It's been more than a decade since the first known online use of the phrase, "Is this a JoJo reference?" This first usage was in a 4Chan /a/ thread discussion of a scene from the My Bride Is a Mermaid OVA in which the main character, Nagasumi, is drawn in a style reminiscent of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The question was in earnest, but "Is this a JoJo reference?" would be used ironically shortly afterward.It wasn't until 2015, however, that "Is this a JoJo reference?" started to actually take off as a major meme. That followed the release of Part 3 of the anime adaptation, Stardust Crusaders, which elevated the status of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in the United States from a relatively obscure cult favorite to a mainstream part of anime fandom. Now the rhetorical question of "Is this a JoJo reference?" has become so omnipresent on the Internet that some might need a guide for why this meme exists and what it's about.
WHAT IS JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE?
For those unfamiliar with it, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a manga series by Hirohiko Araki that's been running in different incarnations since 1987. Currently in its eighth part, the JoJo manga is a multigenerational saga following the Joestar family in their fight against the vampire Dio Brando and other assorted forces of evil. Each of the eight parts has a different protagonist, each nicknamed "JoJo." The series often shifts genres and tones, regularly rewriting the rules of its universe and even changing universes completely in Part 7, Steel Ball Run. Some things that remain constant throughout the series include fabulous posing, epic punch fests and, as the title indicates, a tendency to get incredibly bizarre.
JoJo has long been popular in Japan, but most American fans got into it through the anime adaptation from David Productions, which has been working its way through adapting the manga since 2012. Part 5 of the anime, Golden Wind, finished airing last summer, and fans are still awaiting news of Part 6, Stone Ocean, getting an anime adaptation.
WHY THE REFERENCE MEME?
On the most basic level, "Is this a JoJo reference?" meme operates on the same level as the South Park gag of "The Simpsons did it." When a series lasts as long as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure or The Simpsons, they're going to end up covering a lot of ground just by virtue of their length, so it's inevitable they're going to touch on a lot of concepts that can be compared to other things, regardless of if those other things meant it as a reference or not.
There's also the fact that JoJo is itself a series heavy with references to art and culture, most significantly to music. Many of the characters and their supernatural Stand powers are named after songs, artists or albums. Asking if the songs being referenced in JoJo are themselves JoJo references is a common ironic use of the "JoJo reference" meme. (One wonders if the band, King Crimson, turned off the comments section on their YouTube channel just so they wouldn't be spammed with "Is this a JoJo reference?" comments.)
JoJo has also become the baseline reference among younger anime fans for the hyper-macho art style of '80s shonen manga. The JoJo manga did not invent this style, itself heavily ripping off the popular Fist of the North Star manga for visual inspiration in its early years. Nonetheless, anything drawn in this style is a prime target for the "JoJo reference" question.
INFAMOUSÂ USES OF THE MEME
The meme appeared frequently throughout 2016 in connection to discussions about the Pokémon: Sun and Moon video games. Given both Pokémon and JoJo involve human characters doing battle with magical beings, you can easily understand how new Pokémon games became a source for spreading this meme. The above image is fan art inspired by this meme by podcaster and storyboard artist, Steve Yurko.
To keep up with the latest things that can possibly be construed as JoJo references, you can check out the Facebook group "Is This a JoJo Reference?" which has over 46,000 members. Some things that have recently been featured as "references" include Zack Snyder's Justice League movie, scientific diagrams, promotional images for Animal Crossing: New Horizons and anything featuring hands (Part 4 villain, Yoshikage Kira, has a thing for severed hands).
Of course, as with any meme, there are those who take it too far. According to the reddit post above, the meme has ruined at least one relationship, where an anime-obsessed boyfriend was using the phrase "Is that a JoJo reference?" in every single conversation with his understandably annoyed girlfriend. Needless to say, this is not something you should do if you want to maintain any sort of relationship with anyone. Just because everything can be a JoJo reference does not mean everything should be.