Jotaro Kujo
<tabview> Jotaro Kujo|Introduction Star Platinum|Abilities And Stand </tabview>
Jotaro Kujo (空条 承太郎, Kūjō Jōtarō) is the most well known hero of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He has a recognizable attire of a blue trenchcoat-length school uniform jacket with yellow chains on the collar, with a blue cap that appears to be seemingly torn at the back. He is also known for a quick and short temper. He is the only JoJo to make an appearance in four different parts of the series
Early Life (1971-1987)
Much of Jotaro's youth was that of a normal Japanese child. He participated in many activities, including playing ball as a toddler, running track as a young boy, and attending school. Throughout this, he was supported and supervised by his mother, Holly, while his father was constantly on tour.[2]
Part III: Stardust Crusaders (1988)
Possessed by an "Evil Spirit"
In 1987, at the age of seventeen, Jotaro severely injured four gang members in a fight. Knowing his strength could not grow to such a length, he began thinking he was possessed by an "evil spirit" and so turned himself into the police. Despite the police and Holly telling him he was free to go, Jotaro insisted on staying, demonstrating the danger by taking one of the policeman's guns and shooting himself in the head. He was not killed, however, as a third arm appeared to him and was able to catch the bullet in mid-air.[2]
Holly soon called her father, Joseph Joestar, to work out the situation. After a brief chat between Jotaro and Joseph failed to sway Jotaro, Joseph sent out his Egyptian friend, Mohammed Abdul. Abdul then sent out his own "evil spirit", known as Magician's Red, and trapped Jotaro's limbs with rings of fire.[3] In defense, Jotaro's "evil spirit" fully appeared before Jotaro and successfully released him from the fire. Joseph then revealed that the "evil spirit" was known as a Stand, a manifestation of an individual's life force. While breaking the iron bars of his cell, Jotaro accidentally let himself out of his cell. With Jotaro freed, Joseph told him the real reason he and Abdul came to Japan. A century-old man known as Dio, an enemy of Jotaro's great-great grandfather Jonathan Joestar, had risen once more.[4]
Later, Joseph showed his stand, Hermit Purple, to Jotaro. Using it's ability to put visions of distant places onto film, Joseph revealed a picture of Dio to Jotaro. The picture revealed that Dio's body was actually Jonathan's due to the star-shaped birthmark, that all blood members of the Joestar family possess, being on the nape of his neck.[5]
First Fight
Jotaro brought the unconscious Kakyoin to the Kujo house in order to get information about Dio. There, Joseph told Jotaro that Kakyoin was being controlled by a flesh bud of Dio's. The bud caused Kakyoin to become loyal to Dio and would also kill him in a few days, an operation to remove it would only damage his brain. Using the precise hand movements of his stand, Jotaro began removing Kakyoin's flesh bud. Despite the flesh attacking him, the removal was successful, allowing Kakyoin to return to his senses.[8]
The next day, Jotaro found that his mother had gained a stand ability due to Dio's influence. But due to Holly having a much gentler persona, she could not control her stand. Abdul then estimated that she would die in 50 days and the only way to cure her would be to kill Dio. Thanks to his stand being able to draw an Aswan We-We fly from their photo of Dio, Jotaro was able to confirm that Dio was in Nile River in Cairo, Egypt, as the fly was known to only live in that area. Knowing Dio's location, Jotaro, Joseph, Abdul, and Kakyoin, who owed a debt to Jotaro for saving his life, began their quest to Egypt. Abdul then gave Jotaro's Stand a name, Star Platinum.[9]
The Journey Begins
After giving a final goodbye to Holly, who was in the care of the Speedwagon Foundation, the four left from Narita airport on a flight to Cairo. While above the East China Sea, they noticed an insect on the plane. The insect then began attacking Jotaro, who quickly deduced that it was a Stand.[10] Abdul was then able to figure out that the stand was known as Tower of Gray and its user had caused many crashes, making them look like accidents. While Jotaro was able to fend it off, Tower of Gray was able to kill a few innocent people, taking their tongues. However, Kakyoin was able to trap Tower of Gray with Hierophant Green and rip the Stand to shreds. With the Stand defeated, the identity of the user was quickly shown to be Gray Fly, an old man who was on their flight.[11]
Despite Gray Fly's defeat, the group quickly found out that the pilots had already been killed by Tower of Gray earlier. Gray Fly, with his dying breath, then told the Joestars that he was only the first of many assassins and that they would never reach Egypt. With no other choice, Jotaro and Joseph were forced to land the plane 35 kilometers off the coast of Hong Kong and now knew that they now had to head to Egypt by either land or sea.[12]
Hong Kong
Arriving in Hong Kong, the group discussed their status over a meal. They soon met a Frenchmen named Jean Pierre Polnareff, who quickly revealed himself to be one of Dio's men. At the Tiger Balm Garden, Abdul faced off against Polnareff's Stand, Silver Chariot. After defeating him, Abdul recognized Polnareff's chivalrous ways and chose not kill him. Jotaro then quickly removed Polnareff's flesh bud, just as he did to Kakyoin.[12]
While waiting for their next mode of transportation at a ship dock, Polnareff agreed to join Jotaro's group and told them his original reason for joining Dio. Polnareff's sister had been killed by a man with two right hands and had now come to the conclusion that the killer was one of Dio's men.[1]
South China Sea
