Josuke Higashikata ★ History
A detailed chronological summary of the life of Josuke Higashikata.
Early life
As a result of DIO being pierced by the Stand-creating Arrow, Josuke, possessing the Joestar Bloodline that runs in Jonathan's body, develops a Stand, but suffers a fever, not unlike that of his half-sister Holy.
He is then saved by a then-high school student with a pompadour, who throws his coat under his mother's car in order to allow their car to plow safely through the snow. This then inspires Josuke's admiration for the man with the pompadour.
Diamond is Unbreakable (1999)
Meeting Jotaro
At the start of the highschool year on an April morning in the year of 1999, Josuke prepares to start his year and sees a turtle. To combat his fear of turtles, Josuke tries to approach it and is bullied by a group of delinquents. Although he accepts the bullying, one of the seniors make the mistake of deriding Josuke's hairstyle. He summons his Stand which punches the delinquent in the face. The thug's face is deformed, which frightens the group and makes them run away. Josuke is then confronted by Jotaro, the protagonist of Stardust Crusaders. The man then reveals himself to be Josuke's nephew. Josuke was, in fact, the product of an illegitimate affair between Joseph Joestar and the Japanese woman Tomoko Higashikata. Josuke did not seem surprised by the news; he informed Jotaro that he had long since accepted the circumstances of his birth. Nevertheless, he apologised to Jotaro for his birth causing trouble between Joseph and Suzi Q.
However, Jotaro makes the unfortunate mistake of insulting Josuke's hairstyle, causing him to attack Jotaro in a fit of rage. Jotaro takes note of his Stand Crazy Diamond, which possesses speed and power enough to match that of Star Platinum. He proceeds to tell Josuke about the second reason he had come to Morioh: an evil killer named Anjuro "Angelo" Katagiri is on the loose, and he possesses a Stand, to make things worse. Jotaro warns Josuke (and Koichi Hirose, who happens to be nearby) to watch out for any signs of the man. He then goes to Budogaoka where he joins the first year class 1-B along with Koichi.
Fighting Anjuro Katagiri
On his way home, Josuke witnesses a supermarket robbery. At first, Josuke is satisfied with watching the incident from afar, but the hostage taker notices a car near Josuke and yells at the teenager to stand aside, also insulting his pompadour. Furious, Josuke confronts the hostage taker. He punches through the hostage and the robber, but his power spares both, although the robber's knife is now trapped inside of his skin. It turns out the robber was under the influence of Angelo and his water-based Stand Aqua Necklace. Angered at Josuke's interference, Angelo swears to find Josuke's home and kill his family.
The next morning, Josuke prepares himself in the bathroom while calling Jotaro. He sees Aqua Necklace slipping inside of his mother Tomoko's mouth and acts. Summoning Crazy Diamond, Josuke has it punch through Tomoko, crush a bottle, then fix both to trap the enemy Stand in the bottle. Jotaro tells Jotaro and awaits his coming. When Ryohei his grandfather comes back, the policeman pranks his son with a fake gun. Josuke is distracted by the sound of a car and leaves to greet Jotaro, but Angelo craftily changes his Stand to mimic a bottle of brandy and tricks Josuke's grandfather Ryohei Higashikata into taking a drink. Ryohei dies, and even the abilities of Crazy Diamond could not revive him. Josuke decides to protect Morioh in his grandfather's place.
He and Jotaro set up camp within the Higashikata household, drinking and eating only bottled water and canned food for three days. When it begins to rain, Angelo carries his Stand in on the raindrops. Aqua Necklace infiltrates the Higashikata's house, opens the faucets and boils water to expose the heroes to as much water as possible. Josuke is ambushed by Aqua Necklace turned into a steam cloud, and cannot be caught. Despite everything, Josuke is confident. When they are cornered by the steam, Crazy Diamond punches through a wall to go to the living room and repairs the wall to block the steam. However, Josuke is ambushed by a humidifier that blows in Josuke's face. Aqua Necklace enter Josuke's body. Then, Josuke reveals that he's swallowed a shredded rubber glove earlier. He repairs the glove and spit it out, trapping the enemy Stand again.
Anjuro is uncovered and the two JoJos confront him. Katagiri tries to dissuade Josuke from killing him, claiming that it would bring him down to his level. Instead, Josuke pummel Anjuro against a nearby rock and fuses his body with the rock, trapping him forever. Jotaro uses the occasion to interrogate Anjuro about the origin of his powers. Anjuro reveals that he was shot with a Bow and Arrow by a mysterious man. When Anjuro takes a boy hostage, Josuke pummels Anjuro again, completely fusing him with the rock. The Angelo rock becomes a landmark in Morioh.
