Jonathan embarks on a journey, meets new allies and masters the technique of Hamon to stop Dio, who has made world domination his new goal.

[citation needed] Jonathan's physical transformation during the seven year skip was done with his upcoming battle with Dio in mind and inspired by muscular film actors popular at the time, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

Roots follows the life of African-American slave Kunta Kinte and his descendants, which while watching Araki began to see as a story of family at heart as opposed to one about slavery and racial discrimination.

This influenced Araki's decision to ultimately kill Jonathan Joestar and write a generational story as opposed to focusing on a single protagonist, passing on his "Spirit" to his own descendants.

[8] The protagonist of Phantom Blood, Jonathan is the son of George Joestar I who carries his surname with pride while striving to be a gentleman who never betrays his code of honor and defending those in need even when at a grave disadvantage.

Steel Ball Run, set in a rebooted-universe introduces a version of Jonathan named Johnny Joestar who was a Kentucky-born horse racing prodigy that got paralyzed from the waist down.

He participates in the Steel Ball Run competition to have Gyro Zeppeli teach him to use the Spin technique to regain his mobility while developing his Stand Tusk.

"[9] Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network described Jonathan as "not only the world's burliest pre-teen, he's also the sweetest, and having never before been faced with such cruelty, he doesn't know what to do" and views him as a weaker character than the villain Dio.

[10] Similarly, Otaku USA said that despite his innocence, Jonathan was a "bland, passive character suited" due to how weak he is written when dealing with Dio.

[11] Rice Digital referred to Jonathan's portrayal as "mildly generic anime hero beginning stuff" during early chapters of the manga.

[17] Silverman praised the growth Jonathan has with his powers as he comes as a more heroic figure when dealing with his enemy, with the appeal being something that influenced future manga in retrospect.

However, Anime UK News felt that Jonathan was the only protagonist in the entire manga that undergoes a character arc and thus grows more sympathy for the viewer in his final fight against Dio.