Stand

Stand
File:Download.jpg
Localized Name	Stand
Literal Meaning	Stand (Ghostly Ripple)
User(s):	List of Stand Users
Fighting Style Focus	Stand Types
Manga Debut	Chapter 114

The Stand (スタンド, Sutando) is a supernatural power unique to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Generally, Stands defend and empower their users in a variety of ways, and when revealed may be represented by figures hovering near to them.

When first presented, the kana スタンド (Sutando/Stand) is written above the kanji 幽波紋 (Yūhamon), meaning "Ghostly Ripple"; marking a relationship to the bodily energy of the Ripple featured before.

General Stand Rules

The concept of and rules governing Stands have been summarized in the manga on the cover page of Chapter 139, and in an update in the dedicated bonus chapter SBR Chapter 42.5.

• A Stand protects its user, like a guardian. The name comes from "standing by" the user, sometimes using their powers without direct orders in order to protect the user, and by extension, themselves.
• A person can have only one Stand (though their Stand may metamorphosize (e.g. Echoes)).
• A Stand is part of its user, and damage is reflected between the two. Usually, if a Stand's leg is cut off, its user will lose their leg as well. Certain aspects of some Stands, such as the armor of Silver Chariot, are immune to this effect.
• Stands may only be seen by Stand users; the exception being Stands bound to physical objects (e.g. Strength; attached once to a boat).
• The further a Stand is from its user, the weaker it becomes – Long-range Stands and/or Stands' long-range abilities are simpler in mechanism.
• Stands are usually bound to their user's body, but exceptions abound; Wheel of Fortune being bound to a car, and The Fool being bound to sand.
• As Stands are just images created by energy, the users are able to shrink them, mostly to enter the body of the opponent and attack its inside. Staying small, however, is very hard and takes a lot of energy.
• Most Stands have no personal goals, serving their master without question. Stands who don't have users will generally go wild, such as Notorious B.I.G. and Anubis. Some Stands show personality, speaking to others besides their master, but most still serve their master without question. An exception to this rule can be Silver Chariot Requiem.
• Stands are epic, nuff said

In Part VII: Steel Ball Run, Stand mechanisms change somewhat. They no longer commonly appear in battle (appearing mainly after they are indirectly invoked, e.g. Tusk): The user does the attacking instead. They also often appear less human or animal; and more of them seem conscious, occasionally even speaking to their users (e.g. Hey Ya!).

The first Stands in the JoJo universe are named after the Major Arcana of the Tarot and Ancient Egyptian deities, and often openly attributed some similarity. Near the end of Part III and onwards, Stands are commonly named after musical artists, albums, and songs.

Stand Types

Main article: Stand Types

See also: Special Stand

Each Stand is unique, but many share enough characteristics that they may be grouped under specific Stand Types. Very uncommon Stands are called Special Stands.

Stand Statistics

A Stand's abilities are categorized by 6 statistics: Destructive power, speed, range, durability/staying, precision and developmental potential/learning.

Destructive Power (破壊力):
Measures the Stand's strength and ability to cause destruction in a given period of time. Not only limited to brute force, but also to its abilities combined.

Speed (スピード):
Measures the Stand's agility and performance speed.

Range: (射程距離)
Measures the Stand's range of manifestation, range of ability influence, and spatial mobility.

Durability/Staying (持続力):
Measures the Stand's endurance and level of susceptibility to damage and attacks. This category may also gauge the effectiveness of the ability's binding toward physical objects.

Precision (精密動作性):
Measures the Stand's accuracy and its ability's range of influence to specified targets.

Development Potential/Learning (成長性):
Measures the Stand's possible functions and utilization of its abilities and powers.

Each statistic is ranked from A to E; though rankings of Infinite and None are also possible. Rankings are defined as follows:

A: Excellent
B: Good
C: Average (the same level as a normal person)
D: Weak
E: Very Weak

For range, rankings are defined as follows:

A: 100 meters (little over 328 feet)
B: 50 meters (little over 164 feet)
C: 20 meters (66 feet)
D: 10 meters (33 feet)
E: 2 meters (7 feet)

To elaborate on the Developmental Potential attribute, it decreases in rank as the user masters his or her Stand. For example, Star Platinum is Rank A in Developmental Potential during Part III, but is Rank E during Part VI, as Jotaro has had many years to hone Star Platinum's power, leaving little room for any more growth.

Stand Development and User Potential

In general, only those with unusually strong spiritual power and determination (but not limited to human beings) can develop Stands, as they are typically a reflection of the wielder's spirit.

However, those who gain Stands without such a needed trait in order to fully stabilize and harness them are subject to negative and harmful influences due to the Stand turning onto their user. These range from disease-like symptoms (as experienced by Holly Joestar), possible disease like symptoms, to the out-of-control Stand actively and knowledgeably trying to harm the unworthy user, even going as far as to attack them (as witnessed by Avdol). There also exist Harmful Stands that may or may not be a reflection of this.

