In Defense of Jotaro
Ok. I'm going to list some facts about Jotaro Kujo.
Jotaro initially believed Star Platinum was an evil spirit and refused to leave a jail cell because he was afraid he'd accidentally hurt others. It's easy to get distracted by his attitude, but the first thing we see him do is an act of self-sacrifice. It's absolutely not an isolated occurrence.
He actually shot himself in the head to show Holly and the police that Star would protect him. How did he know for a fact that would work?
While in jail, he collects books on the occult. To find a way to get rid of Star and keep others safe.
Joseph and Abdul both wrote Kakyoin off as dead the moment they found DIO's fleshbud, and Jotaro would not hear it. He was told if he tried to remove it himself, it could kill him too. He did it anyway. He didn't know Kakyoin. He had just met him that day, and Kakyoin had tried to kill him and was ready to take three casualties with him. But Jotaro heard Kakyoin had been under mind control, and was ready to die to free him. He even tried to reassure Kakyoin (granted, in his own emotionally stunted way) while the fleshbud's tentacle makes its way into his own face.
The panels that bookend that scene are Holly stating, then restating, that she sees through him. She knows that her son cares, and cares deeply, and has no idea how to handle those feelings.
↠A bit off topic, but I was using the manga to refresh my memory and I noticed that Kakyoin tears up when he asks Jotaro why he saved him, so I actually went to see if the anime included that detail - they did, but not in a close-up of his face the way the manga did. Also, he doesn't look nearly as emotionally wrecked in the anime as he does in the manga. We find out at the end that Kakyoin never had any close friends, his family didn't know about his Stand, and his loneliness was what DIO initially used to manipulate him. Also, my heart is shattered. Thanks, Araki.
Joseph explicitly states that him and Abdul are there to recruit him to fight DIO. Jotaro shows little interest in going along with this until Holly starts showing the symptoms of her Stand attacking her. Once this happens, Joseph does the Joseph thing of yelling, crying, and random bouts of violence (notably, shoving his teenage grandson against a wall for some reason). Jotaro does the Jotaro thing of swallowing his emotions and taking action.
↠Ok, I was planning to keep my Jotakak feelings to a minimum, but the scene where Kakyoin explains tipping the lid on your teapot to indicate you need a refill? He doesn't just launch into a soliloquy; he does it, notices Jotaro's questioning glance, and explains himself. Jotaro's character bio states that he's quiet because he believes that he is too easily readable, but Kakyoin is the only person in the entire manga other than his own mother that consistently reads him. They've known each other three days at this point.
↠Also, I love their team dynamic and their banter.
↠Seriously, Araki specifically stated that he envisioned Hierophant Green as a counterpoint to Star Platinum to showcase the difference between short and long range Stands, but these two just work so well together. They compensate for each other's weaknesses and they know it. Not just with their Stands. The way Jotaro implicitly trusts Kakyoin to defeat Steely Dan??? They just intuitively know how to work together to be unstoppable, and I'm all about it.
Jotaro actually expresses more concern regarding the injuries of his teammates than the other Crusaders.
During the Death 13 arc, when the rest of the Crusaders think Kakyoin is cracking from the stress of the trip, Jotaro is the only person that seems actually upset by this. Joseph and Polnareff are just like "wow, it's too bad, I guess we'll have to ship Kakyoin back to Japan, oh well." Jotaro, on the other hand, appears confused and worried. True, he doesn't say much, but even that is telling. Up to this point, he'd been progressively opening up more and more, and joking and smiling (especially with Kakyoin), but in this arc he barely speaks at all and reverts back to scowling and covering his face with his hat, which had been more common in the early chapters. In the manga specifically, whenever Joseph or Polnareff mention Kakyoin's mental state or how they think he can't travel with them anymore, Jotaro is drawn with an ellipsis-filled speech bubble, indicating he does want to say something, but can't bring himself to or doesn't know how.
In the fight with N'dour, Jotaro visibly panics when Kakyoin is injured and expresses a desire to get Kakyoin to a hospital as quickly as possible, sidestepping the battle if possible. Then, when Abdul is attacked and is in a situation where he's likely to be killed, Jotaro draws N'dour's attention towards himself. Once again, Jotaro is shown to run headlong into danger in order to protect someone else (this time, literally).
It's Jotaro, not Joseph or Kakyoin, that asks about Abdul and Iggy when they're reunited with Polnareff after the fight with Vanilla Ice.
This exchange:
Conclusion
Honestly? When I started this, it was going to be a whole thing. I was collecting information for an actual essay. I thought I was going to need to pull from parts 4-6, and I might. I might make a part 2, if only to get my thoughts out, but I think I got more than enough information to argue my thesis from Stardust Crusaders alone.
Jotaro has made a lot of mistakes. As he gets older, he softens around the edges and learns the value of expressing sentiment, but it never comes easily for him. However, the last thing Jotaro is, is uncaring. He cares deeply, and his primary character motivation is to protect others (compared, for example, to Polnareff who wants revenge or Kakyoin who wants to prove he's overcome his fear). He's singularly willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others (even Josuke, who is the series' first healer and has explicitly stated he admires those who would make sacrifices for others and wishes to emulate that behavior, has been shown hesitating to actually do so).
He's badly affected by the deaths of others, and does everything in his power to prevent further deaths. Sometimes, the things he does to these ends cause more harm than good. He isn't perfect, he fucks up - a lot, and badly - but the mistakes he makes, and his reasons for making them, are understandable. He tries so hard, goddammit he tries, but every tragedy just makes the next one harder to deal with.
