Jobin Higashikata

"This world, including Morioh, is crazy. And the one thing you can be certain of in this mad world... is that the one that wins is the one in the right."

- Jobin Higashikata,

Jobin Higashikata (東方 常敏) is a primary antagonist featured in the eighth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, JoJolion.

Jobin is the eccentric eldest son of the Higashikata Family. He is married with Mitsuba Higashikata and has a son, Tsurugi. Beyond his job at the Higashikata Fruit Company, Jobin was formerly one of the members of the Rock Humans' Locacaca Organization. Jobin is a Stand User and wields the mysterious Speed King.

Appearance
Jobin is a man of average to above-average height and medium build. Four grooves cross his face vertically, over the corner and the center of his eyes. As a child, Jobin did not have these grooves at all but upon reaching sixteen, the grooves had mysteriously grown longer. The grooves are reduced to one on each side in subsequent appearances. He has an eyebrow that divides centrally, where it curls upwards.

Wearing an undercut, the hair on his sides is of medium tone and textured by short, bulbous spikes; whilst the light hair on his crown is folded onto the right of his forehead, where it is kept with a barette.

He wears an overall light colored outfit of pants and a hooded top both bearing bulbous spikes. The hooded section is dark in color; and the second of two buttons on it bears the Higashikata Family crest. Jobin also wears a small, weaved necklace.

After losing his bet against Josuke, Jobin proceeds to shave off his left eyebrow, making him look "weird", as he put it.

Personality
"Whether the climate or the era we're in changes, or how the rules and laws of society change... whatever cruel enemy has set foot on the Higashikata Family's land... we are without mercy."

- Jobin,

When he was a child, Jobin Higashikata was very meek and withdrawn. Melancholic due to his illness, Jobin quietly bore with the bullying one of his seniors in his scouting movement put him through, not daring to stand up for himself. However, it is shown Jobin had the courage to refuse the bully's order to burn down someone else's home.

After the awakening of Speed King, Kaato used the opportunity to change Jobin's mindset forever, telling him that he didn't do anything wrong and that he was destined to climb his way up while others would stay at the bottom. Goaded by his mother's words, Jobin committed his first murder. Since then, Jobin has been outgoing and jovial; taking Kaato's words at heart. This event helped shape his philosophy; that humans are born at a level of "zero", no matter the circumstances. Jobin believes that because of this, humans must constantly look for a way to move up in the world, and to him, that is the only way they, and he himself, can achieve happiness. Because of his ambition, Jobin looks down on the rest of the population. Jobin is shown to possess some arrogance and sense of entitlement, as he takes his family's social standing as a right to have special treatment, complaining that several businesses didn't favor him or his family. His pride extends to the Higashikata Family name, as he is proud of his family's high status in Morioh and wishes to keep and even elevate them further. Jobin believes only believes in strength, stating that good or bad luck, good or evil, legality or illegality do not matter and that only strength matters in life. Thus in his mind the Higashikata are strong and merciless.

Jobin maintains a quiet sense of humor and is fond of quoting. When he's having fun, he is prone to escalating or changing the circumstances of situations solely for the reason of making them more 'interesting', as when he scolds Joshu cheering for him and demands he 'switch teams' to Josuke. In the context of Norisuke's personality test, he seems fond of robotic figurines. He is also shown to be very clever when he used his Stand to melt the wax off on his beetle, in addition to detecting Josuke's plan.

In contrast, Jobin sometimes displays the personality of a manchild, with even his own son Tsurugi noticing. In his room, he keeps a large shelving unit full of display cases for exotic beetles. It is hinted that his fondness for beetles is the way they symbolize strength. He breeds beetles to make them fight and considers them to be gladiators when on the arena. He takes great care of his beetles, but he is ready to sacrifice them in order to match a beetle match. For instance, he stuffs one of his beetles with wax so that Speed King can control its movement, uncaring of the fact it will die soon after. This childish streak appears to extend beyond this as Jobin often makes reference to 'summer vacation' and other such indulgences correlating to a typical childhood.

Although Jobin hasn't been seen to have many interactions with his siblings it can be observed that while Joshu looks up to his older brother, Jobin holds him in a disinterested light. Jobin however, holds his mother in high regard and is her only ally within the Higashikata Family. Kaato and Jobin do have a special relationship as mother and son, but also partners in crime. Jobin also loves his father Norisuke but he disagreed with him on how to manage the Higashikata Fruit Company. While Norisuke was content with the current state of affairs, Jobin wanted to expand the business to acquire more wealth, status, and power and was frustrated when Norisuke objected to it. Jobin also loves his wife and they have a good relationship and common cause in saving his son Tsurugi at any cost. Finally, he loves Tsurugi as his efforts to take the Locacaca are to save Tsurugi.

