Karate Joe

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.

Physical Appearance

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 is a lonely martial artist who struggles with his training. He seems to be developing his own unique karate style which incorporates rhythm. He has a very emotional personality, which can be seen in his many facial expressions. At the martial arts competitions, the opponent reads all his tricks, and he can't get results. Sometimes he goes to his master for advice, whose usual response is "You needed to focus on the basics."^[1]

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^[2]. His Father also stole the ball that Joe had bought and used it as a punching bag^[3]. 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^[4], and asks his son if he likes it. Joe has to lie and say that he likes it to make him feel good^[5]. 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?"^[6] Karate Joe has no idea where his father got them from^[7]. 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^[8]. Karate Joe envies his Father's incredible vision that allows him to quickly tell the color of a light bulb and counter it^[9]. Joe also sees this as an explanation for how his Father can easily counter his attacks.^[10]

Other Appearances

In Rhythm Tengoku, he appears in the first Rhythm Game, Karateka. It 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 Karateka 2, he also has to contend with the ever changing tempo. In Remix 8, the Flow gauge disappears, and Karate Joe is enveloped in shadow. He can now punch rocks no matter what. At the end, he returns to normal, making a weird face. Karate Joe reappears in the arcade version of the game, with the same appearances, in addition to Karateka , which is a sped up version of the original. Here, he is wearing boxing gloves and black boxing shorts, and is training for a boxing match. In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the Flow gauge mechanic was completely removed, the "Hit 2!", the light bulbs and bomb were replaced with other objects to conform to how the future games work.

Karate Joe reappears in Rhythm Heaven, in the last Rhythm Game before the Credits, Karate Man. 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. In 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 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 perform on stage.

In Rhythm Heaven Fever, he is once again in the last Rhythm Game before the Credits, Karate Man. In Remix 7, he wears black shades while punching stuff in space. At one point he lies down and watches TV, which coincidentally shows Karateka from Rhythm Tengoku itself. In Remix 9 he is accompanied by a cat^[11]. In 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 Two Player version, he wears a headband, and is accompanied by another Karate Joe in purple clothes.

In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, he appears in Honeybee Remix, where he wears a bee hat and a stinger. In the middle of the remix, several bees fly past him. At the end, the hat and stinger fly away, and he starts thinking about pancakes. He also watches in awe at his Father's mastery in Karate Man Senior. He gives commentary on his Father's performance, the same way the Master does on Joe's training. Additionally, Karate Man Returns!, Karate Man Kicks! and Karate Man Combos! all reappear, along with a short version of Karate Man.

He appears in the Rhythm Tengoku Gold Comic, where he is seen training even on Christmas Eve. Humorously, despite the lack of snow in the general area, there's a snowstorm blowing solely on Karate Joe. He also appears in Rhythm Tengoku The Best Plus Comic, where he is the first at the reunion.

It is unknown when these events occur in relation to the general story.

Appearances

Gallery

Artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Sprite from Rhythm Heaven
Karate Joe 3DS.png

Artwork for Karate Man from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karate Joe M 2.png

Artwork for Karate Man Returns! from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karate Joe 3DS 3.png

Artwork for Karate Man Kicks! from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karate Joe 3DS 4.png

Artwork for Karate Man Combos! from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karatebirds.jpeg

Blue Birds 2 cameo
RH Battle Of The Bands Screenshot.png

Battle of the Bands cameo
Karate man 2 player.JPG

Karate Man With Two Players in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Cateatingfish.PNG

The cat eating a fish in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Karatejoeandhiscat.PNG

The cat eating a fish next to Karate Joe in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Karatemanscat.PNG

The cat sitting on Karate Joe in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophy
Screenshot (194).png

WarioWare Gold cameo
Karate Joe Credits.png

Karate Joe in Rhythm Tengoku Credits
Karate Joe in Rhythm Heaven Fever Credits

In Super Smash Bros.

Karate Joe appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as a trophy in the "Other" category, and as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

His spirit battle takes place on the Suzaku Castle Ω stage playing the Rhythm Boxing track, where he is represented by Ryu. The battle has the "Item Tidal Wave" rule applied and the following conditions:

The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power
The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power
The enemy favors smash attacks

Karate Joe
	Has there ever been a cry more manly than the "Uh!" that appears at the start of every Karate Joe stage? It's like he digs deep down inside himself, reveals his spirit with that "Uh!" of power...and then directs that energy into smashing flowerpots, bulbs, and exploding barrels. Karate Joe knows no fear!	Has there ever been a cry more manly than the "Uh!" that appears at the start of every Karate Man stage? Doesn't it sound like it comes from the very bottom of his soul? Or is that just us? ...Anyway! Karate Joe is a pretty cool guy. He punches flowerpots, bulbs, even exploding barrels without the slightest hesitation. Truly, he fears nothing.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Ability
1,192		Karate Joe		★★★	2	Fist Attack ↑

Trivia

Karate Joe has appeared as a playable character in every game in the Rhythm Heaven Series.
Karate Joe has always "bookended" the games he appears in:
- His game was the first in Rhythm Tengoku, as well as the last one to appear in Remix 8.
- His game is where Remix 10 starts and finishes in Rhythm Heaven.
- He appeared in the last game before the credits in Rhythm Heaven and Rhythm Heaven Fever, as well as the last game before Remix 10 in the latter.
- His game appears as the first of Earth World in Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the first after the Lush Tower credits and his Father's game is the last one before Final Remix. Incidentally, his games are also the last of the DS and Wii selections in the Shop.
Some details and lore in the Rhythm Items are added/changed in some regions, like the detail about Karate Joe still living in his basement is present in most versions beyond the original Japanese version (as well as the Korean version). The French version has the detail that Karate Joe is 55 years old (whether or not this applies to other regions is currently unknown). 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 (from the Japanese version).^[12]
Although he has no official age, Karate Joe is referred to as 55 years old^[13] in the French version. It is currently unknown if this detail applies to non-French versions as it has not yet been confirmed,
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:
- A cliff overlooking the sea and a dojo (Karateka, Karateka 2)
- A boxing ring (Karateka )
- A cliff with a snowy mountain range visible in the distance (Karate Man Returns!)
- A field (Karate Man 2)
Karate Joe makes a cameo during a Young Cricket and Master Mantis preview for WarioWare Gold.

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	カラテ家	Karateka
English^NOA	Karate Joe
English^NOE	Karate Joe
French	Le karatéka	The Karateka
Spanish	Kárate Killo	Karate Killo
Italian	Karate Ka	Karate Ka
Dutch	Karate Joe^[14]
Portuguese	Karate Joe^[15]
Russian	Каратист^[14]	Karatist
Chinese^SI	Karate Joe^[14]
Korean	격투가	The Fighter

References

↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/brij/chara/stage01.html
↑ "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, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
↑ "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, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
↑ "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
↑ "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
↑ "「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
↑ "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
↑ "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
↑ "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
↑ "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
↑ "cat" ~ texture filename
↑ "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
↑ "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
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
↑ Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

[1] ttps://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/brij/chara/stage01.html

[2] "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, Rhythm Heaven Megamix

[3] "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, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus

[4] "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

[5] "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

[6] "「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

[7] "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

[8] "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

[9] "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

[10] "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

[11] "cat" ~ texture filename

[12] "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

[13] "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

[smash-14] 14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

[15] Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

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