The Memorable, The Muddled, and The Messy: GioGio's Bizarre Adventure Review!

A Short Explanation: I decided to end the M3 Big 3 Recap since it was feeling a little too repetitive for my tastes. So I decided to revamp my reviews into The Memorable, The Muddled, and The Messy, breaking my opinion down into what I think is great, horrible, and just plain bizarre about a game, anime, manga, movie, etc. (Think the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!) So enjoy and be sure to leave a comment on what you think!

During my review of Part 1 of the new JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime, I mentioned the mudah.swf flash, which included the famous ZA WARUDO animation.

Still awesome

The original flash actually starts out with four other options, showing the stick man animations for five different JoJo character attacks.  While the fourth one is the ORA ORA ORA attack of JoJo Part 3's Jotaro Kujo, the other three are characters from Part 5: Vento Aureo.

Yare Yare Daze

I recently finished reading JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5 AKA Le Bizzarre Avventure di GioGio AKA Vento Aureo AKA Golden Wind AKA Ogon no Kaze AKA Part 5 Giorno Giovanna: Golden Heritage AKA this story has too many titles and I decided to review it for the first installment of the M3.

Lot of greens and yellows on this cover...

WARNING: This review will include many death and plot spoilers for Parts 1, 3, 4, and 5 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Backstory

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a very long series, spanning the length of 8 different stories with different protagonists and antagonists, but essentially the same themes and battle types. Part 5 can be difficult to understand for newcomers, especially those who haven't read Part 3 & 4. Here's what you need to know before reading Vento Aureo:

1. Stands

ORAAAAA!

The concept of Stands was introduced in the Part 3: Stardust Crusaders. Prior to the arc, the protagonists had Hamon abilities, better known as the Ripple, unlockable via mastering their breathing. Stand abilities are evolved Ripple powers to the extent that users develop powerful familiar spirits. Since Part 3, Stands have been the biggest mainstay of the series. Even in the alternate universe of Part 7: Steel Ball Run and Part 8: JoJolion, Stands are still used by the protagonists.

Stands can be grouped into three distinct categories: close-range, long-range, and remote. While the first two are self-explanatory, the third type needs a bit of an explanation. Introduced in Part 4, Remote stands function without their users' directions with their own autonomous will. Due to their reliance on pure instinct, they are extremely powerful, though this makes their attacks somewhat imprecise.

Araki started out naming them after the Major Arcana (Tarot Cards), but when he ran out of card names, he started using Egyptian God names. In Part 4 and onwards, he started naming them after famous music groups, artists, and their singles. Vento Aureo is no exception, featuring some of the best Stands in the series.

2. Dio Brando & Jonathan Joestar (Part 1 & 3 spoilers)

Preeeetty big retcon right here

The rivalry between Dio and the first JoJo in Victorian England forms the basis of JoJo Part 1: Phantom Blood. Dio uses an ancient Stone Mask to transform himself into a vampire, vowing to kill Jonathan. Using the Ripple, Jonathan defeats Dio, reducing him to a head. On a steamer ship bound for America, Dio makes a last stand, killing Jonathan, but presumably going down with the ship.

In Part 3, Araki retcons this by having Dio revive himself in the 1980s. Using Jonathan's body, Dio gains Stand powers and tries to eliminate his rival's bloodline and conquer the world. This plays very heavily into Part 5 protagonist Giorno's bloodline.

3. The Bow and Arrow

More artifacts cuz you asked for it!

Stands are initially presented as natural abilities that develop over time. Retroactively introduced in Part 4: Diamond is Not Crash, the Arrows cause those that they pierce to develop Stand powers, though they immediately kill those who are too weak to sustain the ability. In Part 3, the explanation for Dio having so many Stand-using followers is that he recruited them from around the world. Araki retcons this in Part 4 by explaining that Dio created them using the Bow and Arrow.

Part 4's plot involves the protagonists hunting down the artifact which has been creating many new Stand users around their town who are now running rampant.

The Arrow returns as a MacGuffin in Part 5 since it ends up appearing later on as the only means of defeating the main antagonist.

Plot Summary

The year is 2001. Part 4's Koichi Hirose investigates Haruno Shiobana, a student linked to series antagonist Dio Brando. His travels take him to Naples, Italy where he meets Haruno who now goes by Giorno Giovanna AKA GioGio.

Supastaaa

Giorno dreams of becoming a Gang Star, a respected boss of the mafia. He is also a Stand user whose Gold Experience turns non-living matter into living things. After he kills the mobster Leaky-Eyed Luka in self defense, Giorno confronts Bruno Buccellati, a member of the Passione gang investigating his fellow gangster's death.

