Noriaki Kakyoin

"My name is Noriaki Kakyoin! For the vengeance of my friend Avdol and so that the sister of my friend, Polnareff, may be at peace, you will pay with your life!"

- -Noriaki Kakyoin to J. Geil

Noriaki Kakyoin (花京院 典明) is a core ally in Stardust Crusaders.

Initially a Japanese student visiting Egypt, he is manipulated by DIO and sent to kill Jotaro Kujo. After being freed from DIO's influence, he decides to join Jotaro on his quest to Egypt to save Jotaro's mother and find redemption.

Appearance
Kakyoin is a young man of average to above-average height and fit to slender build. He is mostly seen wearing his school uniform (commonly colored dark green), however twice in the anime he is seen in blue striped pajamas: first during his initial encounter with Death Thirteen, and then later when he was in the hospital for the scratches on his eyes.

Kakyoin keeps medium-length hair (often red), characterized by a large, twisting noodle hanging before his face. He wears cherry shaped earrings: each is a long, fine arch, tipped by small spheres.

Later, Kakyoin acquires two thin scars vertically crossing both eyes; which he often hides with a pair of dark sunglasses.

He is considered handsome and has captured the attention of a few women. One of Jotaro's own admirers thought Kakyoin was handsome and in episode 4 the two female stewardesses were swooned by his good looks. He is also referred to as beautiful in episode 10 by an Indian man trying to sell him a tattoo.

Personality
Though Kakyoin comes across as cold, he is actually a warm and loyal fighter. He will support his comrades actively and fights for things that are ethically right. He hates bowing down or brown-nosing, and only views respectable people as his friends. He is straight to the point but nice, and cares very strongly for his friends. He resents people who plot secret schemes. He mentions he could never relate to people because of his ability, and thus never desired to make friends for most of his life; this changed when he discovered other people who also had Stands.

After Jotaro releases him from DIO's control, Kakyoin joins Jotaro's group in the quest to destroy DIO as compensation for having acted as DIO's pawn. Some of his personality undergoes changes in the middle of the story, and this is attributed to the events after his encounters with Mannish Boy and N'Doul. He eventually sheds his "repentant" attitude. In addition to the above traits, he now has more confidence and has regained a lot of his pride.

He has stated that if he were to fall in love, he would fall in love with someone like Holy, since she gives off the feeling that anything will be alright and can calm anyone's hearts, making them feel at ease. She is the type of person he would want to protect and see her smile.

Abilities
Kakyoin's long-range humanoid Stand is Hierophant Green; able to extend tentacle-like limbs or unravel to a modest extent; as well as fire a barrage of hard projectiles (an "Emerald Splash").

History
When he was younger, he had difficulty making friends due to the fact that he felt no one could understand him since no one he met could see Hierophant Green. One of his teachers even told his mother that none of the other children disliked Kakyoin but that he was unapproachable and just didn't seem to want to make any friends. His mother, saddened, admitted that even she didn't know much about her own son or understand why he was so withdrawn. Kakyoin observed the children around him writing down the names of their friends and thought about how the people around him had someone who could understand them. He felt even his own parents had each other but that they would never be able to relate to him. This caused him to become a withdrawn individual who felt different from others.

About 2-3 months prior to the start of Part 3, Kakyoin was approached by DIO while traveling in Egypt with his family. DIO, having sensed Kakyoin's Stand powers, asked for a demonstration which led to them fighting. When Kakyoin lost, he was brainwashed into following DIO's will via buds from DIO's own cells and given the mission to kill Jotaro Kujo. Kakyoin returned to Japan around the same time as Jotaro left prison and attended the same school as Jotaro.

Stardust Crusaders (1987-1988)
Kakyoin carries out DIO's orders on his first meeting with Jotaro. He manipulates the school nurse with his Hierophant Green, using her to attack Jotaro, but Jotaro defeats him and ends up dragging him home, both considerably injured. Jotaro soon discovers that Kakyoin was under DIO's influence and uses Star Platinum to remove DIO's implant from Kakyoin's head - despite the risk that it might openly attack both of them. Kakyoin is freed from DIO's control as a result and joins Jotaro, Joseph and Avdol on their trip to Egypt to fight DIO.

