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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an iconic series loved for its ecocentrism and camp. It plays upon the stereotypes found in many shonen anime and takes these conventions to the extreme, creating a story that feels as unique as it is whimsical and fantastical. Each character is notable for their one-of-a-kind outfits, their flamboyant personalities, and their different Stands or abilities.
However, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure does play upon many clichéd anime elements, and though it attempts to add to the conversation by making these elements extreme, the show still finds itself in the realm of cliché at times.
10 The Sidekicks Are Exaggerated Versions Of Shonen Support Character Tropes
Many of the characters in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure remind fans of other anime. For example, the stereotypical friendship-rivalry that characters like Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppeli have reminds viewers of the rivalry between characters like Bakugo and Deku of My Hero Academia.
Other examples include the trope of the average school kid gaining incredible powers. While in other anime, it is the protagonist who often falls into this trope, Diamond is Unbreakable’s Koichi Hirose is a supporting character who lands himself into this category.
9 The Art Focuses On A Huge Muscle Mass
Many fans will likely remember drawing muscular heroes in the margins of their school notebooks as kids. Characters like Goku and Baki Hanma made rippling muscles famous. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure loves this cliché, and almost every character is seen with an incredible muscle mass at some point.
This series takes the buff fighter archetype and turns the dial up to ten. Even characters who are supposed to be considered smaller and less muscular than others are shown to have a strong physique.
8 The Main Character Rarely Loses
When the Joestars lose, it is because something big happened. Jonathan Joestar was one of the only Joestars who did not make it out on top by the end, losing to DIO due to DIO’s vampiric longevity. However, in writing the Joestars this way, the showrunners fall into the trope of shonen protagonists who just never lose (or at least never lose in the long run).
The Pillar Men may have had Joseph on the ropes for a bit, and some Stand users were a thorn in Jotaro Kujo’s side, but none of them won in the end. Especially with Jotaro, who seemingly cannot lose, the Joestars always have something up their sleeves.
7 The Joestars Are The Chosen Ones
While the show does not explicitly say why the Joestars are so important, beyond the fact that DIO had it out for Jonathan Joestar, the Joestars seem to be like the chosen ones in every part of the series. Other Stand users are constantly after them, and on top of that, they are looked to save the world time and time again.
The “Chosen One(s)” is a trope that sees one group or an individual destined to stop calamity or fulfill a prophecy, and it is one of the most widely used plot catalysts in all of popular media.
6 The Joestars Are Often Born With Incredible Power
Since the Joestars are the “chosen ones,” they are each born with incredible talent, power, and skill. Besides their obvious physical strength, Jonathan and Joseph were born with the propensity to be prodigies of Hamon usage. Later, their descendants would each be born with powerful Stands.
Star Platinum’s speed and power were formidable enough, and Josuke Higashikata’s Shining Diamond Stand could pack a punch as well as disassemble and reassemble others (which could also be used to heal). Jolyne Cujoh and Giorno Giovanna’s Stands were also imbued with ridiculous amounts of power.
5 The Joestars Also Outshine In Terms Of Intelligence
On top of their innately powerful Stands and physical strength, the Joestars all have high intelligence. While Jonathan was not well-known for his smarts, his grandson was so intelligent that he could predict what people would do before they did it. He was quick enough on his feet to come up with a plan to stop Ultimate Lifeform Kars when Kars could not even be killed.
Jotaro could never be outwitted by an opponent, either. Time after time, Jotaro’s planning and wit saved the team from enemy Stand users in Stardust Crusaders, and he even went on to be an accomplished marine biologist.
4 There Is A Lot Of Sidekick Death
Like many shonen with more serious tones, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has a lot of sidekick death, and it is just that these characters die that makes this clichéd, it is how and when they die. During each part of the JoJo series, there are supporting characters who die as the protagonist fights his way up the ladder to the final boss.
In both Phantom Blood and Stardust Crusaders, sidekicks are systematically lost as the leading Joestar fights their way to DIO. In Battle Tendency, the same thing happens and Joseph tries to reach Kars, and the cycle continues into the other parts, as well.
3 The Plots Often Have A Similar Structure
The plot often follows the main character and their friends/allies as they battle their way through some sort of hierarchy of villains. This is very reminiscent of other shonen anime, like Naruto’s Sasuke Recovery arc and even the Gym Leaders and Elite Four of the Pokémon franchise.
In each part of JoJo, the main character must linearly fight enemies until reaching the big bad. For Giorno Giovanna, it was a series of mobsters that led to Passione leader Diavolo. For Jotaro and Joseph, it was a long line of Stand users that were subservient to DIO.
2 There Is Almost Always A Comic Relief Character
Is it an anime if it does not have a comic relief character? Even some of the darkest anime have characters that at least provide comic relief (such as Ryuk in Death Note). While JoJo does a good job of having its comic relief characters do double duty by being either heroes or villains and sources of humor, it has these humourous characters nonetheless.
Robert E. O. Speedwagon was both a point of entry for viewers to gain exposition and metacommentary on the show as well as a source of humor via his ridiculousness. Okuyasu Nijimura was a villain-turned-hero whose antics were often a cause for laughter.
1 There Is Also Always A Side Character Who Gives The Audience Their Main Point Of View
Speedwagon, like many other side characters, served as a stand-in for the audience in the show. Other characters that have taken on this role include Smokey Brown and Koichi Hirose. Not only do they offer narration that explains the events of the show as they happen, they often provide metacommentary.
Speedwagon was especially notorious for this as he waxed poetic about Jonathan’s youth, morals, and courage. In Koichi’s case, it is less about providing exposition and more about serving as a non-Joestar anchor for viewers.
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