Jo Amon (亜門 丈, Amon Jō) is a recurring minor antagonist in the Yakuza series introduced in the original Yakuza. He is the second leader of the Amon Clan, after his father So Amon, and the most recurring member featured in Kazuma Kiryu's saga.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Jo matches Kiryu in build as a result of his rigorous training. He has short black hair slicked back and has prominent sideburns. His face is in a nearly constant scowl, just like the rest of the Amon Clan. Per Minamida's account, Jo has numerous scars across his body.[3] In Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, he uses Shin Amon's character model for unknown reasons.
Attire[]
Jo's signature all-black attire consists of a car coat worn over a dress shirt, pants, and dress shoes. He is always seen with his trademark aviator sunglasses. In Yakuza 0, he also wears a dark gray fedora similar to Sango Amon's.
Personality[]
— Jo to Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 3 RemasteredHowever, there is one thing our clan considers a worse evil than death... and that's for the defeated to live on on his weakness. Or her. His or her weakness. "Their" works, too. Kazuma Kiryu, you defeated me, yet you left me clinging to a miserable existence. Your act of allowing me to live is folly and a mortal sin in the eyes of my clan. In my eyes, you—Kazuma Kiryu—are the strongest life form. As long as you live, I cannot truly be complete.
Jo is a ruthless and cold-blooded individual likely as a result of his profession which he executes with deadly accuracy. Like the rest of his clan he is prideful to no known boundaries and seeks to prove that the Amon Clan are the strongest fighters in the world. With none of his targets ever surviving, he is very confident in his abilities.
The sole exception however, is Kiryu, as Jo has been defeated by him in all of their encounters, severely damaging his pride and leaving him with years worth of obsession to defeat Kiryu, training himself almost to death and in the most extreme areas possible in order to become strong enough to defeat Kiryu.
His obsession is such that he will do everything that is needed in order to defeat him, going as far as assaulting Sotaro Komaki to steal his scroll of secrets in order to learn more powerful techniques, coerce Minamida, and even went as far as threatening Kiryu over the phone that if he did not face him, he would kill somebody dear to him every month and if there was no one left, he would kill anybody that ever knew Kiryu with malicious glee.
His pride goes to the point that he demanded Kiryu to kill him after his third defeat or else he will kill somebody dear (seemingly in an attempt to make him "lose" by turning him into a murderer and thus reject his principles).
In later games this psychotic behavior is less visible although he remains just as malevolent as the cumulative insults earned through his defeat have made him declare that defeating Kiryu alone will not satisfy him but that he will injure him to the point that he cannot fight any longer.
In the end, while his pride and desire for revenge are the fuel for his continuous growth in strength, it is also his greatest downfall as his cumulative negative motivations impede him from acquiring true strength, which is why Kiryu manages to always beat him.
Involvement[]
Yakuza 0: 1988[]
- Main article: Sotenbori in Peril
For Jo's first mission as an Amon Clan member, he is ordered by his father, So Amon, to battle and defeat Goro Majima. While considering various ways to greet Majima, Majima suddenly arrives. Jo proceeds to explain the situation, and Majima accepts the fight.
After an intense battle, Jo is defeated by Majima. With the shame of failing his first mission, Jo requests to be killed by Majima; however, Majima denies, causing Jo to feel shamed even further. Before departing, Jo promises he will train for the next 17 years, claims that Majima will regret letting him live, and that someone stronger will regret it even more.
Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami: 2005[]
- Main article: The Last Assassin
In his first appearance, Jo is a hidden boss, only encountered after completing every substory successfully. As he believes himself to be the sole master of this world, he challenges Kazuma Kiryu to a duel, but loses, which then sparks a rivalry between the two.
Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2: 2006[]
In Yakuza 2, Jo employs the services of his three apprentices Kazuya, Jiro, and Sango in order to attack and defeat Kazuma Kiryu. However (and arguably expectant that they'd lose) he assaults Sotaro Komaki and steals his scroll of secret arts waiting for Kiryu at the pier having apparently mastered the arts of the scroll. When Kiryu appears before him he reveals that he trained in Mexico, the Himalayas and swam 10 laps on Iceland's frozen cliffs. Eventually and despite his arsenal of attacks he is unable to fully master the Komaki style's ultimate techniques and is defeated. He then returns the scroll to Kiryu.
Yakuza Kiwami 2: While the story is the same, Jo is found in the lobby of the Millennium Tower rather than the pier. He now changes his way of attacking to four different katana (Sakura Fubuki/Lightsaber/Red Lightsaber/Two Lightsaber style), and he can also throw grenades to stop a combo. Additionally, after beating him, he can be found on the roof of Serena to be recruited into Majima Construction, and can be refought in the Coliseum.
