Viz Media is officially publishing the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind into English for the first time. Golden Wind is the fifth of eight parts in the on-going series and represents important moments in the overall franchise. Most fans understandably consider Stardust Crusaders to be the most pivotal (and best) arc in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for the introduction of Stands, which completely redefined what the series was capable of and brought the series even further into absurdity. But Golden Wind to this day still stands out among the rest as being the only continuity to have deviated from the same, basic formula upon which every other arc still depends.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is renowned for how it delves beyond just one set of characters to explore all the ways in which the rivalry between two men, Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, in part one has proliferated into a vicious interminable feud that now affects their descendants and even extends into other universes. Every arc introduces a new way in which these families are intrinsically linked by revolving around a different time period where the lineages of Joestar and Dio somehow come at odds with each other.

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Most arcs follow the same concept where a hero from the family of Joestar must vanquish some manifestation of Dio. But Golden Wind changes this formula in an intriguing way that no other arc has yet to attempt. The continuity stars a human named Giorno Giovanna who is not the son of Joestar, but of Dio Brando. However, there's a twist, of course. Dio had come into possession of Joestar's body when he conceived Giorno, so while technically his son, Giorno still retains the Joestar bloodline. This creates a compelling dynamic never before seen in the franchise as it puts the Joestar family at odds early on with a character who's clearly the arc's protagonist. Golden Wind begins with Joseph Joestar's grandson Jotaro Kujo from Stardust Crusaders who asks his student Koichi Hirose to obtain a skin sample from Giorno.

The majority and main focus of the story centers on Giorno's quest to put an end to drug trafficking that plagues the city of Naples by becoming a mafia boss. To aide him in his endeavor, Giorno teams up with Bruno Bucciarati to lead a group of rogue members of the Passione mafia family to overthrow mob boss Diavolo.

Although a standalone story that doesn't continue the ongoing tale portrayed in the first six arcs, Golden Wind represents two important moments in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Firstly, it is the only continuity to follow one of the few sons whom Dio fathered after he stole Joestar's body. And as Giorno obviously doesn't share his father's animosity towards mankind, it serves as a stunning rebuke of Dio's legacy. The fact that Giorno is the only one of Dio's progenies to be featured just makes this loss all the more explicit for the villain. Secondly, Dio's act of fathering sons from Joestar's bloodline awakened the use of Stands in Joestar's descendants. And since they all put their Stands to good use in every arc they appear in, Giorno is essentially the byproduct of what made them so effective in each story to begin with.

While Golden Wind isn't a favorite among fans, it's definitely a crucial plot point in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure timeline. That's why it's such a big deal that Viz Media is finally publishing part five for the first time in English. Anyone who enjoyed the story in the anime should check out the manga as soon as it becomes available. And those who have yet to see the anime should read it first as it was originally intended.

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