Johnny Joestar

"It has, truly, been a roundabout path..."

- Johnny Joestar, SBR Chapter 85

Johnny Joestar (ジョニィ・ジョースター) is the protagonist of Steel Ball Run.

A former horse-racing prodigy turned paraplegic, Johnny joins The SBR race to find out the secret behind Gyro Zeppeli's Steel Balls as they're the only thing capable of healing his legs.

In the beginning, Johnny starts out as a supporting character to Gyro. When SBR was announced as Part VII in Volume 5 (a turning point for the whole series, switching from Weekly Shonen Jump to seinen magazine Ultra Jump) Johnny comes to stand as the main protagonist alongside Gyro.

Johnny is the alternate counterpart to Jonathan Joestar, protagonist of Part I.

Appearance
Johnny is a young man of below-average height and slim to medium build. He has light eyes, and light, shoulder-length hair curling upwards at its ends.

Johnny always wears a knit cap, printed with many small five-pointed stars. His hair sticks out of holes on either side of the top, taking a shape like short horns. A horseshoe hangs from the front; framing an image of the dark silhouette of the profile of a horse's reared head.

Johnny wears similarly star-patterned pants; of a piece with footwear bearing spurs. He commonly wears a light-colored, hooded, short-sleeved top; printed with thick lines in the approximate formation of a harness (later, with patches in the shape of hearts adorning both shoulders). A long feather (bordered by black with one black spot at its tip) emerges from under the back of his collar; and he wears wrist cuffs patterned with stars and stripes.

In cold weather, Johnny wears a longer-sleeved top of a similar design. His collar is outlined with fur, and he keeps several feathers at his back.

As a paraplegic, before the beginning of the race he is seen using a wheelchair; but during, he is usually mounted on his horse, Slow Dancer.

During the course of the series, Johnny gradually changes into a more realistic appearance; with slightly wavy hair and a slightly fuller build.