Censored manga moments in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime

Key points

• Censorship of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure can detract from epic scenes, such as Jotaro smoking and severed hands being obscured.
• Some of the censorship in the anime, like Joseph's broken finger and Stroheim's salute, seems unnecessary and clumsy.
• Heavy censorship in the Italian cooking episode of Diamond is Unbreakable may make it difficult for viewers to follow the comedic plot.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure it's been hot in Japan for a long time, but the lack of an adaptation meant the West had no idea what it was missing. Thankfully, David Production's stellar animation ensured that fans everywhere could finally appreciate the creative mind of Hirohiko Araki at its best.

The anime adaptation is fantastic and rarely falters, but a person's enjoyment of the show can be dampened by the ridiculous censorship that plagues nearly every part of the series. Fans better secure Blu-Ray prints JoJo's Bizarre Adventure if they want to avoid the ridiculous black bars that make things harder to discern and appreciate.

8 Jotaro's smoking is continually censored

One of the most egregious moments of censorship in JoJo

• Story arc: Stardust Crusaders

One of the most infamous examples of censorship actively distracting people from the film's brilliant moments Stardust Crusaderscasting a shadow on Jotaro's face every time he smokes a cigarette isn't fooling anyone. He may be underage, but there were better ways to get around this problem than this so-called clumsy solution.

Battles with D'Arby the Gambler become more difficult to deal with when Jotaro's face is constantly covered during the intense poker battle. This censorship is rampant everywhere Stardust Crusadersclarifying why most people preferred to wait for the uncensored Blu-Ray version instead.

7 The severed hands that Kira accumulates have their stumps darkened

A little disconcerting, since it's clear that these hands have been cut off

• Story arc: The diamond is unbreakable

A serial killer like Kira, obsessed with beautiful hands, would understandably lead to the creation of grotesque images. For everything The diamond is unbreakableKira carries severed hands with her which need to be replaced whenever they start to smell.

Again, fans are aware that the hand in question isn't attached to a body, so obscuring the stump isn't fooling anyone. It simply distracts from the scene and makes people question the lazy censorship that is rampant JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

6 Joseph's introduction where he blows off a cop's finger reduced his brutality

It dulls an otherwise epic scene a bit

• Story arc: Tendency to battle

Joseph Joestar is considered by many to be the series' greatest protagonist, and for good reason. This character is charismatic, cheeky and never backs down from anything. Even when facing two racist cops, the hero doesn't hold back and gives them a taste of their own medicine.

After smashing a cop's face in for sticking a booger on him, the other pulls out his gun to shoot Joseph in cold blood. Luckily, his mastery over Hamon allows him to shoot the cap of a soda bottle at lightning speed, breaking the cop's trigger finger in the process. It's an epic moment, but the finger break is clumsily censored, becoming the only low point in what is otherwise a legendary scene.

5 “Let's go eat some Italian food” is heavily censored

How Okuyasu's body is transformed by Tonio's stance is unclear in the anime

• Story arc: The diamond is unbreakable

The diamond is unbreakable stands out for having experimented with the slice-of-life genre, transforming a single visit to a new Italian restaurant into one of the funniest episodes of the series. However, the TV print of this episode is marred by ridiculous levels of censorship, to the point that fans have to follow the dialogue to understand what's happening.

Tonio's Stand gives food otherworldly healing properties, but the person who eats his food undergoes a drastic change that makes his body appear to be deteriorating. This confuses Josuke, who can only stare in horror as Okuyasu's neck begins to disintegrate and his insides fall out of his stomach. These scenes are heavily censored and can make this episode difficult to follow, but the comedy more than makes up for these issues.

4 Stroheim's Nazi salute is blacked out

Understandable but poorly done

• Story arc: Tendency to battle

Tendency to battle takes place at the height of World War II, with numerous Germans trying to figure out if the Pillar Men can help their military. This includes Stroheim, one of the best characters in this story arc, performing a controversial salute that was par for the course for Nazis.

Given the context of the arc's setting, it is understandable why Stroheim uses this greeting. Censoring it, however, is unnecessary and just feels awkward without hiding what this character is doing.

3 Tower Of Gray's attacks are difficult to understand in the anime

The insect kiosk rips people's tongues out, but this won't be made clear until the heroes say it outright

• Story arc: Stardust Crusaders

The battle against Grey's Tower in Stardust Crusaders is undoubtedly the worst way to start this story arc after the gang decides to leave Japan and hunt down God. The location may be intriguing, but what destroys the impact of this fight is the ridiculous censorship it hides what Tower of Gray does to its enemies.

It's only when the characters themselves speak out loud about Grey's Tower attack that viewers finally understand that this Stand insect is cutting out everyone's tongues. The censorship is so rampant in this episode that the fight ends up being a total disaster and becomes incredibly difficult to follow.

2 Sherry's reanimated corpse brutally attacks Polnareff and eats his flesh in the manga

A terrifying sight for a man who only wanted to revive his sister

• Story arc: Stardust Crusaders

Polnareff's search for his sister's killer makes it clear that he was shocked by the brutal nature of her death. So when a genie in a bottle grants him a wish, he decides to resurrect both her and her friend Avdol.

He sees Sherry in the distance, only to realize that she has been resurrected as a mindless, flesh-hungry zombie. His attacks are brutal but difficult to follow in the anime, as any shots of him biting flesh or using his claws to tear Polnareff apart are awkwardly censored.

1 Impostor Kakyoin's dislocated jaw is censored, which seems inconsistent

Totally unnecessary and highlights the censorship problems in Stardust Crusaders

• Story arc: Stardust Crusaders

The infamous cherry in scene Stardust Crusaders comes courtesy of a Stand impersonating Kakyoin. His strange ways make Jotaro realize that something is wrong with his traveling companion, giving him the leeway to land a solid punch that exposes this deception.

A single punch from the protagonist is all it takes to dislocate Kakyoin's jaw, which doesn't seem all that gruesome. It's hard to understand why the anime felt the need to censor this shot, especially since there were more brutal moments Stardust Crusaders who got a free pass.