JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – “Battle Tendency” Episodes Ranked

The first season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is split into two arcs – nine episodes of “Phantom Blood”, which was pretty boring, and episodes 10-26 make up “Battle Tendency”.

This arc follows a new JoJo – namely Joseph Joestar – and his adventures of mastering Hamon whilst toppling the Pillar Men. This is a big leap up in quality from the first arc … but how would I rank all seventeen episodes?

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Meh

17 – A Hundred Against Two (Ep 21)

Most episodes of “Battle Tendency” have something going for it, but “A Hundred Against Two” was the only episode that felt like pure filler.

JoJo and Lisa Lisa agree terms for a chariot race with the Pillar Men. That’s it. The whole twenty minutes. It’s a shame such a pointless episode came straight after such an impactful one.

OK

16 – The Pillar Men (Ep 12)

This and the next episode in my ranking also come under the “filler” category, but they have more going for them.

“The Pillar Man” sees JoJo travelling to Mexico, and the first of the fearsome Pillar Men awaken – not scintillating stuff, but the chaos of Santana’s awakening was decent fun.

15 – Von Stroheim’s Revenge (Ep 18)

“Von Stroheim’s Revenge” has two aspects that I don’t care for and one I did.

Susie Q gets possessed in a pointless last-ditch effort by Esidisi, and the latter half of the episode is pure setup for the fight next episode.

So what did I like about this episode? Well … Lisa Lisa is looking good for her age. Even if the later reveal of her connections to JoJo makes the scene weird in hindsight.

Good

14 – A Race Toward the Blink (Ep 19)

“Von Stroheim’s Revenge” builds to a big fight against Kars, the most formidable of the Pillar Men. It’s alright.

I like the thrills and suspense of the cliffside battle, but it’s over before it can get properly good.

13 – Lisa Lisa, Hamon Coach (Ep 16)

We finally meet Lisa Lisa, this arc’s mentor figure, and she immediately puts JoJo and Caesar to work ascending the Hell Climb Pillar.

At the end of the day it’s just an episode about two dudes slowly climbing an oily pillar, but JoJo and Caesar’s bickering and eventual teamwork made it work.

12 – New York’s JoJo (Ep 10)

I was intrigued to see where this new arc and protagonist would go, and I was immediately impressed by “New York’s JoJo”.

Joseph is a much more interesting protagonist than Jonathan ever was, the New York setting is cool, and Straizo’s betrayal and transformation to vampire sets up a big fight for the next episode.

11 – Ultimate Warriors from Ancient Times (Ep 14)

“Ultimate Warriors from Ancient Times” is an episode dedicated to meeting new characters.

Caesar Zeppeli makes a fun first impression, and when Waamu awakened Kars and Esidisi I knew the Pillar Men would be an intimidating force moving forwards.

10 – The Deeper Plan (Ep 17)

After completing his Hamon training JoJo is tasked with one final battle against his instructor … except Esidisi has hijacked the final exam. Anime melodrama at its finest.

JoJo uses his wits to take down the formidable Pillar Man rather than outright muscles – a trend for villain takedowns that I loved across the arc.

9 – The Game Master (Ep 11)

After laying the groundwork for the new protagonist, setting and temporary baddie, it was time for the first proper showdown of the arc.

“The Game Master” doesn’t do anything ground-breaking, but the tussle between JoJo and Straizo was fun enough to hold my attention.

Great

8 – The Birth of a Superbeing (Ep 25)

After Stroheim accidentally turns Kars into an unstoppable God, all hope seems lost for the cast and for the world.

I really liked JoJo’s plan of running – or in this case, flying – away, and the ending with the volcano was cool.

7 – A Hero’s Proof (Ep 15)

Caesar and JoJo take on just one of the three Pillar Man – the wind-attuned Waamu – and you can immediately tell the stakes have been raised and the antagonists are a force of nature.

JoJo manages to outsmart them for a bit, but not for long. His poisonous internal rings kickstart the main story of this arc, and it adds a nice urgency to the series.

6 – The Ties that Bind JoJo (Ep 24)

As Lisa Lisa dangles above certain death we finally learn her backstory – and, crucially, how she’s actually been JoJo’s mother all along.

“The Ties that Bind JoJo” ends with Kars getting impaled on some sharp crystals, but Stroheim’s UV light combines with the Red Crystal of Asia to empower Kars to divine levels.

5 – A True Warrior (Ep 22)

JoJo’s chariot race against Waamu is one of the big action show-stoppers of “Blood Tendency”, and it delivers on all fronts.

It’s just fun seeing two able, intelligent warriors going at it, so my only complaint is that the next episode does an even better job of concluding this tussle.

4 – JoJo vs. The Ultimate Lifeform (Ep 13)

JoJo’s fight against Straizo near the start of the arc was cool, but it was his battle against Santana in “JoJo vs. The Ultimate Lifeform” that got me hooked on the series.

I love that Stroheim helped out where he could, and the animators did a fantastic job of conveying Santana’s ancient strength.

3 – The Warrior Of Wind (Ep 23)

“The Warrior Of Wind” follows on from the deadly chariot race, so I wasn’t expecting it to be as good. It wasn’t – it was even better.

Waamu’s honourable death is actually quite touching, Lisa Lisa getting backstabbed made me irrationally angry towards Kars, and the reveal that Lisa Lisa is JoJo’s mother genuinely shocked me.

Amazing

2 – The Ascendant One (Ep 26)

You’d think that getting dunked in a volcano would be deadly, but you’d be wrong – Kars emerges from the lava and cuts JoJo’s arm off in a truly shocking scene.

His defeat of Kars is a little contrived, but it certainly provided the spectacle. The season ends with a touching and comedic reunion between all characters, and I was surprised by how sad I was when the credits rolled. These quirky characters won me over in the end!

1 – Young Caesar (Ep 20)

“Young Caesar” is the most emotional of all the episodes from Season 1, and it also just happens to be the best.

We learn Caesar’s tragic backstory, his gruelling fight with Waamu is badass, and his heroic death ripped the heart from my chest. When JoJo screamed “CAAAEEESAAAARRR“, it broke me.

Aaaaand that’s my list! I’m still halfway through “Stardust Crusaders” so that ranking will be a while … but until then you can check out some of my latest blog posts below: