Pausing to reflect on a moment of subtle yet profound strength from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood. This isn’t one of the series’ famous Stand battles or dramatic showdowns, but it left just as deep an impression. All over the matter of Erina Pendleton’s first kiss. It also gave rise to a meme that has endured.
Context for Newcomers
Phantom Blood is the very first arc in the sprawling JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure saga. Set in 1880s England, it explores the origins of the Joestar bloodline and their early battle against the diabolical Dio Brando.
This post discusses themes of sexual assault, coercion, and emotional abuse as depicted in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood. Viewer discretion is advised. Sensitive readers may wish to proceed with caution.
The Violation: Dio’s Power Play
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood – Episode 1
When Dio Brando, cruel, manipulative, and proud, forces a kiss on Erina Pendleton, it’s not just a violation of her body, but an attack on her dignity and autonomy. For Dio, it’s a calculated act: a way to humiliate Erina and wound Jonathan Joestar in one stroke.
In Edwardian society, a woman of Erina’s class was expected to be demure, untouched, and restrained. Her purity was part of her worth, and Dio knew this. His forced kiss wasn’t just an assault; it was a calculated social and emotional attack designed to stain her in the eyes of others and break her in her own.
But Erina’s response? It is nothing short of quietly revolutionary.
She doesn’t scream. She doesn’t cry. She doesn’t flee. Instead, she uses the puddle of muddy water she was tossed into, scoops it up, and washes her lips when she realises that something precious was taken from her. She doesn’t seek the cleaner water of the stream nearby; she deliberately chooses filth to erase what Dio imposed on her. With quiet resolve, she washes her lips. Not with the stream, not with a cloth or handkerchief. She uses a filthy, earthen puddle.
Erina sends a message more defiant than any outburst:
- “I’d rather have the filth of the earth on my lips than carry your touch,”
- “Your kiss is dirtier than this mud”
It’s not a passive act. It’s one of immense courage, a rejection of the shame Dio tried to impose on her. This action, born in silence, becomes an act of personal rebellion. A reclamation of agency in a world where women were often denied it. It wasn’t just about erasing the kiss; it was about reclaiming power and dignity from the person who tried to strip it from her.
Personally, this moment always stays with me. It’s so easy to overlook in a series known for its flamboyant style and bombastic fights, but to me, this is JoJo at its most human.
Dio, of course, is enraged. His plan backfires. He wanted to reduce her to a sobbing wreck. Instead, her calm disgust wounds him in the only place he truly feels pain: his ego. In trying to humiliate her, he is the one who walks away humiliated.
You can watch the moment here:
Dio honestly expected to dominate Erina, to leave her humiliated. But her quiet resolve infuriates him. In the power play he initiated, Erina wins, not with force, but with unshakable dignity. It’s a defining moment that foreshadows her strength.
Appreciating the colour, lighting, and framing
David Production went all in to make this confrontation between Dio, Erina, and the watching boys feel viscerally unsettling.
COLOUR PALETTE: Crimson Dread & Golden Defiance
- The sunset red dominates every frame, burning reds and oranges wash the whole world in a menacing, unnatural heat. This isn’t a romantic sunset; it’s a warning. The use of red here mirrors Dio’s aggression and establishes that something is violently wrong.
- Look how the crimson light creeps across Erina’s face in the moment she realises what’s been done to her. It’s like the world itself is infected by Dio’s presence.
- Dio and Jonathan both have golden tones in their hair, but where Jonathan’s gold glows warm and gentle, Dio’s blondness reflects arrogance, like a lion in conquest.
FRAMING & ANGLES: Power and Powerlessness
- The first shot, the kiss, is composed with Erina Pendleton physically pinned under Dio, dwarfed in the frame. She’s almost consumed by his presence, but the red lighting and the depth of field isolate them dramatically. The background fades into dark trees and a blood-orange sky, intensifying the theatrical cruelty of the moment.
- The next few cuts feature Dio’s cronies reacting—a classic Greek chorus function. They’re not intervening, just witnessing. It amplifies Erina’s isolation.
- The framing of Erina washing her mouth in the puddle places her dead centre, bathed in muddy tones and sadness, but there’s strength in her stillness.
- Her final look upward, tight focus, shadows across her face, tears falling with purpose, is visually parallel to a hero preparing to stand back up. She’s not defeated. She’s awakened.
LIGHTING: Shadows & Symbolism
- Note the harsh shadows cast across Dio’s face, especially when he turns smugly to take credit for “the first kiss.” This isn’t flattering light; it exaggerates his menace and deepens his smirk into something vile.
- When Erina’s eyes are shown in the last frame, they catch the only bright light, reflecting clarity and conviction. Despite the mud and tears, her face gleams. It’s symbolic of her inner light refusing to be dimmed.
Texture & Visual Style
- The backgrounds take on an almost painted look, with grain and texture that gives the world a tactile, old-world feeling, reminding us of the time period and framing the event like a tragic portrait.
- The colour tones and stylised character outlines at the emotional peaks (especially Erina and Jonathan’s pain) reflect JoJo’s signature blend of realism with drama. Every emotion is heightened, every moment layered with visual weight.
The Power Shift: Erina Pendleton Resists, Dio Recoils
This scene isn’t just a brutal turning point in Dio’s rise; it’s a moment where the visual language of the show becomes a character itself. Colour, lighting, and framing work together to trap Erina in a red-tinged nightmare… until she claims a small but defiant act of control. That image of her defiant eyes staring upward, mud-streaked but unwavering, feels like a full visual rejection of Dio’s dominance.
Dio, clutching the tree at the end of their interaction, is a visual metaphor for a predator recoiling. He’s trying to get a grip on himself after realising he couldn’t dominate her spirit the way he intended. The warm, apocalyptic sky behind them, burning reds and bruised purples, frames Dio in visual chaos while Erina Pendleton remains grounded in soft, earthly tones. This contrast tells us what the scene won’t say aloud: she is at peace with her resistance. He is at war with his failure.
What Erina Pendleton Teaches Us About Strength
So often in anime, strength is shown through explosive clashes, fists flying, powers flaring, and worlds trembling. But Erina Pendleton’s strength doesn’t come from muscle or might. It comes from a place deeper, quieter, and far more enduring.
This wasn’t just an act of defiance; it was her declaration of self-worth. She reminded us that some of the most powerful acts are the ones that don’t need to shout.
Have you ever noticed a quiet moment in anime that felt louder than any battle cry? What do you think about Erina Pendleton’s actions?
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