Did you know that if you had a baby the same year that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure started, your baby would be almost 40 years old? That’s how long Hirohiko Araki’s long-running, family legacy, action adventure manga graced the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump and Ultra Jump. With the newest part, JOJOLANDS, coming out soon, there is no better time than now to refresh the JoJos we have followed and rooted for over the years.
Phantom Blood: Jonathan Joestar
The OG JoJo, Jonathan Joestar, is a good lad. In fact, he is the best lad on this entire list. He is completely unproblematic and a ray of sunlight (yellow). Not only do we follow Jonathan’s story in Phantom Blood, but his descendants are the protagonists of their own respective arcs. Jonathan was a nobleman during the Victorian era, and he was living a pretty good life until his father brought home one Dio Brando to be his step-brother. His life turned upside down, and through a series of mishaps and misadventures, Jonathan learns the Ripple, marries his childhood love, and then… Well, you’ll just have to watch Phantom Blood to see.
Battle Tendency: Joseph Joestar
In a complete 180 from Jonathan, Joseph is one bad JoJo. Not in the sense that he is a bad character. But if Jonathan saw him, Joseph would be on his way to a smacked bottom. Joseph is loud and boisterous, but surprisingly smart underneath his clownish demeanor. His fights were the start of the more typical brain over brawn battles that have become rather characteristic of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Like Jonathan, Joseph used the Ripple, but he was far more creative with it thanks to his own wits, Lisa Lisa’s training, and Caesar’s rivalry.
Stardust Crusaders: Jotaro Kujo
Jotaro is the cool Jojo, whether you like it or not. Much like how Polnareff’s character design served as a major inspiration for Guile in Street Fighter 2, Jotaro was the blueprint for many “cool” characters to appear later. Even Sol Badguy riffs off of Jotaro’s famous “Yare yare daze” line. Also, since Stardust Crusaders is the first part to introduces Stands, Jotaro’s Star Platinum is just as iconic as its user, even though all it can do is punch things really hard and really fast. Despite his crass mouth and aloof personality, Jotaro sets off on his journey to kill DIO so that he can save his mom from a tragic fate. So he’s not all bad.
Diamond is Unbreakable: Josuke Higashikata (東方仗助)
If Jotaro blazed a trail for decades of cool and aloof main characters, then Josuke was a product of his time. He was trendy and hip, and he had the kewl-est haircut in Morioh. Josuke is also the first character with a very specifically non-offensive power – his Crazy Diamond’s power is to heal things and put them back together. This forces him to use it in creative ways in a callback to his father Joseph (it’s a long story). Diamond is Unbreakable is mostly a slice-of-life story with Kira’s serial killer plot only appearing here and there until the end, so Josuke’s more laid-back personality fit with the arc he starred in.
Vento Aureo: Giorno Giovanna
Giorno is not a Jojo; he is actually Giogio. But it’s really the same thing. Because of Giorno’s more cruel mindset (he is literally in the mafia) and his blonde hair, he stands out from the dark-haired and kind Jojos prior to him. One could argue that Giorno sets the precedent in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure where the JoJo is actually the lancer to the part’s actual protagonist – in this case, that would be Bucciarati. Giorno is also special because he has DIO’s genes despite being a Joestar. Some fans are of the opinion that he is one of the strongest characters (if not the strongest) in the entirety of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Stone Ocean: Jolyne Cujoh
Jolyne has the distinction of being the very first female JoJo, and she is the only one so far. She is Jotaro’s daughter and she shares quite a few quirks with him, such as a variant of his famous “Yare yare daze” line. While she’s certainly nicer than her father, she has a brutally vindictive streak that you see time and time again during her incarceration. Like Josuke, she has to be very creative with her Stand. Jolyne is also special because she is the final JoJo of the original timeline.
Steel Ball Run: Johnny Joestar
Johnny Joestar is the first protagonist in the new timeline after the events at the end of Stone Ocean. And fittingly enough, he is essentially a negaverse Jonathan. He does have his reasons for why he acts like this. But I am sorry to say that Johnny prior to his accident was no saint. Like Giorno, Johnny may be the JoJo of his part, but he is more the lancer to Steel Ball Run’s true protagonist, Gyro. That does not in any way negate Johnny’s growth as both a person or a Stand user throughout his race across America and search for Jesus Christ’s corpse though.
Jojolion: Josuke Higashikata (東方定助)
Josuke (or Jo2uke in the fandom in order to differentiate him from Diamond is Unbreakable’s Josuke) is a man of many names. Like his predecessors, Jo2uke needs to be exceedingly creative with his Stand power, which makes for very interesting fights in Jojolion. Granted, sometimes it is a little difficult to understand what is happening. Another interesting aspect of Jo2uke is that he does not really know who he is or where he comes from. That’s big in a series like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, which heavily focuses on heritage and family lineage.
JOJOLANDS: ???
JOJOLANDS will start serialization on February 17, 2023. There are some hints online, which show that the new JoJo will have a star-shaped hair ornament in a braid. This is likely a reference to the star-shaped birthmark that runs through the Joestar family line. However, there is no information on his personality, or what struggles he and his friends will face.
Episodes of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are available on both Netflix and Crunchyroll. Viz Media has licensed the manga for English release.
