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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Is That Another JoJo Reference?! JoJo's Bizarre Adventure References in Non-Anime Media!

In our previous article, we took a look at the many ways that various anime have paid homage to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, from small sight-gags to extended visual parodies, the amount of creators who felt some love for the series was easy to find! But what about in non-anime media? It isn’t always easy to make a JoJo pose seem tonally correct in your video game, music video, live action TV show, comic, or other media after all, but these creators we found had more creative and interesting ways of paying homage back to Hirohiko Araki and his amazing series. Much like our first article, we’ll be keeping these reference sightings up to Part 5 only to avoid spoiling any of the future fun, and do be warned that some of these references might be spoilers for past JoJo seasons. Overall, the range of these references varies from minor cameos and callbacks to characters and situations being developed with JoJo characters in mind, so let’s get right into it and take a look at the various non-anime JoJo references we’ve found!

It probably comes as no surprise, but musicians and JoJo go together pretty well. Many of the original names and influences for the series come from Araki’s love of various types of musical genres and artists, and it seems that they love him right back! Numerous singers and even idol groups in Japan have given the nod to their favorite JoJo poses and characters, with some even going as far as reaching out to meet Araki as superfans themselves. Hello! Project’s ANGERME and Iikubo Haruna have done various JoJo inspired poses in their blogs and choreography, even recreating the infamous “Go Go Go” SFX with their arms! The iconic Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a huge fan of the JoJo series, often making JoJo poses in her own videos, such as in "PONPONPON," and even wearing JoJo themed merchandise, going so far as to even name one of her pet dogs JoJo.

Perhaps one of the most famous idols, Shoko Nakagawa (AKA Shokotan) is a notoriously huge fan of the JoJo series, busting out JoJo poses so often that she even injured herself doing Narancia’s pose on stage, breaking her tailbone! Her devotion has paid off, however, as Shokotan got to meet Araki to interview him! Shoko’s interview even lead to Araki making a special stand, Love Note, with an interesting origin involving... Shokotan and Jotaro’s child?! Outside of Japan, the group Starbomb included Giorno’s “I have a dream” pose in their video for “SMASH!,” with Luigi of all characters striking the iconic pose!

Some of the most interesting homages to JoJo pop up in various video games, with some being blatantly obvious, and others needing developers to pull back the curtain and reveal their true intentions! Given the nature of JoJo’s storyline of vampires and supernatural powers, it might not be surprising at all to learn that the Castlevania series has featured numerous nods to the JoJo series throughout its legendary run. Castlevania Symphony of the Night features a Stone Mask, and it makes another appearance in Curse of Darkness. There are a few “Ora ora ora” references laced throughout various Castlevania equipments and attacks, and Dawn of Sorrow features a fight at a clock tower against an enemy named Zephyr who can stop time and throws knives… Now, where have we heard of someone like that before?

Speaking of stopped time, the DOTA 2 hero Faceless Void seems to have some JoJo influenced nods to everyone’s favorite vampire. His ultimate ability, Chronosphere, stops time for anyone caught in it but himself for a few seconds, sure seems coincidental, but his model also adopts a similar pose to DIO’s classic WRYYYYYY! pose while casting it. In a recent update to the game, Phantom Assassin got a new splash image featuring her in Jonathan’s pose for her unique cosmetic set, the Bloodroot Guard. In Persona 5, the main character is given a choice to answer the question “What is the name of the phenomenon where the second hand looks like it stops moving?,” with one of the choices being “The World.” And in the fighting game Skullgirls, DIO is referenced numerous times between characters Valentine, Peacock, and Eliza. Valentine can stop time, Peacock drops a steamroller on her foes, and Eliza features an obvious color palette reference to DIO’s classic Part 3 outfit! The game also features Big Band, a character who has a move where he shouts “Tuba Tuba Tuba,” similar to “ora ora ora” or “muda muda muda,” depending on how you hear that in your head. Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge has a few nods to DIO as well, with a design sketch of Donovan by Takenori Kimoto posing like DIO in one of the art books; more interesting, Donovan, known for his ability to summon various spirits to aid him in battle, also has a sketch where he summons Abbachio’s Moody Jazz!