He gets less weird later on

Sensing good in his foe, GioGio defeats and spares him and the two form an alliance. Buccellati allows him to enter the gang to aid him in overthrowing Passione's Boss. Giorno meets the rest of Buccellati's Stand user crew, including the young Narancia, gunman Mista, former cop Abbacchio, and the ill-tempered Fugo.

The rest of Vento Aureo follows Giorno's initiation into Passione and the gang's mission to protect the Boss's daughter, Trish, while traveling all over Italy. During all this, GioGio and Buccellati work together to uncover the Boss's identity and overthrow him.

Main Characters

Haruno Shiobana AKA Giorno Giovanna AKA GioGio

Like most other JoJos, he's pretty damn fabulous

GioGio is introduced as an oddball with the ability to hide his ear.

Kinda random

However, like his JoJo predecessors, he is compassionate, completely unlike his father, Dio. Giorno's Gang Star aspirations come from his hero, a kind mobster who he ultimately saved during his childhood.

GioGio's compassion is reflected in his Stand, Gold Experience. Besides turning non-living things to living matter, Giorno's fight with Buccellati reveals that hitting a human with Gold Experience causes them to temporarily have super quick reflexes that the body cannot follow. I found this amusing since Tite Kubo does the exact same thing in Bleach when Mayuri defeats Szayel with a reflex-slowing poison. Not saying he copied it or anything, but it's still very oddly similar.

Bleach fans may think this scene looks oddly familiar

Like with Koichi Hirose's Stand Echoes in Part 4, Gold Experience is capable of evolving, later gaining the ability to heal by creating new organs and limbs. However, like with Josuke Higashikata's Crazy Diamond, this cannot bring characters back from the dead.

Koichi Hirose

The most badass short person ever

The main narrator for the previous story arc of JoJo, Diamond is Not Crash AKA Diamond is Unbreakable., Koichi Hirose was originally a wimp, but became a total badass by Part 4's end. This is reflected in his Stand, Echoes, which started out as a weak larvae, but ultimately developed into a full-fledged Stand.

Part 5 starts out from Hirose's perspective, but he's only around for the start of the story. He tries obtaining a skin sample from Giorno, to determine his links to Dio. After he realizes that GioGio isn't a monster like his father, he lies to JoJo about Giorno's wherabouts and returns back to Japan. While Hirose's minimal role in Vento Aureo feels like a waste of a good character, he acts as an important means of transitioning the story from Part 4 to Part 5.

Bruno Buccellati

Arrivederci!

Despite his weird moments in the beginning of the series, Buccellati is probably the most interesting character of Vento Aureo. Like Giorno, he earnestly believes in helping others. He is firmly against Passione's drug trade and holds a strong grudge against Passione's current leadership for murdering his father despite Buccellati joining for the gang's protection. Furthermore, his chivalrous nature makes him fiercely protective of Trish. I would love to ship the two of them, but he seems to treat her more like an older brother or a proxy for his dead father.

Buccellati's Stand Sticky Fingers can use zippers to open or unravel any surface or foe.

Guido Mista

That hat...

The gunman of Buccellati's crew, Guido Mista is an extremely resourceful, but superstitious Stand user. He believes greatly in destiny and fate, but becomes panicked whenever he encounters the number 4. This is even reflected in his bullet Stand Sex Pistols. The Stand consists of six mini-Stands that can manipulate the path of bullets fired from Mista's signature snub-nosed revolver. Each part of Sex Pistols maintains a distinct personality and despite there being six of them, there is no number 4 bullet, but a number 7 one instead.

The epilogue provides the best development for his character, showing him take great extremes to save Buccellati from the Remote Stand Rolling Stone. (It's literally a rolling stone... OF DEATH!) This devotion to Buccellati comes from the latter bailing him out of prison. While Mista lacks much development during the actual story, he has some of the most interesting abilities in the series. He even demonstrates that he has countermeasures against being shot...

Trish Una

You get a Stand! You get a Stand! EVERYONE GETS A STAND!

The Boss's daughter is introduced after Buccellati becomes a Passione operative. At first, she acts like a petulant brat much to the chagrin of Buccellati's crew. However, she starts to realize that they are her friends and begins to manifest Stand powers in the form of Spice Girl, which can make anything it touches elastic.

Narancia Ghirga

He doesn't look it, but he's kind of an idiot

The youngest of Buccellati's crew, Narancia almost died in the streets until he was saved by Fugo and Buccellati. Out of gratitude, Narancia wanted to join the mafia, but Buccellati refused since he cared about the former's well-being due to his young age. But, in the end, Narancia joined the crew, bonding mainly with Fugo.

Aerosmith => Aeroplane! I get it!

His Stand Aerosmith is a small plane, equipped with machine guns and rockets. He tracks his targets by the carbon dioxide that they exhale. Narancia has two major fights in Vento Aureo, but otherwise his character gets very little action and his main role is using Aerosmith's scanner as the crew's tracker.