At the beginning of the trip, the group is attacked by Gray Fly, whose Tower of Gray proves to be a match even for Star Platinum. Trying to prevent the fight to take down the plane, Kakyoin knocks Gray Fly and volunteers to fight the Stand by himself, tearing it apart with his Stand.

In the trip Kakyoin proves to be a useful ally, but Joseph's Hermit Purple says that he is a spy, making everyone suspicious of him. In the end, it is revealed that the spy was actually Rubber Soul posing as Kakyoin, who separated from the group for unknown reasons. Returning to the group, Jotaro then tells Kakyoin about the battle and his impersonator.

When Jean Pierre Polnareff is attacked by Hol Horse and J. Geil he is saved by Kakyoin and Avdol, but not before the latter is almost killed. Kakyoin manages to discover Hanged Man's true ability and tricks the Stand into having only one place to go: a coin. This makes Polnareff be able to finally defeat him and avenge his sister.

In the desert, the group is attacked by Arabia Fats's Sun, who proves to be even more powerful than Hierophant Green and forces Kakyoin to cancel his attack on the Stand.



He also is the first to realize that Mannish Boy is a Stand user, and that his Stand attacks while the group is asleep. Though the rest of the group don't believe him and come to believe he has succumbed to stress, Kakyoin is ultimately able to defeat Death 13 inside a dream by bringing Hierophant Green with him. He then teaches Mannish Boy a lesson by mixing some of the baby's own poop with the baby food.

During the encounter with N'Doul's Stand Geb, Kakyoin is slashed across the eyes and put out of commission for a while.

Genesis of Universe Ch. 1
"The Genesis of Universe: One-Way Trip from Desert To Hell"

 (The italicized information below derives from a Light Novel not written by Araki. As such, it may or may not be considered canon.) 

Even with his injured eyes, getting worse with the sun, Kakyoin manages to save Avdol from Absalom's Satanic Coupler.

Kakyoin leaves the group to recover from his injuries at the Speedwagon Foundation hospital in Aswan. He returns just before the group finds DIO's mansion and is the first to face Telence in a video game competition with his soul on the line. They play a racing game that Kakyoin is familiar with, and Kakyoin even uses Hierophant Green's speed and agility to accomplish complicated moves via the game controller. Ultimately, however, he loses and his soul is placed inside a small doll until Terence is defeated, at which point it is released again.

Later he confronts DIO and traps him inside a bound field of a his Stand's tentacles. With this setup, he claims that he is able to detect and punish even the tiniest movement from DIO while being safely outside the range of his stand. However, The World's ability to stop time allows DIO to bypass the trap and deliver a fatal punch to Kakyoin through his abdomen. Before dying, he manages to leave a message in the form of a destroyed clock tower via his last Emerald Splash, enabling Joseph, Jotaro, and Polnareff to figure out DIO's Stand ability.

Eyes of Heaven
In the game's parallel continuity, Kakyoin, along with Avdol and Iggy, is resurrected from death under mysterious circumstances, but must do battle again with a foe they thought they have defeated already.

He is revived along with Avdol and Iggy, ironically, by DIO (in his Heaven Ascension form) and first seen allied with their own revived enemy, N'Doul. After being defeated by Jotaro and Joseph with N'Doul escaping, Kakyoin is recovered by a time-travelling Robert E. O. Speedwagon of Part 1 timeline through using some of the Saint Corpse Parts he found out of nowhere on his timeline. As Kakyoin awaken, he warn his allies about DIO's weakness however, Jotaro already defeated him due to having a similar Stand as that vampire. Despite not remembering on attacking his allies, Kakyoin did remember his death at the hands of DIO. Once he and his main allies learn where this Speedwagon come from, and the recent phenomenon caused by the corpses' appearances around the time and space, they decide to help Speedwagon to recover the corpses, recruiting the allies from different timelines, and recovered most of their fallen allies (whether revived or are still alive, as seen on a still living Pannacotta Fugo and Okuyasu Nijimura, for example).

