Steel Ball Run
JoJolion

Johnny Joestar

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“
It has, truly, been a roundabout path...
”
—Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 85: Ball Breaker, Part 3

Johnny Joestar (ジョニィ・ジョースター, Joni Jōsutā), born Jonathan Joestar (ジョナサン・ジョースター Jonasan Jōsutā), is the protagonist of the seventh arc of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Steel Ball Run, and the seventh JoJo of the series.

A former horse-racing prodigy turned paraplegic, Johnny joins the SBR race to find out the secret behind Gyro Zeppeli's Steel Balls as they're the only thing capable of healing his legs. Over the course of the race, Johnny becomes both a Spin User and a Stand User when he acquires Tusk.

Appearance

Johnny is a young man of below-average height and slim to medium build. He has light eyes, and light, shoulder-length hair curling upwards at its ends.

Johnny always wears a knit cap, printed with many small five-pointed stars. His hair sticks out of holes on either side of the top, taking a shape like short horns. A horseshoe hangs from the front; framing an image of the dark silhouette of the profile of a horse's reared head.

Johnny wears similarly star-patterned pants; of a piece with footwear bearing spurs. He commonly wears a light-colored, hooded, short-sleeved top; printed with thick lines in the approximate formation of a harness (later, with patches in the shape of hearts adorning both shoulders). A long feather (bordered by black with one black spot at its tip) emerges from under the back of his collar; and he wears wrist cuffs patterned with stars and stripes.

In cold weather, Johnny wears a longer-sleeved top of a similar design. His collar is outlined with fur, and he keeps several feathers at his back.

As a paraplegic, before the beginning of the race he is seen using a wheelchair; but during, he is usually mounted on his horse, Slow Dancer.

During the course of the series, Johnny gradually changes into a more realistic appearance; with slightly wavy hair and a slightly fuller build.

Color Schemes

The series is known for alternating colors between media, the information presented below may or may not be canon.
Skin(Fair)
Hair(Blond)
Eyes(Blue)
Outfit
(Light Blue shirt, pants, wristbands, and hat with light pink stars and purple undershirt.)
Hair(Ginger)
Eyes(Cyan)
Outfit
(White shirt and hat with blue stars, blue pants and undershirt with pink stars, and blue wristbands with white stars.)
Hair(Ginger)
Eyes(Cyan)
Outfit
(Green shirt, wristbands, and hat with red stars, and lime green undershirt and pants with red stars.)

Personality

“
I want to get my hands on that corpse no matter what! I don’t care about living or dying or who’s just and who’s evil! I don’t even give a fuck about the corpse being a saint or whatever!! I’m still negative! I want to get up to zero! If I can get the corpse, I can get my negative back to zero!
”
—Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 72: Ticket to Ride, Part 2

Johnny Joestar is a depressive ex-jockey, who clings to his hope of regaining the use of his legs through the Spin and then the Corpse Part throughout Steel Ball Run.

Johnny is introduced as a distant paraplegic man whose career was ruined when he was shot in the spine after conceitedly antagonizing a passerby.[6] After Johnny witnesses Gyro's Steel Balls and Spin, and how they enabled him to stand up on his feet for a moment, he becomes determined to follow him and make him teach the Spin,[7] then after discovering the Corpse Part making his legs twitch, to acquire them.

Dark determination
Johnny stubbornly follows his intentions of following Gyro then track the Corpse. Disregarding the risks or the consequences, Johnny focuses on his goal and puts it above anything else. Several times Johnny endured severe wounds in order to reach his goals, notably trying to get on his horse Slow Dancer which earned him many bruises and a wooden shard through the leg;[8] despite his repeated failures his determination at participating in the race didn't waver. Inversely, Johnny has no qualm being violent or killing his opponents to get the Corpse Parts. Gyro Zeppeli has mentioned that Johnny had "dark determination" in his eyes indicating a ruthlessness which would make Johnny able to kill in cold-blood.[9] This amoral selfishness still extends to the interest of his loved ones and followed him during his whole life, demonstrated years after the Steel Ball Run, as when his wife Rina was struck with the Rock Disease, Johnny then stole the Corpse to beg it to transfer the disease away from her, not caring who would receive it and suffer in her stead.[10] Yet Johnny isn't completely amoral, for instance objecting to involve the defenceless Lucy Steel in their struggle for the Corpse[11] and ultimately taking the Rock Disease for himself to save his son.[12]

