JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Episode 13 Review: Mirror Man and Purple Smoke

This episode concludes the battle with Fight With The Mirror, and sees Giorno earning Fugo’s respects. Abbacchio also showed us that he is also willing to go to some extreme lengths in order to complete their mission even if it meant abandoning his comrades.

Plot

Illuso goes after Abbacchio, and he latter ends up half-inhalf-out of the mirror world along with Moody Blues. However, Abbacchio shows us just how much it means to him to carry out the mission assigned to him, going so far as to even cut off him own hand to get the key to Giorno. Illuso makes the mistake of pulling Giorno, who is infected with Purple Haze’s virus, into the mirror world. This forces Illuso back into the real world, but Purple Haze is able to track him down thanks to Giorno turning a brick into a snake. Boom, that’s the end of Illuso! Giorno then uses the immunity the snake has to the virus to make an antidote. Mission complete!

Original Japanese Title: マン・イン・ザ・ミラーとパープル・ヘイズ

Thoughts

Our main theme this episode is perhaps ‘values’; that is to say the difference in values between Abbacchio and Giorno. Our ex-officer puts his priority on completing his mission at all costs, even if it means leaving his comrades, or himself, in serious danger. It’s quite clear how he’s turned out that way, as he only really feels meaning in his life if he has been given a mission by somebody else to carry out. To him, pride and face are very important, and if it means cutting off his own hand to not lose it, then so be it. Giorno differs in that he believes in prioritizing the safety of his comrades and calmly taking the best route to complete the mission without sacrificing anybody. As Giorno said, him infecting himself with Purple Haze’s virus was just part of his plan, whereas Abbachio’s actions showed real grit without any regard for his own safety if it meant the completion of the mission. It shows that although the two of them are never going to be buddy-buddy, there is a mutual level of respect (not that Abbacchio would want to admit that).

This theme came across pretty clearly in what began as a fight focusing on our favorite berserker, Fugo. We had some sloppy animation this episode, but we haven’t quite got to the point that it’s distracting from the episode (in my eyes, anyway). As long as the animation stays on-point for the more iconic scenes!

Highlights

– Is it just me, or is Moody Blues pretty thick?
– I don’t mean to sound sadistic, but I loved Giorno writhing in agony after administering the antidote to himself. It’s one of those rare moments where he completely loses his cool. Just like when I step on a plug.
– Purple Haze’s vocalization is so perfect. The growl it releases as it hold Illuso by the throat is the sound of pure, unadulterated rage, and I even felt a little uncomfortable listening to it.

Trivia

– The train station shown in the after-credits screen is meant to be Napoli Centrale train station. Although the outside has Napoli Centrale’s distinctive flat roof, the inside shot is of Milano Centrale train station, recognizable by its curved walls and green windows.

‘Dammit Giorno… I was going.. to beat the shit out of you’

We have finally finished the first cour of Golden Wind, and we are finally getting ready to leave Naples! The first 13 episodes have primarily been world building and character/Stand introductions, so I’m ready for some plot advancement and character development! We have hardly seen much of Trish, who is meant to be the main female character of this series, so I’m looking forward to seeing her interact with Team Bucciarati’s members.
I’ve mentioned how much I’ve been loving the OST in my reviews, and I’ve been able to listen to the recently-released OST Part 1 a few times since it came out. It’s a brilliant soundtrack and I recommend you all give it a listen if you can get hold of it. However, with the new cour starting in Episode 14, I’m hoping we get to hear some new tracks soon. I’m looking forward to it.

Ciao!