With the sixth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Stone Ocean, wrapping up recently, it's worth taking a look both forward and backward at the oddball protagonists who make up this series. Although the titular JoJos are the main protagonists, it's worth examining the Zeppeli family line, but only those Zeppeli with combat skills.

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After all, the Zeppeli family is a crucial support system — or even a rival — for the JoJos in each part. Will Zeppeli taught Jonathan Hamon, and what JoJo's fan can forget Joseph's soulful mourning over Ceaser's death? Both the Joestar and Zeppeli families are worthy of their legendary status.

Updated January 6th, 2023, by Brittanie Maldonado: Stone Ocean has finished its anime run and with any luck, an anime adaptation of Steel Ball Run will follow soon after. To celebrate Hirohiko Araki's most famous series, we've updated this list with more information on the Joestar and Zeppeli family. Information on the newest installment due for February 2023, The JoJolands, is too scant to include Araki's ninth JoJo's installation here, so this list only covers up to JoJolion.

11 Jonathan Joestar: The First & Weakest Of Them All

JoJo's Part One: Phantom Blood

Jonathan Joestar cutting Dio in half in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Fittingly enough, Jonathan Joestar is the weakest of his family. This shockingly gigantic young lad was the main character for the first-ever "Bizarre Adventure," Phantom Blood. He mastered Hamon Breathing (otherwise known as the Ripple), showed incredible pluck, and proved to everyone that he could take on a vampire.

Unfortunately, this was before Stands, which are invisible to non-Stand users. This means that Jonathan wouldn't stand a chance against most of his descendants, except for possibly Joseph — but Joseph is the most clever Joestar and Jonathan the most gullible, so Jonathan may still lose.

10 Will Zeppeli: He Taught Jonathan Hamon, But Not Much Else

JoJo's Part One: Phantom Blood

Will Anthonio Zeppeli posing while using Hamon energy.

Will Anthonio Zeppeli is the one who started it all. Without Hamon, how else would Jonathan have lasted against the vampiric Dio Brando? Without harnessing the power of sunlight to defeat his for, Jonathan Joestar would never have taken down his cruel, adoptive brother.

Still, impressive fighting skills and mastery of Hamon are all Zeppeli brought to the table, so he's not exactly the strongest JoJo's protagonist. Nevertheless, Zeppeli's literal self-sacrifice later in Phantom Blood combined with passing Hamon mastery onto Jonathan helped push the Joestar family forward.

9 Caesar Zeppeli: Hamon Bubbles Can't Quite Beat A Stand

JoJo's Part Two: Battle Tendency

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Caesar Zeppeli Posing

Caesar Zeppeli is the great Will Zeppeli's grandson and a fellow Hamon master. In Battle Tendency, Ripple users have been able to get a bit more creative, which is where Araki's work always shines. Caesar is a natural when it comes to Hamon, as he uses this breathing energy to hypnotize people, shield himself from oil, and even stick icicles together.

But, Caesar primarily uses Hamon to make bubbles infused with Hamon Energy. These bubbles can knock down a fully grown man, cut enemies, and reflect the sunlight like a magnifying glass. On top of all this, he's impressively buff, quite handsome, and a charming gentleman.

8 Joseph Joestar: Hamon Breathing & Purple Vines Don't Quite Cut It Anymore

JoJo's Part Two: Battle Tendency

Joseph Joestar looking smug.

The son of Lisa-Lisa and grandson of Jonathan, Joseph is a rambunctious, know-it-all, sarcastic guy who always somehow gets the job done. He's hilarious and stubborn — two traits that cause him to frequently butt heads with Caesar. Joseph is best known for thinking on his feet, whether it's Hamon-infused clacker balls, strings, or Coca-Cola bottle caps.

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Later on in Stardust Crusaders, Joseph even gets his own Stand known as Hermit Purple. It's definitely not a combat Stand, so it's good that Joseph's cleverness paid off in learning to use Hermit Purple effectively enough to defend himself. This fact makes Joseph the only JoJo to use both Hamon and Stand abilities.

7 Julius Ceaser "Gyro" Zeppeli: The Best & Strongest Character Without A Stand

Part Seven: Steel Ball Run

Gyro Zeppeli from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Gyro Zeppeli is the only Zeppeli so strong and cunning that he beat two of the mainline Joestars. Gyro is one of the franchise's best characters and arguably the better protagonist of Steel Ball Run. He also reprises Will Zeppeli's role as a skilled combatant with a special family technique in Araki's new JoJo's continuity.

