JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s 12 Best Fights, Ranked

For nearly four decades, Hirohiko Araki (mangaka and, apparently, alchemist) has been transmogrifying his genius into ink for all to see in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, a staple of Weekly Shonen Jump and, later, Ultra Jump. Renowned for its eclectic influences, uncanny ability to balance absurdity and suspense, and fearless approach to the gruesome, JoJo has racked up a huge number of memorable fights over the years. However: for one reason or another, we believe the fights below are on another level entirely.

Warning: Spoilers below for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure up to and including Jojolion. Part names will be provided in headers so readers can skip past any parts they haven’t read.

Since the first climactic encounters of Jonathon Joestar and Dio Brando in Phantom Blood, Araki has used JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure as the vehicle for a bloodline-bound story of precarious destinies entangled across eras, continents, and even universes. The battles below are rich in variety, from brutal hands-on match-ups like Caesar vs. Wamuu to psychological face-offs like Jolyne and Hermes’s encounter with Donatello Versus’s Underworld, but each shows Araki’s mastery of one thing in particular: choreographing a breathtaking fight.

12. Kakyoin vs. Mannish Boy (Part 3: Stardust Crusaders)

One of Stardust Crusaders‘ most memorable fights, this battle sees Kakyoin matched up against a sadistic genius baby representing the Death arcana in Stardust Crusaders‘ Tarot-based Stand scheme. It’s frustrating since the baby’s stand, Death 13, is only active in nightmares where it has absolute control, and everything is forgotten when one awakens.

It’s doubly frustrating because, after a successful scheme to remember the nightmare, Kakyoin accuses the nightmare baby of being a Stand user and is himself accused—however fairly—of losing his mind. Ostracized by the other Crusaders, Kakyoin devises a masterful tactic to pull one over on the torturous Stand, smuggle Hierophant Green into the nightmare world, and claim victory. It’s one of the most satisfying victories in all of JoJo, even if it’s mechanically not too special.

11. Rohan Kishibe & Josuke vs. Highway Star (Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable)

Aboard a bus, Rohan notices something fishy in a tunnel and goes to investigate. It turns out to be a lure by Highway Star: a long-distance Stand that creates an illusory room where it latches onto the scent of prey and then pursues them relentlessly at a speed of 60 km/h. Its goal is simple: absorb their life energy for the sake of its user, Yuya Fungami, who is in a hospital following a motorcycle accident.

By happenstance, Josuke—who at this point isn’t on the best terms with Rohan—comes across Rohan’s motorcycle after he tries to outpace Highway Star. When Highway Star shifts its focus to Josuke, he uses Crazy Diamond to fix the motorbike, cueing a high-speed chase. The battle is quintessentially JoJo and quickly becomes synonymous with Diamond is Unbreakable‘s overall vibe as well, featuring stomach-churning speed, strange turns of events, and (of course) a satisfying beatdown at the end.

10. Jolyne & Hermes vs. Donatello Versus (Part 6: Stone Ocean)

Overall, Stone Ocean can be considered an exercise in battle choreography honed to feel like every match is, itself, a prison cell. From the pseudo-domain-expansions of Stands like Dragon’s Dream to the world itself becoming a faceless enemy in the face of Heavy Weather and Bohemian Rhapsody, Stone Ocean has countless memorable sequences where the enemy—literally or metaphorically—puts the ropes around the boxing ring.

Few Stands exemplify this as impressively as Under World, the Stand of Donatello Versus, which places people into living reenactments of memories. Placing Jolyne and Hermes in the midst of a memory of a fatal plane crash, the pair have to outwit the circumstances in order to survive and eventually secure a victory. Between its tension and strangely straightforward mechanics, Under World is one of Stone Ocean‘s best arcs—and most anxiety-inducing battles.

9. Giorno & Mista vs. Ghiaccio (Part 5: Golden Wind)

Did you know that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is secretly another “power of friendship” anime? Jokes aside, few battles exemplify the way Stands can lift one another up like Giorno and Mista’s stand-off with Ghiaccio, the ice-suit-clad Stand user of White Album, capable of lowering the temperature of a target area as far as absolute zero (via the ability Gently Weeps).