Jotaro initially believed Star Platinum was an evil spirit and refused to leave a jail cell because he was afraid he'd accidentally hurt others. It's easy to get distracted by his attitude, but the first thing we see him do is an act of self-sacrifice. It's absolutely not an isolated occurrence.
He actually shot himself in the head to show Holly and the police that Star would protect him. How did he know for a fact that would work?
While in jail, he collects books on the occult. To find a way to get rid of Star and keep others safe.
Joseph and Abdul both wrote Kakyoin off as dead the moment they found DIO's fleshbud, and Jotaro would not hear it. He was told if he tried to remove it himself, it could kill him too. He did it anyway. He didn't know Kakyoin. He had just met him that day, and Kakyoin had tried to kill him and was ready to take three casualties with him. But Jotaro heard Kakyoin had been under mind control, and was ready to die to free him. He even tried to reassure Kakyoin (granted, in his own emotionally stunted way) while the fleshbud's tentacle makes its way into his own face.
The panels that bookend that scene are Holly stating, then restating, that she sees through him. She knows that her son cares, and cares deeply, and has no idea how to handle those feelings.
↠A bit off topic, but I was using the manga to refresh my memory and I noticed that Kakyoin tears up when he asks Jotaro why he saved him, so I actually went to see if the anime included that detail - they did, but not in a close-up of his face the way the manga did. Also, he doesn't look nearly as emotionally wrecked in the anime as he does in the manga. We find out at the end that Kakyoin never had any close friends, his family didn't know about his Stand, and his loneliness was what DIO initially used to manipulate him. Also, my heart is shattered. Thanks, Araki.
Joseph explicitly states that him and Abdul are there to recruit him to fight DIO. Jotaro shows little interest in going along with this until Holly starts showing the symptoms of her Stand attacking her. Once this happens, Joseph does the Joseph thing of yelling, crying, and random bouts of violence (notably, shoving his teenage grandson against a wall for some reason). Jotaro does the Jotaro thing of swallowing his emotions and taking action.
↠Ok, I was planning to keep my Jotakak feelings to a minimum, but the scene where Kakyoin explains tipping the lid on your teapot to indicate you need a refill? He doesn't just launch into a soliloquy; he does it, notices Jotaro's questioning glance, and explains himself. Jotaro's character bio states that he's quiet because he believes that he is too easily readable, but Kakyoin is the only person in the entire manga other than his own mother that consistently reads him. They've known each other three days at this point.
↠Also, I love their team dynamic and their banter.
↠Seriously, Araki specifically stated that he envisioned Hierophant Green as a counterpoint to Star Platinum to showcase the difference between short and long range Stands, but these two just work so well together. They compensate for each other's weaknesses and they know it. Not just with their Stands. The way Jotaro implicitly trusts Kakyoin to defeat Steely Dan??? They just intuitively know how to work together to be unstoppable, and I'm all about it.
Jotaro actually expresses more concern regarding the injuries of his teammates than the other Crusaders.
During the Death 13 arc, when the rest of the Crusaders think Kakyoin is cracking from the stress of the trip, Jotaro is the only person that seems actually upset by this. Joseph and Polnareff are just like "wow, it's too bad, I guess we'll have to ship Kakyoin back to Japan, oh well." Jotaro, on the other hand, appears confused and worried. True, he doesn't say much, but even that is telling. Up to this point, he'd been progressively opening up more and more, and joking and smiling (especially with Kakyoin), but in this arc he barely speaks at all and reverts back to scowling and covering his face with his hat, which had been more common in the early chapters. In the manga specifically, whenever Joseph or Polnareff mention Kakyoin's mental state or how they think he can't travel with them anymore, Jotaro is drawn with an ellipsis-filled speech bubble, indicating he does want to say something, but can't bring himself to or doesn't know how.
In the fight with N'dour, Jotaro visibly panics when Kakyoin is injured and expresses a desire to get Kakyoin to a hospital as quickly as possible, sidestepping the battle if possible. Then, when Abdul is attacked and is in a situation where he's likely to be killed, Jotaro draws N'dour's attention towards himself. Once again, Jotaro is shown to run headlong into danger in order to protect someone else (this time, literally).
It's Jotaro, not Joseph or Kakyoin, that asks about Abdul and Iggy when they're reunited with Polnareff after the fight with Vanilla Ice.
This exchange:
Conclusion
Honestly? When I started this, it was going to be a whole thing. I was collecting information for an actual essay. I thought I was going to need to pull from parts 4-6, and I might. I might make a part 2, if only to get my thoughts out, but I think I got more than enough information to argue my thesis from Stardust Crusaders alone.
Jotaro has made a lot of mistakes. As he gets older, he softens around the edges and learns the value of expressing sentiment, but it never comes easily for him. However, the last thing Jotaro is, is uncaring. He cares deeply, and his primary character motivation is to protect others (compared, for example, to Polnareff who wants revenge or Kakyoin who wants to prove he's overcome his fear). He's singularly willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others (even Josuke, who is the series' first healer and has explicitly stated he admires those who would make sacrifices for others and wishes to emulate that behavior, has been shown hesitating to actually do so).
He's badly affected by the deaths of others, and does everything in his power to prevent further deaths. Sometimes, the things he does to these ends cause more harm than good. He isn't perfect, he fucks up - a lot, and badly - but the mistakes he makes, and his reasons for making them, are understandable. He tries so hard, goddammit he tries, but every tragedy just makes the next one harder to deal with.
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