Jobin currently desires the power of the Locacaca, wishing to obtain it to rid his family of the Higashikata curse. This desire leads to him valuing the Locacaca and elimination of any in his way above everything else, even being unconcerned if Morioh itself were to be destroyed in the process. Jobin goes to great length to protect the fruit, as he kills Ojiro Sasame and Maako Kitani while the fruits are growing, tries to kill Yasuho when she infiltrates his house but also attacks his father Norisuke to take control of the family as Norisuke discovers Jobin's earlier murders and is about to challenge him, albeit regretfully.

Stand
Like the other members of his family, Jobin possesses a Stand, referred to as Speed King. It is capable of producing small points of intense heat within a 10 cm radius, which he uses strategically to cheat during a beetle fight, and more commonly, to induce a heat stroke.

This power requires that he come into contact with whatever he wishes to apply heat to, as is the case with Josuke; Jobin offers him tissues to wipe his nose, only for the contact with the tissue being the catalyst required for Jobin to increase the temperature inside of Josuke's head, causing the blood vessels to burst and giving him a nosebleed.

Background
It is known from his son Tsurugi's explanation of the Higashikata family's superstitious beliefs of warding away "demons of sickness" that Jobin, being the firstborn son of his family, was raised as a girl until he turned twelve. During his youth, Jobin suffered from the Rock Disease, causing his skin to crack and suffer short-term memory loss, so that he would forget whatever happened the last day. Two of his seniors at a local scouting movement he was part of were bullying him and eventually, the bullies forced him to steal a set of Kaato's and take a. Coincidentally, a fellow scout spotted Jobin being bullied and denounced the bullies to their school and the police. One of the bullies dragged Jobin to the scout's house one night and tried to force him to set fire on the denouncer's house, but Jobin refused to commit arson. Furious, the bully threatened to burn Jobin's face; at this moment, Jobin awakened his Stand, Speed King, and heated the blood inside the bully's head, stunning him gravely. Going to his mother for help, Jobin went to the hole under the lone pine tree with the disabled bully and Kaato. There, Kaato told him that he was destined to climb further up despite his unfair birth, and told him to go bury the bully inside the hole. Jobin thus performed an equivalent exchange.

Since then, Jobin had taken Kaato's words to heart and became more assertive.

At one point, Jobin attended to the funeral of Rai Mamezuku's father.

Jobin met the Rock Humans of the Locacaca Organization one day as he and Norisuke were watching a game of baseball at Morioh Stadium. He was frustrated by the lack of recognition the Higashikata Family should have, and ambitioned to expand the business to cheap products. However, Norisuke objected to these plans. Frustrated, he was then contacted by Yotsuyu Yagiyama and became a member of the Locacaca Organization, using his trades as a cover for the organization's operations.

JoJolion
He is mentioned by Joshu Higashikata during the attempt at a family photo, apparently having left shortly before. The mention of his absence is enough for his father to call off the welcoming photo for Josuke. During his trip, Jobin goes to Vietnam and the Philippines to scout for fruits but also brings a Locacaca tree with him. Before coming to the Higashikata Fruit Parlor, Jobin hands the potted tree to Aisho Dainenjiyama.

Meeting Josuke Higashikata
Josuke first encounters Jobin in the Higashikata Fruit Parlor after the events surrounding Yotsuyu. Josuke spills some ice cream on his foot, and as Jobin cleans it up, Jobin sees his father and share a happy welcoming back. He formally meets Josuke and offers him several gifts as a welcome to the family, including a prized  (giant stag beetle). Norisuke and Jobin leave the place, but Josuke discovers that Norisuke's King Nothing has detected the scent of the Locacaca on his handkerchief, suggesting that Jobin may know something regarding the spiky fruit capable of healing the family's disease and may possibly be involved with Yotsuyu. Jobin then returns to the house and gives the family some souvenirs.

