# Is That a 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[1]. ## Origin The phrase first appeared on September 13, 2009, in a thread on 4chan's /a/ board[3]. 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/[3]. 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*[3]. 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[3]. With so many genuine references baked into Japanese pop culture, the jump to ironic overuse was inevitable. - **Platform:** 4chan /a/ (anime & manga board) - **Creator:** Unknown (anonymous 4chan user) - **Date:** 2009 ## 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[3]. A character striking a dramatic pose? JoJo reference. Someone saying "oh no"? JoJo reference. Breathing? Believe it or not, JoJo reference[1]. 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[1]. ## 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[3]. 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[3]. 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?"[3]. 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/[3]. 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[3]. Six days later, a dedicated "Is This a Jojo Reference?" Facebook page launched and attracted more than 10,300 likes within two months[3]. 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?!"[3]. ## How to Use 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[1]. The most committed versions involve spotting "JoJo references" in completely unrelated media like cooking shows, nature documentaries, or corporate presentations. ## 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[1]. 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[1]. 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[3]. ## 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[3]. - Several *Street Fighter* characters were genuinely designed as JoJo homages, meaning some "JoJo references" that fans point out are actually real[3]. - The dedicated Facebook page for the meme hit 10,300 likes in just two months after launching in November 2016[3]. - 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[1]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Where did "Is That a JoJo Reference" come from? The phrase first appeared on 4chan's /a/ board on September 13, 2009, with the earliest ironic usage following on December 9, 2009[3]. ### What does "Is That a JoJo Reference" mean? It's a humorous way of pointing out that JoJo fans see references to the series in everything, whether the connection is real or imagined[1]. **How do you use "Is That a JoJo Reference?"** Drop the question as a comment whenever you see something that could be tenuously connected to JoJo, like a dramatic pose, floating text, or someone breathing dramatically[3]. ### Is "Is That a JoJo Reference" still popular? The meme peaked in the mid-2010s but is still widely recognized and used in anime communities, especially when new JoJo content drops[3]. ### Why do JoJo fans see references in everything? Because the manga ran for decades and influenced many other anime, games, and media, there are genuine homages scattered across pop culture, which fans then exaggerate for humor[3]. ### What are some real JoJo references in other media? Characters like Guile and Rose from *Street Fighter* were designed as homages to JoJo characters Rudol von Stroheim and Lisa Lisa[3]. ### When did the meme go viral? The meme gained major traction in late 2016, with dedicated Facebook pages, YouTube edits, and 4chan threads all hitting within November of that year[3]. ### Is the "To Be Continued" meme related? Yes, "To Be Continued" video edits are a closely related JoJo meme format that uses the series' signature cliffhanger card and the song Roundabout[3]. ### What is Expand Dong? It's a separate meme format involving cut-out letters arranged to spell absurd messages. An Expand Dong image telling people "not everything is a JoJo reference" became popular as a counter-meme in November 2016[3]. ## References 1. [Jojo Rabbit]() 2. [Is That a Jojo Reference - Urban Dictionary]() 3. [Is That a Jojo Reference - Know Your Meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/is-that-jojo-reference Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library