While on the ship, Jotaro saved the life of a child that had fallen overboard from a shark. The child, who Jotaro quickly saw to be a girl, had hidden onboard earlier. As they were swimming back to the ship, Jotaro and the girl were nearly attacked by a creature in the water, which turned out be an underwater Stand. Back onboard, Abdul suspected the girl of being the Stand user. However, Jotaro correctly suspected the Stand user to be the ship's captain, Tennille, after fooling him into admitting himself to be a Stand user. Tennille, who admitted himself to being only an imposter of the real Captain Tennille, then used his Stand, Dark Blue Moon, to kidnap the Runaway Girl. Jotaro was able to quickly punch out Tennille and rescue the Runaway Girl while Tennille fled into the water. As Jotaro was pulling the Runaway Girl back up, he was pulled down to the ocean by Tennille. Underwater, Tennille covered Star Platinum in barnacles, sucking away Jotaro's strength. Dark Blue Moon then caused a whirlpool to appear which sucked Jotaro in. Jotaro was able to concentrate all his strength into Star Platinum's fingers which then sliced part of Dark Blue Moon's head off, killing Tennille.[1]
Soon afterwards, the ship began exploding, Tennille having planted bombs on the ship earlier. After some time on the life boat, Jotaro and the others came across another ship. As everyone looked throughout the ship, they found the ship to be empty, with the exception of an orangutan. The situation proved to be dangerous when one of Tennille's crewmembers was killed by one of the ship's hooks. Jotaro and the others searched the ship for a Stand or its user, but could find nothing. While searching, Jotaro found the orangutan, Forever, almost assaulting the Runaway Girl. Jotaro fought Forever and realized that it was the Stand user. As Jotaro continued his fight, Forever began using objects from the entire ship to attack him, as well being able to absorb into the walls. When Forever was at a safe distance, objects from the ship began strangling Jotaro and capturing Joseph and the others. It quickly became apparent that the entire ship was Forever's stand, Strength. Jotaro was able to escape the objects by annoying Forever. Using one of his school pins and Star Platinum's precise finger movements, Jotaro was able to subdue Forever. Forever then surrendered, showing Jotaro his belly, but Jotaro did not forgive him and pursued to beat him senselessly.[13] With Forever defeated (or possibly dead), Strength began to slowly disintegrate. Jotaro and the others returned to their life boat and were successfully able to make it to Singapore.[14]
Singapore
With their bodies tired from the recent experience, the group decided to stay a day in Singapore.[14] While traveling around Singapore with Kakyoin and the Runaway Girl, Jotaro saw Kakyoin nearly kill a petty thief. With Kakyoin's personality quite different, Jotaro immediately became suspicious. After almost being pushed down a large building by Kakyoin, Jotaro punched him, revealing Kakyoin to be an imposter. The fake Kakyoin then revealed himself to be Rubber Soul, a Stand user who could use his goo-like stand, Yellow Temperance, to form into any shape or being. Jotaro began to fight him, only for Yellow Temperance to throw him out of the cable car they were in. While Jotaro was able to save himself, he noticed a piece of Yellow Temperance had attached itself to him, slowly trying to eat his flesh. After seeing that fire and ice wouldn't work to stop it, Jotaro fought Rubber Soul again. Rubber Soul tried to completely cover Jotaro in Yellow Temperance, but with both now entangled, Jotaro was able to throw himself and Rubber Soul into the water. Since Rubber Soul had to uncover Yellow Temperance from his face in order to breathe, Jotaro used this opportunity to hit Rubber Soul. Rubber Soul then begged for his life and told Jotaro about the killer of Polnareff's sister, J. Geil, whose ability involved mirrors. Rubber Soul then tried one final assault on Jotaro by using Yellow Temperance to pull Jotaro into a water pipe. Using Star Platinum's fist to plug up the water pipe, the water pressure caused Rubber Soul to fly into the water. Rubber Soul tried to give Jotaro another plea of forgiveness, but Jotaro gave him another barrage of attacks. Jotaro later joined back with the group, including the real Kakyoin, in order to get on a train to their next destination, India. Unbeknownst to Jotaro, the Runaway Girl, who had developed a crush on Jotaro, was following them closely.[15]
India
Arriving in Calcutta, Jotaro and the others quickly met the local people until eventually going to a café. There, Polnareff encountered a Stand that used mirrors, meaning that the user who killed his sister was in Calcutta. Deciding to take the battle into his own hands, Polnareff left to fight J. Geil by himself. Abdul and Kakyoin later joined Polnareff in his fight.[16] Later, Jotaro and Joseph found Abdul wounded, having been nearly shot in the head by J.Geil's partner, Hol Horse. They managed to treat his wounds and, so that Abdul could make a full recovery, decided to fake his death.[17] After taking Abdul to safety, Jotaro and Joseph managed to find Kakyoin and Polnareff, who had been able to successfully kill J. Geil. However, they were unable to stop Hol Horse from getting away.[18]
As they got close to the border, the group once again encountered the Runaway Girl. After some arguing, Jotaro decided to take her to the border, where they'd buy tickets for her back to Hong Kong. While driving to the border, a car they encountered earlier forced them to nearly collide with an oncoming truck, Star Platinum being their only way of escaping safely. While at a rest stop, Joseph spotted the same car there. Suspecting the driver to be one of the customers inside, Jotaro, Joseph, and Polnareff began to beat up all the men with muscular arms, due to the driver also having them. However, the brawl proved useless as the car began moving away, the driver's face still unknown. Due to the driver mixing up the road signs, the group entered a narrow mountain way and were pushed off a cliff by the driver's car. Thanks to the combined efforts of Hierophant Green and Star Platinum, the group was able to hook their car onto the enemy car and make it back up the cliff. With them back up, Jotaro used Star Platinum to punch the enemy car. The car soon appeared again, having actually been a Stand called Wheel of Fortune. Wheel of Fortune then transformed and proceeded to attack Jotaro, as well as Kakyoin and Polnareff. The group began running but Wheel of Fortune kept following them through both narrow edges and on top of cliffs. Using the gas that had been left behind from the wounds he caused, Wheel of Fortune was then able to light Jotaro on fire. Thanks to quick thinking, Jotaro was able to avoid the burns and used the opportunity to get close to Wheel of Fortune. With the user now in his range, Jotaro used Star Platinum to beat him.[19]