Josuke comes to ask for advice concerning raising a beetle but when he inspects the live beetles Jobin keeps in a terrarium, he nonchalantly mentions that his Palawanicus could beat it in a straight fight. Interested, Jobin then challenges Josuke to a beetle fight. Josuke uses the opportunity to raise the stacks with a bet. Setting a fighting arena made of cork circled with soft rush plant, Jobin explains the rules of a beetle fight:


 * According to the apparent 45-second memory of the beetles, during which they are eager to fight, a determining factor in a fight can be raised by brushing them with female beetle pheromones.
 * The contestants make the beetles fight for a period of 45 seconds. The beetle that is killed, is lifted up for 10 seconds, or leaves the ring loses.

Jobin then demonstrates the fighting proficiency of his own Palawanicus by making it kill a Japanese hornet and proposes that the loser shaves his eyebrow, to which Josuke accepts. The first round begins between the two Palawanicus. At first, Jobin's beetle gets the upper hand due to its sharpened mandibles and planted female pheromones from a brush, making it push Josuke's beetle to the border of the arena. However, Josuke's beetle then somehow makes Jobin's beetle flee out of the arena. Josuke is shown to have planted pheromones on the arena and released then at an opportune moment to boost his beetle. A frustrated Jobin shaves off his left eyebrow. Despite his loss, Jobin is enjoying himself and challenges Josuke to another beetle fight, and again Josuke accepts. Josuke then proposes his true goal; the Jobin owns. Jobin accepts and also orders Joshu to cheer Josuke on. Jobin takes a second opponent: a golden stag beetle, also known as a Rosenbergi. As the match begins, Jobin tells Josuke that if he wins, he is allowed to lick Josuke's eyeball.

The Palawanicus' superior size and weight enables it to push the Rosenbergi to the border of the ring. However, the Rosenbergi suddenly moves in an unnaturally precise manner, knocking the Palawanicus over and biting off one leg. The Palawanicus is almost pushed over the border as Josuke reads from an encyclopedia that stag beetles instinctively play dead when feeling strong vibrations at their legs. As the Rosenbergi chomps off another leg, Josuke notices liquid oozing from its head. The Palawanicus falls from the ring, but since the clock went over 45 seconds, Josuke has not lost. Before the second bout, Josuke inquires about the liquid. Jobin reveals that it's wax, that when melted will cause convulsions in the beetle and eventually kill it, but not before Jobin wins. The second bout begins and the Rosenbergi slowly overwhelms the Palawanicus with its precise movement. Suddenly Joshu knocks his foot on the tank where the hornet was killed and asks where the lower half of it's body with the stinger went. The abdomen is shown to be near Josuke who is now showing confidence as the Rosenbergi goes mad and convulses. Josuke had planted some of the hornet's poison in Jobin's brush, which eventually killed his beetle, making Josuke the winner.

As Josuke takes the Lamborghini's keys with him and leaves the room, Jobin stops him, having realized that Josuke went there for an ulterior motive. Using Speed King, Jobin induces a heavy nosebleed in Josuke and tries to interrogate him. However, the fire alarm activates and Josuke flees in the confusion. Jobin decides not to immediately follow Josuke and checks on the garage, but sees nothing out of the ordinary.

Doobie Wah
While Jobin is cleaning up his room, he is contacted by Aisho Dainenjiyama who asks if he knows why he's being tailed. Jobin connects the event to Josuke but choose to reveal nothing. However he allows Aisho to kill the pursuers, not knowing that his own son is being targeted.

In the aftermath of Tamaki Damo's attack on the Higashikata House, Jobin is shown in his car nearby, where he witnesses Damo's death at the hands of Josuke. He is then called by his mother, Kaato Higashikata, who he promises to pick up from prison, but is asked to keep her release a secret from the family as she wants it to be a surprise. Following Kaato's arrival and shortly after her sudden departure to the hotel, Jobin enters the family room. He nonchalantly reveals that he was the one to let her in, and goes to examine his breakfast. This causes Norisuke to become suspicious of Jobin.

Dolomite's Blue Lagoon
Working directly with Kaato, Jobin begins to investigate Norisuke's garden at night as he searches for a Locacaca Branch. He is accidentally caught by one of his father's security surveillance cameras, which Josuke quickly discovers. The event confirms Norisuke and Josuke's suspicions of his treachery while Jobin remains unaware of his detection. Kaato calls Jobin, informing him of his father's suspicious behavior and the fact that Norisuke has given Josuke a private cell phone to contact him with.