Leone Abbachio

He's a dude, FYI

Former cop Abbachio is very distrustful of his teammates, especially newcomer Giorno. However, this softens over time and he becomes more and more confident in GioGio's abilities.

One of the weirder Stand designs

His Stand Moody Blues accurately reflects his nature as a former cop. It has the ability to rewind time and re-examine an event with Moody Blues taking the form of anyone who was there at the time. It's the perfect tool for investigating a crime scene.

Pannacotta Fugo

He has holes in his pants

Besides being an ill-tempered clean freak, Fugo is thoughtful and kind, especially towards Narancia. While he sometimes overreacts and hurts him, he saved the latter's life and wanted to help with his education. Fugo has one major battle where he shows off his Stand Purple Haze, which resembles a Renaissance doctor and can completely devour an opponent with a flesh eating virus stored in bulbs on its gauntlets.

The Memorable, The Muddled, and The Messy

1. Characterization

The Memorable

Bruno Buccellati

You fabulous bastard!

Buccellati is my favorite character in Vento Aureo. I'm a sucker for characters that are fiercely loyal and completely badass and Buccellati fits that bill nicely. At first his character seems like a psycho, with the before mentioned licking scene, but Araki develops his character into a much more chivalrous, competent, and charismatic leader. Despite being GioGio's accomplice, he comes off as the true leader of the group. Hell, he's more of a main character than Giorno.

His dedication is so intense, that during Vento Aureo's final act, he continues to fight as a zombie, even after being killed by King Crimson. (Just go with it) Characters driven by intense dedication and ambition always inspire me the most and Buccellati undoubtedly demonstrates this passion through his actions.

His role in Vento Aureo's final battle ultimately cemented him as my pick for my favorite character of Part 5. More on that later...

The Muddled

Diavolo
*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

AKA The Boss

While he isn't as charismatic as Part 3's Dio Brando or calculating as Part 4's Yoshikage Kira, Passione's Boss is still memorable, mainly due to his split personalities: the ditzy Vinegar Doppio and the ruthless Diavolo. While he normally appears in young Doppio's young body, when he feels a particular bloodlust, he reveals his true self, Diavolo.

Diavolo is completely consumed by the desire to erase his identity, a trait reflected in his Stand King Crimson, which can undo sections of time, using that power to predict and counter his opponents moves perfectly.

Prior to taking over Passione, Diavolo obtained six Arrows of which four ended up in the hands of Dio's second-in-command, Enya. Thus, he is responsible for Dio recruiting so many Stand users in Part 3 and for the events of Part 4.

But despite Diavolo's role in the JJBA continuity, Doppio is far more interesting by virtue of his bizarre behavior and mannerisms. He's very fun and quirky, oblivious of his true identity and yet fiercely loyal to the Boss. Doppio even communicates with his other half via a "phone" that can be any inanimate object he finds, be it an ice cream cone or a frog!

He's such a lovable weirdo

On the other hand, I completely hate Diavolo. He's a transparently evil villain who participates in the drug trade and (possibly) buried his mother alive and yet he lacks what makes other irredeemable villains like Dio so endearing.

Araki tried a bit too hard to make Diavolo "cool," especially in his close resemblance to Dio. Their names (Dio and Diavolo), their appearances (light hair and black lips), their time-based Stands, and their near invincibility are too noticeable to be a coincidence. This really holds back the character.

The only interesting aspect about Diavolo's personality is his desire to erase his past. It's a huge insecurity and yet its barely reflected in his demeanor or his oddly youthful appearance, save for a few moments when it provokes him into attacking to kill Trish. At least in Part 4, serial killer Yoshikage Kira was incredibly insecure and showed it, while also being a formidable psycho.

Overall, having a villain with multiple personalities with their own respective physical appearances is an interesting idea, but Araki doesn't take full advantage of it. In the end, the Boss doesn't live up to his predecessors.

The Messy

Giorno Giovanna

Surprise!

Giorno is not a very good JoJo, coming off as far less compelling than most of his predecessors. He solely serves as an X factor that distorts the balance of power between Buccellati's crew and their enemies, tilting it in the former's favor. Every JoJo plays this role in JJBA: Only they can overcome the most powerful evil and throw that final blow to vanquish them. But GioGio lacks the characterization that made each previous JoJo a leading protagonist. He wants to be a gang boss, but a nice one. Ultimately, this goody-goody attitude  makes him boring.

