The JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series features a large cast of characters created by Hirohiko Araki. Spanning several generations, the series is split into nine parts, each following a different descendant of the Joestar family. Parts 7-9 take place in a separate continuity from the previous six. Many of the characters have supernatural abilities which give them a variety of unique traits.
When first beginning the series, Dio Brando is the character that Araki looked forward to drawing the most. Inspired by FBI profiling of serial killers and how they control their victims through psychological manipulation, he gave Dio a similar trait, using his charisma to ensure his followers do his bidding. Araki revealed that he had not thought up a weakness for the character and that it was difficult to come up with a way for Dio to be defeated. [1] As the first Joestar, Araki created Jonathan Joestar to be "a symbol of purity and dignity", which he admitted might have resulted in him being "boring". Jonathan's physical transformation during the seven-year skip was done with his upcoming battle with Dio in mind and inspired by muscular film actors popular at the time, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. A fan of karate manga as a child, Araki also wanted JoJo to exude an aura of strength like in Karate Baka Ichidai , leading to the character learning the supernatural Hamon technique. [2] As Jonathan's teacher, Araki modeled Will A. Zeppeli after martial arts masters in Jackie Chan movies and Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid , whose "silly" appearances hide their strength. Araki dressed him as a magician and modeled his mustache after those of Salvador Dalí and the character Iyami from Osomatsu-kun . The Zeppeli name is derived from the English rock band Led Zeppelin. [3]
Because it was "unprecedented" to kill off the main character in a Weekly Shōnen Jump manga, and wanting to shift from physical battles to more "cerebral" fights, Araki made Part 2's protagonist look very similar to Jonathan but with a more adventurous and confrontational personality. The author referred to Joseph Joestar as "a muscle-bound B.T.", the main character from his earlier series Cool Shock B.T.; a shōnen manga hero who bends the rules as he fights. [4] Having not been able to show a friendly rivalry between Jonathan and Dio, Araki introduced Caesar Zeppeli to present a more positive friendly rivalry between him and Joseph. Wanting each user to have a different type of Hamon with a unique design, he gave Caesar the seemingly fleeting bubbles as a "representation of his fate and the burden he is carrying". He enjoys giving characters weapons with faults and having them make up for it with strategy. The author stated that these "spheres" were inherited by both Gyro Zeppeli in Steel Ball Run and Josuke Higashikata in JoJolion . [5] Araki created the warrior-type Lisa Lisa, based on a neighborhood girl he knew as a child, to stand out compared to previous shōnen manga female characters who were typically cute and designed to be "a man's ideal woman". He stated that at the time it was hard to get Japanese readers to remember a foreign name, so he chose something with repetition. [6] Having to surpass Dio, the Pillar Men's designs were based on Roman statues, Egyptian sphinxes and Japanese nio statues to give them godlike features. Araki designed Kars with a turban to show his superior intelligence and that he is their king, his Brilliant Bone Blade ability harkening to Araki's earlier series Baoh . [7]
Although a Japanese protagonist, Araki modeled Jotaro Kujo after American actor Clint Eastwood, including his poses and catchphrases. Although the author said the character might seem "rough" compared to other Jump protagonists, Jotaro fits his own image of a hero perfectly as a "loner" who does not do the right thing for attention. Araki said the character wearing his school uniform in the desert has its roots in Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Babel II , and that if he were to draw the part over again, he would base the Stands on Tetsujin 28-go . [8] Araki said he had a lot of readers asking him to bring older characters back. Although he is not a fan of bringing them back simply for nostalgia, he did not hesitate having Joseph return to save his daughter because it is completely true to the character. The author thought of having Joseph drop out partway through due to his age, but ended up "playing it by ear" as serialization continued. He gave him the role of "navigator", introducing new readers to the Joestar family, Dio, Hamon and Stands, and his own Stand being a support ability rather than offensive. [9] Araki said he gave Avdol an "ethnic" design to have some sort of connection to Egypt and that at the time of serialization, he and most of the readers had a strong interest in the "birthplaces of civilization", making the design a "product of the times". [10]
