I remember this fight being one of my favorites from the manga because of how cool Purple Haze is, as well as Man in the Mirror. It also reminds me of Stardust Crusaders when Kakyoin and Polnareff were trying to figure out Hanged Man. There wasn’t a mirror world then, but this time there is.
As much as I like this fight, I’m going to have to say it. How did Illuso find them and follow them, and get that mirror there before they even got there? Maybe this is another “lol Araki” moment but I was just sitting there like…huh, wait a minute!
Now, if memory serves, Fugo’s backstory was given more substance in the anime. In the manga, we got that Fugo got into college by 13 years old but left when he beat up his professor. But I don’t think we got an actual reason. Checking online, DavidPro gave their own interpretation and I think it makes sense. Fugo was a boy that grew up a very privileged life but also dealt with the high expectations of his parents, as he was a very smart child with an IQ of 152. All of this was most likely the cause for his bouts of uncontrollable rage. Even so, he was able to skip all the way to college at just 13 years old, but was kicked out for beating his professor with an encyclopedia. The reason for that was because of his professor molesting him, and…god dammit. My heart fucking hurts. I just finished watching Banana Fish a couple days ago so I’ve had enough of innocent boys being molested by nasty ass old guys. But what drives me crazy, and kind of doesn’t make sense to me were the reactions to all this by everyone. Why did his classmates talk shit about him? Why did his family disown him? Why was there the possibility of jail time? THIS BOY WAS MOLESTED! Why are his classmates going “Pfft, I bet that’s how he even got into the school”. This young boy, of 13, was being molested. That’s nasty, like fuck off. Fugo’s reason for beating his professor makes sense, but I find the stuff afterwards infuriating.
Anyway, Illuso comes into the scene (somehow) and traps Fugo inside his mirror world. I liked the subtle sound effects they added in this part, like the reverberation of their voices showing that they really are in a different world. I also loved the OST in this part, it was really unsettling and creepy and really fit the mood. We learn that Man in the Mirror’s ability transports who Illuso wants into a mirror world where the objects in there have no life, the only living beings in there being Fugo and Illuso. He only allowed Fugo in, and not his stand ability. Without a way to fight, it looks like Illuso has the upper hand.
Purple Haze is an extremely cool stand for two reasons. One, it just has a really cool design and ability. And two, it’s not that common for stands to represent their stand user’s personality. They’re usually just cool-looking or weird things, but I love that Purple Haze specifically personifies Fugo’s uncontrollable rage. It’s a very angry and dangerous stand, and it’s virus ability perfectly parallels Fugo violent side. Fugo can’t control Purple Haze, just like he can’t control his physical anger. He can’t control the virus and it can kill anyone around it, whether it’s friend or foe. Fugo even warned Bruno when he was being recruited that he doesn’t want to be around him because he understands how uncontrollable his rage is, and that he may even accidentally kill him. We’ve seen him stab Narancia, and we saw how he almost lashed out at Giorno for something small. There’s just no control and he and his stand are extremely dangerous, life threatening. It’s really unique and interesting but it’s also really sad. It could be sadder, but Purple Haze is unusually adorable when it was trying to clean its own drool off from itself. What a cute killing machine.
Fugo has a plan up his sleeve but Giorno and Abbacchio don’t know that. Leaving only the two of them outside was probably the worst thing because Abbacchio has had it out for Giorno from the start. Finger on tiddy, he screams in his face but Giorno doesn’t waver in wanting to save Fugo. I understand Abbacchio’s past and his anger towards Giorno, but god he’s such an asshole and this is really why I was never a fan of Abbacchio. He’s just an angry asshole most of the time and I get frustrated with him. :/
The fight has begun and we’ve seen what damage Purple Haze can do from what we saw with the crows. Ew. It’ll be fun to see the rest of the fight next time!
Jojo Fun Facts:
- “Purple Haze” refers to a Jimi Hendrix song.
- “Man in the Mirror” refers to a Michael Jackson song, and I love this song so much.
- Apparently Araki says that Fugo wears a thong. I’m not even surprised, just look at what he wears. Why wouldn’t he wear a thong? Also, it’s literally like Fugo took his old clothes with the circles and put them under a giant hole-punch to make his new outfit. I hate it.
Also, an appreciation for Bruno. He’s pretty much the savior of all these boys. He just wants to help them. I love him so much. He’s an angel.