During Steel Ball Run, Johnny was burdened by depression and a subsequent lack of confidence. Notably calling himself a useless person, Johnny's bleak outlook of life stemmed from his youth. During his childhood, Johnny was a timid yet kind child, adopting a wild mouse and calling it Danny. Though he was afraid of his harsh father George Joestar, he would try to live up to his expectations. Johnny idolised his older brother Nicholas but when he died, falling from a horse which was seemingly startled by Danny, Johnny became guilt-ridden, believing that his brother's death was his own fault and that he should have died instead. He then believed throughout the years that Fate itself was taking revenge on him for his crime and that every misfortune he received was in fact deserved.[13] It resulted in his obsession with the blessing of the Corpse which would reset his karma to a neutral state of "zero" as opposed to the "negative" state of his curse. It also explains Johnny's rampant lack of confidence and near constant bouts of panic[14][15] as he thought that Fate could at any moment take away his hope of acquiring the Corpse. In addition, when his father disowned him, Johnny, shocked, shut himself off, creating a facade of conceitedness to hide the sadness this rejection caused him.[13]

Johnny's perspective improved greatly upon meeting Gyro Zeppeli. Having met someone who gave him hope and was genuinely nice to him, Johnny felt grateful[16] for meeting the Italian executioner and treasured this relationship, at one point being willing to abandon the Corpse Parts he had to save his friend.[17] Gyro repeatedly knocked Johnny out of his lack of confidence and helped him get the Corpse Parts, giving him assurance and optimism in life. As reflected in the multiple ACTs of his Stand Tusk, the improvement was gradual, the key steps of his progress being Johnny discovering the Corpse (ACT 1),[18] then standing up for himself against Soundman (ACT 2),[19] symbolically cleansing himself of his guilts against Axl Ro and being blessed by Jesus-Christ's apparition (ACT 3)[20] and finally acquiring the Corpse and regaining the use of his legs (ACT 4).[21] Although Gyro died, Johnny kept a good memory of everything that happened. If during the race, Johnny was uncaring of everyone else save himself and Gyro, only maintaining a polite but cold demeanour at best toward the people he met, Gyro's influence made Johnny slightly more friendly toward people, culminating in his marriage with Rina Higashikata.[22]

In JoJolion, a flashback shows that Johnny maintained that happiness during his life with Rina.

Author's comments

Araki personally liked the Jonathan–Zeppeli relationship from Phantom Blood and wanted to retell it again for a longer coming-of-age story.

He chose to make Johnny and Gyro around the same age so they could be less formal and more friendly than their original counterparts similar to the Joseph-Caesar relationship from Battle Tendency. Gyro's random jokes and Johnny's use of his spinning nails to accomplish trivial tasks were included to reflect this concept.[23]

Abilities

Spin / Tusk

Main article: Tusk
See also: Spin

Johnny first seeks Gyro Zeppeli's tutelage in the ways of the Spin in order to regain the use of his legs. Most often, Johnny channels the Spin by the use of his Stand, Tusk; developed first with the power of the Corpse's left hand, and further with Gyro's help. Its form varies, depending on the sort or style of Spin Johnny chooses to employ.

  • ACT1 is awakened in the Devil's Palm when the corpse part combines itself with Johnny's left hand, manifesting his Stand with the ability to spin his nails and fire them akin to bullets, and regrowing his nails in seconds.
  • ACT2 manifests when Johnny shoots a nail whilst incorporating the Golden Rectangle in a fight against Sandman. Despite the longer regrow time, the nails possess more power and a new ability that lets the holes of the bullets follow the target for a small amount of time.
  • ACT3 is the final "base" form for Tusk and manifests when Johnny shoots himself with a Golden Rectangle-empowered nail, enabling him to transfer parts of his body through the holes to shoot from different directions. It was awakened by an advice from Jesus in a fight against Axl RO.
  • ACT4 manifests itself as a result of Johnny utilizing Slow Dancer's power combined with the golden rectangle, which enables Johnny to fire Golden Spin nail-bullets that have infinite rotation. ACT4 possesses the power to force open D4C Love Train's dimensional wall, and trap anyone hit by it to a single spot indefinitely.