With Wheel of Fortune defeated, the group soon saw that the user, ZZ, was just a skinny man, his arms being the only muscular part of his body. In order to make sure he wouldn't attack again, they chained him to a rock and took his passport. The obstacle now cleared, Jotaro and the others put the Runaway Girl on the next plane back to Hong Kong, despite her protests.[20]
Pakistan
Having made it to Pakistan, Jotaro's group stopped for the night in a town covered in fog. Moments later, they found the corpse of a man who seemingly died of shock. The man's body was completely covered with holes, yet there was no blood. They were then approached by an old woman, Enya, who offered a night's stay at her hotel. Later that night, Jotaro went looking for Polnareff, who had been gone for quite a while. Jotaro, who had been suspicious of Enya, proved his thoughts correct when she called him by his name. Jotaro then revealed to Enya that he had signed his name as Qtaro Kujo in the guestbook, thus solidifying his suspicions of her being a Stand user. Enya began attacking Jotaro with her Stand, Justice, which had actually been the fog that surrounded the town.Polnareff and Hol Horse, who each had been attacked earlier, appeared and told him that Justice could take possession of someone with any wound on their body. This also included corpses, explaining the mystery of the corpse from earlier that day. Jotaro was able to stop Justice by having Star Platinum completely inhale it, thus defeating Enya.[20] With Justice now rendered useless, the entire town reverted to nothing more than a cemetery. The group decided to take Enya along with them because of her knowledge of Dio's stand ability and his location in Egypt.[21]
In the city of Karachi, another Stand user, Steely Dan, appeared and told Enya that she had failed. Enya's flesh bud then killed her. Jotaro quickly attacked Steely Dan, only for the pain felt by Dan to also be felt by Joseph. Dan revealed that his stand, The Lovers had burrowed deep inside Joseph's body and any pain that was inflicted upon Dan would also affect Joseph. With his grandfather's life at stake, Jotaro was forced into doing whatever Dan wanting him to, threatening to hurt himself (and therefore Joseph) if Jotaro didn't comply. Elsewhere, Kakyoin and Polnareff had shrunk their Stands inside Joseph's brain and tried to find The Lovers. After some fighting, Hierophant Green was able to defeat The Lovers, forcing it to leave Joseph's brain. In a last effort, Dan tried to control Jotaro and then a small girl until he saw that Kakyoin had tied Hierophant Green to The Lovers. Jotaro then beat Dan harder than any of his previous opponents and threw a piece of paper at him containing all the cruel things he had done to him, calling it his "receipt".[21]
The Arabian Desert
Due to unrest in the area, the group chose to not go to Iran and Iraq, instead passing along the strait from Karachi to Abu Dhabi. Camelback, they traveled across the Arabian Desert from Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia. As the heat raged on, Joseph surprised the group by revealing that it actually should be nighttime. They soon realized that The Sun itself was a Stand when it was rising from the west. The heat grew worse, with even the scorpions not being able to handle the heat. Kakyoin even tried to attack The Sun directly, only for it to bounce the attack back. However, after finding shade under a rock, they were able to find the user, Arabia Fats, who had been using a mirror to hide himself. With a simple stone throw, Fats was knocked out and the group were able to continue in the cold desert night.[22]
Taking a private plane, the group were forced take a sick baby with them to the next town. While in flight, a sleeping Kakyoin began freaking out and messed up the controls. While Joseph was able to keep everything steady, they then ran into a coconut tree and crashed. Even though everyone ended up safe, Kakyoin's strange attitude continued as he tried to harm the baby, Mannish Boy. That night, after they all fell asleep, Jotaro and the others woke up in a dream world and were confronted by an enemy stand, Death 13, which was being controlled by Mannish Boy. They found themselves unable to use their Stands and were getting attack. However Kakyoin, who had summoned his Stand before going to sleep, was able use Hierophant Green in the dream world. Kakyoin was able to subdue Death 13 and free the rest. With their Stands inactive in the dream world, everyone, sans Kakyoin, forgot these events and eventually took Mannish Boy to his family.[23]
The Red Sea
After picking Abdul back up[24] (and finally telling Polnareff the truth about Abdul's supposed "death"), he revealed that he had bought a submarine that would take them across the Red Sea. The sailing went well for a while, until they were attacked by The High Priestess, an enemy Stand controlled by a user named Midler. Using its ability to transform into anything glass, metallic, or rubber, High Priestess tried to drown them and attack them using metallic objects. As the submarine sank, Jotaro and the others were forced to take scuba gear and swim. High Priestess then formed into the body of the ocean and proceeded to eat them. It tried to crush Jotaro with its teeth, but Jotaro was able to use Star Platinum to completely smash High Priestess's teeth, thus breaking Midler's own teeth and knocking her out. They then swam out of the Red Sea. After 30 days of dangers, they had finally made it to Egypt.[17]
Egypt: Nile River
