Spoilers for all parts of the new continuity of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure preceeding this one, including JoJolion are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
"This is the story of me becoming filthy rich. Sound like I'm exaggerating? [...] I'm becoming rich no matter what it takes!"
— Jodio Joestar
The JOJOLands (ザ・ジョジョランズ) is the ninth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, which began running in February 2023. It is preceded by JoJolion.
Set in Hawaii during The New '20s, 15-year-old Jodio Joestar has a dream: to become filthy rich. He and his sibling, Dragona Joestar, act together as small-time gangsters, smuggling and dealing drugs at their high school to support their single mother.
One day, school principal and local mob boss Meryl May Qi gives the duo a new order; a lone Japanese tourist vacationing to Hawaii happens to own a natural blue diamond worth millions of dollars. Together with kleptomaniac Paco Laburantes and ditzy newcomer Usagi Aloha'oe, the four Stand Users must break into the tourist's villa and steal the precious gem. Unfortunately, however, their job may not be as easy as it seems...
The JOJOLands is set within the same continuity as Steel Ball Run and JoJolion, taking place about a decade after the events of the latter. Just as how its predecessors re-envisioned Parts of the original continuity, Part 9 takes many cues from Golden Wind; with morally dubious protagonists working within a criminal organization to further their own goals, their adventure kick-started by a foreign tourist from Morioh...
Meanwhile, the tropes are like this. And sometimes more like this:
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Dragona celebrates a toast with Usagi after making it out of the watch theft unscathed, drinking a bottle of alcohol the latter stole from Rohan. That same chapter, after being warned about an enemy Stand user, they drop their guard for a pricey wristwatch and get stabbed through the neck for it.
- Almost Out of Oxygen: In Jodio's battle against Charming Man, he manages to drag him down into the ocean while holding him off from stabbing him at the same time. Jodio utilizes November Rain to bring down a inflatable boat near him and suck in the oxygen while his opponent nearly drowns.
- Ambiguous Situation: It is unclear what exactly the Lava Rock even is, and whether or not it has some sort of sentience or awareness of the world around it. Its ability to attract wealth is extremely extensive, making people subconsciously use their Stands, and during the heist, it somehow makes the diamond Dragona is trying to store repeatedly roll out of their hands or bag back to the safe towards the lava rock in it. The fact that Rohan says that a "rule of nature" is in the lava rock doesn't help clarify things either, as he refuses to elaborate even when explaining why he's letting Jodio leave with it.
- Arc Words: Just like its predecessors in the new continuity, the beginning of JoJolands has the narrator state "This is a story...". Unlike his predecessors, Jodio is considerably less humble about it, setting the tone of the Part:
- Arms Dealer: In the very first chapter, Jodio and Dragona are shown selling firearms to a group of criminals to secretly afford money.
- Asshole Victim: Jodio and Dragona attack and mutilate the cops that sexually assaulted Dragona in the first chapter.
- Attempted Rape: The first chapter begins with Jodio and Dragona getting pulled over by some Dirty Cops, with one insistent on patting Dragona down as a cover for molestation, and the other cop enabling his groping. It gets even worse when the cop feels Dragona's penis after assuming they were a cisgender girl and saying that it makes things even better, with him only being stopped by Jodio's interference using November Rain, to which the other cop was ready to shoot Jodio if he didn't sit back and let his brother get molested.
- Billionaire Wristband: In Chapter 10, Dragona notices a couple walking out of the luxury shop with an 80k watch and deeming it a dazzling display.
- Breaking Old Trends: Several in the first chapter alone.
- Jodio is the first Joestar that is an out-and-out criminal from the start. Giorno was in school until he defeated Black Sabbath, and Jolyne was falsely accused of a crime she didn't commit, though was a small juvenile delinquent before the story began. On the other hand, Jodio gladly traffics items for people who ask him, which includes guns and cocaine.
- Jodio is the first Stand-using protagonist (not counting Joseph Joestar)note to not have a humanoid Stand, his November Rain instead being quadrupedal.
