10 Powerful Facts about Josuke Higashikata
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure may be better known for the recurring protagonists such as Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar, but Josuke Higashikata has a large fan-following too. The reason behind that is the fact he was the first Joestar to not have a direct relation to the first three parts – instead, he has a unique appearance and a personality that makes him stand out.
His story feels like the start of a new era and has a grounded small-town atmosphere, which gave the series new life and allowed its characters to be vastly different from what we had been seeing up to this point. Diamond is Unbreakable is filled with colorful characters that have very intriguing backstories and motives, and Josuke Higashikata is on the top of that list.
Of course, when a character is this interesting, it’s inevitable for fans to want to know more about them. And luckily for you, we’ve got you covered! Whether it’s facts or details that you might have missed, it’s never a waste of time to learn more about your favorite characters. So, here are the top 10 Josuke Higashikata facts that make him stand out!
In this article, you will learn these important facts about him:
- Why Josuke gets defensive about his hair
- Live-Action Josuke
- Josuke is Hirohiko Araki’s most favorite JoJo character
- No Kill Policy
- Josuke Higashikata is Joseph Joestar’s son
- Jotaro Kujo is Josuke Higashikata’s uncle
- Inspiration behind Crazy Diamond’s name
- A fan of international fashion
- Alternate World Josuke (Part 8)
- Josuke’s favorite artist
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Why Josuke gets defensive about his hair
One of the most prominent personality traits about Josuke Higashikata is the fact he gets angry whenever someone insults his hair. It does not matter whether it’s a minor critique or a full-on insult, he does not wait a second before giving into extreme levels of rage and begins attacking the person who says the magic words.
He does not hesitate from causing physical injuries and even goes as far as to use his stand, Crazy Diamond, to inflict further pain to the person who insults his hair. This eventually became the subject of many memes and is something that fans laugh at Josuke for, since there are many scenes within Diamond is Unbreakable which display the character raging over this topic.
So, what is the reason behind this? While most people assume that he’s just self-absorbed about his looks – the truth is very far from that. The real reason behind his extreme reaction is actually a matter of why he got the haircut to begin with.
At some point in his childhood, he had a terrible fever and his mother tried to rush him to a hospital in worry. Due to a blizzard, their car got stuck onto the icy road and as a result, they couldn’t get out of that spot. Just when all hope seemed lost, a person with the same haircut as Josuke came to their rescue and pushed their car outside of the spot.
Josuke never got to know the person or anything about him, and the only thing he remembers about him is the haircut. Thus, he styles his hair in the same way in respect to his hero and gets defensive if someone insults it – because he does not see it as an insult to his own hairstyle, rather an insult to the man who saved his life.
While many people have asked the author of the series Hirohiko Araki who the mysterious savior of Josuke and his mother is, he has refused to ever comment on that idea. Many fans theorize that it might have been a plotline that was later dropped or a potential time traveling Josuke – but since that was never elaborated on, it’s just a theory at the end of the day.
2. Live-Action Josuke
The only time JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was adapted into a live-action movie officially was for the Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable arc. It was released in Japan on August 4, 2017, and covered only the first seventeen chapters of the manga – only barely teasing the main villain Yoshikage Kira in the end.
Naturally, this means that Josuke Higashikata is the central protagonist of the movie and he was played by actor Kento Yamazaki. The movie was not received that well by critics and fans are mostly divided on it. There were plans of making sequels to cover the next chapters of the manga but unfortunately, the movie did not make enough money to justify those plans. Since then, there has been no news of any potential live-action movie adaptions for the JoJo franchise. The closest thing is the limited series that is being created for Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, which was recently announced.
3. Josuke is Hirohiko Araki’s most favorite JoJo character
Sometime around the release of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean, the creator of the franchise Hirohiko Araki was asked what his favorite characters are in an interview. He mentioned his top 10 favorite JoJo characters and on the top of the list was Josuke Higashikata, followed by Yoshikage Kira on number 2.
When asked to elaborate why he picked Josuke on such a high spot, he said it’s because of the character’s origin and personality. The town of Morioh is loosely based on a town that Araki lived in and he sees Josuke as someone that he would personally know in life due to his down-to-earth personality and simple life. Due to that, he relates to Josuke in a way and that’s why he picked him for such a high spot. As for Yoshikage Kira, it’s a no brainer – the character is pretty damn cool. Araki decided against added a childhood backstory for Kira because he felt it would make him too relatable for someone who happens to be a serial killer.
