Jonathan Joestar

> He's not just looks and clothes, but a real honest-to-god gentleman... I like it!
>
> —Speedwagon

**Jonathan Joestar** (ジョナサン・ジョースター *Jonasan Jōsutā*) is the protagonist of part 1 and the first JoJo of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series.

The son of George Joestar I, Jonathan is an honest, kind and positive man whose life is fraught with tragedy after meeting his adopted older brother, Dio Brando. In his battle against Dio, Jonathan becomes a Ripple user under the tutelage of the master Will Anthonio Zeppeli.

## Appearance

### Adult Years

As an adult, Jonathan is a tall (195 cm/6'5"), extremely muscular individual with a gentlemen's poise. His typical attire tends to reflect his noble background, characterized by stylized tunics over long sleeve shirts. Reoccurring articles of clothing include a cravat, bowtie, thick boots and a vest.

* At home, Jonathan wears semi-formal attire consisting of a collared shirt, tie, and jacket with rolled up sleeves.
* During University Rugby matches, he wears a standard striped rugby shirt and pants with long socks.
* When he sets out to Ogre Street to find a cure for his father's illness, Jonathan dons an entirely new outfit made up of a padded jacket and pants, complete with a deerstalker cap and a long cloak.
* During his training with Zeppeli, he strips down to a stylized tank top with wristbands, and at some point a circlet.
* On his quest to Windknight's Lot, Jonathan dons a double layered tunic with a bowtie and DeerstalkerW cap.
* After his fight with Tarkus, he wears a close-fitted tank top with capped sleeves for the rest of the journey. In the anime, these sleeves are converted into shoulder pads.
* During his honeymoon and final encounter with Dio, he wears an ornate suit with a long tail over a collared shirt with straps on the shoulders, and a cravat.

## Personality

During his childhood, Jonathan was proud and mischievous, yet gentle. Despite already aspiring to be a "true gentleman", Jonathan lacked manners and mostly behaved like a normal child. His mother having died before he could remember her, and his fellow boys ostracizing him because of his status left Jonathan somewhat lonely. While at first, Jonathan didn't have his future strength of will, Dio unwittingly became the catalyst of his growth by pushing him to the edge and humiliating his then girlfriend Erina Pendleton. However, he did have the kindness and courage to immediately jump to Erina's rescue against two bullies bigger than him despite not knowing her.

First and foremost, Jonathan strives to become his definition of a "true gentleman" as he carries his Joestar name with pride, never betraying the code of conduct he has set for himself and will treat any fellow human with respect unless they prove evil.

Jonathan also possesses a fierce inner strength and the drive to face and overcome conflict, which Dio calls an "explosive power". That drive, fueled by his affection to his friends and loved ones, enabled him to overcome the direst situations, notably managing to save his wife Erina when their boat was overcome with zombies and he was fatally hit in the throat. Jonathan fights for what he believes in, and once he is committed to something, he won't back down until the deed is done. During his journey to find a cure for his father's illness, he was ambushed by a band of misfit hoodlums. He did not so much as flinch as he grasped an assailant's knife within his hand, saying he had much more riding on the fight than merely four fingers.

As a gentleman, Jonathan is also kind and positive. Jonathan has a mindset where he tries to imagine the consequences his actions would have on other people, even if they appear to be enemies. He is gentle and sympathetic, feeling pain even as he vanquishes a zombified copper. Despite his skill in fighting, he will never seriously harm a person without a valid reason. Even after everything Dio has done, Jonathan still considers him his brother, and sheds tears for him. His courteous nature as well as his mental fortitude and ability to withstand fear and pain, is the main reason Speedwagon decides to aid him on his journey. During his life, Jonathan has always had an impulse to save others, beginning with Erina, and ending with his thought of a nearby baby just as he was agonizing from Dio's attack.

Yet Jonathan can feel righteous fury at the evilness of his foes, and will conduct justice by vanquishing them. He admitted that his reason for fighting Dio wasn't out of duty for saving the world, but to avenge his loved ones that Dio had killed. Moreover, he has no pity for truly despicable individuals he is not familiar with such as Doobie.