Upon request by Joseph, the Speedwagon Foundation sent extra help in the form of another Stand user, the user of The Fool. The user turned out to be a dog named Iggy who could manipulate the sand around him. Before leaving, the Speedwagon employees also told Jotaro and Joseph that Holly's condition was getting worse with every passing day and that she only had about two weeks left. They also told them they saw nine other people going to the same area that Dio was thought to be hiding before taking off.[25]
After some time driving through the sands, Jotaro and the others found one of the employees having died from drowning. The other employee was quickly decapitated when the water from Joseph's canteen came out and ripped his head inside. Realizing they were now under attack from a water Stand, Geb, the group tried to separate. Geb went for Kakyoin, slashed his eyes, and then went after Polnareff. Before Polnareff could be hurt, the dead employee's digital watch began to beep. Geb instead attacked the watch, indicating that it attacked through sound. After multiple attempts to either run away or attack it directly, their car was destroyed and Abdul was badly wounded. With no other choice, Jotaro forced Iggy to use The Fool in order to fly them to the location of the Stand user. Jotaro saw that the user, N'Dour, was blind and solely relied on sound to attack. Jotaro was able to distract N'Dour by throwing Iggy towards him and took this moment in order to get behind N'Dour and land a strong punch. Defeated, N'Dour chose to kill himself with Geb. While he did not fear death, he did not want to be killed by Dio, his savior, for his failure. Before dieing, N'Dour told Jotaro that Geb was one of the Nine Gods of Egypt, implying the other gods were Stand users as well. Jotaro buried N'Dour in the sand and seemingly began a friendship with Iggy (though it was a rough start).[25]
Jotaro and the others quickly took Kakyoin and Abdul to a hospital.[26] While Abdul was able to recover quickly, Kakyoin had to stay in the hospital. The good news was that his pupils weren't damaged and he'd be able to join them in a few days. Later, Polnareff came across an enemy, Chaka, but quickly defeated him and took his sword. While at a barber shop, the sword, Anubis the living Stand, took possession of the barber, Khan, but Jotaro and Polnareff were able to stop him and break the sword. But Anubis soon took possession of Polnareff instead and used Silver Chariot for a twin swords attack. Despite getting stabbed, Jotaro was able to shatter the hilt of the blade and free Polnareff of Anubis's control. Unbeknownst to Jotaro, the remainder of the sword eventually fell into the river, where it rusted several days later.[27]
While Joseph and Abdul were dealing with another enemy user[28], Jotaro and Polnareff were soon involved in their own battle. Polnareff was turned into a child by the ability of enemy Alessi's stand, Sethan. Alessi took advantage of Polnareff size and tried to kill him. Jotaro eventually came to the scene but Alessi quickly changed him to a child as well, roughly seven years of age. Since he had only recently gained Star Platinum, he now found himself unable to use it. Despite this disadvantage, Jotaro, who had always been strong even as a kid, was still able to knock Alessi out and revert them back to their original ages. When Alessi awoke, Jotaro and Polnareff continued to beat him into oblivion. They soon met back up with Joseph and Abdul.[29]
After receiving a call from the Speedwagon Foundation, Joseph informed everyone that Holly had only four or five days left to live. In order to speed things up, they then took a train from Luxor to Cairo.[30]
Egypt: Cairo
Reaching Cairo, Joseph used Hermit Purple in order to gain a photograph of Dio's new mansion. They kept asking around but could not find anyone that knew its location. They then met a man, Daniel J. D'Arby, who claimed to knew the whereabouts of the mansion. However, being a gambler himself, D'Arby told them they had to gamble with him in order to learn such information. Polnareff played a game in which he guessed which piece of beef jerky a cat would get. But Polnareff lost the bet when the cat took the other piece and D'Arby took his soul in the process. D'Arby revealed himself to be an enemy Stand user and anytime someone lost at his games his Stand, Osiris, would take their soul. Joseph played a game involving dropping coins in an already-full glass of liquor, the loser being the one that made the liquor spill over. Joseph was seemingly winning the game (using tactics of his own), until D'Arby was able to get one more coin in, Joseph's next coin being the one to lose. Checking the glass, Jotaro found that D'Arby had actually cheated again using a plan involving melting chocolate that had already been placed in the glass earlier. Seeing that D'Arby had once again cheated, Jotaro challenged D'Arby at his own game of poker.[31]
Jotaro demonstrated to D'Arby Star Platinum's precise vision and accuracy, telling him that he would not be so easy to cheat against. Even after this, D'Arby tried another tactic at cheating, resulting in Star Platinum breaking his index finger. Using a nearby boy as the dealer, Jotaro bet his soul in order to start the game. D'Arby made Joseph's and Polnareff's souls into six chips each, meaning Jotaro would have to win a minimum of two hands in order to win them back. Jotaro lost the first hand, losing three of his six soul chips. During the second hand, Jotaro chose to not look at his cards and also raised the hand with Abdul's soul. D'Arby called the hand with the rest of Jotaro's soul and all of Polnareff's, but then raised him all of Joseph's soul as well. Jotaro, keeping a cool face, called the bet with Kakyoin's soul. In order to intimidate D'Arby, Jotaro used Star Platinum's speed to light himself a cigarette and get some juice. He then bet his mother's soul as well and told D'Arby that the only way to call it would be to tell them the secret of Dio's Stand. With the possibility of losing (and therefore telling the secret and then being killed by Dio for being a traitor), D'Arby fell unconscious, automatically folding the hand. Seeing D'Arby's hand of four kings, Abdul was surprised to see Jotaro's hand was nothing important. D'Arby's forfeit freed everyone's souls but D'Arby had become so mentally fatigued that they were not able to learn the location of the mansion.