How can this happen when Giorno is the son of Dio "Za Warudo" Brando? There is zero conflict created from GioGio's Golden Heritage. It's completely accepted that he inherited the Joestar bloodline from Jonathan Joestar's body without a trace of Dio's evil influence, save for the fact that he has the same hair color as his father. This is a HUGE missed opportunity. Giorno lacks any internal conflicts or personality defects that prevent him from fulfilling his potential. As a result, Buccellati becomes a much more compelling main protagonist, shouldering much of the responsibility for protecting everyone while also dealing with his own shaky loyalties to Passione's leadership.

2. Character Design

The Memorable

Giorno Giovanna

Personality aside, he's still fabulous

Despite Giorno's weak character, Araki does an amazing job designing him. His appearance does not resemble that of any other JoJos and yet his appearance is iconic, alongside that of Joseph and Jotaro. It says everything about his character: The golden hair inherited from Dio and the ladybug, his motif that reflects Gold Experience's ability to create organic life. He also has the star-shaped birthmark of the Joestar line.

Araki definitely put a lot of care into how he made Giorno look. I just wish he put as much attention into his personality as well.


The Muddled

Buccellati/Mista

This one's a tie.

THOSE HAIR CLIPSSSSS

While Buccellati's outfit reflects Sticky Fingers's zipper ability, his hairstyle and his design look horrible. Everything just does not mesh: the Catherine Zeta Jones circa Chicago haircut, the hair clips, the droplet shirt design, the open chest jacket. I really dislike all of it. What a damn shame seeing as he's my favorite Part 5 character!

What is this pose?

Meanwhile, Mista's outfit looks ridiculous. While his helmet cap is useful since he keeps extra ammo there, it looks horrible with his checkered long sleeve shirt and tiger-print pants. While Araki was probably trying to make him look like a medieval knight, it just does not work.

The Messy

Diavolo/Risotto

I decided to make this one a tie, too.

Dat hair

Diavolo's design isn't half bad. He has a intricately designed lace undershirt and he somewhat resembles Dio in a few ways which work appearance-wise. However, what really throws me off is his hair. It's pink. And spotted. He has pink dalmatian hair. It really bothers me.

What the hell is he wearing?!

While Assassination Squad leader Risotto Nero looks completely horrifying and psychotic with black sclera and red eyes, his headdress is ridiculous. It has these huge bells on it. Also, he has freaking Pipi Longstocking pants that look like stockings. It's kind of distracting when he's supposed to be among the best assassins in Passione.

3. Stand Abilities

The Memorable

Sex Pistols/Metallica

They so crazy

I'm a huge fan of Sex Pistols. It's among the most creative Stand abilities in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and I'm including Yoshikage Kira's Killer Queen, Dio's The World, and Rohan Kishibe's Heaven's Door in that count. Not only is it a cool power that allows Mista's chatty familiars to manipulate the paths of bullets fired from his gun, but the bullets themselves are great comic relief characters. Each Stand bullet has their own personality, thus creating very humorous situations when they interact and bicker with each other. This is especially hilarious since Mista acts nothing like his Stand.

Since there are more than one parts to his Stand, this has the added benefit of Mista being able to survive the death of one or more of their parts. Not only that, but Sex Pistols can be positioned to actually block a bullet like when Grateful Dead's user Prosciutto tries shooting Mista in the head with his own gun! Even though Sex Pistols is very similar to Part 3's Hol Horse's gun Stand, The Emperor, the personality and additional abilities of Mista's Stand makes it my favorite of Vento Aureo.

"I dunno, man"

Risotto Nero's Metallica Stand comes in a close second because of how creatively Araki designed it. This could have been such a by-the-numbers ability that created metal weapons out of nowhere. Instead, Araki opted to create more of a true assassination technique, perfect for a trained killer like Risotto. By using the metal in the body to create knives and razor blades, Metallica can not only slash up a target, but also deplete the body of iron, causing anemia and death. Furthermore, Metallica can manipulate iron to refract light, creating perfect camouflage for Risotto. And instead of being like a normal Stand, they live within Risotto's blood, allowing them to re-attach severed limbs!

The Muddled

King Crimson

Balls-out insane

As familiars, Stands reflect the nature of their users, usually in their appearance and abilities. King Crimson does a great job of this, with an ability that allows the Boss to literally erase segments of time just as he wants to erase his past. Unfortunately, the ability is too much like Dio's The World. This lack of originality makes the Stand feel too hackneyed.

While King Crimson looks insane as hell, his body makes it look like he stole Mista's checkered shirt. And I hate Mista's appearance! Overall, King Crimson fails to stand alongside other main antagonist Stands like The World and Killer Queen.

The Messy

Purple Haze

Also freaking crazy

Fuugo's Stand actually has a pretty cool design with a facemask based on that of a Renaissance doctor. It's rather appropriate considering that the Stand uses a flesh eating virus against its opponents.