The Nijimura Brothers
One day, Josuke and Koichi notice a suspicious house on their way to school, seemingly wrecked and abandoned. The house turns out to be the residence of the brothers Okuyasu and Keicho Nijimura, two Stand users. A fight ensues when Keicho shoots Koichi with an Arrow, and although Josuke rapidly defeats Okuyasu, Keicho is a tougher opponent. Nonetheless, Josuke manages to use Keicho's Bad Company against him and wins.
Josuke and Koichi then discover Nijimura's Father in the attic, now a dumb monster, which Keicho reveals is seeking to kill in order to end his suffering. Josuke manages to prove that the father still has sentience in him and that there may be a cure for his condition. However, the three are suddenly attacked by Red Hot Chili Pepper, and Keicho is killed taking a blow for Okuyasu. Red Hot Chili Pepper then escapes with the Stand Bow and Arrow.
Koichi Hirose (Echoes)
When Okuyasu and Koichi fall victim to Tamami's Stand, he saves them by revealing the cat Koichi ran over was a toy and heals Tamami's tooth. He is surprised when he sees Tamami handing Koichi his bag.
Surface
Hearing information from Tamami Kobayashi, Josuke and Koichi investigate a third year student from their high school, Toshikazu Hazamada. Hazamada's Stand Surface takes on the appearance of Josuke and sets off to assassinate Kujo Jotaro. With Koichi's help, the two manages to meet Jotaro before Hazamada and the false Josuke. While Surface briefly succeeded in gaining control of Josuke's body, Hazamada is attacked by two thugs he angered earlier, and soon knocked out by Josuke's fists. Josuke also destroys the wooden body Surface was using.
The Kidnapping of Koichi Hirose
After Yukako Yamagishi's intense declaration of love, Koichi confides his troubles with his friends Josuke and Okuyasu. They advise that in order to cause Yukako to lose interest in him, he has to convince her he is not worth her time. Josuke then tries spreading the rumor that Koichi is a petty thief and a cheat.
Unfortunately, this causes the exact opposite of the intended effect, and Koichi is kidnapped by Yukako and taken to a mansion on the far end of Morioh. When Koichi is nowhere to be found the following morning, Josuke assumes something is wrong. He and Okuyasu track Koichi's desperate phone call and arrive just in time to witness him defeating Yukako with his new and improved Stand.
Trattoria Trussardi
One afternoon, Okuyasu and Josuke discover a new restaurant. Upon Okuyasu's insistence, the two head inside. The head chef and waiter Tonio Trussardi greets them, promising a very special Italian course to cure Okuyasu's sleep deprivation and other ailments. Josuke's suspicions grow as Okuyasu dish cause various strange phenomenons on his body, and storms into the kitchen to confront Tonio.
However, Tonio is revealed to be harmless and only crosses with Josuke for entering the kitchen without washing his hands. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, Josuke and Okuyasu introduce themselves to Tonio as fellow Stand users. Though, Josuke is forced to clean Tonio's entire kitchen from top to bottom because he broke in without respecting proper hygiene.
The Search for Red Hot Chili Pepper
One evening, the Stand Red Hot Chili Pepper appears from Josuke's television set and looks for a fight. Although Crazy Diamond is seemingly stronger and faster, Red Hot Chili Pepper manages to overpower it briefly and flees. The next day, Josuke, Koichi and Okuyasu learn from Jotaro that Josuke's father Joseph will come root out the Stand user, but Red Hot Chili Pepper eavesdrop on them and escapes.
At the harbour, while Jotaro and Okuyasu go meet Joseph on his boat to bodyguard him, Josuke encounters Red Hot Chili Pepper's user Akira Otoishi. Although Red Hot Chili Pepper is the most powerful, Josuke manages to trap it in a tire then make it dissolve its electricity in the ocean, defeating it.
Afterward, although Akira manages to approach Joseph, he is defeated by Okuyasu, and Josuke meets his estranged father.
Achtung Baby
Josuke and Joseph's relationship is awkward, and Josuke initially wants Joseph to leave Morioh as soon as possible. They are distracted when they meet an invisible baby and have to take care of it. When the baby falls into a pond, Joseph slits his wrist and the blood allows Josuke to spot the invisible baby before she can drown, forcing Josuke's respect.