[31]Continuing their search, Jotaro and the others eventually ran into Hol Horse once more. He tried to take Polnareff hostage but he was easily beaten. A moment later, a truck hit them but they were able to make it out with only minor injuries. Unbeknownst to them, Hol Horse ended up accidentally wounding himself in the process.[32] They continued their questioning until they found a beggar that had much information. He did not return, giving the possibility he may have been killed by another Stand user.[33] The next day, Iggy, who had just recovered from a serious battle against another enemy, and Kakyoin, who had finally been released from the hospital, met up with them. With all six now joined together once more, Iggy led them to the location of Dio's mansion.[34]
Battle in Dio's Mansion
The team arrived at Dio's mansion and were greeted by its butler, Terence T. D'Arby, younger brother of Daniel J. D'Arby. D'Arby quickly separated Jotaro, Joseph, and Kakyoin from Polnareff, Abdul, and Iggy and took them to his game room. D'Arby then challenged the trio to videogames and if they lost their soul would be transferred to one of his dolls. First, D'Arby challenged Kakyoin to a racing game. While Kakyoin put up a good challenge, D'Arby was still able to win and took Kakyoin's soul. D'Arby then challenged Jotaro to a baseball videogame. In the beginning, Jotaro kept on missing and giving D'Arby the lead. However, having "memorized" the gameplay, Jotaro was able to successfully score four hits and take the advantage. But this did not distract D'Arby and he was able to take the lead once more. As the game continued, Jotaro was able to figure out that D'Arby's stand, Atum, must be able to read an individual's mind. Jotaro then began announcing what his next movements would be, but the movements he actually did were different. D'Arby stared into Jotaro's soul but found that he wasn't lying. Jotaro continued this tactic and was able to defeat D'Arby in the process. D'Arby's loss was able to return Kakyoin to his body and the trick was revealed to be Joseph using Hermit Purple to control the game. With Kakyoin now safe, Jotaro beat D'Arby hard enough to paralyze him.[34]
With the game won, Jotaro, Joseph, and Kakyoin proceeded further into the mansion. Not long after that, the mansion began to crumble, indicating Polnareff and Abdul were fighting another enemy somewhere else inside.[35] They then headed towards the tower of the mansion, where they suspected Polarneff and Abdul to be.[36] They were soon confronted by one of Dio's remaining lackeys, Nukesaku, whom Jotaro easily beat. In exchange for letting him live, they took Nukesaku with them in order to gain any last-minute information they needed.[37]
The trio soon met back up with Polnareff, who was in the middle of fighting Dio. Dio then took the chance to run higher up the mansion's tower. Polnareff then told them of Abdul and Iggy, both of whom had died fighting Dio's right-hand man. Holding back their sadness, the four went to the top of the tower and found Dio's casket. They then forced Nukesaku to open the casket. However, instead of Dio, they found Nukesaku himself in the casket, dead. It was their first chance at seeing Dio's stand, The World. Sensing the danger, Jotaro and the others fled the castle. With nightfall, they knew Dio would begin to chase them.[37]
The Final Battle
Now in Cairo, the team decided to split up, Jotaro and Polnareff on one end and Joseph and Kakyoin on the other. Needing an immediate mode of transportation, Jotaro and Polnareff stole a motorcycle and continued to search for Dio. They found two destroyed cars, indicating Joseph and Kakyoin were already in battle with Dio. Jotaro was able to find Joseph, who revealed that The World's ability was to stop time. Joseph was then stabbed by a knife Dio threw while in the frozen time and died. Angered by his grandfather's death, as well as Kakyoin's that had occurred moments earlier, Jotaro began his fight with Dio.[37]
As the fight started, Jotaro saw that The World had similar strength and speed to Star Platinum. They began pummeling each other, seemingly to equal ends. But The World proved slightly stronger and injured Jotaro. Dio then froze time but was shocked to see that Jotaro, even by just a little bit, was also able to move in the frozen time. However, Dio found a magnet on himself and Jotaro. Both magnets were on the same side, giving the illusion that Jotaro could actually move. Dio then moved in for the killing blow, but Jotaro was able land a powerful punch in the frozen time, indicating the magnets to be a red herring. But Dio quickly recovered after taking the blood of an innocent bystander.[37]
Dio froze time once more and proceeded to hit Jotaro with a barrage of knives from all sides. Jotaro was able to block several knives in frozen time but found himself unable to stop them all once time return to normal. He was stabbed multiple times and fell to the ground. However, anticipating such an attack, Jotaro stuffed his jacket and hat with magazines, thus preventing his body and head from actually getting injured. But he still had been stabbed deeply in his arms and right leg. Dio then came to see if Jotaro had truly died. To make sure, he was about to cut off Jotaro's head, until Polnareff came and stabbed Dio in the head. Using another time stop, Dio beat Polnareff. Dio then checked Jotaro's heartbeat, forcing him to use Star Platinum to stop his heart. Dio continued on with his original plan to cut Jotaro's head off but Jotaro was able to use this opportunity to land a strong blow directly into Dio's head and shatter part of his skull. Heavily wounded, Dio tried to retreat. But at every angle, Jotaro easily followed Dio and continuously beat him. But luck fell on Dio, as he was able to make it back to where Joseph's body was. Draining Joseph's body, Dio's wounds were all healed and he transformed into a much stronger form.[37]
