Golden Wind (manga)

In 2001, Koichi Hirose arrives in Naples, Italy at Jotaro Kujo's request to obtain a skin sample from a young man named Haruno Shiobana to confirm him as the son of Dio Brando, conceived with Jonathan Joestar's body prior to the events of Stardust Crusaders. Koichi ends up being scammed by Haruno, who now goes by the name Giorno Giovanna, and whose Stand Gold Experience allows him to transform inanimate objects into living organisms. After Giorno fends off an assault from gang member Leaky-Eye Luca, Stand-wielding mafioso Bruno Bucciarati attacks Giorno in order to avenge Luca's defeat. Giorno wins Bucciarati over by revealing his goal of becoming a mafia boss to better Naples and end the scourge of drug trafficking plaguing the city's youth. Bucciarati agrees to introduce Giorno into the Passione organization, with Giorno taking a deadly initiation test from the morbidly obese capo Polpo. Giorno passes the test while convincing Koichi to cease his investigation, though he indirectly kills Polpo for his test having caused an innocent bystander's death. Giorno is placed in Bucciarati's group, which consists of fellow Stand users Guido Mista, Leone Abbacchio, Narancia Ghirga and Pannacotta Fugo. The news of Polpo's apparent suicide results in Bucciarati being promoted to capo after his group retrieves and donates Polpo's amassed fortune from the island of Capri to Passione's boss.

Bucciarati is then given Polpo's mission from the boss, a mysterious figure who conceals himself from everyone, including his subordinates. The assigned task is for Bucciarati's group to bring the boss's teenage daughter Trish Una safely to him; to do so they must fend off Passione's Stand-wielding Hitman Team, who seek to use Trish to discover the boss's identity and take over the organization. After retrieving a key in Pompeii, the group acquire a Stand-using turtle named Coco Jumbo and travel to Venice, defeating members of the Hitman Team along the way. Reaching Venice safely and delivering Trish to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Bucciarati realizes that the boss intends to kill his own daughter to maintain his secret identity. An enraged Bucciarati saves Trish, but suffers grievous injuries at the hands of the boss' immensely powerful Stand, King Crimson, which has the ability to see several seconds into the future and skip over short bursts of time. Giorno heals Bucciarati's injuries and the two manage to escape the church. With the exception of Fugo, the group decides to defect from Passione and uncover the boss's identity in order to defeat him. They and Trish, who discovers her own Stand Spice Girl, fight for their lives against the boss's elite soldiers, who have been sent to eliminate the traitors.

Following a lead on the boss's origins, Bucciarati's group travels to the island of Sardinia. Unfortunately, the boss is waiting for them, and swiftly kills Abbacchio before going into hiding once again. All seems lost until Giorno and company are contacted by someone who knows the boss's identity and suggests using a special Arrow to evolve Bucciarati's Stand. Bucciarati and the rest travel to Rome to meet the informant, who is revealed to be Jean Pierre Polnareff. Once again, the boss arrives first, and fatally wounds Polnareff. As a last-ditch gambit, Polnareff stabs his Stand, Silver Chariot, with the Arrow, evolving it into Chariot Requiem, which has the ability to swap the souls of all living beings and a mission to guard the Arrow. Chariot Requiem goes berserk, causing a city-wide soul swap with Polnareff's soul now in Coco Jumbo's body. Polnareff explains to the group about the Arrow and his Stand, revealing Passione's boss is named Diavolo. After Diavolo kills Narancia, he and the remainder of Bucciarati's group chase after the user-less Chariot Requiem, both sides focused on obtaining the Arrow. Though Diavolo succeeds in weakening the Stand, Bucciarati sacrifices himself to dispel the soul swap and pass the Arrow to Giorno. Giorno succeeds in upgrading his Stand to Gold Experience Requiem, and uses his new power to send Diavolo into a loop of never-ending death. The final scene shows gang members kneeling before Giorno as Mista and Polnareff (still in the body of Coco Jumbo) watch, suggesting that Giorno has succeeded in becoming the new leader of Passione.