In the end of Part 4's chapter, Kakyoin and his main allies are later meeting about the true culprit of the phenomenon. Apparently, they are shocked in disbelief in learning that DIO is still the same true culprit as usual, as they believed that DIO's already dead to begin with, deeming impossible for him to be revived and masterminding this event. Unaware to him and his main allies, DIO's appearance is suddenly different than before, meaning he is revived by the 6 corpses' appearances in their world, until all 9 corpses have been collected, with the help of the alternate JoJo's universe from two different timelines (accompanied by Joshu Higashikata from its current timeline).

Because of the new reality introduced by the game, Kakyoin and his injured allies survive the fight against the godly foe and live on, though hospitalized for a while.

In the OVA
Kakyoin serves the same purpose in the Part III OVA as he does in the manga. That said, notable differences in regards to Kakyoin's appearance include his lack of pink hair and his cherry earrings being changed to nondescript string piercings.

His first battle with Jotaro Kujo is also altered to take place in a forest near the school, with Kakyoin's possession victim being a female student instead of the school nurse.

Unlike in the manga, Kakyoin and the others briefly take part in Jotaro's battle with Enya Gail, with Kakyoin helping to dislodge a zombie baby from Jotaro's leg.

In the 1993 episodes, while Kakyoin rejoins the group during the assault on DIO's mansion, he does not do so until well after the group have come face to face with DIO himself, as opposed to the manga, where he joins them just before they enter through the front door.

Famicom Jump II
Kakyoin appears as a support character for the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure world, where the player can talk to him in order to obtain some information.

JoJo RPG (SFC)
Kakyoin is one of the 6 main playable characters. Much like the manga, the events from Kakyoin's debut makes him appear as an antagonist and fight against Jotaro (first using the School Nurse to attack Jotaro and then fighting by himself). After the battle Kakyoin joins the group and can be used as a playable character. During a fight Kakyoin uses Hierophant Green's elasticity to attack the opponents and its Emerald Splash as a super attack.

Unlike in the source material, one can keep Kakyoin alive all throughout the game, even avoiding his death at DIO's hands depending on if he has HP left after the battle.

Heritage for the Future (PS1/DC/Arcade)
Kakyoin appears as a playable character in the Capcom game, his gameplay is primarily designed for defense. A lot of his techniques reflect this; he also has limited forms of offense but plentiful techniques for striking back, punishing or even ticking. With the Stand activated, he can dash and double jump in the air. He also has one of the longest reaches in terms of physical attacks - particularly with his Stand attack.

In the arcade version, he has considerable offense power but is slightly slow. This was changed in the Playstation port, but at the price of losing damage strength. He also gained a new super move that helped him in his offensives. Additionally, his appearance with sunglasses (a result of his encounter with N'Doul) is named New Kakyoin or 恐怖を乗り越えた花京院 (lit. "Kakyoin who overcame his fears") in the Japanese version of the game, having different attack methods and physics offsetting him from the original.

It is noteworthy that even in the video games (excluding the Super Famicom RPG), especially in the fighting game made by Capcom, Kakyoin's fate in his own storyline is to die, whereas other characters have more pleasant endings (except Midler). However, because of how the dialogue was done in the game, some may argue that it could be open-ended, suggesting a possibility of his survival. The ending seems to imply that Kakyoin died on the trip home inside the airplane, possibly due to the wounds suffered in the battle with DIO, and him keeping quiet about it. This could be otherwise explained as fainting or severe weakening, in the absence of solid illustration that he did die. On the other hand, New Kakyoin's storyline in the game confirms his death, as it occurred in the original storyline from the manga.

The endings where Kakyoin survives the adventure are in Iggy's and Avdol's storylines. This is because DIO attacks Iggy or Avdol before going after Jotaro, Kakyoin, and Joseph.

