Five Characters That We Want To See In Jump Force

With the release of Bandai Namco’s Jump Force rapidly approaching, many people are beginning to wonder what characters will round out the roster of one of the most ambitious anime cross-overs of all time.

2018 marked the 50^th anniversary of Shonen Jump, so there is no shortage of weird and wonderful characters to choose from. We already have inclusions from the big three – Dragon Ball Z, Naruto & One Piece, as well as fan favorites Yu-Gi-Oh, Bleach & Hunter X Hunter.

Some of my top picks have already made the cut, but here are five more that I would love to see:

Arale Norimaki from Dr Slump

Before creating the ever-popular Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama’s breakout gag manga, Dr Slump, debuted in 1980. Arale is a robot girl created by an inventor named Senbei. Even though she looks like a child, Arale can pack quite a punch, being able to split the earth in two with a single chop or even shoot a beam attack from her mouth. Arale has made appearances in different iterations of Dragon Ball, going toe-to-toe with the likes of Goku and Vegeta, so you know she isn’t one to be messed with. Having a character from a more comedy-driven background may prove a good way to break the more serious tone that we have seen from Jump Force so far.

Jotaro Kujo from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. This 6’5” high school student ain’t nothing to pass by. Jotaro possesses the power of a ‘Stand’, a physical manifestation of his fighting spirit and life energy. His stand, Star Platinum, has many abilities including super strength, super speed and even the ability to stop time for a few seconds, allowing him to gain the upper hand on his opponents. Jotaro isn’t one to back away from a fight, whether it’s to his benefit or detriment, making him a great candidate to throw his hat in the ring to join the Jump Force team.

Yukihira Soma from Shokugeki no Soma (aka Food Wars)

Now you might be thinking to yourself, “Zac, what the hell are you talking about suggesting a character from a show about cooking for a fighting game?!” Yes, on paper Soma might not have much going for him in terms of physical attributes or abilities like some of the others on this list, but that isn’t what he brings to the table – it’s the amazing food he can create. Food that can evoke such emotion and love that it shreds the clothes right off of your body or transports you to another world where you are a shogun era samurai. All the dishes that Soma can create on the spot could act as many different power-up abilities that he could tie together with his everyday chef utensils (knives, stove top, etc.) Bandai could get really inventive with Soma and the crazy and wacky world that encompasses Food Wars.

Tetsuya Kuroko from Kuroko no Basuke

Yes, another slightly left field pick here. Kuroko no Basuke was one of the first sports anime I ever watched. Not only was it engaging with its over-dramatisation of real-life basketball, but the key characters of the series all possess ‘abilities’ almost akin to watching Space Jam. This wouldn’t be the first time Bandai have drafted Kuroko into their roster, with him making an appearance in J-Stars Victory VS as an assist character, so giving him the time on court to show off his true abilities seems like a good fit. With moves such as Misdirection (diverting his opponents gaze to essentially teleport) and Ignite Pass (punching the ball with the palm so hard that it creates a dragon ball-like beam trail because of its speed), Kuroko could be a force to be reckoned with. Along with Soma, adding Kuroko to the roster could act as a good piece of levity from the more serious tone of Jump Force’s story.

Koro-Sensei from Assassination Classroom

If a giant, three-meter tall yellow octopus man doesn’t creep you out a little bit, I don’t know what will. In Assassination Classroom, Koro-Sensei appears one day and threatens to destroy the world after teaching a class of misfits for a year. This class is tasked with trying to kill him before that year comes to an end. This yellow terror is almost impervious to injury (aside from specific ‘anti-sensei’ weapons), has superhuman speed (reaching Mach 20 at his fastest) and superhuman senses among many other powers. All of these could easily put him toe-to-toe with the likes of Goku, Naruto or Luffy. Being such a quirky and versatile character, I feel as though he could fit in great as either an ally or foe in the story mode.

Well, that wraps up my picks for characters to *fingers crossed* join the ever expanding roster for Jump Force. Let us know what characters you want to see over at @WellPlayed_AU with #jumpforce

Jump Force releases February 15^th on PS4, Xbox One and PC