Personal

  • Horseriding:Johnny Joestar has been described as a genius jockey, being one of the favorites of the Steel Ball Run race. His skill allows him to ride across many types of terrain, and challenge even fellow genius jockey Diego Brando. Johnny possesses great knowledge of his horse Slow Dancer, notably its abilities and limits, being able to gauge what Slow Dancer will be capable of at any moment.
  • Intelligence:Johnny Joestar proves himself a competent Stand User, being able to use Tusk's abilities to the fullest. Johnny Joestar has occasionally used the terrain and his enemies own power against them, and was perceptive enough to quickly deduce Alternate Diego's time stopping power.
  • Marksmanship:When using Tusk, Johnny proves to possess great marksmanship, being able to hit little and/or moving targets, even if firing from odd angles and perspectives, such as when Tusk ACT3 separates his hand from his arm.

Chapters

Book Icon.png Manga Appearances
Chapters in order of appearance

Quotes

Quote.png Quotes
  • “
    Hey, you! What's with that Steel Ball?
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar to Gyro Zeppeli, Steel Ball Run Chapter 2: Gyro Zeppeli
  • “
    This story is the tale of me starting to walk. Not in the physical sense... but in an adolescence to adulthood sort of way...
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 2: Gyro Zeppeli
  • “
    There was a beauty that existed on this beach... a beauty within the darkness. I was drawn to something on this beach Will there be a light called hope here...?
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 3: Johnny Joestar
  • “
    The Spin... All hope... it's all in the Spin! I want to know more... more about the Steel Balls...
    ”
  • “
    You ran well. Old horse, you've gained a lot of experience from this race. Riding on the rough ground, going across that forest, and rushing downhill with no errors. And despite how much you've been sweating, you can still keep on going...! Your legs are in perfect shape! Your breathing is also in good spirits! We're only at 40-50 horse lengths away! But he dashed ahead too early! He'll be tired! Let's surprise this Gyro Zeppeli!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar to Slow Dancer, Steel Ball Run Chapter 10: The Final Stretch: 2,000 Meters Left
  • “
    A race is a race... there's no reason for you to wait for me... I'll catch up with you after I wipe up my blood!
    ”
  • “
    This is why I signed up for this race... to know the secret of the Spin and to learn it myself. I'll do it! If I don't, everything will end here!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 19: The Devil's Palm, Part 2
  • “
    My nails just shot out from my lame feeeet!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 26 : Tusk, Part 2
  • “
    I will never hand over this corpse! This has become my hope!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 26 : Tusk, Part 2
  • “
    This ability has far surpassed a simple nail… it’s a Tusk. From now on I will call this Tusk.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 27 : Tusk, Part 3
  • “
    It wasn’t supposed to be my brother, it should have been me who was taken. I should have been the one to die… That’s why I had to pay the price. Someday, Fate would catch up with me.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 42 : Silent Way, Part 3
  • “
    I understand now. I’ve realized! Where I should shoot my nail bullets…!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 58 : Civil War, Part 3
  • “
    I am not wavering anymore!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 59 : A Dream of Gettysburg
  • “
    We’re going to go and corner Dio and take the Left Eye. But, of course… he’ll relatiate, using his Stand. If we ease up on him, he’ll kill us both. I just want to know what you’ll do when he starts fighting back… I’m prepared to shoot him, if need be.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 64 : Chocolate Disco, Part 1
  • “
    Shit. Just a little more, dammit! I’m sure it’s just a little more! I want to get my hands on that corpse no matter what! I don’t care about living or dying or who’s just and who’s evil! I don’t even give a fuck about the corpse being a saint or whatever!! I’m still negative! I want to get up to zero! If I can get the corpse, I can get my negative back to zero!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 72 : Ticket to Ride, Part 2
  • “
    Do you know what a fetish is? I’ve got a little fetish… This is… well, huh… with girls…. Do you know what a bug bite fetish is…? When girl’s arms or legs or something get bitten by a mosquito and their skin swells and gets a little red. That excites me! That’s all! Don’t tell anybody! Ah, I knew it, I take it back! I told you I’d wish I hadn’t said it!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar’s biggest secret, Steel Ball Run Chapter 76 : D4C, Part 9
  • “
    It’s truly, truly been… a very long roundabout path…
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 85 : Ball Breaker, Part 3
  • “
    The perfect rotation energy… and I still have one nail bullet left.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 85 : Ball Breaker, Part 3
  • “
    Gyro, for this reason… this was the reason for “lesson 5”. Thank you… Thank you, Gyro. I truly… truly… thank you… I can’t find any other words to express it.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 86 : Ball Breaker, Part 4
  • “
    Tusk ACT 4. The sacrifice, President Valentine! Which do you think it will really be? Ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora ora oraaaah!!!!!!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 86 : Ball Breaker, Part 4
  • “
    Gyro… I’m sorry… I’m really sorry… I wanted to believe … I really wanted to believe the President… Goodbye. Gyro… goodbye.
    ”
  • “
    Who knows that the Corpse is really important…? Who understands the Corpse? In this world, it is I alone, Johnny Joestar. There’s no way I’ll hand it over to anyone… the only one with the right to end this is me!
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 90 : High Voltage, Part 1
  • “
    In this situation… I wanna say something tough… like Gyro would.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 92 : High Voltage, Part 3
  • “
    This is a story of revival… How I was literally able to start walking again… and thinking back, I was constantly praying the whole journey… even this cross-continental race by horse was a journey of prayer. Praying for the weather tomorrow. Praying that when when we wake up the next day there would be a road on the land. Praying that we would have food and a place to sleep. Praying that our campfire would light. And while these common things would repeat, prayer that my friend and the horses would be okay. And we crossed each river one by one. Now… I have crossed the final river.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar’s last narration, Steel Ball Run Chapter 95 : The World of Stars and Stripes - Outro
  • “
    Why don’t we pray… that we have a safe voyage… crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and getting you back home… home. Let’s go home.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, Steel Ball Run Chapter 95 : The World of Stars and Stripes - Outro

