JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure holds a place in fans’ hearts because of how it stands out among other works in the genre. The series has a rotating cast of main characters that we follow throughout numerous time skips, tied together by one thing— their relation to the Joestar bloodline, whether symbolic or literal. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is known for its distinct and divisive art style, slapstick humor, and pop culture references. Despite the general silliness that comes with parts of the series, there is undeniably substance to the overall themes of family and friendship, individuality, and good outweighing evil.
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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was first published in 1987, with the manga reaching its ninth arc; meanwhile, the anime adaptation has its sixth season in production. While awaiting the next installments, many fans have been looking back on the series‘ long run and discussing the best arcs, side characters, and Stands. In this list, I’ll be talking about the best villains of the eight parts currently released, and what exactly made them memorable to audiences worldwide.
7) Toru
Toru is the latest antagonist introduced in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga, featured in the “JoJolion” arc. He is portrayed as a Rock Human— beings made purely of silicon that can endure most natural elements and halt their bodies’ biological cycles. Along with this, Toru has one of the strongest Stands introduced in the series, Wonder of U. This Stand activates when anyone thinks of threatening Toru or his alter ego, Satoru Akefu, causing misfortune and tragedy to befall the target.
Besides his Stand, Toru is behind the Rokakaka Organization, a group dedicated to smuggling the similarly named fruit. Rokakaka fruit is believed to have mysterious healing properties; however, the fruit operates by taking something of equal exchange from whoever uses its power. Toru plans to monopolize the fruit and boost Rock Humans’ power and standing in society.
6) Diavolo
Diavolo is the villain introduced in “Golden Wind”, or Part Five of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. He is the boss of the Italian Mafia gang, Passione, a violent group known for its secrecy and high number of Stand users within the ranks. Most notably, Diavolo shares his body with a second soul, Vinegar Doppio, his second in command, who often acts as Diavolo’s scapegoat. Diavolo is shown to be incredibly protective of his secrecy to the point of paranoia, wishing to erase all traces of his past, including his own daughter.
This goal was possible with his Stand, King Crimson, a two-part ability that could also be accessed by Doppio. With King Crimson, Diavolo can predict the future to anticipate events and erase up to 10 seconds of time that only he is aware of. Using this power, Diavolo intended to seize and keep absolute power of Passione and eliminate any opposition in his way while remaining anonymous to all around him.
5) The Pillar Men
The Pillar Men are a villainous group introduced during “Battle Tendency”, the second part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. In the arc, we meet four members of the Pillar Men: Kars, Santana, Wammu, and Esidisi. The Pillar Men are described as an alien race that can manipulate their bodies at will and are responsible for the creation of the Stone Mask. Despite their impressive strength and durability, the Pillar Men are susceptible to the Sun; the main goal Kars chases is combining the Mask with the Red Stone of Aja to overcome this weakness.
In the series, the Pillar Men are shown to slumber in stone until awakened by outside forces. The Pillar Men do not have traditional Stands, but rather superhuman abilities of great strength— Kars can manipulate light to form blades, Wammu summons sandstorms, and Esidisi’s body temperature manipulation, resulting in boiling blood. While it is stated that the Pillar Men once were a species that ruled over Earth, they are nearly extinct by the time Joseph Joestar encounters them.
4) Funny Valentine
Funny Valentine is the central villain of the “Steel Ball Run” arc that is currently being adapted for the series anime. He is the 23rd President of the United States and uses his position of power to boost the country’s stance in the world above all others, no matter the cost. In order to further this goal, Valentine enacts the Steel Ball Run Race, a cross-country race boasting a prize at the end for whoever wins. In truth, the Race is a cover for Valentine to collect Saint’s Corpse Parts to gain power that can be used to strengthen the U.S.
Characterized by a strong patriotism and an ambitious nature, Funny Valentine appears to be a politically suave, polite man. This hides his supreme callousness in sacrificing individuals for the greater good, along with a large ego and sense of narcissism. His stand, Dirty Deeds Done Cheap, allows Funny Valentine to create portals through objects into parallel universes and bring things back from those alternate worlds into his own.
3) Enrico Pucci
Enrico Pucci is the primary villain during the “Stone Arc” run of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. He is characterized as a calm, serious man with a deeply fanatical side caused by his devotion to the teachings of Dio. Enrico believes in Fate and adheres to the thought process of every person having a fated path that governs their lives. His goal throughout the series is to bring Heaven to Earth and realize Dio’s final plan— Pucci is so steadfast in this goal that he is willing to forsake previous morals to steal Stands and eliminate all who oppose or hinder his goals.
A unique feature about Enrico is the fact that his Stand develops throughout Part Six, with three separate stages that perform different abilities. Originally, his Stand is called Whitesnake, and allows Pucci to steal Stands by turning them into Discs to store. The second level is C-Moon, allowing Enrico to manipulate and invert gravity. Finally, the final level of his Stand is Made In Heaven, a stand that will accelerate time for all except living beings. With Made In Heaven, Pucci intends to reset the entire universe and bring about a new era for all on Earth.
2) Kira Yoshikage
Kira Yoshikage is the main villain of “Diamond Is Unbreakable” in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. His character’s appearance is heavily based on David Bowie during his Thin White Duke persona phase, granting him his unique and distinguished appearance. While Kira is shown to be a man longing for a peaceful, average life, this is quickly revealed to be only part of the story; Kira is also a serial killer, stalking and dismembering the hands of women to keep as part of his fetish.
His Stand, Killer Queen, is extremely useful in aiding Kira during his killing sprees— the Stand is able to detonate bombs and create bombs from anything, which assists in disintegrating the bodies of Kira’s victims. Underneath his polished visage, Kira is a sociopathic individual with brutal tendencies that result in him attacking anyone who disrupts his lifestyle or whom he views as a threat to his killings. Kira’s hand fetish inspires him to keep the hands of his victims, often referring to the hands as his “girlfriends”. While he is defeated by the Joestar group, Kira returns as a ghost with no memories later in the series.
1) Dio Brando
Dio Brando is the first JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure villain we meet in “Phantom Blood”. He is adopted into the Joestar family and lives alongside our protagonist, Jonathan Joestar, while harboring a deep jealousy and hatred for his adoptive brother. In adulthood, Dio discovers the Stone Mask and is turned into a vampire. His goal shifts to conquering the world with his zombie-like army, though he is initially stopped by Jonathan in a final standoff. In his initial appearances, Dio is characterized as sadistic, selfish, and envious of the upper class he shares space with after being adopted.
In “Stardust Crusaders“, Dio returns once again as the main antagonist. He managed to survive certain death by stealing Jonathan’s body at the end of Part One, living 100 years at the bottom of the ocean before resurfacing. Dio is also in possession of an incredibly overpowered Stand, The World, with it, Dio can successfully stop time for all around him. Throughout Part Three, multiple strong villains ally themselves with Dio due to his charisma, power, and influence. He remains the only villain to be the primary antagonist of more than one arc in the series, and inspires future JoJo’s villains in their methodology.
Do you agree with this list? Tell us about your favorite JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure villains in the comments.
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