Worried by this, Jobin drives to a nearby shrine where he summons a disfigured Rock Human named Dolomite using fried chicken. He informs Dolomite of the deaths of the previous Rock Humans that were defeated by Josuke and company, all before asking Dolomite for a favor. Jobin shows Dolomite the evidence that through the power of the Locacaca, Josefumi Kujo and Yoshikage Kira fused to become the current Josuke. Jobin then proposes that Dolomite help him find a Locacaca. Jobin compliments the Dolomite on his choice to cooperate, stating that everyone needs to overcome obstacles to be happy. Showing the photo of Josuke again to Dolomite, he announces his intention to stop him from finding the unknown ally who will let him find the Locacaca. As Jobin carefully puts Dolomite's tooth into an envelope, Dolomite asks if it's fine if anything dire happens to Josuke or even Morioh as a whole because of his Blue Hawaii. Jobin simply responds that he doesn't care and leaves Dolomite to eliminate Josuke. As Yasuho Hirose investigates the identity of who Blue Hawaii's user could be, Jobin tracks her down. While Yasuho is distracted using Paisley Park, Jobin uses Speed King to touch her temple. The blood within her veins begins to boil, rendering her unconscious. Jobin ponders killing her to deal a crippling blow to Josuke, however he decides against it as the murder would confirm Norisuke's suspicions. Instead, Jobin leaves Yasuho on the sidewalk and dumps the only evidence of Dolomite's true identity into a sewer drain. However he does not return to Dolomite.

Poor Tom and Ozon Baby
Jobin receives a phone call from a certain "Poor Tom", who asks him to meet inside a parking lot. At the meeting, Jobin sees that this Poor Tom is another Rock Human, and proposes him to cooperate in order to stop Josuke from getting the fruit. The baby-like Poor Tom gives him a toy house which he presents as his own Stand Ozon Baby and instructs him to bury it inside his orchard.

Jobin complies and sneakily buries Ozon Baby in the garden of his house, and soon after Tsurugi confronts him about his goals. Their conversations are interrupted when the air pressure decreases dramatically. When he tries to escape out of the shed they were in, Tsurugi begins to suffer depressurization sickness and is gravely injured. Jobin manages to save him, and realizes that he has been tricked by Poor Tom. Ozon Baby will indiscriminately attack anyone in its range through its air pressure power. Determined, Jobin decides to use Josuke and the plant appraiser, whom he guesses are present in the garden.

Eventually, Jobin has Tsurugi use Paper Moon King on Poor Tom to have him mistake a pear-tree branch for the Locacaca Branch. Once Poor Tom is killed and the fake branch is retrieved, Jobin takes the real Locacaca branch. Afterwards, Jobin is disguised as a cactus by Paper Moon King while Tsurugi talks to Norisuke about the branch being lost. After he leaves, Jobin reveals himself and announces his and Tsurugi's victory over everyone.

The Harvest Approaches
Hiding the Locacaca in his vivariums, Jobin talks with his wife Mitsuba and ominously declares that the Higashikata Family is becoming stronger. Mitsuba catches a glimpse of the Locacaca, causing Jobin to suspect that she is up to something.

However, his plans are thrown into disarray as he meet with Tsurugi, who tells him that a man named Ojiro also knows about the Locacaca. Jobin doesn't know the man and hastily checks on his Locacaca, only to realize that Tsurugi's hand has been put under the influence of Ojiro's Stand Fun Fun Fun. Tsurugi has inadvertently leaked the location of the Locacaca to Ojiro who covets the fruits, and Jobin tries to think of a counterattack.

Ojiro uses his Stand to send Tsurugi crashing through a window, forcing Jobin to grab Tsurugi to prevent him from being injured further. However, this allows Ojiro to mark Jobin's hands, and he forces Jobin to start choking Tsurugi. Jobin reveals to Ojiro that the New Locacaca can be harvested in three days, to the man's delight. Ojiro orders Jobin to reveal his Stand, to which Jobin complies. However, Tsurugi reveals his Stand as well, causing an annoyed Ojiro to swipe it out of the way. Believing that Jobin's Stand looks too dangerous for him to be left alive, Ojiro slams the window closed on the duo's necks and steals the New Locacaca (as well as some of Jobin's cash), believing the two to be dead. However, the duo's wounds were merely an illusion created by Paper Moon King, and Jobin reassures Tsurugi that he will take the New Locacaca back. This promise is soon fulfilled, as Jobin then proceeds to follow Ojiro to his girlfriend's apartment, mercilessly eliminate both Ojiro and Makorin using Speed King, and steal back the New Locacaca.

