Usually, when a villain appears in a show, movie, or even a video game, they have a musical theme that represents them. However, usually there's only one major antagonist, so there's little to compare their theme to. With another antagonist with their own musical theme, it's much easier to see how a theme represents and characterizes a villain.
This is where Jojo's Bizarre Adventure differs from many other television shows. The show has several antagonists and protagonists, each usually having their own theme. Because there are so many characters, we can very easily see how fitting music can be to a personality.
Let's start with the first Jojo villain, Dio Brando.
The listener is immediately hit with this insidious buzzing noise, like a fly buzzing in one's ear, or, in a more dark way, a fly buzzing around a corpse. Fitting, for a vampire intent on creating an army of zombies and becoming immortal. The second thing a listener might notice is the ominous, low tones, sending a message of dark intentions, a theme present throughout the entire song. A string instrument continues into medium pitch, while the lower string instrument plays an unsettling pattern of notes that don't sound pleasing together. This song characterizes a calculating villain, unhinged in his ambition, guided only by his goals and a possible flair for the dramatic. All the instruments build in volume until a climax - and then complete silence.
Spooky.
The second song is Rubicon, the theme of Santana.
This theme completely blows the first song out of the water in terms of creepy. It starts out with a quiet, but powerful bass drum, high pitched but unorganized sounds, and a constant whispering in the background. As if this wasn't all enough, Latin chant music begins. This Latin chant happens to be the Hosanna, for some reason. I have no idea if this was intentional, or if the composer just wanted to use chant music. The whispering voices in the background continue to set the listener on edge, as does a constant tone that might have gone completely unnoticed. All this builds a sense of fear of the unknown. What's coming next? What is this character supposed to be? We just don't know. We just know that he is potentially very powerful, and almost completely unknowable at this point. The drum starts to take a much more pronounced position, and speeds up, signifying that events are being set in motion. The chant continues, and a loud electric guitar kicks in. The events that have been set in motion cannot be stopped. The odd music becomes a rock song, characterizing the villain as a strong one, the likes of which have not been faced before. It is about to begin.
The fight between the villain and the protagonist, I mean. That's what was about to begin.
Now, this might all sound very impressive, but this villain isn't even the main antagonist of this story ark. The main villains need some background information.
The first villain, Dio Brando, discovered a mask that turned him into a low level vampire, and allowed him to create zombies. The previous villain, Santana, is a member of an ancient race of vampires who created the mask to give themselves more power.
The next villains, of which there are three, are the ones who created the mask, and decided that Santana was not powerful enough to work alongside them.
They're overwhelmingly powerful, and there are three of them.
This is the music that represents the Pillar Men.
The Pillar Men do not need to be ominous. They do not need to be calculating. They exude sheer power, and their song shows that very clearly. With hardly any buildup, the listener is thrown into a mix of a loud, booming base drum, a unsettling and jumpy electronic noise, chanting unintelligible words, and a daunting, but exotic melody.
There's very little to say about this theme. It's not complicated, subversive, and it certainly isn't subtle, butt that's what makes it perfect for these villains. These antagonists are not subtle. They are only powerful.
Having a diverse cast of characters and personalities can greatly affect how the creator of some media is able to present that media to whoever is consuming it. If there were only one character, they could have a theme very fitting to their character, but with many character and antagonists, each one can be made to be more unique, counterintuitive though it might seem. These villains have been matched with songs that perfectly represent their characters, improving the viewing experience of this show greatly.
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