Very few series can compare to the singular franchise that is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, but one Shonen Jump manga is coming close. What makes this series so fascinating is how it is reinterpreting a lot of the ideas from Jojo’s in a refreshing new way. This makes it a series that Jojo’s fans should check out if they’re looking for something similar.
Hirohiko Araki’s masterwork Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has been in serialization for over 30 years now and the series is still largely unique among its peers. Aspects of its endlessly innovative Stand power system have been adapted into a variety of other battle manga such as Jujutsu Kaisen. But no other manga has been able to copy the weirder parts of the series. From the impossibly stylish character design to the franchise’s many iconic meme worthy moments of absurdity, no other series has truly captured the exact same feel as Jojo’s. That hasn’t stopped various other series from trying, such as the relatively new manga PPPPPP.
PPPPPP is a manga by Mapollo 3 following a boy named Lucky as he attempts to reconcile with his family of piano prodigies. While this may not sound like the premise of a spiritual successor to Jojo’s, PPPPPP borrows some very important concepts and stylistic choices from Araki’s series. The most obvious is in how the various pianists’ performances in the series manifest as physical entities that cause some effect on their listeners. For instance, the music of Lucky’s brother in PPPPPP, Reijiro, manifests as a gigantic titan that smothers the audience in the loudness of his performance. While this may be seen as metaphorical, as the series has progressed its musical powers have become more psychological, with one performer’s playing even taking its listeners to a serene mindscape where they are confronted by what they most believe in. In their innovative and tangible effects, these performances are much like Stands in Jojo’s, even if they aren’t being used in typical combat. The series also shares Jojo’s impossible fashion sense, with most of its characters wearing outfits that should not even be able to exist let alone look as stylish as they do.
PPPPPP Puts a Unique Spin on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Of course, the series also has a lot of differences from Jojo’s. Its stakes are much lower, not being about life or death but instead hinging on a family’s reconciliation and reunion. PPPPPP is also much more psychological, with the mental states of the various characters being a much larger part of the plot than in Jojo’s where the characters are known for being much more stoic. That being said it’s still a very enjoyable manga to read as a Jojo’s fan partially due to its many differences.
No series will ever be able to precisely match the unique blend of elements that Jojo’s captures, and PPPPPP is no exception. But seeing a manga take so many aspects of Jojo’s and take them in a completely different direction is exciting to see and very gratifying to read. This makes PPPPPP a manga that fans of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure should check out while waiting for Part 9 to come out.
PPPPPP is available to read from Viz Media.
