Jotaro Kujo - Why He's a Hero

Recently, I've been putting heavy thought into who I love the most in JoJo. For a long time, it was Doppio. Then I switched to Mista. After a while, I decided Kakyoin was my favorite character and stuck with it. But now, after some long, hard thinking, I think I've finally been struck with the arrow of realization that Jotaro, despite his popularity, is still underrated. And here's why.

For starters, there is a couple of common theories centering around Jotaro that I want to discuss. Both of them talk about his mental state, and the ailments affecting it. Less pressing of the two is the popular theory that **Jotaro is somewhere on the high-functioning autism spectrum,** which I'll be discussing first. The second, and more impactful theory, is that **Jotaro suffers from severe PTSD from the battle in Cairo.** Both of these theories are incredibly plausible and at this point could almost even be considered canon with all of the hints we've been given, sprinkled around the series. I'd like to open your eyes to the clues.

**JOTARO AND AUTISM**

It's very, very possible that Jotaro has a form of autism, most likely Aspergers. There are many common, core traits in teens and young adults with Aspergers, a few of which being:

**-Persistent repitition of words or sayings:** Ring a bell? The popular "yare yare daze."

**-Aggression:** Yep. That's our Jotaro.

**-Severe dislike of changes in routine:** Jotaro openly displays that he's very unhappy to be on the trip and wants to return home to his life as soon as possible, unlike most of the group who are very understanding of the sacrifices to their personal convenience that they have to make to defeat DIO.

**-Sensitive to loud noises:** "SHUT UP! I HATE WHEN GIRLS SCREAM!"

**-Tend to become absorbed in one subject and obsess over it, not showing much interest in anything else:** The only thing Jotaro has ever shown genuine interest in throughout his life has been Marine Biology. He even went so far as to dedicate his life to it. That segways into the next point;

**-Tend to also be very good at the things they obsess over:** Jotaro rises to the very top of the Marine Biology world, becoming one of the most respected and skilled Marine Biologists in the world.

**-Finally, people with Aspergers tend to keep themselves distanced from humans, and more often find friends in animals instead:** Jotaro and Iggy instantly bonded in the episode that they defeat N'Doul, albeit it is a mischievous bond, it's the first one that Iggy made.

If you still don't believe me, think of all those silly one-liners Jotaro spits out. NOBODY thinks those things are actually badass or awesome, right? He's trying way too hard to be cool, and it really comes out as just goofy. He's just a big dork with muscles.

**JOTARO AND PTSD**

Phew. That was a lot to talk about, but hold on, because we're not even close. Don't worry, there'll be a TL;DR. So now that I've hopefully convinced you that Jotaro has a case of social ineptness, let's talk about his future. Parts 4 and 6. Why do you think Jotaro never uses The World? Is it because he's lazy? Did he not train it because he's stupid? What if I told you that the reason he didn't use it until Part 4 is because every single time he does it, he has to hold back tears? Let's talk about it.

It's no secret that Jotaro uses The World incredibly sparingly during Part 4 and Part 6. Most people write it off as The World straining his body, but honestly, I can't say I remember him ever saying that himself. It's an excuse we've all come to accept. But.. Think of it this way. Could you use the very rifle that killed your best friend to go hunting? I don't think I could. It'd be incredibly hard to even look at. Jotaro now has to live with the fact that he has The World inside of him. The World, the weapon that directly and indirectly killed three of his closest friends, countless innocents during the Egypt trip, and even almost killed his mother.

Every single time someone mentions DIO around Jotaro in Part 4 or Part 6, it's the same reaction. He visibly freezes and looks away, staring into space, as if deep in thought. The simple mumble of the word "Dio.." escapes his lips, before he can eventually snap himself out of it. It happens so many times that people even make fun of how often he does it. But even just hearing the name probably hurts Jotaro in a deep place. His only friends were killed at the hands of that man, and he will never be able to forget it because of his sparingly obsessive personality.

Let's look over the times Jotaro uses The World in Part 4.

