Why does Jojo get away with this?

Jan 8, 4:07 AM

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Jan 2025

49

The narrator is a good VA. I believe that they have done this since the first part so yeah, you get used to it. I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out.

Jan 8, 4:23 AM

#3

CaptainZaimon

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Jan 2020

384

Different authors, different styles of writing.

Na nieszczęście, żaden śmiertelnik nie jest wolny od jakiegoś dziwactwa.

Jan 8, 4:28 AM

#4

pelik_luv_anime

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Jan 2025

49

You have a narrator explain some of the stand or hamon abilites cause let's be honest, most people don't have the thinking capacity to understand most of these abilities. The narrator is a core part of JoJo so when they explain trivial things, it doesn't feel off.

Jan 8, 4:30 AM

#5

Djwhy

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Nov 2021

88

I like Jojo but it definitely has problems that many fans chose to ignore.

Jan 8, 4:33 AM

#6

pelik_luv_anime

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Jan 2025

49

Djwhy said:
I like Jojo but it definitely has problems that many fans chose to ignore.

I'm not attacking you or being hostile but...

What do you mean by "problems"? Do you find the narrator thing to be problematic, if yes, why?

Jan 8, 4:58 AM

#7

Piromysl

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Jul 2015

13904

It's because Araki forgot.

Jan 8, 5:02 AM

#8

MKIkawa

The Teacher

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Jul 2022

430

Silly Ezra, those powers in jojo are too wacky, and without a narrator explaining what they do, powers become too theoretical and speculative, greatly damaging the power system

I have plenty of problems with jojo's, but the powers themselves are introduced in a decent way for the way they are. For the lack of screentime and the big amount of villains in a few episodes, makes it almost impossible for the story to show how each power works in a natural and satisfying way

A narrator at least fixes the problem of pacing in these situations

Like, if character A is shown he can teleport very fast, and nothing explicitly show the limits of such power, readers may think there are no limitations at all, and suddenly he's one of the fastest characters in fiction. Yeah... doesn't work well to let people figure out when the powers are too wacky

MKIkawaJan 8, 5:08 AM

Jan 8, 5:17 AM

#9

-Ezra-

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Aug 2022

472

MKIkawa said:
Silly Ezra, those powers in jojo are too wacky, and without a narrator explaining what they do, powers become too theoretical and speculative, greatly damaging the power system

I have plenty of problems with jojo's, but the powers themselves are introduced in a decent way for the way they are. For the lack of screentime and the big amount of villains in a few episodes, makes it almost impossible for the story to show how each power works in a natural and satisfying way

A narrator at least fixes the problem of pacing in these situations

Like, if character A is shown he can teleport very fast, and nothing explicitly show the limits of such power, readers may think there are no limitations at all, and suddenly he's one of the fastest characters in fiction. Yeah... doesn't work well to let people figure out when the powers are too wacky

For the powers, I think using the narrator is justified. The problem is with the character's backstories themselves and the narrator just explaining everything bout the character arc. Like just rewatch Abacchio's backstory and you'll see what I mean. The narrator immediately directly tells u Abacchio has a deep sense of justice, and that he found major contradictions in his work. Basic rule of storytelling is show not tell, and especially in this season, Jojo tells u almost everything. It just feels lazy.

Jan 8, 5:33 AM

#10

MKIkawa

The Teacher

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Jul 2022

430

-Ezra- said:

MKIkawa said:
Silly Ezra, those powers in jojo are too wacky, and without a narrator explaining what they do, powers become too theoretical and speculative, greatly damaging the power system

I have plenty of problems with jojo's, but the powers themselves are introduced in a decent way for the way they are. For the lack of screentime and the big amount of villains in a few episodes, makes it almost impossible for the story to show how each power works in a natural and satisfying way

A narrator at least fixes the problem of pacing in these situations

Like, if character A is shown he can teleport very fast, and nothing explicitly show the limits of such power, readers may think there are no limitations at all, and suddenly he's one of the fastest characters in fiction. Yeah... doesn't work well to let people figure out when the powers are too wacky

For the powers, I think using the narrator is justified. The problem is with the character's backstories themselves and the narrator just explaining everything bout the character arc. Like just rewatch Abacchio's backstory and you'll see what I mean. The narrator immediately directly tells u Abacchio has a deep sense of justice, and that he found major contradictions in his work. Basic rule of storytelling is show not tell, and especially in this season, Jojo tells u almost everything. It just feels lazy.

