Summary
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventureis, without a doubt,one of the best shōnen anime and manga seriesin the world. Its reputation can be attributed to author Hirohiko Araki’s endless creativity and tendency to take risks to keep his series fresh and innovative, even 38 years after its initial release. Needless to say, the secondJoJouniverse/continuity is a perfect example of all these positive attributes.
Parts 7, 8 and 9 ofJoJo’s Bizarre Adventuretake place in an entirely new, alternate universe that’s completely separate from the previous one, while also containing multiple references to it. As a result of this unique dynamic, many prominent characters possess similar names, designs and personalities to other classic figures from the series, making them their officialalternate universe counterparts. Some are more obvious than others, but the following ten characters are the most important and notorious examples of this bizarre phenomenon so far.
10Johnny Joestar
Jonathan Joestar’s Counterpart
Jonathan Joestaris famous for being the first protagonist of the series, as he was a noble and kind Englishman with a massive build who mastered the art of Hamon to take down his adoptive brother and arch-nemesis, Dio Brando. He was a simple but effective character that set the basis of what a JoJo should strive to be.
His counterpart fromSteel Ball Runshares the exact same name, but he’s better known asJohnny Joestar. Weirdly enough, their personalities couldn’t be more different, as Johnny was introduced as a sarcastic and depressive jockey who needed to learn a thing or two about humility and selflessness, which made his development all the more impressive while also displaying Araki’s immense growth as an author. On top of that, Johnny learned and mastered the art of Spin (which is similar to Hamon in a lot of ways) and had an intense rivalry with Diego Brando.
9Gyro Zeppeli
Will And Caesar’s Zeppeli Counterpart
The first twoJoJoparts were marked by the presence of the Zeppeli family, with Jonathan and Joseph receiving assistance fromWill Anthonio ZeppeliandCaesar Anthonio Zeppelirespectively. One was a wise mentor and the other was a competitive rival, but they were both very important characters that helped both Joestars perfect their Hamon skills.
As a soft reboot of the series,Steel Ball Runalso featured a Zeppeli front and center, and his name wasGyro Zeppeli. His role within the narrative was much more important than its predecessors, since he and Johnny were pretty much the only main characters, to the point that Gyro felt more like the protagonist at times. On top of that, he was in charge of teaching Johnny what the Spin was and how to use it properly, further cementing his title as one of the most iconic and beloved “JoBros” in the entire series.
8Diego Brando
Dio Brando’s Counterpart
There are few anime villains as iconic asDio Brando, the catalyst for everything that happened in this epic generational tale. He was Jonathan’s adoptive brother, who became a bloodthirsty vampire after wearing the Stone Mask, and he even returned as a potent Stand user inStardust Crusaders. Even after Jonathan’s great-great-grandson, Jotaro Kujo, killed him, Dio still had a massive presence in the plots ofVento AureoandStone Ocean.
Steel Ball Runreutilized and reinvented many iconic elements fromPhantom Blood, and Dio was obviously no exception, sinceDiego Brandois the name of a talented jockey who became Johnny and Gyro’s rival during the titular race. But his role was quite different, seeing as he was more of an anti-hero who wanted to defeat the big villain by himself, instead of being obsessed with ruining the Joestar Family like Dio was. On top of that, his stand, Scary Monsters, allowed him to turn himself or other people into dinosaurs, similarly to how Dio was a vampire that could create zombie underlings.
7Josuke Higashikata
Josuke Higashikata’s Counterpart
Diamond is Unbreakableintroduced fans to Joseph Joestar’s illegitimate son,Josuke Higashikata, a hot-headed delinquent with an extravagant appearance and a heart of gold who was always willing to protect his hometown of Morioh. In order to achieve this, he not only had a reliable group of friends, but an amazing Stand with healing properties called Crazy Diamond.
Part 8,JoJolion, also takes place in a fictional Japanese town named Morioh and its protagonist is also namedJosuke Higashikata, but he couldn’t be more different than its original universe incarnation. Also known as “Gappy” by fans, he’s a bizarre fusion of two other people, Josefumi Kujo and Yoshikage Kira, who was born near the mysterious Wall Eyes. Additionally, he wielded a Stand called Soft & Wet, which allowed him to generate bubbles that could steal specific properties from objects and people. Despite the bizarre circumstances of his birth, Gappy was quite similar to the original Josuke, in the sense that he’s also a noble young man who decided to use his powers to protect his town and his adoptive family from the threat of the Rock Humans.
6Yoshikage Kira
Yoshikage Kira And Jotaro Kujo’s Counterpart
Diamond is Unbreakablealso featured an excellent antagonist namedYoshikage Kira, a disturbing murderer with a hand fetish that used his stand, Killer Queen, to turn his victims into bombs that he could disintegrate in order to leave no evidence of his heinous crimes. This is a dark but brilliant concept that cemented him as one of the most popular and iconic villains in the entire series.