However, Purple Haze's virus ability is problematic since Araki ran out of uses for him. I'm almost completely certain that this is the reason why Fuugo actually leaves the series midway through never to be seen again. Araki really botched the Stand by not further utilizing Purple Haze or giving Fuugo a proper send-off later on. And with Purple Haze's cool appearance and abilities, it's a damn shame.

4. Scenes & Fights
*MAJOR SPOILERS*

The Memorable

Trish VS Notorious B.I.G.

No Tupac. Sorry.

As a remote Stand fueled by the intense hatred of its deceased host, Notorious B.I.G. is among the most powerful Stands in JJBA. And he gets pitted against Trish, who initially lacks any means of defending herself, while they are confined on a small plane. Araki actually puts us inside of her head, going through her reactions and reasoning as she tries to evade the enemy while also recovering a newly grown hand for Giorno since Notorious B.I.G had infected the original. Trish knows how important the hand is since without it, Giorno would not be able to use Gold Experience to heal their comrades. Her urgent desire to help her new friends allows her to gain the confidence for her to summon a Stand: Spice Girl.

A female Stand, I may add

Spice Girl's ability to make anything elastic is perfect against the enemy Stand, since the latter only attacks  sources of movement and noise. As a result, Trish uses her ability to make a clock elastic and thus unbreakable, distracting Notorious B.I.G. long enough to escape. She legitimately holds her own despite being a novice at controlling her Stand and ends up being an invaluable part of Team Buccellati.

While Notorious B.I.G. is ultimately defeated from the combined efforts of Buccellati and Giorno cutting it off from the rest of the plane, this fight marks a huge stride in Trish's character development, going from a distrustful brat to a competent, confident asset to Buccellati and co.

Buccellati & Mista VS Prosciutto & Pesci

However, while Trish's development in her fight against Notorious B.I.G. makes it the best part of Vento Aureo, the best overall fight undeniably goes to Buccellati and Mista taking on Assassination Squad members Prosciutto and Pesci aboard a train from Florence to Rome.

Quite a pair, no?

At this point in Vento Aureo, Buccellati's crew obtain Coko Jumbo, a turtle Stand user whose Mister President acts as a small hideout for them. Normally, this would be the perfect tool for riding a train undetected. Unfortunately, Pesci's Stand Beach Boy is a powerful detector, capable of sensing life forms while Prosciutto's Grateful Dead ages its victims to death. Thus, Buccellati's crew is forced to make a move before they age too much to  mount a counterattack.

Most horrifying Stand ever

Mista initially goes out and tries to search out Grateful Dead's user, managing to corner Pesci. However, Prosciutto, disguised as one of the aged passengers, catches him off-guard, causing him to age faster via direct contact. This incapacitates Sex Pistols, allowing Prosciutto to shoot Mista in the head with his own gun!

As Pesci and Prosciutto discover Coco Jumbo and the rapidly aging protagonists, they are ambushed by Buccellati. This leads to a one-on-one fight between Buccellati and Prosciutto where the former actually uses Sticky Fingers to open up the train, causing the fight to go outside of the train. Buccellati manages to outwit his foe, causing him to get run over. As Grateful Dead's effects start wearing off, Pesci realizes that his mentor is dying and attempts to stop the train using Beach Boy, inadvertently saving Buccellati who was about to suffer the same fate.

Taking Prosciutto's earlier encouragement to heart, Pesci gains his resolve and surpasses his mentor. However, Buccellati narrowly gains the upper hand, causing Pesci to try killing his incapacitated comrades in the turtle's room. This turns out to be useless as Buccellati uses Sticky Fingers to reduce his foe to pieces.

He becomes pretty damn cold-blooded

Though this fight boasts Araki's signature twists and turns constantly shifting the advantage, the villains completely steal the show. Araki knows how to pair up the most unlikely Stand users and abilities, especially with antagonists. And yet, Prosciutto and Pesci are an effective pair with not only their abilities, but also their personalities. Beach Boy is an ideal stand for pinpointing enemies while Grateful Dead can potentially age everyone within a limited radius. Meanwhile, though Prosciutto is the more dominant one, he clearly guides Pesci like an older brother, showing a clear understanding of his comrade's potential and thus inspiring him to achieve it. Prosciutto and Pesci truly made this fight among the most memorable parts of Vento Aureo.

The Muddled

The Requiem Arc

Araki is usually pretty skilled at ending a story especially when considering every JoJo story is self-contained. And yet, he took a very lazy route with the ending of Vento Aureo. While he introduced some interesting new plot elements with Stand Requiems while reintroducing an old character from an earlier JoJo series, the execution feels disappointing despite the otherwise stellar storyline.

