Is That a Jojo Reference

2009Catchphrase / rhetorical questionclassic

Also known as: Is This a JoJo Reference? · JoJo Reference

Is That a JoJo Reference?" is a 2009 4chan catchphrase mockingly used by anime fans to spot connections to Hirohiko Araki's *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* in everyday situations and artwork.

"Is That a JoJo Reference?" is a rhetorical question used ironically by anime fans who spot anything remotely connected to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*, Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga and anime series. Originating on 4chan's /a/ board in 2009, the phrase mocks the fandom's tendency to find JoJo connections in everything from casual poses to random kanji, and it became one of anime fandom's most persistent in-jokes across Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook through the mid-2010s1.

otaku culture memesfandom discourse memesjojos bizarre adventure memespokemonfan art memes

TL;DR

"Is That a JoJo Reference?" is a rhetorical question used ironically by anime fans who spot anything remotely connected to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*, Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga and anime series.

Overview

The meme takes the form of someone asking "Is that a JoJo reference?" in response to virtually anything that could be loosely connected to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*. The humor comes from the series' massive cultural footprint. Because *JoJo's* ran for decades and influenced countless other manga, anime, and video games, fans started finding "references" everywhere, whether intentional or not1. A character striking a dramatic pose? JoJo reference. Someone saying "oh no"? JoJo reference. Breathing? Believe it or not, JoJo reference2.

The joke works on two levels: it pokes fun at overeager JoJo fans who genuinely see connections everywhere, and it's also a self-aware bit where fans deliberately exaggerate the meme's reach for comedic effect2.

The phrase first appeared on September 13, 2009, in a thread on 4chan's /a/ board1. An anonymous poster used the exact words "Is this a JoJo reference?" in response to the exclamation "FUCK YEAH NAGARSUMI!" The earliest known ironic usage followed shortly after on December 9, 2009, also on /a/1.

The joke had natural roots. *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* launched in 1987 and by 2009 was one of the longest-running series published by Shueisha in *Weekly Shonen Jump*1. Over its decades of publication, JoJo's influence seeped into other manga, anime, and fighting games. Characters like Guile and Rose from *Street Fighter* drew design inspiration from JoJo characters Rudol von Stroheim and Lisa Lisa, while Benimaru from *The King of Fighters* was modeled after Jean Pierre Polnareff1. With so many genuine references baked into Japanese pop culture, the jump to ironic overuse was inevitable.

Origin & Background

Platform
4chan /a/ (anime & manga board)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2009
Year
2009

The phrase first appeared on September 13, 2009, in a thread on 4chan's /a/ board. An anonymous poster used the exact words "Is this a JoJo reference?" in response to the exclamation "FUCK YEAH NAGARSUMI!" The earliest known ironic usage followed shortly after on December 9, 2009, also on /a/.

The joke had natural roots. *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* launched in 1987 and by 2009 was one of the longest-running series published by Shueisha in *Weekly Shonen Jump*. Over its decades of publication, JoJo's influence seeped into other manga, anime, and fighting games. Characters like Guile and Rose from *Street Fighter* drew design inspiration from JoJo characters Rudol von Stroheim and Lisa Lisa, while Benimaru from *The King of Fighters* was modeled after Jean Pierre Polnareff. With so many genuine references baked into Japanese pop culture, the jump to ironic overuse was inevitable.

How It Spread

The meme stayed mostly within 4chan's anime boards through the early 2010s, but picked up momentum as *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* got new anime adaptations starting in 2012.

On April 22, 2015, Redditor SamuraiDDD posted "Name an anime that has a good JoJo reference" to r/stardustcrusaders, drawing a wave of sarcastic replies that treated the question as absurd since fans could find JoJo references in just about anything.

YouTube got involved in September 2016 when creator Mundano XXXIII uploaded "How JoJo's fans see Eevee Z-Move," editing *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* music over a *Pokémon Sun & Moon* gameplay clip. The video played on the idea that JoJo fans can't watch anything without hearing Roundabout in their heads.

November 2016 saw the meme hit critical mass across multiple platforms. On November 3, a 4chan thread on /vp/ (Pokémon) featured a screenshot of the board header with the caption "Is this a Jojo reference?". Two weeks later on November 17, someone posted an *Expand Dong*-style image reading "not everything is a Jojo's Bizzare Adventure reference you fucking weeaboo" to /vp/.

Facebook communities picked it up by late November. The Jojo's Meme Adventure page posted "is this a Jojo's reference" on November 24, pulling over 430 reactions. Six days later, a dedicated "Is This a Jojo Reference?" Facebook page launched and attracted more than 10,300 likes within two months.

Fan art crossovers helped spread the meme further. On January 15, 2017, DeviantArtist TheSteveYurko uploaded a JoJo/Pokémon crossover illustration titled "Is this a JoJo reference?!".