Araki stated that he had Kakyoin act as a foil to Jotaro. Although they both wear school uniforms, Kakyoin's well-tailored one gives him the feel of an honor student, while Jotaro's loose-fitting one and accessories convey that he is a delinquent. He made him Jotaro's first real Stand opponent to visually convey the concepts between short-range and long-range Stand abilities. The author revealed that he always read the kanji for Kakyoin's given name as "Tenmei," but his editor approved the reading Noriaki for the tankōbon much to his surprise. [11] In order to not have him overlap with Jotaro and Joseph, Polnareff was given a distinctive look and personality, which in turn made him shine on his own. Because he is a versatile character who could say goofy lines or serious ones, he "needed" to make more appearances. More appearances means more fights, and because he made it through so many life-or-death situations, Araki feels that Polnareff grew the most in the story. The author used foreign models as reference for his hair, and also drew it like Rudol von Stroheim's from Battle Tendency. The character's name was inspired by those of Araki's three favorite French people, actors Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo, and musician Michel Polnareff. [12] Not having any limitations on what he can put in the series, Araki has animals appear and even had one join the Joestar party. Although he feels that The Fool is a perfect fit for Iggy, it just happened to be the last tarot card for him to assign aside from The World. Additionally, he thought of assigning The Fool to an enemy instead, but things just "ended up working out the way they did". Being the first time he made an animal a major character and the first time he showed one in battle, Araki used Yoshihiro Takahashi's Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin as a reference. [13]
With the series meant to be long-running, Araki took great care in deciding which unique Stand user to put the main cast against and when, in order to keep readers interested. He designed Strength, Ebony Devil, and Yellow Temperance so that their appearances and abilities did not overlap. But as these were all one-on-one battles, he then decided to introduce Hol Horse and J. Geil as a team. He had always planned on having Noriaki Kakyoin and Jean Pierre Polnareff switch allegiances to the good guys, but not Hol Horse, even though he considered the idea. Although he drew a color illustration with Hol Horse alongside the Joestar group and had the character return several times through the story, he suspects he did not go through with it because his personality overlaps with Polnareff's. He also said that because he did not put many limitations on Hol Horse's Stand, it kind of got out of control, plus it overlaps with Kakyoin's Emerald Splash. He did enjoy Hol Horse's "why be number one when you can be number two" philosophy, which the author carried over to Yoshikage Kira in Diamond Is Unbreakable , and his outlaw appearance is similar to that of Gyro Zeppeli from the later part Steel Ball Run and might have been inspired by Buichi Terasawa's Cobra . [14]
With Part 4, Araki said that he moved away from "muscle men" as they fell out of popularity with his readers, and he wanted to focus more on fashion. When designing his characters' outfits, Araki considers both everyday fashion and "cartoonish, bizarre clothing that would be impractical in real life". He also forgoes using specific color schemes for his characters and gives his readers different impressions through various color combinations. [15] Araki said that while he drew several characters in Parts 1 through 3 naked to evoke Greek or Roman gods, he stopped doing it so much from Part 4 onward to be a "bit closer to home". [16]
Araki said that the main focus of Golden Wind was to draw "beautiful men" who can only exist in a world where there is "beauty in meeting one's doom." He wanted the characters and fashion to be in the style of the Italian city of Rome. The curls in Giorno Giovanna's hair were inspired by Michelangelo's statue David . Araki cited Guido Mista and Prosciutto as characters he enjoyed drawing; the former due to his positive attitude and for being "true to himself without doubts" and the latter for his "brotherly relationship" with his subordinate Pesci and fun Stand power. [17] Araki decided to grant Trish Una a Stand power while writing the series, creating Carne's Stand simply for her to fight it, and had more fun drawing Carne than his Stand. [18]
For Stone Ocean , Araki wrote a female protagonist for the first time which he found complicated, but also interesting due to the humanity she could possess. [19]
For Steel Ball Run , having not specifically set out on creating a disabled character, Araki explained that Johnny Joestar's Paraplegia was a natural result of wanting to show a character who could grow, both physically and mentally, during a race where "he would be forced not only to rely on other people, but horses as well". [15]
For JoJolion , Araki stated that the -lion in the title is derived from the Ancient Greek εὐαγγέλιον (evangelion), in reference to the Gospels; "By combining this word with 'JoJo', I've meant for the title to signify the existence of the protagonist 'Josuke' in this world".