Yeah, that's one of my problems with jojo for sure. This part specifically has plenty of that

This just makes it look like ppl are too dumb to know a character's psychology, and it really ruins the immersion

I don't remember how often this happens in other parts tho

Jan 8, 5:45 AM

#11

unlocked1

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Jan 2024

62

Fair play bro that was a good opinion

Jan 8, 5:48 AM

#12

AshTheChamp

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Jan 2021

379

Jojo's usually just drops a backstory and then never really does something with it.
Instead of giving these characters arcs in fights for example Araki just writes cool and creative fights without any substance

Jan 8, 5:51 AM

#13

CamW

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Aug 2024

2

-Ezra- said:
Jojo uses backstories to give its characters depth. Like most other anime. But unlike those anime, rather than showing us the character arc the character grows through, the narrator mostly explains it to us, the viewers. Jojo does this a lot in this part/season. Even Demon Slayer, which a lot of people view its storytelling as mediocre/lacklustre, at least thinks the audience is intelligent enough to understand the character arc the characters go through in their backstories, and doesnt need a narrator to explain what is already being conveyed on screen

I feel like literally any other anime, this would be rightfully called bad storytelling. And people would criticise the narrative. But because its JBA, it gets away with it. Why?

I think it is part his writing style to be a bit more on the nose than not. And he does it in a winking, meta way a lot which doesn’t feel spoon-fed to me either.
But I do think it got less clever around part 5 though. So much of what I enjoyed from part 4 comes from the character reveals and secret goals that come to light and none of that storytelling felt forced or easy.
The narrator is his own character imo so I find it fun when he reveals something about the character that might be shown in action otherwise.
And I’d say most anime has a problem with “show don’t tell”. Cutting to flashbacks exclusively to tell backstory and develop characters is lazy to me too. Why can’t characters reveal their past through their actions in the present and how they interact because of those actions. Some anime does have that nuance but I’d say most has a problem with it. The amount of times a fight or major event is about to happen and the main character is about to move forward and then, CUT, let’s see why this matters to him, always hurts the pacing.
Be like Bebop and have your character silently fall to the ground in despair around their old home expressing a range of emotion in but a few frames.
Jojo has fun with the hamfisted approach that’s become formula at this point in the genre.

Jan 8, 8:14 AM

#14

Djwhy

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Nov 2021

88

pelik_luv_anime said:

Djwhy said:
I like Jojo but it definitely has problems that many fans chose to ignore.

I'm not attacking you or being hostile but...

What do you mean by "problems"? Do you find the narrator thing to be problematic, if yes, why?

Personally I'm fine with the narrator especially in the earlier parts. I feel that most of Jojo's problems are with the narrative. One example is requiem, it was foreshadowed in part 4, introduced in part 5 an then... Araki just does nothing with it in part 6. Instead he introduces the convoluted Heaven plan to transform Pucci's stand and retcons Dio's motivation for better or for worse. It's not necessarily bad writing but these kinds of things are problematic.

Jan 8, 8:27 AM

#15

Nobef

Febon The Felon

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Oct 2023

347

Fair point, and I'll never understand the JOJO meat rubbing.

Re:Zero is Peak Fiction

Jan 8, 9:03 AM

#16

reefdiver

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May 2023

23

I think some of the storytelling/arcs in Jojo’s is meant to be subtle or open ended. Take Jotaro’s development for instance. However, a good chunk characters do suffer from a lack of focus, which is common for Shonen especially with a bloated cast like Jojo’s.