JoJolionalso features a prominent character namedYoshikage Kira, but he couldn’t be more different than its counterpart. This Kira is a little bit aggressive and strange, but he was not a cold murderer, as he was a heroic marine surgeon who used his own version of Killer Queen to help his mother save people in the hospital. It’s important to point out that he was also an alternate universe counterpart ofJotaro Kujo, seeing as they both had cold and distant personalities and their mothers are called Holy. Sadly, Kira died in the battle against the Rock Humans, and half of his body fused with Josefumi’s to form the entity known as Josuke Higashikata.
5Holy Joestar-Kira
Holy Kujo’s Counterpart
Stardust Crusaders’ inciting incident was the moment in which Jotaro’s mother,Holy Kujo, fell ill because she didn’t have the strength to support her newfound Stand. As a result,her father and her son had to go on a long but necessary journey to kill Dio to deactivate her stand and save her life. Needless to say, Holy didn’t have an active role in the story, but she still had an important presence in it.
JoJolionintroduced the character ofHoly Joestar-Kira, the mother of Yoshikage Kira that Gappy still saw as his own mother after his second birth. She’s a world-renowned doctor who is in the hospital because some of her organs and parts of her brain are mysteriously missing, which was later revealed to have been a result of the Rock Human’s experimenting on her with the Locacaca fruit. Similarly to the original universe’s Holy, a big part ofJoJolion’splot revolves around Josuke trying to avenge his mother while also trying to find an effective cure for her.
4Yasuho Hirose
Koichi Hirose’s Counterpart
InDiamond is Unbreakable, Josuke was assisted by a group of strong but friendly side characters,of which one of the most notorious ones wasKoichi Hirose. This kind and heroic young boy not only ended up becoming one of Josuke’s closest friends, but even Jotaro Kujo deemed him a truly reliable guy, which explains why he was chosen to go to Italy in the following part,Vento Aureo.
The new universe’s version of Josuke also had a member of the Hirose family right by his side, but their relationship was a little bit different. InJoJolion, Gappy meets and befriendsYasuho Hirose, a lovely and intelligent young girl that helped him at many points throughout the story and eventually ended up becoming his romantic interest. Nevertheless, she was just as reliable and helpful as Koichi, which cemented her as one of the best written female characters in the entire franchise.
3Joseph Joestar
Joseph Joestar’s Counterpart
There’s no denying thatJoseph Joestaris one of the most important characters in the originalJoJo’s Bizarre Adventureuniverse. This charismatic and mischievous man was the protagonist ofBattle Tendency, but he also played important parts in bothStardust CrusadersandDiamond is Unbreakable, which explains why he quickly became an iconic fan favorite.
While the new universe’s counterpart of Joseph didn’t get an entire part of his own, he still had a huge impact on the overall story since he was the protagonist of a fascinating flashback sequence called “the Radio Gaga Incident”. Also known as Fumi, this incarnation ofJoseph Joestarwas a Japanese (instead of English) young man who met Lucy Steel and saved her life when she was visiting Morioh in 1941. This bizarre event prompted him to travel to America with her, where he met Suzi Q and had two daughters with her.
2Jodio Joestar
Giorno Giovanna’s Counterpart
Vento Aureois notorious for featuring one of the most unconventional protagonists in the original universe,sinceGiorno Giovannais actually the son of Dio Brando, who conceived him when he was possessing Jonathan’s body. Because of his bizarre heritage, Giorno was a morally gray protagonist who took over an entire criminal organization and showed no mercy towards his enemies.
The most recent part ofJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, titledThe JOJOLands,stars a young criminal namedJodio Joestar. While it is currently unconfirmed if he’s related to Diego Brando in any way, the fact that he has “Dio” in his name indirectly confirms that he’s supposed to be Giorno’s alternate universe counterpart. They both have very similar ruthless personalities but extremely different Stands: Gold Experience allowed Giorno to create life from inanimate objects, while November Rain allows Jodio to summon heavy rain that can crush his enemies.
1Rohan Kishibe
Kishibe Rohan’s Counterpart
Rohan Kishibeis one of the most prominent characters in theJoJo’s Bizarre Adventurefranchise, especially for someone who isn’t a villain or part of the Joestar family. He’s an extravagant and arrogant manga author who travels the world to gather information that can assist him in his work, not to mention that he can also turn other people into books with his versatile stand, Heaven’s Door. Needless to say, Rohan is one of Hirohiko Araki’s favorite characters,and he has even starred in his own spin-off series,Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.
JoJofans were both shocked and delighted to find out that the second universe has its own version ofRohan Kishibe, who played a key role in the initial chapters ofThe JOJOLands. His appearance, personality and stand are pretty much exactly the same as the original Rohan, making him the least different counterpart in the entire series so far. This is not surprising at all, however, because Araki didn’t really need to change one of his most iconic and beloved creations.
