JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Episode 10 Review: Hitman Team

We are finally in the double digits of JJBA:GW, and smol Narancia is smol. This episode served as both the entry to the main plot and a lead-up to the climax of the battle. It’s from this episode that we start to slowly leave the introductions of the members and powers of Buccalett.

Plot

Naracia has been followed by Formaggio, a member of the hitman team after Trish. Despite the power and accuracy of Narancia’s Stand, Aerosmith, Formaggio’s Little Feet shrink not only Narancia, but his Stand too.
Meanwhile, we see the members of Formaggio’s team and learn of the true ferocity of the boss of Passione.

Original Japanese title: 暗殺者チーム

Thoughts

From this episode it seems that there has been a slight change in the order of the flashbacks. We would normally learn about Narancia’s past at this point, but instead we learn about the hitman team. This was probably a good idea for two main reasons. First of all, it wouldn’t really fit to have Narancia’s past brought up when the battle is going to carry on to the next episode. I have no doubt that we’ll be looking at that next episode. Secondly, it just seems like the right point to introduce us to Narancia’s enemy and the rest of the team. The story about Sorbet and Gelato is absolutely brutal, and the anime did a fantastic job in making it uncomfortable to watch. Although swapping around the timing of when to show the Narancia flashback and hitman team flashback is a small thing, it really makes it more exciting to watch to know earlier on who Formaggio is and where his anger comes from. It also feels like we are truly getting towards the ongoing plot.

Highlights

・The way that Narancia uses his arms as a landing platform for Aerosmith is, dare I say it, pretty cute.

・Pesci’s overreactions are always going to be a highlight for me.

・The scene describing Sorbet and Gelato’s death is certainly uncomfortable, but a highlight in that it reminds how dark and gritty JoJo can really be.

Trivia

・Formaggio: He probably has the cheesiest name in the series, as formaggio is the Italian word for cheese.

・The phone number Narancia has written on his hand has the area code (011), which apparently is the area code for Turin in north-west Italy. However, Bucciarati says that the vineyard is only 15 kilometers from Pompeii, which is near Naples towards the south. Naples has the area code (081). Of course, the number may be an in-joke but I can’t come up with anything. If you have any ideas, let me know!

・Take a good look at the silhouette of the hitman sent to take care of Sorbet and Gelato! We’re going to see him again in a very, VERY epic scene much later in the series…

・The cast members of the hitman team surprisingly consists mostly of voice actors very popular with female anime fans. It was actually a little surprising to see the cast list for the hitman team.

‘It was a rather intense way of getting killed…’

It feels like we are slowly starting to skim the surface of the main plot of Golden Wind with the introduction of the rebellious hitman team. I’m going to be completely honest when I say I don’t remember all that much about Formaggio from when I read the manga, and I may have forgotten about him again by the end of the anime… Nevertheless it was a good episode, as Narancia shows he is not necessarily quite the idiot he sometimes comes across to be. How will teeny Narancia escape from cheese man and Little Feet?

That’s it for Episode 10! Ciao!