Platforms

TwitterRedditDiscordTikTokanime forums

Timeline

2016

Phrase gains popularity in JoJo communities

2017-01-01

Is That a Jojo Reference started spreading across social media platforms

2018

Becomes mainstream meme beyond anime circles

2019-01-01

Brands and companies started using Is That a Jojo Reference in marketing

2021-01-01

Is That a Jojo Reference entered the broader pop culture conversation

2022

Remains active as JoJo content continues

2025-01-01

Is That a Jojo Reference is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format is simple. When you see literally anything that could be tenuously linked to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*, you ask "Is that a JoJo reference?" The funnier the stretch, the better the joke.

Common triggers include: - Someone striking a dramatic or flamboyant pose - Any instance of floating or exploding text/kanji - Muscular characters drawn in exaggerated poses - "To Be Continued" arrows or roundabout music - The word "bizarre" appearing in any context - Someone breathing (because Hamon, the series' power system, is literally breathing-based)

The meme typically shows up as a comment under videos, images, or posts. Some versions use the format as an image macro with a screenshot from the anime, while others are just the text question dropped into comment sections. The most committed versions involve spotting "JoJo references" in completely unrelated media like cooking shows, nature documentaries, or corporate presentations.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The meme became so widespread that it shaped how people outside the JoJo fandom understood the series. For many, "Is that a JoJo reference?" was their first exposure to the franchise, making the meme itself a gateway drug to the anime. Urban Dictionary entries for the phrase capture this dynamic, with one definition noting that JoJo fans will call "basically anything that comes out of a person's mouth" a JoJo reference.

The meme also fed back into the fandom's identity. JoJo fans leaned into the reputation of seeing references everywhere, making the self-aware joke part of the community's culture. The *Pokémon* fandom became a frequent target, with multiple crossover moments on both /vp/ and r/pokemon showing fans editing JoJo music or poses into Pokémon content.

Fun Facts

*JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* has been running since 1987, giving it nearly four decades of material for fans to find "references" to, which is part of why the meme works so well.

Several *Street Fighter* characters were genuinely designed as JoJo homages, meaning some "JoJo references" that fans point out are actually real.

The dedicated Facebook page for the meme hit 10,300 likes in just two months after launching in November 2016.

The meme is self-reinforcing: the more people joke about everything being a JoJo reference, the more things actually start looking like JoJo references to newcomers.

Derivatives & Variations

JoJo pose compilations

A variation of Is That a Jojo Reference

(2016)

Spot the JoJo reference videos

A variation of Is That a Jojo Reference

(2016)

JoJo memes in unrelated contexts

A variation of Is That a Jojo Reference

(2016)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is That a Jojo Reference

2009Catchphrase / rhetorical questionclassic

Also known as: Is This a JoJo Reference? · JoJo Reference

Is That a JoJo Reference?" is a 2009 4chan catchphrase mockingly used by anime fans to spot connections to Hirohiko Araki's *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* in everyday situations and artwork.

"Is That a JoJo Reference?" is a rhetorical question used ironically by anime fans who spot anything remotely connected to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*, Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga and anime series. Originating on 4chan's /a/ board in 2009, the phrase mocks the fandom's tendency to find JoJo connections in everything from casual poses to random kanji, and it became one of anime fandom's most persistent in-jokes across Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook through the mid-2010s.

otaku culture memes fandom discourse memes jojos bizarre adventure memes pokemon fan art memes

TL;DR

"Is That a JoJo Reference?" is a rhetorical question used ironically by anime fans who spot anything remotely connected to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*, Hirohiko Araki's long-running manga and anime series.

Overview

The meme takes the form of someone asking "Is that a JoJo reference?" in response to virtually anything that could be loosely connected to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*. The humor comes from the series' massive cultural footprint. Because *JoJo's* ran for decades and influenced countless other manga, anime, and video games, fans started finding "references" everywhere, whether intentional or not. A character striking a dramatic pose? JoJo reference. Someone saying "oh no"? JoJo reference. Breathing? Believe it or not, JoJo reference.

The joke works on two levels: it pokes fun at overeager JoJo fans who genuinely see connections everywhere, and it's also a self-aware bit where fans deliberately exaggerate the meme's reach for comedic effect.

The phrase first appeared on September 13, 2009, in a thread on 4chan's /a/ board. An anonymous poster used the exact words "Is this a JoJo reference?" in response to the exclamation "FUCK YEAH NAGARSUMI!" The earliest known ironic usage followed shortly after on December 9, 2009, also on /a/.

The joke had natural roots. *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* launched in 1987 and by 2009 was one of the longest-running series published by Shueisha in *Weekly Shonen Jump*. Over its decades of publication, JoJo's influence seeped into other manga, anime, and fighting games. Characters like Guile and Rose from *Street Fighter* drew design inspiration from JoJo characters Rudol von Stroheim and Lisa Lisa, while Benimaru from *The King of Fighters* was modeled after Jean Pierre Polnareff. With so many genuine references baked into Japanese pop culture, the jump to ironic overuse was inevitable.

