Joshu Higashikata

"But I... don't even have that kind of talent, do I...? I have something, right?"

- Joshu Higashikata, JJL Chapter 57

Joshu Higashikata (東方 常秀) is a side character featured in JoJolion.

Joshu is the spoiled third of Norisuke Higashikata IV's four children and eventually rubs shoulders with Josuke Higashikata without truly becoming a friend. He has an unrequited crush on Yasuho Hirose. Joshu eventually awakens his own Stand Nut King Call.

Appearance
Joshu is a 19-year-old male of average to above-average height and medium build. His eyes are slanted, and in his first appearances, they were curved at almost unnatural degrees. His distinctive hairstyle consists of straight, almost eyebrow-level bangs, with equal length at the back; totally shaved underneath and at his sides.

He wears a distinctive cap-sleeved top, with a kind of band collar and a bow tie. A front section is lined horizontally, and he has two upward-pointing arrow shapes on his shoulders. He wears dark pants of a moderate fit with slashes in them, and thick wristbands.

Since his first meeting with Josuke near the Wall Eyes, Joshu has bite marks on his left knee.

Personality
Joshu is a 19-year-old college student and the third of Norisuke Higashikata IV's four children. Of a generally jealous and volatile disposition, he is persistently possessive towards Yasuho and antagonistic to Josuke.

Joshu behaves quite like a spoiled child. He complains that the center spot in the family photograph is taken from him by Josuke, and is exasperated when his room is given to him, only to be pacified when his father compensates with money. In Chapter 56, when his father implores him to get a part-time job and provide for society, Joshu merely dismisses this and asks for money. In addition, he does not feel erroneous about theft, at one point stealing a man's wallet (later revealed to be cursed with the Milagro Man) after the man left it on the counter. After this, Joshu started to gain more money each time he tried spending it, and while he found it unusual he was largely unconcerned and continued to splurge lavishly while gaining money back, not caring or wondering about the consequences.

He is shown to be very insensitive, being the only one among his family not shocked or taken aback when his elder sister Hato reveals her unattractive boyfriend, Tamaki Damo to her family (aside from the near-blind Daiya), and is instead slightly humored at the sudden revelation, later completely bursting into laughter after learning of the sexual nature of their relationship.

Joshu asserts that he has a sort of romantic relationship with Yasuho Hirose, calling her "[his] Yasuho"; rather deaf to her point of view regarding him as just a childhood friend or acquaintance. He interprets Yasuho's gesture of giving him twice as many mochis as Josuke as a sign of her loving him "twice as much". Yasuho notes that he has poor social skills, which is at odds with his educational pursuit of social studies. He is also shown to be a pervert, shown once when Yasuho was affected by Tsurugi's Stand and couldn't recognize anyone, he misread Yasuho's worriedness as her being in heat and wanting to have sex with him, going so far as to bring her into a bathroom and nearly does so before she bashes him over the head and flees. In Chapter 56, Joshu is shown to be a fan of the idol Nanami Rena, considering her cute (but not to the same extent as Yasuho) and embellishing the money given to him by his father to purchase merchandise relating to her. He also went to a hostess club, flicking miscellaneous things into the women's chests, openly stating that he prefers women with large breasts.

Joshu constantly discriminates against Josuke, deeply resentful of his interference with Yasuho and his territory in the family. Joshu curses and denigrates him while demonstrating a lack of conscience when he prepares to harm him with a knife in response to a minor infraction. While he will set aside his hatred when faced with a common threat, Joshu nonetheless avoids association with his adopted brother, to the point of frequently siding with his older brother Jobin, who is a true enemy to Josuke and their father.

Joshu has a roughly playful relationship with Hato, though blatantly disrespected her boyfriend. He is also somewhat protective of his younger sister Daiya, keeping caution and distance between her and their estranged mother Kaato. By extension, he is shown to be very angry at his mother's sudden, casual reappearance after having been separated from her since early childhood, yelling at her and setting her up for physical injury and embarrassment when she continues to act nonchalant.

