JoJo’s Part 5 Episode 26

JoJo’s Part 5 Episode 26

A Little Story From the Past ~My Name Is Doppio~

In this week’s episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind, we’re finally introduced to the boss’ identity, or at least one of his identities, as we’ll find out. So, let’s start from the very beginning of his life, when he was born.

The circumstances surrounding the boss’ birth don’t exactly make much sense. He was born in an all-female prison after his mother had already been incarcerated for two years. Further, his mother claims that his father died two years prior.

However, the fact that the boss, known as Doppio, was in his mother’s womb for at least 24 months rather than nine is only part of the mystery. Despite clearly looking pregnant on the day of Doppio’s birth, we’re told by one of the prison guards that Doppio’s mother showed no signs of pregnancy just the day before.

My assumption is that we’ll never get a real explanation for either of these two phenomena, and that they’re simply in place to add to the mystery of the boss. After all, this is JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, so anything goes anyway.

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

Right from the start it was clear that Doppio was unusual. When he was born, his eyes were wide open and he didn’t cry at all. There may be some significance to this, but if there is I don’t know it. As far as I can tell, this is just further showing that he’s not your average person.

He was then sent to be raised in Sardinia because that’s where his mother was originally from. Here he lived with a priest until he was a teenager. We can also assume that up until this point he was going by a different name, and that he assumed the name Doppio (meaning “double”) afterwards.

It was during his teenage years that the priest he was living with discovered a woman trapped beneath the floor of his home. This woman had no space to move, her mouth was sewn shut, and she had been kept alive for years in this state.

The priest then comes to the conclusion that this was Doppio’s birth mother, but by then it was too late. Doppio killed the priest for discovering his secret and then burned the entire town to the ground. It was at this point that his true identity died (in the fire) and the boss turned to a life of secrecy.

My guess as to why Doppio was keeping his mother captive under the floor of his home is that it had something to do with abandonment issues. Perhaps after being taken away from her as a newborn due to the fact that he was in prison, he wanted to always have his mother close by, and this was his way of making that into a reality.

Split Personality

Alright, so Doppio has a strange background, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into him being strange in the present, right? Wrong.

Throughout the scenes of his childhood we were under the impression that this was the boss, and that he was simply hiding his dark, twisted nature. However, once the episode shifts to the present day it quickly becomes clear that this isn’t exactly the case.

The boss doesn’t hide behind a fake persona known as Doppio. Doppio is very real, and very separate from the boss. For all intents and purposes, they’re actually two different characters that just happen to be sharing the same physical body.

While the boss’ character seems to be active in private and Doppio’s seems to be active in public, there is a bit of crossover. For example, when Doppio gets enraged, the boss’ personality takes control. This is most signified by a change in how his pupils are depicted.

However, we also see that the boss and Doppio have physical differences beyond their eyes despite the fact that they share one body. Doppio is depicted as younger, leaner, and all around more “boyish.” On the other hand, the boss is older, depicting his true age, and more muscular.

This was illustrated through Doppio’s interaction with the fortune-teller. After reading his fortune, the fortune-teller is confused because Doppio doesn’t appear old enough for the fortune that was read to be correct. Then, once the boss’ personality takes over, we see his body physically bulk up.

I should also point out that this physical changing of the boss’ body doesn’t appear to have anything to do with his stand, King Crimson.

But, how does Doppio’s split personality really work? Can the two personalities just swap at will? Are they aware of each other? How do they interact with each other? And, do they share the same memories?

First, it doesn’t seem like Doppio can become the active personality at his own will. The boss’ personality appears to be the dominant of the two and the one pulling the strings from the shadows. So, while Doppio isn’t going to randomly pop out while the boss’ personality is active, the other way around is very possible, and is preluded by Doppio experiencing a headache.

It also seems like the boss’ personality is aware that it shares the same body as Doppio, but Doppio’s personality is not. Part of the evidence for this is the fact that the boss can relay information to Doppio mentally, but Doppio doesn’t do the same to the boss.

This brings us to the next question, how do they interact with one another? As I just mentioned, the boss can relay information mentally, but for the most part we see that Doppio believes the boss is a separate person and so needs to talk to him externally.

He does this via telephone, although the telephone never really exists. Doppio makes the sound of a telephone ringing with his mouth, then grabs a random object like a frog, and proceeds to use that object as a phone through which to converse with the boss.

And, finally, we don’t know the extent to which the boss retains Doppio’s memories, but Doppio seems to be unaware of anything that happens while the boss’ personality is active.

Risotto Nero and Metallica

Along with finally being introduced to the boss’ second personality, we’re finally formally introduced to Risotto Nero. Risotto is the leader of the hitman squad which planned to capture Trish in order to discover the true identity of the boss.

At this point, he’s the final member of his squad left. Maybe he truly wants to finish the job he started by killing the boss, or maybe he wants to avenge his fallen comrades. However, I’m thinking that the only reason Risotto is still going forward with his plan is because he’s in too deep.

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

Risotto seems like a fairly competent guy. Not only can he read people’s emotions to determine if they’re lying to him, but he’s also an expert at reading his surroundings. After he determined that Doppio’s fear of him was real and so probably a civilian, he picked up on the fact that Doppio responded to the sound of Narancia’s Aerosmith in the distance.

With a small number of exceptions, stands can only be seen or heard by other stand users. So, the fact that Doppio responded to Aerosmith proves that he’s a stand user himself. Risotto then determines that Doppio must be someone the boss has complete trust in, because nobody else would be sent to such an important location.

If only he realized that Doppio and the boss are one and the same, he could have killed him right then and there (with the help of his plot armor). I bring up Risotto’s plot armor because it was established that King Crimson’s ability has a two meter radius, but even though Doppio got close enough for Risotto to be within that Radius, King Crismon wasn’t unleashed.

Plot armor aside, Risotto has a fairly deadly stand of his own, but not quite as overpowered as King Crimson is. From the title of the next episode we know its name is Metallica, and from what we’ve seen so far, it seems it can spontaneously create and control metallic objects.

He uses this ability to make razor blades appear in Doppio’s throat, and sewing needles burst through his face from the inside. However, we can assume he would also be able to make these objects appear directly in someone’s heart or brain, killing them instantly.

And, while we don’t yet know the exact distance from which this ability can be used, we know it has a longer range than King Crimson does, thus giving Risotto a distinct advantage.

Conclusion

What are your thoughts on this week’s episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind? Did you like it? I know I did. What do you think of the boss’ split personality? Do you like Doppio as a character? And, what are your thoughts on Risotto’s stand ability?

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My review of the next episode is available here.

3 Replies to “JoJo’s Part 5 Episode 26”

    1. Yeah, but since he had already gotten enraged the boss’ personality should have been able to take over. Didn’t we see their eyes swap before he went on the offensive?

      1. Perhaps, but keep in mind the boss is trying to continue being incognito. He doesn’t want to tip his hand too early and is aware of who Risotto is (while Doppio doesn’t). And to be fair, the portion of loan power doesn’t include the Time Skip (or does it?).

        That hard confirmation is also why Risotto is bent on tormenting him instead of just assassinating him outright. In his perspective, he’s just fighting a really eccentric subordinate of the boss. If he finds out the truth, he’d just go “Oh I see, that makes this easier” then just wipes him out.

        Also, many fans are worried this might get censored—it didn’t. It’s as brutal as it can get. And Risotto has other creative uses for Metallica.

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