He was upset when he found out about all the money Joseph spent on baby supplies.
Visiting Rohan
One day, Josuke and Okuyasu spot Koichi entering the house of a famous mangaka named Rohan Kishibe. Suspicious because Koichi is wounded, both break into the house but Rohan's Heaven's Door allows him to transform anyone who sees his artwork into a powerless book. However Rohan makes the mistake of insulting Josuke's hairstyle, causing him to be literally blind with rage and become immune to Heaven's Door, and Josuke sends Rohan to the hospital.
The origin of Josuke's hairstyle is revealed. One day when he was ill, he had to be taken to the hospital but his mother's car was blocked in the middle of nowhere. A teenager with a pompadour helped push the car with his jacket under the wheel for better traction and saved Josuke, and to this day, Josuke takes after his savior's hairstyle.
Hunting Ratt
Jotaro enlists Josuke on a rat hunt, as Akira Otoishi used the Arrow on a rat, which survived. Seeking to stop a potential swarm of rat Stand users, Jotaro and Josuke hunt what is revealed to be two rats, which can melt anyone with darts. One rat is killed rapidly but the second nearly kills Jotaro before Josuke can snipe it.
Coins, Stamps and the Lottery
One day, Josuke notices that his bank account is nearly empty because he spent his money frivolously. Desperate for money, he and Okuyasu meet the Stand user Shigekiyo Yangu, a middle schooler, whose swarm-like Harvest can go look for anything. Although Josuke and Okuyasu devise successful ploys to become rich thanks to Harvest, Shigekiyo's greed causes them to fight over 5,000,000 yen. Shigekiyo is eventually distracted by Josuke destroying the prize and foolishly sends Harvest away, leaving him defenseless to be beaten. The three eventually reconcile.
The Mysterious Kira Yoshikage
One day, Josuke sees a disintegrating Harvest giving him a jacket button, although Shigekiyo was alive and well not five minutes after. The ghost Reimi Sugimoto confirms that the mysterious killer who has been preying on the women of Morioh is responsible for Shigekiyo's death, and every ally of Josuke begin a hunt for the killer.
Josuke is eventually called by Koichi, who has encountered the killer's Stand, and Josuke arrives in time to corner the murderer, Yoshikage Kira. However, Kira manages to flee and change his face by using the local beautician Aya Tsuji's power.
An Alien Encounter
One day, Josuke and Okuyasu meet the self-proclaimed alien Nu Mikitakazo Nshi. Although skeptical at first, Josuke becomes convinced that Nu is an alien because he cannot see Stands despite having shape-shifting powers.
Since his mother froze his bank account, Josuke is again desperate for money and devises another plan with Nu's cooperation. Josuke sets up a game of cee-lo with Rohan in which the dice are secretly Nu, but Nu's unfamiliarity with the rules almost gets Josuke caught. The game finishes with Rohan's house burning while Josuke gets away, and the grudge between the two increases.
The next day, Josuke sees Nu with his mother, but while Mikitata insists he's hypnotized her, the mother also mentions that Mikitaka believes he's an alien, confusing Josuke.
Highway Skirmish
One day, Josuke meets Rohan on the bus. Rohan still has a grudge, but when the Stand Highway Star traps Rohan in a tunnel and almost traps Josuke, Rohan frees Josuke at his expenses, and Josuke must now find Highway Star's user while being pursued by it.
Calling Koichi for help, Josuke manages to ride Rohan's motorcycle from the tunnel to the hospital where Yuya Fungami is being hospitalized. Josuke beats him up and frees Rohan.
The Man on the Tower
One day, Josuke, Okuyasu and Mikitaka discover a disconnected electric tower in which lives Toyohiro Kanedaichi, a man who lives in autarcy inside the tower. Josuke is trapped inside the tower, revealed to be the Stand Super Fly, but Josuke cooperates with Mikitaka to battle Toyohiro, who eventually apologizes and reveals that Koichi was attacked by another Stand user.
Enigma
Josuke enlists the help of Yuya in order to investigate how Koichi disappeared. Both meet Terunosuke Miyamoto, the user of Enigma, a Stand which imprisons people in paper. While Josuke is trapped, Yuya manages to save him as well as Koichi, and Terunosuke is fused to paper and becomes a book. Josuke then proceeds to imprison him in the library.
