#joshu analysis

Hi, fellow Joshu (and Valentine) fan!! Hope you're doing well!

I really hope you don't mind me using your ask to do a full analysis on Joshu's possible conditions, because I was already planning to do so, and you gave me the perfect opportunity and encouragement to go for it! So here we go...

Answering your question: YES, I love the possibility of Joshu being on the spectrum! And I've read a lot of great character analysis on this subject, so I'm sure many other people also headcanon him as high-functioning (level one support) autistic too.

Actually, this is such a common perspective that I don't think there's much I could add that would be particularly productive. So instead of offering my own analysis, I'd like to link a few posts that explore Joshu's psychology in depth, covering topics like his childhood neglect and possible autism:

https://www.tumblr.com/joshuhigashikatafucker/711327895826644992?source=share ;

https://www.tumblr.com/arr-jim-lad/622099155273318400?source=share ;

https://www.tumblr.com/joshuhigashikatafucker/712542993509466112?source=share ;

But I do have a quite controversial opinion about this (I'm guessing is controversial[?]); while I don't  disregard him being autistic - one diagnosis doesn't exclude the other, of course -, I do think most of Joshu's struggles are more clearly linked to Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) rather than with ASD.

Cluster B disorders can also cause various social difficulties, some of which can overlap with autism. I believe that's what's happening in Joshu's case.

Joshu’s entire arc is probably a summary of most typical BPD symptoms: tendency toward unhealthy limerence, intense feelings of rejection and insecure attachment, impulsivity, black-and-white thinking (often categorizing things as either great or terrible), suspicion of anyone who enters his life, troublemaker behavior, and a deep dependence on external stimuli/feedback to regulate his own self-value and self-esteem.

According to the DSM-5 (and earlier versions as well), he actually fits a number of the criteria:

INCLUDING the possible environmental causes of BPD:

Examples of moments that may illustrate the nine diagnostic criteria: 

🔩 1. Thrigger by fear of abandoment.

🔩 2. Unstable interpersonal relationships characterized by alterning betweens idealization and devaluation.

(That's a tricky one. His relationship with his family seems pretty stable, but he does idealize both Jobin and Yasuho in a very unhealthy way. With Josuke and other characters he's less familiar with, it seems to be more of a push-and-forth, reactive relationship with far more instability).

🔩 3. Unstanble self-image or sense of self.

🔩 4. Impulsivity in pottentially self-damaging areas.

I'm considering the areas that most often trigger his impulsivity to be money and sex.

🔩 5. Suicidal/ self-mutilating behavior.

🔩 6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood.

🔩 7. Chronic feelings of emptiness.

Well… I couldn't think of any particular moment where Joshu explicitly says he feels some emptiness inside, but I believe that his obvious depression and signs of not fitting in are enough to assume that he chronically needs something he's incapable of fulfilling on his own, so it's at least suggested (?).

🔩 8. Innaproprieate, intense anger.

🔩 9. Stress-related paranoid ideation/ dissociative symptoms.

 He's stress-related paranoid FOR SURE, but I can't recall any moment that indicates dissociation or derealization that wasn't caused by extremely specific and temporary situations (such as him being attacked by WoU, maybe [?]). So I'm not adding anything to that factor.

So...

To evaluate how these two conditions might overlap, I've also quickly marked what >> I << consider to be more visible in the character.

Again, this is my personal opinion and I'm not a professional. I truly respect everyone's view on this character, as well as acknowledge the right of any neurodivergent person to relate to and identify aspects of a character's persona that I won't be able to. Despite any attempt to apply psychological methods, this is >> for fun <<.

I'm not borderline myself, but I've had close contact with two borderline people for several years now, which is probably part of the reason I can appreciate Joshu so deeply. I feel like he resonates with the difficult symptoms of this condition... especially the struggle, the deep emotional suffering, and the misunderstanding they often go through.

I'm always open to listening to other interpretations and to correcting any offensive or misguided information provided here.

And you're right: psychological conditions aren't an excuse for everything he did wrong, but they are certainly a way to add depth to the character's interpretation and to better understand what Araki was trying to convey through him in his story.

Hello! How's it going? I do have some thoughts about these two moments, so I'm glad you encouraged me to share my opinion.

My thoughts on Joshu's "attempted rape of Yasuho":

First off, looking at the entire scene, I wouldn't consider it an attempted rape at all. However, I'm not entirely mad to it being called as sexual assault. After all, it was SA. Intended SA? No. But SA still.

It can't be called attempted rape, though, because Joshu wasn't attempting to do anything without her consent.