Joseph's soul then appeared to Jotaro and told him to stay calm despite what anger Dio may cause him. Dio then completely drained Joseph's body, causing Jotaro to charge directly at Dio. Dio froze time again and Jotaro was able to move in frozen time more. But Dio, now supercharged, could move for an even longer time as well. Dio's strength had also increased and he began constantly beating Jotaro. Dio froze time again and threw a steamroller directly at Jotaro. Jotaro tried to push it back with Star Platinum, but was unable to continuously do it and was seemingly crushed. It had seemed that Dio was finally victorious in his century-long feud with the Joestars. But Dio soon found himself unable to move because Jotaro himself was able to stop time. Jotaro used his newly-discovered advantage to heavily injure Dio's legs. Dio then sprayed the blood from his legs onto Jotaro's eyes and began a strong kick with his good leg. Despite the temporary blindness, Jotaro was able to counterattack with his arm. Dio's The World then began to crumble from the attack, causing Dio's body to break down as well. Even as he shouted how his defeat was impossible, Dio's head exploded. He was finally dead.[37]
The Long Journey Ends
Jotaro and Polnareff's injuries were dealt with by the Speedwagon Foundation. Since Dio had taken much of Joseph's blood, Jotaro asked for a blood transfusion from Dio's body to Joseph's. After using Star Platinum to restart Joseph's heartbeat, the transfusion began. The shriveled-up body that Joseph had after losing so much blood began returning to his normal muscular figure and Joseph fully revived. Later, Jotaro and Joseph took the remainder Dio's body outside, where it evaporated with the rising sun. They then gave one final moment of thought for Kakyoin, Iggy, and Abdul.[38]
At the airport, Jotaro and Joseph gave a final goodbye to Polnareff, who was finally ready to return to his home country of France. The trio gave their final goodbyes and left, promising to see one another again someday. In Japan, Holly awoke fully healed and freed from the curse. Even miles away, she knew her son and father were coming home.[38]
Between Parts III and IV (1989-1998)
After graduating, Jotaro studied hard and eventually earned a Ph.D. in marine biology. He eventually married and had a daughter named Jolyne. Due to his busy lifestyle, Jotaro's relationship with his wife and daughter did not go well. He eventually divorced his wife, causing a gap between him and Jolyne.
Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable (1999)
Meeting Josuke
In 1999, Jotaro traveled to the town of Morioh upon the request of Joseph. Joseph, while doing research, found out he had an illegitimate son named Josuke Higashikata. Jotaro met Josuke, along with Josuke's fellow classmate Koichi Hirose. Josuke proved to be a kind person, but would get angry when someone would insult his hair. His Stand, Crazy Diamond, had the ability to restore organisms and heal, as well as break down object to their original components. After accidentally insulting his hair, Jotaro got into a fight with Josuke. Thanks to Star Platinum's superior strength, Jotaro was able to subdue him. Jotaro took this time to show Josuke a photo of man named Angelo, a convicted serial killer and rapist. While he didn't elaborate further to Josuke, he told him to be careful.[39]
The Fight Against Angelo
Later, Jotaro called Josuke to inform him that Angelo's Stand, Aqua Necklace, could disguise itself as any type of liquid. Without much of a fight, Josuke was able to capture it. However, after taking his eyes off of it, Aqua Necklace was able to escape and kill his grandfather, Ryohei Higashikata. Following the funeral, Jotaro and Josuke waited three days for Angelo to attack, drinking only bottled water in the duration. Angelo took advantage of the climate when, during a rainy day, slipped into the house and turned on all the pipes and anything that let out water and steam. Angelo surrounded Jotaro and Josuke throughout the house until he finally had Aqua Necklace go inside Josuke's mouth. While it seemed like Angelo had won, in actuality, Josuke had earlier placed a plastic glove inside his mouth and used it to catch Angelo.[40]Now helpless, Angelo told them that, due to Japanese law, they had no right to kill him. However, Josuke uses Crazy Diamond to fuse Angelo into the rock. While being fused, Angelo told Jotaro and Josuke that he had gained his stand when a man with a Bow and Arrow had shot him. Instead of dying, he gained his stand powers and was later able to escape prison. With this information, Jotaro was able to conclude that the Bow and Arrow was how Dio had gained his stand abilities ten years ago. Angelo took this time to have Aqua Necklace, still inside the glove, try to strangle a child, taking a hostage in the process. He then insulted Josuke's hair, which resulted in Josuke breaking part of the rock Angelo was in and deactivating Aqua Necklace. While Angelo lived, he could no longer speak and was trapped in the stone forever.[40]
The Search for Red Hot Chili Pepper
Checking with the Speedwagon Foundation, Jotaro confirmed that it was Enya that had used the Bow and Arrow on Dio over a decade ago. With Enya's death, the whereabouts of the Bow and Arrow had gone missing. Someone else then got a hold of it and began creating Stand users, mostly around Morioh. Jotaro knew it was time find the Bow and Arrow and destroy them. Around this time, Josuke and Koichi were involved in a fight involving the Bow and Arrow's owner, Keicho Nijimura and his brother Okuyasu. By the end of the conflict, Okuyasu became an ally but Keicho was killed and the Bow and Arrow were stolen by someone else.[41]
Several days later, Jotaro received a phone call from a stranger who claimed to be the one that killed Keicho and stole the Bow and Arrow. He told Jotaro to leave Morioh soon or else he would kill him and Josuke. Using his Stand power, Red Hot Chili Pepper, the stranger was able to electrocute the phone line, nearly shocking Jotaro and destroying the telephone.[42] At another time, Josuke called Jotaro and informed him of an enemy Stand in the area. In order to fill in the details, they agreed to meet at Morioh Station. When Jotaro arrived, Josuke revealed that the one that called him was an imposter, used by a Stand user named Tamami Kobayashi.[43]
