Karate Joe: Difference between revisions

|caption=Artwork from ''Rhythm Heaven Megamix''

{{Nihongo|'''Karate Joe'''|カラテ家|Karateka}} is the first character to appear in the [[Rhythm Heaven Series]] in a [[Rhythm Game]], appearing primarily in the [[Karate Man]] games, and one of the few characters to appear in every game since ''[[Rhythm Tengoku]]''. He is successing his [[father]] in karate.

Karate Joe is characterized by his pale white skin, big nose, and balding head. He wears a karate suit that matches the color of his skin. He is barefoot. He is often described as very expressive and fearless. He is also shown eating a lot of food between training sessions, a trait he seems to share with his father.

==Backstory==

Karate Joe has dreamed of being a soccer player even since he was a child, but his [[Father]] wanted him to master karate instead, and told him that he can't leave his house until he masters it. Even as an adult, Karate Joe still lives in the basement<ref>"As a child, I dreamed of being a soccer player. My father wouldn't hear of it. "You must master karate before you leave my house!" I still live in the basement." ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man (3DS)|Karate Man]], ''Rhythm Heaven Megamix''</ref>. His [[Father]] also stole the ball that Joe had bought and used it as a punching bag<ref>"せっかく買ったボールは、取り上げられて、今やサンドバッグ代わりになっている。" (The ball I bought was stolen, and is now being used as a punching bag.) ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man (3DS)|Karate Man]], ''Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus''</ref>. [[Father]] is a master at karate, but not cooking. Occasionally he makes dinner anyway, such as one day when Karate Joe's mother was out of the house<ref>"母さんが外出した日に、一度だけ食べた父さんのナベ。" (Father's curry, which I only ate once on the day my mother went out.) ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Returns!]], ''Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus''</ref>, and asks his son if he likes it. Joe has to lie and say that he likes it to make him feel good<ref>"My father is a master of karate, but not of cooking. Occasionally he makes dinner anyway, and he keeps asking if I like it. I always lie and tell him it's good." ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Returns!]], ''Rhythm Heaven Megamix''</ref>. [[Father]] got his son bombs to make him face his fears. At first, Joe thought they were fake, but then one exploded. He still vividly remembers his Father's face as he said "Are you surprised?"<ref>"「おどろいただろ？」という父さんの顔、今でもおぼえてる。" ("Are you surprised?" I still remember my father's face.) ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Kicks!]], ''Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus''</ref> Karate Joe has no idea where his father got them from<ref>"My father got these bombs to help me face my fears. I thought he was joking at first, but then one exploded! Where did he even get these?" ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Kicks!]], ''Rhythm Heaven Megamix''</ref>. [[Father]] keeps a bunch of barrels around, but Joe has no idea why. He asked multiple times, but was told that he can only know when he is stronger than his father<ref>"My father keeps a bunch of these little barrels around, but I've never understood why. When I've asked, he says I can know when I am stronger than he is." ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Combos!]], ''Rhythm Heaven Megamix''</ref>. Karate Joe envies his Father's incredible vision that allows him to quickly tell the color of a light bulb and counter it<ref>"My father's most amazing trait is probably his vision. He can tell the color of a training light bulb in an instant and counter it. Will I ever be so quick?" ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Senior]], ''Rhythm Heaven Megamix''</ref>. Joe also sees this as an explanation for how his Father can easily counter his attacks.<ref>"だから、オレのこうげきだって、カンタンにふせぐのさ。" (That's why it's so easy for him to counter my attacks, too.) ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Senior]], ''Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus''</ref>

 

Karate Joe reappears in ''[[Rhythm Heaven]]'', in the last [[Rhythm Game]] before the [[Airboarder|Credits]], [[Karate Man (DS)|Karate Man]]. In [[Remix 6 (DS)|Remix 6]], he can be seen with hair and kicking soccer balls in place of bombs. He later makes a cameo in [[Blue Birds 2]], where he is seen in one of the memories, training while the birds spy on him from a bush. In [[Karate Man 2 (DS)|Karate Man 2]], he takes on another day of hard training. This time he's very pleased with himself, though he tries to hide it. He makes the weird face again when kicking away bombs. In the epilogues, one of [[The Dazzles (Characters)|The Dazzles]] is shown to admire him, calling him "hot stuff" and offering him a towel. In [[Battle of the Bands]], he can be seen in the audience, watching the [[Rockers (Characters)|Rockers]] perform on stage.

In ''[[Rhythm Heaven Fever]]'', he is once again in the last [[Rhythm Game]] before the [[Night Walk (Wii)|Credits]], [[Karate Man (Wii)|Karate Man]]. In [[Remix 7 (Wii)|Remix 7]], he wears black shades while punching stuff in space. At one point he lies down and watches TV, which coincidentally shows [[Karate Man Returns!|Karateka]] from ''[[Rhythm Tengoku]]'' itself. In [[Remix 9 (Wii)|Remix 9]] he is accompanied by a cat<ref>"cat" ~ texture filename</ref>. In [[Karate Man 2 (Wii)|Karate Man 2]], he reaches "the height of mastery" in karate, after which he is seemingly able to control fire as seen in the [[Superb]] epilogue. In the [[Karate Man Combos!#Two Player|Two Player]] version, he wears a headband, and is accompanied by another Karate Joe in purple clothes.

*[[File:Karate Man Tempo icon.png|20px]] [[Karateka Tempo Up!|Karateka]]  [[File:TempoUpExtra1.png|72px]]

*Some details and in the [[Rhythm Item]]s are added/changed in some regions, such as the detail about Karate Joe still living in his basement being present in most versions outside of the Japanese and Korean versions. Other alternative details include Karate Joe mentioning his mother, who was out one day and so his father tried cooking, and that Karate Joe once tried to steal the alcohol stored in the barrels, but was caught by his Father and told he can drink it only when he becomes stronger than him, both of which are present in the Japanese and Korean versions.<ref>"こないだ、こっそり父さんのお酒を飲もうとしたところ、父さんに見つかってしまった。「お前には早い。もしもオレより、強くなる時が来たら、ウマイ酒を飲ませてやる」だって。けっきょく、父さんとお酒を飲んだことは、まだない。" ''(The other day, I secretly tried drinking my father's alcohol, but he found out. "You're not ready for it," he said, "but if you ever get stronger than me, I'll give you a drink." I've never had a drink with my dad before, actually.)'' ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man Combos!]], ''Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus''</ref>. Karate Joe is also referred to as being 55 years old<ref>"Résultat : à 55 ans, je vis toujours au sous-sol..." (The result: At 55, I still live in the basement...) ~ [[Rhythm Item]] description for [[Karate Man (3DS)|Karatéka]], ''Rhythm Paradise Megamix''</ref> in the French version.

*Karate Joe makes a cameo during a [[Young Cricket]] and [[Master Mantis]] preview for ''WarioWare Gold''.