Warning: Contains spoilers for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: The JOJOLands chapter #38.JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has been around for almost 40 years, and even with a story that old, it hasn’t forgotten how to entertain and surprise people in the slightest. Whether it’s through the wonderfully goofy characters the series keeps introducing or the increasingly creative fights the characters keep getting involved with, there’s always something to get excited about, and the combination of the Steel Ball Run anime and the JOJOLands manga has taken that further than ever.
If there’s one thing JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fans can count on, it’s the series finding new ways to top itself in being bizarre, and its latest installment, The JOJOLands, is the latest example yet. Every new chapter has found new ways to push the JoJo formula to its limits, and that’s arguably reached its peak in the latest chapter, as a new character has reached a level of popularity and memes unlike anything ever seen in the franchise before.
Why The Anime Fandom Is Obsessed With “John Rod” From JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
In chapter #38 of Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: The JOJOLands, after Jodio’s group left the zoo to continue looking for the new lava rock and Usagi’s mother before the other people who were after the lava rock could find it, two glowing rods of light suddenly descended upon Mundra, the villain of the latest arc. The rods, clearly a Stand, combined into an odd stick figure-like object, and without a single word, it killed Mundra through unknown means and flew back into the sky.
The complete randomness of the Stand’s appearance is one thing, as that’s just setup for the next story arc, but what made it really stand out for fans was its surprisingly simple appearance; Stands are known not just for their bizarre powers, but for their bizarre appearances as well, with The JOJOLands having some of the weirdest in the franchise, yet the new Stand having such a basic and unassuming appearance ironically makes it feel weirder, almost alien.
All of this combined to make the Stand go viral overnight, with people dubbing it “John Rod” and jokingly calling it the strongest character in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, if not anime as a whole, and over a week later, the memes haven’t let up in the slightest. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is often jokingly stated to be a fandom without any jokes due to its most prominent ones being from when the anime first took off, so it’s great that the John Rod meme has taken off so suddenly and spread so far within the anime community.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Is Still One Of The Biggest Anime In The World
The popularity of the John Rod meme is unlike anything that’s ever been seen in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and it perfectly highlights how big the series has become. Ever since the anime took JoJo into the mainstream, it’s been at the center of anime and pop culture, and even with so much time having gone by, there’s always something happening to keep it relevant and something everyone needs to experience. The stellar reception to the Steel Ball Run anime has been a perfect example of that, and in the same year, John Rod has done wonders to keep it going.
The fact that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is still so amazing after almost 40 years is a testament not only to its great writing, but to how creative fans can get when interacting with the series, and that’s a big part of why it remains one of the biggest and most influential anime franchises in the world. If the massive memetic reception of John Rod is anything to go by, then there will never be a day when JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure isn’t an icon, and overall, that’s plenty great to think about.
- TV Show(s)
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JoJo Bizarre Adventure
- Video Game(s)
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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
- Created by
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Hirohiko Araki
- Character(s)
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Will A. Zeppeli, Jonathan Joestar, Giorno Giovanna, Jotaro Kujo, Joseph Joestar, Jolyne Cujoh, Johnny Joestar, Josuke Higashikata, Gyro Zeppeli