Yakuza 3: 2009[]
- Main article: Amon (Yakuza 3)
Jo's obsession with Kiryu reaches its peak and he contracts the services of Dr. Minamida in order to develop his game machine, giving him the blueprints needed. Minamida then creates his virtual device which Jo wanted in order to play the game itself and adapt the techniques of Kiryu and of several of Jo's already faced enemies, showing monstrous levels of proficiency that scared Minamida, with the machine being made with the sole purpose of helping him defeat Kiryu.
After Minamida witnesses Jo killing a man he had hired Minamida knew he'd be killed next and thus escaped into Kamurocho knowing Jo wouldn't follow since Kiryu would be there. Upon meeting the real Kiryu he was joyed that he could find salvation and had Kiryu play his game.
Eventually Minamida tells the truth to Kiryu but the two are interrupted by Jo who calls both of them by cell phone. He reveals that he had taken the data from Minamida and also manufactured his own machine since the design was originally his and only gave Minamida the blueprints in order to test whether the machine could be used on regular people.
His psychotic personality comes to face when he demands Kiryu to face him now or he will kill somebody close to him every month (having apparently done a full background check on Morning Glory Orphanage) and if he even refuses to comply, he will murder anybody that has ever known Kiryu one person per month so as to torment him with the guilt.
Kiryu faces Jo and defeats him, with the latter demanding Kiryu to kill him or he will have his loved ones killed. Kiryu refuses and claims he will not break his code to not kill and will not play by Jo's rules and that if he so desires he will face him as many times as needed and not to get anybody else involved, leaving Jo alone.
Apparently accepting he could not defeat Kiryu neither in combat or in ideology, he vanishes for the time being.
Yakuza 4: 2010[]
- Main article: Amon (Yakuza 4)
Jo sends a letter to Kiryu challenging him to fight him and his apprentices. Kiryu in response brings his own friends to match the Amon Clan in number. He watches as all his comrades are defeated and declares that all of them were only the warmup and that the real show would begun. Kiryu defeats Jo once again, leaving the group to vow to return stronger.
Yakuza 5: 2012[]
- Main article: Amon (Yakuza 5)
Jo brings members of the Amon Clan to assist in fighting Kiryu, who invites his three friends to even the match. Jo grows impatient with each subsequent defeat of his apprentices. Feeling insulted by all the numerous defeats handed down by Kiryu, he vows to defeat him and leave him to the point he cannot fight anymore. Despite this, Kiryu defeats him once more and tells him that, so long as he sticks to pride and revenge, he will never acquire true strength and defeat the likes of those that hold to their dreams. Jo vows to return stronger and face Kiryu once more.
Yakuza 6: 2016[]
- Main article: Jo Amon (Yakuza 6)
Jo will contact Kiryu via e-mail to fight him after completing two certain substories. His initial phase is somewhat similar to his previous encounters, however things will change when his health is at a lower level where his defense increases and he starts to summon drones and land mines that may interrupt Kiryu's attacks. Once defeated, Kiryu offers him a chance to join his family, which he agrees. This enables him to be recruited as a member on the Clan Creator mode.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth: 2023[]
Once Kiryu returns to Japan, his presence is quickly detected by the Amon Clan. Aware of Kiryu's cancer and necessity to rely on others to fight, Jo sends a message telling him to go to Isezaki Ijincho's Restaurant Row, alone. There, he challenges Kiryu once again. Yu Nanba, Saeko Mukoda and Seonhee arrive to see what's happening. They fight against Jo, but Kiryu loses instantly. When Jo threatens to kill one of his comrades for the sake of reawakening the dragon, Kiryu brutally beats Amon the same way he used to. Jo, now realizing that Kiryu's strength comes from his new bonds, decides to leave him be until those bonds are strong enough for them to have another match.
Jo appears as the final boss of the Yokohama Underground EX Sector. Realizing that Kiryu has regained strength since their last encounter, Jo challenges Kiryu to a proper battle. He summons Kazuya, Jiro and Sango to assist him in his fight against Kiryu and his party, though all four of them are ultimately defeated. As Kiryu leaves the dungeon, Jo declares that the Amon Clan will be the one to kill him, and not his illness.
