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Noriaki Kakyoin

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SPOILER WARNING: Part 3 spoiler details may follow.
“
I don't really want to face DIO again, but... let's just say you opened my eyes... that's all.
”
—Noriaki Kakyoin upon joining the Joestar Group, Chapter 121: The Power Called a "Stand"

Noriaki Kakyoin (花京院 典明, Kakyōin Noriaki) is a primary ally featured in the third part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Stardust Crusaders. He also appears as a posthumous primary character in the spin-off manga Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak.

Kakyoin is a Japanese student who was brainwashed by DIO during an earlier trip to Egypt and is sent to kill Jotaro Kujo. After being freed from DIO's influence, he decides to join Jotaro on his quest to Egypt to save Jotaro's mother and find redemption. Kakyoin is a Stand user and wields the long-ranged Hierophant Green.

Appearance

 

Kakyoin is a young man of above-average height and a fit build. He is typically seen wearing a slim-fitting long gakuran, but also wears striped pajamas during his initial encounter with Death Thirteen. In the anime, he additionally wears the pajamas when admitted to the hospital.

Kakyoin keeps medium-length hair, characterized by a large, twisting bang hanging before his face. He wears cherry-shaped earrings: each is a long, fine arch, tipped by small spheres.

He is considered handsome and has captured the attention of a few women. One of Jotaro's admirers commented on his looks and during the Tower of Gray encounter, he swooned two female stewardesses. Upon arriving in India, he is also referred to as beautiful by a man trying to sell him a tattoo.

Later, Kakyoin acquires two thin scars vertically crossing both eyes from Geb, which he often hides with a pair of dark sunglasses.

Color Schemes

The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
Colored MangaOVAAnimeSFC GameCapcom FightersAll-Star BattleEyes of Heaven
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Pink)
Eyes(Burnt Orange)
Outfit
(Green uniform with light gray underside, golden earrings and accessories, and light brown shoes.)
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Brown)
Eyes(Brown)
Outfit
(Green uniform with golden accessories, orange earrings, black shoes.)
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Reddish-pink)
Eyes(Lavender)
Outfit
(Green uniform with beige underside, golden accessories, cherry-colored earrings, brown shoes.)
Skin(Tan)
Hair(Dark red-orange)
Eyes(Crimson)
Outfit
(Dark Green uniform with red-orange accessories and orange earrings.)
(Default Kakyoin)
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Pink)
Eyes(Dark green)
Outfit
(Green uniform with gray underside and golden accessories, orange earrings, black shoes)

(Fearless Kakyoin)

Skin(Fair)
Hair(Pink)
Shades(Black with dark blue highlights)
Outfit
(Olive green uniform with gray underside and golden accessories, orange earrings, black shoes.)
Skin(Tan)
Hair(Auburn)
Eyes(Salmon)
Outfit
(Green uniform with white underside and yellow accessories, orange shoes.)
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Reddish-vermillion)
Eyes(Lavender)
Outfit
(Green uniform with green-gray underside, golden accessories, magenta earrings, brown shoes.)

Personality

Noriaki Kakyoin is first introduced as a cruel teenager because of DIO's brainwashing. Thus, he remorselessly attacks unrelated civilians and adopts a might makes right mindset.[12] However, he reveals himself as a righteous, though blunt individual. Kakyoin is ruthless with his enemies but loyal to his companions.

His reason for joining the Joestar Group is for both fighting evil,[11] and as thanks toward Jotaro for saving his life. Kakyoin is a brave individual, willingly participating in the dangerous journey to Egypt, and is also able to keep his nerves even in the direst situations such as having been punched through by The World.

