English Dub Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind: “Hitman Team”

(Possible Spoilers Below)

After an over the top act of self-defense towards such an invasive douche-monkey like Formaggio, Narancia discovers that in a very subtle scene, he’s slowly shrinking due to the wound Tiny Feet had previously inflicted on him. When Narancia attempts to call the rest of his group which would’ve been a much shorter episode if Formaggio didn’t prevent him from using a pay-phone by cutting the damn wires, it’s at this point he realizes that Formaggio is nearby since certain Stand Powers only function when the users themselves are at a particular distance, So Narancia’s Lil’Bomber Stand manages to find him and proceeds to feverishly track the bastard down forcing him down into the sewer. We do get a scene with the rest of Bruno’s gang, but it’s mostly to establish that they’re growing concerned that he didn’t immediately return and Trish, as usual, being a Diva by demanding mineral water.

There’s somewhat a moment in the episode where it shifts gears by delving into a flashback as we learn about the “Hitman Team” (a Group of Passione members with Stand Powers who turned traitor to steal their bosses fortune and leadership status), along with a scene with Formaggio using his Stand Powers to assassinate someone in a shockingly gruesome way, but upon learning their motivations, they later sent out two people at their behest named Sorbet & Gelato to do a background check into their mysterious boss and in a series of subtle yet disturbing scenes, they learn the hard way that he’s nobody to fuck with… you’d think they’d cut their losses after this, at least that was until they discovered the existence of his illegitimate daughter.

When it cuts back in the present, most of the episode is spent on Formaggio being relentlessly chased in the sewers with the reveal that Lil’Bomber detects its targets with a radar-like ability through their breathing and attempts to escape among a group of rats, only to become the target of Lil’Bomber yet again due to a hilariously clever twist. The episode ends with quite a cliffhanger when Formaggio manages to survive the attack by reverting to his original size, but in the process, Lil’Bomber has also shrunk along with Narancia putting both him and his Stand into an extreme disadvantage.

Our Take

Excellent episode but I think the direction could be a bit better. Despite how abrupt the flashback was placed mid-episode, it did do a good job to give us an idea who Bruno’s Passione branch will be up against in the future and While I can understand the concept of anonymity and not making yourself a target since such a lifestyle can be a cutthroat business, It’s easy to assume that Mafias or gangs as a whole tend to be very strict, seeing how the boss sent a message that is gruesomely subtle and gets the point across that trying to find out the boss’s identity ends you in a body bag.

As a villain so far, Formaggio is still a dangerous individual to watch out for even if his own Hitman circle considers him low-tier due to his shrinking powers. You’d think The Narancia vs. Formaggio battle would’ve ended here but the flashback of the hitmen came out of nowhere and almost felt like filler as the transition to it was so sudden and keeps me from giving this a much higher rating, but manages to somewhat redeem itself with action scenes that were equal parts thrilling and funny where Formaggio would frequently underestimate Narancia as the detection functionality of his Lil’Bomber is the icing on the cake reminding us how both the protagonists & the antagonists don’t just blindly use their Stands in battle, but also use their wits.

Now I’m curious to see how Narancia will get himself out of this predicament and warn Bruno’s gang in the next episode.