The God of High School utilizes a magic system that combines martial arts and spiritual powers. What begins as an international tournament to discover the strongest high school-enrolled fighter, turns into a political plot to find a "Key" capable of bringing down God. Instead of watching martial artists kick and slash each other, competitors are able to summon fireballs, spikes and dragons in a ring that's constantly being smashed to smithereens.
The true magic system is revealed to be one of contracts forged between deities and fighters wishing to utilize their supernatural power. Once a pact is made, the user may summon the deity to stand by their side to aid in battle. Despite the variety in the gods and monsters, this sounds an awful lot like the magic system of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
The divine beings that share their power with a human being in GOHS are known as charyeok. So far, we have seen three different types of charyeok manifestation occur in the anime. The first is weapon-summoning, which is self-explanatory. Prime examples of these include Jin Pum Kwang, Jang Jangmi and Commissioners Q and O, who wield Hammer, Bastard, a two-headed scythe and a spear of fire, respectively.
The second type of charyeok usage is a physical enhancement, with which the fighter reinforces their attacks with the borrowed power. The most notable example of this is Commissioner O’s technique which wreaths her attacks in flame. But both types are minor in comparison to the true power of Charyeok.
From what we have seen in the anime adaptation so far, the most powerful form of charyeok is a full-body manifestation of the deity. The only characters who can manifest their charyeok in this way are Commissioner Q, O, Oh Seongjin, Drake and Jegal Taek. When summoned, the charyeok’s physical body can be seen behind the user (or kept invisible if preferred), and the aid they lend can greatly turn the tide of battle.
Originating in Part Three of Stardust Crusaders, physical manifestations of one’s own willpower and fighting spirit that stand by the user -- hence named -- replace the previous power system of Hamon in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. These beings come in an innumerable amount of forms and create humanoid warriors, animals or objects, like pylons or airplanes. Moreover, they can only be seen by other Stand users; invisible to passersby. They also possess unique abilities such as stopping time, turning objects or people into bombs, or tearing the fabric between parallel dimensions.
Fighting with one’s Stand is a double-edged sword: while it does grant the user fantastical powers and strength, it also is an extension of the user itself. Therefore, any damage inflicted upon the Stand will be shared with its user. This turns every battle from a supernatural slugfest into a tactical game of figuring out the opponent’s Stand power while hiding your own, and the one who outmaneuvers the other is the victor.
There are some clear similarities between charyeok in GOHS and Stands in JoJo. They are both extensions of the user that grants overwhelming strength and power in battle; they can both be summoned and dismissed at will and there exists a transaction of damage between them and their user. The best example of this shared damage in GOHS is in Episode 7, “anima/force,” when Han Daewi defeats Jin Pum Kwang by using his Azure Dragon technique against Jin’s charyeok Hammer. The Hammer shatters, and despite not attacking Jin directly, he falls to the ground. This illustrates the health pool that the charyeok and user share -- a health pool that is almost identical to the one that Stands and their users share.
In the very same episode, the battle between Commissioner Q and the Nox member Drake unfolds with Q severing both of his opponent’s arms. Laughing maniacally, Drake reveals his charyeok to be a centipede capable of regenerating his body. Thin strings reconnect his lost arms to his body, and he sews himself back together. This is almost identical to the Stand ability of Stone Ocean’s protagonist, Jolyne Cujoh. Her Stand, Stone Free, is capable of unraveling part or all of itself into string that she can control freely, and she develops the ability to sew wounds closed and reconnect missing appendages. An incredible ability, and an even more incredible parallel.
Despite both magic systems sharing some similarities, they ultimately work successfully for their own universes. Where Stands become more specialized and niche as the saga continues, charyeok scale in power alone. Spewed from the brain of Hirohiko Araki, Stand designs and powers have limitless potential and variation, while the latter mostly adheres to Eastern mythology. Stands are designed to be technical, tricky and outright weird, and charyeok are made to dominate their opponent with overwhelming force. Each magic system serves its respective universe, and vice versa.