The tragedy of jotaro Cujo
Welcome the introduction of my unplanned, unscripted and rather messy series where i discuss my opinions on jojo characters, themes and a little bit of psychology
I will be discussing Jotaro throughout parts 3 to 6 so that i can hopefully start a discussion that dives a bit more into his character.
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Part 3: Stardust crusaders
From the very beginning of stardust crusaders jotaro has been confronted with the act of having to make choices.
But what does it actually mean to choose?
The psychology of choice explores why we subconsciously make the decisions we do, what motivates those decisions, and what needs these decisions are meant to satisfy.
As the story of stardust crusaders begins we quickly discover the existence of stands. What they are and how they work. All explained by Joseph. A former protagonist who now plays a supporting role.
With this explanation Araki creates a new power system that later devolopes further as we continue the series.
My guess is that the former power system was already rather broad, had limited creativity when compared to some of the complex stand abilities in later parts but most importantly and overlooked: to obtain Hamon you have to go through immense training. Stand abilities are either inherited (joestar bloodline) or given (the arrow, or disc)
Jotaro's first reaction to his stand ability is confusion and fear. Before Joseph came to explain to him what it actually was, Jotaro was locked away in juvie.
he states: "i'm being possessed by a ghost, i will not leave this cell until it goes away" This translates his fear and a bit of his imagination since in the manga it is implied that he does believe in occult stuff.
He doesn't know that a stand is a solidification of your fighting spirit. Which is literally jour subconscious trying to project you but then solidified.
I feel like jotaro uses isolation as a way to protect those around him when he's unsure of a situation.
This action reoccurred in later parts.
Because Jotaro IS a hero his motivation mainly comes from protecting others. This is why Araki uses his mother becoming ill as a driving plot point to excuse jotaro's character. Personally i think that Araki doesn't explain his motivations enough in the story.
Focussing on Jotaro's progression. Rather on the how he defeats Dio than why he has te defeat Dio. Causing It to go over a lot of people's head.
Explaining why someone is doing something isn't enough. They have to be convincing in their actions and their thoughts. A few moments where jotaro thinks about his mother during his fights and what he is fighting for would have brought some more emotions than betting her soul during a poker game.
What should Joraro have done?
Every choice jotaro had made throughout his battles with stand users on his way to and in egypt has been made with precise calculations, and sometimes a bit of luck resulting in his victory in every episode. Because of jotaro's continued winning streak. He became more like a caricature than a person. This is the exact reason why a lot of the fans label him as unemotional.
He definitely has more expression in the manga.
The anime still fails to convey the fact that jotaro is in fact a 17 year old high schooler trying to save his mom from an illness he knows nothing about.
Meaning: The state of being away from a place or person.
In the beginning of part 3 he locks himself away from his peers and his mother because of his stand ability. He continue's to run away from potential damage to his family in later parts by leaving Jolyne in the dark about everything that has to do with stands and stand abilities in attempt to protect her. We all live our lives and make choices based on that what is best for ourselves and our family.
In Jotaro's case all he's ever lived for is making choices to solve problems he did not create.
Why did Araki make him like this?
If you compare Jotaro with others like Giorno or Jolyne you can see that they are characters that don't just react on their environment but they make choices to prolong the story.
What makes Jotaro so tragic is that at the the story begins and ends with him. He chose his daughter over the universe. He contradicted his usual logical strategic way of thinking because he had a weakness. And that was his love for Jolyne.
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