Jan 8, 9:25 AM

#17

Imacd24

Offline

Jan 2019

23

I think it's just a leftover product of early Jojo where it played really well to the style of the show. Part 1 for example is full on cheesy mellow drama and the narrator dramatically over explaining every little thing that happens compliments that style of storytelling in the perfect way. Fast forward to part 5 and it's no longer the cheesy mellow dramatic story of a noble gentleman in pursuit of greater strength in order to defeat his evil adopted brother, but rather a goofy action packed villain of the week adventure of a bunch of twink italian gangstars. That original style of over dramatic narration is still present but without any of the cheesiness or the mellow drama to compliment it, so it just ends up feeling like a bunch redundant exposition instead of cleverly stylized storytelling.

Jan 8, 10:20 AM

#18

NeoSchizo

Offline

Nov 2023

217

valid opinion but araki killed off a villain by sending them to outer space, i feel like jojo is about the crazy bizzare adventure that they are going through rather than their past or character conflicts etc.

Jan 8, 12:17 PM

#19

Abzy1239

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Aug 2021

415

great writing by the author ig

Jan 8, 10:22 PM

#20

gabiwave

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Oct 2014

13

Great writing, that's how Araki does it

Jan 8, 11:33 PM

#21

Radiant_Knight

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Dec 2023

22

many dumb fans would never understand anything if its not spelled out to them

and the narrator has been here since part 1

its a core part of the manga/anime

Jan 9, 5:25 AM

#22

Unkreativer

Offline

Feb 2021

60

Djwhy said:

pelik_luv_anime said:

I'm not attacking you or being hostile but...

What do you mean by "problems"? Do you find the narrator thing to be problematic, if yes, why?

Personally I'm fine with the narrator especially in the earlier parts. I feel that most of Jojo's problems are with the narrative. One example is requiem, it was foreshadowed in part 4, introduced in part 5 an then... Araki just does nothing with it in part 6. Instead he introduces the convoluted Heaven plan to transform Pucci's stand and retcons Dio's motivation for better or for worse. It's not necessarily bad writing but these kinds of things are problematic.

I kind of agree here, but not with the "retconning" of Dio's motivation. His character has been laid out pretty well throughout the whole story. And the Heaven plan does not change Dio's motivations in any way.

Other than that, I agree with this. I just think the Arrows origin were basically completed, so Araki had no interest in showing more of the Requiem topics anymore, which is kind of a shame, but It's not that deep.

Jan 9, 5:37 AM

#23

Djwhy

Offline

Nov 2021

88

Reply to Unkreativer

Djwhy said:

pelik_luv_anime said:

I'm not attacking you or being hostile but...

What do you mean by "problems"? Do you find the narrator thing to be problematic, if yes, why?

Personally I'm fine with the narrator especially in the earlier parts. I feel that most of Jojo's problems are with the narrative. One example is requiem, it was foreshadowed in part 4, introduced in part 5 an then... Araki just does nothing with it in part 6. Instead he introduces the convoluted Heaven plan to transform Pucci's stand and retcons Dio's motivation for better or for worse. It's not necessarily bad writing but these kinds of things are problematic.

I kind of agree here, but not with the "retconning" of Dio's motivation. His character has been laid out pretty well throughout the whole story. And the Heaven plan does not change Dio's motivations in any way.

Other than that, I agree with this. I just think the Arrows origin were basically completed, so Araki had no interest in showing more of the Requiem topics anymore, which is kind of a shame, but It's not that deep.

@Unkreativer Yeah maybe the correct word would have been expanded Dio's motivation. I would agree with you about the arrows, but in the same way Araki neglected Hamon it feels off. I get that there was only Dio left and passing on hamon was never a priority but not even giving a mention of Joseph saying that Jotaro or the others in the group don't hamon potential feels off. We never even found out if the beetle arrow was special. Honestly most of my problems stem from part 6 feeling like a really lacking ending to the original timeline.