- Dragona marks the first time in the series in which a mainline JoJo is part of a Sibling Team; all other main JoJo siblings are either introduced after their sibling stops being relevant (ex. Giorno's half brothers in Part 6), or are only part of the backstory (ex. Johnny's brother Nicholas). This is especially notable for how unique Dragona is on top of that — not only are they deeply tanned (where Jodio is quite pale), but they're also gender nonconforming, with fashion sense and implants that make them look like a woman, which marks the first time in the series in which a Joestar is a GNC person and a person of color.
- True to Japanese societal norms, drugs have had a history of being condemned in JoJo, with it being the reason behind Giorno and Bucciarati wanting to reform Passione in Golden Wind, and Sports Maxx being a vicious mobster who casually uses drugs in Stone Ocean. In The JOJOLands, drugs are viewed as a formality in Jodio and Dragona's line of work, with Usagi being a drug addict who does business with Paco.
- Camera Spoofing: Usagi Aloha'oe's Stand, The Matte Kudasai, has the ability to transform into a replica of an object that someone other than Usagi expresses a desire for. When transforming into a replica of a house's security camera, it provides an altered version of the footage wherein people are wearing slightly different clothes and have different facial features, rendering the original camera's footage unusable as evidence due to it being impossible to tell which footage is the real deal.
- The Caper:
- At the end of the first chapter, Meryl May Qi assembles a team including Jodio and Dragona to steal a diamond worth millions from a Japanese tourist. The narration implies that the heist doesn't go well.
- Chapter 14 starts a new one: With the powers of the Lava Rock, Meryl proposes the capacity of it to be used in land deeds to attract the actual ownership of the land. She tasks Dragona, Usagi, and Charming Man with entering a government building, touching the rock to old land deeds of a huge organization, and getting out without leaving evidence of their presence for safety.
- Concealing Canvas: In their heist for the diamond, Dragona believes it's hidden behind something. Usagi quickly cuts up a nearby painting only to find nothing. They later find the safe hidden behind a bookcase.
- Continuity Nod: The introduction to Stands at the start of the first chapter features many Stands from throughout the series, including Soft & Wet, Sex Pistols, Star Platinum, Tusk, Whitesnake, Gold Experience, Black Sabbath, Echoes, D4C, Ebony Devil, The World, Ball Breaker, Killer Queen, and Stone Free.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Usagi utilizes this trait against The Cat when he scattered meat patties mixed with caviar to lure it towards a rock to capture it with his Stand.
- Crime of Self-Defense: Jodio fights against a Dirty Cop trying to sexually assault Dragona. When the cop later returns in an attempt to get vengeance, Jodio immediately deals with it by crushing him with November Rain.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Jodio's narration in early chapters describes that their attempted heist at the Japanese tourist's villa goes horribly wrong. Sure enough, in Chapter 4, Rohan catches their group in the act, easily dispatches Paco and Usagi, and uses Heaven's Door to identify everyone in the heist as well as their boss.
- Cute Machines: Dragona's Stand, Smooth Operators, takes the form of several adorable tiny robots.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: During the first chapter, Jodio claims that Meryl May is such a talented fashion designer that she could easily make a fortune by selling her clothing in Milan or Paris. Despite this, she treats the whole venture as a way to launder money for her criminal enterprise.
- Depth Deception: The knife-wielding enemy in control of the cats has this as his Stand power; Paco is briefly thrown off when his arm appears from the clouds kilometers away, yet sized as if it's within stabbing range.
- Depraved Bisexual: When a cop feels up the thong of Dragona's bikini while patting them down, he feels their genitals after previously assuming them to be a cisgender girl, and claims that this has, "just gotten better." He also threatens to rape Jodio in the second chapter.
- Destroy the Evidence: In the second chapter, when he and Paco are nearly arrested for being caught with drugs, Jodio uses November Rain to target just the bag and wash it away with water.
- Didn't Think This Through: Dragona and Usagi decide to test the lava rock's powers to attract valuables by going to a luxury itens store. When the rock starts working and a luxury watch vanishes while they're alone in the room leaves them to be the main suspects of it. One would think that they could start with smaller items or at least not have accepted the request to go to the back of the store so they could have easy access to the exit.