In a series already filled with lots of crazy references and homages to other anime and video games, it probably comes as no surprise that the Danganronpa series has numerous JoJo references throughout its titles. Some of these appear in both the games and anime, such as Junko posing as DIO and her penchant for quoting “Muda muda muda,” while others are specific to the games, such as Super Danganronpa 2’s Hanamura saying he can taste if people are lying, Monokuma using a Heaven’s Door like ability, and there’s even a reference to the Bow & Arrow, called the Meteorite Arrowhead. Some other fun references include Mondo, whose hairstyle (and attitude regarding it) seem like they might be related to Josuke, a reference cemented in place when players learn that his biker gang is called Crazy Diamond! These JoJo references likely don’t come as much surprise, considering Naegi’s initial introductory comments about not having a Stand, but the dedication to weaving them into the various games, and in somewhat natural ways, is pretty impressive!

Speaking of Polnareff, video game designers must have loved him, because aside from poses and thematic references, Polnareff’s mere existence may have had the most influence on game design of the entire JoJo series! Katsuhiro Harada, the director of the Tekken series, directly cites Polnareff as inspiration for series mainstay Paul Phoenix’s iconic hairstyle and first name. Tekken features a few other nods to JoJo, with Jin and Kazuya having gloves similar to Star Platinum’s, and Tekken 7’s newcomer Claudio not only poses like DIO, but can even equip an “Ancient Mask.” In the King of Fighters series, Benimaru Nikaido is another clear homage to Polnareff, again sporting a unique and reminscient hair style and style of dress, and in fact, Benimaru looks so much like Polnareff that developers of the game referred to him internally as “Polnareff!”

A few other references pop up in King of Fighters, with Leona Heidern’s Earring Bomb 2: Heart Attack special move is an homage to Yoshikage Kira’s Heart Attack. Leona can either wait for the bomb to explode, or detonate it on her own, much like Kira’s Deadly Queen, and Leona’s voice line upon detonation, “You’ve lost in the end,” is similar Kira’s “You’ve lost in death” line. Another King of Fighter character, Mian, has an attack called Rangurenbu that has her shouting “Ariariariariari,” just like Bucciarati! Finally, Street Fighter’s Guile owes his creation to Polnareff, who started as the base model for the character, according to producer Noritaka Funamizu. Ironically, a dev decided to play with Guile’s sprite, and his hair spread to look a bit more like Stroeheim’s, which stuck! The name “Guile” is even a reference to “J. Geil,” Polnareff’s archenemy! Street Fighter has quite a few obvious nods, most notably Rose, who wears a nearly identical outfit to Lisa Lisa, who also hails from Venice.

There are many more one-off references to be found in various games. Persona Q has a quick segment where the Persona 4 cast pose as various JoJo characters. The original Ninja Gaiden game decorates a stage with Stone Masks and Pillar Men, while Senran Kagura 2 has a few clothing options for Mirai that directly reference Star Platinum and The World. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey has a reference to the Sword of Anubis with the equipment Cursed Sarai, stating that it is the “Sword of Anubis that drives victims mad,” and an attack ability called Bites the Dust, which inflicts Bomb status on a target who then explodes during their next activation!

The Touhou Project games have numerous soft references to JoJo sprinkled throughout, with characters such as Remilia and Yuugi making a few references to the series, but the most obvious is Sakuya Izayoi. Sakuya has the ability to stop time, and throw knives! Other references might be quick and hard to miss, such as Yakuza 0’s quick and cheeky nod to the JoJo series: During a fight with a secret boss whose first name is simply “Jo,” Goro Majima (the best boy in Yakuza, by the way), thinks to himself afterwards what that “Jo” guy’s deal was and what a “bizarre adventure” it was to fight him.

When you move away from video games and music, it’s interesting to see where JoJo references might pop up; after all, many of these mentioned were still developed by Japanese teams and artists, meaning that JoJo likely played a big part in entertaining them growing up or while they worked. But if you were to look towards American comics, you might find some odd homages! Now, one of the most infamous is a comic known as Diesel, which isn’t so much an homage as it was an adaptation (for lack of a better term; it really just takes the entire plot and renames and Americanized people and locations) of the Fool and Iggy storylines of Part 3. The comic was pretty obscure, but got attention in 2016 when the Stardust Crusaders anime hit, and became a source of some odd laughs and memes.

For an actual homage, X-Man Annual has a page where the Hulk gains some very unique yellow armor, making him look like The World! In the Archie Comics’ Sonic the Hedgehog comics, quite a few little references found their way into the Off Panel section in the back of the book. In issue 270, Sonic and Knuckles face off (with Sonic as Kenshiro and Knuckles dressed as Jotaro) in “manliest anime” challenge, and in the first issue of Sonic Boom’s spin off comic, another Off Panel segment features Knuckles posing like Joseph, complete with a green scarf!