Kakyoin is noted by Araki to be "the honor student type",[13] and thus can be described as haughty and somewhat introverted. Though he normally keeps a polite and somewhat formal behavior, Kakyoin is a rather cold and prideful man. He hates bowing down or brown-nosing. The humiliation of having been weak enough to bow to DIO is a part of his motivation for seeking redemption and revenge during Stardust Crusaders.[14]

 
Elbowing Polnareff as reconciliation

Kakyoin mentions he could never relate to people because of his ability, and thus never desired to make friends for most of his life.[14] He thinks only respectable individuals can be friends of his.[5] The Joestar Group is the only group with whom he has attached himself, but he cares very strongly for them. Araki himself mentions that if it weren't for their Stands, Kakyoin and Jotaro wouldn't have been friends.[13] Kakyoin has shown to lighten up with Polnareff, although he can also be very brutal and vindictive, having elbowed Polnareff too as a "reconciliation".[15] His attitude is notably worse with his enemies, whom he frequently threatens and belittles. Even as a hero, he can be particularly cruel to his enemies, as seen when he rips Tower of Gray to pieces without hesitation[16] and takes revenge on Mannish Boy by forcing him to eat his own excrement.[17]

Kakyoin has stated that if he were to fall in love, he would fall in love with someone like Holy, who gives off the feeling that anything will be alright and can calm anyone's heart, making them feel at ease.[11]

The information below derives from Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak or its novelization Crazy Heartbreakers which were not written by Araki. As such, it may not be considered canon.

In the spin-off Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak, Kakyoin's soul communicates with his cousin Ryoko and explains more about his views at the time. Although a small part of him blames Ryoko for letting him succumb to DIO's curse, Kakyoin ultimately places the blame on his weakness. He is nonetheless happy to hear Ryoko tell him he was never weak. Kakyoin also realizes that he can only blame his lonely youth on his inability to reach others, instead of pretending that his Stand ability set him apart from his peers. Finally, he says that acknowledging this weakness in him allows him to forgive himself. Kakyoin also shows some relief at seeing Ryoko grown up, though she never confirms her identity, because it means that his journey wasn't meaningless in the end.[18]

Concludes non-canon section.

Abilities

Stand

Main article: Hierophant Green

Kakyoin's long-range humanoid Stand is Hierophant Green; able to extend tentacle-like limbs or unravel to a modest extent; as well as fire a barrage of hard projectiles (an "Emerald Splash"). He is often seen shouting his signature attack (like the Emerald Splash) in fights.

Hierophant Green (ハイエロファントグリーン（法皇の緑）)Link to this section
 
Debut
Chapter 118 / SC Episode 2
Type
Long-Range, Reconnaissance, Artificial Humanoid[19]
Ability
Coiled Body
PWR
C
SPD
B
RNG
A
STA
B
PRC
C
DEV
D

Mastery

Kakyoin is, due to a lifetime of possessing Hierophant Green, quite proficient at using it. Although it is mostly seen as a humanoid, Kakyoin states that its true form is that of a bunch of strings; as such one of his key tactics is to secretly unravel Hierophant Green's tentacles while keeping the main body as a distraction. Thanks to that, Kakyoin can infiltrate bodies, suddenly avoid attacks by unraveling his Stand, use the strings as ropes, and even perform piercing attacks. However, Hierophant Green's otherwise straightforward Emerald Splash does not lend itself to imaginative use of it.

Gaming

Kakyoin is skilled at playing video games, expressing confidence about beating Telence T. D'Arby in the racing game F-MEGA. After making the rookie mistake of not boosting his car at the starting line, he recovers from this and shows off his skills by performing a spin attack against D'Arby in order to regain a foothold against him.[20] While in the speedup tunnel, Kakyoin is able to ride against the side of the wall,[21] as well as maneuvering the turns and hazards of the tunnel while in complete darkness.[22] He utilizes his power meter to knock D'Arby completely off the racing track.[22]