- Dirty Cop: A cop sexually assaults Dragona during a patdown, and the other cops stand by and let it happen before threatening to shoot Jodio when he tries to intervene.
- Disappeared Dad: Barbara Ann raises Jodio and Dragona as a single mother. Their father is nowhere to be seen.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Dragona, deliberately. Jodio states that he "loves girl-like fashion and the slight swelling in his chest is from cosmetic implants".
- Ear Ache: Dragona pulls on Paco's ear after catching him stealing from customers at Iko Iko. Paco's ear is stretched unnaturally far, using the power of Smooth Operators.
- Establishing Character Moment: Jodio gets one as the first major scene of the part. He is first seen joking around with Dragona and relaxing in their (stolen) truck. This establishes him as someone who can be pretty amicable and sociable, as well as having a lot of familial love for his older brother. When the cop begins assaulting Dragona, Jodio instantly pulls out his Stand and calmly debilitates the two cops using November Rain. This establishes his ruthlessness and willingness to attack anyone he strongly dislikes. Lastly, he nearly kills the two cops who harassed the both of them by beating them when they're down, and then sets fire to their cop car as he and Dragona abscond. This establishes his wrath and cruelty, while also highlighting his sense of loyalty. Overall, Jodio is a decent person who loves his family, but make no mistake — cross him, and you'll get whacked.
- Facial Horror: Dragona uses Smooth Operators to deform the face of the officer who assaulted them, dragging his eyes to the side of his head.
- Fiery Cover-Up: Jodio and Dragona burn the cop car to destroy the camera footage of their attack.
- Foregone Conclusion: Already by the end of Chapter 1, Jodio's narration hints that the diamond heist will not go well.Jodio: Just the three of us would not have been enough. Actually... It wouldn't have been enough no matter how many people we had.
- Functional Addict: Usagi has the other members worried, since he was seen earlier taking a drug shipment from Paco, but Meryl May reassures them that he's perfectly functional despite being a drug addict.
- Good Counterpart: The Lava Rocks' power of making wealth 'flow' to the ones who hold them through inticrate circumstances can be seen as similar to the Milagro Man curse from the previous part. What makes it a genuinely positive version of the curse is that it's way more controllable than Milagro Man: the rock's owner has to touch the rock to an object of value to cause it to flow to them, and the Lava Rock won't slowly bury its owner to death via increasingly large cash sums. The comparisons are best summarized by a moment in Chapter 8, where — similar to Milagro Man's effect — the Lava Rock causes a string of coincidental occurences to return Dragona's 20 dollar bill through some means. This can still backfire on the owner, as the Lava Rocks' power will make flow to the owner no matter what, up to and including controlling Stands as Dragona found out when the Lava Rocks caused Smooth Operators to smuggle the watch to it.
- Gratuitous Laboratory Flasks: In Chapter 3, the group finds a lab room in Rohan's villa examining 'A'A Lava rocks. Usagi takes the time to explain the difference between flasks and beakers.
- Green Rocks: The main crux of the story is the lava rock, obtained during the heist in lieu of the diamond the team were actually after. It is a mysterious object that Jodio correctly assumes to be even more important and valuable than the diamond, and it's shown to have the power to attract valuable objects like a diamond, money, and even expensive valuables towards it.
- Implied Death Threat: Paco telling Dragona "there's a gym" is an alternative phrasing on asking if someone wants to get beaten up legally.
- Injured Self-Drag: During the group's fight against The Cat, Dragona and Paco drag themselves to the tree Jodio is stuck on to rescue him while avoiding the Razor Floss surrounding them.
- Internal Reveal: Those who have been following JoJo know that Rohan is a Stand user. Jodio only finds out in Chapter 3, after distracting Rohan using November Rain.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: When visiting a luxury shop, Dragona and Usagi get into trouble when security accuses them of stealing a watch. Despite their proclaims they haven't touched it, camera footage shows Dragona having Missing Time of using their Stand to momentarily grab it.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: Jodio beats up the cop that tried to sexually assault Dragona after using November Rain to crush his body before kicking him unconscious.
