Few anime and manga have been so integrated into LGBTQ+ culture as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The physical and emotional intimacy characters have with other characters of the same sex often far exceeds any other anime or manga, and with how much detail is usually put into making everyone look as attractive as possible, the series has been a major part of anime’s LGBTQ+ fandom for almost its entire 37-year history.
If there’s any character who best embodies the LGBTQ+ elements of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, though, it’s undoubtedly JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s most recurring villain, DIO. DIO’s outfits, interactions with allies and enemies, and general demeanor have always made him come across as queer-coded, but like with most JoJo characters, it never went further than fan theories. Recently, though, official JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure media from Hirohiko Araki, himself, has made an official statement on DIO being an LGBTQ+ character, and for many fans, it’s news that’s been long overdue with what kind of story JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is supposed to be.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Creator Confirms DIO’s Gender Identity As LGBTQ+
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki recently published a new writing guide titled Hirohiko Araki’s New Manga Techniques, which included information sheets on all the major villains as a means of breaking down how to properly write a villain. DIO, naturally, had a character sheet, and for the section on his sex, Araki drew what appears to be the symbol for androgyne people i.e. people who identify with both male and female characteristics. That means JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure officially confirms DIO as sexually androgynous, meaning he should be seen as anything within the field of nonbinary or gender fluid.
While the English translation uses the word “sex”, the official Japanese terminology used more properly translates to “gender”.
DIO’s gender identity won’t be surprising for anyone familiar with his character in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, of course. Not only has DIO always dressed and behaved in a very camp manner, even wearing green lipstick in Stardust Crusaders, but his relationships with characters like Jonathan, Pucci, and Vanilla Ice have always been written with some degree of homoeroticism, and Pucci, especially, was heavily implied to be romantic from at least Pucci’s point of view. Fans of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure have characterized DIO as an LGBTQ+ character for decades, and the confirmation of his being sexually androgynous finally pays that off.
Why JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Has Always Been Queer
Even before the reveal of DIO’s gender identity, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was heavily associated with anime’s LGBTQ+ fandom. In addition to a handful of explicitly LGBTQ+ characters like Sorbet, Gelato, and Scarlet Valentine, characters are always dressing in eccentric, and often revealing, outfits that blur the line between gender norms, especially when they get physical with one another. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure ’s writing and imagery invoked LGBTQ+ culture well before the recent reveal of DIO’s gender identity, and that’s a big part of what makes the reveal so great to see.
The biggest showing of LGBTQ+ culture in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure comes from The JOJOLands’ supporting protagonist Dragona Joestar. Not only is Dragona written as transgender, nonbinary, or gender fluid from the very start of The JOJOLands, but The JOJOLands goes to great lengths to show how much Dragona has struggled because of their gender identity, something rarely seen outside of stories explicitly marketed as LGBTQ+ stories. In many ways, Dragona can be seen as the culmination of decades of writing catered to LGBTQ+ culture, and with the reveal of DIO’s gender identity, that aspect of The JOJOLands becomes even better.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s LGBTQ+ Reveal Finally Pays Off A Major Part Of Its Fandom
Well before the reveal of DIO’s gender, fans of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure always played into JoJo’s LGBTQ+ leanings. Not only do those elements constantly make the series a target for cosplay, memes, and analyses of queer culture in anime, but the legendary all-female mangaka group Clamp got their start drawing JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fan comics, with them even drawing the infamous fan comic about Jotaro and Kakyoin’s son, Jouta. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has been popular with LGBTQ+ fandoms ever since the early days of the manga, and that’s only gotten bigger with each passing year.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always been heavily associated with LGBTQ+ culture, and that’s why the reveal of DIO’s gender identity is great. It’s rare for mainstream stories to have any explicitLGBTQ+ content, so JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure upping its LGBTQ+ content by making DIO sexually androgynous is a great way to bring attention to one of its biggest fandoms, even if that doesn’t present itself in the actual story. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in manga, and with what’s been done with DIO, there’s no telling just how far it will go with that.
Source: @jojo_wiki on X.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Hirohiko Araki. It follows the adventures of the Joestar family, spanning generations, each with unique abilities and battling supernatural enemies. Known for its eccentric characters, distinctive art style, and creative battles, it includes manga, anime, games, and merchandise.