The way Giorno’s Gold Experience synergizes with Mista’s Sex Pistols is awe-inspiring and immensely creative on Araki’s end. The battle also provides a springboard for Mista’s own backstory, made all the more impactful when the tense battle with Ghiaccio brings him to the brink of death. Giorno’s satisfying stomp-finisher is earned through a mental, physical, and emotional all-out no-holds-barred brawl showing both sides at their most adaptable—and unstoppable.

8. Caesar vs. Wamuu (Part 2: Battle Tendency)

Caesar’s bout with Wamuu is a smartly choreographed display of Hamon mastery. JoJo‘s early mechanics had certain limitations, with Hamon being at its core just an energy system that would be present in countless other battle shonen. However, Caesar vs. Wamuu shows Araki at the finest point in his pre-Stand career with a gripping battle that pushes the mechanical boundaries of both JoJo‘s heroes and villains.

Caesar provides one of the finest examples of Hamon’s in-battle deployment, while Wamuu shows Araki’s itch to progress beyond the already superhuman threat level of Part 1’s vampires. Ending on a sour note after an incredible display from both fighters, viewers are left with Joseph’s heart-shattering (and endlessly memed) “CAESAR!” as both Caesar and Wamuu make their leave from JoJo‘s mortal coil.

7. Everyone vs. C-MOON & Made in Heaven (Part 6: Stone Ocean)

Our placement of Stone Ocean‘s finale will inevitably be a little controversial. Hold on: we can explain. Firstly, it’s a one-sided stomp. Certain parts of the fight are really enjoyable—like Jolyne’s attempt to overcome C-MOON at the same time as gravity and time themselves—but by design, she and the crew around her can only put up so much of a fight.

Nevertheless, the battle is epic and visually stunning. It feels as overwhelming as Made in Heaven itself when, for example, Jotaro lets out one of his only screams in the series seeing Jolyne nearly hit by Pucci’s scattered knives. Not to mention that Emporio’s ultimate victory over Pucci, preventing a total reset erasing Jolyne and crew, is equal parts captivating and smart. Stone Ocean‘s ending is bittersweet and imperfect, but it’s also unforgettable.

[RELATED: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Shares First Look At Golden Wind Prequel]

6. Risotto vs. Doppio (Part 5: Golden Wind)

This shocking battle introduces Doppio’s secondary personality, Diavolo, and his Stand, King Crimson, as part of a tight match against Risotto Nero. Risotto is the leader of La Squadra Esecuzioni, tasked with taking down Team Bucciarati and kidnapping Trish, and the group’s preceding plot presence makes the stakes of the battle even higher for JoJo‘s followers.

Narancia’s presence via Aerosmith leads Risotto to pick up on Doppio’s possession of a Stand, and the ensuing battle is a nightmare. Risotto’s Stand, Metallica, is terrifying: capable of magnetic control of all sources of iron, the unforgettable body horror of the battle is apparent when, for example, Risotto causes Doppio to retch up razor blades. Despite Risotto’s efforts to control the situation and take advantage of Aerosmith, Doppio’s masterful manipulation of the battle’s mechanics earns him a win.

5. Giorno vs. Diavolo (Part 5: Golden Wind)

Much like Stone Ocean‘s finale, the placement of Golden Wind‘s finale might ruffle some feathers. Unfortunately, these are the biggest of the big leagues, and Giorno Giovanna doesn’t clear some of the fights left. The buildup to the fight is incredible, with the tension around the Stand Arrow’s possession and the body swap following Silver Chariot Requiem. The final battle itself also deserves props for its hype and pacing.

There are superb moments baked into this high-stakes battle built on the corpses of several Team Bucciarati members, like the Stand Arrow rejecting Diavolo when he tries to attain a Requiem form. At any rate, Gold Experience Requiem’s monologue will be remembered for ages. The fight also cements Giorno as the strongest bar none within JoJo‘s original universe, and if this were a “strongest JoJo” list, Giorno would take the first spot, but that’s for another day.

