JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Ranking the anime by the bittersweetness of their endings

Since the beginning of the series, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has had a habit of bittersweet endings. Someone important will die, such as the main character or most of the cast, or the villains will get close to their goal before the heroes defeat them.

Every JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fan agrees that these endings at least go into bittersweet territory, but not everyone agrees on which is the most bitter or the most sweet. For everyone still reeling over Phantom Blood's ending, some think Stone Ocean is far more bitter. Others discuss the merits of each ending on their own, but some feel they're better taken as one big story.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. This article is written with the anime version in mind, and all opinions are exclusive to the author.

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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's anime endings, ranked from most to least bittersweet

6) A universe erased (Stone Ocean)

Stone Ocean, arguably, is the most bittersweet ending of the anime adaptations of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Not only do most of Jolyne Cujoh's party die, but so do Jolyne and Jotaro. Father Pucci nearly succeeds where Dio failed, creating a new universe in which the Joestar bloodline no longer exists.

What prevented this villain's victory was Emporio Alniño using Weather Report's Stand DISC and poisoning the air. Pucci was killed, and Emporio was sent to a parallel world where all of his friends lived different lives. The bitterness is somewhat mitigated by the fact that everyone is living a better life, at least the bits the audience gets to see.

Another key reason why this is the most bittersweet ending is that this series marks the end of the original JoJo's Bizarre Adventure timeline and the first total party kill in the series. There is no follow-up to Stone Ocean, as the series progresses into Steel Ball Run and beyond.

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5) A near total party kill and no follow-up (Golden Wind)

Golden Wind’s ending (Image via David Production)

Following Stone Ocean's complete universe reset is Golden Wind, where almost every one of Giorno Giovanna's allies dies in the effort to defeat Diavolo. That, alongside the lack of follow-up aside from the ambiguously canon Purple Haze Feedback light novel, nets Golden Wind the second most bittersweet ending.

The first part of this is, of course, the amount of death. Of roughly nine people (the seven gangsters of Team Bucciarati, Polnareff, and the turtle Coco Jumbo) in the main party, Abbacchio, Narancia, and Bucciarati die, Fugo leaves the team, and Polnareff only lives via his soul being fused into Coco Jumbo.

The second reason is that, unless one counts the aforementioned light novel, there's no follow-up to Golden Wind. This makes things unclear as to whether or not Giorno succeeded in turning Passione into a better mafia, what happened to everyone else, and other such things, since the story stops after they defeat Diavolo.

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4) Half the party dies (Stardust Crusaders)

Stardust Crusaders’ ending (Image via David Production)

Although Stardust Crusaders finally ends Dio's reign of tyranny, in a spectacular and slightly convoluted fashion, and saves Jotaro's mother, Holly, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Dio's death comes at the expense of half of the titular Stardust Crusaders: Advol, Iggy, and Kakyoin. Joseph is likewise temporarily dead during the final battle, only revived at the end.

The Stardust Crusaders stopped Dio and most of his minions throughout their long journey. Dio, however, is revealed to have created more headaches down the road, including spreading the Stand Arrows via Enya the Hag's dealings, corrupting Father Pucci, and siring a few offspring.

The fates of the remaining Stardust Crusaders likewise make this part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure a bit more bitter, as only Joseph Joestar gets to pass away peacefully. Jotaro's relationship with his wife and daughter was likewise strained, as his wife divorced him, and Jolyne resented him because he was always away.

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3) The Original JoJo's death (Phantom Blood)

Phantom Blood’s ending (Image via David Production)

Befitting the first entry in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Phantom Blood has its fair share of bittersweetness to go around. Jonathan's death is somber, as he not only dies on his honeymoon, but also clutching Dio's severed head and quietly telling him that he never actually hated him as he passed away.

The other part is Dio surviving, using Jonathan Joestar's body as a conduit. That caused all kinds of headaches going forward, as explained in the Stardust Crusaders entry. That said, it still took being pulled up from the sea floor out of a coffin 100 years later for him to get anywhere, and Dio had to recover his strength by feasting on victims.

What sweetens the bitterness here is that Erina Pendleton, Jonathan's wife, gets to die peacefully of old age. Lisa Lisa, aka Elizabeth Joestar, becoming a Hamon master, and Speedwagon starting the Speedwagon Foundation, also mitigates it since these characters help and carry over into Battle Tendency.

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2) Caesar's death and Joseph's infidelity (Battle Tendency)

Battle Tendency’s ending (Image via David Production)

It was difficult to tell which of the "lighter" parts of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was the least bittersweet upon first watching them. It took multiple watches and learning what happened afterward to discover that Battle Tendency, while certainly a better ending than Phantom Blood, still has its bitterness.

Although the only important person to die in Battle Tendency is Caesar Zeppeli, there's an infamously heartrending scene where both Lisa Lisa and Joseph mourn him before going to fight the remaining Pillar Men. Caesar doesn't seem to get mourned following the battle with Wammu, however. Oddly, Caesar is seemingly completely forgotten by the time of Stardust Crusaders, despite being one of Joseph's best friends and stalwart allies.

Another thing that darkens the otherwise happy ending of Joseph being alive and getting married to Suzi Q is recalling Joseph's infidelity that led to the birth of Josuke. That said, unlike many other examples of awful parents, Joseph atones by helping Josuke as much as he can, including giving him the vast inheritance. He also adopts Shizuka, a lost, invisible Stand-using baby in Diamond is Unbreakable.

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1) A serial killer's rampage stopped (Diamond is Unbreakable)

Diamond is Unbreakable's ending (Image via David Production)

By far the least bittersweet ending of the entirety of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's anime adaptations, so far, is Diamond is Unbreakable.

There is one main bitter part of this ending that isn't focused on much: the various deaths, including random women Kira kills, Kosaku Kawajiri via Kira, Josuke's grandfather Ryohei Higashikata via Angelo, the bug Stand user Shigekiyo Yangu via Kira, and Aya Tsuji, the owner of the Cinderella salon, via Kira.

The town of Morioh was rocked by Yoshikage Kira's serial killings. Because of Killer Queen's effect erasing the bodies, the victims will never get closure. This is made all the sadder by getting to know the town throughout the story, and especially Hayato Kawajiri, as he knows his real dad is dead while his mom is oblivious.

On the other hand, however, the town is in good hands with Josuke, Koichi, Rohan, and Okuyashu. Joseph and Jotaro state that Morioh will eventually heal because of their efforts. The fact that none of the main characters die and they're still able to be teenagers provides a much-needed twist on the usual fates that befall JoJo's Bizarre Adventure protagonists.

Reimi Sugimoto finally being able to move into the afterlife is also a highlight, since she was trapped in the Ghost Girl Alley for some time, thanks to Kira. The anime version even includes an epilogue for the town's citizens. This is an improvement over the manga, where Diamond is Unbreakable ends with Jotaro and Joseph leaving Morioh behind.

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Final thoughts

Although JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's manga has continued since the end of Stone Ocean, these six anime stories are the most to least bitter of the endings until Steel Ball Run's anime adaptation begins. Most fans have their own opinions of which part is most bitter, but all appreciate JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for having bittersweet endings.

Not every ending is going to be pleasant. Not every tale ends triumphantly. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is about the adventure aspect and the journey. But it's always worth seeing how these adventures end and what the aftermath is, if anything, because it can paint the journey in a different light.

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Related links:

• JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: How does Hamon energy work?
• Jojo's Bizarre Adventure voice actors
• Where to watch JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series?

Edited by Ahana Mukhopadhyay