- Kakyoin's true first name is Tenmei, but Araki's editor misread and published it as "Noriaki". Araki still calls him "Tenmei".
- Kakyoin is kind and genuine. After his defeat by Jotaro in episode 2, Kakyoin retains a strong sense of responsibility even though everyone knows he had no control over it, even asking why Jotaro would save his life despite the cruel things he'd done while under Dio's control. And he teared up when hearing Jotaro's answer!
- Kakyoin's motivation to join the Crusaders was a noble one: He wanted to protect the Joestars who were kind to him, to return the kindness that Jotaro showed him, even when he really didn't want to face Dio again, and to conquer his fear.
- Kakyoin is ruthless with his enemies but loyal and cares deeply for his friends. He is an absolutely brutal fighter because while the thing he despises most from an internal standpoint is weakness, he hates evil even more. He sees evil as those who manipulate and make people weak for their own gain, like DIO did. He despises manipulation and to him, that is evil.
- The smartest Crusader, the tactical mind, the sanity throughout the bizarre journey. Without him, they would have lost Polnareff early on, then got killed by Death 13 and would have never made it to Egypt. And even if they'd somehow made it, they would have lost to Dio.
- In every fight, he always thinks about the others before himself, eg, "how to save Jotaro," "how to let the others know", etc. In his 2nd encounter with Death 13, when he could die at any second, why did he carve letters into his arm? Because if Death 13 killed him, then Jotaro and co. would figure out who the enemy was from the clue he left them. Even in his final moment, all he thought about was how to figure out Dio's Stand so that the others would survive. He willed himself to destroy the clock to give the message because that's what best guys do.
- Kakyoin vs. Death 13 was an amazing battle of the mind. When you encountered an enemy that controlled your mind and made you think you were going crazy and even doubt yourself, how could you maintain your sanity and save everyone? Think about it: it's quite terrifying to almost die in your sleep then wake up remembering nothing about it. In the end, only Kakyoin knew that Death 13 existed and had nearly killed all of them. The other Crusaders have forgotten about the baby Stand User but Kakyoin never cared about that; all that mattered to him was that they were safe.
- He's not only fighting for them but dying for them. At the moment he realized he had found "his people", he ended up dying for them. It's quite sad when only 3 of them managed to catch the Last Train Home.
- Friendship with Jotaro: Kakyoin was the only guy who could crack through Jotaro’s tough exterior and earn both his respect in battle and a friendship. Kakyoin despises submitting to people or sucking up to them. We know he didn't have any friends because he felt like a freak with his Stand. He probably wanted to goof off with everyone else but he never really learned how. Now he’s got the Crusaders who all know exactly what he is dealing with. Kakyoin thinks only a respectable individual can be his friend. The same goes for Jotaro.
- Kakyoin is the JoBro of Part 3 and should get more screentime than Polnareff. I think the reason that Kakyoin was absent for most of the Egypt Arc was because his Hierophant Green would make all the fights leading to Dio look like a joke: With a long range and an ability to morph, plus the tactical mind of its User, HG could defeat most of the 9 Egyptian gods easily. Ponareff's character arc was nice and concluded with the Judgement Arc, so the best thing to do would be to have him hospitalized instead of Kakyoin. The fact that Kakyoin's character is shaped by his isolation as a child could be explored really well if he was the one transformed into a child in the Alessi fight, and the Anubis episode could have allowed for more screentime with Jotaro. The exploration of their friendship is few and far between, but when it pops up, like against Steely Dan, it's amazing and it would be nice to get more of that. I'd also like to see more battles of wits like the Death 13 fight. Both Kakyoin and Jotaro catch some flak for having "weaker characterization" than Polnareff. But, flamboyance doesn't equate to interestingness in my book. I like Polnareff, but not enough to feel like he should have hogged the spotlight too much. Kakyoin is just a pretty neat and awesome character, even if Araki did not fully flesh him out. All he needs is a bit more depth - like Bucciarati in Part 5.
- Character growth. Kakyoin proved to be a brave warrior throughout the trip, and was able to keep his nerves even in the direst situations such as having been punched through by The World. When he met Dio for the first time in his life, he was shaking in fear. But in his final stand, he was looking Dio straight in the eyes and challenging him. Kakyoin has accomplished his personal goal in this journey.
- I wish he had survived and reappeared in Parts 4, 5, 6. Would love to see the adventures of Kakyoin and his Emerald Splash post-Dio, now that his world had opened up.
- His 2 theme songs are awesome:
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