Showdown with Kira
Rohan manages to discover a serious lead, as the young Hayato Kawajiri suspiciously spies on his father Kosaku. The group organizes a meeting in order to interrogate Hayato, but Hayato who has discovered that his father Kosaku is the murderer, calls Josuke ahead and makes Kira reveal his name while Josuke is listening.
A fight ensues between Kira, Josuke and Okuyasu, but Okuyasu is fatally wounded by the combination of Killer Queen and Stray Cat's powers. While Josuke heals Okuyasu, the latter remains unconscious while Josuke is retreating inside a house. Kira attacks him from outside with explosive bubbles, but Josuke manages to discover that Yoshihiro Kira was helping Yoshikage, and makes Kira inadvertently kill his father. Kira is then wounded by a projectile, and a close-quarter fight ensues between Crazy Diamond and Killer Queen. Crazy Diamond is almost defeated, but Okuyasu manages to teleport Stray Cat away from Killer Queen, allowing Josuke to bypass its defense and pummel Kira into the main street, where Jotaro, Koichi and Rohan were waiting.
Kira is surrounded and wounded but still determined. When a doctor approaches him, Kira almost activates his time loop, however, Koichi and Jotaro manage to take him down, and Kira is accidentally run over by an ambulance.
Farewell to the Golden Heart
Now that Morioh is safe from evil Stand users, Jotaro and Joseph depart from the town, and Josuke sees them off, saluting them on last time. Josuke, however, manages to steal Joseph's wallet as his allowance for all these years.
(The information below derives from the TV Anime. As such, it may or may not be considered canon.)
He is last seen talking with Okuyasu and Koichi about a rumor the former heard and decided to go investigate that rumor.
The Book: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 4th Another Day
Josuke helps the stand users of Morioh to find the killer of Hanae Orikasa. During the investigation, Josuke's mother is injured, leading Josuke to confront Takuma Hasumi, the killer. Takuma finds out that Josuke was saved by a student with a pompadour in his past and tries to use it against him, but this just upsets Josuke more. Even retaining serious injuries from The Book, Josuke manages to defeat Takuma, who ends up falling from the roof of the library against Josuke's will.
Rohan at the Louvre
Josuke makes a nonspeaking cameo in this one-shot. He heard Rohan's story about Nanase Kishibe with Koichi and Okuyasu before the mangaka decided to investigate Nizaemon Yamamura's painting "Under the Moon".
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (OVA)
Josuke makes a cameo appearance in the ending when Rohan talks to Koichi and Okuyasu. Only the back of his head and torso are visible in the shot, however.
JoJolion
Josuke's counterpart in the Alternate Universe is also named Josuke Higashikata, who was found buried in the ground by Yasuho Hirose. Two other JoJolion characters, Norisuke Higashikata IV and Josefumi Kujo, are influenced by the original Josuke. Norisuke's birth name was Josuke and Josefumi's hairstyle is similar to Josuke's.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Over Heaven
Josuke is mentioned in the Author's Note, and is said to have collaborated with the translator to restore DIO's Diary for the Speedwagon Foundation in an attempt to locate a means by which to awaken Jotaro from his coma during the events of Stone Ocean.
Major Battles
- Josuke & Jotaro vs Anjuro Katagiri[1]
- Josuke vs Okuyasu Nijimura[2]
- Josuke & Koichi vs Keicho Nijimura[3]
- Josuke & Koichi vs Toshikazu Hazamada[4]
- Josuke vs Akira Otoishi[5]
- Josuke vs Rohan Kishibe[6]
- Josuke vs Bug-Eaten[7]
- Josuke & Okuyasu vs Shigekiyo Yangu[8]
- Josuke vs Yuya Fungami
- Josuke vs Toyohiro Kanedaichi
- Josuke vs Terunosuke Miyamoto
- Josuke & Okuyasu vs Yoshikage Kira
References
- ↑ Chapter 271: Josuke Higashikata! Meets Angelo (3)
- ↑ Chapter 274: The Nijimura Brothers (1)
- ↑ Chapter 277: The Nijimura Brothers (4)
- ↑ Chapter 290: Toshikazu Hazamada (Surface) (2)
- ↑ Chapter 307: Red Hot Chili Pepper (1)
- ↑ Chapter 323: Let's Go Play at the Mangaka's House! (6)
- ↑ Chapter 326: Let's Go Hunting! (2)
- ↑ Chapter 336: Shigechi's Harvest (2)