Techniques

 * Emerald Splash: Best used as part of a combo. It has shorter range without the Stand activated, but reaches full screen with the Stand activated. The only downside is that the move cannot be integrated into combos in the way 2 in 1 attacks are performed. New Kakyoin's version of this move is reduced in terms of range, reflecting his eye injury in the story.
 * 20m Radius Emerald Splash: The powered-up version of "Emerald Splash." If the opponent doesn't have an active Stand, this inflicts massive chipping damage.
 * Tie Wrap Snake: Used for both offense and defense, this is one of Kakyoin's lesser-known but most feared moves. Without his Stand activated, he can join in and punch the enemy, but with his Stand activated, buttons can be pressed repeatedly to fire emeralds. Expert players can inflict massive damage from just this move alone.
 * Mystic Trap: Likely inspired by the appendages he casted to try to capture DIO in his final battle, the move is a snare that can be deployed at will. It can't be sensed until unleashed, by releasing the button used. It can be hit with another Stand attack, but some realize the position of the traps too late. With this technique used in conjunction with specials or super moves, Kakyoin wears down an enemy very quickly, even though the damage is limited. In the newer Heritage for the Future version, being hit by the trap causes an instant Stand Crash, forcibly dismissing the enemy's active Stand.
 * Oshioki no Jikan (Time for Punishment): Demonstrates Hierophant Green's ability to enter an enemy's body, an attack he once used as an antagonist, and against Death Thirteen. This move is executed similar to Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu, but inflicts damage from within the body, instead of it attacking the opponent's spirit, just like the former. While the damage it inflicts fares lower, the fact that it cannot be blocked and can be incorporated into combos provides a pressure tactic in battle. Unlike with the SGS aka. Raging Demon, players can jump in with the attack easily for an unexpected hit. His Stand must be kept active for the move to be available.
 * India's Arm: Hierophant Green's arms can be steered by the player to attack at unique angles and directions. Done without an active Stand, the arms instead do predefined patterns depending on the button combinations used. (eg. QCB + LA & MA have patterns different from QCB + MA + HA) The move can be used right after a Mystic Trap to juggle an enemy upwards.
 * Hierophant Finish: A combination of Emerald Splashes from different directions that end with a 20m Emerald Splash. The effectiveness of the attack depends on where the enemy is when the move connects. A standing enemy can yield more hits as compared to an enemy juggled by this move.
 * New 20m Emerald Splash: A move only available to New Kakyoin, Mystic Traps appear everywhere, that upon connecting, holds the enemy in place as Kakyoin moves far to the background where he strafes the victim with Emerald Splashes. This move is likely a recreation of his trap-like attack that he could've unleashed against DIO, an idea later revisited in All-Star Battle.

Jump Super Stars (DS)
Kakyoin appears as a special attack for Jotaro's 5-KOMA, where he shows up on the screen, ahead Jotaro and attack the enemies with  Hierophant Green' s Emerald Splash.

Jump Ultimate Stars (DS)
Kakyoin returns as Jotaro 5-KOMA's special attack. But he also appears during the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure world intro, along with the others PART III: Stardust Crusaders protagonists.

All-Star Battle (PS3)
Kakyoin, voiced by Kōji Yusa, returns as a playable character in All-Star Battle (PS3). Much like the previous game, Kakyoin can use long ranged attacks such as Emerald Splash. A few new moves include forming barriers on the stage that will remain on the field for a certain time or until his opponent makes contact with it. Some of Kakyoin's taunts includes his famous "RERORERORERO" and his laugh from the Sun chapters (unlocked after downloading Part III DLC).

His HHA has Hierophant Green enter the enemy's mouth and damage them internally (much like how he did to Death Thirteen) and his GHA is his 20m Radius Emerald Splash, where the opponents is sent bouncing around the field by Hierophant Green's Emerald Splashes before being hit by another Emerald Splash at point-blank range (showing the ability's functions had DIO not stopped time and avoided it during the final battle of Part III).

Kakyoin's battle introduction is him lowering his sunglasses before raising them (similar to his re-introduction to the group after his recovery from the hospital, minus the visible scars across his eyes). Kakyoin possesses an alternate costume based on his first appearance in the manga (with his hair slicked further back and him wearing his scarf).

