JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind Episode 3 Review: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall

The more I listen to Coda’s opening ‘Fighting Gold’, the more I love it! It’s such a great song, and I can’t wait to listen to the full version. In this episode we get to meet a new Stand, and its very strange, looking user. Will Giorno succeed in joining Passione? Let’s take a look at Episode 3 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind.

Thoughts on Episode 3: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall

Japanese title: 塀の中のギャングに会え

Giorno has announced his intention to destroy Passione from the inside, and he seems to have accepted by Bruno, as long as he can improve himself. He is sent to Bruno’s direct superior, Polpo, who currently lives a very cushy life in a prison. Polpo is quite a strange-looking guy to say the least, and it’s very clear that he holds a lot of power, simply choosing to stay in the cell because he might as well. He values trust and loyalty and gives Giorno the lighter test. Giorno is to keep the lighter lit for 24 hours and return it. He is able to get through the pat-down at the prison and even gets around Koichi entering his room! What I really don’t get is why Koichi just waltzed right into Giorno’s room without permission and why Giorno really felt the need to hide. Anyway, an innocent old man accidentally douses Giorno with water, extinguishing the flame. We can relight the lighter right? No big deal? However, it seems that Polpo’s Stand is actually activated by lighting the lighter. In a shocking turn, it seems that Polpo’s stand has an Arrow, which viewers of Diamond is Unbreakable will certainly recognize. As we know, those who do not have the potential to develop a Stand will perish if struck by the Arrow, and the little janitor’s life was taken away.

Highlights

Polpo’s design

I was quite surprised to hear that Polpo’s voice was the way that it is. The echoing, double-layer voice was a little freaky and emphasized just how HUGE Polpo is. I think it was a great idea.

Black Sabbath

I absolutely love the design of Polpo’s Stand, Black Sabbath, and I think the anime design is just as cool as the original manga design.

Giorno’s Surprise

I think there is something cute about Giorno when he is shocked, such as when the flame almost went out in his room or when he saw Koichi at the cafe in the first episode. Normally Giorno is quite cool and calculating, but when he gasps in shock, it’s a slight reminder that he is just 15 years old.

Trivia

Koichi Hirose

It’s a very tiny detail, but when Giorno sees Koichi, he calls him ‘Koichi Hirose’ instead of ‘Hirose Koichi’. This is because although the dialogue is in Japanese (if you are watching the Japanese audio of course), we know that Giorno is speaking in Italian, so he says Koichi’s name in the Western order. It also seems that Giorno can still understand Japanese as he knew what Koichi was saying. Although I could just be reading into it a bit too much.

Iyadesu

When Giorno refuses to help out people on campus, he uses the phrase ‘iya desu’. Although he’s using polite language, it means something like ‘I don’t want to’. I just think it was highly amusing just how frank and straightforward Giorno is.

Symbol of Japan

The ‘symbol of Japan’ which Koichi mentions is a Chrysanthemum, which is the symbol of the imperial family and is on the front of Japanese passports.

You have two possible paths

We are still a little bit away before the story gets really interesting, but Giorno has officially started his journey towards entering Passione! There isn’t much in the way of action this episode, but the sudden death of the janitor is kind of brutal. I have noticed that the characters are already a lot more off-model in this series compared to Diamond is Unbreakable, which is a little disappointing, and I have high hopes for some of the CG. The episode ended at a great point, though, and I am totally ready to see how Giorno will overcome Polpo’s test! Did you know that there was actually a Polpo test available for smartphones recently, and players had to keep the screen open without switching to any other apps for a whole 24 hours? Anybody who successfully passed the test was put into some kind of prize draw. Do you think you would have been able to pass the test?

I will be back quite soon with my thoughts on the 4th episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind!