JoJo's Pose

About

JoJo's Pose (Japanese : ジョジョ立ち, JoJo Dachi) refers to various signature poses used by the protagonist characters in the manga series Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Largely due to the overdramatic nature of the poses, JoJo's pose has been subject to parodies and imitations by the manga fans.

Origin

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki.^[1] The series began in 1987 and still continues nowadays (as of August 2011), with over 100 volumes divided into 8 major story arcs. Best known for its musical references, grotesque style of visual art and highly overdramatic character poses. The franchise has been since adapted into other formats of Original Video Animation, films, novels, videogames and fashion merchandises.

JoJo's Posing School

The fad began with the launch of "JoJo's Posing School" (Japanese : ジョジョ立ち教室, JoJo Dachi Kyōshitsu) on the Japanese fanfiction community Bungei Junkie Paradise (Japanese : 文芸ジャンキーパラダイス, lit. Creative Writing Junkie Paradise) on April 9th, 2003. The project was created for the fans to mimic the poses found in the original manga and share their photos online.

JoJo's Posing School quickly drew a lot of attention from the fanbase and Japanese internet users at large, leading to the creation of offline meet-ups in 2003. Pictures and videos from these meet-ups were also posted on the website.^[2][3][4] The number of attendees have been reported as high as gatherings in hundreds and the official meet-ups had to be cancelled due to the overwhelming turnouts.

Spread

Aided by the online success of "JoJo's Posing School" project, sharing photos of "JoJo's pose" became one of the most impressive and popular fan activities surrounding the manga series. Since the discontinuation of official meet-ups in 2004, many followers have launched their own offline meetings and flashmob events in public, pictures and videos of which can be found on media-sharing hubsites like Nico Nico Douga and YouTube.

The term "JoJo's Pose" was included in the Japanese "Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words" (Japanese : 現代用語の基礎知識,Gendai yōgo no kiso chishiki) as a popular term of Internet origin in 2005. Beginning in 2006, JoJo's Pose has been frequently reported as an impressive fan activity in various reports about JoJo and Mr. Araki in the Japanese media.

Mr Araki's Approval

Between 2006 and 2007, the illustrator Hirohiko Araki was interviewed and featured in the Japanese news media in celebrating the 25th anniversary of his career, as well as the 20th anniversary of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In one of these interviews, Mr. Araki was asked about the JoJo's pose phenomenon:

Q: Do you realize the boom of JoJo ?
A: I first realized it through JoJo's Pose. "Amazing. This is modern art," I felt so. I want to draw more fantasy-inspired art because I pursue the reality in the story. JoJo's Pose is the way to achieve a perfect balance between reality and fantasy.

via "Quick Japan Vol.75" (2007)

In addition, Mr. Araki invited the staff at Bugei Junkie Paradise to his party^[5] and a lecture presentation in Tohoku University^[6], ultimately participating in "JoJo' Pose" with founders of the Posing School in 2006 and 2007.

JoJo' Pose by Hirohiko Araki

Videogame

In 2007, the action game "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure : Phantom Blood" was released for PS2 console featuring "JoJo's Pose" during gameplay. The TV commercials for the game also featured references to the pose, with about 100 extras playing the Japanese traditional game "Darumasan ga koronda"^[7] with JoJo's Pose in it:

Notable Examples

JoJo gymnastics (Parody of Japanese popular warm-up calisthenics Radio calisthenics^[8]):

How to go downstairs JoJo style:

Notable Appearances

• The Otaku idol Shoko Nakagawa (a.k.a. Shokotan)^[9], a dedicated fan of the manga series, has performed JoJo's pose during an interview^[10] and her live performances on stage.

• Yuka Kashino from Japanese electropop group Perfume^[11] often talks about her love for JoJo in the media and has struck the pose with other members during photo ops.

In addition, the choreography looking like JoJo's pose appears on Perfume's music video "Natural ni koi site" that was released on 2010

• Music Video for "PONPONPON" by Japanese fashion model/singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu^[12] (2011)

• Television variety show Ame Ta-lk (2007 & 2012)

• Television variety show Shingata gakumon Hamaru! Tsubogaku (2011)

Participation in Western Culture

JoJo's Posing School has been held in comic conventions by western JoJo lovers since after 2011.^[13][14]

• Katsucon 2011

• Anime NEXT 2011

Search Interest

External References