how long they’ll have to wait to find out.
Look for the first chapter of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: JoJolands when it releases on February 17th, 2023.