Relationships

Allies

  • Jotaro Kujo: Like with Avdol, Jotaro's relationship with Kakyoin begins with a fight. After defeating him, Jotaro takes Kakyoin to his house to remove DIO's flesh bud and release him from DIO's control. Jotaro and Kakyoin later develop a strong friendship, discovering a mutual interest in sumo, and Kakyoin is one of the few people Jotaro smiles at. Kakyoin sacrificed his life to give Jotaro an advantage against Dio and Jotaro mourns his death along with Joseph and Polnareff. In the JOJONIUM special interviews, Araki comments that without their power, Jotaro and Kakyoin probably wouldn't have become friends.
  • Joseph Joestar: Having joined them on their journey to Egypt, Kakyoin got along well with the rest of the group. While his interactions with Joseph specifically were minor, Joseph usually went to him to crack jokes and express his comedic nature (due to Kakyoin being able to tolerate it the most). Towards the end of the series, Kakyoin's last act before dying was shooting the clock tower with his Emerald Splash, to help Joseph discover the secret behind The World's ability to stop time. Joseph, whilst hiding his grief, responds by treating the message with utmost importance and swearing that Kakyoin's death would not be in vain.
  • Jean Pierre Polnareff: The two worked well together in battles such as Hanged Man and Lovers. The two did have a brief falling out when Mannish Boy attacked the gang with Death Thirteen and Polnareff didn't believe Kakyoin when he said the baby was the stand user, believing the journey had taken its toll on Kakyoin and made him crazy. However, upon learning that Kakyoin was right, he genuinely apologized and the two have gotten along since. Kakyoin notes that it is thanks to Polnareff knocking him out while he had his Stand out that let him save the day. While in a sinking submarine, the two were still able to joke around with each other and do a manly handshake. At the end of their journey, Polnareff mourned his comrades, including Kakyoin.
  • Muhammad Avdol: Kakyoin first interacted with him during his recovery after DIO's flesh bud had been removed. With both of them having adequate knowledge of Stands, the two proved useful to the Joestar group in every battle. Like Polnareff, Avdol's alleged "death" impacted Kakyoin and he swore to avenge him. While this would turn out to be a front by the rest of the group to fool Polnareff, Avdol, likewise, considered Kakyoin as a valuable comrade and even discouraged Jotaro from gambling his soul in Daniel J. D'Arby's game of poker.
  • Iggy: Kakyoin had the least interaction and time spent with Iggy, due to his hospitalization after their confrontation with N'doul. Following the fight with Pet Shop, Iggy was found by Kakyoin and the Speedwagon Foundation doctors. When Iggy and Kakyoin rejoined the group, Kakyoin was the one who could immediately discern Iggy's determined drive for revenge underlying his behavior of leading the group to DIO's mansion.

Enemies

  • DIO: Having met DIO on a holiday in Egypt with his family and then put under his control with a flesh bud, Kakyoin was loyal to him and would do anything he wanted. However, upon having the bud removed by Jotaro and seeing the harm DIO was causing towards the innocent Holy Kujo, who had shown him kindness as he was recovering at the Kujo residence, Kakyoin decided to go with Joseph, Jotaro, and Avdol to Egypt to defeat DIO.

Family

The information below derives from Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak or its novelization Crazy Heartbreakers which were not written by Araki. As such, it may not be considered canon.
  • Ryoko Kakyoin: Kakyoin seemed to have cared for his little cousin Ryoko since he protected her against DIO. In a later scene, it seems that, while a small part of him blames Ryoko for letting him succumb to DIO, Kakyoin is mostly happy to meet her and is glad that she is alive because it means his journey wasn't meaningless.
Concludes non-canon section.

Chapters / Episodes

Book Icon.png Manga Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance
Part 3Part 4Part 5Spin-Off
TV Icon.png Anime Appearances
Episodes in order of appearance
Part 3Part 4Part 5OVA
Book Icon.png Novel Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance
MiscCrazy Heartbreakers

