ENGLAND, 1868
Feast your eyes on that wreck, would ya?
Damnation.
This bastard must've died on the spot.
Fell off that cliff, I'll warrant the carriage wheels slipped in the mud.
They weren't hurting for coin,
-if these fine clothes tell it true. -Dario!
The lady is dead, but the baby with her,
it's still alive. I can hear it.
She must have protected it with her body.
Leave it be. Soon enough, it'll be dead.
W-- what are you doing?
You've got eyes, don't you, woman?
I'm appropriating his jewelry.
What have we here?
Evil-looking thing, ain't it?
Won't fetch me nothin'.
Hey! Lend a hand!
Help me yank out his pearly teeth!
They'll fetch a pretty copper. Wha--
Providence sends me aid in the guise of a man. Many thanks.
My wife...
my wife and son,
tell me, are they all right?
I hate to say it, but your wife, saints preserve her,
has gone on to her heavenly rest,
but the baby is alive and well.
Fate is most cruel.
My name is George Joestar.
You have saved my life this cursed night.
Quickly, tell me your name,
that I may remember before my senses fail me.
This peacock thinks I'm here out of the goodness of my heart.
Little does he know.
Guess I'll oblige him!
Dario Brando, Your Lordship.
Sir, I swear to you,
the Joestar family will honor the debt we have incurred.
12 YEARS LATER
There's a good boy.
Father! I'm off!
Then fare thee well, JoJo!
Let's go, Danny!
Dio.
Mind your father.
Damn you, you lazy boy. Are you deaf?
What do you want, Father, medicine?
You idiot! Their snake oil does me no good.
Get out of here, and don't come back
until you've found me some booze!
Your manners are terrible.
Forgive me, Father.
Checkmate.
Take it.
Don't feel so smart now, do you, whelp?
No, stop!
-Please, just give her back! -Yeah! Yeah!
Lemme guess, Erina!
Your daddy bought you this doll, didn't he?
It's fancy. Being a quack must pay him real nice.
I know.
What do you say, we peel off this fancy-looking dress,
and see if they made her with all the real girl bits underneath?
Erina's a crybaby! Erina's a crybaby!
-Erina's a cry-- -That's enough!
Give it back to her right now!
Who's this guy? Are you a friend of Erina's?
I've never met her, but I'll fight for her all the same!
Who is this idiot?
Getting in a fight for a girl he doesn't even know!
Looks like somebody was nothing but talk.
Look at him there on the ground. Are you gonna cry?
Some knight in shining armor you turned out to be.
This little pantywaist is the Joestar kid.
Now that I know you're some rich guy's son,
we're just getting started.
You can't buy your way outta this.
Hit him some more!
Listen, Dio. I am not long for this world.
When I die--
You get yourself to the Joestar mansion, along with this letter.
The fool thinks he owes me.
This is your ticket to greatness.
It's your only chance, Dio. Go out there,
and take this useless world for all you can get.
Crawl back to your damn manor,
-little Lord Fauntleroy. -Let's go.
-You okay? -Just leave me alone!
I'll be fine!
I did not pick a fight with them because I need you to thank me.
So whatever you're thinking, stop it!
All I want is to conduct myself as a gentleman.
I spotted a damsel in distress.
A true gentleman has no fear. He'll fight for those who can't.
Even knowing it's a fight he has no chance of winning, he enters the fray.
Someday, I'll have the strength to win.
Devil that you were, you drove mother to an early grave.
I'm glad you're dead. May you burn for your sins.
The riches that eluded your grasp,
I will claim them in excess.
You lacked the cunning to take what you wanted, but I'll prevail.
This Joestar shall be the key.
Now burn.
I will claim what is rightfully mine.
"Jonathan Joestar."
This is the tale of two young men,
their destinies bound to intersect,
and the stone mask that changes their fates forever.
CHAPTER 1: DIO THE INVADER
Who is he?
You must be Dio Brando, right?
And you're Jonathan, heir to the Joestars.
Yes. Please, call me JoJo. It's a pleasure to meet you.
Danny!
That's Danny. He's my dog,
as well as my steadfast companion.
Don't worry. He knows better than to nip at strangers.
What was that for? How dare you?
So, this is the brat I must usurp.
He wears his heart on his sleeve. He's quick to anger.
This pampered fool is no match for the likes of Dio Brando.
Fighting already?
I would know what this is about.
Sorry. The dog jumped at me, and in my haste, I struck it.
Welcome to the manor.
Consider yourself a part of the family.
