π¬ JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood (2007)
Based on manga
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood is a 2007 animated film produced by Studio A.P.P.P., adapting the first story arc of Hirohiko Araki's legendary manga series. The film was given a limited theatrical release in Japan beginning on February 17, 2007, and covers the events of the Phantom Blood storyline, which follows the noble Jonathan Joestar and his deadly rivalry with the ambitious and cruel Dio Brando in Victorian-era England.
The Phantom Blood arc, originally serialized in Weekly ShΕnen Jump from 1987, introduced readers to the world of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and its unique blend of gothic horror, martial arts action, and flamboyant character designs. The 2007 film was one of the earliest animated adaptations of the series, predating the highly successful David Production television anime that would begin in 2012. Directed by Junichi Hayama, the film attempted to condense the entire Phantom Blood storyline into a feature-length runtime, which required significant cuts and alterations to the original manga's pacing and content.
Despite the enduring popularity of the JoJo franchise, this particular film has become something of a lost artifact among fans. It received no home video release on DVD or Blu-ray, and has never been officially distributed outside of Japan. The only way to view it was during its original theatrical run, leading to extensive efforts by dedicated fan communities to archive any surviving materials, including promotional trailers, production stills, and audience recordings. The film's obscurity has only added to its mystique within the JoJo fandom, with many hoping for an eventual official release.
While the 2007 Phantom Blood film remains elusive, the story it adapted has since been retold with great acclaim in the 2012 television anime series by David Production, which covered both Phantom Blood and its follow-up arc, Battle Tendency, in a single 26-episode season. This later adaptation is widely considered the definitive animated version of Jonathan Joestar's tragic and heroic tale.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly ShΕnen Jump magazine in 1987, before transferring to the monthly seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2005. The series is divided into distinct story arcs, each following a different member of the Joestar family across generations, all of whom possess a star-shaped birthmark and can be identified by the recurring "JoJo" nickname.
The first arc, Phantom Blood, is set in 1880s England and introduces the series' core conflict. It follows Jonathan Joestar, a young aristocrat, as he battles his adoptive brother Dio Brando, who becomes a powerful vampire using an ancient stone mask. The story blends gothic horror, martial arts, and supernatural elements, establishing the themes of family legacy, honor, and the struggle between good and evil that would define the entire series.
Araki's work is renowned for its distinctive art style, which has evolved significantly over the decades, drawing inspiration from classical sculpture, high fashion, and Western pop culture. The series is also famous for its creative battle system, which later introduces "Stands" β psychic manifestations of a character's fighting spirit with unique abilities. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has become one of the best-selling manga series in history, with over 120 million copies in circulation, and has spawned a massive multimedia franchise including multiple anime adaptations, video games, novels, and films.