• Giorno Giovanna[lower-alpha 2] is the human son of Dio Brando who retains the Joestar bloodline as Dio was in possession of Jonathan Joestar's body at the time Giorno was conceived, originally named Haruno Shiobana before moving to Italy. Giorno aspires to overthrow the Passione mafia's boss and rework the organization into one that helps the Italian people, akin to Robin Hood's band, in contrast to the sheer powerlust of its current leader, Diavolo. He uses the Stand Gold Experience,[lower-alpha 3] which has the ability to imbue things with life. After piercing his Stand with the arrow, it turns into Gold Experience Requiem,[lower-alpha 4] a Stand that reverts actions and willpower back to the state of "zero", completely nullifying them and preventing them from becoming "real" (whether stand or non-stand), effectively controlling causality, specifically keeping "cause" and removing "effect". It keeps his life-giving abilities but evolves it into a greater extent, with its strength and speed rivaling, if not higher, than Star Platinum or The World.
• Bruno Bucciarati[lower-alpha 5] is the caporegime of a gang within Passione. He uses the Stand, Sticky Fingers,[lower-alpha 6] which can place a zipper on any object, allowing entrance into it. Bruno can also use Sticky Fingers to separate objects into smaller objects which can be zipped back together later and repaired. He also appears in the 2012 spin-off one-shot Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci.[7]
• Leone Abbacchio[lower-alpha 7] is a former police officer, and a member of Bucciarati's gang. He uses the Stand, Moody Blues,[lower-alpha 8] which can replay past history as a 3D video recording which he and others can observe during a replay of the events, although doing so leaves it temporarily defenseless. Abbacchio also appears in Jolyne, Fly High with Gucci.[7]
• Guido Mista[lower-alpha 9] is a member of Bucciarati's gang. He uses a revolver in tandem with his Stand, Sex Pistols,[lower-alpha 10] which is composed of six small humanoids who can control the bullets Mista shoots. The humanoids are numbered #1–#7, with no #4, due to Mista's tetraphobia. Each of the pistols which make up Mista's stand have their own individual personalities and internal conflicts which Mista always tries to resolve.
• Narancia Ghirga[lower-alpha 11] is a member of Bucciarati's gang. He uses the airplane-like Stand, Aerosmith,[lower-alpha 12] which is equipped with machine guns, bombs and a carbon dioxide radar, allowing him to track down any opponent that breathes.
• Pannacotta Fugo[lower-alpha 13] is Bucciarati's right-hand man in the gang. Fugo tends to be erratic in mood, often breaking into short bursts of rage. He uses the Stand, Purple Haze,[lower-alpha 14] which can release a virus that rapidly devours organic matter. Purple Haze is indiscriminate in how its virus affects people, damaging both friends and enemies alike (including Fugo himself). Because of Purple Haze's dangerous ability, Fugo tends to avoid using it until he runs out of other options in a fight. Fugo is the main character of the novels Golden Heart, Golden Ring and Purple Haze Feedback.
• Trish Una[lower-alpha 15] is the daughter of Passione's boss, and is on the run from rival factions within the mafia, such as the Hitman Team who wish to use her family ties to the Boss to track him down. She uses the Stand, Spice Girl,[lower-alpha 16] which can increase objects' elasticity, making them nearly indestructible.
• Coco Jumbo is a turtle that gained a Stand, presumably from the Stand Arrow. Its stand, Mr. President, manifests as an inter-dimensional hotel room inside its shell.
• Jean Pierre Polnareff[lower-alpha 17] is a French swordsman who traveled alongside Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar to defeat Giorno's father in 1988. Polnareff discovered the true identity of Passione's boss while investigating the rise of drug-related crimes in his home country, but was severely injured and left for dead after being overwhelmed by the boss' Stand. He contacts Bucciarati's team after they betray the boss and offers them a way to defeat the boss: a unique Stand Arrow (an object introduced in Diamond is Unbreakable) that gives whoever uses it a completely new Stand ability. Polnareff wields the extremely fast sword-wielding Stand, Silver Chariot,[lower-alpha 18] but when Diavolo forced Polnareff's Silver Chariot to use the Stand Arrow on Sliver Chariot, his Stand evolves into Chariot Requiem,[lower-alpha 19] which has the ability to swap the souls of living beings.
• Passione[lower-alpha 20] is the most powerful gang in Italy, controlled by a man known only as "The Boss". Passione controls all levels of crime in Italy, from the low-level thugs and protective services to extremely powerful hitmen and drug traffickers. The gang's incredible level of power over Italy is mainly due to the unusual amount of Stand users found within its members.
  • Diavolo[lower-alpha 21] is the boss of Passione, and the father of Trish, intending to kill her to keep his existence a secret, targeting Giorno's group after they refused to hand Trish over. Diavolo uses the incredibly powerful Stand, King Crimson,[lower-alpha 22] which has the power to partially affect the causality of the near future in relation to himself; allowing him to negate processes, leaving only their consequences. Activating its power causes a time skip, where everything except Diavolo and King Crimson is changed to be in the state they would have been a few seconds later; for example, a bullet that would have hit Diavolo will suddenly be shifted to be on his other side. Diavolo is able to predict what will happen during the timeskip by using King Crimson's second face, Epitaph;[lower-alpha 23] this sub-power can also be used by Doppio to see seconds into the future.
