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Karate Joe

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Karate Joe (カラテ家?, Karateka) is the first character to appear in the Rhythm Heaven franchise in a Rhythm Game, and one of the only characters to appear in every game since Rhythm Tengoku. He is successing his father in karate.

Karate Joe
Image
[[File:File:Karate Joe 3DS.png|frameless|400x270px]]
Artwork from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Appears in
Rhythm Tengoku,
Rhythm Heaven,
Rhythm Heaven Fever,
Rhythm Heaven Megamix

Characteristics

Karate Joe is characterized by his pale white skin, big nose, and balding head. He wears a black belt karate suit that matches the color of his skin. He wears no shoes. He is described as very expressive and fearless. He is often shown eating a lot of food between training sessions (usually in the OK epilogue). Occasionally, his father would cook dinner, and Karate Joe would lie that he likes it. One of The Dazzles (the one with glasses) appears to find him attractive, as seen in the epilogue of Karate Man 2.

Backstory

As a child, Karate Joe dreamed of being a soccer player, but his father wouldn't allow it, instead forcing him to master karate before leaving the house. Karate Joe still lives in the basement. At some point in his training, he started practicing a kicking move involving a bomb within a barrel (supposedly the bombs are used to help face his fears). Later, when he was nearing the height of his mastery, he began training a combo move involving punching a mess of pots and uppercutting a barrel.

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 at 55[1], Karate Joe still lives in the basement. His Father also stole the ball that Joe had bought and used it as a sandbag[2]. Father is a master at karate, but not cooking. Occasionally he makes dinner anyway (like one day when Karate Joe's Mother was out of the house)[3], and asks his son if he likes it. Joe has to lie and say that he likes it to make him feel good. 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?"[4] Karate Joe has no idea where his father got them from. 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. Karate Joe envies his Father's incredible vision that allows him to quickly tell the color of a light bulb and counter it. Joe also sees this as an explanation for how his Father can easily counter his attacks.[5]

Rhythm Tengoku

Karate Joe first appeared in Rhythm Tengoku in the first rhythm game, Karate Man. Here he must punch the incoming objects in rhythm. This game involves the Flow Gauge, which determines if he can punch hard objects such as rocks and bombs, which depends on how well the player is doing in the game. in Remix 8, this meter disappears, and Karate Joe is enveloped in shadow. He can now punch rocks without needing to fill the meter. At the end, he returns to normal, making a "weird" face.

Rhythm Tengoku (Arcade)

Karate Joe reappears in the arcade version of the game, with the same appearences, in addition to Karate Man TempoUpExtra1.png, which is a modified version of the original minigame. Here, he is wearing boxing gloves and black boxing shorts, and is training for a boxing match.

Rhythm Heaven

Karate Joe appears in many games in Rhythm Heaven, first appearing in Karate Man, notably being the last Rhythm Game before the credits. The Flow Meter is now gone, and Karate Joe's training includes punching barrels and kicking the bomb within. In 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.

Rhythm Heaven Fever

In Rhythm Heaven Fever, he first appears, as with the other games, in Karate Man, again being the last Rhythm Game before the credits. This time, the kicks are gone, and Karate Joe instead has to do a Combo move. In Remix 9 he is acompanied by a cat.

Rhythm Heaven Megamix

In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, Karate Joe appears in Karate Man, Karate Man Returns!, Karate Man Kicks! and Karate Man Combos!, all of which have the same story as their original appearances (with the exception of the Flow Gauge not being included). In Karate Man Senior, he makes a cameo in the epilogue.

Appearances

Gallery

Gameplay

Artwork & Other

Trivia

  • Karate Joe has appeared as a playable character in every game in the series.
  • In the last section with Karate Joe in Remix 7 of Rhythm Heaven Fever, he is seen sitting on his side on the floor watching a small television that displays an image of Karate Man from Rhythm Tengoku.
  • Some details in the Rhythm Item for Karate Man Returns! are ommited in some regions, namely the detail about Karate Joe still living in his basement is ommited in the original Japanese and Korean versions, while the French version adds the detail that he is 55 years old and still living in the basement. Other details include Karate Joe mentioning his mother, who was out one day and so his father tried cooking, and that Karate Joe tried to steal the alchahol stored in the barrels, but was caught by his Father and told he can drink it only when he becomes stronger than him.[6]
  • The location of Karate Joe's training in not clear. Usually it is depicted as a featureless monochrome void during gameplay, while certain epilogues show specific locations, such as:
  • Karate Joe makes a minor appearance as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His spirit battle takes place on the Suzaku Castle stage in Omega form while he is represented by a white Ryu, favoring powered-up smash attacks.
  • He also made a cameo during a Young Cricket and Master Mantis preview for WarioWare Gold.

In Other Languages

Language Name Meaning
Flag of Japan.svg Japanese カラテ家 Karateka
Flag of the United States.svg EnglishNOA Karate Joe
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg EnglishNOE Karate Joe
Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present).svg French Le karatéka The Karateka
Flag of Spain.svg Spanish Kárate Killo Karate Killo
Flag of Italy.svg Italian Karate Ka Karate Ka
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dutch Karate Joe[7]
Flag of Portugal.svg Portuguese Karate Joe[8]
Flag of Russia.svg Russian Каратист[7] Karatist
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg ChineseSI Karate Joe[7]
Flag of South Korea.svg Korean 격투가 The Fighter

References

  1. ↑ "Résultat : à 55 ans, je vis toujours au sous-sol..." (The result: At 55, I still live in the basement...) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karatéka, Rhythm Paradise Megamix
  2. ↑ "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 sandbag.) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  3. ↑ "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 mom went out.) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man Returns!, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  4. ↑ "「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
  5. ↑ "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
  6. ↑ "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'v never had a drink with my dad before, actually.)" ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man Combos!, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  8. ↑ Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
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