With his courage and spirit, Jonathan sets a legacy as the first JoJo of the series.

Fascinated with the Stone Mask, Jonathan tried to study it and even took on the path of Archaeology. However, not having thought of putting in on anyone, Jonathan didn't discover its true purpose himself.

## Synopsis

### After Phantom Blood

Having defeated Dio on the boat to America, Jonathan and Erina remained in the U.S. with the Speedwagon Foundation. Jonathan takes care of Zeppeli's son, Mario Zeppeli, as well as his son, Caesar Zeppeli.

George is still killed and Lisa Lisa goes into exile, but Joseph Joestar and Caesar are taught Hamon by Jonathan and the Monks instead.

### Battle Tendency

The events that start Battle Tendency remain largely the same, up until the pillar men wake up. ACDC dies, Kars and Whamu escape. With them, Jonathan and Mario die.

## Abilities

### Athleticism

Jonathan had lived a rough past as the son of an aristocrat, and was known in his childhood to have been at least a competent boxer. In his college life, he played Rugby alongside Dio Brando, and was revered as one of the two stars of Hugh Hudson Academy.

Even prior to learning the Ripple, Jonathan was able to hold his own against three thugs, Speedwagon among them, with sheer might and willpower. He was capable of wielding various weaponry held by the suits of armor in the Joestar Mansion. He had also performed incredible feats of strength, such as jumping from the hilt of a sword and hoisting himself up to the second floor while doing a flip over the guardrails, despite his arm being inhibited by a spear pierced into his pectorals. Perhaps his greatest display of strength was after being revitalized and empowered by Zeppeli's Ultimate Deep Pass Overdrive, where he ripped through 3 steel bars clutching his neck, a feat that even the mighty zombie Tarkus outright admitted he was incapable of.

### Intelligence

Jonathan is shown to be an intelligent person and a very competent thinker during battles, constantly coming up with new strategies mid-combat to defeat foes such as Bruford and Dio.

Academically, Jonathan graduated from university after having written a celebrated thesis in archaeology. He has meticulously studied the Stone Mask, going as far as identifying the spots in the brain it would pierce, but didn't discover its true purpose himself.

In a fight, Jonathan is adept at thinking of moves on the spot and using the environment to his advantage. On several occasions, Jonathan was quick to formulate plans even in a moment of crisis. Still recovering from the loss of his father, Jonathan had to fight a vampirized Dio, and quickly thought about burning down the Joestar Mansion in order to bring Dio down. Likewise, agonizing from a wound in the throat (which also led to a loss of oxygen going to his brain), Jonathan managed to use his last Ripple on Wang Chan to dispose of a horde of zombies and Dio at the same time by controlling Wang Chan's body to make the boat explode. Jonathan even notably used his belt as a supplementary whip before ever acquiring the Ripple, as well exploited the fact that Windknight's Lot was a coal mining town to deduce that a lake would have air pockets at its bottom to surprise Bruford with an unexpected production of Ripple.

### Ripple

Jonathan has an arsenal of ancient martial art techniques, most inherited from Will A. Zeppeli and involving *Ripple*, at his disposal. Some are his original creation, each ending with "Overdrive". Alongside the attacks, the Ripple has various other uses in combat. A skilled Ripple user such as Jonathan has the ability to walk on water, strengthen objects and increase their potency, increase jumping height, and much more.

#### **Healing**

One of the main conveniences of the Ripple is the ability to heal the body to an extent. During his battle with Doobie, Jonathan was able to eject poison out of his bloodstream via Ripple transfusion. During his battle with Tarkus, he was also able to heal his broken neck after receiving the **Supreme Pass Overdrive** from Zeppeli.

#### Weapons

* **Luck and Pluck** (と *to* ): After his defeat, Bruford gave Jonathan his sword, which played a major role in the final battle against Dio, where Jonathan was able to counter Dio's freezing ability by infusing the sword with Ripple, in order to avoid direct contact with Dio's body.