4. Everyone vs. Kira (Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable)

Every story should aspire to be as meticulous as Diamond is Unbreakable‘s. Although Yoshikage Kira doesn’t come into view as a primary antagonist until his brush with Shigechi and Rohan’s venture into Ghost Girl’s Alley alongside Koichi, his role is intimated from the very first panels. At the same time as Araki explores every nook and cranny of Part 4’s rendition of Morioh-cho, he slowly builds out a horrifying profile of Kira himself.

The offensive against him is relentlessly tense: Kira feels like JoJo‘s truest villain when the tenured serial killer occupies Kosaku Kawajiri’s body and besets his prepubescent son, Hayato, with a time-resetting Stand to ensure the stability of his “quiet life”. From the core cast’s perceptiveness to Josuke and Okuyasu’s painstaking cooperation in luring Kira to the open to Jotaro’s return as final hero, JoJo fans’ hard-earned relationships with Morioh-cho writ large are safeguarded when Kira is taken down.

3. Johnny & Gyro vs. D4C (Part 7: Steel Ball Run)

There are countless reasons to read Steel Ball Run before it finally hits the screen, and fans who put in the work earlier will be rewarded with one of JoJo‘s best ultimate showdowns ever. After an entire part dedicated to building up Johnny and Gyro’s relationship as a pair, the duo faces off against the morally complicated President Funny Valentine through a host of brilliant upgrades and dimension-hopping antics.

Steel Ball Run brings a host of new concepts to the table that the finale draws together flawlessly. The part also sees Araki hit a brand new stride as a storyteller, something eloquently framed in the heartbreaking retrospective frames following Gyro’s untimely death. The fact that, for once, it’s not a hero who brings an end to the “big bad” adds an extra layer of sour-sweet irony to an already bitterly Pyrrhic victory.

2. Josuke vs. Wonder of U (Part 8: Jojolion)

Mark our words: one of these days, when people drive Jetsons-esque hovercars to work and Jojolion is finally animated, its final set of antagonists will be remembered as one of JoJo‘s best ever. Jojolion is a sprawling part that gives the illusion of sometimes being unfocused. The final battle with Wonder of U—and by extension, the “universal law of calamity” itself—illuminates the crystal-clear focus Jojolion had the entire time.

If Steel Ball Run‘s showdown with Funny Valentine represents the best of the first three parts’ final bosses in its straightforward intensity, Jojolion represents the best of Diamond is Unbreakable through to Stone Ocean: each part’s ending is tangential, bone-chilling, claustrophobic, and grotesque. Josuke and crew’s standoff with Tooru and The Wonder of U takes it even further, though: it’s a truly horrifying, claustrophobic ending that, somehow, perfectly ties together every narrative adventure in the part so far.

1. Jotaro vs. DIO (Part 3: Stardust Crusaders)

There’s something you could affectionately call “monkey magic”. Think of it this way: do something to impress a monkey and it’ll repeat after you, like it’s learning to do a magic trick. Shonen anime loves a good monkey magician, from Kakashi’s infamously huge catalog of copied jutsu to Jujutsu Kaisen’s personally tailored monkey magicians like Geto. The greatest of all monkey magicians, though, and a major influence behind the trope’s prevalence today, is JoJo‘s evergreen hero Jotaro Kujo.

To set the stage: after countless challengers during their globetrotting romp, the Crusaders are thinned out through DIO’s henchman stationed in and around Cairo. Jotaro sees DIO finish off Kakyoin and feed on his grandfather Joseph during what’s come to be the most impenetrably legendary fight of all time. Through a barrage of high-octane diversions like smashing Jotaro with a road roller, Jotaro reveals his true nature as a monkey magician, copying Dio’s “The World” to stop time and turn the tables. It’s one of the most recognizable moments of the entire franchise, and one of the hypest moments in anime history.

It’s battles like these that have led JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to thrive for decades, with the hotly anticipated Steel Ball Run anime confirmed and on the way as we speak. Didn’t see a fight you love? We want you to leave a comment below. Want to discuss something about the list? Reach out to the author on X (@KoltDay).