Karate Joe: Difference between revisions

{{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]].

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." ~ [[Soccer Ball]], ''[[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.) ~ [[Soccer Ball|サッカーボール]] (Soccer Ball), ''[[Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+]]''</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.) ~ [[Cooking Pot|ナベ]] (Pan), ''[[Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+]]''</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." ~ [[Cooking Pot]], ''[[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.) ~ [[Bomb|バクダン]] (Bomb), ''[[Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+]]''</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?" ~ [[Bomb]], ''[[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." ~ [[Barrel]], ''[[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?" ~ [[LED Light Bulbs]], ''[[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.) ~ [[LED Light Bulbs|LED電球]] (LED Bulbs), ''[[Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+]]''</ref>

In ''[[Rhythm Tengoku]]'', he appears in the first [[Rhythm Game]], [[Karate Man Returns!|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 (GBA)|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 [[Rhythm Tengoku (Arcade)|arcade]] version of the game, with the same appearances, in addition to [[Karateka Tempo Up!|Karateka]] [[File:TempoUpExtra1.png|72px]], 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.

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's Father icon.png|24px]] [[Karate Man Senior]] (cameo)

Karate Joe.png|Sprite from ''[[Rhythm Heaven]]''

Karate Joe 3DS 4.png|Artwork for [[Karate Man Combos!]] from ''[[Rhythm Heaven Megamix]]''

Karate man 2 player.JPG|Karate Man With Two Players in ''[[Rhythm Heaven Fever]]''

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|Karate Joe

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