#it takes place in 2011 with josuke and yasuho

[goatpaste]

So what actually goes on in jojolion? What's that one about?

Ohhh brudder jojolion is probably my personal favirote jojo part

I love it so much, its unfortunately got some rough spots especially at the start with the character daiya. But as for the story at whole its really great

Its about a man who wakes up with no memories of who he is, where he came from, or why he was buried in the dirt. It's about the journey of this man as he discovers who he was to those around him before he lost his memories. It's about a man deciding who he wants to be in an ocean of perspectives of his character from others.

It's about family and the unbreakable bond with your mother no matter where you go and what happens. Even if that means doing things that no one else will understand or even hate you for doing.

[duhragonball]

JoJolion Ch. 58-63

This is "Dawn of the Higashikata Family", and the "Dolomite's Blue Lagoon" arc.

In the wake of the battle with Tamaki Damo, Josuke has embraced his identity as both Yoshikage Kira and Josefumi Kira, and he has dedicated himself to pursuing their mission: to obtain a Locacaca fruit and use equivalent exchange to save Holly Kira's life. This is probably why he goes to visit Holly in the hospital, but he soon finds they've moved her to a dingier room. There's like cobwebs on it, and.... what looks like shaving cream all over the windows.

Josuke says he's Holly's son, and the doctors tell him that they stopped receiving payments for Holly's care, so they've moved her here, wherver here is. Also, her condition has worsened, and recently she tried to eat six of her fingers because she can't distinguish her own body from food. Kira was paying for her stay here, but that ended when he died in... August?

Okay, so I finally looked this up, and it turns out there were two earthquakes in JoJolion. The first was the big March 11, 2011 Tohou Earthquake that caused the tsunami. That one led to the Wall Eyes springing up along the faults in Morioh. The second quake happened on August 19, 2011, shortly after Damo and the other Rock Humans caught up to Kira and Josefumi Kujo, as we saw in Chapters 50-53. Josefumi used the Locacaca fruit to try to sacrifice himself to save Kira, and then a quake hit, burying them and forcing the Rock Humans to call off their manhunt.

Yasuho found Josuke the next day, so the bulk of the events in JoJolion take place through August and September of 2011, five or six months after the Tohou Earthquake.

I think part of my disconnect here is that the March 11 Earthquake was worldwide news. I remember where I was when it happened. My family was visiting my brother at the time. But that one was only a big deal because it was so powerful and destructive. Earthquakes--albeit smaller ones--happen in Japan all the time. So I took it for granted that any time an earthquake was mentioned, it was a reference to March 11.

Both dates are connected, though. It was the 3/11 quake that cause the Rock Humans' Locacaca plant to wilt, which was the first clue that someone had stolen some of the branches and replaced them with grafts. So it's plausible that Kira and Josefumi also grafted their stolen branches in the Higashikata orchard some time around 3/11. Maybe that's what caused the Wall Eyes to pop up? At any rate, those events led to the fateful showdown on 8/19, ending with the second earthquake.

Anyway, Josuke has resolved to continue paying for Holly's treatments, and he is determined to find that grafted branch and harvest the Locacaca fruit for Holly.

But first he has to meet the strange lady who suddenly showed up in the Higashikata mansion. Hato explains that she's Caato, Norisuke's wife and the children's mother. She's been in prison for the past fifteen years because she got convicted of murder.

Of the entire family, Norisuke is astonished that she would dare show her face here again, let alone so brazenly. Hato remembers her mother, but her younger siblings, Daiya and Joshuu, were too little to remember her at all. Whenever the topic came up, Norisuke would just tell them that she left or died, and that would be the end of it.

Daiya is kind of excited to have a mother now, but Joshuu has a somewhat different reaction. He.... I can't believe I'm typing this, but this is what happens.... Okay, so Joshu shoves a chair in her path to make her trip, and then he uses his Stand to disassemble her top. Then he talks about suckling her tits, because FUCKDAMMIT Joshuu is just the worst.

Caato quickly turns the tables on him by using her Stand, Space Trucking. She can conceal large objects inside her deck of cards, so when she drops the cards on the floor, Joshuu tries to fuck with them, and he ends up revealing a chair that was hidden in the cards, which jabs him in the throat.

I mean, cripes. If Joshuu doesn't believe she's his mother, or if he has some resentment towards her, I can understand that. But he's basically assaulting her in front of everyone in their own home. Even if she's not his mother, that's really, really low. And if she is a murderer like Hato said, then he's an even bigger dumbass for trying to clown on a hardened criminal. He's not just thoughtless and cruel, he's so fucking stupid too.

She gets fed up and leaves to go back to her hotel, and then Jobin drops by and says he's the one she called when she got out, and he let her in the house.

Moving on, Josuke gets Norisuke alone and shows him some footage from the mansion's security cameras. Some dude is lurking around the orchard, probably trying to find that Locacaca branch Josefumi grafted to one of the trees. At first, Norisuke is upset because he's afraid of another Rock Human attack, even though he's certain that Damo was the last one in the smuggling ring.

But it's not a Rock Human out there. Josuke turns up the brightness on the footage and it shows that it's actually Jobin searching the grounds for the tree. Josuke finally tells Norisuke that Jobin was somehow connected to the Rock Humans' smuggling operation. Most likely, he laundered their profits through the Higashikata Fruit Parlor. After all, the Rock Human group included a security guard, a dry cleaner, an architect, and two dopes with a soccer ball. None of them could just put all those millions of yen in their bank account without attracting suspicion.

Josuke explains his intention to find the fruit first for Holly's sake, and he's only telling Norisuke all of this out of respect and gratitude for taking him in. Norisuke then decides to help Josuke out. He has a special expert he uses as a business consultant, and the guy is so scary good that he's kept it a secret, even from Jobin. This is Rai Mamezuku, the "Plant Appraiser", and Norisuke believes Josuke should seek him out first. Rai's skill will help him locate the correct branch in a fraction of the time it would take Josuke to find it alone.

