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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 8 JoJolion Arc by Arc Review (6/9)

Hato Brought Her Boyfriend Home


The legendary Rokakaka Tree is introduced, being a plant from New Guinea formally discovered by an Australian expedition in 1938. The Rokakaka was already very rare for the native New Guinean, who occasionally used the fruit to cure various ailments. During World War II, all reports of the fruit disappeared and it became a mere legend. Yasuho and Tsurugi are sitting in Yasuho's family room and are having a telephonic conversation with Josuke. Yasuho has done some research about Josefumi Kujo and asks why Josuke is interested in him, to which Josuke answers that Josefumi might be his original identity. He then plans to go at Josefumi's house for further investigations and asks Yasuho if he can find a picture of him.


Josuke's conversation is interrupted when he sees Hato coming back. Daiya and Joshu become incredibly excited, as Hato has brought her first boyfriend home. Daiya explains the situation to Josuke and enthusiastically asks how handsome is Hato's boyfriend. However, he and Norisuke are flabbergasted to see that the man in question is rather ugly, being short, overweight, adorning a horseshoe mustache and wearing a tracksuit. He introduces himself as Tamaki Damo, manager of a cleaning store and 23 years old. Joshu finds the situation hilarious and openly mocks Damo, which infuriates Hato. Damo offers Norisuke some youkan; it is at that time that Kyo Nijimura and Norisuke notice separately strange fingerprints on the family room's door handle and the youkan box, Kyo trying to clean the fingerprints on the handle.


Norisuke tries to change to subject of conversation and asks how Hato and Tamaki got acquainted with each other, wiping some handprints on the window. Meanwhile Josuke resumes his conversation with Yasuho on the phone and tells her to fax the photo of Josefumi she's found; Yasuho is rather skeptical as she comments that Josefumi doesn't look like Josuke. Hato then narrates that when she was doing a photo shoot in a studio next to Damo's shop, one of the necklace broke. Damo picked up all the pieces and repaired it, offering the necklace to Hato. Moreover Damo managed to write the sentence "I Love You" on the necklace, and Hato was seduced by the incredibly romantic gesture.


Josuke then announces that he'll go out for a bit, and Norisuke asks him before that to get Kyo, who's gone to the foyer and isn't answering. In the foyer, Josuke spots Kyo's dish towel on the floor then traces of Kyo, as if she's slipped into the walls. Meanwhile Damo enters the room on the left instead and gets out, which Joshu notices. Meanwhile the fax has finally printed and it is revealed that the man on the photo is none other than Tamaki Damo, using the name Josefumi Kujo. Daiya notices the fax while Joshu opens the locker door to look further inside it, but his hands slip inside the handles. Joshu then trips when he tries to free himself and hits his head on a nearby faucet it opens and the tap water goes through his head; Joshu is powerless as he and his Nut King Call are melted and drained into the faucet. Meanwhile Daiya, who is near blind, can only read the name on the fax and doesn't let the others see what is on the document. However Hato notices Damo's photo and asks to examine the sheet, to Daiya's refusal. Daiya runs to the next room to give Josuke his fax, but when Josuke looks at her, she's collapsed and is melting on the floor.


As Josuke is stunned to see Daiya melting on the floor, Tamaki Damo approaches Hato and kindly asks her to go to the foyer and get back the fax. When Norisuke drinks his champagne, the bubbles distort his skin greatly and as he melts, Damo reveals his true self. Switching his behavior for a dominative one, Damo reveals that he's come to the Higashikata estate to solve "three" problems. Revealing his Stand Vitamin C, Damo explains that he's firstly investigating the disappearance of an architect, two twin brothers and a security guard, eliminating the responsible party if necessary. While Damo proceeds to toy with the softened Norisuke, he asks him about Yoshikage Kira; Norisuke tries to play dumb, to no avail. Damo then tells Norisuke about the beginning of the whole affair.


Two years ago, Yoshikage Kira, 27 years old and ship doctor by profession, is called on the deck to save a man who's fallen from the upper deck. After a short examination, Kira asks about the second victim, as there is another blood trace on the ground. Kira then discovers that the blood comes from one of the Rocks stored inside a container which was burst open, and notices the human form of Aisho Dainenjiyama in the rock. Curious, Kira inquires about the container and learns that it's from Port Moresby in New Guinea, that its cargo is listed as perfectly legal, and that the Higashikata Fruit Parlor is he client. Back in Morioh, Kira is watching over the docks. He surprises Ojiro Sasame eating noodles in a nearby restaurant and bullies him, prompting the surfer to flee. Meanwhile Kira finally sees Aisho getting out of the hangar where the Rocks were stored, and deducing that he is part of a strange fruit trade, decides to tail Aisho and eventually steal the fruit. When the client in question manages to extract the pepper from the soup, Kira recognizes the man as Josefumi Kujo.


