April, 1868: Jonathan Joestar passes away clutching the severed head of his foster brother, Dio Brando.
April, 1939: Joseph Joestar, now handless, crashes his own funeral because his wife failed to inform his family that he managed to survive plummeting from a volcano after shooting the Ultimate Lifeform into outer space.
To say JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure changes between Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency would be an understatement. Where Jonathan Joestar lived by a code of gentlemanly honor, Joseph Joestar’s just here to have a good time, man. The perfect recipe for a character arc.
In both the anime and the manga, Battle Tendency is a huge spike in quality from Part 1. Better characters, better writing, and, best of all, better action. Phantom Blood sets the foundation, but Battle Tendency gives JoJo its voice.
10 Joseph Joestar & Rudol Von Stroheim Versus Kars
The Red Stone of Aja ends up playing a very similar role to that of the Stone Mask in Phantom Blood– though it’s worth mentioning that Part 1 and Pare 2 share quite a few narrative similarities. In the wake of Esidisi defeat, Joseph, Caesar, & Lisa Lisa find themselves face to face with Kars earlier than they had anticipated.
This fight sees the return of Rudol von Stroheim in action after his apparent death all the way back in Mexico. The fight itself isn’t too exciting as far as action goes, but it moves the plot along considerably and starts setting up Kars as the ultimate villain for the arc.
9 Joseph Joestar Versus Ultimate Kars
After establishing the Joestar secret family technique all the way at the start of the Part, Joseph finally gets his chance to bust it out one last time during the final fight against Ultimate Kars. Fully charged by the power of the Red Stone of Aja, Kars is completely and utterly unbeatable. Joseph has no choice but to run and formulate a plan on the way.
Kars’ intense hatred of Joseph is both entertaining and terrifying, placing JoJo in far more danger that he’d otherwise be. In the end, Joseph is able to outsmart Kars with some help from Stroheim, but it’s ultimately good luck mixed with human tenacity that saves the day: a fitting conclusion to Joseph’s story.
8 Lisa Lisa Versus Kars
Hirohiko Araki apparently wasn’t allowed to explore Lisa Lisa as a character as well as he liked, and if nothing else, it makes sense. Lisa Lisa is an incredibly interesting character with one of the richest backstories in the series, but she goes through Battle Tendency without doing all too much. To be fair, though, she does more than Zeppeli and does get to fight Kars on-one-on.
It’s a short match that Kars wins (as expected since Joseph had yet to fight Kars one-on-one,) but Lisa Lisa does get a rare opportunity to show off her Hamon in action. Had Kars not fought dirty, she might have very well won. Her scarf makes an excellent Hamon conductor and her fighting style is visually more graceful than Joseph’s or Caesar’s.
7 Joseph Joestar Versus Kars
It’s interesting to note that the fight against Kars doesn’t necessarily get better as it goes on, but it’s not a bad fight. It moves in distinct phases, from Lisa Lisa, to Joseph’s fight, to Ultimate Kars himself. The middle chunk is the best of the lot, nice and lengthy while also showcasing Joseph’s strengths as a character. He outsmarts and nearly manages to defeat Kars.
Of the Kars fights, this is the only one that really feels complete and in-line with Joseph’s fights against Esidisi & Wammu earlier in the arc. Of course, Kars isn’t actually defeated and he uses the respite after the fight to place the Red Stone of Aja into the Stone Mask.
6 Joseph Joestar & Rudol Von Stroheim Versus Santana
Santana is Battle Tendency’s way of letting the audience know that Jonathan had it easy with Dio. The Pillar Men are in another league entirely, and Santana could have ended JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure early had Joseph and Storheim done literally everything in their power to not just survive, but kill Santana: which they fail to do.
The best they can do is turn Santana into stone, and Stroheim seemingly dies in the process. It’s a long, violent battle that stretches JJBA’s morbidity. The way Santana moves from body to body is nauseating, and his fight is overwhelming even knowing that Joseph will make it one in one piece.
5 Joseph Joestar Versus Straizo
To say that Straizo is much of a character in Phantom Blood would be disingenuous. Even in the anime, he mainly exists in the background and to kickstart Battle Tendency. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it makes Straizo’s role in the plot all the more intriguing, while making his Phantom Blood self more interesting in retrospect.
Joseph’s fight against Straizo also throws a Dio level threat at JoJo right out the gate, using the opportunity to showcase how Joseph isn’t like Jonathan. He isn’t regal, he isn’t noble, and his Hamon is sloppy. But he’s incredibly strong, incredibly smart, and will do the right thing under the right circumstances. Besides, any fight that opens with a surprise Tommy Gun is bound to be a good one.
4 Joseph Joestar Versus Esidisi
Ignoring the fact that Joseph finishing off al three Pillar Men is kind of lame (Kars is a special case), all of his fights against them are great, so props to Araki on that front. The fight against Esidisi is sudden, but it takes some genuinely insane turns while raising the tension considerably for the last act.
Esidisi attacks right before Joseph’s final training session, essentially serving as JoJo’s final test. Joseph is able to outsmart Esidisi at literally every turn, even somehow predicting that Esidisi would try to outsmart Joseph outsmarting him. After seemingly losing, Esidisi uses his brain to possess Suzi Q, getting the Red Stone of Aja out of Italy before dying.
3 Joseph Joestar & Caesar Zeppeli Versus Wamuu
Home to one of the most iconic poses in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Joseph and Caesar’s joint fight against Wammu is nothing short of incredible. Like the fight against Santana, Wammu pushes the heroes to their absolute limited, hammering home how dangerous the Pillar Men are. Not just that, Joseph and Caesar outright lose.
Joseph has to negotiate with his life after distracting Wammu . Getting to that point is engagingly tense, though. JoJo busts out his Clackers and audiences get to see Caesar showing the fruits of Hamon against Wammu . It’s a great introduction for the Hamon/Pillar Man action that’ll dominate the rest of the part.
2 Caesar Zeppeli Versus Wamuu
If there’s one track in Battle Tendency’s soundtrack that best captures Caesar, it’s “Il mare eterno nella mia anime.” Sung by Kohei Yamamoto, the song is a tender farewell to Caesar Zeppeli and his lonely life. In the same token, few fights capture a character as well as Caesar’s fight against Wammu . It’s the perfect encapsulation of what his life has been building to.
Caesar isn’t afraid to give his life– perhaps foolishly– but he isn’t stupid enough to die without contributing. He very nearly kills Wammu through strategic use of his bubbles, and while he loses his life in the process, Caesar gives Joseph the antidote he needs to survive, and the determination he needs to defeat the Pillar Men.
1 Joseph Joestar Versus Wamuu
A fight to the death between champions. Joseph Joestar represents humanity and the Hamon users who fought so diligently against the Pillar Men. Wammu represents the top of the food chain, a being whose natural right is to consume those below him. Both man fight not for their nature or their history, but for the sport of it.
The first round of the fight sees JoJo and Wammu riding around a colosseum, outsmarting one another as they look for opportunities to attack. Wammu manages to knock Joseph off his horse, but JoJo is able to redirect Wammu ’s Holy Sandstorm, nearly ripping his arms off in the processed. Pushed in a corner, however, Joseph has no choice but to place what Hamon he has left into Caesar’s bandana, finishing off Wammu as a joint effort. Just the way their fight began in Rome.