But Caato has returned, claiming she owns half the house, and she has as much right to be here as the rest of them. She notices Josuke and Norisuke plotting, and she calls Jobin to warn him. She doesn't know what they're up to, but she guesses that Josuke's going to meet someone, which is why Norisuke gave him a cell phone.

Jobin decides this calls for drastic measures, so he... buys a bucket of fried chicken and tosses it around a pond.

The chicken is to summon this dude, named Dolomite. Let me just skip to the part where his appearance is explained...

Well, he got electrocuted, which apparently destroyed his arms, legs, and nose. But Dolomite is a Rock Human, so he can still get by just living out in the middle of nowhere, sleeping outdoors and probably eating whatever he can catch.

What I don't understand is why he got electrocuted. The flashback shows him chilling out in some idyllic scene with a woman, and then she suddenly wanders off toward a nearby power station like she can't wait to get electrocuted, and he rushes to shield her with his own body, which is... not how electricity works, actually. Then he collapses and the woman just wanders off in the other direction. I don't get it.

Anyway, if you're like me when I first read this, you're probably wondering what Dolomite has to to with Damo and the rest of the Locacaca smuggling ring. The answer is simple: He doesn't have anything to do with them, but for some reason he knew all of those guys. I guess they invited him to join their team, and he turned them down, because he has no use for human wealth or social status. This may be because he's so badly deformed that he can't infiltrate human civilization anymore, or maybe he always felt this way and his injuries just means he's committed to nature.

Also, the Locacaca fruit itself holds no value for Dolomite, because he lost so many body parts in the accident that he has nothing equivalent to exchange. Remember, the fruit doesn't actually heal anything. You might grow back a leg, but you'll lose your eyes. You could eat another piece to get your eyes back, but then you might lose your jaw. And while the smugglers found wealthy customers willing to do those kinds of trades, Dolomite's body is missing too many pieces already.

But Jobin tells him about a new kind of Locacaca, which somehow combined Josefumi Kujo with Yoshikage Kira. I'm not sure how Jobin would know all of this, unless he figured it out independently. I was going to suggest that Damo contacted him after he found out, except he found out only a few minutes before Hato's counterattack, and then Josuke killed him.

So between the promise of a way to restore his body, and maybe to avenge his fallen pals from the Rock Human Smuggler Gang, Dolomite agrees to use his Stand, Blue Hawaii, to help Jobin.

Okay, so here's how it works. Blue Hawaii just mind controls people on exposure to bodily fluid. You get zapped if you touch any bodily fluid from Dolomite himself, or any of his puppets. Dolomite knocks out one of his own teeth and tries to have a kid give it to Josuke in an envelope. He almost lets his curiosity get the better of him, because he doesn't know why anyone would know his name or send him a letter. But he sees the shadow of the tooth through the paper and decides it's too gross.

Then the boy starts advancing toward Josuke like a zombie, and when Josuke avoids him, the boy injures himself as he drags his body closer and closer. A woman gets some of the boy's blood on her and she gets possessed in his place, and so on and so on.

I can't show every highlight from this chase, because of Tumblr's dumb 30-image limit, but suffice to say there's a lot of cool spots in this arc, which is mostly Josuke running for dear life as he struggles to figure out what's going on. A possessed man follows him up to a locked gate, and he presses his flesh against the wire until he bleeds, and Josuke has to put up a big soap bubble around himself to shield his body from the blood.

As Josuke flees, he wonders who could be attacking him now, since all the Rock Human smugglers are already dead. He thinks someone's trying to stop him from meeting the Plant Appraiser, but how could anyone even know that's his plan? Then he realizes the true danger of this enemy Stand is that if it mind-controls him, the user might be able to force Josuke to reveal what he knows about the Plant Appraiser. And that's actually what Jobin had in mind, although Josuke doesn't know Jobin's behind this.

Still, he decides against calling Norisuke for help, since Josuke suspects someone at the house must have tipped off his enemy, so instead he calls Yasuho and asks her to go find that nasty tooth he dropped. Josuke contained it in a soap bubble before he left, so it won't affect Yasuho as long as she doesn't touch it, but he wants her to use Paisley Park to use it to track down the Stand User, since that seems to be the only way to defeat him.

And Yasuho does exactly that, and quickly turns up some dental records, but they're from some police report about a creature who attacked a chicken farm.

The police matched the bite marks to a man named Masaji Dorokoma, but before she can learn any more...

Jobin ambushes her with his own Stand, Speed King. It's abilities haven't been fully explored so far, but we do know he can use it to sharply increase the temperature of things, which is handy for causing blood vessels to burst for knocking people out. That's what he does to Yasuho, but then he adds insult to injury and refers to her as "Joshuu's girlfriend". Fuck you, Jobin. Yasugap 4-ever.

Anyway, he knows it would only complicate things to kill Yasuho, but the fact that he even considers it should tell you something about his frame of mind. Jobin's agenda isn't clear, but he's willing to stoop to murder to achieve it. It just isn't practical here. Besides, all he came her to do is to secure Dolomite's tooth and toss it down the sewer drain. Also he removes all the stuff from Yasuho's phone that she had found out about Dolomite.

He believes this will make Dolomite unstoppable, as there's no way to track down the user, and the Stand will relentlessly pursue Josuke until he runs out of road.

And that's what happens, as Blue Hawaii eventually switches to birds and then flies. Josuke tries to kill the fly with bug spray, but that doesn't seem to stop it, so I think the Stand can control things even after they die. He takes a chance in a room with only one door, and closes the door most of the way, so the fly will have to enter from one direction, and he can crush it and be done with this. But he didn't count on the fly infecting a woman, who then infected a baby. I'm not sure if Josuke just can't bring himself to fight a baby, or if he's just too exhausted and has no room to jump over it.

Anyway, Josuke gets zapped, and then he walks straight to Dolomite's pond. This was probably what Dolomite intended to do from the start, but he knew that even if Josuke didn't touch the tooth, sooner or later Blue Hawaii would catch up to him. He orders Josuke to tell him who he was going to meet and where, and when Josuke explains his plan to meet the Plant Appraiser, Dolomite orders him to walk into the pond and drown himself.

