JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is known for a lot of things within the anime community. Over the years, it has introduced several new characters, themes, but arguably the most unique thing that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has to its name is the amazing powers the series has introduced.
Unlike most anime series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has more than just a single type of power. Hirohiko Araki started out with Hamon/Ripple when he wrote Phantom Blood, and it proved to be a useful plot device in the early run. In many ways, it is similar to other modern-day anime powers. However, the focus changed in the later parts to Stands. So, the big question is why did Araki stop using the Ripple?
What Is Ripple?
The Ripple is the power that Araki introduced in the very first part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It requires the user to control their breathing in a certain way, which then leads to the production of energy inside the body of an individual and this energy resembles that of the Sun's rays.
The Ripple allows the user to heal any injuries and fight against undead creatures, which is why it is heavily used while combating creatures such as zombies, vampires, and the Pillar Men.
Why It Was Heavily Involved In The First Two Parts
The Ripple was primarily used in Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. The important reason behind it is that the villains in both the parts were vampires and the Pillar Men, and since the Ripple is very effective against them it was the best choice.
In Phantom Blood, Dio Brando used the stone mask which turned him into a vampire, granting him immense physical power and made it very easy for him to fight against regular humans. Dio also became the leader of other undead creatures. So, Jonathan needed something special to beat Dio. When Jonathan met Will Zeppeli, the latter taught him how to use the Ripple. As Jonathan managed to master the Ripple, he was able to take down Dio's goons, and eventually, he managed to bring Dio's progress to a halt.
In Part 2, Joseph Joestar was faced with the challenge of fighting against the Pillar Men. The Pillar Men were ridiculously strong and they were very knowledgeable about all kinds of fighting styles. Joseph learned to use the Ripple from Lisa Lisa and her helpers. Using the power of the Ripple, Joseph was able to defeat Esidisi and Wamuu. However, to beat Kars, who became the perfect being, Joseph needed to use his intelligence. With the conclusion of Part 2, the concept of Ripple dwindled out. It was used on a very limited scale, but it was replaced by something much better— Stands.
How Are Stands Better?
Stands were introduced in Part 3 of the series. They were introduced very early on, which gave the fans a heads-up that things might be changing in the series. Stands are based on the life energy of an individual, and in some cases, they also require a great deal of mental strength. Unlike the Ripple, Stands offer their users tons of different abilities.
Each Stand has a unique and powerful ability, which if used correctly can make them difficult to beat in a fight. In addition to the various abilities that the Stands grant their users they are not visible to non-Stand users. Stands are of various types, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Most of the Stands work best in close-range, however, there are others that can be controlled from a distance. This gives the user an advantage of keeping them safe when the Stand fights the opponent. There are also other types of Stands, which are automatic and cannot be controlled while there are others that change users from time to time. In comparison to the Ripple, Stands offer a much better variety and in a sense, better fights.
The Impact Of Using Stands
Araki's decision to change from the Ripple to Stands had many advantages. One of the many advantages that it granted him was that he was free to experiment with the story of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. For the first two parts, the villains were the undead, but he could not have kept using the Ripple for the rest of the parts as it has limitations. The Ripple cannot break sturdy objects like steel or iron and it cannot seriously harm a living being. Keeping the Ripple would mean that Araki would have to keep using the undead characters.
The usage of Stands allowed him to use humans much more efficiently. With each Stand being different, it really made a character more memorable. Furthermore, it allowed Araki to experiment more with his stories, which led to some of the series best narratoves. The fights in the series became much more engaging as the characters tried to find ways to counter Stand abilities. In the case of the Ripple, once a user's breathing was disturbed, then they could no longer use it. The fights were a bit more physical, but that wasn't nearly enough for the Ripple to retain its position in the series. So all in all, Araki's decision to switch from the Ripple to Stands was an excellent one.