Endless Calamity
On the day of the Harvest, Jobin surprises Paisley Park in a cell phone talking to Tsurugi. He immediately grabs the phone and tosses it into a toilet to let Paisley Park drown. Watching over Paisley Park, Jobin also dissuades Mitsuba from helping Yasuho. However, when Mitsuba tries to use Awaking III Leaves to kill Yasuho, Satoru Akefu's ability manifests itself. A drip of water pierces Mitsuba's hand and she misplaces one of the arrows, which directs the force into a wall and destroys it, revealing the new Locacaca to the rest of the Higashikata Family.

When Norisuke arrives at Tsurugi's bedroom, he immediately saves Paisley Park from drowning and demands to know what is happening. Jobin tries to sway Norisuke to his side. He explains how he's gotten hold of and grown the new Locacaca and claims that he is following the right path, a path where Tsurugi can be saved without any sacrifice and that the family is now too committed to turn back. However, Norisuke then investigates the fruits: thanks to King Nothing, he materializes Ojiro Sasame and exposes the link between Jobin and Sasame's death. Tearful, Jobin induces a heat stroke in Norisuke with Speed King. Norisuke collapses as Jobin asks for forgiveness and Jobin cradles his father's body for a moment before recomposing himself. When his siblings rush to see Norisuke, he wards them off and tells them to prepare themselves for the future. Jobin covers Norisuke with a tarp and expects victory, but he then sees that Paisley Park's phone has been moved near an electrical outlet, allowing the Stand to escape. Jobin crushes the phone. He reveals to them the nature of the Locacaca and its importance. He adds that they will protect the fruit from all enemies, including Josuke and Yasuho. Jobin then reassures them that although Norisuke is knocked out, he is not going to kill his father.

Jobin tells them to help him bring Norisuke to the second floor and the fruit in another hiding spot. Suddenly, Mitsuba warns him about Satoru Akefu's presence in the house. Seeing him approach Mitsuba and Tsurugi in the bed in impossible ways, Jobin summons Speed King to attack the head doctor who is currently hiding under the bedsheets. The head doctor disappears and Jobin only finds a damaged hair spray that bursts under the damage Speed King caused it, the blast being quite weak and seemingly harmless. As he's explained the nature of the attack by Mitsuba, Jobin refuses to let go of the fruit and goes to check the monitors of the security cameras, seeing Yasuho but also Tooru. Jobin suddenly realizes that he's bleeding and eventually sees that the dip tube of the hair spray has pierced his chest without him realizing it. Blood flows at an alarming rate from Jobin's body and he collapses, letting the potted plant rolling towards the door to the garage.

Family

 * Kaato Higashikata: Jobin holds his mother in high regard and exhibits a submissive and obedient behavior around her, showing fear of upsetting her. He respects her greatly and adopts her mindset of climbing his way up while others would stay at the bottom. When Jobin was suffering from the Rock Disease, he assisted her in burying his bully alive in order to cure his disease.


 * Norisuke Higashikata IV: As his firstborn and eldest son, Jobin is close towards his father, though Norisuke disapproves of his ambitions to expand the Higashikata Fruit Company into a luxurious business that sells high-class fruits. However, following Kaato's arrival to the Higashikata household, Norisuke becomes highly suspicious of Jobin. Norisuke's suspicions come true as it is later revealed that Jobin uses his father's trust to his advantage so he can organize trades for the Locacaca Organization.


 * Mitsuba Higashikata: Mitsuba is Jobin's wife, whose modelling career helped boost their company's sales. Their union brought Tsurugi Higashikata. On the day of the Locacaca's harvest, Mitsuba assists Jobin in drowning Paisley Park in a bathroom, all for the sake of their son's well-being. During her visit at TG University Hospital, Mitsuba was revealed to be four weeks pregnant with Jobin's child.


 * Tsurugi Higashikata: As his only son, Jobin loves Tsurugi unconditionally and is willing to sacrifice his own life to save him. Jobin subsequently stole the Locacaca branch in an attempt to cure Tsurugi's worsening condition.

Enemies

 * Josuke Higashikata: Although they seem to have a cordial relationship and are in the same family, Josuke and Jobin are technically enemies and recognize each others as threats. Josuke was first interested in Jobin because of his mysterious relationship with the Locacaca. During his beetle fight against Josuke, Josuke faked a more friendly and smug demeanor, ultimately leading Jobin to suspect foul play.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Jobin makes a cameo appearance in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven. He appears inside the Higashikata House on the Part 8 stage, sitting alongside Daiya and Hato on the couch.

Gallery
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