Joshu seems to easily distrust many people and organizations. He has stated a disbelief in God, that the prospect of flying in an airplane frightens him, and has a reluctance to drink or eat pancakes made with milk a day older than its printed expiration date, comparing it to crossing a rickety bridge. Likewise, he became highly suspicious of a value package of fish sausages, trying to record the length of said sausages to discover any foul play.

In working to expose the mystery of Shakedown Road, Joshu records Josuke there, demonstrating some capacity for problem-solving, and signifies some level of cunning when, after recording evidence that Josuke had, in fact, broken the fish tank housing the turtle, deletes it and pretends to have been careless.

Abilities
Joshu has a level of fighting competence, shown when he easily overtakes a newly-awakened Josuke who has shown to be proficient in unarmed combat.

Joshu's Stand, Nut King Call, allows him to easily disassemble objects by planting nuts and bolts in them or stick two objects together with nuts and screws, both of which are quickly removed. If reassembled incorrectly or abruptly, this ability can cause permanent deformities in the joints of whatever it separates.

History
Prior to the events of JoJolion, Joshu presumably lived a normal life, being unaware of every supernatural phenomenon in Morioh. During his youth, Joshu became friends with Yasuho Hirose, with whom he eventually fell in love. Joshu applied to study Sociology in college, noted by Yasuho as ironic given his lack of social skills.

When Yasuho rescues a naked man in a sailor cap from under the rubble at the Wall Eyes, Joshu immediately misunderstands the situation and tries to attack the man with a rock out of jealousy. He is quickly taken out by the man, who uses a Stand ability to vanish Joshu's eyes. Joshu is later seen at the hospital, having received the same bite marks on his leg that the sailor had.

From the point he leaves the hospital forward, Joshu is mostly seen getting into arguments with the protagonist that are often broken up by his own father, though he never actually learns from his father's chastisement of his antagonism. However, when Joshu is told to take Josuke to school, he tests Josuke's intelligence first before leading him to Shakedown Road, where he hopes to enlist Josuke's help in exposing the swindling nature of the road. He, along with Josuke, are harassed by residents of the road as they keep stepping on the leaves. While they separate the two, Joshu discovers his Stand for the first time and incapacitates one of them. He runs off with the thought that Josuke would be arrested. he looks into his bag and sees the ginkgo leaves that were on the road, unbeknownst to him, the contents of the bag was swapped by Josuke.

Later, Joshu is seen in town looking for Josuke who stole his phone. He finds Josuke, who is oblivious to him because of Tsurugi's Stand Paper Moon King. After getting his phone back, he runs into Yasuho, who mistakes Joshu for Josuke due to her also being under the effects of Paper Moon King. Joshu is taken aback, but genuinely believes she is coming onto him. Thrilled by Yasuho's trust, and misunderstanding her words, Joshu leads Yasuho to a public bathroom, where he begins rapidly undressing her with his Stand. Halting, confused, when Yasuho calls Josuke's name, she strikes his head with a cistern lid and escapes.

Joshu is later seen reminding Josuke of his older brother Jobin's return, simultaneously trying to show off with the gift he brought him while in Southeast Asia. He is both surprised and jealous to discover that Jobin had given Josuke a live beetle and accompanies him to Jobin's room with the belief that Jobin will turn Josuke away. Jobin agrees to invite them in, and much to Joshu's annoyance even agrees to have a beetle fight with Josuke when the latter proclaims his beetle superior to one in Jobin's collection. Surprised when Jobin loses the first match, Joshu threatens Josuke as usual, angered by what he perceives to be an insult to his brother while Jobin shaves his own eyebrow as promised. Although reluctant, Jobin's insistence in the name of good form coerces Joshu to unenthusiastically cheer for Josuke when a second match is proposed.