Gyro's name obviously comes from his spin-centric fighting. He uses the Zeppeli family's Spin technique to do a whole host of weird things like manipulate muscles, break almost anything, and even throw objects between dimensions. It's really complicated but, suffice it to say, Gyro is by far the strongest non-Stand user in JoJo's.

6 Josuke Higashikata: The Kindest Of The Joestars

Part Four: Diamond Is Unbreakable

Josuke Higashikata looking suspiciously at a scrap of paper.

Joestars are known for being hot-blooded, obnoxious, and battle-hungry. However, that really doesn't fit Josuke Higashikata. Josuke is the protagonist of Diamond Is Unbreakable and a total flower child. He's situationally hot-blooded, but also kind and helpful. This is shown by his Stand, Crazy Diamond, which is primarily used as a support Stand.

It's true that Josuke gets more than a little heated if someone insults his perfectly sculpted hairstyle, but other than that, he tries to avoid fighting. While that makes Josuke a better character overall, it ends up being negative when it comes to measuring power or strength.

5 Josuke "Gappy" Higashikata: The Other Josuke, Just A Bit Different

Part Eight: JoJolion

Josuke experiments with the Spin through his Stand in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: JoJolion

Josuke, also known as "Gappy," bizarrely fuses an alternate universe Kira Yoshikage and Josuke Higashikata in JoJolion. Through his Stand, this sailor-themed fusion human has the Stand power of Soft and Wet — which, like Caesar, is all about bubbles. These "bubbles" steal an aspect or property of anything they pop on.

Some examples are when they steal the "friction" from the floor, or the light from a room, or even the sight from an enemy. But, Gappy has amnesia, so he's initially unable to use his overpowered Stand to its best potential.

4 Jolyne Cujoh: Strings Have So Many Uses

Part Six: Stone Ocean

Jolyne Cujoh Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Coming in as probably the most versatile of all the JoJos and one of the all-time greatest is none other than Jotaro Kujo's daughter, Jolyne Cujoh. Jolyne runs Stone Ocean along with her Stand, Stone Free, and its power over strings. Basically, Jolyne can turn parts of her body into strings.

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The ability to separate herself into strings allows Jolyne to hide anywhere, pickpocket, make nets strong enough to stop bullets, eavesdrop using sound vibrations, cut people with thin strings, and even swing around like Spider-Man. Jolyne has an answer for every situation, all with around the same absurd physical power as her father's Stand, Star Platinum.

3 Johnny Joestar: The Ability To Shoot Fingernails Is Somehow Overpowered?

Part Seven: Steel Ball Run

Johnny Joestar from the JoJo's fighting game.

Johnny Joestar is the hero of Steel Ball Run and is an alternate-universe incarnation of Jonathan Joestar. On the most basic level, Johnny has the power to rotate his fingernails and shoot them like bullets — an incredibly bizarre power. It's thanks to his Stand, TUSK, and its four different "acts."

Johnny's oddball ability eventually gets so ridiculously powerful that creating black holes, spinning people infinitely down to the cellular level, and even being able to keep spinning when time is frozen, become easy for him. It's hard to verbalize, but Johnny is nigh unstoppable.

2 Jotaro Kujo: Nothing Beats Timestop, Except...

Part Three: Stardust Crusaders

Jotaro Kujo and Star Platinum.

Jotaro just barely manages to earn his place in the Joestar family strength tier list due to his strength and speed being much higher than other JoJos. Jotaro's Star Platinum is, at base level, the strongest and fastest Stand in the franchise. It punches the hardest and moves the fastest.

On top of that, Jotaro also has incredibly fine-tuned reaction time, lightning-fast decision-making skills, and truly unbridled rage. Even better, he can stop time for up to five seconds. It's all pretty boring when compared to other JoJos, but that doesn't make it any less powerful.

1 Giorno Giovanna: Gold Experience Requiem Just Isn't Fair

Part Five: Golden Wind

Giorno Giovanna looking serious.

Finally, there's the JoJo who's technically a GioGio — Giorno Giovanna. This scrawny yet muscular lad is technically the son of both Dio Brando and Jonathan Joestar since DIO commandeered Jonathan's body. His Stand is called Gold Experience, allowing him to give life to anything.

Usually, this means Giorno can turn any inanimate object into an animal or organism. But, late in Golden Wind, Gold Experience evolves into its Requiem iteration. Gold Experience Requiem has the ability to nullify any action directed at it, all while keeping its life-giving powers and trapping its enemies in a death loop should they perish during the fight. It's practically invincible.

NEXT: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Every Part's Ending, Ranked