JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: timelines, universes and watch or read order
Follow the parts. Let the generations unfold.
Start at Part 1: Phantom Blood
For a first visit, follow the numbered parts. The 2012 TV anime begins with Phantom Blood and continues into Battle Tendency in the same season. Manga readers can start with Part 1, volume 1.
Sources: JoJo official portal: all nine parts · JoJo Wiki: viewing order
Covers the nine main manga parts, the modern anime path and selected optional adaptations. Major ending details are omitted. The suggested orders are editorial advice; sources support the facts and do not imply an official endorsement. Guides avoid major plot reveals, but linked sources may contain spoilers.
Timelines and universes
JoJo changes protagonists and locations between parts. That does not mean every part starts a new universe. Use two major continuity groups to get your bearings without learning the ending of Stone Ocean.
- Parts 1–6
The original continuity
Phantom Blood → Battle Tendency → Stardust Crusaders → Diamond is Unbreakable → Golden Wind → Stone Ocean. The generational connections are a reason to keep this order.
Follow this path ↓Sources: JoJo official portal: all nine parts · JoJo Wiki: viewing order
- Parts 7–9
The Steel Ball Run continuity
Steel Ball Run → JoJolion → The JOJOLands. Familiar names recur in a different continuity. Part 7 is not a prequel to Part 1, even though it takes place in the nineteenth century.
Follow this path ↓Sources: Steel Ball Run: continuity overview · JoJo official portal: all nine parts
- Optional branches
Side stories and alternate adaptations
Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe is best saved until after Part 4. The older Stardust Crusaders OVAs retell part of a story covered by the modern TV adaptation; they are not extra numbered parts.
Sources: JoJo Wiki: viewing order · VIZ: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
The first-watch path
Follow the modern adaptation in part order. Streaming services can number seasons differently, so match the part names below.
Parts 1–2: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (2012)
Phantom Blood first, then Battle Tendency. Both are in the 2012 TV series.
View anime in the catalogPart 3: Stardust Crusaders
Watch the first half of the journey.
View anime in the catalogPart 3 continued: Battle in Egypt
Finish the Egypt arc before moving to Part 4.
View anime in the catalogPart 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
The next main part; Rohan’s side stories can wait until afterward.
View anime in the catalogPart 5: Golden Wind
Continue with the Italian-set story.
View anime in the catalogPart 6: Stone Ocean
Watch all three release batches, through episode 38. The batches are one part.
Search the catalogPart 7: Steel Ball Run
An anime adaptation is now available. Follow its released stages in order; the official episode page checked on October 5, 2026 does not establish a complete adaptation of the manga.
Official episodes and stages
Sources: JoJo official portal: all nine parts · JoJo Wiki: viewing order · Steel Ball Run: official anime episode guide
Read the manga in part order
Finish each part before beginning the next. Volume numbering can restart between parts and differs between editions; buy by part name as well as volume number.
Part 1: Phantom Blood
1880s: begin with Jonathan’s story.
View manga in the catalogPart 2: Battle Tendency
1938–1939: continue with the next generation.
View manga in the catalogPart 3: Stardust Crusaders
Late 1980s: read the whole journey before Part 4.
View manga in the catalogPart 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
1999: follow the next numbered part despite the change in setting.
View manga in the catalogPart 5: Golden Wind
2001: also published under the name Vento Aureo.
View manga in the catalogPart 6: Stone Ocean
Finish this part before looking up explanations of its ending.
View manga in the catalogPart 7: Steel Ball Run
1890, in a different continuity: begin at its own chapter 1.
View manga in the catalogPart 8: JoJolion
2011, in the second continuity: read after Steel Ball Run.
View manga in the catalogPart 9: The JOJOLands
Continue after JoJolion. Available volumes and translations vary by edition.
View manga in the catalog
Sources: JoJo official portal: all nine parts · VIZ: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure · JoJo Wiki: viewing order
Finished the Stone Ocean anime?
You can begin the next manga part without guessing a chapter inside an unfinished adaptation.
Steel Ball Run — chapter 1 / Part 7, volume 1
Start at the beginning of Part 7. If you have watched some Steel Ball Run anime, this is a deliberate restart recommendation, not a claimed latest-episode chapter mapping.
View manga in the catalogJoJolion, then The JOJOLands
Continue in part order after finishing Steel Ball Run. Check the publisher and language of the edition you intend to read.
View manga in the catalog
Sources: JoJo official portal: all nine parts · VIZ: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure · Steel Ball Run: official anime episode guide
Should I sort every part by its calendar year?
No. For the main parts, publication order is the useful reading order. Keep Parts 1–6 together and Parts 7–9 together. Do not insert Steel Ball Run into the earlier continuity just because its story begins in 1890. Flashbacks are already placed where the author wants you to encounter them.
Sources: Steel Ball Run: continuity overview · Steel Ball Run: official anime episode guide
Before you jump in
Part numbers and season numbers are different
The first modern TV season covers two manga parts, while Stardust Crusaders is split across two TV runs. Check the title rather than relying on a platform’s season label.
Sources: JoJo Wiki: viewing order
Do I need to understand the universe change first?
No. Treat Steel Ball Run as a new continuity and let Stone Ocean tell its own story. You do not need an explanation of Part 6’s ending to begin reading Part 7.
Sources: Steel Ball Run: continuity overview
Can I start directly with Steel Ball Run?
Its separate continuity makes that a possible entry point. We still recommend the part order for a first full read, so recurring ideas and visual echoes have context. That preference is editorial advice, not an official prerequisite.
Sources: Steel Ball Run: continuity overview
Sources and checks
Official material and community references are labelled below. Publisher links identify editions; they do not guarantee availability in every country.
- OfficialJoJo official portal: all nine parts
Part names, numbering and changing protagonists.
- Community referenceJoJo Wiki: viewing order
The modern TV adaptation’s part divisions and optional adaptations. Current Steel Ball Run status is checked separately against the official site.
- Community reference · major spoilersSteel Ball Run: continuity overview
The separate continuity beginning with Part 7.
- Official · episode spoilersSteel Ball Run: official anime episode guide
The existing anime adaptation and its named stages, checked October 5, 2026.
- Official publisherVIZ: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
English manga editions, part labels and selected side stories. Publication availability is not a claim that every part is fully translated.
These guides do not claim firsthand viewing reviews. Suggest a correction with a source and the affected title or edition.