Dark Determination

"Johnny's eyes are the eyes of a killer. He's prepared to throw everything away... even his humanity."

- Gyro Zeppeli on Johnny Joestar's dark determination,

Dark Determination (漆黒の意志) is a phenomenon unique to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, formally introduced in its seventh part, Steel Ball Run.

An antithesis to the Golden Spirit, dark determination is a particular state of mind during which one's resolve and intent to kill rises to the surface. The term itself is coined by Ringo Roadagain and is described by Gyro as one's willing to murder without hesitation and throw away their humanity.

Description
Dark determination is a particular state of mind that reoccurs periodically throughout the later parts of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. As the name suggests, this phenomenon occurs when a character with malicious intentions briefly supersedes their moral compass, during which they are prone to using deadly force to achieve their own personal goals. Anyone with dark intent in their eyes becomes noticeably more ruthless, cold-blooded, and will not hesitate to commit great acts of violence, if not outright murder. Dark determination is most often associated with a protagonist's moral ambiguity and will manifest itself as small flames burning in their irises.

The trigger for dark determination will depend on the individual and the situation at hand but is usually related to the act of protecting, avenging, or acquiring something important. A common example is a friend or loved one in danger, as was the case with Jolyne Cujoh who heard Ermes Costello being mugged by prison guards, or Josuke Higashikata seeing Yasuho Hirose being kidnapped by an enemy. In Johnny Joestar's particular case, his dark determination was centered around his goal of obtaining the Saint's Corpse through violence.

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Trivia

 * In the opening Sono Chi no Sadame, Jonathan Joestar's eyes also flare up as he prepares to confront his archnemesis Dio Brando, perhaps as a nod to this dark determination.
 * In, Yukako's eyes seem to flare up as she confronts Koichi Hirose's attempts to dissuade her from liking him. Similarly, in , after Stray Cat sees Shinobu with a shovel and knowing she was responsible for its death, its eyes flare up with the intent to kill her.
 * In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle, the dark determination can be seen during Johnny's Heart Heat Attack while Tusk is transforming from ACT 2 to ACT 3.
 * In Baoh the Visitor's ninth chapter, Ikuro's eyes flare up as he prepares to use a laser against Walken.
 * A similar phenomenon can be seen when Weather Report recovers his memories and unlocks the ability Heavy Weather. While his eyes flare up with the intent to seek revenge and kill his brother, unlike Jolyne's dark determination, a thunderous cloud formation can be seen in his eyes instead of fire.