  • Vinegar Doppio[lower-alpha 24] is the Boss' younger, more innocent and eccentric underboss. As a member of Passione, he thinks of himself as the most loyal subordinate to Diavolo, but in reality, the two are separate souls inhabiting the same body. During the course of the Part, he helps Diavolo to act and move around undetected. It is ambiguous whether Doppio is truly a Stand User, but he is allowed to wield both King Crimson's arms and Epitaph in battle.
  • The Hitman Team / Execution Squad (La Squadra Esecuzioni)[lower-alpha 25] is a squad of Stand users within Passione specializing in assassinations. While they previously served under the leadership of Diavolo, their inquiry into Diavolo's identity led to their former boss having two of their members killed. In retaliation, the group swore vengeance against Diavolo and began pursuing his daughter, Trish, in order to discover his identity and kill him. They serve as the primary group of antagonists in the first half of Golden Wind (with the exception of Risotto, who doesn't appear until after Bruno's group betrays Diavolo).
    • Risotto Nero[lower-alpha 26] is the leader of the Hitman Team. After his cousin was killed by a drunk driver, Risotto tracked down and assassinated the driver. In order to gain protection from the police after this crime, Risotto joined Passione. Although he mostly works in the background of the story, he eventually attacks Vinegar Doppio after the rest of his teammates are killed by Bruno's team. Risotto can control the iron in his surroundings (as well as in the blood of organisms) with his Stand, Metallica.[lower-alpha 27]
    • Formaggio[lower-alpha 28] is the first member of the Hitman Team that the protagonists encounter, with the assassin going after Narancia in order to find Trish's whereabouts. Formaggio can shrink any object or creature with his Stand, Little Feet.[lower-alpha 29]
    • Illuso[lower-alpha 30] is the second assassin that Bruno's team encounters, and pursues Giorno, Abbacchio, and Fugo in the ruins of Pompeii. Illuso can pull opponents into a mirror world (leaving their Stands behind) with his Stand, Man in the Mirror.[lower-alpha 31]
    • Prosciutto[lower-alpha 32] is the third assassin that Bruno's group encounters, and pursues the entire group on a train to Florence alongside his partner Pesci. Prosciutto can rapidly age people with his Stand, The Grateful Dead.[lower-alpha 33]
    • Pesci[lower-alpha 34] is an assassin who attacks Bruno's team alongside Prosciutto. Although he acts timid and cowardly, Pesci proves to be an extremely powerful opponent. Pesci wields the Stand Beach Boy,[lower-alpha 35] which takes the form of a fishing rod and hook and can quickly attack opponents as well as sense life force. Beach Boy can also go straight through objects and walls to hook its target.
    • Melone[lower-alpha 36] is an assassin who attacks Giorno, Bruno, and Trish as the group tries to find a new route to Venice. A perverted and twisted individual, Melone uses the Stand, Baby Face,[lower-alpha 37] which impregnates a "mother" with an individual's DNA and gives birth to a homunculus whose abilities differ depending on the DNA of both of its "parents".
    • Ghiaccio[lower-alpha 38] is the final member of the Hitman Team that Bruno's group directly encounters (due to Risotto already being killed by the time the group finds him), and pursues Giorno and Mista as they attempt to reach Venice. Ghaccio is an extremely unstable man who is enraged by oddities in language, and wields the Stand White Album,[lower-alpha 39] which encases his entire body and allows him to skate around his environment as if he was on ice, as well as freezing everything including the air around him using his secondary ability Gently Weeps.[lower-alpha 40]
    • Sorbet[lower-alpha 41] and Gelato[lower-alpha 42] are two members of the Hitman team who are brutally executed by the boss as punishment for looking into his identity. Their deaths spark the Hitman Team's hatred for Diavolo and their desperation to hunt down Trish.
  • Elite Guard Squad (La Unità Speciale)[lower-alpha 43] is a secret elite of Stand users within Passione who act as Diavolo's bodyguards, serving as the secondary antagonists in the latter half of Golden Wind.
    • Squalo[lower-alpha 44] wields the shark-like Stand, Clash,[lower-alpha 45] which can travel in any body of liquid.
    • Tiziano[lower-alpha 46] can force others to tell lies with his Stand, Talking Head.[lower-alpha 47]
    • Carne[lower-alpha 48] wields the invincible Stand, Notorious B.I.G,[lower-alpha 49] which only activates after his death and chases after and attacks the closest, quickest-moving thing it can detect.
    • Cioccolata[lower-alpha 50] wields the Stand, Green Day,[lower-alpha 51] which quickly kills any human in its range with mold.
    • Secco[lower-alpha 52] wears and uses his Stand, Oasis,[lower-alpha 53] to swim in rock as if it was water. As a result, anything near the rock melted will be melted as well.

Hirohiko Araki described the themes of Golden Wind as "human relationships," "friends versus enemies," and "the beauty of betrayal." By depicting the mafia, the author said the story deals with the sadness of having no choice in life or only one place where one belongs——the "dark underbelly of society." Araki also stated that the main focus was to draw "beautiful men" who can only exist in a world where there is "beauty in meeting one's doom." He wanted the characters, sculptures and fashion to be in the style of the Italian city of Rome. The curls in Giorno Giovanna's hair were inspired by Michelangelo's statue David. Araki cited Guido Mista and Prosciutto as characters he enjoyed drawing; the former due to his positive attitude and for being "true to himself without doubts" and the latter for his "brotherly relationship" with his subordinate Pesci and fun Stand power.[8]

In a 2018 survey of 17,000 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fans, Golden Wind was chosen as the favorite story arc with 19.1% of the vote.[44]