But wait, not so fast!

If you ambush Yasuho Hirose, son, you better finish the job.

Yasuho couldn't call Josuke, but she could track him down through the GPS on his phone. Yasuho whacks Dolomite with a pipe until he agrees to cancel his attack.

One thing I want to point out here is that Yasuho seems to have gained a much more direct control over her Stand. Before, Paisley Park would act without her, then send her messages asking her to choose between two options. Now, it appears beside her, and it seems to respond to her conscious thoughts. Like, she has it reach out to Dolomite's tooth to analyze it.

And Dolomite tells them that it was Jobin who put him up to this. Everything else he says is pretty much stuff Josuke already knew, but for Dolomite, this just confirms his original sentiment, that the Locacaca just isn't worth the trouble...

[highdio]

Via Billboard Japan, Special interview with Hirohiko Araki on ‘Walking Together’ with Prince throughout  ‘Jojo.’

In a new article, Hirohiko Araki gives a comprehensive interview on the influence Prince and other artists have had on his creative process throughout the Jojo series. Full interview at billboard-japan.com here’s some highlights:

On concluding 10 years of Jojolion:

Billboard Japan: Congratulations on concluding Jojolion’s serialization. How are you feeling right now?

Araki: Since I was able to properly end the story, instead of leaving it kind of vague, I’m satisfied creatively. When you work like this every day, it takes a physical toll on you. So now I’m “resetting” myself.

Billboard Japan: The  story arc was serialized over a period of 10 years, making it the longest of the series. When it began in 2011, the story was deeply influenced by the [Tohoku] earthquake disaster, which you yourself commented about in the manga. And in terms of approaching the “Dilemma,” there are depictions that call to mind the coronavirus pandemic. It seems like it’s been a rough 10 years.

Araki: These 10 years were rough, and it also felt like a decade of climbing ever upward, as if I were headed toward a singular goal. The previous series (Part 7), “Steel Ball Run,” was also a story in which the hero pushed forward toward his goal. So it feels like the end of an era, like I was able to finally bring the story to its proper conclusion.

On Prince’s symbols and ‘codes:’

Billboard Japan: The part of ‘Jojo’ I think of as full of Prince love is that one episode in Stardust Crusaders. The one with the scene where Muhammad Avdol feeds chickens named “Michael,” “Prince” and “Lionel,”  and with Judgment and Jean Pierre Polnareff with “Hail 2 U!” You use English notation, right?

Araki: It’s nostalgic. “2 U” or “4 U” is also kind of shocking, isn’t it? I wrote it this way. It feels like a Symbol or a cryptographic Code.

On avoiding being ‘too obvious’ with the Prince references:

Billboard Japan: Part 5, “Golden Wind,” introduced Giorno Giovanna’s stand, “Gold Experience.” For the first time, Prince’s work appeared as a stand name.

Araki: I avoided that as much as I could, but with ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’ using diamond and platinum already, I was hooked on the idea of using minerals for protagonists’ stand names. When I wondered, “What works with ‘Gold?,’” that’s when I decided on “The Gold Experience.”

Billboard Japan: Avoided what?

Araki: I had to avoid getting asked, “Aren’t you using Prince too much?” (laughs). There’s more artists than him!

Billboard Japan: In Jojolion, Josuke Higashikata’s stand is named “Soft & Wet” and Yasuho Hirose’s stand is named “Paisley Park,” from Prince’s work.

Araki: “Soft & Wet” seems to have returned me to my roots, and I thought that the name matched the soap bubbles. With Yasuho, I wanted to use traffic notation in the design, so I thought about the images of “P” or “parking” and decided to make it “Paisley Park” to unify it with Prince.  

On music, positivity, and Araki’s recent interest in ‘bad people:’

Billboard Japan: You said that when you listen to music it places you next to the musician’s way of thinking, their fashion, and the attitude of their times. Please tell us a little more about what music means to you.

Araki: Music symbolizes a way of thinking and the times in which it was recorded. I don’t like to show the negative side of things so much, instead I have a desire to be positive. It’s the same thing with ‘Jojo.’ But a new type of feeling has taken over me, that there are works that aren’t positive, and I think I have to learn from those works too. So right now, I’m interested in bad people. I like those people. I’m interested in people who are falling apart.

Billboard Japan: What’s a bad person?

Araki: People try to improve their lives or their standing, don’t they? “I want to be great,” in some sense, or “I want to be rich.” I’m interested in people who aren’t that way, who instead are heading toward ruin, or harming the world or hurting their families.

Araki on buying physical CDs and how he organizes his library:

Billboard Japan: How do you usually listen to music?

Araki: Sometimes I listen to it after downloading it, but I’d prefer it to be a basic CD. I’ll go out and buy them, one by one. I want to read all the information in tiny letters. Also, I want a jacket, above all else. I want a jacket with a strange picture. I have a CD cabinet in my house, and I really like looking at it. While the order of the songs is important, the order of the albums is also important, and I arrange them in the order of their release. I wondered where to put Prince’s “Black Album” [recorded in 1987 but released in 1994].

On Part 3 and the changing acceptance of women MCs:

Billboard Japan: The Joestar party in Part 3, including Jotaro Kujo, was a pretty diverse group.

Araki: That’s right. But women couldn’t be included. I thought I couldn’t put a cute girl out there into a life-and-death fight or into a scene where, if they were a villain, they’d have to take an ORAORA punch. With Jolyne Kujo in ‘Stone Ocean,’ that kind of thinking has disappeared.

Billboard Japan: Was it the times?

Araki: I wonder if it was the era. The readers of Jump don’t mind it at all anymore if I draw women. But in the old days, that would get rejected by the readers. So, even in shōnen manga, I think the way we view gender and social conditions is changing. In Part 3, I really wanted to put a girl there, and I felt that way for a while…

[fauzhee10069]

Caato: never-ending hypes and never-ending absence (JoJolion)

I'm amazed, her ±11 fans still have hope in her.