The list might have changed by now, though, since there have been many more characters in the franchise since, and most fans assume that Gyro Zeppeli would be one of the new favorites.
4. No Kill Policy
By the time JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable came out, we had four Joestar protagonists in line. Joseph Joestar and Jotaro Kujo have no issues killing their enemies, especially if it’s someone who they believe would somehow survive and come back to take more lives.
If you look away from the goofy moments in the series, you can see very easily how brutal the lives of Joestars can be and Jotaro has been known to have PTSD after the events of Part 3: Stardust Crusaders.
However, Jonathan Joestar was a complete gentleman and felt great remorse towards murdering his enemies, even if it’s someone as brutal and inhumane as Dio Brando. Admittedly, it did eventually cause him great harm as some of his enemies took advantage of this act of mercy and came back to fight him. But he never let it become a reason for him to become a killer.
Josuke Higashikata came right after Joseph and Jotaro but he is more similar to Jonathan Joestar in personality at the times he’s not extremely angry. Not only does he have a kind nature due to which he tries to help everyone, but he also tries not to kill his enemies in any case even if they are someone as vile as Yoshikage Kira.
This sets him apart from most of the other Joestars who do not shy away from making sure that their enemies never come back to haunt them again and gives him the same moral code as the likes of Batman.
5. Josuke Higashikata is Joseph Joestar’s son
Something that people who just started reading or watching JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable often wonder is how does Josuke Higashikata fit in as a Joestar. The answer to that can be a bit confusing, especially for people who might not remember the first three parts very well – but it all makes sense when it is explained.
Josuke is the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar, the second protagonist of the JoJo series. Within his marriage, he only had one daughter called Holly Kujo, who went on to giving birth to the next protagonist in line. But he had an affair with a woman in the town of Morioh, where the Diamond is Unbreakable arc is mainly set. She had a child from whose life Joseph was completely absent from and that is Josuke.
Josuke never knew or met his father until the story is almost over, so he only sees his father at the age of 16, while Joseph by that time is approximately 79 years old. It’s an unfortunate cycle of life for the Joestar protagonists, as none of them in the original universe (Parts 1 to 6) grew up with their fathers ever since Dio Brando started plaguing their lives.
Funnily enough, it’s even considered possible by fans that Joseph Joestar pretends to be senile on purpose by old age so that he never has to own up to the responsibility of having an affair while being married to his wife.
If you want to know 10 more interesting facts about Joseph Joestar, then click ‘here’ to check out our article dedicated to him!
6. Josuke Higashikata is Jotaro Kujo's uncle
Something that people are usually confused about even after knowing the complete storyline of Diamond is Unbreakable is what relation Jotaro Kujo has with Josuke Higashikata. We all know that Jotaro is the grandson of Joseph Joestar, and Josuke surely isn’t the son of Jotaro or anything. But to be a Joestar you have to be related to the bloodline in some way.
So, just how does Josuke Higashikata come into the picture? And no, the answer isn’t Dio Brando using Jonathan Joestar’s DNA to reproduce like with Giorno Giovanna.
The correct answer is – even though Josuke is quite younger than Jotaro, he is actually Jotaro’s uncle. It sounds weird, but that’s the correct relation that the two Joestars share with each other because Jotaro is Joseph’s grandson but he is directly the father of Josuke. It’s further strange due to the mentor-like bond that Jotaro shares with Josuke throughout the storyline because the latter is the step-brother of Jotaro’s mother.
It can be a bit difficult to figure this family tree on your own, so if you want to see the full guide, click ‘here’ to see our article on the topic. And if you want to know 16 more interesting facts about Jotaro Kujo, then click ‘here’ to see our article that covers them!
7. Inspiration behind Crazy Diamond’s name
The influence of western music in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise has always been very evident since the author Hirohiko Araki is a big fan of western pop-culture. This can be seen in character names and designs throughout the different story arcs since some of them are directly named after popular artists. A prime example of this is the fact that there’s a stand called Notorious B.I.G, and many people consider Yoshikage Kira similar to the singing-legend David Bowie too.
That’s what brings us to Crazy Diamond. Pink Floyd is an extremely popular band that has sold over 250 million records worldwide and used to make exactly the type of music that you would expect Araki to enjoy. One of their most popular singles is called Shine on You Crazy Diamond and it served as the reference behind the name of the stand that belongs to Josuke Higashikata.
