A wise man once said that "nothing is certain, except death and taxes." That man was Benjamin Franklin - a prominent character in The United States anime's notorious 'Founding Fathers' arc. All jokes aside, Franklin's words continue to ring true centuries after he first wrote them down in 1789.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a bit light on stories that focus on taxation, but tons of characters die throughout the long-running series' numerous storylines. We're going to look at 10 of the most heartbreaking deaths in JJBA, and rank them based on several factors. We'll consider how each character died and the impact their losses had on the series as a whole.
10 Wamuu
Wamuu's the only major antagonist to grace this list with his swole and stylish presence. Throughout JJBA Part 2: Battle Tendency, Wamuu acts as Joseph Joestar's rival — goading and fighting the young man at every available opportunity. But in spite of his service to the villainous Kars and Esidisi, Wamuu proves himself to be a noble warrior. Joseph and Wamuu gain mutual respect for one another, with both men admiring the other's resolve and fighting skills.
But there can be no friendship among foes during wartime. Eventually, Joseph and Wamuu engaged in a fight to the death. Joseph bested Wamuu fair and square, earning the Pillar Man's admiration. As his final acts, Wamuu killed a group of vampires that were going to jump Joseph and then gave the young Joestar an antidote the latter needed. With a contented smile, Wamuu turns into dust and scatters before the night's wind.
9 Shigekiyo Yangu
Wamuu's the only major antagonist we're mentioning here, but there are at least a couple of minor villains that die tragically. Shigekiyo Yangu from JJBA Part 4: Diamond Is Unbreakable fits that mold. This delinquent starts Part 4 off by using his Stand Harvest to steal money and forcefully intoxicate people — making this guy a professional felon in training!
But as we get to know Shigekiyo, we learn that the poor kid's an outcast with nary a friend to lean on. Josuke and company meet him halfway, and we get to see a better side of Shigekiyo's character. But just when it seems like he's turning around, he runs into Yoshikage Kira — a serial killer desperately trying to avoid the law. To cover his tracks, Kira disintegrates Shigekiyo, who was merely 14 years old at the time.
8 Noriaki Kakyoin
Noriaki Kakyoin doesn't precisely start JJBA Part 3: Stardust Crusaders off on the right foot either. Early on, Kakyoin tries to kill Jotaro Kujo while the former is under DIO Brando's thrall. With the help of the immensely OP Stand Star Platinum, Jotaro's able to beat Kakyoin back to his senses. Noriaki immediately apologizes and asks to join Jotaro and the other Crusaders to make amends.
Kakyoin spends the bulk of Part 3 doing just that; fighting evil Stand users and proving himself to be a good man. Ultimately, Kakyoin's path leads him face to face with DIO himself. Hopelessly outmatched, Noriaki nevertheless fights DIO to the bitter end. Though Kaykoin's defeat is one of the most heartbreaking deaths in JJBA history, it wasn't in vain. Kakyoin managed to warn Jotaro about DIO's ability to control time - indirectly helping Kujo beat Brando once and for all!
7 Bruno Bucciarati
Apparently, the best way to find a friend in JJBA is to get in a fight with someone and then make up afterward. Joseph Joestar, Jotaro Kujo, Josuke Higashikata, and Giorno Giovanna have all tried this method out, and it's worked wonders for them. Near the start of Part 5: Golden Wind, Giorno fights Bruno Bucciarati. Both men beat the hell out of each other with their Stands, talk for a bit, and then agree to travel together going forward.
Unfortunately, Bruno's travels end when he encounters Diavolo and his freaky Stand King Crimson. The Boss of Passione tears through Bruno like wet toilet paper, mortally wounding the young mobster. Giorno uses his powers to try and resurrect Bruno, but he only creates a husk that wears his friend's face as a mask. Near the end of Part 5, Bruno's able to pass on to the next plane of existence, leaving the fate of Passione in Giorno's hands.
6 Muhammad Avdol
As one of the first characters that we meet in Part 3, Jojo fans had plenty of time to bond with Muhammad Avdol. A fortune-teller by trade and the master of Magician's Red, Avdol fought side-by-side with Jotaro and Joseph from day one. Since Avdol manifested Red on the day he was born, he had an entire lifetime of Stand experience under his belt.
As such, Avdol kicked tons of butt throughout the majority of Stardust Crusaders! But Avdol's butt-kicking days were cut short after a fateful encounter with Vanilla Ice and Cream. Go ahead and laugh all you want at the villainous vampire's goofy name. Just remember that Ice and Cream caused two of the most heartbreaking deaths in JJBA history back to back! At least Avdol got to save one friend's life. As for the other, we'll get to that in a bit.