Jan 9, 5:49 AM

#24

Unkreativer

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Feb 2021

60

Djwhy said:
@Unkreativer Yeah maybe the correct word would have been expanded Dio's motivation. I would agree with you about the arrows, but in the same way Araki neglected Hamon it feels off. I get that there was only Dio left and passing on hamon was never a priority but not even giving a mention of Joseph saying that Jotaro or the others in the group don't hamon potential feels off. We never even found out if the beetle arrow was special. Honestly most of my problems stem from part 6 feeling like a really lacking ending to the original timeline.

I see what you mean and I also agree. While Hamon was just not able to get to the level of Stands, in terms of Power Systems, it still felt like Hamon is just forcibly removed from Jojo's which is really sad. While I think the introduction of stands relieves that issue in some way, it's still kind of sad to see.

I also think there would have been more room/potential for many story aspects in Jojo's, but Araki had different ideas in mind, which is fine, since I think that he still executed well thought out and written stories. But I can understand that people still have problems and/or criticise it.

Personally, I think that the end to Part 6, specifically everything from the Heavy Weather to the Made in Heaven Arc, is perfectly written, hence I personally think that the ending to the original timeline is perfect.
But everyone can disagree I guess.
Funnily enough, I had a discussion about Part 6's ending with my brother a few days ago, who really dislikes the ending to Part 6.

But yeah, I definitely understand people having issues with Jojo and even though I love it to death, I think it is important, that even for something you really love, to see what the problems are, rather than just blindly loving everything about it.

Jan 9, 5:52 AM

#25

Djwhy

Offline

Nov 2021

88

Reply to Unkreativer

Djwhy said:
@Unkreativer Yeah maybe the correct word would have been expanded Dio's motivation. I would agree with you about the arrows, but in the same way Araki neglected Hamon it feels off. I get that there was only Dio left and passing on hamon was never a priority but not even giving a mention of Joseph saying that Jotaro or the others in the group don't hamon potential feels off. We never even found out if the beetle arrow was special. Honestly most of my problems stem from part 6 feeling like a really lacking ending to the original timeline.

I see what you mean and I also agree. While Hamon was just not able to get to the level of Stands, in terms of Power Systems, it still felt like Hamon is just forcibly removed from Jojo's which is really sad. While I think the introduction of stands relieves that issue in some way, it's still kind of sad to see.

I also think there would have been more room/potential for many story aspects in Jojo's, but Araki had different ideas in mind, which is fine, since I think that he still executed well thought out and written stories. But I can understand that people still have problems and/or criticise it.

Personally, I think that the end to Part 6, specifically everything from the Heavy Weather to the Made in Heaven Arc, is perfectly written, hence I personally think that the ending to the original timeline is perfect.
But everyone can disagree I guess.
Funnily enough, I had a discussion about Part 6's ending with my brother a few days ago, who really dislikes the ending to Part 6.

But yeah, I definitely understand people having issues with Jojo and even though I love it to death, I think it is important, that even for something you really love, to see what the problems are, rather than just blindly loving everything about it.

@Unkreativer Yeah man, I like Jojo especially part 2 and 3. So regardless of its problems it's still a great series.

Jan 9, 7:51 AM

#26

kammedy

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Jan 2026

7

I think JoJo “gets away with it” because it’s not really trying to do the same kind of storytelling most modern anime aim for. JoJo leans way more into theatricality, exaggeration, and almost myth-like presentation. The narration isn’t there because Araki thinks the audience is dumb, it’s more like a stylistic choice that matches the series’ tone, very dramatic, very declarative, almost like reading a legend or listening to someone recount a bizarre event after the fact.

Also, JoJo often prioritizes ideas and themes over gradual psychological arcs. A lot of characters are already “formed” when we meet them; the backstory just contextualizes who they are rather than showing a long internal transformation. In something like Demon Slayer, the emotional arc is the point, so showing is more important than telling.

