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Battle Tendency Battle Tendency is the second narrative arc of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump and created by manga artist Hirohiko Araki. Set in the late 1930s and early 1940s, it follows the adventures of Joseph Joestar across locations including New York City, Mexico City, London, and Switzerland as he confronts the ancient superhuman antagonists known as the Pillar Men. The arc interweaves references to historic events and cultural figures such as World War II, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and includes encounters near landmarks like Mount Etna, Vesuvius, and Lake Como.
Araki conceived the arc after completing the first part, drawing inspiration from global pulp adventure traditions including works by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, and cinema like King Kong, Dracula (1931 film), and serials starring Boris Karloff. The development incorporated influences from contemporary manga in Weekly Shōnen Jump, rival authors such as Akira Toriyama, Masami Kurumada, Takehiko Inoue, and the visual sensibilities of Jean Giraud and Aldo Giorgini. Araki referenced historic occultism tied to figures like Aleister Crowley and archaeological narratives associated with Howard Carter and Heinrich Schliemann when crafting the Pillar Men mythos. Production choices reflected publisher Shueisha editorial standards and the editorial input of editors from Weekly Shōnen Jump, aligning the work with market trends involving titles such as Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, Fist of the North Star, and Kinnikuman.
The narrative begins with Joseph Joestar escaping from New York City to Mexico after encountering remnants of the Stone Mask and the legacy of Jonathan Joestar. He allies with characters who traverse continents, visiting sites like Roswell, New Mexico, Pachuca, Rome, Naples, and Zurich. Joseph battles the Pillar Men—named Kars, Wamuu, and Esidisi—whose origins are linked to ancient civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Aztec Empire; confrontations tie into artifacts referencing the Stone Age and prehistoric symbolism akin to work by Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey. Key battles occur at locales like Mexico City Arena, Colosseum (Rome), and the Arctic near Svalbard, culminating in a final clash involving cosmic-scale consequences and technologies evocative of atomic bomb era anxieties associated with Manhattan Project developments and geopolitical tensions among United States, Italy, Germany, and Japan.
Protagonists include Joseph Joestar, heir to the Joestar family legacy established by Jonathan; allies and supporting figures comprise Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli, a scion of the Zeppeli lineage linked to Will Anthonio Zeppeli and European nobility, and Lisa Lisa, an enigmatic Hamon master with ties to London and formal martial tutelage reminiscent of Miyamoto Musashi-styled discipline. Antagonists feature the Pillar Men—Kars, Wamuu, and Esidisi—whose characterization draws parallels to figures of myth and literature like Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Prometheus; their leader Kars embodies an evolutionary imperative comparable to speculative treatises by Charles Darwin and controversial futurists. Secondary characters and organizations such as Speedwagon Foundation antecedents, various military personnel from Italy, Germany, and United States, and civilians in Naples and New York populate the storyline, reflecting historical personae including Benito Mussolini and wartime political climates that mirror references to Yalta Conference-era diplomacy.
Battle Tendency explores themes of heredity and legacy through the Joestar bloodline, echoing theories by Gregor Mendel and the cultural notion of aristocratic lineage as seen in works about Napoleon Bonaparte and Tsarist Russia. The arc interrogates evolution and the pursuit of perfection, invoking debates akin to Social Darwinism and the transhumanist impulses later discussed by thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Aldous Huxley. War and technological anxiety pervade the narrative, with symbolic resonance to World War II militarization, the Manhattan Project, and propaganda practices studied in relation to Joseph Goebbels and Goebbels' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Stylistically, Araki shifts from gothic horror toward dynamic shōnen action, channeling influences from Stanley Kubrick’s mise-en-scène, Akira Kurosawa’s staging, and fashion designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Gianni Versace, whose aesthetic informs character costuming and poses.
Battle Tendency was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump between the early 1980s and mid-1980s, produced under the auspices of publisher Shueisha. Araki’s process involved influences from contemporary manga production workflows exemplified by studios around creators such as Eiichiro Oda and Takehiko Inoue; the serialized chapters were later collected in tankōbon volumes distributed through Shueisha’s imprint and reissued in VIZ Media translations for North America and European editions handled by publishers like Star Comics and Panini Comics. The arc received adaptations across media: an anime produced by David Production as part of the television series, audio dramas, and stage adaptations paralleling theatrical works produced in venues similar to those used for adaptations of Sailor Moon and Death Note.
Critics and scholars have appraised Battle Tendency for its inventive action, character work, and cultural synthesis, drawing comparisons to seminal manga such as Dragon Ball, Fist of the North Star, and Berserk. The arc significantly influenced later parts of the JoJo franchise and inspired creators in manga and animation including Tite Kubo, Hajime Isayama, Kohei Horikoshi, and Gege Akutami. Its motifs appear in video games by developers like Capcom and Bandai Namco, and fan communities active on platforms like Pixiv, Reddit, Tumblr, and Twitter continue to produce art and analysis. Battle Tendency’s legacy extends into cosplay at events such as Comiket and New York Comic Con, and scholarly discussions situate it within broader conversations alongside works addressing modernity, mythmaking, and genre evolution in postwar and late 20th-century Japanese popular culture.