Kakyoin is also a character who made an incredible achievement in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle League, being eliminated in the F Group. He was the character most voted to rejoin the League, coming back into G Group (notably composed of only antagonists) and won the battle afterwards, making his way to the finals.

Stardust Shooters (Android/iOS)
Kakyoin's Metal Striker appears as one of the several available Part III Metal Strikers characters. His FINISH move causes Hierophant Green to appear and unleash an Emerald Splash on the defeated opponent.

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Kakyoin was one of the first confirmed characters for the game (alongside Part II Joseph, Caesar, Stroheim, Jotaro, Josuke and Diego). Since most of the game's animation and attacks were re-used from All-Star Battle, Kakyoin's moveset remains the mostly the same: A ranged character who utilizes many ranged attacks and can set traps with Hierophant Green's Barrier.

Kakyoin's solo GHA uses a different, "upgraded" animation compared to All-Star Battle, having the target bounce around the barrier at extremely fast intervals, ending with Kakyoin turning around (having faced his back to the opponent) and summoning a massive Emerald Splash from behind him directly at them (rather than Hierophant Green firing at point-blank range).

Jotaro appears as Kakyoin's main partner, with the former being the only player-controlled fighter in the first demo. They possess a Dual Heat Attack together, where Kakyoin holds the opponent in place with Hierophant Green, allowing Jotaro and Star Platinum to pull them in by Hierophant Green's tail and unleash a barrage of punches that sends the opponent flying, before Kakyoin appears once more behind the enemy in mid-air to deliver an Emerald Splash. Throughout the whole attack, Kakyoin and Jotaro converse about sumo. This, coupled with the nature of the DHA, makes reference to the Wheel of Fortune chapters.

Kakyoin and Jotaro are the only two playable characters to appear in both demos. Kakyoin is the only returning character in the game whose appearance in the anime has not affected his color scheme coming from All-Star Battle, due to the anime using the same color scheme.

Tournament
He is paired with Pannacotta Fugo in the Eyes of Heaven tournament, but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Pet Shop and Kars.

Trivia

 * Kakyoin is the only protagonist to wield a long-range Stand in Part III, and hence, is the first ever protagonist in the JoJo universe to do so.
 * His favorite fruits are cherries.
 * His favorite baseball team is the Yomiuri Giants.
 * Amongst other differences, in the OVA, he utilizes a female student instead of the school nurse to attack Jotaro, and their battle occurs in the forest outside the school rather than the school's medical room.
 * Mitsuaki Madono voices Kakyoin in the Heritage for the Future (along with voicing several other characters in the revisions of that game) and Part VIII Josuke Higashikata in All-Star Battle.
 * According to the JoJonium website, Araki says Kakyoin's first name is actually "Tenmei" and has personally always called him such, despite it officially being "Noriaki". This is due to the fact that the kanji in Kakyoin's first name can be read as both "Tenmei" and "Noriaki". Due to a miscommunication between Araki and his editor, Kakyoin's name became Noriaki as opposed to Tenmei. This can also be seen in Enya's hotel register, where Kakyoin wrote "Tenmei Kakyoin".

In Popular Culture

 * It is well known that the Shoujo manga group CLAMP are JoJo fans. It is curious to note that in their series Wish, the main character, Kohaku, is an angel who greatly resembles Kakyoin in hairdo and appearance. Ironically, the love interest of said character roughly resembles a hat-less Jotaro. Although the angel is sexless, some fans have speculated this story is a shounen-ai interpretation of the two.
 * Neo, the main character of the Matrix movie trilogy, bears a strong resemblance to Kakyoin after he returns with sunglasses. Neo - Matrix.jpg
 * Kakyoin is one of the few main characters who doesn't have a musical reference to his name or his Stand's name (which is named after a tarot and color).
 * During his first appearance, Kakyoin is seen using a wooden marionette to control his Stand, though afterward he isn't seen with it at all.
 * The scene where he licks a cherry from episode 9 has become a somewhat popular internet meme.

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