There are many different anime series that have persevered for decades and become pop culture phenomena, but JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the most impressive examples of how to tell an ongoing narrative. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure finds a clever structure that allows it to feature new generations of characters that still complement the previous story that’s been built.
The anime has experienced plenty of changes, like the addition of Stands, but one of the most significant shifts is when DIO ends his rule as the series’ villain. Despite DIO’s death, he still found a way to stay in the picture through his children, all of whom have been curiously incorporated into JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
Updated December 27, 2022 by Daniel Kurland: Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure remains an evergreen hit, but the long-running shonen series’ popularity is at an all-time high. The anime adaptation of Stone Ocean just finished its run and the highly-anticipated Part 9 in the manga series, The JOJOLands, is soon set to get started. Plenty of prolific villains have faced the Joestar bloodline, but it’s DIO who is widely considered to be the series’ primary antagonist and ultimate evil. Despite DIO’s death in Stardust Crusaders, this malevolent monster finds other ways to stay in the picture through powerful and committed offspring.
5 Son: Rikiel Appreciates And Acknowledges A Good Challenge
Rikiel is blessed with many of DIO's most admirable traits out of all the villain’s illegitimate children that are seen in Stone Ocean. Rikiel is still an antagonist, but he seems the most levelheaded and compassionate of the lot. Rikiel is initially very meek, but he becomes much more confident once Enrico Pucci helps him unlock his Stand abilities.
Rikiel is invested in the growth of mankind and shares in humanity's achievements. He even shares useful knowledge with Jolyne and commends her strength after she's able to defeat him in battle.
Stand: Sky High Can Inflict A Plague At Will
Sky High is another Stand within JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean that utilizes a very different approach. Stone Ocean explains that there is a mysterious species known as Rods that can cause diseases and illnesses in individuals. Sky High's only ability is to control these Rods and have them inflict disease on other people, including fellow Stand users. It's a tactic that temporarily gets the better of Jolyne Cujoh and Ermes Costello, but they figure out a strategy to take it out and its user, Rikiel.
Sky High actually gets a substantial upgrade in Stone Ocean’s anime adaptation, not so much in terms of its strength or abilities, but it receives a heartier showcase that makes it easier to understand this airborne Stand’s usefulness. It’s elevated from an odd curiosity to a truly debilitating danger.
4 Son: Giorno Giovanna Is More Joestar Than Brando
One of the most exciting aspects of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is that the different seasons follow different generations of the Joestar lineage on one gigantic and interconnected journey. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind mixes up the formula and it makes the season’s protagonist, Giorno Giovanna, an illegitimate descendant of DIO (as well as the Joestar family).
It’s fascinating to empathize with this villain’s offspring and Giorno becomes such an engaging and inspiring hero. Giorno Giovanna helps clean up the crime in Italy and his accomplishments mean even more after the knowledge of his father’s identity.
Stand: Gold Experience Can Redistribute Life And Much More
Giorno Giovanna’s Gold Experience is definitely one of the strangest and least defined Stands. What’s consistent about Gold Experience is how it uses the balance and distribution of life, which can turn one creature into something else.
These powers broaden throughout the series and Gold Experience becomes one of the most powerful Stands within Golden Wind, even though it’s not as flashy or used as plentifully as other Stands. A large factor in Gold Experience’s power is that the Stand evolves through the use of a Stand Arrow and becomes Gold Experience Requiem.
3 Son: Ungalo Has A Short Fuse And Rage To Spare
All of DIO’s illegitimate children in Stone Ocean are lost souls, but Ungalo embodies many of the worst traits among them. Ungalo has a short temper and a life of neglect makes him quick to resort to violence and relish in the pain that he’s able to inflict.
Ungalo has been a drug addict since his youth and his dependency makes him even more of a loose cannon. Ungalo is taken under Enrico Pucci’s wing, alongside Rikiel and Donatello. Ungalo becomes an elusive, but still highly dangerous, member of the operation to take out Jolyne and the Joestar Group.
Stand: Bohemian Rhapsody Erases The Barrier Between Fantasy And Reality
There are plenty of diverse Stands throughout JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure that don’t always make sense, but Bohemian Rhapsody is easily one of the most unusual and ridiculous Stands to appear in Stone Ocean. Ungalo’s Bohemian Rhapsody doesn’t have a personified figure and it’s instead expressed through a global phenomenon.
Bohemian Rhapsody brings to life fictional creations, whether they’re from film, literature, or even other anime series. It’s difficult to grasp the full picture of Bohemian Rhapsody and it can ultimately become its own undoing by the creation of a character that’s designed to eliminate it.
2 Son: Diego Brando Is The Rebooted World’s Fresh Take On The Villain
DIO Brando is long gone by the time of Stone Ocean's conclusion, but this finale introduces a new continuity to the JoJo universe, which also includes a new take on DIO. Steel Ball Run's Diego Brando isn't technically a child of DIO, but he is still considered an offspring of the character in certain ways.
Diego Brando is one of the major antagonists throughout Steel Ball Run and one of the most dangerous competitors that Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli encounter in their epic race. His motives and actions make him feel like a true successor to DIO.
Stand: Scary Monsters Are A Prehistoric Threat Of A Stand
Steel Ball Run reinvents many aspects of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure universe and the new chapter features some creative approaches to how Stands work. Scary Monsters is one of the most destructive Stands in Steel Ball Run and it doesn’t begin as Diego Brando’s power, but he eventually claims it for his own after he gains increased power through the Saint Corpse’s Left Eye.
The Scary Monsters Stand turns Diego Brando into a raptor-like dinosaur and anyone he makes contact with will also transform into part of Scary Monsters’ dinosaur army. DIO would be proud of this variant's ability to wreak havoc.
1 Son: Donatello Versus Is A Magnet For Misfortune
Donatello Versus has one of the more tragic histories out of DIO's sons, but he’s still an incredibly dangerous individual and a great source of danger towards Stone Ocean’s Jolyne Cujoh. Donatello appears to be a beacon for bad luck and early in his life he's temporarily wrongfully convicted.
Bad fortune continues to fall on Donatello and he eventually develops his Stand powers along with his two half-siblings through the help of Enrico Pucci. However, Donatello repeatedly tries to betray Pucci and exhibits a streak of disobedience, right up until his final moments.
Stand: Under World Turns Memories Into A Weapon
There are different varieties of Stands within JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure that specialize in certain abilities over others. The majority of Stands are built for combat, but Donatello Versus’ Under World actually has zero strength when it comes to physical violence.
Instead, Under World can dig into the Earth and unlock memories from what’s happened there in the past. This can be used to help gain information about a person or event, but it can also be used to weaponize dangerous events from the past and throw people from the present into harms’ way.