To explain, I need to split my complaints into several categories:

1. Polnareff

Somebody's lost some muscle

Making a surprise appearance in the Final Act of Part 5, Polnareff is a returning character who helped the Joestars defeat Dio in Part 3: Stardust Crusaders. Prior to the arc, he researched the origins of the Bow and Arrow and tracked down the Dio's Arrows to Passione and its Boss. After learning the Boss's identity, Polnareff was crippled by King Crimson. Barely surviving, Polnareff obtained the last Arrow, laying low until Buccellati got close to the secret behind the Boss's true self. During Vento Aureo, he uses the Arrow to evolve his close-range fencer Stand Silver Chariot into Silver Chariot Requiem, setting up the series endgame.

In Part 3, Polnareff was used for comic relief, but in Part 5, he has more of a mentor role, like Joseph and Jotaro in their later appearances. This Polnareff is more mature and calculating, though much weaker. While Polnareff is introduced almost nowhere, his reappearance makes the arc feel more linked to JoJo canon. Furthermoe, being a fool in Part 3, Polnareff was a fine choice for a character to come back older and wiser. Unfortunately, it was done in such a way that I suspect Araki hates his guts.

What the hell happened to you???

When he makes his first appearance in Part 5, Polnareff is not only crippled, but the Boss almost immediately kills him. Due to Silver Chariot Requiem's abilities, he does live, though it's inside the body of the gang's turtle. It's a very humiliating fate for a character that actually helped Jotaro defeat Dio and was one of the few survivors of Part 3.

It also seems that characters like Jotaro completely forgot about him. Araki gives the explanation that Passione isolated Polnareff, allowing Diavolo to cripple him. But, seriously? Jotaro just forgot about his close friend like that? He didn't even ask Hirose to keep an eye out for him? This plot hole really bothers me.

Whenever an earlier character makes a re-appearance in later JoJo series, they are wiser and contribute to the story. But with Polnareff, while he plays that mentor role, his fate completely ignores and disrespects everything he went through prior to Vento Aureo.

And then there's what happens to his Stand...

2. Requiems

I really like the design

Any aspiring battle manga-oriented artist knows that to keep the story fresh, a character's abilities need to develop over time. With Requiems, Araki tried to take Stands to this next level. But, while this is a great idea in theory, both Stand Requiems featured in Vento Aureo fail to impress.

Silver Chariot Requiem completely ruins the climax of Vento Aureo. Beforehand, Buccellati's crew has an intense fight with the Boss's final and most lethal subordinates. The Boss appears as Doppio, building up a showdown between the main protagonists and their foe. And then Silver Chariot Requiem shows up.

SCR's somewhat random abilities (Remember, Silver Chariot was a close-range fencer) completely diminish any sense of suspense previously built up. It somehow makes all the characters fall asleep and then have their souls switch bodies. The plot then shifts into a "Which Body is the Boss in?" while the protagonists scramble after SCR both to stop it from forcefully evolving life and to obtain the Arrow in its possession. This literally shifts into the final confrontation between GioGio and the Boss. I felt like I had whiplash from so many plot  twists coming out of nowhere.

Also Trish and Mista switch bodies. Shenanigans!

This brings me to the other Requiem of Vento Aureo, Gold Experience Requiem.

Looks kind of like Cell

GioGio's evolved Stand clinches the victory for Team Buccellati by causing Diavolo to lose the will to fight. While this ability can cleverly nullify any opponent's will to fight, it goes a bit overboard. Until the Requiem arc, King Crimson's Time Erase ability seemed invincible. Araki could only think of this one way to overcome the ability was forcing Golden Experience's evolution into a Super Saiyan Stand. There is no clever ploy on Giorno's part or any natural evolution of his abilities during the battle.

Requiems easily override any balance in a fight, making any tricks or ploys from their users completely unnecessary. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's battles are fun because of how the characters can fight and react in a pinch. Hence, Requiems completely ruin any sense of fun and intrigue in a JoJo battle.

3. Narancia's Death

Araki can do a protagonist's death scene well. He's pulled off several spectacular tearjerkers in all of his JoJo series up to Vento Aureo. And yet he utterly botches Narancia's death.

Narancia gets killed off almost immediately after the characters awaken from Silver Chariot Requiem's sleep ability. While he's inhabiting Giorno's body, Narancia declares that he will set himself straight. He was basically saying, "Gee whiz, I hope I don't die now!" And then Diavolo murders him offpage with King Crimson. Despite Giorno's efforts of healing his body, it is now an empty shell, indicating that Narancia's soul has passed.

Still, it is a very sad death scene

So, what is wrong with this scene?

Araki probably did it to both to show that Diavolo was among the protagonists and to eliminate Aerosmith's tracking ability from the final battle. The death was immediate and unceremonious. I understand that this is how death can be. Hell, Avdol died that way in Stardust Crusaders. But, at least he died while saving Polnareff, who avenges him. Sure, the main characters mourn for Narancia, but it's far too brief and soon overshadowed by the threat of Diavolo attacking again.