5 Will Anthonio Zeppeli
An ancient Zen proverb states that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear." Jonathan Joestar spent the bulk of JJBA Part 1: Phantom Blood enduring DIO's torment and staving off vampires. Anyone else might have quit against such unfairly stacked odds, but Jonathan didn't. During his darkest hour, Jonathan met Will A. Zeppeli — a Ripple Master who takes Jonathan under his wing.
In many ways, Will substitutes the father that Jonathan had just lost not so long ago. Unfortunately, DIO would indirectly take another father figure away from Jonathan near Phantom Blood's end. Brando's zombie knight Tarkus attacked Jon and Will, nearly killing both of them with a massive chain. Accepting his fate, Will sacrifices his life to save Jonathan's, resulting in one of the most gruesome and heartbreaking deaths in JJBA Part 1. To wit, there's only one execution that we feel is sadder than Will's tragic demise.
4 Iggy
Well, a promise is a promise. We suppose it's time to discuss the soul-crushingly depressing demise of Iggy. For any non-JJBA fans who've snuck in here, Iggy was a stray dog that was secretly a Stand user. Iggy laid credence to that claim that 'it's not the size of the dog in a fight' which matters most; this courageous canine fought against vampires and psychic monsters even after he lost a paw to the evil falcon Pet Shop!
Recall that we mentioned Vanilla Ice caused two of the most heartbreaking deaths in JJBA history. Avdol was tragically the first, and Iggy was, unfortunately, the second. Using his ungodly Stand Cream, Ice bisected Iggy from the waist down. The vampire proceeded to brutally kick Iggy until naught an ounce of life remained in his body. For what it's worth, Polnareff managed to avenge Avdol and Iggy by the end of Part 5.
3 Reimi Sugimoto
Reimi Sugimoto breaks the mold in this article; all of the other heartbreaking deaths that we've mentioned occurred on-page/on-screen. However, Reimi's demise occurs years before the events of Diamond is Unbreakable take place. When she was about 16 years old, Reimi had the misfortune of crossing paths with Kira. As punishment for this "crime," Kira killed Reimi in cold blood, making her his first victim.
Sugimoto spent years haunting Morioh's hidden alley, trying to find a way to expose Kira and move on to the next life. Eventually, Rohan, a boy that Reimi previously saved, helped Josuke and company track down and end Kira's killing spree. In the end, Reimi meets Kira in the ghost world and sends him off to the place where all deranged serial killers hopefully go. With Morioh safe, Reimi and her dog shuffle off this plane and head to the next.
2 Caesar Zeppeli
Like grandfather, like grandson — Caesar Zeppeli aided the Joestar clan in their battle against evil in Part 2. Initially, Caesar and Joseph hated each other's guts! From Caesar's perspective, Zeppeli blamed Jonathan for the death of his grandfather so many years ago. But over time, Joseph and Caeser buried their hatchets and developed a brotherly bond.
That doesn't mean that the two stopped arguing. In an unfortunate instance of surrogate sibling rivalry, Caesar disregards Joseph's advice and splits up from their team. Because of his haughtiness, Zeppeli has to fight Wamuu alone. Caesar nearly wins, but carelessly gives Wamuu an opening that seals his fate. With his last breaths, Zeppeli uses his Ripple energy to aid Joseph in his aforementioned battle with the remaining Pillar Men. Caesar doesn't just experience one of the most heartbreaking deaths in the series, but also one of the most iconic.
1 Jonathan Joestar
We think the first Joestar's death should serve as the final entry in this article. Namely, because Jonathan's life had become a living Hell up to that point. We're not exaggerating when we say that Jonathan lost it all by the end of Phantom Blood; his mother died while he was an infant, and DIO killed Jon's dog, father, and mentor throughout Part 1! But despite all of those setbacks and tragedies, Jonathan's resolve never waned.
Jon even managed to beat DIO in a duel with nothing but his fighting skills and willpower! Unable to accept defeat, Brando's severed head stalked Jon, his wife, and his newborn daughter to the ends of the Earth. Jonathan fought DIO once more, but the vampire got the better of him through deceit trickery. In a bid to rid his wife, his daughter, and the rest of the world of Brando's tyranny, Jon used his last ounces of strength to clutch DIO's head and drag him to the bottom of the ocean.
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