The series' protagonists are the members of the Joestar Family (ジョースター家, Jōsutā Ke), with a majority of its members bearing a star-shaped birthmark above their left shoulder blade. In Parts 1–6, the Joestar bloodline was inherited by the Kujo Family (空条家, Kūjō Ke) and Josuke Higashikata. Dio, having stolen Jonathan's body at the end of Part 1, fathered a few sons bearing the Joestar bloodline while awakening use of Stands in Jonathan's descendants. In the alternate universe depicted in Parts 7 and 8, Johnny Joestar marries Rina Higashikata with the Higashikata Family becoming a distinct branch of the Joestar family.
Mary Joestar | George Joestar | Dario Brando | Unnamed mother | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Erina Pendleton-Joestar | JoJo Jonathan Joestar | Unnamed mother | Dio Brando | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
George Joestar II | Lisa Lisa Elizabeth Joestar | GioGio Giorno Giovanna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tomoko Higashikata | JoJo Joseph Joestar | Suzi Q Joestar | Rikiel | Donatello Versus | Ungalo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JoJo Josuke Higashikata | Holly Kujo | Sadao Kujo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shizuka Joestar | JoJo Jotaro Kujo | Unnamed mother | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JoJo Jolyne Cujoh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anne Joestar | George Joestar II | Norisuke Higashikata I | Teru Higashikata | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nicholas Joestar | JoJo Johnny Joestar | Rina Higashikata | Norisuke Higashikata II | Toyoko Higashikata | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unknown Daughter | George Joestar III | Elizabeth Joestar | Norisuke Higashikata III | Tomoko Higashikata | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph Joestar | Suzi Q Joestar | Norisuke Higashikata IV | Kaato Higashikata | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yoshiteru Kira | Holly Joestar-Kira | Barbara Ann Joestar | Unnamed Father | Jobin Higashikata | Mitsuba Higashikata | Hato Higashikata | Joshu Higashikata | Daiya Higashikata | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Josefumi Kujo | Yoshikage Kira | Kei Nijimura | JoJo Jodio Joestar | Dragona Joestar | Tsurugi Higashikata | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JoJo Josuke Higashikata | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Josuke Higashikata is the fusion between Josefumi Kujo and Yoshikage Kira. Not pictured here are several unnamed siblings of George Joestar III and the unborn second child of Jobin and Mitsuba Higashikata.
Set in England in the 1880s, the Joestar family adopts the orphaned Dio Brando.
Set in 1938–39, about 50 years after the events of Phantom Blood.
Set from 1987 to 1988, the series follows Jotaro Kujo and his comrades who travel to Egypt from Japan in search of the evil and immortal vampire Dio Brando, now referred to only as Dio.
Set in 1999, 10 years after the events of Stardust Crusaders, in the fictitious Japanese city of Morioh.
Set in 2001 Italy, two years after the events of Diamond is Unbreakable.
Coco Jumbo (ココ・ジャンボ, Koko Janbo)
Set in 2011-12 Florida, USA, ten years after the events of Golden Wind.
Set in a rebooted universe in post-Civil War America circa 1890.
The series follows the rebooted timeline from Steel Ball Run, with the story taking place immediately after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
The series follows the rebooted timeline from Steel Ball Run and JoJolion, with the story taking place in Oahu, Hawaii, sometime in the early 2020s.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump in 2005. The series is divided into a total of nine story arcs, each following a new protagonist bearing the "JoJo" nickname. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the largest ongoing manga series published by Shueisha by number of volumes, with its chapters collected in 134 tankōbon volumes as of April 2024.
Jonathan "JoJo" Joestar is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Jonathan is the main protagonist of the series' first story arc, Phantom Blood. In late 19th-century England, the young son of a wealthy landowner, Jonathan Joestar, meets his new adopted brother Dio Brando, who loathes him and plans to usurp him as heir to the Joestar family. When Dio's attempts are thwarted by JoJo, he transforms himself into a vampire with the use of an ancient Stone Mask and destroys the Joestar estate. Jonathan embarks on a journey, meets new allies and masters the technique of Hamon to stop Dio, who has made world domination his new goal.