-First: Jotaro uses The World to punch Josuke. It's a panicked instinct. Who's the only person in Jotaro's life that managed to break his guard with punching force alone? DIO. He panics and activates The World for the first time in years. When it wears off, he's still in the same panic. He punches Josuke and immediately turns to scream at the girls, "SHUT UP!" Odd response for a grown, more mature Jotaro, isn't it? He then immediately calms down and regains composure, getting his mind off of DIO, even helping Josuke up to his feet.

-Second: Jotaro uses The World to save people. I decided to group this into one category because they're all genuinely the same circumstance. Whether to sacrifice himself (which he does twice while in stopped time, by the way,) or to move an ally out of harm's way, he doesn't hesitate to use The World in this way. That doesn't mean it hurts his heart or mind any less, it just means that, no matter what, Jotaro will NOT lose another friend or family member. He'll do whatever it takes to help them survive.

-Third: I considered grouping this with "saving people," but it's too interesting not to mention. Jotaro stops time an abundance of times when fighting Sheer Heart Attack. To me, it almost seems like he's panicking. He doesn't think of a clever strategy, he doesn't remove Sheer Heart Attack from the area during stopped time, he doesn't throw it, he just.. Punches it. Over and over, he stops time and just wails on it, desperately trying to break it. His exterior may seem cool and collected, but on the inside, it's clear to me he's really losing his edge. Is it because of age? Or is it because his mind is clouded with other things? Horrible memories of Egypt? Lack of will to fight?

-Fourth: This is the absolute most important piece of this entire writing. He uses The World against Kira. /u/Silvermoon424 brought to my attention with a post in the Weekly Dojyaan that Jotaro had a massive PTSD attack during his battle with Kira in the Sheer Heart Attack arc. Let me bring you into perspective. Jotaro had just failed to save his friend, who had been punched through the stomach and was most likely dead. He's heavily wounded, and is forced to take verbal abuse from a blonde man. Said blonde man is counting down seconds in time, and the final straw.. When he mentions that attacking with such a weak Stand is "useless." Remind you of anything? Yeah. It's DIO all over again. As soon as the memories come flooding back to Jotaro, he uses The World to give Kira a satisfying, but also amazingly meaningful, oraoraora. He then turns to Koichi and does something that he never managed to do with Kakyoin before he passed. He thought that, if they were going to truly die then and there, he would use his last breath to tell Koichi that he was proud of his growth as a Stand User, in Jotaro's own way of saying, "we're friends."

**THE MIND OF JOTARO**

In a way, giving Jotaro the final blow against Kira is just incredible. It's his way of getting back at fate. He finally manages to take down that villain without any of his friends dying. He could save them that time. Then, after all is said and done in Morioh.. He decides what to do next.

He doesn't return to his family. He's too scared that something bad might happen to them. He doesn't want to lose anyone else, so he isolates himself. All these years later, the thought of someone close to him dying because he can't save them terrifies him to no end. As much as he wants to do the right thing, he doesn't know what it is anymore. He doesn't know whether he should cry or be mad or laugh or be happy. He's just old and battlescarred and confused. It's only fitting that in the last year of his life, every action he makes is to save his daughter. He wants to die. Yes, Jotaro is ready, willing, and expecting to die in Part 6. But he wants to die for his daughter. He wants to die a hero. He wants to die that "cool guy" he always tried to be in Part 3. And he does. He really does. He may not save Jolyne, but his actions saved their relationship. At the very end of his life, although he may have been troubled, Jotaro died selflessly and heroically, doing all that he could.

I love Jotaro Kujo as a character. He's amazing in every way.

**TL;DR: Jotaro suffers from both autism and PTSD. Despite these ailments, he tries to be level headed and cool to gain the respect of others, even though sometimes he does snap. He tries his best to interact with others normally, he tries to have a family, but he realizes that he can't. In the end, he dies as a way of apologizing to his daughter for being absent for her life. Jotaro's character is a story of suffering on the inside, but always giving to others despite your own pain.**