Highlights
- Golden Wind celebrates queer representation through beautiful and important men like Giorno and his potential relationship with Mista.
- Stone Ocean breaks gender norms with Jolyne as a bisexual-coded icon and Anasui’s non-gender-confirming design.
- Steel Ball Run showcases the powerful bond between Johnny and Gyro with strong gay undertones, changing Johnny after Gyro’s death.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Golden Wind, Stone Ocean, Steel Ball Run, and Jojolands.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a massive household name in Japan and recently took over the West thanks to the stellar anime adaptation. The magnum opus by Hirohiko Araki is filled with creative and unique powers, larger-than-life characters, compelling and epic narratives, and, unexpectedly, a beautiful cast with plenty of ethnic and queer representation. There are several confirmed queer or queer-coded characters throughout the series, from minor antagonists to protagonists and major characters.
Since the beginning of the series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always had a distinct take on masculinity and gender at large. Araki is known for the flamboyant, high-fashion designs he gives the male cast and the unconventional female characters that fill his manga. Araki’s portrayal of masculinity and queerness is tasteful and revolutionary, so in celebration of Pride Month, let’s take a look at the major queer characters in JoJo’s, and some minor.
Golden Wind and The Importance of Beautiful Men
In an interview with VIZ Media, Hirohiko Araki spoke about the idea behind Golden Wind. He states that the men of the story are important, beautiful men who can only exist in such a world as JoJo’s. Golden Wind is often celebrated as the peak of queer representation in the series and, when taking a deep look at the cast, it’s easy to see why—starting with the part’s protagonist, Giorno Giovanna. Araki revealed he based Giorno’s unique hairstyle on Michelangelo’s David. A statue that has been noted to carry a certain homo-erotic aura. Giorno is slender and dresses in bright pink with a ladybug motif and a chest opening, a very feminine design for the protagonist of a Shōnen manga, Giorno is often seen being very close to Guido Mista, sometimes posing together, which has led fans to see them as a potential couple.
Another subtle example of male queerness is seen in Bruno Bucciaratti and Leone Abbacchio. Bruno is the team leader and is always seen caring deeply for his crew, seeking them out personally with great kindness to recruit them into the squad. An anime-original scene shows when Bruno recruits Abbacchio. Abbacchio is a disgraced cop in a deep depression. One rainy night, he meets Bruno, who gently extends his hand to him. Abbacchio immediately goes to him, leaving his liquor behind. The scene has been noted to carry tragic yet beautiful romantic undertones.
It’s impossible to mention queerness in part 5 without mentioning Tiziano and Squalo. Two of Diavolo’s assassins were sent to dispatch Bruno’s team. The two are seen being incredibly intimate in an unmistakable romantic manner. Tiziano later sacrifices himself to help Squalo defeat Narancia, the latter being deeply struck with grief when his partner dies in front of him.
In an anime original addition, Gelato and Sorbet, two members of La Squadra, are confirmed to be in a relationship, being tortured and killed together at the hands of Diavolo’s assassins. The assassins are Ciocolatta and Secco, two other characters with heavy queer undertones, albeit in a very twisted way. Minutes before his death, Ciocolatta outright professes his love for Secco, a dialogue that was changed in the Netflix release.
Stone Ocean and The Boundaries of Gender
Stone Ocean has always been a divisive entry in the series, with many fans adoring the entry while others cast it aside as the worst of the series. However you feel about it, Jolyne Kujo’s sole existence is monumental to manga. Araki created Jolyne and made her the protagonist in defiance of the male-dominated Shōnen Jump. At the time, having a female protagonist lead a series mainly read by teen and young adult male readers was inconceivable, but Araki insisted on it, giving the world Jolyne Kujo, an icon for female and queer characters in anime. Jolyne is very often noted to be very bisexual-coded, as she expresses interest in both genders, and that involves the creation of her love interest, Narciso Anasui.
In the original manga, when Anasui is first seen, they’re a woman. The next time they appear again, Anasui sports a male yet incredibly feminine design and mannerisms. It’s believed Araki intended Anasui to be a woman at first, giving Jolyne a lesbian love interest, but this was rejected by his editors, thus, changing Anasui into a man. Beyond that, Anasui’s design is remarkably non-gender-confirming. Anasui has long pink hair, a mesh shirt, a short skirt, and high heels, further giving into the female concept. It’s theorized by many that Anasui used their stand Diver Down, which can modify human bodies, to perform gender-reaffirming procedures on themselves.
But by far the star of queerness in Stone Ocean is its main villain, Enrico Pucci. Pucci is an African-American priest completely devoted to the man he loved the most, DIO Brando. Dio and Pucci are often seen in very intimate situations. In a notable case, they are seen lying on the same bed together while Dio is shirtless. In that same scene, when asked if he would ever betray Dio, Pucci tells him he loves him as much as he loves God, and that he would never think of betraying his close friend. This closeness to Dio is reinforced by Araki’s reveal of Dio being canonically bisexual.
Steel Ball Run and Jojolands, Manga-only Queerness
Steel Ball Run is often mentioned as the peak of the series, Araki’s masterpiece. The part is led by two male leads, two cowboys named Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli. Johnny and Gyro quickly become close friends, and their bond is filled with gay undertones. Both characters are often portrayed by Araki in very feminine and erotic mannerisms in official art. And the bond they have is unmistakably incredibly powerful by the end of the series. Johnny is seen in overwhelming pain when Gyro is killed, the grief even changing his personality by the end. In the video game JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Eyes of Heaven, Johnny is consistently motivated to help in the adventure for the sole goal of bringing Gyro back to life, his death not letting him think of anything else.
In the latest manga entry as of the writing of this article, Jojolands, the protagonists are Jodio Joestar and his sibling Dragona Joestar. Dragona has been the object of praise and adoration by fans since the start, as they’re confirmed to be transgender. Dragona has undergone gender-reaffirming surgery to attain a more feminine appearance, and their name is Spanish for female dragon. Dragona is one of the main cast, essentially the deuteragonist, showing how unafraid Araki is of rightfully portraying queer characters in his work.
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