All of this just feels so lazy on Araki's part. He could have done so much better with the material he had up to this point!

4. The Good Parts

Fortunately, I don't hate everything about the final battle. Buccellati and Trish both have amazing standout moments while pursuing Silver Chariot Requiem and fighting the Boss that completely blew me away.

While everyone's bodies are swapped, the Boss holds Trish's Spice Girl hostage, seemingly turning her into the standard JoJo damsel-in-distress. However, she actually fights back, using Spice Girl to make the Boss get hit by the bullets from Mista's gun, causing him to lose possession of the Arrow. She ultimately overcomes the fear and doubt caused by her father and helps Giorno obtain the Arrow, sealing their win. I love how this makes Trish an invaluable teammate to Buccellati's crew.

Stating the obvious, yes. But still a great moment!

After this, Buccellati sacrifices himself to stop the Boss from obtaining the Arrow. Earlier, Diavolo realizes that Silver Chariot Requiem could only be defeated if an individual crushed a light source behind their head that caused SCR to appear to have a shadow facing opposite of the observer. (Yeah, the Requiems are pretty weird like that) By doing so to himself, he defeats the Requiem and reaches the Arrow first. However, Buccellati repeats the gesture, finishing off SCR. This eliminates the soul swap ability, causing Diavolo to return to his original body and causing Buccellati's now bodyless spirit to ascend. Knowing this, he leaves the final battle to his comrades.

Going out in style!

Overall, while I don't like the Requiem storyline's direction and twists, I still enjoyed Buccellati and Trish's roles in the finale. It's great that both characters could really shine with Trish's development and Buccellati's victory over the Boss demonstrating the full completion of their character arcs. These kinds of elements truly make a story's ending all the more satisfying.

The Messy

From the beginning to the fight with Buccellati

Every JoJo story starts out being pretty damn bizarre, but usually Araki refines it after playing around with the series for a bit, especially when he gets to battle arcs. Vento Aureo doesn't really get good until the search for Polpo's treasure. At this point, most of Buccellati's crew are introduced and they are all going on missions with a clear objective along with a decent excuse for enemy Stand users to start appearing.

Unfortunately, Vento Aureo takes a while to get there. Much of Giorno's trials to become part of Passione lack much of Araki's charisma. Giorno and Buccellati are introduced as seemingly insane weirdos. Giorno straight up kills a guy (in self defense, but the death  is still gruesome). The GioGio VS Buccellati fight introduces Gold Experience's ability to make human reflexes speed up too much, though this effect is rarely seen afterwards. And Giorno's initiation involves keeping a lighter lit, while Hirose tries to get his stolen luggage back from him.

Diamond is Not Crash's Koichi Hirose is a saving grace of the introductory chapters due to how powerful and confident he has become since Part 4. His encounters with Giorno are fun to read. Furthermore, he grounds longtime fans in some familiarity since he was a major player in his series.

By the time the story reaches Giorno's initiation into the gang, Araki sorts out most of the problems holding back the series, allowing it to really take off!

5. Themes
*MAJOR SPOILERS*

The Memorable

1. Gender

Hirohiko Araki has had a history of not portraying women very well. Many of them are essentially cardboard cutouts with little development throughout their respective JoJo stories. The worst offenders are probably Erina from Part 1 and Suzie Q from Part 2 who serve as damsels-in-distress dependent on the men to bail them out. Even worse is Jotaro's mother, Holly, in Part 3, who is too weak to maintain a Stand due to Dio's evil influence.

Fortunately, he's been improving. Erina and Suzie Q both become badass grannies post-timeskip. While we don't really see that development, Araki does make their transformations plausible with the crazy shit they endure in their earlier years. Part 2: Battle Tendency features the first badass female in JoJo in the form of Lisa Lisa, a ripple master who serves a similar role to Zeppoli and his master in Part 1. For the most part, Araki does a great job depicting her, making her cold, powerful, and ruthless, but also very maternal. Unfortunately, Araki still botches her character at the end of Battle Tendency. She ultimately becomes a damsel-in-distress in the final battle due to a cheap shot, though this is mainly because she is not the story's JoJo AKA the character who must always have the final blow.

Part 3 goes the opposite route with several powerful femme fatale Stand users who lack much motivation beyond one who thinks Dio is hot and the others simply being loyal. While the story doesn't have any good female characters, the baddies are at least treated the same way as male enemies.

Part 4's main female cast includes a ghost and Yukako Yamagishi, a crazy stalker with a hair Stand. While the latter comes off as an overemotional teenager, the former serves as more of a guide, being a victim of a serial killer. There's also Aya Tsuji who basically has a cosmetic surgery Stand which despite being a very shallow power, ends up being very crucial to the plot.