I still have my money on Caato as the big villain of JoJolion. We haven’t seen her do anything during this entire arc and we haven’t seen her stand nor do we know specifically what it does yet.

And this is your main problem, Caatofags! Shouldn't it be weird if she hasn’t done anything at all as the big villain during the climactic arc?

Yeah, apparently it made perfect sense of why Kyo Kei had been missing-in-action before, her absence and her unawareness of the situation will protect her from 'calamity'.

The same thing might happen to Caato, she can be protected from 'calamity' if  Araki decides that she will do something later.

But NOT AS THE BIG VILLAIN! Not anymore. The absence of her role and action should further discourage Caato as a 'big player' let alone ‘main villain’.

This is why Araki continues to develop Tooru character. Tooru keeps appearing in each chapter recently, we are getting to know who Tooru really is and how he is able to orchestrate the events leading up to this climactic arc!

And Caato has not showed up and gotten involved in this at all, she is completely absent, meaning that Caato had absolutely nothing to do with this 'calamity'!

If Caato is ‘the big villain’, it should have been a few chapters ago Araki brought her up and gave us some hints!

Caato’s unnamed Stand is clearly overrated at this point. 「Wonder of U」 already fits into the theme of main villains’ Stands with 'fate manipulation' in it. Your assumption that the main villains’ Stands in this reboot verse will have 'dimensional manipulation' has never been proven!

I doubt that Caato’s unnamed Stand will have humanoid form (in which every main villain has), her Stand is clearly a tool-type. Her feats are not that impressive and only on par with 「Enigma」 .

Caato also fits with the core concept of family more than Tooru. She wants to take the Higashikata family for all it’s worth which establishes motive as the villain.

This is your second problem, Caatofags! You consider the Higashikata family as ‘everything’ in JoJolion's story. While they play a big part in this story, they aren't everything!

The center point of JoJolion’s main story is ‘the magic cure’ aka. Locacaca fruit, which later evolved into the ‘New Locacaca’.

Higashikata family is one of the players involved in the 'game' to take advantage of that miraculous fruit.

Higashikata family is divided with Norisuke IV siding with Josuke and Jobin with his little family.

Then there's Holy’s family (where Josuke sided with them).

Then Josuke's allies, Yasuho and Rai (Rai sided with Josuke thanks to Norisuke IV).

And finally, the rock-humans (Tooru with Head Doctor gang and Damokan Group).

'Family' (and 'motherhood') is indeed one of the things that become the theme in this story. However, the 'importance' of this Higashikata family is still below the 'New Locacaca' fruit.

Sure, Higashikata family is like the richest family in Morioh, they also play a major role in this story, but when there will be a clash between normal humans and the rock-humans (which was implied by HD gang and Tooru as his motivation), they are just a small part in this society.

Without dealing with Locacaca, the rock-humans and Higashikata family would not be linked.

If Caato is the main villain, then she must have done something big with ‘Locacaca’ or at least her motivation also has an impact on the rock-humans.

Araki also nudged the 'family' theme towards rock-humans and alluded to ‘motherhood’ in their society, why did he tell about the rock-mother, the growth of a rock-baby and explain of how different their ‘social structure’ is from normal humans?

The rock-humans are not detached from the theme of 'family' and 'motherhood'.

Caato with her motivation so far to get back at her family and take their fortune for all it’s worth would only make her an antagonist in a family drama, her motivation has nothing to do with the rock-humans.

Caato only has a grudge against Norisuke IV, her ex-husband who has abandoned her. She threatens that she will take what Norisuke IV has (yeah, something that might break their family apart in process).

You might think that the conflict between Caato and Norisuke IV will have an impact on Josuke, because Norisuke IV is the one who has been taking care of the amnesiac Josuke and gave him a shelter to live.

Josuke is not heartless person, I’m sure Norisuke IV's 'death' would somehow have an impact on his feelings. However, Josuke remains an outsider in Higashikata family conflict!

Norisuke IV's death (which might be Caato's doing in your opinion) is not the biggest issue for Josuke. Their children (Jobin, Hato, Joshu and Daiya) have more rights to be involved in said conflict… and to solve it.

Norisuke IV was probably the one who looked after Josuke for several months (given that JoJolion story takes place in 2011 and the latest chapter is still in 2011). But Norisuke IV was the father of Jobin, Hato, Joshu and Daiya for many years in their whole life.

Using ‘Norisuke IV’ as final conflict of JoJolion between Josuke and Caato is not a great idea to close the story of part 8, unless you are willing to accept the switch of protagonist from Josuke to the Higashikata (probably Joshu lol).

The Higashikata family drama won’t hold a candle to the exploitation of New Locacaca against the society.

All of the Higashikatas are in someway named after cards but Caato is the Japanese word for card implying that she wields the whole deck.

LMAO, you fail! Only the women (Mitsuba, Hato, Daiya) and Tsurugi are named after cards. The men’s names have nothing to do with ‘cards’. Araki just wanted to give this exiled Matriarch a 'playing cards' as a theme in her character concept.

And your third problem, Caatofags! You depend too much on symbolization.

Araki mentions that rock human woman can give birth but don’t particularly care about their children. We see this in Caato, she doesn’t care about her family members aside from Jobin and she just helped him to get back at Norisuke IV.

Your fourth problem, Caatofags! Always rely on unproven theories everytime you hype her. Caato is a rock-human, where is the proof? It is still a theory.

You also failed to read the characterization about Caato! From where do you think Caato doesn't care about her children?

You guys fail to understand of what really happened during the “Higashikata family reunion” because you are too delusional about wanting Caato as the 'big villain' and always think of her as an ‘oh so evil’ woman!

So, let me explain it to you (even though I'm actually getting tired with this scene of chapter 58):

Caato, who just got out of prison, went to Higashikata's house to reunite with her children after being separated for 15 years, she really missed them. No wonder she talked a lot and reminded them of their childhoods and everything she knows about them as their mother.