Not only that, but the inspiration extends to the name of the story arc itself as Diamond is Unbreakable is a reference to the stand’s name, to begin with. Essentially making the entire thing an intended reference to the song, and by extension, the Pink Floyd band.
8. A fan of international fashion
A little-known fact about Josuke Higashikata is that he’s a fan of international fashion trends. In the fifth part of the Sheer Heart Attack chapter, Josuke can be seen reading a book with the title of “Gianfranco Ferre” on top. While most people overlook this little detail, those who paid attention might have wondered what that’s all about.
Gianfranco Ferré was actually a very famous Italian fashion designer who was so well-received for his ideas that he was often regarded as the ‘architect of fashion’. It’s no surprise to see Hirohiko Araki take such an interest in international trends, and it’s only natural that it ended up being written into the storyline for one of the characters.
Whether Josuke is reading a biography about the person or a catalogue from his fashion brand is unknown – but it proves nonetheless that Josuke is very interested in the world of fashion and likes to keep up. Sadly, no matter what he does, people will always disregard it due to his haircut.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has acknowledged the fashion of other countries over time too, as there was a direct collaboration with the Italian brand Gucci at one point.
9. Alternate World Josuke (Part 8)
This is a topic as confusing as it is interesting. Something people don’t often realize is that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean is the ending of the original universe of the series. Since the beginning of Part 7: Steel Ball Run, the world of JoJo has been set into a new continuity where we only saw characters similar to their original counterparts return, but their personalities and looks were vastly different.
To further complicate the matters, this alternate universe is not the same as the rebooted universe that we see at the end of Stone Ocean, and this is something that Hirohiko Araki has clarified himself. So, we don’t see any familiar faces besides Diego Brando until Part 8: JoJolion.
The protagonist is called Josuke and he is not the same as the Josuke Higashikata that we know from Diamond is Unbreakable. The Part 8 Josuke has a very complicated backstory, in which he and a person called Yoshikage Kira (again, not the same person as the villain of Part 4) team up together for an important task and steal something from criminals.
Originally called Josefumi Kujo, this Josuke is eventually found by the criminals and they try to kill both him and Kira. After the entire situation is over, the two somehow fuse as human beings and end up becoming one person – who is then called the Josuke of this alternate universe.
It’s a very strange storyline but a good one when you begin reading it, as it’s even winning awards for its brilliant storytelling. It’s a great time to start reading it too, since the ‘main’ villain may just have been revealed in one of the recent chapters!
Although, if you wish to read this story solely to have more of Josuke Higashikata – you will be disappointed because of the fact that Part 8 Josuke looks and acts nothing like the Part 4 counterpart, and simply shares his name with him. There might be more similarities in the future, though.
10. Josuke’s favorite musician
Josuke Higashikata’s hobbies include watching TV, playing video games, and listening to music. Sounds pretty casual, right? And it is, too. But there’s a nice little real-world reference here and that is in the fact that the Josuke's favorite musician is none other than Prince.
Prince needs no introduction, but in the case that you may not know who he is – he was an extremely iconic and popular American singer who is considered one of the greatest musicians of his generation. With Hirohiko Araki’s interest in western music, it makes sense why he would slip in the detail within the manga.
And of course, what better way to do that than to give the interest to the one Joestar that he relates to on a personal level since Prince is actually one of the favorite musicians of Araki himself. But there is another reference present as well, and that is the fact the one character in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise that likes Prince has a very purple outfit, alongside the purple-ish hair color too.
Don’t get it? Simple. Purple Rain is one of the most popular songs of Prince and perhaps the one that he is best known for, as it has been referenced in international media dozens of times. So, not only is he a fan of Prince, but he’s also a living reference to him with the purple outfit that is no mere coincidence when you put all of the pieces together.
Unfortunately, Prince passed away in the year 2016 – long after Josuke was written to be a fan of his music. While the majority of the popular artists around the world publicly mourned the loss of the iconic musician, Araki did not seem to give any statement on the topic. Fans assume that the reason behind this is his disconnect from social media and that his accounts on the internet are seemingly handled by third parties.
If you want to know more about the man behind JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, click ‘here’ to check out our article dedicated to his story.
That’s it for our top 10 Josuke Higashikata facts that you may have missed and make him stand out in the crowd. We hope that you read a few new things today about the character, and as I always say, if you knew every single detail already, you’re one of the most hardcore fans of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise.
If you want to know more about the amazing world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and its unique characters, then don’t forget to check out our ‘Blog’ section for all the JoJo goodness that you can handle!
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