- A Lady on Each Arm: In Jodio's exposition of his mechanism when showing the difference between himself and a civilian, he's shown with two ladies by his side.
- Lovable Rogue: The main characters are all criminals, but they are likable and sympathetic enough for the audience to root for them.
- Making a Splash: Jodio's Stand, November Rain, creates very powerful raindrops.
- MacGuffin: The lava rocks, obtained in the first arc's heist in lieu of the diamond the main characters were actually after. It is a mysterious object that Jodio correctly assumes to be even more important and valuable than the diamond, and Usagi shows it has the power to attract valuable objects like the diamond and expensive caviar towards it.
- Mind Control: The Lava Rock's powers make people unconsciously perform actions that approach a certain measure of wealth, be it money or items, towards its owner, like a Contrived Coincidence. That causes the 20 dollar bill that Usagi and Dragona just lost, to be brought back by Paco returning a soda to the stand they bought it from, because it had a fly in it. This will even extend to making the target unknowingly use their Stand.
- Minor with Fake I.D.: Dragona carries an actual driver license with their photo imprinted by the use of Smooth Operators.
- Ms. Fanservice: Chapter 2 starts off with an undercover DEA agent dressed this way. She's wearing little more than a bikini and a cropped jacket, and she spends the entire time she's trying to buy coke off of Jodio (to incriminate him) with her body lovingly shown off by the panelwork.
- Money to Throw Away: Wanting to test the capabilities of the mysterious lava rock the team acquired, Usagi tosses a twenty dollar bill that had been touched by the rock. After Paco suddenly got a twenty dollar refund for a bad drink, it confirms their theory that the lava rock attracts money.
- Mugging the Monster: In the first chapter, a Dirty Cop sexually assaults Dragona while his partner threatens Jodio so he can't intervene. They don't realize that the people they're abusing are actually powerful, ruthless Stand users, so they end up getting beaten half to death and having their car set on fire as a result.
- Musical Theme Naming: This is a given, considering this is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Like every part, it features many references to songs and bands.
- Must State If You're a Cop: In Chapter 2, Jodio is suspicious of a woman who wants to buy drugs. She gets his trust by playing this trope, stating that if she were a cop, she would have to tell him if he asks. When he does, she says no, and he lets her buy the drugs. Subverted, as the woman lied and was in fact looking to catch Jodio in the act. This is closer to reality than how the trope usually plays out; cops have the legal right to lie about their identity, so long as they aren't engaging in entrapment.
- Mythology Gag:
- Jodio's introduction has the phrase "Kono Jodio Joestar ga......" (この『ジョディオ・ジョースター』が......), a possible reference to DIO's infamous "Kono Dio da!" line from Phantom Blood.
- Jodio's goal of getting filthy rich is also a call-back to DIO's original goal of stealing the Joestar family fortune, before DIO decided to focus on obtaining godhood and wiping out the Joestar line instead.
- When Rohan encounters Dragona (who is trespassing on his home), he does so by reaching out for their hand while partially obscured behind a doorway — very similar circumstances to how his original universe counterpart greets Koichi.
- When Jodio tells Rohan to rescind his phone call to the police after tying him up, Rohan tells him, "I refuse," referencing the Highway Star fight in Diamond is Unbreakable and how Rohan's favorite thing to do is refuse the orders of people who have the upper hand on him to their faces.
- Non-Indicative Name: Usagi decides to nickname Dragona as "Pink" in an early chapter. After they finish the heist, Dragona questions this, because they aren't even wearing pink.
- Not-So-Innocent Whistle: In Chapter 13, after Charming Man explains one of the two lava rocks that Rohan discovered somehow ended up getting destroyed, the rest of the group sans Jodio awkwardly coughs while looking elsewhere.
- Nouveau Riche: Jodio, a self-interested individual who would resort to thieving and drug dealing to get money, tells that this is his story of becoming "filthy rich" by ways of his Mechanism that'll make wealth flow straight to him.