You can definitely argue that this would be bad storytelling in another anime, but JoJo operates on its own rules. Whether that works or not is subjective, but consistency in style matters more than following conventional narrative standards. Basically, it’s less “JoJo gets a free pass” and more “JoJo is playing a different game.”

kammedyJan 9, 7:57 AM

Jan 9, 9:28 AM

#27

ZealousElit3

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Sep 2024

16

I didn't know what you were talking about until I actually went back and watched a scene from Part 2. During the final fight between Joseph and Kars, the narrator yaps for quite a bit, and I think it does more harm than good. Just like you said it basically treats the viewer like an idiot, and apart from one line, it doesn't add anything of substance. This doesn't put that much of a damper on the series for me, but I can't help but think it would improve without all of the unnecessary narration.

Jan 9, 10:43 AM

#28

Oongbuh

Offline

Apr 2021

1776

Reply to Djwhy

pelik_luv_anime said:

Djwhy said:
I like Jojo but it definitely has problems that many fans chose to ignore.

I'm not attacking you or being hostile but...

What do you mean by "problems"? Do you find the narrator thing to be problematic, if yes, why?

Personally I'm fine with the narrator especially in the earlier parts. I feel that most of Jojo's problems are with the narrative. One example is requiem, it was foreshadowed in part 4, introduced in part 5 an then... Araki just does nothing with it in part 6. Instead he introduces the convoluted Heaven plan to transform Pucci's stand and retcons Dio's motivation for better or for worse. It's not necessarily bad writing but these kinds of things are problematic.

Djwhy said:
and retcons Dio's motivation for better or for worse

Nothing was retconned, Dio's plan is still ultimately to create a world where he reigns supreme over everyone else, and his concept of "heaven" is an extension of this.

When he encounters Polnareff at the stairs in Part 3, he even has this whole monologue about how the ultimate goal of mankind is to find peace of mind, which fits with what the Heaven plan is.

While I doubt Araki planned this all the way through, specially since he mentioned in select interviews about originally viewing Jojo as a trilogy, he really didn't drastically changed DIO's character to fit the story either.

Jan 9, 12:06 PM

#29

Djwhy

Offline

Nov 2021

88

Reply to Oongbuh

Djwhy said:
and retcons Dio's motivation for better or for worse

Nothing was retconned, Dio's plan is still ultimately to create a world where he reigns supreme over everyone else, and his concept of "heaven" is an extension of this.

When he encounters Polnareff at the stairs in Part 3, he even has this whole monologue about how the ultimate goal of mankind is to find peace of mind, which fits with what the Heaven plan is.

While I doubt Araki planned this all the way through, specially since he mentioned in select interviews about originally viewing Jojo as a trilogy, he really didn't drastically changed DIO's character to fit the story either.

@Oongbuh You’re right, I should have said expanded.

Jan 9, 9:43 PM

#30

SKILIFT26

Offline

Aug 2019

348

Piromysl said:
It's because Araki forgot.

hahaha this joke is still outrageously funny in 2026 😐😐😐

half of the “Araki forgot” shit isn’t even true, JoJo fans are just literal troglodytes

Jan 9, 9:44 PM

#31

SKILIFT26

Offline

Aug 2019

348

-Ezra- said:
Jojo uses backstories to give its characters depth. Like most other anime. But unlike those anime, rather than showing us the character arc the character grows through, the narrator mostly explains it to us, the viewers. Jojo does this a lot in this part/season. Even Demon Slayer, which a lot of people view its storytelling as mediocre/lacklustre, at least thinks the audience is intelligent enough to understand the character arc the characters go through in their backstories, and doesnt need a narrator to explain what is already being conveyed on screen

I feel like literally any other anime, this would be rightfully called bad storytelling. And people would criticise the narrative. But because its JBA, it gets away with it. Why?

fwiw parts 7 and 8 (and probably 9) have a lot more subtlety i think

Jan 9, 9:47 PM

#32

SKILIFT26

Offline

Aug 2019

348

AshTheChamp said:
Jojo's usually just drops a backstory and then never really does something with it.
Instead of giving these characters arcs in fights for example Araki just writes cool and creative fights without any substance

me when i am completely incapable of literary analysis:

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