There's not much to explain: Joshu just believed Yasuho was consenting the whole time. Everything in this scene is written as a misunderstanding: Tsurugi not caring about Joshu and leaving Yasuho alone while being affect by his stand, Joshu taking his phone back from Josuke, the ambigous words Yasuho used to describe her situation to Joshu, and also the fact that Joshu literally just stopped, getting uncomfortable the instant his dumb ass perceived something was wrong and that there was any possibility of Yasuho not consenting to it.

There's even an official note clarifying that he misheard "Josuke" as "Joshu-suki," and I don't think that would be added if the authors intended to portray the character as an intentional abuser. It's explicitly established that his intentions were neither harmful nor perverse.

The worst thing Joshu did in this whole arc was patting Yasuho’s butt when they first hugged, which was unrequired and weird.

“Oh, but it was so obvious that Yasuho was being affect by…” Well, you're a reader. To him, it wasn't. Joshu was the only one not affected by Tsurugi’s Stand, and probally didn't even know about its powers - he had just discovered NKC in the previous arc, Shakedown Road.

Also, Yasuho has called Joshu annoying and said she doesn't like him plenty of times, but I don't recall a single moment where she acted scared out of his stupid attempts. She didn’t know it was Joshu in the bathroom, which contributes to her desperation, because she is very used to him and his inappropriate behaviours and pretty much is only annoyed by them - not truly threatened.

My thoughts on Joshu "SAing his mother":

Regarding Kaato, the core of the situation is very simple: yes, Joshu SAs her, but she is not his mother. At least, not to him. Norisuke lied to the family, claiming she was dead/ had abandoned them, and Joshu believed that.

Moreover, the intention behind the SA was NOT sexual.

A solid aspect of Joshu's personality is that he acts cautiously yet reactively impulsive toward anything - people, situations - that somehow threatens his sense of security and stability; which also helps to maintain his delusional system high, as he is fairly resistant to accept new facts and ideas. Joshu doesn't remember his mother because he was three when she was arrested; thus, to him, Kaato is just a stranger who suddenly entered his house. And another prominent personality trait is that he is very protective of his loved ones and family.

This scene showcases both these traits in a twisted, Joshu way. 

Rememberingthat EVERY single character who tried to interfere with the Higashikata family's business was immediately deemed dangerous and mistreated by Joshu: Josuke, Damo, Mamezuku, Tooru and also Kaato. So when a strange woman enters his house, unsettling his father and attempting to touch his younger sister Daiya (who is blind and especially vulnerable), his reaction is no different, and he freaks out.

Additionally, the very first thing Kaato does upon seeing her son after over 15 years is insult his hair, attributing it to a lack of breastmilk as a baby. His phrase isn't entirely out of nowhere; it's akin to saying, "Your hair is shitty like that because you didn't drink enough milk as a kid..." to which he responds, "Okay then, give me some now, it's never too late!".

Could this have been done in a more 'appropriate' manner? Absolutely. But the point is that his intention was never to engage in anything sexual with her pr whatever. Instead, he wanted to dismiss her from his family and home as quickly as possible. This is evident from his initial confusion and discomfort, as well as his use of Nut King Call -not to touch or impair her directly, but to remove her shirt and then embarrass her the most straightforwardly way posible.

Delving deeper, this act also expresses his resentment over growing up without a mother and his view of the absurdity of someone suddenly entering his life to assume that role, attempting to fix years of absence and rejoin the family as if nothing happened. While I love both Kaato and Norisuke, their behavior as parents is super questionable sometiemes (and so it is their child’s behavior, lmao).

(LATE EDIT: Hato also noticed that her brother was about to do something to protect Daiya from Kaato and sympathized with that, holding her back.

I wasn't sure about this detail until I re-read the final fight, where it is stated that Hato never forgave her mother and was apparently the one with the most issues regarding her mother's return).

Final thoughts:

Joshu is NOT a character designed for universal likability, I totally understand that. He is centered around very uncomfortable themes. If that's not your cup of tea, I get it. However, most of his his polemic scenes have more nuance than some may think.

Joshu's writing added depth and realism to other obsessive grey characters trope, like Anasui and Yukako. Joshu is never excused for his bad actions, but nor is he praised for his good ones. He does bad things with good intentions (protecting his family from Kaato but harassing her in the process) and good things with bad intentions (only returning Milagro Man's money because it caused him problems, interacting with Yasuho due to his infatuation with her, etc). He is spoiled, and his actions are frequently selfish and greedy, but not inherently evil.