By Part 5, I was not expecting much in terms of well-written female characters. But, honestly, Trish Una surprised me, having the most character development of any single female character in a JoJo storyline thus far. In her first appearances, she comes off as a total valley girl. But, after Buccellati rescues her from the Boss, she begins to cooperate with Buccellati's crew to take down her father. And then she gets a Stand and manages to hold her own in combat!

To think that in Stone Ocean's storyline, the protagonist would be played by a woman. Either way, it's amazing how far Araki has come in writing the fairer sex.

2. The Mafia as a force for good

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure tends to have a black and white morality. The bad guys are irredeemably evil and the good guys are pure hearted Good Samaritans. Vento Aureo changes things up by having protagonists that are "bad guys" by society's standards. Technically, the black and white dynamic is maintained, but solely in Passione instead of society as a whole. The bad guys are the most evil monsters in the world and the good guys are good at their cores, despite their roles as mobsters.

Still, Araki plays around with the morality aspect, especially with how he somewhat glorifies the Mafia, at least in Buccellati's crew. In Giorno's backstory, he witnesses his mobster role model gain the respect as a mafioso while also being benevolent and fatherly, an ideal that Buccellati also aims to embody. This idealism ultimately turns Passione, a drug-dealing, oppressive crime organization, into a force of good by the story's end.

The Muddled

The Arrow

Despite its prominent role in Parts 4 and 5, the Arrow fails to enhance the experience of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, especially in the latter series. It does decently explain why Morioh-cho is overrun by Stand Users, but even Bleach gives a better explanation for why a bunch of local teenagers got superpowers.

The Arrow completely ruins the fun of Stands. It feels like the midichlorian explanation for the Force: It completely undermines any mystery that the ability originally had. They used to be these spirits with ambiguous origins and all of a sudden, it turns out that they came from a meteorite. (Seriously) It's an instance where the origins of Stands would be best left ambiguous.

With the introduction of Requiems, the Arrow even detracts from the stellar story of Part 5. Silver Chariot Requiem and the search for the Arrow become the main focus when earlier, the whole point was for GioGio to defeat the Boss and take his place at the head of Passione. As I said earlier, the Arrow completely derails and ruins the ending.

The Arrow becomes a MacGuffin in every sense of the word, becoming the only way that either the baddies or good guys can win. This is even more the case because Stand Requiems are essentially invincible. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has never had invincible characters. Even the most durable like the Pillar Men had their weaknesses. Even Dio and his Stand had weaknesses. Even in Part 4, Jotaro is actually defeated despite being able to stop time. That the Arrow can actually make characters invincible feels like a lazy move by Araki.

The Messy

Buccellati The Corpse

About halfway through Vento Aureo, Buccellatti "dies" from his wounds after fighting King Crimson, even though Giorno heals him with Gold Experience. Afterwards, he starts rotting and loses the ability to feel pain. The idea is that Buccellati's willpower is so strong that he can somehow live despite being dead. It's confusing, but Araki somehow makes it work.

Impervious to pain

Buccellati's zombie-like qualities come in handy in several fights, namely in the one against Cioccolata and Secco. Cioccolata's Stand Green Day creates a flesh-eating fungus whenever a victim moves downward while Secco's Oasis softens the ground, causing victims to sink and be attacked by the fungus. Since Buccellati is now "dead," Green Day does not work on him, allowing Buccellati's crew to gain the upper hand. While this seems like lazy writing, at least Araki uses it to create an awesome fight.


THE BOTTOM LINE: Memorable, But Messy

Despite Vento Aureo's awkward start and botched ending, everything in between is a delicious mix of what makes JoJo's Bizarre Adventure such a fun and unique manga. While the villain and JoJo of this storyline lack standout qualities, Araki provides many fascinating and crazy characters and Stand abilities that hold their own. Longtime fans will considerably enjoy the constantly shifting battles, bizarre characters, and the overall signature artistic and aesthetic design.

I really wanted to love Part 5. It had some of my favorite characters, Stand abilities, and fights up to that point. However, it was also full of letdowns. Most JoJo series tend to lack the polish and forethought to make them true masterpieces. Vento Aureo unfortunately suffers from those same problems. But, flaws aside, while I'm not a fan of the start or the destination, the ride itself makes it a must-read!

I give JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 7 mudas out of 10.

He learned from the best!

Side Note: PHEW, that was long! One more thing!

While it hasn't been directly confirmed, Vento Aureo will probably have an anime adaptation like Part 1: Phantom Blood, Part 2: Battle Tendency, and Part 3: Stardust Crusaders (Yes, another one!). Here's looking forward to it! Till next time, folks!