Other Media[]
Yakuza: Dead Souls: 2011[]
Jo makes a brief appearance once Kiryu explores the Kamurocho Subterranea a second time. He accuses the latter for having killed his apprentices, though Rasetsu Amon reveals himself to be the true perpetrator, and knocks Jo out. When Kiryu defeats Rasetsu and returns the Sacred Treasures, Jo thanks him for breaking the curse and promises another battle with him before modifying the Subterranea and subsequently leaving.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise[]
Amon appears in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, albiet with his name in katanaka (アモン). Having learned Kenshiro was in the city of Eden, he gives a letter to Lyra to have Kenshiro meet him at the Central Wasteland. There, he fights Kenshiro to prove his own lethal arts superior to Kenshiro's Hokuto Shinken. Amon loses this fight at the cost of his own life, but not before swearing that the Amon Clan would hunt Kenshiro down.
Fighting Style[]
Jo is easily the hardest to defeat enemy in the Yakuza series. Jo is a master assassin, martial artist and copycat, being able to use several weapons with deadly proficiency, utilize several hand-to-hand combat techniques and is also able to adapt and fully employ the styles of several different characters and mimic them perfectly. He can also (allegedly due to gameplay purposes only) employ mystical powers.
Yakuza[]
Jo utilizes both hand-to-hand combat and usage of firearms, as he dual-wields handguns and throws grenades. He has nearly every single move from every enemy in the game, except the basic thug movesets. Even with Kiryu fully leveled up, Jo is a very formidable opponent due to his aggressiveness, massive moveset and overly high damage output.
- In his first phase, he wields two pistols and uses the movesets of Kazuto Arase, the heavy goons and Lau Ka Long's saber phase. He also uses Gaowayan Pramuk's flying knee attack.
- In his second phase, he holds grenades and uses the movesets of Gary Buster Holmes, Lau's unarmed phase, the boxing goons and the heavy goons. He also uses Jingu's bodyguards' flip kick and Hayashi's invincible spinning punch. He can throw grenades, which will either knock Kiryu down or stun him.
- In his third and final phase, he uses the movesets of Akira Nishikiyama, Lau Ka Long, Majima, the boxing goons and Lau's sabers. He also uses Jingu's bodyguards' rushing knife attack.
Across all his phases, Jo can use Lau Ka Long's saber spinning combo, the Komaki quickstep attack, Arase's dodge roll, the heavy goons' headbutt, Nishikiyama's running kick, Majima's low sweeping reverse right roundhouse kick and Majima's jumping stab. It is also worth noting that, unlike Kiryu, he can use the Komaki Tiger Drop and Komaki Knockback without even needing to be attacked first. He can Tiger Drop out of nowhere, use it as a counterattack (its intended purpose) or cancel his combos with it, and he can Knockback out of nowhere, use it as a guard reversal (its intended purpose), use it as a get-up attack or cancel his combos with it.
Yakuza 2[]
Jo fights on four phases, one for each bar of health he has.
- In his first phase, he wields a grenade and uses Majima's moveset. He can throw grenades.
- In his second phase, he wields a pistol and uses Arase and Majima's movesets. He may also do Hayashi's invincible kali stick spin and Nishikiyama's running kick.
- In his third phase, he wields two massive sci-fi guns and uses Arase's moveset. He frequently does Hayashi's kali stick spin.
- In his fourth phase, he wields two orange lightsabers and uses Hayashi's kali stick moveset.
Jo can enter an orange-colored Heat mode at random. He can also use the Ultimate Essence Heat Action wherein he slaps Kiryu, which will instantly kill him on Legend difficulty regardless of how much health Kiryu has. For whatever reason, his running animation tends to glitch out and make him appear as though he is phasing across the arena instead of running.
Yakuza 3[]
Jo fights on mostly two phases and is more or less a reverse of how he fought in the previous game.
- In his first phase, he wields two light-blue lightsabers and uses the default kali sticks moveset. He also uses Miyamoto Musashi's dual-sword style sidestep attacks from Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! and Hayashi's invincible kali stick spin from Yakuza 2.
- In his second phase, he wields two pistols and uses Andre Richardson's dual pistol moveset. He also uses Arase's pirouette shots, Lau Ka Long's spinning claw attack and throws round, black bombs that deal massive damage to Kiryu when they explode. Once his green health bar is depleted, he starts using more of Lau's moves, such as the jump-pirouette double kick, main claw combo and forward flip-to-claw slam.
Yakuza 4[]
Jo fights in two stages.
- In his first stage he uses Mine's moveset. He can throw stun grenades and bombs, and uses Kiryu's grab reversal throw. He can also cancel his combos into quickstep attacks, which Mine cannot.
- In his second stage he can switch between Kazuya, Jiro and Sango's movesets. While switching, he will drop the weapon/s he was previously using; however, Kiryu cannot pick them up as they disintegrate immediately after Jo drops them. He will also summon a black-colored death laser, the animation for which is copied from Boxcelios.