Everyone, I would have died in the crash
that claimed my wife, were it not for Dio's father.
You will treat him as you would treat my own son.
Very well, Your Lordship.
This is your home now, Dio.
Please avail yourself of all its comforts.
Thank you, sir, for taking in this poor unfortunate.
JoJo has lost his mother as well,
and you're the same age. You'll be thick as thieves soon.
-JoJo, Dio didn't mean to hurt Danny. -Right.
It stands to reason, Father. If a strange dog jumped at me,
I'd be surprised, too.
I wish his apology had been more sincere,
but as we'll be living here together,
I'll do my utmost to be friendly.
This way, Dio.
-I'll show you your chamber. -Yes, sir.
-You're hurting me! Please let go. -Watch your hands.
No one's allowed to touch my things without my permission.
Next time you reach for what's mine with this paw, I'll break it.
-I was only trying to help! -Well, don't.
I will have a servant carry them up for me.
Listen. I may be a guest within your house,
but I am not to be trifled with.
In all things that I do, I am number one.
Look down your nose at me, and you'll regret it.
But, Dio, I want us to be friends.
And another thing. I hate all mongrels.
They don't scare me.
I just despise how they fawn over the unworthy.
So keep that mangy mutt of yours well away from me, Joestar.
Dio, what's keeping you? Hurry along.
Yes, sir.
With Dio's sudden arrival,
JoJo's carefree life spiraled into one of misery.
You got another one wrong, JoJo!
Look at Dio. Twenty out of 20, not a single mistake.
JoJo! Your table manners are simply abhorrent.
You act as if you were raised in a barn.
Clear JoJo's plate at once. He's had enough.
That's all the dinner you get tonight.
It's clear to me that I failed in your upbringing, when I look at Dio.
If your mother could see you now.
Dio's manners are impeccable.
What an oaf.
Our first pugilist up is Jonathan Joestar.
He's been looking stronger lately, I'd say.
As for his opponent today,
it's a boxer we haven't seen before.
He's a newcomer to our fair city.
-All we know is his name. -I wonder how he'll do.
It can't be.
Introducing our surprise opponent, Dio Brando!
Same as ever. Land a hit to the other guy's face,
and the match is over. Now fight.
-Get him, JoJo! -Take him down!
Look at him dodge those hits.
-I've never seen the like. -I can't connect.
The pampered brat can box. I'll grant him that much.
However...
he's never had to punch his way out
of a scrape in the slums, and thus I hold the advantage.
-Take this. -There it is!
JoJo loses the fight.
Your suffering isn't over yet, JoJo.
I'll jam a thumb into your eye for good measure,
lest you forget who you're dealing with.
-That arm of his is unreal. -Dio!
-Dio... -Dio, that punch was simply amazing!
How did you dodge him so well?
It's just a little defensive footwork I acquired along the way.
If you'd like to learn it,
I'd be more than happy to teach it
-to you fellas. -You would do that?
But you must not let JoJo know.
He can't keep a secret to save his life.
-You don't say. -Thanks for the warning.
The thumb in my eye, that was on purpose.
Loneliness will devour a man from within.
I'll reduce JoJo to an empty husk.
Bit by devious bit, I'll steal the life he was meant to have.
By the time we're grown, there'll be nothing left of him.
Damn that Dio.
It's terrible. He's ruining everything he touches.
Look alive, fellas.
Hey! It's me, Jonathan!
What are you doing? Mind if I join you?
I could have sworn I heard a voice a moment ago.
-Just that snitch. Better to ignore 'em. -What did you say?
I'm a snitch? Call me that to my face!
-Time to go. -JoJo's nothing but a snitch.
Dio was right about you. You're just a stupid rich-boy tattletale!
Tell me what I snitched about, then!
He's lying to you! Why do you just take him at his word?
-JoJo the squealer! -JoJo the squealer!
Dio, he's slandering me.
He lies and lies, and people just eat it up!
From the first day he showed up, he's been trying to destroy me.
Damn you, Dio Brando!
Dio! Dio! Dio! Dio!
Ever since he arrived,
everyone's turned on me, even father.
Danny, I know you will always be my friend,
no matter what Dio does.
Who was that girl?
I feel as though I have seen her face before.
That's my handkerchief.
She brought grapes.
Hey, thank you for the fruit!
You know, I'll be here tomorrow if you want to come back.
Didn't even tell me her name. Just ran away.
Girls are such a curious bunch.
A dark time in Jonathan's life
was suddenly made brighter by love's growing embers.