Her ex-husband, Norisuke IV did not take her visit well. He was being hostile, and then so are her children. Why was that? Because all this time Norisuke IV considered Caato as not part of their family and wanted his children to forget about her.

Only Hato vaguely recalled of what actually happened to Caato, that her mother had been jailed for "murder". After big sister revealed it, Joshu and Daiya also become wary of their mom.

Caato did attack Joshu, but that doesn't automatically mean that she hates her children. She only gave a lesson to him for doing a despicable thing to her… and Joshu totally deserved that (lol).

Of course Caato was disappointed with her children who became wary of her. The ‘warm reunion’ she had expected became a 'hostile reunion' instead.

Then, if your argument is that Caato doesn't care about her children because she let herself went to jail (and abandoned them for 15 years), let me remind you that Caato certainly did not expect that she would be caught and go to prison after she had cured Jobin!

After the ‘murder incident’, Caato might have thought that she could get away with the incident and would live peacefully with her family for 5 years until finally she got busted.

At this point, the only hope for Caatofags is that JoJolion will have one more arc left after 'Wonder of You' and the conflict with the rock-humans, with Higashikata family as the main focus (±30 chapters, they wish).

My biggest issue with Caatofags is: that their theories often direspect Araki's writing style, they are stubborn, fanatical, and delusional. At this point, they should have just accepted that Tooru will likely become the 'big villain' of JoJolion like how I accepted the death of Jobin and my dream of him as ‘the main villain’.

Read also:

How does the hype of Caato turn really bad?

Caato’s potential role towards the end of JoJolion

The cacophony of the main villains in JoJolion

[duhragonball]

JoJolion Ch. 23-25

Okay, hear me out...

Last time, Yasuho was screwing around near Meditation Pine, near the Higashikata Mansion and the spot where she first met Josuke, when she got pulled into a hole and some shadowy figure licked her ear. We pick up now in the "Paper Moon Deception" arc, which finds her in what looks like a finished basement, except the Higashikata's home is like a hundred feet away from it.

With her is Tsurugi Higashikata, the grandchild of Norisuke Higashikata IV. Yasuho presses the kid for an explanation, but Tsurgui just gives cryptic non-answers, and when Yasuho gets physical, Tsurugi reveals that he's actually a boy. Yasuho's known the family for most of her life, but she didn't know this.

Tsurugi explains that this is an old Higashikata family tradition. We learned from the legend of Johnny Joestar that there's a curse that runs in the Higashikata family. The curse manifests as a "Rock disease" which afflicts the firstborn children of the family. Johnny's wife Rina Higashikata had it, and it was so deadly an incurable that Johnny resorted to using the Saint Corpse to try to save her.

It's possible that when Johnny purged the Rock Disease from Rina (and their son George), he may have broken the curse on their side of the family, and their descendants were spared its effects. It's also possible that the curse affected the Joestars the same way, since the symptoms Rina experienced in 1901 seem similar to what Holly Joestar Kira is dealing with in 2011.

But the main Higashikata line is definitely still stuck with the Rock Disease. Norisuke I returned from America to invest his prize money into the fruit import business, which he left to his eldest son Norisuke II, who passed it on to his son, Norisuke III, and on down to Norisuke IV. Jobin is the next in line to inherit the family business, and Tsurugi is the next in line after that.

Incidentally, in case you're wondering why Jobin and Tsurugi weren't named Norisuke V and VI, the tradition is that each successor changes his name when they assume control of the household. Norisuke II, III, and IV's birth names were Johei, Josho, and Josuke, respectively.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. The curse hits the firstborn child with the Rock Disease. If the firstborn is a girl, it seems to happen later in life, but with boys, it always strikes when they reach the age of ten. Norisuke II and III had older sisters, so they were spared, but Norisuke IV and Jobin are the eldest of their generations so... hmmm. And Tsurugi is the eldest child of his generation, so he's probably going to die of the Rock Disease by the age of ten. He's nine right now.

One trick the family has used over the centuries is to raise the eldest son as a girl until the age of 12. I'm not sure what the point of this is, unless it's just a desperate attempt to trick the Rock Disease into thinking Tsurugi's a girl, so he won't get sick. Then when he turns 12, he can live as a boy again, and the Rock Disease can't touch him because now it's too late. And you know, it might have worked once or twice, which is why the tradition continues into the 21st century.

Anyway, Yasuho just wants to leave this place, but Tsurugi hid her cell phone.

As she searches for the phone, she gets desperate to make contact with Josuke, probably from the stress she's under, and this activates her Stand, Paisley Park. It makes some sort of subtle contact with Josuke, and he "realizes" that he could send Yasuho an e-mail. He's using Joshuu's phone, and Yasuho won't take Joshuu's calls because he's a terrible person, but Josuke thinks an e-mail might work if he can convince her he's not Joshuu. So he signs it off as "4 Balls" which seems like a weird thing to use as an in-joke.

Meanwhile, Yasuho gets her phone back, but Tsurugi has used it to activate his Stand, Paper Moon King. Yasuho doesn't even know about her own Stand yet, so she doesn't understand what he's talking about, but she does know he did something to her. She leaves, but not before checking out the other rooms in the building. There's one with a bunch of toys and what looks like a replica of Josuke's sailor suit for some reason. It also has a toilet in the room, which reminds her of a prison cell.

Also she sees a weird dog on her way out.

She finally gets Josuke's message and realizes its him because he wants to meet at the Sesame Honey Cafe, which she recognizes as a reference to the snacks she got him in the hospital in Chapter 2. The "4-Balls" thing is completely lost on her, though. Now I'm wondering if Josuke even noticed he had written that the way he did. The translator note said he wrote something using characters that could be read as "4-Balls" so maybe the pun was unintentional.

On the other hand, it's funny that Yasuho doesn't seem to recognize the significance, since she was the one who couldn't stop thinking about it when she saw his groin for the first time. I guess she finally got over it.

