Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki and Clint Eastwood once discussed how Eastwood’s earlier roles had an influence on Jotaro Kujo.
Hirohiko Araki’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure might have become famous worldwide for a lot of things, but the one aspect that made it relatable to the audience in a big way was its inclusion of pop culture references in almost every series. These pop culture references were based on prominent movies, actors, characters, etc., and they were portrayed through the different characters from the series.
One actor who had a lot of influence on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was Clint Eastwood, known for many iconic movies like A Fistful of Dollars, Gran Torino, Dirty Harry, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, etc. Eastwood’s major impact was seen on the character Jotaro Kujo, who first appears in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders.
Araki once got a chance to talk to Eastwood about his influence on the series and how he helped him create an iconic Jotaro pose that was copied from the actor. Eastwood was so flattered by the compliment that he almost felt self-conscious about his pose.
Jotaro Kujo’s Iconic Clint Eastwood Pose
In 2012, Araki and Eastwood met for the first time, and the two discussed a lot about their movies, their skills as an actor and a manga creator, their future, etc. This discussion was shared by Jojo News, and during this discussion, Araki revealed to Eastwood the impact he had on Jotaro Kujo’s character in the series.
Araki stated:
I like his standing pose the most. It’s not macho, but it’s a stance that makes you feel his intelligence and good upbringing. He has elegance. The image of Eastwood standing alone in the wilderness overlaps with the protagonist of the manga Babel II, leading to Jotaro, who fights in the desert wearing a school uniform.
Jotaro’s signature finger-pointing pose came from the iconic Clint Eastwood poses that used to be a part of his movies in his early days.
However, the pose was not the only thing that Jotaro copied from Eastwood. His signature dialogue, yare yare daze, was also influenced by the roles that Eastwood played.
Clint Eastwood Doesn’t Like To Analyze Himself
Talking about his influence on Jotaro and the other aspects of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Eastwood not only thanked Hirohiko Araki but also talked about how he feels self-conscious when someone talks about his poses or his walking style. The actor revealed that he does not like to analyze himself.
Clint Eastwood stated:
That’s not something I want to know (laughs). I shouldn’t analyze myself. Instead, I prefer looking outward, like how I’m looking at your drawings right now. I don’t look at myself. It just leads to becoming really self-conscious.
Infusing pop culture references and making them stand out in the story is one of the main reasons why Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure became such a worldwide phenomenon.
Be it the reference to the Beatles or an ode to Michael Jackson, Araki’s work really adds many different aspects of Western entertainment together and portrays them in the best way possible through the multiple elements of the narrative.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is available to watch on Crunchyroll.