Joestar Group

"Let's hit the road!"

- Joseph Joestar

The Joestar Group (ジョースター一行), formally known as the Joestar Egyptian Tour Group (ジョースター・エジプト・ツアー御一行様), is a term used to describe the group of main protagonists featured in the third part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Stardust Crusaders.

Summary
The Joestar Group consists of the main protagonist of Stardust Crusaders, Jotaro Kujo, accompanied by his grandfather Joseph Joestar, Muhammad Avdol, Noriaki Kakyoin, Jean Pierre Polnareff, and a dog named Iggy. The latter two members join at separate points during their journey. While each member has their own individual reasons for joining, the group's primary goal is defeating DIO to save Holy Kujo from her illness.

Hirohiko Araki planned for the group to consist of the five human members since the beginning. He intended to balance their features, personalities, clothes, and Stands so that they would be unique. Jotaro is the main character and "lone hero" of the group, bottling up his feelings and fighting without looking for attention or rewards from others. As the oldest member, Joseph serves as the "navigator" of the group, in charge of setting up the journey, travel routes, receiving funding and supplies from the Speedwagon Foundation, and gathering information using his Stand, Hermit Purple. Avdol is the "subleader" and adviser, acting with a sense of duty and being someone who the other group members could rely on. Kakyoin is the prim, proper, and sensitive one in the group. Initially, he did not have a motivation for joining the group but ultimately realizes that they are the first people he could consider his friends since they could see his Stand and understand him. Similarly to Jotaro, Polnareff starts out as a "lone wolf" who only accompanies the Joestar Group to avenge his sister. However, he evolves into being a true friend who supports the group for their entire journey. Although he can act seriously, he develops into a versatile and straightforward character, often serving as the comic relief in the group. Iggy was added to the party because Araki wanted to add an animal as a pet, and he loves weak looking characters that are revealed to be really powerful. His role is being a secret helper for the group, unintentionally assisting them throughout their journey before he finally considers them his friends after his battle against Pet Shop.

A runaway girl named Anne temporarily travels with them from the South China Sea to India. Araki had written Anne because he liked the idea of having a girl in the Joestar Group, but due to it being difficult to involve her in life-or-death situations during the era when Stardust Crusaders was releasing, he had to change the group back to being all men. He also states that he could have had Anne develop a Stand if she stayed with them, as even the smallest person can have a powerful Stand.

Stardust Crusaders was structured to be like a road movie inspired by the film ', the novel ', and the Japanese drama, where a former vice- travels with his two retainers. Though not initially planned, Araki threw around the idea of Hol Horse joining the group during their journey, but opted out due to balance issues with Polnareff's similar characteristics. Furthermore, his Emperor ability with aiming and shooting an enemy would have been too similar to Kakyoin's Emerald Splash. Araki mentions this as part of the reason Hol Horse shows up multiple times throughout the story and why there is at least one group shot with Hol Horse present in the manga.

The Journey Begins
In 1988, Jotaro Kujo, the grandson of Joseph Joestar, learns that DIO has returned from the bottom of the ocean and stole Jonathan Joestar's body to use as his own. Jotaro, having now acquired a Stand called Star Platinum due to DIO's own awakening, is attacked by Noriaki Kakyoin when he heads to school. Jotaro defeats him and learns that Kakyoin was being controlled by DIO's flesh bud. He extracts the flesh bud using his Stand and Joseph destroys it, saving Kakyoin. The next day, Jotaro's mother, Holy, also develops a Stand but her body cannot handle it. The only way to save Holy is by killing DIO within 50 days, releasing Holy from the ability. From one of Hermit Purple's photographs, they learn that DIO is currently residing in Egypt. Accompanied by his grandfather Joseph, Joseph's friend Muhammad Avdol, and Kakyoin, Jotaro heads to Egypt to save his mother.

Road to Egypt
The group boards a plane for Cairo, planning to head there via Narita, the East China Sea, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, and Kuwait City. However, they are attacked by Gray Fly, one of DIO's agents. Consequently, the plane is forced to land in the Hong Kong sea, where the group takes a boat to the city. While discussing their status in a restaurant, they are joined by a French tourist who asks them for help reading the menu. He reveals himself as Jean Pierre Polnareff and is also one of DIO's henchmen. After losing to Avdol, Jotaro extracts his flesh bud and he decides to join the party in hopes of finding his sister's killer, believing he is one of DIO's allies.

Joseph arranges for a ship manned by Speedwagon Foundation personnel so they could head to Singapore, but the ship's captain was one of DIO's agents in disguise. They also encounter Anne on the ship, who was secretly hiding there after running away from home. They leave her behind in Singapore so she could go back to her father.