- Obligatory Earpiece Touch: Before making their towards the villa for the heist, Dragona reminds everyone to equip an earpiece before starting.
- Only in It for the Money: Jodio's main motivation is to get rich.
- Pervy Patdown: One of the cops sexually assaults Dragona during the search. Initially assuming them to be a cisgender girl, finding out they have a penis makes him all the more happier with it.
- Portable Hole: At the end of Chapter 10, Dragona employs one creative use of Smooth Operators: grabbing the wounds on their skin and pulling the damage off of the surface of their flesh.
- Portmanteau: Jodio is a combination of "JoJo" and "Dio".
- Present Day: The first chapter makes references to COVID, Dua Lipa, the Uber rideshare service, and Jodio is seen in the second chapter playing on what appears to be a Nintendo Switch, all of which are relevant at the time of manga's writing. Paco and several background characters are also shown to use electric scooters.
- Product Displacement:
- Jodio is shown playing on a Nintendo Switch in chapter 2, as one can discern by its segmented assembly and the volume and power buttons being placed on the top left side of the screen. The actual logo for the Switch's back side is never drawn, as it's either placed outside the panel or only seen from a distance where that detail is no longer visible.
- When the heist team goes to a food court in Chapter 8, Charleys Philly Steaks
and Raising Cane's are two of the restaurants seen in the background.
- Properly Paranoid: When a college student meets up with Jodio to buy some drugs from him, Jodio becomes suspicious of her behavior, believing her to be an undercover cop working with a man in a nearby ice cream van, and having hidden a camera and microphone to record him with in the headlight of the bicycle she rode in on (as well as something else in her helmet). He turns out to be correct on all counts when she pulls out her badge and gun from her helmet, police burst out of the back of the ice cream van, and they attempt to arrest him and Paco.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Downplayed. A police officer sexually assaulting Dragona is treated as vile and reason to beat up him and his partner, but Jodio is stopped by Dragona before he can kill them. Furthermore, Jodio almost killing them is used to establish Jodio's brutality rather than being treated as simply karma.
- Real Joke Name: Downplayed, but Paco is visibly taken aback when Charming Man presents himself, muttering "That's a real name?".
- Recurring Element: The Lava Rock continues the trend of earth/rock objects that contain supernatural powers in the franchise, like the Stone Mask from Phantom Blood, the Red Stone of Aja from Battle Tendency, the meteorite that created the Arrows in Stardust Crusaders, the Devil's Palms from Steel Ball Run, and the Wall Eyes from JoJolion. What is particularly fascinating about this one is that it seems to be naturally occuring, whereas the previously mentioned were at least part Lost Technology, or in the case of the Devil's Palms caused by Divine Intervention, or the Locacaca of JoJolion that were being actively cultivated by several Rock Human splinter cells.
- Regional Speciality: While discussing Paco's love of stealing, Jodio's narration mentions "spam onigiris", referencing the real-world regional specialty of spam musubi in Hawaii.
- Retcon: When JoJolion showed the Joestar family tree, it claimed that Joseph had one daughter. However, this part shows that he had a second daughter, Barbara Ann. On top of that, the Holly side of the family seems to have Kei Nijimura completely scrubbed out, only showing Yoshikage Kira.
- Robbing the Mob Bank: The pitch is a group using their Stand abilities for heists on behalf of their school principal crime boss from small-town Hawai'i, trying to pull off a heist on Rohan Kishibe, who also happens to be intangled in an investigation regarding the lava rock.
- Safe Behind the Corner: During the heist at Rohan's villa, Jodio hides behind a wall corner while trying to distract him as the group is opening the safe.
- Shout-Out: Like every JoJo part, it is filled with musical references.
- Jodio mentions Dragona listening to Dua Lipa.
- Jodio's Stand, November Rain, is named after the Guns N' Roses song.
- Dragona's Stand, Smooth Operators, is named after the Sade song "Smooth Operator".
- Paco's Stand, The Hustle, is named after the Van McCoy song.
- Barbara Ann Joestar is named after "Barbara Ann" by The Beach Boys.
- The store Dragona works at, Iko Iko, is named for a song by the Dixie Cups.