After Jobin loses the second match and Josuke uses his Stand to send away the keys to Jobin's car, it is Joshu who suggests to Jobin that the car was Josuke's goal all along, and intuitively guesses (correctly) that the true motive was to acquire the event record data stored in the key, although he can think of no reason as to why Josuke would want it.

Milagro Man
Two weeks before Kaato Higashikata is released from jail, Joshu goes to a greet-and-meet for an idol. As he buys goodies, he antagonizes a client and steals the man's wallet, which was left at the counter. Going on a shopping spree, Joshu slowly becomes suspicious at the fact that his money only keeps on increasing. It goes to the point that Joshu becomes paranoid about anyone stealing his money or simply noticing his unusual wealth. He also learns about the mysterious Milagro Man.

During an argument with a taxi driver, Joshu accidentally burns one of the bank notes he has and is submerged by bank notes spawning from the damaged bill. Burdened with his money, Joshu manages to find the client he stole from, Zaihei Nigatake. Zaihei reveals an urban legend about the origin of the cursed money and tells Joshu to get lost. However, Joshu tricks Zaihei into tearing a bill and thus pass on the curse back to Zaihei before beating him up. Returning home, Josuke ponders on his worth in this world.

Ozon Baby's Pressure
Joshu is seen at the Higashikata House, having breakfast with his family as Jobin buries Ozon Baby in the garden. He measures the size and weight of the fish sausages the family is eating in order to find out if the company making them has made them smaller in exchange for having more sausages per package. To his dismay, the family ignores his "investigation" and eats all of the sausages.

After Ozon Baby is activated and the Higashikata household is affected by the Stand's ability, Joshu is seen bleeding from the face and unconscious on the couch alongside his father.

Equivalent Exchange and the University Hospital
After Poor Tom's death, the loss of the Rokakaka branch, and the destruction of the Higashikata orchard, Joshu becomes suspicious of the plant appraiser and accuses him of setting the orchard on fire, but his accusation is quickly shot down by Norisuke. After the appraiser explains how the Rokakaka will bear fruit in just ten days, Joshu accuses the appraiser of lying, but the appraiser explains how it is possible.

As the family wonders how they will recover from the loss of their orchard, Joshu proposes an idea of how the family could make money: a Matsutake mushroom hunting tour (turned into a bamboo shoot hunting tour in the Spring), as well as adopting red pandas and building a go-kart track. His fantasizing is interrupted by Daiya, who notifies him that everyone else has already left.

All Star Battle (PS3)
Joshu appears as a stage hazard and Situation Finish in the Wall Eyes stage. If one of the fighters is knocked down on the "hazard" indication area, Yasuho Hirose backs away in fright, causing Joshu to appear and run through the stage, knocking anyone who gets in his way down with a rock until he reaches her. Afterward, he can be heard having a conversation with Yasuho in the background.

As a Situation Finish, the losing side is knocked out near Yasuho, causing her to scream. Joshu becomes angry, walks up to the downed character, and finishes them off with the aforementioned rock (similar to how he attacks Josuke during their first encounter at the very beginning of Part 8).

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Joshu makes his first playable appearance in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven and was confirmed for the game alongside Josuke (JoJolion), Narciso Anasui, and Enrico Pucci with C-Moon.

Due to Joshu's lack of combat experience, having only recently discovered his Stand at the time of the game's development and release, his skillset is somewhat limited compared to other characters. His inclusion might simply be a result of Josuke lacking a proper partner to team up and have a Special Dual Heat Attack with. However, while sporting a low amount of abilities and skills, Joshu remains a viable fighter regardless. Joshu also has the slowest base movement speed in the entire game, but certain conditions can increase it to the fastest as well.