In the present, Josuke warns Hato, who's entered the foyer, not to touch anything and tells her that Tamaki Damo is attacking the family right now. Josuke tries to escape by breaking the glass door with a flower pot, but it slips back at Josuke, who is now under the effect of Vitamin C as well. Unknowingly to Hato, the enemy Stand lurks right behind her.


Rating: 9/10


Vitamin C and Killer Queen


Back when Josefumi was a little child, he once almost drowned at the beach when his neglectful mother Kiyomi hesitated saving her son from a failed relationship. Fortunately for the young Josefumi, Kiyomi's conscience pushed her to save him, but he was already unconscious from lack of oxygen and hitting his head against the rocks. Brought to the hospital, Josefumi was saved by Holy Joestar-Kira and her son Yoshikage, who performed surgery with his Stand.


Back to around two years ago, Aisho Dainenjiyama is conducting a trade of the Rokakaka for 200,000,000 yen with star baseball player Atsunori Iwakiri. Both are spied on by Yoshikage and Josefumi, who see first hand the potential of the Rokakaka when the baseball pitcher fully recover from his shoulder injury and greatly performs during the baseball match. Kira pretends to want to steal the fruit only for the money, but Josefumi tells him that he knows that Holy is ill and needs the fruit. Out of respect for both, Josefumi accepts cooperating with Kira in order to steal the fruit. Moreover, he demonstrates that they can reduce the risks by only stealing several branches and grafting them to harvest the future fruit at their leisure.


As Aisho leaves the stadium, Kira and Josefumi trail him. By distracting Aisho with the help of an eye medicine and an engineered motorcycle accident, Josefumi manages to open the briefcase where the Rokakaka is, take several branches and graft decoys in their place. The heist is a success.


In the present, Tamaki Damo interrogates Norisuke Higashikata IV, and asks him who killed Yotsuyu Yagiyama. Damo has to cut off Norisuke's arm in order to make him confess that he killed Yotsuyu, but Damo correctly guesses that someone else was helping him.


A flashback demonstrates how Holy's condition has worsened, and that she has trouble remembering her son. The narration goes to August 19th 2011. In Yoshikage's boat, the two young man discuss the grafted branches' condition, with Josefumi announcing that the fruits are almost ripe. As they approach the harbour, they see Karera Sakunami who has been stalking Josefumi for quite some time. However Yoshikage sees that Damo and Yotsuyu have boarded his sailing boat. As Damo reveals how he noticed the theft and traced it back to them, Vitamin C easily disables Josefumi and Yoshikage while overpowering Killer Queen. Damo vents off some frustration on the powerless Kira, cutting off his liver, and then announces that he will spare one of them. Sensing a kind of responsibility for failing to protect the secret of the Rokakaka, Damo decides that whoever tells him first about where the grafted branches are will live. He pushes Josefumi to reveal it, who almost confess, but Kira interrupts him, announcing that allies will come help them. Damo doesn't believe the surgeon at first, but sees Karera approach the boat. Yotsuyu sends I Am a Rock to pin Karera on the ground, but it is too late for the Rock Men to stop Kira's attack. Having hidden Sheer Heart Attack inside Karera's hair, Kira manages to make them explode, destroying a good part of the harbour and sending everyone into the water.


Josefumi and Kira drift along the coast up to the grafted branches' location where Josefumi drags the already unconscious Kira to the branches and plans to feed him one of the fruits. At the harbor, Damo sends Yotsuyu and the A. Phex Brothers after Josefumi, wanting his subordinate to sweep the coast. At the same time, Karera is hiding behind some of the debris. Josefumi tries to feed Kira one of the fruits, but Kira doesn't react, his empty gaze indicating that he most certainly is dead. Josefumi eventually uses Soft & Wet to forcefeed Kira.


In the present, Josuke reveals to Hato that Damo is an enemy and that they must fight him. Back to the past, Kira is seemingly healed, but Josefumi's face begins to crumble away, making him realize that the Rokakaka he cultivated are different. While the Rockmen sweep the coast, wary of the incoming tsunami, Josefumi notices that Kira also has metal pieces embedded into his skull. Josefumi weeps as he realizes Kira also protected him from the blast. When the A. Phex Brothers meet and confront Josefumi, he promptly defeats them both and sends them into the cliff. Having no other choice, Josefumi confesses to the dead Kira that he secretly thinks that he should have died on the beach the day they met. Happy to have lived this long thanks to Holy, Josefumi sacrifices himself and takes the last fruit from the branches, hoping that Kira will be able to harvest them. He destroys the Rokakaka, feeds it to Kira, and performs an equivalent exchange with him. Norisuke and Tsurugi are seen going back to their home to protect themselves, and a piece of the Rokakaka is picked up by Iwasuke. At the same time, the earth opens under Josefumi and Kira, and both fall into a fissure.


Rating: 8/10

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