Johnny Joestar is easily my favorite main JoJo from a part that I have seen or read so far. A majority of the JJBA fanbase will say that he’s flawed, but like, shouldn’t all characters be to some extent? If he was a “perfect baby uwu” he’d be boring and no one would root for him, like Jonathon. I don’t dislike Jonathon, granted, but Johnny is a much better protagonist in every single way. Honestly every alternate character in Steel Ball Run is better than the original from Phantom Blood, but that’s a discussion for another time. Back to Johnny, he’s remarkably complex, and his entire self-redemption arc is hands down my favorite development in all of JoJo. He entered the race to prove to himself that he was a changed man and worth something in the world after his past acts of selfishness and arrogance left him with a crippling injury. I’m gonna propose a theory and say that people just don’t like Johnny because his stand is borderline body horror and is therefore gross. But they’re all wrong, because Tusk is one of my favorite stands ever, being able to fire your fingernails like bullets is badass, and it makes so many of the fights in SBR super interesting once more acts are introduced (like Tusk Act 4 vs. D4C? oh MAN). The only other reason people seem to hate the poor boy is because he’s morally grey in all of his decisions, and isn’t afraid to kill people. But like, so is Joseph, Giorno, and Jolyne, as well as literally EVERY other character in Part VII. While Johnny may be doing what he does for himself or out of impulse, he has dead-set priorities motivating his actions. He wants the Corpse Parts because he feels like he’s destined to have them, just like Funny Valentine. He’s not bad because he opposes the President, nor is the President bad because he’s doing something that he thinks is right. They are both just as grey, and it’s fantastically written. Johnny is a great example of how to write a character’s journey of self-reflection and redemption. He’s not just a power fantasy like some of the other JoJo’s, and the dynamics and relationships he forms during his journey are some of the best seen in the series. He is a multi-dimensional, well-written, interesting, and fleshed-out character that ultimately serves as the main reason I recommend everyone to read Steel Ball Run.
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