Japanese Art Analysis - JoJo's Bizarre (And Homoerotic) Adventure

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. When you’re deep in the anime community or even just a casual, the title definitely doesn’t go unheard of. The series and author have the hearts of MANY different people in a chokehold, from countless cosplays, to billions of manga sold, and so many references across various franchises that there's a whole wiki for it.

The series is immensely popular— and while there are so many things to talk about, like the riveting story, the meme culture, or even just downright how gorgeous and iconic the art is, all of these topics come together when we touch on one interesting element that makes the series as unique and popular as it is.

And for that, we're talking about how gay it is. Or at least, why it's perceived that way!

So hold your suspension and stay with me, because today we’re going to discuss and perform some art analysis on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and the homoeroticism and queer coding of Araki’s work. So without further ado, let's dive in.

A LITTLE CONTEXT

Starting from the origin story. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a serialized manga series made by the mangaka and Japanese artist Hirohiko Araki. Having been published and running in 1987 with its first manga, it didn't gain mainstream popularity till 2012 with the release of its anime adaptation of Part 1 of the main story. From there, the series boomed like crazy and grew an IMMENSE popularity, with interesting concepts for the magic system, an overarching story following a generation of people involving the "JoJo" bloodline, ridiculous plot points like Jesus Christ being a part of the main canon, AND a stand user. (which is the series's main "magic" system.) And overall, a fun and wacky world with even whackier characters to follow, there is a lot to love. While Hirohiko had other stories he worked on, like Gorgeous Irene, JoJo's is what stuck, and is still currently running to this day!

But hilariously enough, with all these qualities in mind, that's rarely the first thing that people know and reference the series for. Which brings us back to my earlier point: what makes the series so gay to people?

There are a few reasons.

One could be the canon queer characters throughout the series, another is the fact that Araki is unafraid to lean into more homoerotic scenes with its male-dominated cast for jokes and gags, or simply Araki's interest in exploring sexuality and gender expression through his characters and stories.

But out of all those listed reasons, it starts with two things, both intrinsic to the series: Posing and Character Design. So let's start with posing.

A LITTLE POSING

While many anime fans might not have even seen it, one thing that has always remained popular about the series and the meme culture surrounding it is the posing. Whacky, flamboyant, absolutely ridiculous, and sometimes incredibly physically difficult, everybody knows a jojo pose when they see one. And let's be honest, you know something is integral to your series when people are making a whole song about it.

The poses are the key to every character, and many of them have incredibly unique and distinct poses. Many of them are inspired by acrobatics, achieving ridiculous bends, folds, and dramatic leans. But one thing that I think adds to the level of ridiculousness of these poses and the "homoerotic" sense most people get from it is unique to Araki and his style, which is mainly his inspiration from high fashion magazines. He constantly references them in his work, and we can see it in multiple examples:

The posing reads as INCREDIBLY flamboyant, but that's mainly because Araki relies primarily on female models. While male models usually have "straighter", more serious posing, it's often the women who get put into these ridiculous and dramatic poses, which is perfect for the dramatic silhouette and character signature.

In fact, multiple main characters have these more flamboyant "signature" poses, many of which accentuate the figure, jut out the chest or hips, or simply come off silly or "feminine."

And while female characters are posed similarly, given that a large portion of the cast is male or masculine, it adds an extra level of ridiculousness that comes off... Gay.

And Araki does this intentionally, as while homoeroticism isn't exactly what he was going for, he loves gender expression and fashion, and believes they're an integral part of design. So what better way to do that than flamboyant, dramatic posing, and the most ridiculous clothes known to man? Speaking of, let's talk character design.

CHARACTER DESIGN

We talked about the high-fashion inspiration, making the flamboyant poses so many fans love and know, but another factor is the wild fashion each character wears.

While each part strives for a different "style" for its character designs, to keep it short and sweet, I'll be focusing on Part 5 and its crew of colorful characters.

So just from the cast line-up alone, one thing we can see is Araki's use of color and just how bright and vibrant the fashion is. Whether it be intricate and gaudy patterns or full and bright colors, Araki always manages to sneak in pops of color.

Part of this is down to design and making the characters stand out, but when most audiences are used to male characters wearing more subdued or straightforward color palettes, Araki is always throwing every color of the rainbow with each of his characters.

We also notice that consistently that a lot of the outfits here have odd little conventions to them. There are boob windows, crop tops, open jackets, or even just straight-up holes in the clothes. A LOT of the fashion seen here is reminiscent of some of the more interesting high fashion trends, especially in women's designs. Not only that, but some feel styled effeminately.

Bruno, the character to the far right, is a great example of this more "effeminate" styling. While a man in a suit isn't atypical, the way it's styled feels closer to how the strong "girlboss" type of woman might style her suit: long and rectangular to accentuate her stature and dominance, but with an open shirt to reveal the cleavage to exemplify a bit of sexuality and femininity. The silhouette and clothing read more feminine to us as a result, which is also aided by his hairstyle being a bob, which again is perceived as more "feminine".

Overall, the styling of the characters and the way they're dressed feels like it leans on "spectacle", feeling incredibly reminiscent of high fashion, but also drag queens in the way that everything is bizarre, oddly patterned, or over the top.

IN CONCLUSION

This series is definitely a little gay. In multiple ways, as we've seen, but I find that it's the heart and core of what makes it so special to fans everywhere, whether you're just a white straight man who loves anime, a genderqueer loving how the series handles its representation, or a simple black art major being followed by this series everywhere she goes. 

It's unarguable; it's a staple for this franchise, but that's what everybody's come to love. Despite not being a superfan myself, the unique style and voice of the characters, and just how bizarre this series is, left a pleasant impression on me, and the use of fashion and poses, and gender expression through clothes is something I just love.

WORKS CITED

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JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. (2019, October 9). JoJo’s Bizarre Encyclopedia. https://jojo.fandom.com/wiki/JoJo%27s_Bizarre_Adventure

Hirohiko Araki. (n.d.). JoJo’s Bizarre Encyclopedia - JoJo Wiki.

https://jojowiki.com/Hirohiko_Araki

[Pride 2023] Queerness in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: “Is that a homo reference?!” (2023, June 12). Gayly Dreadful -- Bursting out of Your Closet with the Latest Horror Reviews. https://www.gaylydreadful.com/blog/pride-2023-queerness-in-jojos-bizarre-adventure-is-that-a-homo-reference

The. (2024, March 28). OFF BLXXK Magazine. OFF BLXXK Magazine.www.offblxxkmag.com/fashion/blog-post-title-two-p3gcp