Anime illustration: a blond man in a gold-trimmed black coat grins with arms spread in a busy city square as a huge golden-outlined, spiked figure looms behind him, hurling a bus, a cyclist, pigeons, rubble and newspapers as panicked commuters flee.

Original artwork, not a still

Dio Brando

The World!

— JoJo's Bizarre Adventure • 2012

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

It is the series' best-known battle cry because it is a whole power in two words: a name, a command and a rule of the world. Stopping time is a kind of cheating, and the story's fight against it is a puzzle for the heroes to solve.

Context reviewed

In context

Spoilers for JoJo's Bizarre AdventureShow the scene

"The World" is both the name of Dio's Stand and his activation call, and it is shouted as he stops time. In Stardust Crusaders, the Joestar group follows him to Cairo, where he first reveals The World when it suddenly appears in front of Hierophant Green and defeats Kakyoin. DIO then stops time to dodge Kakyoin's attack barrier and strikes him down. Later in the same night he stops time again to fight Jotaro, and the Stand duels Star Platinum in the streets. DIO notes the stop lasts only about five seconds at this stage. The call recurs through the final battle.

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Context reviewed

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