top of page

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 8 JoJolion Arc by Arc Review (7/9)

Milagro Man


Josuke Higashikata finally discovers that he is the amalgamation of Yoshikage Kira and Josefumi Kujo.


The story returns two weeks prior to Kaato Higashikata's release. At the Higashikata's, Joshu asks for money from his father Norisuke, as he wishes to buy idol items. After the meet-and-greet, Joshu spends time choosing the goodies he wants to buy, only to be cut off by a fellow fan who already chose what he wanted. Upset, Joshu realizes that this man left his wallet on the counter and steals it just as the man returns to find his wallet. In the restroom, Joshu steals all the cash inside the wallet and the cash card, withdrawing 500,000 yen from his victim's bank account after correctly guessing the code. Happy to have outsmarted his victim, Joshu indulges himself in a shopping spree, trying to buy an expensive wristwatch, several movie tickets for one showing, and eating in a luxurious restaurant. At the same time, due to many coincidences, Joshu doesn't actually lose his money, but accumulates more and more as he tries to spend it. Thinking that he is lucky, Joshu doesn't pay much attention to it.


However, when he tries to spend his money in a bar, the manager and several security guards interrogate him about the money. To Joshu's surprise, the owner is furious that he is trying to give him the money and mentions a "Milagro Man". For unknown reasons, the owner forces more money into Joshu's pocket and tries to beat him up. Joshu uses Nut King Call to fight back and flees. Joshu eventually notices that the staff put even more money inside his bag, making him feel suspicious.


Nervous to have so much money and realizing that whenever he tries to spend his money, he instead receives more, Joshu examines the bills but sees nothing unusual. He decides to gamble in a boat race and wins 3.1 million yen. At first happy, Joshu then notices that the money inside his bag has somehow increased, making it impossible to close. Anxious that someone could discover his money, Joshu tries to hide it inside a coin locker. As he pushes the money inside, Joshu sees that the immatriculation of the bills all finish with "13R". The locker breaks down, letting some of the money fly away, but all the bystander then return the money without asking questions. Joshu then tries to take a taxi home, but the taxi driver then tries to return the money. Joshu insists that he keeps the cash, and the two eventually struggle to have the other one take the money. Joshu accidentally burns one of the bills and sees it multiplying at high speed and to his horror, the money begins to cover him.


Joshu wakes up on his home's couch, thinking that he's merely dreamed the past events. However when he returns to his room, it is flooded with money which falls into him. Joshu tracks down his victim, named Zaihei Nigatake, and blames him for what's happening to him. Zaihei, grateful toward Joshu for taking his "curse", explains everything to him. This cursed money which never goes away from its owner is said to have belonged to an arms dealer named the Milagro Man. The Milagro Man lost a lawsuit and went mad, killing his whole family and setting his mansion on fire, burning everything except a single scorched bill. The curse remained inside the money and two years ago, Zaihei unwittingly took the curse in Europe and returned to Japan, living hell waiting for someone to take the curse. Zaihei advises Joshu to have someone take the money and try to destroy it to pass the curse completely.


When Zaihei takes a bottle of juice and opens it, Joshu reveals that he planted some of the money inside the wrapping. When Zaihei opened it, he unwittingly tore the bills inside, and he sees the money appearing around him and burying him. Zaihei begs Joshu, but the latter departs, cleared of the curse. On his way home, Joshu melancholically ponders his true worth in the world.


Rating: 8/10


Dolomite's Blue Lagoon


At the Higashikata House, Josuke and Norisuke discuss what they ought to do, hiding from the rest of the family under the pretense that Josuke wants to try out Norisuke's motorcycle. Josuke shows a footage of Jobin creeping in the garden, and suspects that he is in collusion with the Rokakaka Smuggling Organization, exposing Jobin's possible use as a cover for their smuggling. Norisuke refuses to believe that his eldest may be conspiring behind him, but as Josuke needs to find the Rokakaka for his own mother Holy and his own grandson Tsurugi's life is at stake, he cooperates further with Josuke. Norisuke tells him to go find an unnamed plant appraiser that only he knows of who will be able to find the branch.


Relaxing on a hammock in Norisuke's garden, Kaato Higashikata has been eavesdropping on them and after a brief fight with her ex-husband, Kaato calls Jobin and warns him that Josuke and Norisuke are planning to meet someone. Jobin thus heads to a pond near a shrine. In here he meets with a crippled Rock Human named Dolomite whom he convinces to use his Stand Blue Hawaii to attack Josuke.


Some time later, Josuke is given a letter by a courier boy. In the letter, there is a tooth, and the boy starts to act feral, pursuing straight in Josuke's direction even if it means bashing his head against obstacles. Although the boy is soon neutralized and comes to his senses, a mature woman who became involved soon turns feral too and pursues Josuke. Josuke sees that the boy has become conscious again and understands that the tooth is important in order to fight his enemy. The woman's attack are relentless, and Josuke, unable to touch her without being defeated, has to constantly flee. Pursued up to a scaffolding, Josuke gets almost bitten but Soft & Wet manages to bash the woman with a shovel and trap her inside a neighboring building. Josuke then tries to put as much distance between the infectee and him.


Josuke calls Yasuho for help, as she is the one person he completely trusts. He explains his situation and instructs Yasuho to go investigate the tooth back at Ryūshō Temple bus station and be sure to not touch it. Yasuho departs immediately to help Josuke. Josuke realizes that he is in the middle of the crowded commercial district where anyone could attack him. Sure enough, another infectee has come to attack him. Defending himself and fleeing when he can, Josuke successively repels one infectee after the other. However, without Yasuho, he will eventually be defeated.


Meanwhile, Yasuho has come to investigate the tooth, and has identified Dolomite as Masaji Dorokoma thanks to Paisley Park. However, before she can locate Dolomite, Jobin renders her unconscious, throws away the tooth, and breaks her mobile phone to stop her from helping Josuke. Although Yasuho wakes up, she has no way to find the enemy.


At the same time, Josuke keeps being pursued by a bird, a taxi driver then a fly. Realizing that the enemy Stand can control animals, Josuke must flee again and goes into a store to take a bug spray can and kill the fly, but although it died, the fly's corpse still pursues him. Josuke retreats into the bathroom, aiming to narrow the fly's angle of attack, but to his dismay, a baby has been infected and tries to crawl into the bathroom. Unwilling to harm a baby, Josuke lets himself get touched and becomes controlled by Blue Hawaii. Josuke mindlessly walks up to Dolomite's pond, where the Rock Human interrogates him about his goal and resorts to order him to drown himself at the bottom of the pond.


However, Yasuho who had been trailing Josuke, intervenes and bashes Dolomite with a metal bar. The limbless Dolomite cannot defend himself and when pushed into a mud pit, surrenders and reveals that it was Jobin who asked him to attack Josuke. Dolomite then comments that the two became involved with a dangerous business by approaching the Rokakaka, all the more since a new species of the fruit has appeared.


Rating: 8/10

16 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page