Jotaro was later relayed a message from the Speedwagon Foundation that said that Joseph would be arriving in Morioh soon. Using Hermit Purple, Joseph would be able to find the user of Red Hot Chili Pepper. Gathering in an area without electricity, Jotaro talked to Josuke, Okuyasu, and Koichi about Joseph's arrival. Red Hot Chili Pepper appeared, having stowed in the battery of Okuyasu's motorcycle, and started going to the Morioh Harbor where Joseph was expected to arrive. Okuyasu stopped Red Hot Chili Pepper and the two began to fight. While Okuyasu was winning, Red Hot Chili Pepper was able to gain a boost in energy from an underground cable and defeat Okuyasu. Splitting into groups, Jotaro went with Okuyasu to the boat Joseph was on, while Josuke and Koichi stayed on land to fight off Red Hot Chili Pepper and its user Akira Otoishi. Josuke was successful in defeating Otoishi, but Akira was still able to get onboard. However, Okuyasu was able to stop Akira once and for all and Akira was sent to jail. With Joseph safe, Josuke was able to meet his father for the first time.[44] Later, rather than destroying it, Jotaro took the Bow and Arrow to the Speedwagon Foundation for safekeeping.[45]
Hunting Ratt
While imprisoned, Akira confessed to having used the Bow and Arrow on a rat. Jotaro took Josuke on a hunt to find the rat, using ball bearings and their Stands' speed and accuracy to hit. While setting up traps, they found a group of dead rats having been fused together into a cube. Following one of the storm drains, they found a house and farm that was completely empty. The two searched the house but couldn't find any holes in the walls. The two then split up to check different rooms. Jotaro found one rat that used its Stand, Ratt, to shoot poison darts. While Star Platinum caught it, the dart automatically began to melt Jotaro's arm. Meeting back up with Josuke, who had killed another rat that used the same Stand, Jotaro's arm was fixed. After calling the Speedwagon Foundation, Jotaro learned that Akira had actually hit two rats. With one now dead, they continued their search for the other.[46]
Following any bite marks, droppings, and other tracks left behind, Jotaro and Josuke continued following the other rat, Bug Eat, past the storm drains. After some time, the tracks stopped, indicating that Bug Eat backtracked to some distance away. Now at a distance, Bug Eat used Ratt to shoot a dart into Josuke's neck. But Jotaro used Star Platinum to stop time and remove the dart safely. Realizing Bug Eat was waiting for nightfall in order to escape, Jotaro acted as a distraction for Bug Eat to hit at while Josuke tried to hit Bug Eat. Jotaro was able to avoid the shots at first, but Bug Eat began throwing more shots ricochet off rocks and hit Jotaro. Jotaro continued hit distraction, his body melting more and more, until Josuke was able to trick Bug Eat and kill it.[46]
The Mysterious Yoshikage Kira
This section requires expansion.
Kira's Final Stand
This section requires expansion.
Farewell to the Golden Heart
This section requires expansion.
Part V: Vento Aureo (2001)
The Son of Dio
In 2001, Jotaro asked Koichi to go on a mission to Italy. His objective was to get a skin sample of a boy named Haruno Shiobana, which would then be given to the Speedwagon Foundation for analyzing.[47] Some time later, Koichi reported back to Jotaro that Haruno Shiobana, who now went by Giorno Giovanna, was a Stand user. Jotaro then revealed to Koichi that Giorno was the son of Dio and wanted to get the skin sample to confirm this. However, now knowing that he was a Stand user, Jotaro called off the mission.[48]
Part VI: Stone Ocean (2011-2012)
This section requires expansion.
Jotaro is a fully grown adult and marine scientist who has divorced his wife. Due to a life of fighting crime he never was around for his daughter, causing a large gap between them. He has returned to tell Jolyne, that she should leave the prison no matter what laws she had to break. However he is attacked by Whitesnake and his stand disk is taken out, which causes him to fall into a coma. For most of the story he is in this coma, hoping to be revived, until much later his disc is recovered and he shows up. Now fully mastering his stand, he confronts Pucci who has himself mastered his stand. During the final struggle he willingly gives his life to save Jolyne's.
Personality
He has a very tough exterior, and is even rather rough and delinquent, but he also is very dedicated, intense, and loyal. He is intelligent, but usually lets his (or Star Platinum's) fists do the talking with the enemy, even though he often has to rely on his wits to deal with stand users' attacks. Jotaro has a perpetual cooler-than-thou, slightly disinterested attitude, although he loves his mother and respects his grandfather. It is not that he is unaware of his own love and/or respect--rather, he thinks anyone can tell his emotions just by looking at him, and probably thinks further effort in portraying how he feels to be a waste of time. In the manga, he's constantly chased by adoring girls, whom he ignores or tries to drive away. He is the main target of Dio, who realizes that Jotaro is his greatest threat.
In part 6, he also shows his protective father side, often taking near fatal blows for Jolyne and throttling her out of harm's way. After he is "revived", Anasui, one of Jolyne's companions who is enthralled by her, asked Jotaro to approve of marrying her. Although he first acted deaf, Jotaro got the picture when he saw her lean against Anasui's chest. Not ready to see his daughter married off right away, he pulled his daughter into his arms, leaving Jolyne clueless to their interactions.
Jotaro is both fierce and gentle, and he shows these traits in various scenes, from the fight with N'Dour to the encounter with D'Arby. One shining example is how he spared Noriaki Kakyoin, instead of destroying him outright.
