Hirohiko Araki, the creator of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, is a famous music obsessive — and he hid his record collection in plain sight. From Part 4 onward, the series' signature "Stands" are named almost entirely after Western rock and pop: bands, songs, and albums. Once you notice it, you can't stop.
Here's the secret playlist.
It didn't start with music
Worth clearing up first: not every Stand is a music reference. In Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, the Stands are named after the Tarot Major Arcana (Star Platinum, Magician's Red, Hierophant Green) and Egyptian gods. The music convention really kicks in with Part 4 — and then never stops.
Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable
Diamond is Unbreakable is where the jukebox opens up:
- Echoes — the Pink Floyd song
- Crazy Diamond — from Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
- Killer Queen — the Queen song
- Red Hot Chili Pepper — the band
- Aerosmith, Pearl Jam — the bands
- Highway Star — the Deep Purple song
The protagonist and the main villain both carry Pink Floyd on their backs. That's not an accident.
Part 5: Golden Wind
Golden Wind might be the most music-saturated part of all:
- Gold Experience — Prince's album The Gold Experience
- Sticky Fingers — the Rolling Stones album
- Sex Pistols — the band
- King Crimson — the band
- Purple Haze — the Jimi Hendrix song
- Metallica, Green Day, Oasis — the bands
It's basically a classic-rock radio station with a body count.
Parts 6–8: the hits keep coming
- Part 6 (Stone Ocean): Stone Free (Hendrix), Weather Report, Foo Fighters, Bohemian Rhapsody and Made in Heaven (both Queen)
- Part 7 (Steel Ball Run): Tusk (Fleetwood Mac), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC), Scary Monsters (David Bowie)
- Part 8 (JoJolion): Soft & Wet and Paisley Park (both Prince), Born This Way (Lady Gaga)
The copyright problem (and the funniest part)
Here's the catch: naming your villain's power after a living band is fine in a Japanese manga, but the moment JoJo goes global, those names are lawsuits waiting to happen. So official English releases — games, dubs, subtitles — often rename the Stands. The results range from subtle to absurd:
- Killer Queen → Deadly Queen
- Crazy Diamond → Shining Diamond
- Sex Pistols → Six Bullets
- Black Sabbath → Shadow Sabbath
- Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap → Filthy Acts, at a Reasonable Price
- Limp Bizkit → Flaccid Pancake
- Green Day → Green Tea
- Oasis → Sanctuary
"Flaccid Pancake" alone may be the single funniest consequence of copyright law in anime history.
Why it matters
The Stand names aren't just trivia — they're a window into Araki's taste and a running joke that rewards music fans with a second layer of references. Half the fun of a JoJo rewatch is catching the album you didn't recognize the first time.
So next time a Stand shows up, listen closely. There's a good chance you already know its name from a record sleeve.
Ready for a rewatch? See where Diamond is Unbreakable and Golden Wind land on our all-time rankings.
Sources: Why JoJo Stand names are changed in localization (Game Rant), Strangest localized Stand names (CBR), JoJo Wiki: Name Variants