Origin & Background

Platform
4chan /a/ (anime & manga board)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2009
Year
2009

The phrase first appeared on September 13, 2009, in a thread on 4chan's /a/ board. An anonymous poster used the exact words "Is this a JoJo reference?" in response to the exclamation "FUCK YEAH NAGARSUMI!" The earliest known ironic usage followed shortly after on December 9, 2009, also on /a/.

The joke had natural roots. *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* launched in 1987 and by 2009 was one of the longest-running series published by Shueisha in *Weekly Shonen Jump*. Over its decades of publication, JoJo's influence seeped into other manga, anime, and fighting games. Characters like Guile and Rose from *Street Fighter* drew design inspiration from JoJo characters Rudol von Stroheim and Lisa Lisa, while Benimaru from *The King of Fighters* was modeled after Jean Pierre Polnareff. With so many genuine references baked into Japanese pop culture, the jump to ironic overuse was inevitable.

How It Spread

The meme stayed mostly within 4chan's anime boards through the early 2010s, but picked up momentum as *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* got new anime adaptations starting in 2012.

On April 22, 2015, Redditor SamuraiDDD posted "Name an anime that has a good JoJo reference" to r/stardustcrusaders, drawing a wave of sarcastic replies that treated the question as absurd since fans could find JoJo references in just about anything.

YouTube got involved in September 2016 when creator Mundano XXXIII uploaded "How JoJo's fans see Eevee Z-Move," editing *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* music over a *Pokémon Sun & Moon* gameplay clip. The video played on the idea that JoJo fans can't watch anything without hearing Roundabout in their heads.

November 2016 saw the meme hit critical mass across multiple platforms. On November 3, a 4chan thread on /vp/ (Pokémon) featured a screenshot of the board header with the caption "Is this a Jojo reference?". Two weeks later on November 17, someone posted an *Expand Dong*-style image reading "not everything is a Jojo's Bizzare Adventure reference you fucking weeaboo" to /vp/.

Facebook communities picked it up by late November. The Jojo's Meme Adventure page posted "is this a Jojo's reference" on November 24, pulling over 430 reactions. Six days later, a dedicated "Is This a Jojo Reference?" Facebook page launched and attracted more than 10,300 likes within two months.

Fan art crossovers helped spread the meme further. On January 15, 2017, DeviantArtist TheSteveYurko uploaded a JoJo/Pokémon crossover illustration titled "Is this a JoJo reference?!".

Platforms

TwitterRedditDiscordTikTokanime forums

Timeline

2016

Phrase gains popularity in JoJo communities

2017-01-01

Is That a Jojo Reference started spreading across social media platforms

2018

Becomes mainstream meme beyond anime circles

2019-01-01

Brands and companies started using Is That a Jojo Reference in marketing

2021-01-01

Is That a Jojo Reference entered the broader pop culture conversation

2022

Remains active as JoJo content continues

2025-01-01

Is That a Jojo Reference is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The format is simple. When you see literally anything that could be tenuously linked to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*, you ask "Is that a JoJo reference?" The funnier the stretch, the better the joke.

Common triggers include: - Someone striking a dramatic or flamboyant pose - Any instance of floating or exploding text/kanji - Muscular characters drawn in exaggerated poses - "To Be Continued" arrows or roundabout music - The word "bizarre" appearing in any context - Someone breathing (because Hamon, the series' power system, is literally breathing-based)

The meme typically shows up as a comment under videos, images, or posts. Some versions use the format as an image macro with a screenshot from the anime, while others are just the text question dropped into comment sections. The most committed versions involve spotting "JoJo references" in completely unrelated media like cooking shows, nature documentaries, or corporate presentations.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

The meme became so widespread that it shaped how people outside the JoJo fandom understood the series. For many, "Is that a JoJo reference?" was their first exposure to the franchise, making the meme itself a gateway drug to the anime. Urban Dictionary entries for the phrase capture this dynamic, with one definition noting that JoJo fans will call "basically anything that comes out of a person's mouth" a JoJo reference.

The meme also fed back into the fandom's identity. JoJo fans leaned into the reputation of seeing references everywhere, making the self-aware joke part of the community's culture. The *Pokémon* fandom became a frequent target, with multiple crossover moments on both /vp/ and r/pokemon showing fans editing JoJo music or poses into Pokémon content.

Fun Facts

*JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* has been running since 1987, giving it nearly four decades of material for fans to find "references" to, which is part of why the meme works so well.

Several *Street Fighter* characters were genuinely designed as JoJo homages, meaning some "JoJo references" that fans point out are actually real.

The dedicated Facebook page for the meme hit 10,300 likes in just two months after launching in November 2016.

The meme is self-reinforcing: the more people joke about everything being a JoJo reference, the more things actually start looking like JoJo references to newcomers.

Derivatives & Variations

JoJo pose compilations

A variation of Is That a Jojo Reference

(2016)

Spot the JoJo reference videos

A variation of Is That a Jojo Reference

(2016)

JoJo memes in unrelated contexts

A variation of Is That a Jojo Reference

(2016)

Frequently Asked Questions