Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Spinoff Reveals First Preview Image, Premiere Date

The first image and a release date have been revealed for the upcoming Jojo's Bizarre Adventure spinoff manga.

As reported by Twitter account Manga Mogura RE, the still untitled manga series will focus Josuke Higashikata, the protagonist of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure's fourth arc, Diamond is Unbreakable. Josuke will be joined by the Stand-wielding mercenary Hol Horse from the Stardust Crusaders arc. The first teaser image from the manga shows Josuke, who doesn't appear to have changed much from his original appearance. Instead of being written by the series' creator, Hirohiko Araki, the new spinoff manga will be written by Kohei Kadano, the author of the acclaimed horror novel Boogiepop and Others. The new spinoff will feature art by Tasuka Kurasama, the artist behind the No Guns Life manga, which recently concluded its serialization in Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine. The new Jojo's spinoff will also be published in Ultra Jump magazine, which will feature its debut chapter in its January issue, which is due out in Japan on Dec. 18.

The new Josuke-focused series is not the only Jojo's Bizarre Adventure spinoff to be revealed lately: Japanese TV network NHK recently showed off a new image from its Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe miniseries, which originally debuted in Japan last year and will return this December for another run of three episodes. The series is a live-action adaptation of Araki's multiple one-shot manga stories that were focused on the adventures of Rohan Kishibe, a Stand user and manga author who is reportedly Araki's alter-ego within the universe of the series. The series stars Issei Takahashi, who anime fans may recognize from his roles in the live-action adaptations of Ikebukuro West Gate Park and March Comes in Like a Lion. An international release for Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe has yet to be announced.

The new spinoff was first announced last August, shortly after the last chapter of Part 8 was published.  Part 8 of the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure saga was entitled "Jojolion," and took place in S-City of M-Prefecture, a fictional location in Japan that was devastated by the real-world 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The series tells the story of Josuke, an amnesiac young man who is found buried in the area and who is also a completely different character from the Diamond is Unbreakable character of the same name.

The spinoff was announced the same day that Araki also revealed that the series would continue with a ninth part, tentatively entitled "Jojolands." Part 9 is scheduled to begin its serialization after Araki returns from a break, which he began shortly after Part 8's last chapter was released.

Source: Twitter