The story of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was launched with the Phantom Blood story arc, which introduced viewers to the hero, Jonathan Joestar, and his nemesis, the scheming Dio Brando. Dio was polite on the outside but cruel and selfish on the inside, and in the end, Jonathan failed to kill him. Dio returned in the Stardust Crusaders story arc as DIO, a Stand-wielding vampire overlord.
At first, it seems cool to be DIO, a powerful vampire with unique magical powers and, later, a Stand called The World. However, DIO's life isn't exactly glamorous, and in many ways, being DIO would actually be a miserable experience with many harsh realities. No one should envy DIO and his rough life.
10 Dio Grew Up In Poverty
Dio always envied the Joestar family's wealth and prestige in Victorian England, and it's easy to see why. Dio grew up in an impoverished household with only his single father to look after him, and it was clear that if things kept going that way, Dio would have gone nowhere in life.
If things had gone differently, perhaps Dio would have ended up as a manual laborer in London or neighboring towns, and that isn't a lifestyle for anyone to envy, especially in a time period like that. Dio had little to no chance of becoming wealthy or prestigious on his own.
9 Dio Grew Up With A Lousy Father Who Never Supported Him
Not only did Dio Brando grow up in poverty, but his single father, Dario, was a lousy parent. Some single parents in anime work hard to build their child's future, but other single parents are neglectful, selfish, or even abusive, and all that describes Dario Brando.
Dario did little more than drink and complain loudly about the Joestars, whom he hated, and Dio didn't miss him even slightly when he died. Dio did challenge the Joestars, but only for his own reasons, not his father's. Never did Dio have a happy family to call his own.
8 Dio Is Widely Disliked By Everyone Around Him
Dio never got any love or support from his father, and aside from the generous George Joestar, it seemed no one else really liked Dio Brando, either. Jonathan tried to like him as a foster brother, but Dio kept pushing him away, and they soon became enemies.
A few brief scenes in JoJo's make it clear that Dio alienates just about everyone around him, intentionally or not, such as when he annoyed a chess player and got his face planted into his dinner. Dio didn't exactly make any friends in Cairo in the 1980s, either. He's simply friendless.
7 Dio Couldn't Keep His Minions Or Castle
At one point, Dio Brando had an entire castle to himself, like a true vampire king, and he also had a handful of strange chimera minions by his side, too. For a time, Dio had it good, but then he was defeated, and even though he survived, he lost all his minions and property.
When he returned as DIO in the 1980s, DIO had nothing except the clothes on his back, and he had to rebuild his empire from scratch, which must have been a hassle. He had it all until he suddenly had nothing.
6 Jonathan Joestar Could Never Be Truly Defeated
Dio Brando and his worst enemy, Jonathan, feuded throughout Phantom Blood, and Dio suffered defeat when they had their final clash at Dio's castle. Dio narrowly survived as a severed head, and then he took the fight to Jonathan once again aboard a ship headed to the United States.
Dio overpowered Jonathan, but Dio was denied his final victory, which must have been terribly frustrating. No matter what Dio said or did, he couldn't corrupt Jonathan or break his spirit, and Jonathan died happy. Dio would never get another chance to watch Jonathan die in pain and misery.
5 Dio Spent A Century Inside A Coffin In The Ocean, All Alone
Dio survived his second battle with Jonathan, and he ended up sealed inside a coffin that sank into the ocean after the ship burned down. Dio spent an entire century all alone inside that coffin, which must have been highly unpleasant even for him. He had no chance of escaping on his own.
Finally, Dio's luck changed when a team of unsuspecting fishermen dragged up Dio's coffin, and they didn't realize that the world's strongest vampire was inside. It took that long for Dio, now DIO, to get a chance to run free once again. He probably would have preferred a regular prison, given the choice.
4 The 1980s Are Totally Different From The 1880s
It seems DIO got over this particular problem without any major issues, but all the same, it must have been awkward for him to awaken from the Victorian era to the 1980s, a time of prosperity and wealth in Japan. Dio went from horse-drawn carriages and steamships to automobiles and mobile phones, just like that.
It's always rough for a character to have a Captain America moment, and DIO probably needed some time to stop and take stock of this new era in which he lived. He'll need to learn the culture, laws, and norms of this new era if he intends to prosper once again.
3 Jotaro Kujo Is An Unstoppable Opponent
DIO was the strongest Stand user of Stardust Crusaders, but he had some stiff competition. DIO's worst enemy was Jotaro Kujo, a Stand-using high school student who had a sharp tactical mind to back up those fists. No matter who DIO threw at Jotaro, the Joestar hero prevailed.
It's not clear how much this angered DIO, but it's easy to imagine any villain getting frustrated and even concerned to see their minions die one by one, fighting that seemingly unstoppable protagonist. Jotaro didn't stop until he was knocking on DIO's door in Egypt.
2 Sunlight Is Deadly For Vampires
Vampires are known for having a handful of weaknesses and vulnerabilities, from crucifixes to holy water and wooden stakes. Their biggest weakness is, of course, the sun itself. Vampires are creatures of the night, and they burn to cinders if the sun's rays hit them. DIO is no exception.
DIO was vulnerable to the sun in Phantom Blood and Stardust Crusaders alike, and after Jotaro defeated him, DIO was vaporized when Egypt's morning sun came, and there was nothing left of him. It's odd that DIO chose such a sunny country for his new base of operations.
1 DIO Can't Get His Humanity Back Even If He Wanted To
There is no sign that DIO ever regretted his decision to become a vampire in the original story, but if he ever did regret it, he was stuck as a vampire for all time. He had no choice but to commit to a lifestyle of action and fearing the sun's rays. In fact, not even the Pillar Men could escape the downsides of being a vampire, except for Kars at the very end.
Donning the stone mask and becoming a vampire is a serious commitment, and once Dio abandoned his humanity, there was no going back. If a small part of Dio lamented the loss of his ordinary human life, there was nothing he could do about it.