Jonathan Joestar

Jonathan Joestar (ジョナサン・ジョースター), nicknamed JoJo (ジョジョ), is a fictional character created by Hirohiko Araki. He is the main protagonist of Phantom Blood, the first part of Araki's manga series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which debuted in 1987. He is the son of the wealthy George Joestar; an honest, kind, and positive young man whose life is fraught with tragedy.

Fictional character biography
Jonathan "JoJo" Joestar is the son of a wealthy man named George Joestar. His mother died in a carriage accident, in which George thanked a petty thief named Dario Brando for allegedly saving his and JoJo's lives (despite the fact he was only planning to loot their wrecked carriage). After Dario passes away from a supposed illness twelve years later, George, seemingly owing Dario his life, takes in his son, Dio Brando, into the Joestar household. Although JoJo tries to make friends with him, Dio, who's ultimate motive is to inherit the Joestar fortune, soon starts to cause JoJo misfortune, treating him harshly and taking away all of his friends. JoJo finds solace in a girl named Erina Pendolton, who he falls in love with. However, Dio manages to ruin his happiness once again by stealing Erina's first kiss, making her unable to look JoJo in the eye. Adding to this insult, JoJo's faithful dog, Danny, who rescued him from drowning when he was younger, is killed after Dio arranges for him to be thrown into an incinerator. As JoJo fights against Dio in anger, he discovers a mysterious Mesoamerican stone mask his family owns react to blood being spilled on it, causing spikes to grow out of it.

As JoJo spends the next eight years seemingly getting along with Dio, but never truly trusting him, he takes up archeology to do research on the mask. When George starts to come down with a strange illness, JoJo discovers in a letter that Dario had died from the same illness, deducing that Dio has been using a poison on George to try and kill him. As JoJo manages to confront Dio and learn of his motives, he travels to Ogre Street in London to find an antidote for the poison. Whilst there, he encounters a man named Robert E. O. Speedwagon, who becomes moved by his kind heart and helps JoJo locate the pharmacist responsible. Meanwhile, Dio, believing he can use the stone mask to kill JoJo, discovers the mask's spikes doesn't actually kill its wearer but instead transforms him into a vampire. After JoJo returns from London and exposes Dio's plan, Dio kills George, who dived in to protect JoJo, and uses his blood to activate the mask and transform himself into a vampire. After an intense battle, JoJo seemingly defeats Dio by impaling him on a statue whilst the Joestar mansion is engulfed in flames. During his recovery, JoJo is tended to by Erina, who he rekindles his friendship with.

Soon afterwards, JoJo is approached by a man named Will A. Zeppeli, who informs him that Dio, along with the stone mask, is still alive. Having been determined to destroy the mask after it took the life of his own father, Zeppeli begins teaching JoJo about a mystical energy known as the Ripple, which is capable of destroying the evil the stone mask brings forth. After a few weeks of training, JoJo, Zeppeli and Speedwagon travel to the village of Windknights Lot, where Dio has begun amassing an army of zombie servants, including two resurrected knights, Bruford and Tarukus. After JoJo defeats Bruford, who rewards his courage with the sword 'Luck & Pluck', JoJo is put into a desperate situation against the other knight, Tarukus. In the battle's climax, Zeppeli sacrifices himself to transfer all of his remaining Ripple power to JoJo, allowing him to defeat Tarukus. JoJo soon confronts Dio and, after a grueling battle, manages to hit him with a Ripple attack and send him off a cliff.

Afterwards, JoJo marries Erina, and the two board a cruise ship bound to America for their honeymoon. However, Dio had managed to survive the battle at Windknights Lot by severing his own head before the Ripple reached him and, with the assistant of his zombie servant Wang Chan, turns the rest of the ship's passengers into zombies. As Dio attempts to use JoJo as his new body, he delivers a critical blow to JoJo, who uses the last of his Ripple energy to force Wang Chan to obstruct the ship's machinery, setting it to explode. Although Erina opts to die alongside him, JoJo instead commands her to live on and raise a baby whose mother was killed by the zombies. As Erina and the child escape, JoJo passes away, holding Dio's head in his arms as the ship explodes. The baby Erina saved, along with her own child, eventually marry and give birth to JoJo's grandson, Joseph Joestar.

In animation
Jonathan's first animated appearance was an animated film adaptation of Phantom Blood produced by Studio APPP, released on February 17, 2007, where he was voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi. He later appeared in the 2012 television anime adaptation produced by David Production, where his is voiced by Kazuyuki Okitsu.

In video games
Jonathan appears in a video game adaptation of Phantom Blood produced by Bandai, released for PlayStation 2 in 2006, where he is voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka. Jonathan will appear alongside other protagonists in the upcoming fighting game, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle, being developed by CyberConnect2 for a 2013 released on PlayStation 3. Like the 2012 anime, he will be voiced by Kazuyuki Okitsu.

Jonathan Joestar