Josuke's Savior (仗助の恩人, Jōsuke no Onjin) is an unnamed tertiary character featured in the fourth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Diamond is Unbreakable.
He is a mysterious teenage high school student who helps a young Josuke Higashikata and his mother Tomoko get to the hospital by pushing their car when it is stuck in a blizzard. Josuke catches a glimpse of the boy and aspires to become a hero like him. He imitates the boy's hairstyle and doesn't forgive anyone who would insult it, as he would feel like they were insulting his hero.
Appearance
The boy has a pompadour hairstyle and a delinquent's school uniform. His jacket is styled with three vertical metallic stripes on the left side of his collar and a metallic emblem with vertical holes inside on the right side. Beneath his school jacket, he wears a sweater with long sleeves.
Color Schemes
Personality
Based on the boy's appearance in Josuke's flashback, he is an empathetic and perceptive individual. Although it was a dark night, the boy could tell that Josuke was sick in the back of Tomoko's car. He voluntarily helps them move their car out of the snow despite being in a rough state with several fresh bruises and open cuts on his face. He also sacrifices his school jacket, which is considered his badge of honor, underneath the car's tires without any hesitation.[1]
History
For unknown reasons, the young man had just been in a fight with several fresh bruises and open cuts. He stood alone in the middle of a blizzard on a country road with no houses for more than a kilometer in any direction.
Josuke was four years old at this time and came down with a strong fever resulting from DIO activating his Stand, causing the Stands in the Joestar family to activate as well. His mother tried to drive him to the hospital but the car's tires lodged themselves in the snow during a blizzard. Suddenly, this young man wearing a school uniform appeared and was noticed by Tomoko peering into their car through her rearview mirror. Initially wary, she told the boy to go away. However, the young man noticed Josuke was sick and helped them by placing his jacket in front of the car's rear tires and then pushed their car out of the snow. The student then retrieved his now-shredded jacket and walked away never to be seen again. Josuke took a glance at him and saw his hairstyle while he was pushing the car. For the next fifty days while he was unconscious with his fever, Josuke would dream of the boy.
Tomoko attempts to find the boy but does not succeed. Since then, Josuke replicates his hairstyle as homage to his hero, and aspires to become someone who would save others like the young man.[1]
Novels
The Book: 4th Another Day
The boy is mentioned in the light novel, The Book. Takuma Hasumi heard rumors that Josuke modeled his hairstyle after the boy. For Josuke, it wasn't the act of helping another human being that had moved him. What made the student's act resonate with him was that the boy sacrificed what had clothed him in a blizzard to get Josuke and Tomoko's car moving. To Josuke, this act was as holy as a line from a sacred text.
Takuma declares that he should have seen the boy at some point when he was five years old, as Takuma had passed by the four year old Josuke and his mother several times in town, and also has knowledge of every citizen living in Morioh. Takuma was certain that he had memorized the faces of every high school student back then and that this student with a pompadour hairstyle like Josuke should be particularly easy to find using his Stand.
However, Takuma had no intention of actually searching for the student. To catch Josuke off guard during their battle, Takuma suggests that the boy was probably Josuke himself who somehow time traveled in a bizarre way.[2]
Crazy Heartbreakers
In Crazy Heartbreakers, Josuke makes up the story about having a savior after being inspired by Ryoko Kakyoin basing her hairstyle on Noriaki Kakyoin's. He first tells the story to Hol Horse and a group of possessed chefs, saying the teenager saved him on a motorcycle. However, he realized that wouldn't make sense during a blizzard and changed his story.[3]
Hol Horse later asks Tomoko about the boy, but Tomoko wonders if someone like that existed. She couldn't remember since that time period was chaotic for her and many people helped her back then. She also suggests the heavy blizzard was on their way back home after Josuke was discharged from the hospital, rather than on the way there. According to her, Josuke used to keep his hair long and refused to cut it. He would always get injured from fights, so Ryohei advised that his long bangs were getting in the way of his peripheral vision, not allowing him to dodge attacks. Since then, Josuke styled his hair in a pompadour.[4]
Chapters / Episodes
Manga Appearances- Chapter 324: Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House, Part 7 (Flashback)
Anime Appearances- Diamond is Unbreakable Episode 15: Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House, Part 2 (Flashback)
Novel Appearances- The Book ~jojo's bizarre adventure 4th another day~ Chapter 4: Lacrimosa (Mentioned only)
- Crazy Heartbreakers Chapter 3: Dissonance (Mentioned only)
- Crazy Heartbreakers Chapter 6: Double doubt (Mentioned only)
Quotes
Quotes- “He's sick isn't he? I'll push your car.”—Josuke's Savior, Chapter 324: Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House, Part 7
- “Hit the gas. As soon as you're free, keep gunning it. Slow down, and you'll get stuck in the snow again.”—Josuke's Savior, Chapter 324: Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House, Part 7
Creation and Development
The identity of Josuke's savior is a commonly discussed subject in the fandom, dating back to when Part 4 was first publicized in Weekly Shonen Jump.[5]
In a 1994 interview with OVA director, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, when asked about the flashback and whether it was Josuke who met himself, Hirohiko Araki replied, "That's irrelevant, it was merely Josuke's memory".[6] David Production's TV anime director, Naokatsu Tsuda, also inquired Araki on who the mysterious boy was during production of the anime adaptation, though Araki seemingly chose not to comment.[5]
Gallery
First appearance
Offering to help Tomoko
Taking off his jacket
Pushing Tomoko's car
Josuke catches a glimpse of his hero
Final appearance
First appearance
Tomoko tells the boy to go away
Offering to help Tomoko
Telling Tomoko to keep pushing the gas
Josuke catches a glimpse of his hero
Final appearance
Trivia
- The boy's dialogue is not voiced in the anime adaptation. Instead, what he says is displayed on screen as text in a style imitating silent films.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 324: Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House, Part 7
- ↑ The Book ~jojo's bizarre adventure 4th another day~ Chapter 4
- ↑ Crazy Heartbreakers Chapter 3: Dissonance
- ↑ Crazy Heartbreakers Chapter 6: Double doubt
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 DU Episode 15, Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-ray limited edition commentary
- ↑ Kitakubo Special Talk (July 1994)