After the Joestar Group reaches India, Polnareff confronts his sister's killer, J. Geil. However, Avdol is shot by Hol Horse when he protects Polnareff and is presumed to have been killed. Polnareff succeeds in avenging his sister and decides to continue journeying with the group so that he could help them defeat DIO. Meanwhile, Jotaro and Joseph pretend that they buried Avdol's body, but tend to his wounds and he survives. Avdol secretly heads to an island in the Red Sea so that he could conspicuously buy a submarine for the group. Driving close to the border of Pakistan, they encounter Anne on the side of the road trying to hitchhike. They take her with them, but leave her behind after the battle against Wheel of Fortune. In the anime, the group gives her money and plane tickets to go back to Hong Kong.

Eventually, they reunite with Avdol and take the submarine. They are attacked by Midler and High Priestess but scuba dive the rest of the way, finally reaching Egypt after 30 days.

Travel to Cairo
Once they arrive at Egypt, two Speedwagon Foundation employees arrive in a helicopter to deliver Iggy to them to serve as a helper. Joseph receives a new polaroid camera from the helicopter pilots and gets an idea to take a photo with the rest of the group. While Jotaro holds the photo, Kakyoin comments that it will make a great memento.

Iggy is stubborn and does not want to help the group, but is forced by Jotaro to help him fight N'Doul. Kakyoin's eyes are injured by N'Doul's Stand, Geb, causing him to temporarily leave the group while he recovers. They learn about the Egypt 9 Glory Gods and successively defeat all but three of them on the way to Gizeh, with Iggy often helping the group by coincidence. Joseph finally manages to get a spirit photo of DIO's mansion, when the group takes as a stop at Luxor. Upon reaching Gizeh, they almost meet utter defeat at the hands of Daniel J. D'Arby, when their souls, including Holy's, are put on the line in a deadly poker bet. However, Jotaro bluffs his way out of it, saving the group.

The group finally reaches Cairo, and Avdol hires an informant to find DIO's mansion. The man succeeds, but is killed by DIO's guard bird, Pet Shop, before he could tell Avdol its location. However, Iggy witnesses the murder and battles Pet Shop after the bird kills two dogs and attempts to attack its owner. Iggy loses a leg in the battle and nearly drowns after killing the bird, but is saved by the boy he helped earlier. Alongside doctors from the Speedwagon Foundation, Kakyoin returns to Cairo with his eyes healed. They find Iggy and heal his wounds. All of the members of the group are reunited, and Iggy leads them to DIO's mansion.

Battle against DIO
The group's reunion is quickly interrupted at the mansion's entrance, as they are separated by the last Glory God and DIO's butler, Telence T. D'Arby. While Jotaro, Joseph and Kakyoin are trapped battling Telence, Polnareff, Avdol, and Iggy eventually decide to head deeper into the mansion. As they traverse its lower levels, Vanilla Ice, DIO's most manic follower, appears behind them. Avdol quickly punches Polnareff and Iggy out of the way, but is erased by Vanilla Ice's Stand, Cream, leaving only his arms behind. After a strenuous battle, Polnareff succeeds in killing Vanilla Ice, but Iggy also dies during the battle, giving up his life to save Polnareff.

While the rest of the group navigates the mansion, Polnareff is confronted by DIO alone. However, Jotaro, Joseph, and Kakyoin arrive just in time, causing sunlight to enter the mansion when they break down its wall. DIO flees and the group heads into the streets of Cairo to find him since the sun is setting. Jotaro and Polnareff go after him on one side while Joseph and Kakyoin chase him on the other side using a car. Joseph and Kakyoin eventually catch up to DIO, but Kakyoin is suddenly killed by The World. However, Kakyoin successfully figures out the Stand's ability to stop time and relays what he learned to Joseph in his dying message.

Joseph attempts to fight DIO with the Ripple but gets incapacitated by him. Jotaro learns he can move during stopped time, although for only a fraction of DIO's period of movement. The two start prodding each other's limits - through trickery, bluffing and a surprise distraction from Polnareff, Jotaro eventually prevails and lands a devastating blow to DIO's head.

DIO is disabled, so he lures Jotaro into punching him towards Joseph's corpse. The vampire feeds on Joseph's blood and, now fully synchronized with Jonathan Joestar's body, becomes more powerful by the second. Believing Joseph to be dead, Jotaro is enraged, so he rushes the vampire. After a brutal brawl, they reach Qasr el Nil Bridge, where DIO tries to crush Jotaro under a road roller. However, pushed to his limits, Jotaro stops time. He manages to sneak up on DIO and crushes his leg. DIO attempts a last futile attack, but Star Platinum breaks The World, defeating DIO for good.

After his victory, Jotaro oversees a blood transfusion from DIO to Joseph and revives his grandfather. Afterward, they expose the vampire's remains to the sun and disintegrate him. Some time later, Jotaro, Joseph, and Polnareff say their goodbyes to one another at the airport before going their separate ways. Holy recovers and is happy that her father and son are returning home.

JOJO WORLD
The JOJO WORLD amusement center had a minigame featuring the Joestar Group, where players could win the group's photograph as a prize.

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