JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, as the name implies, is about the strange and fantastical journeys of various heroes across a series of distinct parts. With each new part, guessing which characters will live or die by the end is next to impossible, and death plays a consistent role in the franchise.
Despite that, the series has also managed to invoke tear-jerking emotions on many occasions without involving a character's death. That might be due to the sad upbringing of a core cast member, or it could be due to a bittersweet feeling of beloved characters parting ways.
10 Saying Farewell To The Stardust Crusaders
After a long journey across the globe together, the Crusaders were down to their last three members: Jotaro Kujo, Joseph Joestar, and Jean Pierre Polnareff. The three men had endured the hell of consecutive Stand battles for weeks on end and were lucky to have made it out in one piece. After sharing a mournful, hopeful, and bittersweet final goodbye at an airport, they part ways for the final time, knowing that they've made lifelong bonds with each other that won't be severed by any distance.
9 Trish Una Was Scared To Face Her Family
Upon reaching the location where her father awaits, Trish Una finally opens up about her anxiety to Bruno Bucciarati. After being kidnapped by gangsters and taken to a father she's never met, she doesn't know if he would even love her or if she would like him. It's made worse by the fact that right after Bruno tries to calm her, hold her hand, and explain that family will always accept each other, her father cuts off her hand to take her away from Bruno. Trish's fears were justified and her father was out to kill her.
8 The Kawajiri Family Doesn't Get A Happy Ending
Shinobu Kawajiri had no clue that her husband had been killed and replaced by the evil Yoshikage Kira. So, when the villain finally got his comeuppance at the hands of the Joestars and their allies, she had nothing left to do but to wait for a husband that would never return home.
Her son, Hayato, couldn't bear to tell her the truth and had to live with the tearful knowledge to avoid breaking her heart.
7 Giorno Giovanna Didn't Have The Parents He Needed
It came as a surprise to many JoJo fans that Dio Brando sired a child. The mother, however, was hardly any better than the monstrous Dio, as far as regular humans go. While only a toddler, Giorno Giovanna's mother would frequently prioritize her own outgoing life and fun at the cost of neglecting the boy to be left at home all alone. She refused to give up her personal freedoms to be a parent, and when she married Giorno's new stepfather, he would beat Giorno for even looking at him the wrong way.
6 Jean Pierre Polnareff's Bittersweet Encounter With A Certain Egyptian Woman
Polnareff had turned into a child thanks to an enemy Stand user, before being given shelter by a kind Egyptian woman. Unfortunately, the woman was also turned into a fetus by the same enemy. When the fight eventually concluded and the effects were reversed, the woman asked if Polnareff and Jotaro had seen the young boy, but Polnareff denied the truth to ensure she didn't get involved any further. He left her with the only memento of his deceased sister, an earring, in a chivalrous moment that goes against his usual playboy persona.
5 Bruno Bucciarati's Upbringing Defined His Life's Purpose
When Bruno's parents decided to divorce, he chose to stay with his father. He understood that his fisherman dad would need the companionship more. Yet, not long after, a pair of drug dealers shot his father, and after Bruno took out the two drug dealers, he went to the Passione gang as a last resort for protection from the law.
In a cruel and ironic twist of fate, the gangster outfit was also involved in the drug trade, and this betrayal stings even more once Bruno realizes that Trish is in a similar boat.
4 The Nijimura Brothers Have Serious Father Issues
The father of the Nijimura brothers was horribly disfigured by one of DIO's mind control flesh buds, and Keicho Nijimura was desperate to create a Stand user who could kill him and put him out of his misery. To make matters even sadder, their father was seen tearfully scratching at a box, and it was only once Josuke fixed the box and its contents using Crazy Diamond that the brothers realized it had a torn-up picture of the Nijimura family in it, suggesting that part of their dad was still in there somewhere.
3 Narancia Ghirga Was Ready To Give Up On Life
Losing his mother to disease and being stuck with an uncaring father were reasons enough for Narancia Ghirga to turn to a life of petty crime with friends he shouldn't have trusted. He dyed his hair blond due to his friend's request and ended up being framed for an assault that his friend committed. He was beaten by an interrogator and contracted the same eye disease that killed his mother, and when he made it back out of prison, his few friends were fearful to be near him, leaving him completely alone. Narancia was ready to give up on life if it wasn't for the fateful appearance of Pannacotta Fugo.
2 Joseph Joestar And Caesar Zeppeli Have A Fateful Argument
Caesar Zeppeli didn't have the patience to prolong his and Joseph's final attack on the Pillar Men. He believed that he had to avenge their grandfathers and Joseph disagreed, prompting an intense fight and the last conversation the pair would ever have.
As it turned out, Caesar had once resented his father for leaving the family, but eventually learned that said father had taken up the fight against the Pillar Men and died to protect his children. Joseph later understood Caesar's motivation and his loyalty to family, but it was sadly too late.
1 Josuke Higashikata And Joseph Joestar Reunite
Josuke Higashikata only knew his father as the man who had left his mother before Josuke was even born. While Joseph was eager to meet his son, Josuke was much more apprehensive, and it resulted in an awkward and tense first encounter. Joseph was excited to meet Josuke but saddened by the idea of Josuke being disinterested in him. When they finally met, it was sad to see Joseph as a feeble old man who was being treated coldly by Josuke, but when they finally put their differences aside, it was all the more touching.