Jotaro "JoJo" Kujo is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The main protagonist of the series' third story arc, Stardust Crusaders, Jotaro is depicted as a rough delinquent with a noble heart who journeys from Japan to Egypt with his grandfather, Joseph Joestar, and their allies to defeat his great great grandfather's killer, Dio Brando, and save his mother's life. He has a Stand named Star Platinum, whose power is incredible strength, speed, and precision. Later, Star Platinum gains the ability Star Platinum: The World, enabling Jotaro to stop time for a few seconds. Jotaro returns in subsequent story arcs of the manga as a supporting character. In Diamond Is Unbreakable, he meets his 16-year old biological uncle Josuke Higashikata. Jotaro also appears briefly in Golden Wind when he sends Koichi Hirose to Italy to spy on Dio's son, Giorno Giovanna, and in Stone Ocean to aid his daughter Jolyne Cujoh against the forces of Enrico Pucci. The siblings Yoshikage and Kei Kira take his place in the Joestar family tree in the alternate universe of JoJolion.
Joseph "JoJo" Joestar is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Joseph is the main protagonist of the series' second story arc, Battle Tendency, and the grandson of the first arc's protagonist, Jonathan Joestar. Having been brought up by his grandmother Erina and family friend Speedwagon, he developed a coarser and more rebellious attitude than that of his gentlemanly grandfather, but the character still has a noble heart. While able to use the supernatural power Hamon like his grandfather, Joseph is not initially as skilled in its use until he trains under Lisa Lisa. He initially uses a pair of Hamon-empowered clackers in battle, but relies more on mind games rather than brute strength in fights, employing his uncanny ability to predict his opponent's actions down to what they say.
Phantom Blood is a 1987 manga series created by Hirohiko Araki, and the first part of the larger JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. The manga was originally serialized by Shueisha in Weekly Shōnen Jump under the title JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Jonathan Joestar: His Youth and was collected in five volumes; a three-volume collection was released by Shueisha in Japan in 2002, and by Viz Media in North America in 2014. The arc was serialized for more than 10 months; from January 1, 1987, to October 26 of that same year. It was followed by Battle Tendency.
Battle Tendency is the second story arc of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was serialized for around 1+1⁄2 years in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from November 2, 1987, to March 27, 1989, for 69 chapters, which were later collected into seven tankōbon volumes. In its original publication, it was referred to as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 2 Joseph Joestar: His Proud Lineage. The arc was preceded by Phantom Blood (1987) and followed by Stardust Crusaders (1989–1992).
Stardust Crusaders is the third story arc of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The arc was serialized for a little over 3 years. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from April 3, 1989, to April 27, 1992, for 152 chapters, which were later collected into 16 tankōbon volumes. In its original publication, it was known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 Jotaro Kujo: Heritage for the Future. The arc was preceded by Battle Tendency and followed by Diamond Is Unbreakable.
Diamond Is Unbreakable is the fourth story arc of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump for a little more than 3+1⁄2 years, from May 4, 1992, to December 4, 1995, with the 174 chapters collected into eighteen tankōbon volumes. In its original publication, it was titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Jōsuke Higashikata. It was preceded by Stardust Crusaders and followed by Golden Wind.
Golden Wind, also known as Vento Aureo, is the fifth story arc of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 11, 1995, to April 5, 1999. In its original publication, it was referred to as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Giorno Giovanna: Golden Heritage. Within Golden Wind, the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure title is rendered in Italian, as Le Bizzarre Avventure di GioGio.