Anyway, Paper Moon King affects Yasuho's perception of people's faces. On the way back to town, she notices everyone has the same weird face, but she thinks is her contacts, so she heads home to get new ones, and when she sees her mom she thinks some stranger broke into their home. It's not until she sees her own face distorted like this that she begins to understand something strange is happening.

Now, recently I read that there's a real-life condition very similar to this. It's called prosopometamorphopsia, also known as PMO or "demon face syndrome", and people who have the disorder will see people's faces as being distorted in certain ways. CNN did an article about it a few weeks ago, and the first thing I thought of was this arc in JoJolion. I don't know if this is where Araki got the idea for Paper Moon King, but it seems like a strange coincidence.

Upset by all of this, Yasuho decides her best bet is to head for the Sesame Honey Cafe right now, even though it isn't dinnertime yet. But she keeps running into Tsurugi, who offers to help her if she wants it. Yasuho angrily tells Tsurugi to stop following her. She knows whatever's going on is Tsurugi's doing. I mean, for one thing, Tsurugi's face is the only one that she can still recognize.

Again, Yasuho doesn't know this is a Stand power, nor is she aware of her own Stand, or she might try using Paisley Park to find some way to break the spell. I guess knocking Tsurugi out would cancel the effect, but I don't think she's desperate enough to punch a kid. PP could probably come up with an alternative, but Yasuho doesn't know that yet. As it is, she thinks Tsurugi slipped her some kind of drug.

Tsurugi offers an alternative explanation: Maybe the reason she can't communicate with her mother is the same reason she's investigating things like Josuke and the Higashikata Family. She doesn't know who she is or where she belongs, so maybe she's projecting those feelings onto Josuke, which is why she's so invested in his predicament.

Speaking of Josuke, he's approacing the same cafe, because Yasuho called and asked to meet her there early because she's scared, but he steps on one of Tsurugi's origami frogs, which puts him under the same spell as Yasuho. But Josuke's kind of used to not knowing who anyone is, so this doesn't bother him as much. Also, this is like the fourth or fifth Stand he's had to deal with, so this isn't anything new for him.

Joshuu finds him in the street and takes back his cell phone, but Josuke doesn't recognize him so he doesn't even know what's going on.

Well, at least they're heading for the same place, so that at least gives them a chance of linking up and dealing with the problem together, except, no. Yasuho's in the wrong place. The sign said "Sesame Honey Cafe", but when she goes inside she finds a record store. It's not just faces that have become unrecognizable. Now she's got some sort of aphasia, where everything she reads looks like it says "Sesame Honey Cafe".

Things get even worse when she runs into Joshuu, and mistakes him for Josuke. She even calls out Josuke's name, and Joshuu thinks she's saying "Joshuu suki", or "I love you, Joshuu." Or maybe Joshuu is just hearing what he wants to hear.

Yasuho asks him to take her someplace away from people, where they can be alone, and Joshuu thinks she wants to have sex, so he takes her to a men's room. Classy as ever.

Then he takes off his pants and tries to corner her in the stall. He uses his new Stand to dismantle her clothes, which... Man, this guy is the worst. Eventually she realizes it's not Josuke, but I don't think she ever finds out this is Joshuu.

He only stops when she finally says Josuke's name loud enough for him to recognize it, and while he tries to figure out why, she bashes his head in with the toilet tank cover. This is one of the best panels in the story.

Yasuho then tries to seek help from some nearby policemen, but when she gets in their squad car, she finds out they're not cops at all, but just a trio of... well, I don't know what their deal is, but their immediate reaction to Yasuho is to drive off with her and force her to swallow drugs so they can have their way with her. In her desperation, she subconciously uses Paisley Park to escape. It comes out of the floorboard of the car and breaks the ankle of the driver, and this causes them to crash into a telephone pole.

I think Yasuho runs into her mom again, but at this point I'm not sure of anything she sees. By now, the effect of Paper Moon King is so intense that Yasuho can't discern words, faces, voices, or even clothes and vehicles. If she thought those creeps were police officers, then how can we be sure that woman in the dress is her mom?

And that's why Yasuho finally begs Tsurugi to help her. Before she was blaming Tsurugi for doing this to her, but now she's so lost and confused that she'll accept anything to get out of this mess.

And that seems to have been Tsurugi's goal all along. He wanted her to stay in the underground building, and when he couldn't stop her from leaving, he used his Stand to torment her until she had no other alternative but to follow him back. That's pretty damn cruel, but we see a mysterious figure watching them from one of the other rooms, and it seems like that guy might be the one pulling the strings here. For some reason, Tsurugi wants a sample of Yasuho's hair, and I bet this dude is the one who asked for it.

Oh, and Josuke's still back in the city. The Stand effect wore off when Tsurugi left, so Josuke realizes that he was never the target. But he knows Yasuho was also in the area, which means whoever was behind Paper Moon King was using it against her. So at least he has some idea what's going on...

[fauzhee10069]

JoJolion Cardspiracy: Caato as the mastermind behind the cooperation of Higashikata and Damokan group

The theory that is still popular among Caatofags is that Caato is the real mastermind behind the collaboration between Higashikata and Damokan group. How can this theory develop?

The timing of Caato’s first appearance

She appeared just after Damo was eliminated. Damo Tamaki, the leader of Damokan group (aka. the Locacaca smugglers) was the very first candidate to be the main villain. He was the last member of Damokan group who was still alive, after Damo died which became the end of the group, Caato’s introduction with her cool & mysterious vibe led to the hype from the readers. Moreover, she also has motivation.

The issue:

In my opinion, it is too hasty to conclude such, we were not sure if Damokan group is the only dangerous group that is at odds with Josuke. The end of the Blue Hawaii arc even revealed the existence of a larger and more dangerous organization than Damokan group.

Then let’s say, if the more dangerous group is led by Caato, for what Dolomité considers Jobin (her son) a mere gofer. Why would she let him divulge Jobin’s name offhand to Josuke?