Western television and web shows have also made a few nods to the series. Adult Swim’s anime inspired Ballmasterz:9009 character Chimpendale strikes Jonathan’s pose at one point. One of the most overt and direct references to the series happens in NBC’s Heroes, with Hiro Nakamura writing in his blog that he wants to “Be like JoJo and go on adventures,” with Part 3 being his favorite. Beyond a few mentions to other JoJo characters in his blog throughout the series run, Hiro’s superpower shares quite a few similarities to that of DIO and Jotaro, as Hiro is able to stop time! Even the grim, dark future of the 41st Millenium of Warhammer 40,000 isn’t safe from JoJo references, as the popular parody series If the Emperor Had a Text to Speech Device by Bruva Alfabusa on Youtube features three characters called the “The Fabulous Custodes,” who look suspiciously like a few half-naked superhumans!

It seems that JoJo fever is worldwide, with creators from all over the world, in various media and genres, have all worked in ways to pay respect to Hirohiko Araki’s unique and wonderful series. As JoJo's Bizarre Adventure continue through Part 5 and gain more and more followers, we can only assume that these fun nods to Araki’s world will continue; we even left a few off because they’d spoil some of the fun of Part 5, so consider this just a small taste of the influence Araki has had. So while you’re enjoying the new season of JoJo, keep your eyes peeled for other references in shows you’re watching, games you’re playing, and even music you’re listening to; you never know where a JoJo reference might pop-up!

Know any other JoJo references you flipped for? Let us know in the comments!

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Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known to profess her love of otome games over at her blog, Figuratively Speaking. When she has the time, she also streams some games. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Is that... a JoJo's Reference?! JoJo's Bizarre Adventure References in Anime!

When you hear the title “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” you probably start to think of some of your favorite classic scenes and moments, poses, or quotes! You aren’t alone; JoJo is a really popular series across the world, and throughout the history of the series, many other creators have given nods of respect to Hirohiko Araki’s classic work. Whether it’s characters repeating famous lines, recreating poses, or copying key scenes for comedic effect, Araki is a popular well for homages to return to! We’ll be taking a look at JoJo references in anime, but what are we classifying as a “reference?” For the sake of this article, we’ll be looking at good faith, direct references, rather than plagiarism or “borrowed” ideas. We’ll also take a look at the following specific areas: posing, quotes, and recreated sequences/scenes. And for the sake of spoilers, we won’t include any references that go beyond where Golden Wind has currently reached!

It probably goes without saying, but the most popular styles of reference in anime revolve around poses and quotes. Recreating the visual style of famous JoJo poses provides a fun non-sequitur gags, while also drawing upon shared cultural memories of pop-cultural knowledge; while many of the titles that make JoJo references are comedies, many more utilize them in cut-away gags in places that one might not expect to see them. Common targets for pose-based references are Jonathan’s classic hand over his face pose, Jotaro’s pointing pose, Joseph’s numerous poses and mannerisms from Part 2, and of course, DIO! JoJo’s poses are some of its most iconic visual representations, so it makes sense that people looking to give a nod to the series would pull from them more than other areas. Classic JoJo poses have shown up in countless anime, but some of our favorites include Karamatsu recreating Jonathan’s pose in Mr. Osomatsu, the Serinuma family of Kiss Him, Not Me posing as a group, OniAi’s group pose, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU’s Giorno homage, and the MEGANEBU! JoJo posing competition! There are plenty more, we’re sure, probably almost too many to mention! One thing is for sure: Jonathan’s pose seems to be the most iconic, showing up in Gintama, Show By Rock!!, and many more! Even the Pokémon anime has gotten in on the references, where in episode 860, Meowth poses like Jonathan and Joseph while making references to Dio’s classic “useless” lines; sadly, only the poses made it into the dubbed version of XY.

