JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind Episode 6 Review: Moody Jazz's Counterattack

We’ve met Bucciarati’s subordinates, but are yet to meet their Stands. This episode we get to meet the first Stand, Abbachio’s Moody Blues. What can his Stand do and how will it help solve the mystery of the missing members of Team Bucciarati?

Thoughts on Episode 6 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

Original Japanese title: ムーディ・ブルーズの逆襲

Abbachio’s past is a pretty rough. He just wanted to help make the town a better place, but unfortunately the corruption stinking up the place was just too much, and it’s not surprising he is so hostile to newcomer Giornio. Putting Abbachio’s past into this episode is actually quite a big change from the manga, as this flashback doesn’t appear until quite a bit later in the story. Moving it forward to this point was a great move on the anime’s part, as we get to really understand his personality before we set off on an adventure with him. Although he went through his share of sh*t, Abbachio deep down still has a strong sense of justice. Why else would he be invited by Bruno Bucciarati himself?

Abbachio’s Moody Blues is quite a facinating Stand, as it can accurately retrace people’s past movements- an ability that certainly suits a (former) police officer! I’m sure there are many people who would be desperate to get a power like that. I can safely say I am not one of them…

This episode took place entirely on the boat with just 1 or two characters appearing at a time. Yet it didn’t fail to keep my attention with its mix of well-written dialogue, interesting visual effects, and of course the soundtrack. The final scene especially was an amazing addition, with Abbachio looking back on the dark alley which represented his dark feelings, putting down the bottle, and looking towards Bruno. Although short, it was a very touching scene and just raised my awe for Bruno even higher.

Highlights

I really like the answering machine-like sound effects for Moody Blues. Along with the awesome zippy sounds of Sticky Fingers, the sound director is doing a great job. ‘zzzzzzpppp’

The use of CG to create the video effect when MB transformed into Narancia was pretty cool.

I freaking loved the BGM during the scene where Moody Blues was replaying Narancia’s record. It seemed to be based on one of the common tracks played in the OST, but it speeds up and slows down in a way that must have been written for Moody Blues. I continue to fall more and more in love with the OST with each episode.

There is a scene where Bruno and Abbachio are talking over each other. It’s pretty rare to have this happen in anime, but it really adds to the tension of the scene, as well as highlight the different attitudes each of the guys have to the situation.

Trivia

Abbachio’s Stand (in the original Japanese) is called Moody Blues, named after Birmingham rock band The Moody Blues. The name certainly suits Abbachio. The Stand is called ‘Moody Jazz’ in the localization..

I noticed a mark on the label of Abbachio’s police uniform (Italian police uniforms are so stylish, don’t you think?) which looked a lot like a pen nib. Pen nibs are often seen in JoJo media, and I can’t help but associate them with Rohan from Diamond is Unbreakable.

The enemy stand this episode is called Soft Machine (named after the UK band of the same name), but was called ‘Tender Machine’ in the English localization.

What’s important isn’t the end, it’s how you get there

This episode took advantage of using Abbachio’s backstory (which appears later in the manga) to teach us about Leone Abbachio and what kind of man he is. In the manga I felt that we were only learning about his power at this particular point, but the anime has us learn about his heart too all in one episode. A secondary effect of this is also having the viewers deepen their respect for Bruno, a man who helps others by helping them help themselves (but I might be biased here). I didn’t really miss the other guys all that much, but I will be glad to see them again in the next episode and hopefully see a bit of comic relief. Ciao!