Yakuza 5[]
He uses Kiryu's Yakuza 4 moveset for the entire fight and none of his attacks can be blocked. He fights on several phases.
- During the first phase his attacks very much mirror Kiryu and has nothing special.
- On his second phase he enters Heat mode and remains in this state for the remainder of the fight. His attacks are more vicious, his grab power is increased and he can employ some of Kiryu's Heat Actions if the latter is downed.
- On his third phase he will imitate Sosuke Komaki and enter Dragon Spirit mode from brief periods of time but will continue to transition between his Heat mode and Dragon Spirit mode for the remainder of the battle. During Dragon Spirit he is immune to damage unless Kiryu uses his own Dragon Spirit.
- On his fourth phase when he enters Dragon Spirit mode he can dash and create fire that will knock Kiryu down although he will only do this if he is far from Kiryu, otherwise he will try to strike or grab him. His Dragon Spirit time is extended and his combos are more deadly.
- On his fifth and final phase whenever he enters Dragon Spirit mode he will summon several parasols very much like Sango did, making it far easier to him to knock Kiryu down and eventually unleash a full combo that can imitate Akiyama's technique and have him kick Kiryu on air repeatedly (however, Kiryu can dodge even if launched in mid-air).
Yakuza 0[]
Jo retains Kiryu's Dragon of Dojima style as his first style. In this style, he has a grab which cannot be escaped in time, and he is also able to quickstep cancel his attacks to fool or to escape the player. He also does massive damage if he manages to Tiger Drop. He can sometimes use Lao Gui's blade throw as a knockback.
On his second phase, he uses the Mad Dog of Shimano style. He does a lot of damage with his knife attacks in this style and is very fast. He can sometimes go for dash attacks that can make Majima collapse and do an incredible amount of damage. Jo's knives are infinite, and can be stolen using one of Majima's Thug style Heat Actions, however, the knives only have a durability of 1.
In both styles, Jo starts at normal or slightly above average speed, but as his HP decreases he becomes more relentless in both styles and is able to assault Majima several times in quick succession, regularly making it difficult to find room to attack or make some space.
He has a staggering 14 health bars, and when paired with his high damage output, health items are incredibly useful for this fight. However, in Yakuza 0, Jo can place his own personal brand of tissues as well as Staminan Spark lookalikes called Stanamin Spork in Majima's empty inventory slots. While incredibly similar to the normal counterpart (which even includes the same description), Stanamin Sporks deal massive damage to Majima when consumed, and lower his Heat bar significantly.
Yakuza Kiwami[]
In Yakuza Kiwami, Jo fights exactly the same as he did in 0, except that he throws grenades instead of blades, and starts with only 8 health bars. Once those 8 bars are depleted, he revives once with full health and switches to Mad Dog of Shimano, effectively giving him 16 health bars. He becomes even faster as his health decreases, and his version of Mad Dog Trick: Frenzy can instantly kill Kiryu.
Yakuza 6[]
Jo's fighting style drastically differs from those of the previous installments. The fight starts off simple enough, with Jo using attacks from multiple different bosses from Yakuza 6, as well as Shun Akiyama's stance. Said attacks include:
- Akiyama's combos,
- Tsuneo Iwami's outward hammerfist,
- Tsuneo's front snap kick,
- Joongi Han's dodge weaves and follow-up attacks,
- Tsuneo's command grab, and
- Tsuneo's downed attack.
His initial phase is easily manageable, though he can block Kiryu Tiger Drop on extremely rare occasions.
However, the fight starts to get more complicated when Jo's health has decreased to approximately 60%, when the first of many slow-flying drones appears, with more arriving as he continues to take damage. These drones do not deal any damage, but they will knock Kiryu off balance if they hit him, interrupting his attacks or breaking his guard. Although they appear very slowly, they will eventually increase to an overwhelming swarm. The drones will detonate after a while, telegraphed by a high-pitched beeping noise, and they will kill Kiryu if you allow him to become surrounded.
Jo enters Heat Mode after dropping below 50% health, becoming far more dangerous and gaining a number of extra moves, including:
- Iwami's Heat Mode combo,
- Kiryu's Extreme Heat Mode combo,
- Iwami's damage reversals, and
- Majima's pirouette attack from Yakuza 4, followed by Hiroshi Tanahashi's command grab.
His aura is red, like every other boss in Yakuza 6, and his attack trails have white highlights like Iwami.
