Dreamer o.D

Phantom Blood feels interesting because Jonathan is portrayed as this gentleman; honorable and respectful, built like Joe Fixit in a posh suit. But he's also so...human...at times. As a boy he muses over dessert and having candy with an enthusiasm only a child could be allowed to have. He's such an archetypal heroic character; filled with an unceasing drive to do what he perceives as the right thing. His strength comes not from sheer strength and musculature, but from his personal conviction/drive fuelled by the carried on will of his loved ones. All of Phantom Blood feels like this boy destined to be just another posh snob being forged into a hero.

However, so much of that portrayal feels almost gender neutral. On the one hand, it's the 1800's, and there's exactly 1 woman in the story who is both alive and gets any meaningful lines. But the story at large is about things that could have happened regardless to character gender. To some level, I feel like Jonathan could have been a girl in the story and it changed nothing, but also the time period and supporting cast may have behaved differently.

I think I mainly say that because of Dio Brando. Dio I feel sort of has to be a man in the narrative as written. His self-destructive search for power is informed by his desire to step out from the shadow of his father, a violent drunken creep who he blamed for his mother's death. His rejection of humanity is part because of him wanting to be removed from the possibly hereditary tendencies of his father. Dio Brando specifically starts spirally because he recognizes his tendency to drink under stress to be something his father did. In his search to move beyond the human evil of his neglectful violent father, he finds an inhuman evil that he wholly embodies. But I feel like that portrayal, informed by his supporting characters, is a very gendered portrayal. Jonathan, in contrast, very rarely feels that gendered. He mainly is gendered through contrast with Erina, his childhood sweetheart. Erina forms a quiet emotional base for JoJo that feels separate from the plot. His drive to stop Dio and his minions doesn't really ever even draw her into focus. JoJo's settling of a childhood rivalry with Dio is good vs evil, the carrying of the family torch, but not in a particularly gendered way. Johnathan "carrying his father's and Zeppeli's will" through his unyielding drive feels gender neutral, idk

I think the subsequent parts also do this dance around gender sometimes that feels potent. Every JoJo handles that dynamic differently. Like, I feel Joseph is written specifically as a traditionally masc character. I'd say that characters like Josuke and Jotaro feel like archetypally masculine characters from their depicted personalities in contrast with other characters. Jotaro is depicted as this very specific sort of "he used to be such a good boy" character. He's a sort of "honorable bad boy" kind of character that I don't think would work exactly the same if Jotaro was a girl. Josuke similarly has a sort of gendered portrayal that comes across softer but also still dude-like? Dude coded? I think the soft-delinquent Mama's boy character is hard to read otherwise, idk.

I think moreover, the relationships of characters often feels less gendered. Part 3 has this DND party of grandpa and Co. that shares a sort of bond that feels like a brotherhood of sorts. But on one hand, I think Kakyoin and Avdol could have been women and it not changed much of anything in the story. Outside of some memed gags that happen, I think both of them could have been women. The story would be nearly identical.

Part 5 and 6 also do this, but I think in a much more potent way. Bucciarati and his Passione members distinctly feel like a group who have deep backstories that inform their motivations that are largely ungendered. I think the lot of the group could have been either gender and the story worked the same (Giorno, Bucciarati, Narancia and Abbaccio). I think Mista and Trish feel slightly more gendered, but that could be just me. If Trish wasn't largely characterized as "The Boss's Daughter" and Mista wasn't called Mista, that would feel different. But the rest? They're so fluid! If Araki said right now that Giorno was always intended to be an aroace Agender character I would believe him wholeheartedly. Narancia's story past a point is literally driven by him seeing himself in Trish and wanting to protect her for it. Abbaccio could have been a cop lady and the plot worked just as well. And Bucciarati is so archetypally motherly that in the novels AU Bucciarati literally has an alternate stand called Stepmom lmao

In some ways, I think they could have been written either and it would have worked. But I think because they were specifically chosen to be depicted as men, there's a depth and flexibility to them that feels powerful. Same for part 6. Jolyne is written as "Jotaro's daughter", which is gendered. Ermes is pretty gendered too. Anasui is...well...we all now Anasui's deal...

I guess all this rambling is to conclude that they all stem from that initial thesis of JoJo's, which is centered on that unyielding drive of Jonathan Joestar. That inherited conviction and its capacity to inspire others is the core of that whole story across all parts. The connections that conviction makes in every Part constantly lead characters to have such potent passionate connections that it feels genderless. The Egypt Odyssey team was all dudes but them being dudes rarely mattered. The Passione gang was mostly dudes and it rarely mattered. Jolyne's jailbreak team was largely women and it didn't really matter. I think it could just be good relatable writing. Idk. That shit means something to me.

How Jolyne put her heart into Emporio means something. How Foo Fighters went out at peace because of the live Jolyne made them realize they could have means something. How Bucciarati took in all them orphans, fed them, and took care of them even when was still a young man means something to me! Kakyoin not even thinking about his parents over his friends he made trying to stop Dio means, using his final moments to share the secret of Dio's stand means something to me!