- A stranger confronts Jodio with the intent to buy drugs. Jodio is suspicious of her and initially feigns ignorance, pointing out a discreetly parked vehicle that probably has backup cops in it. But after some back and forth, and his customer saying that she Must State If You're a Cop, Jodio relents and sells his product, only for everything he was suspicious of to come true. The entire scene follows the same pacing and storytelling of Badger's arrest in the Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul".
- Usagi's Stand The Matte Kudasai is named after the King Crimson song "Matte Kudasai" and his last name Aloha'oe comes from the Hawaiian folk song.
- The first Ultra Jump cover uses the same color scheme as the album 90125 by Yes.
- Charming Man is named after This Charming Man by The Smiths.
- Shrug Take: When the drug dealers ask Jodio and Dragona if they know anything about a police car getting burnt up, the two just glance at each other and shrug with their arms.
- Sibling Team: Jodio and his older sibling Dragona work together to commit crimes.
- Silly Song: In Chapter 13, as Charming Man is told turn off his cell phone, the group suddenly performs a clapping song just as he's shutting it off.
- Smuggling with Dolls: A variant — Jodio and Dragona deliver a surfboard containing hidden drugs to several dealers. In the same chapter, a flashback shows an eleven-year-old Jodio carrying a huge teddy bear with a wad of twenty-dollar bills hidden in its neck, playing the trope straight.
- Stealing from the Till: During their search of Rohan's villa for the diamond, Dragona sees Paco and Usagi attempting to take antiques and wine bottles, which Dragona makes them return to avoid being caught by airport security.
- Terrified of Germs: Dragona doesn't like the cop getting all up in their face, because they're scared that they might catch COVID.
- Thieving Magpie: In Chapter 10, Dragona's curiosity about a Billionaire Wristband touched by the lava rock leads to witnessing a bird grabbing the watch to fly towards the group. But then it turns out the bird actually grabbed an entirely different watch instead, and immediately gets ambushed by Charming Man.
- Time Skip: JOJOlands takes place in the "Present Day", years after the events of JoJolion. Judging from the mention of COVID by Dragona, this part takes place at least 9 years after the previous part, probably more given how none of the characters wear face masks when entering shops and other public indoor places.
- This Is My Story: Jodio is the story's narrator and describes that, "This is a story of me becoming filthy rich."
- Trans Chaser: Dragona Joesta was assigned male at birth but enjoys dressing and presenting femininely to the point of getting surgical breast implants. Dragona is assaulted by a bigoted police officer who initially assumes them to be an attractive cis woman, but upon discovering that Dragona has male genitalia he becomes even more excited.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: While relaxing by a tree, Jodio is asked by a woman to be handed drugs. Despite his suspicions after asking if she's a cop, Jodio signals Paco for a hand-off, which immediately prompts the woman to pull out a gun and brings in a squad to arrest the two.
- Vicariously Ambitious: Jodio talks about his becoming "filthy rich" as his own mechanism as a principle that can't be taken away from him in the form of an apex that would form into its own shape once he gets his hands on it.
- Walking Swimsuit Scene: Dragona wears a bikini during most of the first chapter.
- Well, This Is Not That Trope: Jodio describes his story of becoming "filthy rich", as apart from receiving loads of money, he insists that a universal constant would make wealth come to him.
- Worst Aid: After Jodio gets his neck slashed, he's knocked down and Paco tells him to get up and put a bandaid on it. This sounds like sarcasm at first, but Jodio really does put a bandaid on it. Said bandaid would be largely ineffective at holding back the pressure of the blood and it's too small to have the actual bandage part of the bandaid exclusively cover the wound. He only survives because it's apparently only a grazed wound.
- You Have Failed Me: At the end of Chapter 8, Jodio and Paco go and buy chicken burritos while waiting on Dragona and Usagi. All seems well and good as they return to their table... and then Jodio finds the enemy cats from the previous arc, their heads severed and placed within his takeout baggie. He immediately deduces that the cats had a leader, and that leader killed their minions for failing to secure Rohan's Lava Rock.
