Dio Brando’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the most iconic anime/manga villains of all time, which is why fans may be surprised to learn that his inspiration comes directly from the US FBI.
Dio is the antagonist of JJBA Part 1, also known as Phantom Blood, who later returns in Season 3, Stardust Crusaders. Dio is presented from the beginning as an unforgivable villain. His villain is so over the top that it’s almost comical, if not for the brutality that often accompanies Dio’s cruelty. Although Dio had considerably more depth at the time Stardust Crusaders began publishing, he has cemented his reputation as one of the most sinister villains in the manga.
Dio’s inspiration was the FBI files
According to a small passage at the end of the “Jojonium” edition of the third volume of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure manga, Araki really began to want to draw Dio and the story around him. He designed Jonathan as a “symbol of justice” and Dio as his equal and opposite – a villain so evil that he could confront the beacon of hope. To get there, he finally looked at a concept popular in the 1980s, called criminal profiling. Although controversial today, the idea was relatively new at the time and was used to develop a “profile” of a murderer or other criminal based on the characteristics of the crime. While it is generally case-specific, it also builds the image of a generic “crime,” which some people assume shares many of the common features of murderers and other violent criminals. .
One trait that Araki finds particularly interesting is their tendency to manipulate and influence their victims. Through techniques such as intimidation and seduction, the putative killer gains control of the situation, scaring their victims to the point of being unable to act rationally. Both of these tactics are popular with Dio, with his charm gaining him many followers, while his intimidation skills make preying on others easy. Other traits, like animal cruelty, also appear, giving Dio every negative trait a person could have. It certainly succeeded in turning Dio into a character that audiences couldn’t wait to take down. It’s interesting to note that while Dio was inspired by serial killers and their psychology, Araki went on to depict a serial killer as the antagonist for JJBA Season 4, based on based on many similar ideas to create Yoshikage Kira.
Perhaps it’s no surprise then Jojo’s Bizarre AdventureThe movie’s biggest villains are inspired by the traits of real-life killers, but not every creator is willing to delve into such potentially unsettling topics to study. rescue. However, Dio is definitely a better villain and it succeeds in making him a worthy threat against a “symbol of justice”.