Quote.png Quotes
  • “
    Why did it have to be the person I loved...? Why did the disease have to choose her...? Just one time... just this once... please, forgive me. Can't you just give it to someone I don't know in her place...? As long as my wife is spared, I'm okay with that... just this once.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, JoJolion Chapter 22: Morioh 1901
  • “
    I won't use the Holy Corpse anymore. It will bring misfortune to someone somewhere. George Joestar, I'm glad I was able to meet you... that is enough for me.... I couldn't exchange that for anything. I have found a happiness... that cannot be replaced.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar, JoJolion Chapter 22: Morioh 1901
  • “
    [The disease] will be exchanged for something of equivalent value. But I have something here I couldn't exchange for anything.
    ”
    —Johnny Joestar's last words, JoJolion Chapter 22: Morioh 1901

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Steel Ball Run Chapter 3: Johnny Joestar
  2. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 42: Silent Way, Part 3
  3. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 64: Chocolate Disco, Part 1
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 JoJolion Chapter 21: "Shakedown Road", Part 4 pp.28-30
  5. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 12: 1st Stage: Disqualified from Victory
  6. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 3: Johnny Joestar, p7-10
  7. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 3: Johnny Joestar, p31
  8. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 4: September 25, 1890 - 3 Hours to Start, p10
  9. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 64: Chocolate Disco, Part 1, p14
  10. ↑ JoJolion Chapter 22: Morioh 1901, p5
  11. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 40: Silent Way, Part 1, p33
  12. ↑ JoJolion Chapter 22: Morioh 1901, p11-12
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Steel Ball Run Chapter 42: Silent Way, Part 3, p4-33
  14. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 43: Silent Way, Part 4, p10
  15. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 79: D4C, Part 12 -Love Train-, p39-41
  16. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 86: Ball Breaker, Part 4, p2
  17. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 48: Tubular Bells, Part 1, p14
  18. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 20: Gyro Zeppeli's Mission, Part 1
  19. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 43: Silent Way, Part 4, p50
  20. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 59: A Dream of Gettysburg, p6
  21. ↑ Steel Ball Run Chapter 85: Ball Breaker, Part 3, p52
  22. ↑ JoJolion Chapter 21: "Shakedown Road", Part 4, p44
  23. ↑ 2007 Eureka issue


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