Since then (until chapter 98) we have not seen any (impactful) actions carried out by Caato behind the scenes, something naturally should have been started by the main villain (like Tooru).

She has dimensional Stand ala D4C , the Stand of the previous main villain. She just hasn't shown its full capabilities yet

There are various speculations about the true nature of Caato’s Stand that liken it to D4C, just because of the caught in between two objects mechanism both Stands have.

The issue:

Sure, she is able to send objects to an invisible dimension just like Valentine, but such ability is not exclusively similar to D4C. Stands such as 「Cream」, 「Sticky Fingers」, 「The Hand」, 「Enigma」 (even 「Man in the Mirror」) also have similar abilities, conjuring pocket dimension and/or sending objects to otherworldly dimension (albeit their mechanism varies). I have also explained more about Caato’s Stand here: Caato’s Stand and its mechanism so far.

There is nothing wrong in speculating but we should have waited for more of her feats. So let me just drop this:

With her Stand, Caato can operate behind the scenes prison ala Polpo

This still related to the hype of her Stand. During her first intro, she pulled out a cellphone using her Stand. What was really strange at the time was the model of the phone, an observant reader found that the model of Caato’s phone resembles Docomo Sharp SH-11C which came out around 2011.

Logically, she couldn���t have that phone if she was put in jail in the mid-90’s (1996). Caatofags believe that this is purely by the power of her Stand, this somehow becomes their proof that she can interact with the outside world during her incarceration. There are many speculations that she was able to communicate with people outside or use her Stand over long distances or even go as far as to think that she can take objects from another dimension/world ala D4C (why do they always liken her Stand to D4C so much as if it is D4C 2.0? Are they really underestimating Araki’s creativity?).

The issue:

Unfortunately, with so little information we get from Caato, I can only respond their speculation with another speculation. As Caato was able to make contact with Jobin (when she was still incarcerated in Stone Ocean prison), it is possible that she had been in communication with Jobin (privately) for about 15 years. Is it by using her Stand? Maybe, but it’s not necessarily just by that. Surely Jobin can still see her through family visits, though it's pretty strict in Japan.

But their chance to communicate remained. Given that both are Stand users, their deception will not be easily detected by ordinary people. I think there was chance for Jobin to give her the most up-to-date phone and Caato hid the phone using her cards. I'm not sure if she was allowed to bring her cards during family visits.

But apparently the warden allowed it, as they considered it nothing dangerous and suspicious. Therefore, that's what actually could have happened.

The timing of Jobin met Damokan group for the first time vs Kira who discovered the relation between Higashikata and Damokan group

By the complexity of JoJolion’s plot and various mysteries that emerge, it is understandable that sometimes we lost track of the time, especially considering Araki’s current style that likes to put flashback and flash forward randomly. It is the confusion about timeline that makes some readers suspect that Jobin cannot possibly cooperate with Damokan group on his own behalf. Especially those who believe that Kira’s discovery of Higashikata and Damokan group’s cooperation happened before Jobin started working with them, coupled with the possibility of Caato being able to operate behind the scenes, it makes them even more believe in her involvement.

The issue:

I will try to explain how the chronology actually happened. When did Higashikata start making contact with Damokan group? It all started by Norisuke IV innocently.

JJL chapter 30: King Nothing

JoJolion started in 2011, so three years ago was around 2008. Around that year, Norisuke IV got acquainted with Yotsuyu, interested in his talent, he offered him a job as his architect to design his mansion and the tea house. It’s not out-of-character for Norisuke IV as he also did the same thing with Rai ( hiring him for his talent).

JJL chapter 72: The Northern Higashikata Estate, The Orchard

After he got hired by Norisuke IV, Yotsuyu met Jobin at the stadium when he was still in the process of designing a new house for Higashikata (as we can see his drawing), thus I suspect that it was still around the same year (2008). What Jobin said implied that he had known Yotsuyu before, but here at this stadium, he met with the rest of Damokan group. Just as previously he was having an argument with his father (Norisuke IV) regarding the difference in their business outlook, family honor and so on. Of course the temptation to make more money made Jobin willing to work with Damokan group and get involved in their illicit business.

Then a year later (2009), Kira Yoshikage who worked as cargo ship doctor discovered the existence of Rock Human (Aisho) aboard his ship. Out of curiosity about Rock Humans, Kira found their association with Higashikata Parlor Fruit.

JJL chapter 49: Hato-chan Brought a Boyfriend Over – part 3

When Kira found out about this, they had already been importing these illegal fruits several times. The Rock Humans disguised as rocks for use in an artificial garden, I suspect this deception was planned by Yotsuyu (Damokan group) and Jobin. I also believe that at least the renovation was in progress at the time, so both guys were tricking Norisuke IV and unrelated common people (which unfortunately an unrelated individual Kira discovered it by accident). In short, it makes sense that they were already doing their shady business at this point.

Still from the same chapter (49), Hato did say that her family had rebuilt the house two years ago (2009). That means, Yotsuyu’s house renovation began in 2008 and were completed in 2009. If the renovation was completed that year, can they still do the smuggling? They can, given that Norisuke IV also assigned Yotsuyu to design their tea house. And during 「I Am a Rock」 arc, Yotsuyu still lived in the basement of the Higashikata family, meaning that he was still being hired there (until his demise).

Caato claims that she has helped the Higashikata business for 15 years

JJL chapter 58: Dawn at The Higashikata House

Caato stated that she also had a role in the success of the Higashikata family business for 15 years. Quite impressive that one-line from her carries a considerable amount of hype from Caatofags. Hadn't she been jailed for 15 years? The 15 years she said happened to coincide with the length of time she was in prison coupled with the speculation that she can act behind the bar, both of which become hints to support the theory that she was involved in smuggling and money-laundering with Damokan group. Quote from one of her fags:

Caato claims to be the only reason the family Fruit Parlor is so successful, she is the main suspect for the one who contacted the rock humans originally and brought them to Morioh in the first place.