Quotes

Quote.png Quotes
Show AllEnglishJapaneseRomaji
  • “
    The side which survives is good and how they do it is beside the point. The loser is the evil one.
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 119: Noriaki Kakyoin, Part 2
  • “
    What?! He deflected my Emerald Splash?! But that's impossible!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 119: Noriaki Kakyoin, Part 2
  • “
    My Hierophant Green'll go mad from the mutilation, alright―mad with joy!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 123: Tower of Gray
  • “
    JoJo... are you going to eat those cherries? They don't seem like much but they're my favorite fruits. Could I have them? Thanks... rerorerorerorerorerorerorerorerorerorerorero...
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 139: Yellow Temperance, Part 4
  • “
    Consider that your make-up handshake, Polnareff.
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 143: Emperor and Hanged Man, Part 4
  • “
    My name is Noriaki Kakyoin! To avenge my friend Avdol and so that the sister of my friend Polnareff may be at peace... you will pay with your life!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 145: Emperor and Hanged Man, Part 6
  • “
    "To truly understand yourself," huh? That's a good tip. But you clearly don't understand your enemies that well, you lack preparation!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 164: Lovers, Part 5
  • “
    It's about time for your punishment, baby. (さお仕置きの時間だよ、ベイビー。)
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 173: Death Thirteen, Part 6
  • “
    Although you are still a baby, I will still break your neck if I have to.
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 174: Judgement, Part 1
  • “
    I curse myself for kneeling to DIO! Because of Jotaro, I decided to join this jorney to seek change and redemption. I won't be the same Kakyoin again, D'Arby! That's why I will wager my soul here! That is why I, Noriaki Kakyoin will not lose this game! All because of my current mental state!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 231: D'Arby the Player, Part 5
  • “
    No regrets. About anything that has happened on this journey or will happen from this point on. I will regret nothing. (後悔はない…今までの旅に…これから起こる事柄に…僕は後悔はない…)
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 249: DIO's World, Part 3
  • “
    I'll make Hierophant Green the way it used to be! Invisible to everyone! I'll make Hierophant Green invisible again to find out his Stand's secret and finish him off!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin about DIO, Chapter 253: DIO's World, Part 7
  • “
    The web attacks you when you touch it! It surrounds you for 20 meters in every direction! It can sense you and your Stand's every move!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 253: DIO's World, Part 7
  • “
    Take this, DIO! 20-Meter Radius Emerald Splash!
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 253: DIO's World, Part 7
  • “
    It's... a message... That's... all I can do... (メ…ッセージ……で…す…これが…せい…いっぱい…です)
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin, Chapter 254: DIO's World, Part 8
  • “
    Mr. Joestar... Please... figure... it... out...
    ”
    —Noriaki Kakyoin's last words, Chapter 254: DIO's World, Part 8

Trivia

 
  • While writing Part 3, Araki had originally intended for the kanji of Kakyoin's first name to be read as "Tenmei." This can be seen when Kakyoin signs his name as "Tenmei Kakyoin" in the log book in Enya's hotel. However, due to a miscommunication between Araki and his editor, his name ended up being "Noriaki."[13]
  • Kakyoin is seen incorrectly wearing Polnareff's earrings several times throughout Part 3. This includes Chapter 160, 164, 172, 182, and 183.
  • According to anime producer Nobutaka Kasama in the 2020 Anime Expo interview about the anime series, the "rero rero" of Kakyoin was particularly difficult for Daisuke Hirakawa (the voice actor for Kakyoin) to pull off since it was to be repeated 17 times and so he had to train himself out of work (for instance rehearsing repeatedly during bathing).

References

  1. ↑ Chapter 159: Justice, Part 6
  2. ↑ See here for detailed explanation.
  3. ↑ JoJo 6251 "World of Hirohiko Araki" P168
  4. ↑ Star Platinum - Vol.1 "Shueisha Jump Remix Stardust Crusaders Edition" P152 The Secret of JOJO Characters
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Chapter 133: Devil, Part 1
  6. ↑ JOJO magazine 2023 WINTER
  7. ↑ JoJo 6251, p.151
  8. ↑ Stone Ocean Chapter 152: Made in Heaven, Part 4 (Note: Originally 1988; changed in later chapters)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 JoJo 6251
  10. ↑ Chapter 139: Yellow Temperance, Part 4
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Chapter 122: Head to Egypt
  12. ↑ Chapter 119: Noriaki Kakyoin, Part 2
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 JoJonium Volume 12 (Noriaki Kakyoin) - Special Interview
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chapter 253: DIO's World, Part 7
  15. ↑ Chapter 143: Emperor and Hanged Man, Part 4
  16. ↑ Chapter 123: Tower of Gray
  17. ↑ Chapter 173: Death Thirteen, Part 6
  18. ↑ Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak: Chapter 13
  19. ↑ JOJO A-GO!GO!: STANDS, p.104
  20. ↑ Chapter 230: D'Arby the Player, Part 4
  21. ↑ Chapter 231: D'Arby the Player, Part 5
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Chapter 232: D'Arby the Player, Part 6

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