JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood (partially found anime film based on manga; 2007)
The film's theatrical poster.
Status: Partially Found
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood was an approximately 90-minute film released on February 17th, 2007, that was based off the first part of Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It was produced by Studio APPP, with Junichi Hayama serving as director, sound design by Tom Myers of Skywalker Sound, and an end theme/promo song titled "Voodoo Kingdom" by Japanese hip-hop band SOUL'd OUT. The film itself was made in celebration of both the 25th anniversary of Araki's career as a manga artist and the 20th anniversary of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
The film was teased as early as 2004 at the Tokyo International Anime Fair. Bandai, who co-produced the film, acquired the licence to make JoJo video games, which they still hold today, in order to make a game for the PlayStation 2 based upon the Phantom Blood manga to help generate excitement for the film. The film's first proper teaser was unveiled at an event promoting the PS2 game, attended by several cast members and even Hirohiko Araki himself; This teaser would later be included on a pre-order exclusive bonus DVD with the PS2 game. The website for the PlayStation 2 game is still online. [1]
Phantom Blood was only ever publicly shown in Japanese cinemas, with its last known screening taking place on the 9th of April 2007,[2] and was not seen again after leaving theatres. The reason for its disappearance is not known, but many speculate it was a combination of poor reception, and Studio APPP losing the Jojo licence the following year due to a religious controversy surrounding their 2000 OVA based upon the series' third part, Stardust Crusaders.
Notably, the shell of the film's now-defunct official website can still be accessed via The Wayback Machine, although most of the site's content appears to be inaccessible.[3] The website can still be accessed today with the same link, but be warned as it is now an NSFW Japanese site and does not feature the same contents someone would think.
Availability
Since concluding its run in theatres, the film has not been made available in any form. The PS2 game's teaser trailer, and a theatrical trailer once downloadable from the movie's website were the only footage available for some time. A workprint of the film's first 16 minutes with music only, provided by the film's composer, were used as course material for sound design projects at the Academy of Art University at some point, with one student uploading his assignment to youtube in 2012, making a significant portion of the film viewable to the public once more.
2004 Tokyo International Anime Fair Preview
In addition to the film itself, a two-minute preview animation played at the 2004 Tokyo International Anime Fair is also lost. It featured characters and scenes not in the final film, including the infamously-removed Robert Speedwagon, and the animation did not reflect the final film whatsoever. [4]
Videos
Gallery
- Phantom Blood 07 Background.png
- Phantom Blood Furnace.jpg
- Phantom Blood Hall.jpg
- Phantom Blood Fog.jpg
- Erina Phantom Blood 07 1.png
- Erina and Dio Phantom Blood 07.png
- Erina Phantom Blood 07 2.png
- JojoOmnibusPic.jpeg
- JojoFestShort1.jpeg
2004 preview image, Will Zeppeli (left) is missing the diamond pattern on his hat, and Dio (right) is wearing a red scarf not in the final film.
- JojoFestShort5.jpeg
2004 preview image, Jonathan Joestar (left) wears a black jacket and red bowtie, unlike the final film.
- JojoFestShort4.jpeg
2004 preview image, featuring Speedwagon, who was not in the final film.
External Links
- SOUL'd OUT's Voodoo Kingdom, used as Phantom Blood’s ending theme. Retrieved 09 Mar '15
- JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia article on the film. Retrieved 09 Mar '15
References
- ↑ Website for the tie-in PlayStation 2 game. Retrieved 17 Aug '19
- ↑ Japanese blog describing a screening of the film on the 9th of April 2007Retrieved 17 Aug '19
- ↑ Archive of the film's official website (only partially accessible), via The Wayback Machine; 08 Jan 2007. Retrieved 09 Mar '15
- ↑ Blog post with a detailed description of the 2004 preview. Retrieved 17 Aug '19