And she can’t be the only reason because her line clearly said: “…are thanks to me, too.”

The issue:

The hype actually makes sense if you combine several points that I have gathered above. However, this word might also have different meaning, it’s possible that 15 years she meant is the time during her marriage with Norisuke IV prior to her incarceration and divorce. When she got arrested, Jobin was a teenager who was around 15 or older (actually he was 17 at the time=1996-1979). But if they had indeed been married for 15 years at that time, does this mean that Jobin was conceived out of wedlock? Sorry I did not mean to accuse.

Even if her 15 years of contribution was done during her time in prison, how is that automatically related to the smuggling of Locacaca? I don’t think that Damokan group started operating as long as 15 years ago, at least there is no hint yet that the Rock Humans (and Locacaca) had been invading Morioh 15 years ago.

Even if we try to sort them, Damokan group (and other Rock Humans) barged into the life of Higashikata (Kira Holy and many JoJolion characters) with chronology like this:

Wu Tomoki became a doctor trusted by Mitsuba (unknown timeline, but it can’t be more than 10 years ago)

Damo dated Hato (the exact timeline is unknown but Hato stated they'd only met recently during her modeling work)

Tooru dated Yasuho during her high school days and broke up a year ago (2008-2010)

Yotsuyu and Damokan group met Jobin at stadium and started working together (2008)

Yotsuyu was offered to work by Norisuke IV (2008)

Holy began to fall ill as the hospital gained a new number of doctors as well as a new Head Doctor (unknown timeline, 2005-2009: as long as we’re sure when exactly she started to fall ill)

All of these happened no more than 10 years ago (let alone 15 years ago), if indeed Caato has contributed for 15 years and it has something to do with the Rock Humans (particularly Damokan group), why their actual action has only happened recently? Perhaps at that time she was still making plans before they began to act, but 5 years planning with no action, for what? Tbh that’s pretty silly for a mastermind.

Even if the points above were indeed orchestrated by her, it still doesn't make sense. Why would she sacrifice her own family to be taken advantage by the Rock Humans? Well, I can see that to Norisuke IV as she holds a grudge against him. But how can she let the rock humans take advantage of her own children, Jobin and Hato? We know that she cares to them, even when the later was wary of her. I don’t think that Caato is willing to put her children at risk, remember how Damo almost murdered the entirety of the Higashikata Family in the house? That would contradict her character in her flashback (chapter 64).

Even if Caato is the one who introduced Damokan group to Jobin behind the scenes, it does not necessarily make her a mastermind, rather she might be a Yoshihiro who gathered several allies to assist Jobin (this alone is still speculation).

Even so, I still hope that the mystery (and the meaning) behind the 15 years she talked about will be answered someday.

Read further: What actually happened in Mamezuku Rai’s past? (chapter 99 spoilers)

Do the readers (Caatofags) credit her too much?

Now, I’d like to try to assess the extent to which Caato is able to plot something as an antagonist (even with very limited data).

She had Docomo Sharp SH-11C, if an internet connection is available inside the prison, chances are she can obtain information via internet, she can also get it from Jobin via message. It is not surprising if she learned about Rock Humans and/or Locacaca from Jobin.

Her comment regarding of the renovation, this might have double meaning, either she just realized that the house has been renovated or simply commented about the renovation. Take a note that the renovation was done two years ago (when she was still in prison). If it is the later, it means that she knows Yotsuyu. Therefore, she might have connection with Damokan group. Or it could be the other way around, Jobin could have told her about the renovation (and the architect who have been working on it).

JJL chapter 59: Dolomité’s Blue Lagoon – part 1

Just before Dolomité arc began, Caato called Jobin and notified him that his father and Josuke were planning something, something that unfortunately she did not know what. However, due to her experience of having been married to Norisuke IV, she takes note on his habit so she found out about something fishy he was hiding. Impressive? Nope (for mastermind standard), but that was enough to help Jobin. This also shall disprove fan’s speculation that she can use her Stand to gather information remotely.

But I shouldn't discredit her wits either, she is quite intelligent in using deductive logic. Though still, this doesn’t automatically make her the mastermind as there are plenty highly intellectual characters in JJBA.

If it is confirmed that Caato was involved in Damokan group’s shady business…

To be honest, even if this will be confirmed one day, at this point, I think it's too late and no longer have any significant impact. But I still have an interest in this matter so actually, I made a diagram about the Locacaca dispute and the players involved in it, including fan’s popular theory that links Caato with Rock Humans-Jobin.

So, even if she is involved in it, it's still quite difficult to think of her as the main villain. Her motivation (which sounds pretty cool) can’t really compete with others, even to Jobin due to her estrangement from her family. How is her relationship with Tsurugi compared to Jobin-Tsurugi? It is almost non-existent.

Then what about her grudge against Norisuke IV (the struggle for the throne)? I think that won't have much impact on Josuke, the main protagonist, especially if it is fortune that becomes her focus. Although it might still be able to affect Josuke if Norisuke IV's life was taken because of that. I’m also quite lazy to talk more about this because this still has nothing to do with Locacaca.

The main problem here is Locacaca, which is the main focus of the story in JoJolion. Caato has a relative weak link to it and this is still in hypothetical scenario! We all know that the three factions: Josuke, Jobin and The Head Doctor (Tooru) are fighting over it. Where will we put Caato? Behind Jobin, I guess. But what's worse is the fact that until now (chapter 98), there are absolutely no hint of the connection between Caato and Locacaca.

TL;DR There is still not enough data available to prove the relationship between Caato and Damokan group (and Locacaca). So far Caatofags still rely more on speculation than on actual data and feats. Even if her involvement is confirmed, her link is quite weak compared to the other factions.

See also:

JoJolion: The Main Villain and The Red Herring

PS: I decided to change the spelling of 「Kaato」 into 「Caato」 from now on because it should be Caato, not Kaato (although I prefer the former one because it’s more Japanese feel and less ridiculous). Because of this, you might find several of my previous posts are edited.