Stand
One of the strongest stands in the JoJo universe; Star Platinum possesses super human senses, strength, stamina, accuracy and speed. It can see for great distances and at great magnifications. As an added bonus, it has a "Spear Finger" attack in which it extends its finger to attack. It is similar to Dio's World stand, and, it turns out, can likewise be used to stop time, but that ability is only revealed in Jotaro's epic battle with Dio Brando when Dio was about to drop a steamroller on him.
The Star card symbolizes, above all, hope. This is very appropriate, since Jotaro is very much the young new hope of the series. Like other physically powerful stands, Star Platinum suffers from a narrow range of activity. It can only be active within a 2-3 meter radius from Jotaro.
Star Platinum look like combination of Jonathan Joestar and the Pillar Men. This could be reference to genetic memory and the power this two forces held.
Still one of the best stand, this evolved version of his Stand appears near the end of Stone Ocean. At his peak, Jotaro can stop time for as long as 5 seconds with his stand. It's stated that Star Platinum can freeze time for longer, but 5 seconds is the limit for human endurance under stopped time. Jotaro hasn't fully recovered from his injuries in this appearance and is somewhat unable to maintain 5 seconds as well as he used to.
In Videogames
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Arcade/PSOne/Dreamcast)
Jotaro's gameplay is more oriented on offense. He is a lot more effective with his Stand off. This is because of his Blazing Fists, and Jotaro's ability to attack the enemy by himself, while the Stand is attacking. This, in turn, increases the hits and the damage in comparison to attacks with the Stand activated.
As such, his gameplay is more on poking the enemy until he or she budges. Jotaro players are known to be very pesky and can cover a lot of ground in a short time, but their nature of gameplay requires them to put defense strategies on a backseat, to take advantage of the strength from his Blazing Fists.
Also, the inactive Stand version of Putzun Ora may not deal that much damage in comparison to the active Stand version by itself, but when the player attacks with Jotaro going around the enemy, the hits and damage become significantly larger than the latter version.
Star Breaker isn't too effective for poking gameplay, and is seldom used. The active Stand version can be charged until it becomes unblockable, but this takes too much set-up time to be very effective.
Jotaro's "Stop World" isn't as powerful as Dio's, and with the attack speed from Putzun Ora, players are forced to perform the move before the super meter is depleted of one level during Stop World.
Trivia
- His catchphrase is "Yare yare daze." It has no direct translation but it is usually translated to the effect of, "Gimme a break." It can also mean "Well well well..." or "all-right all-right...", since "yare yare" commonly translates to "Oh well..." It generally relates of being bored. In the official Viz Media translations, the phrase is considered cursing and is censored. In the official Shonen Jump Advanced manga series he is seen saying "Give me a !@$&*# break..". In the English dubbed version of the OVA his catchphrase is replaced with 'what a pain'.
- Jotaro's trademark hat, while torn in the back, often seems to blend with his hair. While they are first shown as being completely separate, later publications cause more uncertainty as to where his hat and his hair actually meet. His hat is most likely a Japanese student cap that was normally worn along with the gakuran prior to the 1970s.
- As the series goes on Jotaro has worn many different hats and coats from blue, to silver yet he always keeps the same style regardless of his age.
- Jotaro is seen reading a Shonen Jump in his cell, with Shonen Jump being the magazine in which JoJo is published in Japan. In the manga, these magazines also saved Jotaro from being fatally impaled by Dio's knives.
- His father, a jazz musician, is thought to receive his namesake from Sadao Watanabe, a jazz saxophonist. His father is always on tour and is never seen.
In Popular Culture
- In the first episode of Puni Puni Poemy, the Director and his alien opponent humorously fight a battle between Stands. The alien fought using a Star Platinum look alike.
- The character Asuma Sarutobi from Naruto, is voiced by the same voice actor as Jotaro from the OVA. Likewise, Asuma Sarutobi uses the phrase "Yare yare daze", and "Ora ora", especially in the Naruto PS2 games.
- Sol Badguy, the main character from the popular video game series Guilty Gear, uses the phrase "Yare yare daze".
- The shoujo manga group Clamp are fans of JoJo. In their later publication, Wish, the main angel character, Kohaku, closely resembles Kakyoin's hairdo and appearance. Ironically, the love interest of said character roughly resembles a hatless Jotaro, named Kudo Shuichiro. Although the angel is sexless, some fans have speculated this story is a shounen-ai interpretation of the two. In their early years, Clamp also created doujinshi of part 3 of JoJo which featured their original character, Jotaro and Kakyoin's love-child Jota (hatched from an egg) and his stand Charmy Green (which looks like a green Star Platinum).
- In the NBC drama, Heroes, a fictional Japanese salaryman named Hiro Nakamura is a fan of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In his blog, he states that he wants to "be like JoJo and Vaan and go on adventures". One of his powers includes time manipulation, a gift shared with both Jotaro and Dio Brando. Hiro later posts on his blog under the pseudonym of Jotaro Kujo.
- Jotaro is said to have been a fan of Columbo when he was a child.
- Jotaro exhibits an anime archetype exhibited commonly by "genius" characters by forever staying young through all of his appearances in spite of age. Other characters that noticeably share this trait are Maximilian Jenius and Hiko Seijuro.
- Daishi, ex-vocalist of the former Japanese Visual Kei group Psycho le Cému, dressed like Jotaro in Love is Dead, the group's last PV.
- In Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Juste can use an item that allows him to use rapid punches while yelling "ORA ORA ORA".
Gallery
References
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