The recently released Chapter 104 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 8, JoJolion, reveals a new enemy stand that may be the most difficult to challenge yet. Serialized in Shonen Jump‘s counterpart, the monthly Ultra Jump, Part 8 of the manga has been running since 2011, but the villain’s true identity has remained unknown to the heroes until recently. The revelation of the full extent of a villain’s stand ability often marks the beginning of the end of a Jojo’s story arc, and fans have long awaited this moment in JoJolion. A stand is a supernatural being that aids its user in battle.
The most recent arc, “The Wonder of You,” has built upon the existing lore of the struggle against “rock humans,” humanoid beings with silicon-based DNA, and the Locacaca Organization, which seeks to make the rock humans the dominant species on Earth. The group’s name comes from the fictional Locacaca fruit, a cure-all that comes at a high cost, and a new variant that they believe can help them to achieve their goal. Most of the antagonists faced thus far in Part 8 have been members, and this arc has seen Josuke and company tracking down their leader, who turns out to have been much closer than they could have guessed.
Chapter 104, from the just-released February 2021 issue, has Yasuho Hirose facing off with Tooru, her ex-boyfriend and a major antagonist. Yasuho tries to protect the new Locacaca plant from Tooru, while Joshuu lies in a stupor nearby. Desperate, she calls Kei Nijimura on her cell phone, but Kei has just been killed by a mystery stand. Still, she manages to pass the phone off to Josuke as her final act. Josuke himself is busy challenging Doctor Satoru Akefu, whom he believes to be the leader, when Yasuho is finally able to tell him the truth: that Doctor Akefu isn’t a person with a stand, but rather is Tooru’s stand, which can use illusions to appear as a human and even interact with those without stands.
Called “Wonder of U,” the stand’s ability isn’t limited to illusions, which would be impressive on its own. Its main power is to cause disasters to befall those who try to pursue it, demonstrated as a falling leaf inexplicably cuts off Joshuu’s fingers when he tries to confront Tooru himself. As a piece of metal hurtles through the sky towards Yasuho’s location, Tooru tells her it’s too late, and that she will die soon in a freak accident like all others who’ve stood against him. He begins to leave with the plant, as Yasuho calls out for Josuke’s help. Josuke’s stand, Soft & Wet, has miraculously wounded Wonder of U without causing Josuke harm, providing a glimmer of hope that Tooru can be defeated.
While many of the villainous stands in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure have proven to be absurdly powerful at their peak, Wonder of U is particularly insidious since it can affect people who may never even have met its user. In fact, it seems that Wonder of U is behind the curse that has been causing calamity to befall the Higashikata family for years, as Tooru has been around them for at least a decade.
The author’s note attached to this chapter says that JoJolion is moving into its final stages, so some of Jojo’s famously complex fight scenes are certainly around the corner. The next chapter of JoJolion can be expected in the March issue of Ultra Jump, due for release in mid-February.