The two became fast friends,
and Jonathan was enchanted by her.
Erina Pendleton.
The name is music to my ears. She's an angel
What on earth are you doing to that poor tree?
JoJo! What possessed you to do that?
Goodness.
Farewell, Erina, 'til next time.
Your name wouldn't happen to be Erina, would it?
You and JoJo, you make such a smart-looking couple.
Really, I should have guessed as much.
Try as I might to ruin his life,
young Master Jonathan has been oddly happy as of late.
-He-- he did it! -He-- he did it!
Give her the what-for!
The trouble I'd get into if I were as brave as Dio.
He just does what he wants, devil may care.
Tell me, have you and JoJo kissed yet?
I'll take that as a no.
You thought your first kiss would be JoJo,
but it was I, Dio.
Even though it was by force, the fact that I kissed her is enough.
I've killed their romance before it began.
I'll deny JoJo the comfort of friendship and love.
What the-- Just look at her, Dio.
She has lost her mind.
What's wrong with her? That's disgusting.
Washing out her mouth with a muddy puddle?
Why would anybody do that? There's a stream not far away.
You ungrateful wench!
You dare suggest my kiss is something to be washed off!
Cool your temper, you damnable fool.
She's not worth losing your head over.
We're done here. Come on.
Erina! Hey there.
Erina, wait!
Why'd she run off? Was it something I said?
Look at him, fellas. He doesn't know why she ran away.
What do you say we tell him?
He deserves to know what his precious Erina's been up to.
I don't know.
I'd feel bad making his little lordship start to cry.
This is his doing. What have you done, Dio?
What have you done to my Erina?
Dio!
Hush, boy.
You won't speak my name in vain again if you know what's good for you.
We end this now!
I won't let you sully an innocent maiden's honor!
Your fight is with me, damn it!
Upset about Erina, that she shared her favors with me?
And now you intend to give me a proper thrashing for my impudence.
This time, Dio, you have gone too far!
You may be right, but you're the one who'll pay!
Looking to repeat your performance
from our boxing match? Be my guest.
I can't beat him,
but if I lose here now,
I'll spend the rest of my life cowering in Dio's shadow.
Most of all, I have to fight for Erina's honor.
She needs a champion!
Time to end this little pissing match.
I'll beat him here, in his own home.
Once and for all, he'll know his proper place
in this world, is under my heel.
He'll see that it's useless to try and defeat me.
I shall be master, now and always.
Come on!
Perfect. Right in the face.
How are you able to grab me after such a blow to the head?
Perhaps, I was too gentle with you!
Dio!
-Impossible. -I'm going to beat you
-'til you cry like a baby, Dio! -Impossible!
How could a pampered brat like him best me in a fight?
Y-- you...
How-- how dare you?
Bastard, how dare you strike me?
Dio's crying.
I'll make you regret that, you filthy cur!
Stop it, both of you! That is quite enough!
Father, I--
Son, I know that boys your age are prone to fight.
However, JoJo, I saw you beating Dio mercilessly
after the point at which he had, obviously, no chance of winning the fight.
-Such is the mark of a coward. -Father!
No excuses. To your chambers, both of you.
I'll decide your punishment soon.
That seems strange. I wonder what's in there.
Oh, well.
Probably something a maid threw out.
W-- what's that?
Something got into the incinerator. Oh, mercy!
What-- what if a person is in there?
They're burning alive, and it's all my fault for lighting it!
Erina.
Damn you, Dio! I beat you fair and square,
but what does it matter, if you've ruined things for Erina and me?
We buried him while you were gone, son.
It was nothing you should have to witness.
The constable said it was probably the work of a burglar,
who caught sight of Danny and panicked.
-Dio. -He's not here.
He hasn't yet returned from school today, sir.
JoJo fled to his room,
and fell into a dreamless slumber.
When he woke up, he thought of Danny,
his loyal pet and one true friend,
now lost to him, and wept.
Yes, I may have evened the score by killing his mutt,
but it doesn't change the fact
that JoJo is far stronger than I'd thought.
Bloody his nose, and he comes back twice as fierce.
My anger makes me vulnerable.
I must remedy that.
Once I learn to master my temper,
I'll be invincible to the likes of JoJo.
In the blink of an eye, seven years passed.
NEXT EPISODE
Seven years later...
The ball is plucked out of the air by our hero.
Having read it, all has been made clear.
If you're looking to lose body parts, do stick around.
-We aren't friends anymore! -You hurt father.
Never again, Dio!
CHAPTER 2: A LETTER FROM THE PAST