JoJo’s Part 5 Episode 17

JoJo’s Part 5 Episode 17

Baby Face

Today’s episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure seems to just be a single “standalone” episode rather than one which is part of a multi-part mini arc. However, I’m still expecting that we’ll see the new antagonist, Melone, and his stand, Baby Face, get defeated once and for all in the first half of next week’s episode.

But, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we should probably start at the very beginning of the episode with the introduction of Melone. Melone, whose name means melon in Italian in case you couldn’t guess, is yet another member of the hitman squad which is trying to kidnap Trish Una, the boss’ daughter.

Interestingly, Melone’s stand, Baby Face, is the first automatic stand we’ve encountered since Polpo’s Black Sabbath. I’ll discuss automatic stands a bit more in depth later on, but for now let’s just focus on the trigger for this particular stand.

Like any automatic stand, there’s something that must happen first in order for the stand’s ability to be triggered. In the case of Baby Face, first, a blood (or perhaps any DNA) sample of the intended target is needed. Next, a surrogate mother is needed for the trigger to be complete.

Keep in mind that Melone’s stand is actually the computer he carries around, and the homunculi he creates through this automatic ability trigger are more like sub-stands. So, now that we have a targets blood and a suitable surrogate, Baby Face impregnates the surrogate with a homunculus baby which takes 3 minutes to be born.

I should also mention that while it does certainly look like Baby Face rapes these women in order to produce homunculi, that isn’t actually the case. I mean, come on, it’s not a goblin or SAO antagonist.

A Stand Is Born

Alright, so now you’ve got a baby, homunculus, sub-stand which was born through unknown means. Great, what next? Well, at this point all Melone really has to do is sit back and watch his automatic sub-stand go to work.

Remember that target blood sample that was used to create the homunculus? That now enables said homunculus to track down its “father” (or mother, I suppose), and kill him (or her). From what I can tell, the desire to kill its own father comes from the fact that the homunculus was born from the DNA of two incompatible people.

But, like any good parent, Melone doesn’t just release his adopted child into the world, he teaches it how to live and makes sure it stays out of trouble. Melone is able to do this thanks to the ability to communicate with the homunculus via his actual stand, the computer Baby Face.

Melone from the anime series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind
Melone

While most automatic stands are fully autonomous, the sub-stands created by Baby Face aren’t. Yes, they can be fully autonomous in theory, but they wouldn’t be able to unlock their full potential if this were the case. The best way to think of them are like juvenile automatic stands that need guidance.

And, so, Melone teaches them what it means to kill, who their targets are, and gives them general advice on how to do their job. We can also assume that while Baby Face might be able to have multiple homunculi active at once, Melone probably sticks to one at a time so that he can give each one the attention it needs.

An Unstoppable Stand?

Two weeks ago we had Prosciutto telling Pesci his Beach Boy stand was unstoppable, and today Giorno said the same thing about the Baby Face’s homunculus stand ability. So, before I get into whether or not this sub-stand is unstoppable, has there ever actually been an unstoppable stand before? (The answer may surprise you!)

Actually, yes. And, no, it’s not Okuyasu’s The Hand. While The Hand is certainly overpowered, it’s nowhere near unstoppable. The only stand I can think of which was actually unstoppable in JoJo’s history is DIO’s The World.

But, DIO’s The World was stopped by Jotaro’s Star Platinum, so it can’t be unstoppable!

Well, yes, it was stopped, but only because Jotaro’s Star Platinum suddenly developed the perfect counter to DIO’s The World because otherwise the whole series would have ended right there. It was a Deus ex machina, which doesn’t count.

Now that we know that there is in fact precedent for an unstoppable stand, is Baby Face one such stand? No.

Baby Face is a stand which can mass produce automatic sub-stands. These sub-stands then also have the ability to take living creatures, break them down, and turn them into inanimate objects. Further, since these sub-stands are automatic, any damage done to them doesn’t get transferred back to their user.

So, with all that going for it, why isn’t Baby Face unstoppable? Because its sub-stand ability is actually fairly specific and has a direct counter in the form of Giorno Giovanna’s Gold Experience. And, no, this doesn’t count as a Deus ex machina because Giorno already had everything he needs to defeat Baby Face from the very start.

Opposites Attract

Baby Face’s sub-stand takes living things and turns them into inanimate objects, while Gold Experience takes inanimate objects and turns them into living things. It’s pretty easy to see how Giorno has the perfect stand to counter the homunculus he found himself up against, but doesn’t this mean the homunculus has the perfect stand ability to counter Giorno as well?

No, and there are two reasons for why this is the case. The first, and most basic reason Giorno’s Gold Experience wins in the end is simply due to the versatility of the living creatures he creates. We see him create a fish inside the body of his opponent, but he could also have created an animal to go warn his friends of the enemy stand.

Giorno Giovanna from the anime series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind
Giorno Giovanna

The second reason why Gold Experience beats Baby Face is due to its other abilities. Remember, turning inanimate objects into living creatures isn’t the only thing Gold Experience can do. It can also severely impair any living creature it touches, and all damage dealt to a creature it creates is directed back at the attacker.

It’s this final ability which really seals the deal and sets Gold Experience above Baby Face. Baby Face’s sub-stand can try to turn one of Giorno’s creatures back into an inanimate object, but I don’t think it would work. Instead, the force of the attack would simply be direct back at the homunculus.

This means that while the two could trade blows for a significant amount of time, in the end Giorno would win simply because the homunculus would be taking damage every time it attacks. And, while Giorno would also take some damage, he’s the designated team medic so he can just heal himself up with his ability.

Conclusion

As I mentioned, the only unstoppable stand we’ve encountered so far was DIO’s The World, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t stands that could defeat Buccellati’s team. Each individual hitman squad member is almost able to defeat them all on his own, so just imagine if they stopped attacking either solo or in pairs.

There are six members of Buccellati’s team, and they can barely handle two members of the hitman squad at a time. If there was a fair fight in terms of numbers, I have no doubt that Buccellati’s team would be defeated.

I know I focused a lot more on this week’s new stand than I normally do, but if you enjoyed this episode review then be sure to click the like button ❤ down below. You should also go give me a follow over on Twitter @DoubleSama because my stand gets stronger with each new follower.

Finally, it’s a new month, and I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for his continued support of DoubleSama.com at the heika tier! If you’re interested in helping to support this site, then head on over to Patreon.com/DoubleSama to learn more about the various tiers of patronage and their respective benefits.

My review of the next episode is available here.

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