JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a long-running manga series by author Hirohiko Araki, and so far, the first six story arcs have been adapted into anime form, with Stone Ocean being the most recent one. Each story arc not only has its own unique Joestar hero but also a unique final boss, but most of them are quite outlandish, while one of them is not.
Colorful, larger-than-life anime villains such as Frieza, Uchiha Madara and Captain Blackbeard are powerful and memorable, but they don't resonate with viewers the same way as villains such as Kira Yoshikage from the Diamond is Unbreakable story. Villains like Kira are scarily real in the eyes of viewers, and that makes them the most compelling villains of all.
How Kira Yoshikage Chills JoJos Fans With His Realistic Villainy
The hero of Diamond is Unbreakable, the punkish Higashikata Josuke, had his hands full with the elusive Kira Yoshikage, who is a whole different animal than the villains before him, including the vampire Dio Brando and the four mighty Pillar Men. Kira is no vampire -- in fact, aside from his powerful Stand called Killer Queen, he is the kind of person JoJo fans could find in real life, and not in a good way.
In addition to being a Stand user, Kira Yoshikage is a serial killer who wouldn't feel out of place in the real world, given his sociopathic tendencies, cunning mind and gruesome habit of chopping off women's hands. Even without fantasy powers like Stands, real-life killers are capable of capturing, killing and dismembering people, and Kira's habit of "dating" severed hands could very well happen in real life. Already, Kira is uncomfortably but compellingly real for JoJo fans.
In addition, Kira's behavior mimics that of real-life serial killers, including his ice-cold disregard for human life, his fixation on keeping his hobbies a secret, his chillingly convincing outer persona, and his willingness to abandon everything and go on the run to protect himself. Real serial killers vary somewhat, but as a whole, Kira Yoshikage emulates them well, and when a Stand is added to the mix, he becomes downright unstoppable.
His explosive Stand, Killer Queen, isn't what makes him a villain -- this Stand merely enhances his scarily realistic career as a serial killer, including how its explosions can easily murder witnesses or how the Bites the Dust function rewinds time if anyone uncovers Kira's secret identity. Any real-life serial killer would go to great lengths to obtain an ability like that.
How Anime Creates Compelling, Realistic Villains Like Kira Yoshikage
Kira Yoshikage is an excellent example of how the anime industry, despite its notorious cliches and fanciful elements, can strike terror into the hearts of viewers with realistic villains whose thoughts and actions embody the darkest nature of humanity. This is true for any movie, novel, comic or even radio drama, where the material can resonate with readers to incite any emotion from joy and hope to horror, sorrow or even more, such as provoking thought about complex philosophies. This is what made Kira Yoshikage so real in the eyes of JoJo fans, and he is not the only example. Other anime villains share his ability to tap into viewers' deepest fears about what kinds of monsters their fellow humans can be.
Death Note features its own Kira Yoshikage, the infamous antihero Light Yagami. Shinigami and Death Notes may not be real, but Light's desire to rid the world of crime may speak to many viewers on a deep level, and then viewers watch Light and realize just how much an ambition like that can twist a person. Light was never possessed by any Shinigami -- his chilling god complex and ruthless methods were all him, completely human.
Meanwhile, My Hero Academia's Quirks and villains all act as commentary on the real world where, in the shadows, people who feel rejected by society simmer with resentment and would tear down the entire world, given a chance. These villains aren't evil because they have scary Quirks or are powerful fighters -- they're compelling antagonists because they speak to many real people's frustrations, fears and views on the world. Minus the Quirks, the real world has millions of its own Shigaraki Tomuras, Toga Himikos and Spinners.