When Jo's health has been depleted to around 20%, he will generate a spherical forcefield that increases his defense astronomically, rendering all of Kiryu's attacks trivial. Roombas will also begin to appear across the battlefield, which function as roaming, explosive mines. They pursue Kiryu at a slow pace and will eventually detonate, telegraphed by a beeping noise, causing large amounts of damage. However, the roombas can be picked up to used as weapons against Jo, and throwing them at him will neutralize his forcefield, allowing Kiryu to inflict sufficient damage.
Yakuza Kiwami 2[]
Like in the original, Jo fights with four phases as his health gets lower. However, his movesets differ from the ones he used in Yakuza 2.
- The first phase consists of him utilizing a Morning Tempest Katana, which has stun properties, attacking with wild swings (Saejima's sword moveset). As expected he also has a fairly high quickstep or block chance. He may also randomly counterattack by throwing various grenades- normal, stun, or incendiary.
- The second phase consists of him switching to a Photon Blade RG which deals more damage and has the possibility to shock Kiryu.
- For his third phase, Jo will enter Extreme Heat mode and switch to a Magic Katana (fire sword) which can set Kiryu aflame. His attack speed will pick up tremendously along with his damage increasing massively, with as little as one swing resulting in a one-hit KO depending on the difficulty and how much defense Kiryu has. He will rapidly swing the blade up close or use it to stab from a distance.
- As with the other Amon brothers, Jo will gain a red shield during his final phase making his defense increase significantly. He will switch to dual Photon Blades which can either shock or set Kiryu aflame. His damage will slightly lower, but combined with his rapid attacks they prove to be fatal. Sometimes he performs a spinning attack that stuns. Again as with the other Amon brothers, repeated Heat Actions will gradually deal less damage before eventually doing none at all (Extreme Heat Actions are no exception to this either). Jo's shield is permanent but can be broken by performing an Extreme Heat Rush Combo.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise[]
- In his first phase, Jo uses Kiryu's Dragon of Dojima style. After about 20% of his health has been depleted, he will grow in size until he is approximately 50 feet tall. He will regenerate the lost health and use Devil Rebirth's moveset.
- His second phase is unique in that it is not a fight, but a race. Amon will commandeer a black 1950's wagon and initiate a race against Kenshiro and his buggy.
- In his third phase, he uses Dragon of Dojima, Shin's moveset, Rei's moveset, Souther's flying kick, Raoh's Hokuto Gōshō Ha and Nadai's electrocuting stomp. When he is down to about 20% health, he will activate Kenshiro's talisman and can use any ability it provides, including afterimage creation and the amalgam-of-all-characters combo that Kenshiro can do when using the talisman.
Trivia[]
- One of the rewards for defeating Jo in the first Yakuza is 893 experience points. This is because 8-9-3, read as "ya-ku-sa" through GoroawaseWP, is the etymologicalWP origin of the word "Yakuza."
- Jo is one of only three characters to have appeared in every Kiryu saga game, the other two being Kiryu himself and Majima. Out of the three, he is the only one to have never been playable.
- Jo's death cry in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, as shown in the text box, is "Nagoshi!", in reference to Toshihiro Nagoshi, creator of the Yakuza series.
- Jo's appearance in Yakuza Kiwami marks the most health bars for a boss in the series, with 16 health bars total with both phases of his fight.
- He does not have any voice in Yakuza. In all subsequent entries, he has a voice, varying between reusing existing voice lines and having his own voice actor.
- In Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Jo and the rest of his brothers Sango, Kazuya and Jiro, are all seen using Shin Amon's face model (and hair as is with Jo) from Judgment, Lost Judgment, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon for reasons unknown.
Gallery[]
Ryu Ga Gotoku Online[]
.png "RGGO - Card - SSR Jo Amon (Snipe).png (351 KB)")
.png "RGGO - Card - SSR Jo Amon (Black).png (322 KB)")
.png "RGGO - Card - KSR Jo Amon (Kiwami).png (373 KB)")
.png "RGGO - Card - KSR Jo Amon (Summon).png (401 KB)")
.png "RGGO - Card - UR Jo Amon (Summon).png (384 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Coliseum Stats, Yakuza Kiwami 2 (2017; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2018), PlayStation 4/Windows/Xbox One/Amazon Luna.
- ↑ Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Substory - Sotenbori in Peril, Yakuza 0 (2015; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2017), PlayStation 3/PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows/Amazon Luna.
- ↑ Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Substory - Amon, Yakuza 3 Remastered (2009; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2019), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.— Minamida, Yakuza 3 Remastered
I'm not one for mysticism, but Amon had what can only be described as a foreboding aura about him. The scars all over his body didn't help, either.