Aside from posing directly, there are a few times in which JoJo-styled aesthetics are used in anime to reference the manga and styling. Fairy Tail’s Lamy has a few JoJo inspired moments in episode 238, where she makes a particular pose (and it even appears in the animation for the theme song NEVER-END TALE!). No Game No Life features numerous posing and other JoJo themed segments, but for us one of the best, and easily overlooked, comes from THE IDOLM@STER anime. In episode 6, “The Decision to Move Forward,” Kotori has a brief moment where she imagines the 765 Pro girls opening up a Tamatebako from the Japanese myth of Urashima Taro. During her fantasy, the anime shifts into a black and white manga aesthetic, with the characters being depicted in Hirohiko Araki’s unique style! The sequence is short and easy to miss, but features lovingly rendered details like speed lines, sound effects, and facial expressions that look straight out of the JoJo manga itself!

When it comes to references, sometimes series take things to the extremes, especially gag series. In these cases, characters shift and change to look like the thing they’re referencing, and there are two clear winners in this regard: No Game No Life and Good Luck Girl! “Araki faces” are a common gag joke, but these two series make consistent, stylistic changes where characters adapt the mannerisms, poses, and aesthetics of the characters they’re referencing. These take the idea of pose references and “JoJo” style to a new level, fitting for gag series in which the laws of physics and logic don’t always have to make sense. Interestingly, both No Game No Life and Good Luck Girl heavily reference Diamond is Unbreakable, with NGNL’s Sora calling upon Rohan Kishibe numerous times, and GLG’s Ichiko makes numerous references to Josuke, even appearing in a Josuke pose wearing his uniform and even sporting his pompadour on top of her own hair!

Visual references and sight gags are only one of the ways in which anime can make references to other media, but since anime is a moving media, that means it can also recreate whole scenes and sequences. To this end, it might not surprise you that DIO is a source of popular reference material, particularly the infamous Road Roller scene! To this end, Hackadoll the Animation takes the cake with its amazing Road Roller gag: Hacka Doll v.4 tries to gift a man a car, leading to her recreating the Road Roller scene before hurling her gift at him! No Game No Life and Kiss Him, Not Me make reference to DIO’s WRYYYYYY in a similar fashions; overall, DIO is perhaps one of the most popular visual and referential gag targets, with numerous series drawing on his classic moments for a quick gag!

An even more recent reference came in the form of a callback to both Polnareff and Dr. Slump, where the joke originated in HANEBADO! When Connie reappears in episode 9, she stands above the rest of the girls to announce her arrival, to which Ayano responds with a classic set of hand signals to let Connie know that she can see maybe a bit more than her sister anticipated. The original gag stems from Polnareff, making the same set of motions during the fight with the High Priestess, but Polnareff’s use of the gag is itself a reference to Akira Toriyama’s Dr. Slump, where Arale makes the same joke. Now that’s a reference within a reference!

While the human characters of JoJo might seem like the most obvious targets for references, Stands are equally popular, popping up in numerous series. Ai-Mai-Mi features a nod to Avdol’s Magician’s Red when Mi evokes an odd looking bird spirit behind her in a show of her “courage,” while Gintama features a similar gag where Gintoki defines a Stand, causing a Star Platinum lookalike to appear behind him. MONSTER MUSUME EVERYDAY LIFE WITH MONSTER GIRLS makes a joke about Stands appearing behind their users when Centorea monologues about the valiant and dashing nature of the centaur species, causing Kimihito to jokingly ask if the knights behind her are Stands. In Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG, the show regularly featured gag shorts featuring the lovable Tachikoma tanks; in one of these Tachikomatic Days segments, the art style suddenly becomes very “Araki-like,” and the Tachikoma seemingly summons a Stand, “Reset the World,” which can stop time!

While many of these are clear references, parodies, and homages, sometimes it can be easy to miss them if you aren’t looking. One of the most common references is the use of JoJo’s traditionally thick, ominous on screen sound effects. Others draw upon events and famous sequences in JoJo storylines for reference material; in Baka & Test - Summon the Beasts, Akihisa gets dragged into the darkness by a set of ominous hands, much like Yoshikage Kira’s eventual fate! DENKI-GAI references the “Taste of a liar” scene from Golden Wind, and Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos is filled with constant references to less common JoJo characters and scenes, from Stroheim to Bucciarati!

With the modern David Productions anime adaptations working their way through the JoJo’s storylines, it seems like we’ll very likely see references to the show and various storylines pop up all over the place in the anime that we watch. JoJo is a popular and important series in manga and anime, and the popularity of the series has helped cement its trademark style, poses, quotes, and scenes into anime pop-culture history.

Know of any JoJo references in anime that we missed? What's your favorite of JoJo reference? Let us know in the comments!

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By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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