 * Style Action - What a stupid thing to say.: Joshu stops to make an irritating comment. This forces opponents within range to lock onto him and automatically unleash a Powerful Attack, and will also boost the Dual Heat Gauge by a considerable amount. Due to this effect, Joshu can easily leave opponents vulnerable if he guards or dodges the inevitable attack. However, Joshu is vulnerable for a brief period upon activating the skill, and his opponents will still land their attacks successfully if he does not defend in time.
 * Whoa! I did that!: Joshu reaches forward, and if he connects with an opponent, he will lift them up by their neck with one hand as nuts fall from their body. He then uses his other hand to punch them and send them flying, leaving them Panicked for a short amount of time. While Panicked, opponents cannot use any skills nor guard, rendering them especially vulnerable. The effect will be lifted early if Joshu is hit by certain attacks or a DHA.
 * The Screw: Joshu falls backwards and sits on the ground as Nut King Call advances forward with its arm outstretched. If NKC connects with an opponent, it will implant large bolts into their bodies, paralyzing them and leaving them open to further attacks. Quickly moving the movement stick around can shorten the time bound.
 * I did it! Me! Ahahahahaha!: Joshu begins running around hysterically while holding himself. The skill's cooldown gauge then changes into a depleting timer; if Joshu successfully empties the gauge via his running, he will stop and laugh uncontrollably. This generates multiple beneficial effects: Joshu gains a temporary boost to attack power and Dual Heat Gauge charge rate, all of his skills will be instantly taken off cooldown (including EX skills), and a Flash Cancel and Flash Burst is restored if they have been consumed. Joshu can interrupt his run with any action without canceling the skill; the timer's depletion will only slow and Joshu will resume running if no actions are taken afterward. However, if Joshu is hit by or blocks an attack, or initiates a Dual Combo or DHA, the skill will deactivate and the cooldown will begin from wherever the timer leaves off.
 * EX - The Screw: The skill activates quicker and Joshu is invincible until Nut King Call begins moving. NKC will move a slight distance further, extend its arm's reach, and deal more damage.
 * EX - I did it! Me! Ahahahahaha!: Joshu runs at a much faster speed. The timer gauge will deplete at a considerably faster rate, and will also not slow down upon him taking action.
 * Of note is that if Joshu has a Soul Succession active, the effects of the speed boosts are multiplicative, causing him to sprint at a superhuman pace. This allows him to traverse one end of any stage to the other in only a matter of seconds, and gives him the fastest running speed of any character in the game bar none as long as the skill is active. The speed increase is such that Joshu can outrun most characters' Homing Dash.

JoJolities

 * She even lets me give her kisses...: Joshu must use his Style Action 3 times. (200 Points)
 * Wait... I'm the one doing this! Yeaaaah!!: Joshu must connect "Whoa! I did that!". (200 Points)
 * Gross alert! Gross alert!: Joshu must break a Panicked opponent's health gauge. (300 Points)
 * He's a surprisingly good and honest guy...: Joshu must finish his run after activating "I did it! Me! Ahahahahaha!". (500 Points)
 * What an unbelievably crazy battle!: Joshu must Retire an opponent without losing a single health gauge. (800 Points)

Dual Heat Attacks

 * Solo - Wait... I'm the one doing this! Yeaaaah!!: Joshu, sitting on the ground, realizes Nut King Call has started acting on its own. The opponent suddenly has nuts and bolts embedded into their body when NKC stands up. As the nuts begin automatically undoing themselves from their bolts, the opponent violently falls apart and is soon completely dismantled.
 * With Josuke - We're friends, right?: Joshu and Josuke discuss their "friendship" status as Soft & Wet delivers a punch that downs the opponent. Joshu and Nut King Call hastily move in to finish them off, but fails to notice a bubble by Soft & Wet that steals the ground's friction, making him slip and spin out of control. Accelerating to high-speeds, Joshu is only stopped when he inevitably crashes into the downed opponent as Josuke humorously looks on.

Tournament
He is paired with Diavolo in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, having been placed in the F Block series of battles to be incorporated into the main Tournament. They were eliminated in the first round by Bruno Bucciarati and Trish Una.

Gallery
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