JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Avoids Romance, And That's Why I Love the Anime So Much

JoJo's Bizarre Adventurediffers from the majority of other anime series in one big way: there is virtually no romance at all. Although it was certainly a surprising choice to leave love stories out of JoJo's, I am honestly glad, and feel that romance would be very out of place in the series.

JoJo's actually does not need romance at all to be tender, heartwarming, and relatable; it accomplishes this through portraying other strong bonds like friendship and family, and giving them the attention they deserve. Whereas some other animes primarily center on romance, to the detriment of other types of relationships, JoJo's gives platonic bonds plenty of screentime, which makes it stand out from other series.

JoJo’s is Better Without Romance, Allowing More Time to Focus on Other Platonic Types of Love

The Existence of ”Jobros” Proves the Series Unwavering Commitment To Portraying Strong Friendships

Gyro Zeppeli with Johnny Joestar in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run manga key art.

I do enjoy romance animes, and those plots work well in certain contexts, but JoJo's does not need romance. JoJo's is primarily an adventure/battle shonen, so it definitely does depict many action-packed battles and the clash between good and evil. However, aside from fighting being the understandable focal point of the series, JoJo's also portrays friendship better than any other anime. In other series, sometimes platonic relationships feel like an afterthought, tossed in only to provide filler or add humor to an otherwise dark series, but JoJo's takes a vastly different approach to friendship that I really appreciate.

Each Part of JoJo's features one Joestar family member as the protagonist, and this Joestar always has a best friend, affectionately coined their "Jobro" by the fandom. These Jobros reveal just how powerful and enduring JoJo's platonic relationships are, because these loyal companions never turn their backs on their friends, often even willing to die for their sake. The fact that every single arc of the series so far features one of these unbreakable friendships is proof of how committed Hirohiko Araki, the mangaka, was to placing these valuable platonic bonds at the forefront of the story.

The Series is Renowned for its Meaningful Friendships, Something Many Series Lack

Bonds Like Joseph and Caesar and the Stardust Crusaders Have a Long-lasting Impact on Viewers

Anne alongside Jotaro and the other Stardust Crusaders.

JoJo's friendships like Joseph and Caesar during Battle Tendency, and the Stardust Crusaders group, are absolutely unforgettable, because of how well they are written and how much careful attention the story gives them. Rather than just include a few one-off nods to these friendships or only using them to weave humorous gags into the story, these friendships are integral components of the plot. For example, in the case of Joseph and Caesar, although they hated each other at first, Caesar's impact changed Joseph for the better, not just by increasing his skill at fighting, but also by making him more emotionally open and mature.

Caesar proved his commitment to Joseph by giving up his own life to rescue him, and his tragic death illustrates the depth of their friendship. For the rest of the season, Joseph fought to avenge Caesar, eventually defeating Kars and the Pillar Men in his honor. Similarly, the Stardust Crusaders are the group who ventured across Europe to defeat Dio, headed up by Jotaro Kujo. They were not mere travel partners though, because the entire arc shows how close they grew on their journey. The survivors of the group became lifelong friends, while those who unfortunately died in battle willingly sacrificed themselves to save the others.

JoJo’s Relationships Like Joseph and Caesar and the Passione Gang are Deeper than Most Anime Friendships

These Bonds Are Not Mere Subplots, Platonic Relationships Are the Focal Point of the JoJo's Story

Finally, the Passione gang in Golden Wind is one of the most beautiful, heartfelt depictions of friendship in anime. Many of them are societal outcasts with nowhere else to turn, but they all accept and love one another wholeheartedly, making up a found family of sorts. Without their combined efforts, Giorno never could have tracked down and defeated Diavolo, and along the way, this group taught him more about friendship and camaraderie than he ever thought possible. Once again, the gang's friendships are not mere subplots that are separate from the larger story, the entire narrative of Part 5 hinges on their relationships.

Family is also often depicted in JoJo's, in very complex ways. Jolyne Cujoh's father, Jotaro, abandoned her when she was young in an attempt to keep her safe, and their complicated, estranged relationship was explored heavily in the Stone Ocean arc, with the father-daughter duo eventually reconciling, and Jotaro touchingly giving up his life to protect Jolyne one final time. The idea of family is embedded in the very synopsis of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, since the entire series follows one family bloodline across generations, as Dio and his henchmen fight to wipe the Joestar family out of existence entirely.

JoJo’s Recognizes the Fact That Platonic Love Is Just as Meaningful as Romantic

By Focusing on Friendship, the Series Challenges the Idea That Platonic Love Is a Lesser Alternative to Romance

Josuke Higashikata and Okuyasu Nijimura JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Friendship and family both play starring roles in JoJo's, but romance is a rarity, and does not occur between main characters. Araki does acknowledge these relationships at times, since love is a reality he cannot completely leave out of the story, but these relationships are usually only referenced in passing and do not become major key points of the story like friendships and family relationships do. Although romance is not really present in the series thus far, it is rare to see fans complain about this, myself included, because JoJo's is definitely better the way it is, focusing on other types of love.

The lack of romantic love in the story leaves plenty of time for Araki to flesh out these equally meaningful relationships that often do not receive enough screentime in other anime series. Without the series' best friendships, the story would just be another fighting shonen, but because of these carefully crafted bonds, the emotional impact of JoJo's is so much greater. Too often, friendship is wrongly viewed as a lesser alternative to romance, but JoJo's Bizarre Adventure makes it clear that platonic love is just as significant and life-changing as romantic love, and deserves equal celebration.

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