Stone Ocean is the sixth story arc of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Set near Port St. Lucie, Florida in 2011, the story follows Jotaro Kujo's estranged daughter Jolyne Cujoh as she serves a 15-year sentence at Green Dolphin Street Prison. When her father's Stand ability and memories are stolen by a follower of Dio, Jolyne takes it upon herself to save her father, break out of prison, and put an end to the thief's grand machinations. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 7, 1999, to April 8, 2003, and was collected into 17 tankōbon volumes. In its original publication, it was known as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6 Jolyne Cujoh: Stone Ocean.. It was preceded by Golden Wind and followed by Steel Ball Run. A 38-episode anime adaptation, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, was released on Netflix from December 2021 to December 2022. Viz Media began to digitally release the manga in English through its Shonen Jump service in January 2022, and released the first physical volume in November 2023.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an original video animation adaptation of Hirohiko Araki's manga series of the same name. Produced by A.P.P.P., it was adapted from the series' third part, Stardust Crusaders.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is a fighting game developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for PlayStation 3. Based on Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga series JoJo' s Bizarre Adventure, the game allows players to compete against each other using 40 characters taken from the first eight story arcs, as well as one guest character from another manga also created by Araki. The game was released in Japan on August 29, 2013, and was released internationally in late April 2014.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven is an action video game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Based on the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series by Hirohiko Araki, Eyes of Heaven is the second game in the franchise to be developed by CyberConnect2, following 2013's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle, with which this game shares the same engine. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 17, 2015 and was released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 in Western territories on June 28, 2016.
Dio Brando, later known mononymously only as Dio, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. He is featured initially as the main antagonist of the series' first part, Phantom Blood, and later returns as the main antagonist of the series' third part, Stardust Crusaders, now solely referred to as Dio. In the alternate universe of the series' seventh part, Steel Ball Run, a character named Diego Brando bears resemblance to Dio and appears as a secondary antagonist.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable is the third season of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime by David Production, based on the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series by Hirohiko Araki. This season covers Part 4 of the manga, titled Diamond Is Unbreakable. Set in 1999, the season follows the adventures of Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar, as he and his new friends hunt for an evasive magical bow and arrow which has granted people dangerous Stand powers, uprooting Josuke's previously quiet life in his home town of Morioh.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind is the fourth season of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime television series by David Production, adapting Golden Wind, the fifth part of Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga. Set in Italy during 2001, two years after the events of Diamond is Unbreakable, the series follows the adventures of Giorno Giovanna, the son of Dio Brando albeit conceived with Jonathan Joestar's body, who joins the criminal organization Passione in the hopes of becoming a gangster and taking control of the organization in the name of reform.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I is a 2017 Japanese action fantasy film directed by Takashi Miike from a screenplay by Itaru Era. It is based on the Diamond Is Unbreakable story arc of the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki. Covering the first seventeen chapters, the film stars Kento Yamazaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Nana Komatsu, Masaki Okada, Mackenyu Arata, Takayuki Yamada and Yusuke Iseya. It was released in Japan by Toho and Warner Bros. Pictures on August 4, 2017. It was licensed for North American release by Viz Media.
Jolyne "JoJo" Cujoh is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The main protagonist of the series' sixth story arc, Stone Ocean, Jolyne is falsely accused of murder by Dio's most loyal friend, Enrico Pucci, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Eventually, from a pendant given to her by her father, Jotaro Kujo, she acquires her Stand, Stone Free, which gives her the ability to unravel her body into string. Originally having a strained relationship with him due to his long absence from the majority of her life, she vows to stay in prison in order to save her father and recruits a group of Stand users to help her in her quest to save Jotaro and defeat Pucci.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Shining Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak is a Japanese manga series written by Kouhei Kadono and drawn by Tasuku Karasuma. It is a spin-off from Hirohiko Araki's manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, narratively set between its third and fourth parts. It was serialized by Shueisha in their monthly magazine Ultra Jump from December 2021 to May 2023, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes. A light novel adaptation, also written by Kadono, was released in June 2023.
Giorno "JoJo" ("GioGio") Giovanna is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The main protagonist of the series' fifth story arc, Golden Wind, he was born Haruno Shiobana, the illegitimate son of Dio Brando while possessing Jonathan Joestar's body. After being saved by an unknown mafia member in his childhood, Giorno dreams of joining the Italian mafia gang Passione to overthrow its boss, Diavolo, who keeps a very low profile, and close the drug trade, desiring to help the innocent. Joining Bruno Bucciarati and his team, they go on a mission to send Trish Una to her father, the boss of Passione. Giorno possesses a Stand known as Gold Experience, whose primary abilities are to give life to nonliving things, which is mostly used to turn inorganic objects into living organisms, and creating body parts, acting as a healing ability.