Stands can be developed through innate talent, practice, or artificially through the Bow and Arrow, which in turn creates stand users throughout the existing bloodline of the person hit by the arrow (as was the case for the Joestar family).

Notable users who acquired a Stand without the Bow and Arrow include Muhammad Avdol, Tonio Trussardi and Kenzou.

List of Stands

See List of Stands.

History

The concept of "Stand" (a contraction of the phrase "one who stands by me") was introduced in Part III of the manga series. According to Joseph Joestar, it is the manifestation of an individual's innate "fighting spirit" and represents, to an extent, the individual's psyche. Joseph once referred to it in the manga as the "ghost ripple" (quite apt, as most of them take on humanoid forms and hover around the wielders like wraiths) though there is no mention of a connection to the Hamon technique after Part 3. Stands often hover behind and above the user while usually being invisible to non-stand users. Most Stand Users can access the "senses" of their Stands, seeing and hearing whatever their Stands can.

To people without the power of the Stand, who normally cannot see them, the activities of the Stands are comparable to ghostly and poltergeist activity, and ESP. This behavior is evidently seen when Jotaro imprisons himself, takes a gun from the guard, aims it at his head, and pulls the trigger of the gun. His Stand's hand caught the bullet before it reached his head. For the normal people around him, it would appear that the bullet was suspended in midair, and as a result, the other prisoners in his cell and even the guards feared Jotaro.

An interesting trend regarding Stands is that in their earlier appearances in Parts III and IV had a more humanoid appearance and mostly elemental powers, but later in Parts V and VI, Stands take on a more mechanical look and have more physical and intricate abilities (such as controlling gravity).

Although stands manifest themselves from the wielder's psyche, some abilities cannot be controlled and may even restrict the wielder (e.g, Superfly). Though most stands act at the wielder's will, some stands are "automatic" and the wielders cannot keep track of their actions (e.g, Black Sabbath).

It is interesting to note that the stands began to take on names of distinguished bands and album titles starting from late in Part III, though continue to retain an English name format very similar to the tarot stands from Part III. Most of them are progressive rock bands, as Araki himself is a fan of this music genre. Most Stands in Part III are named after tarot cards, and later, nine are named after Egyptian gods.

Despite their power, Stands hold one drawback: any damage the Stand receives is transmitted to its user (i.e. if a Stand's leg were to be ripped off, the Stand's user will have his or her leg severed as well). This has served as a way for defeating most of the encountered opponents throughout the series, though some Stands are immune to this factor, such as Silver Chariot with its armor on.

Trivia

• The use of the word "Stand" to term the manifestations of supernatural powers in the series may have been inspired by the 1961 Ben E. King song 'Stand by Me', or possibly the 1988 R.E.M. song 'Stand'.
• Their basis is very similar to the concepts of thoughtforms, being a manifestation of mental and spiritual energy of an individual into a semi-sentient and existent being.
• A running theme is that the main villains from Part III forward have a Stand ability related to time or space manipulation: Dio Brando (Part III) and Diego Brando from another universe (Part VII) can stop time, Yoshikage Kira (Part IV) can loop time, Diavolo (Part V) can erase time, Enrico Pucci (Part VI) can cause time to accelerate, and Funny Valentine (Part VII) can access alternate timelines & manipulate space. This is because Araki believes that a story can't be good without powerful villains, and he already stated that he thinks that if one can fully control time or space, that one would be unbeatable.
• When creating stands, Hirohiko Araki wanted to represent powers in a visual form instead of just drawing objects affected by said powers (like walls being blown off or spoons bending).
• Araki remembers many people being upset when Stands suddenly replaced Ripple within the story and was initially worried that no one would be able to understand them. He thinks the stats sheets helped fans accept the idea better.
• The original idea of Stands being a ghostly form of the Ripple is subtly referenced in All Star Battle, where attacks from Jotaro's Star Platinum, when performed on Vampire characters, will generate less silver health than usual, an attribute also exhibited by Ripple style characters.
• The Stands predate and codify the concepts of the TV Trope "Fighting Spirit". The Shin Megami Tensei franchise in terms of the Persona series shares this coincidental concept with JoJo's Stands with their titular Personas, to the point where recent fighting games between them (JoJo's two fighters as well as the recent Persona 4: Arena and its sequel) have similarities in their battle systems.
  • What's more, both All Star Battle and Persona 4: Arena make use of current mechanics in fighting games as of Under Night In-Birth, such as auto-combos into a Super via light attack, and as per Arc System Works tradition, P4U as developed by said company makes use of the "Anywhere Cancel" concept in the form of the 1 More Cancel like with All Star Battle's Puttsun Cancel.
  • The Persona are a concept similar to most of the Part III Stands, in that they represent something like the person ego; in Persona's case, the Persona given to many of the playable characters are represented by their arcana via tarot, and most Personae are all named after famous gods and mythological figures.