Hump Day Husbandos: Jotaro Kujo (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
In my unending quest to celebrate every character in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, I have reached the part where the show truly starts getting weird. Stardust Crusaders and its main JoJo, Jotaro Kujo, is one of the best parts of the series. It has got everything you could ask for as Jotaro joins his grandfather and an eclectic band of adventurers on a globetrotting journey to save the world.
If that doesn’t deserve a Hump Day Husbando celebration, I don’t know what does. Jotaro Kujo might not be my all-time favourite JoJo, but his adventure marks a turning point in the series where it moves away from Hamon and focuses on the power of Stands.
Who is Jotaro Kujo?
When the third part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure kicks off, Jotaro Kujo is a high school delinquent sitting in a jail cell. However, he isn’t there because he’s done anything wrong. Jotaro is there to protect everyone else from the evil spirit that is stalking him. That evil spirit is his newly awakened Stand, Star Platinum, the embodiment of his psychic and emotional state. Turns out what Jotaro’s psychic powers are good at is beating people into a bloody mess.
With the help of his grandfather, Joseph Joestar, Jotaro Kujo must travel the world while mastering his stand’s abilities to defeat Dio, the main villain of Part 1 of the manga, who has been revived by fusing his head onto the body of Jonathan Joestar. It is the strangest leap in logic and tone that the show has until Part 5’s Giorno Giovanna is unveiled, yet Jotaro takes it all in stride. Nothing can throw him off his game.
Why we love him
There is a wonderful dichotomy to Jotaro Kujo. He is brash, rude, and absolutely abrasive toward authority, yet he is also caring and protective toward the people around him. He initially shows no interest in adventure until his mother’s life is in danger. He immediately jumps into shark-infested waters to save a girl he doesn’t know. He risks his own life to save a man who had been trying to kill him just a few minutes earlier. Jotaro Kujo might not talk like a Joestar but he is every bit as heroic as his predecessors.
His stoic nature belies a more gentle, caring disposition that he hides from everyone. When he shows up in subsequent adventures, including as the father to fan-favourite Jolyne, he continually shows that he is dedicated to his family’s continuous fight against the darkness of Dio. Jotaro Kujo stays cool and confident no matter what strange adventure he finds himself on. Even though his physical strength lends itself to solving his problems by brawling, his calm demeanour leads to him saving the day in the most epic poker game in anime history.
Why you’ll love him
While his grandfather remains my favourite JoJo, Jotaro Kujo’s story is the more interesting. The emergence of Stands as the primary power that Joestars must master and contend with means that Jotaro has to learn to adapt to any sort of enemy. Demonic sharks? Possessed dolls? A plant that eats people? Jotaro Kujo has to figure out how to overcome them all and he does it without ever removing his signature hat that has somehow merged seamlessly with his hair.
No other JoJo is as effortlessly cool and collected as Jotaro Kujo. If you’ve not had a chance to get caught up with his adventures, you can catch the anime on Netflix or, if you prefer the manga, all of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders on the Shonen Jump app.
Join The Discussion
Rice Digital Discord
Rice Digital Twitter
Rice Digital Facebook
Or write us a letter for the Rice Digital Friday Letters Page by clicking here!
Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on them. This is at no additional cost to you and helps support Rice Digital!
- Six of the best Stands in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure - June 2, 2023
- 4 of the best JRock tracks from May - June 1, 2023
- Hump Day Husbandos: Guts (Berserk) - May 31, 2023
