Wonder of U

"I am Wonder of U. The flow of things will always lead to calamity. (わたしは『ワンダー・オブ・』 『流れ』はずっと厄災なんだ)"

- Wonder of U

Wonder of U (ワンダー・オブ・) is the Stand of Toru featured in the eighth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, JoJolion, and introduced in the "The Wonder of You" story arc.

It is a sentient Stand that acts as the director of TG University Hospital using the name Satoru Akefu (明負 悟). It is capable of causing a calamity to anyone who pursues or works against it or its user. Satoru Akefu is a primary antagonist in JoJolion.

Appearance
Wonder of U is an artificial humanoid Stand with robotic features. It has a large torso but thin, tubular arms, with several articulations on its arms and waist. Its entire body is covered with circular ridges that are evenly spaced. It also has long curved blades on its wrists. Its head has a flattened ovoid shape and a face with two coin-like eyes and more circular ridges. In early appearances of it, the eyes were drawn with triangles making them appear like suns, similar to the sun motif found on Toru's outfit. The entire face is framed by two pairs of metallic sticks behind its eyes.

Wonder of U's appearance differs depending on who sees it. To the general public, it appears in its disguise; meanwhile, to those who are aware of its ability, its true face appears. The disguise is depicted as Satoru Akefu, an elderly man with a stocky build said to be 89 years old. The disguise has a thin furrowed face with prominent cheekbones, sunken eyes, a large nose, and thick white hair. The disguise's most notable features are a beard styled into multiple short spikes and a monocle on its right eye. Much like the Stand's subordinate Wu Tomoki, the hair on the sides of its head is composed of many spheres. The hair on the top of its head is much more natural, although appearing somewhat unkempt. Its sideburns feature a similar pattern, but are shaven into rectangles instead. Its arms and legs are noticeably slimmer than the rest of its body. It wears a dark-colored bowler hat and suit, along with a lightly colored scarf with a pattern of irregular dash-shaped slits cut into it. It also wears dress shoes and uses a cane to walk.

Once it is revealed that Satoru Akefu and Wonder of U are the same entity, Wonder of U keeps Satoru's outfit and accessories. However, it displays the hospital director's face less often to Rai Mamezuku and Josuke Higashikata.

Personality
Wonder of U is a sentient Stand that is, unlike most Stands in the series, considerably expressive and holds a calm yet threatening demeanor.

It's quite confident in its own abilities, stating that nothing can approach nor hurt it. When Taoka threatens to expose the Locacaca Organization's illegal clinical trial, Akefu calmly points out how disaster may strike the journalist before leaving. Under the threat of danger, it's surprised when Rai Mamezuku manages to get as close as a few centimeters to it. When it's finally wounded by Josuke's bubbles, Wonder of U is shocked that anyone could wound it.

Wonder of U is perceptive, as it sees through a trap Josuke has been laying for it and quickly analyzes the threat that Josuke could pose because of a surprise injury. Much like the user, Wonder of U is fairly resourceful, as it takes care to avoid direct combat by utilizing Dododo De Dadada in the fight against Josuke and Mamezuku, and notably releases Obladi Oblada on Josuke when the timing is right. As Josuke discovers a new aspect to his Stand's bubbles, Wonder of U decides that the best course of action is to simply retreat.

The Stand repeatedly goads its enemies into pursuing and triggering its ability, through mockery or threats. It reveals to Mamezuku that it was the cause of his father's death, and pushes him into its ploy.

As the Stand of a Rock Human, Wonder of U asserts its dominance over humans in general, such as when it declares that "they" have no permission to possess anything, be it a pear orchard (referring to Mamezuku's father) or the new Locacaca (referring to Josuke and Mamezuku). It also values the Locacaca 6251, noting their price tag of 200 million yen, but also highlighting their value to the world as a miracle medicine. The sight of Josuke wrecking the supply notably goads Wonder of U into approaching Josuke.

When disguised as the head of TG University Hospital, Wonder of U is a rather elusive figure despite holding an incredibly prestigious title. During its presentation, "Akefu" presents itself as a proud director ready to present the Locacaca 6251 to an audience and discuss it's implications on medical science. "Akefu" is also a professional and so the first thing "he" does with the journalist Taoka is exchange business cards.

Wonder of U has a quirk of occasionally stating its name in conversation.

Abilities
"You saw him there, right? There was definitely an old man in a black suit. But actually... I've considered that that may actually be the calamity's 'power' itself. This guy is the 'calamity'. And he's a powerful enemy. Beyond powerful."

- Mamezuku talking about a stalking figure of Wonder of U

Identity Assumption
Wonder of U allows Toru to lead a double-life under the assumed identity of Satoru Akefu, allowing him to act as the director of TG University hospital. This is done by Wonder of U taking on a human form, which unlike most Stands, can be seen by non-Stand users. This allows Toru to gain access to both the hospital resources and presumed credentials needed to carry out his role as presumed mastermind of the Locacaca Organization.

Long-range Illusion Creation
Wonder of U is able to create multiple visions of itself, which can be designated to specific targets. These visions normally take on the form of Toru's assumed identity, and typically position themselves so that their back faces a given target. Wonder of U has been shown to have a degree of control over who can and cannot see these visions.

For example, a vision meant for Mitsuba Higashikata could not be seen by other members of the Higashikata family, while another vision of the Stand could be seen by a large audience attending the hospital director's presentation. Even in human form, Wonder of U's illusions are able to phase in and out of objects such as walls, and are able to travel across reflective surfaces.

Calamity Manipulation
""A natural law of calamity"!! Even without a user to control it, will the hospital director still not disappear?! The calamity is still going...!! Or rather, the "laws of calamity" are just things that exist in this world that can never go away... And Wonder of U was just an ability that allowed Toru to use that for his own ends!"

- Yasuho about Wonder of U's power

Wonder of U's primary ability allows it to manipulate a "natural law of calamity", which is a form of negative energy independent from the Stand. It is automatic and functions at a long range, making it extremely dangerous because there is little defense against it.

Wonder of U's ability can be activated on any person who has looked at the Stand's back while in its human form. While Wonder of U's ability is active, targets will experience horrible developments referred to as calamities. Some calamities will be a result of the target's own behavior leading to an unusually detrimental result (i.e. Mitsuba cutting her hand while preparing food) while others take the form of environmental factors that would normally be harmless having an abnormally bad outcome (i.e. receiving near-lethal wounds from the impact of raindrops, or a light bulb in Mamezuku's vicinity exploding). As a rule, Wonder of U's calamities always manifest themselves as some form of harmful collision.

Once Wonder of U has locked onto a target, any attempt to pursue or otherwise harm Satoru Akefu will result in the ability reactivating. The threshold for reactivation is extremely sensitive, as the mere intent to confront the Stand's presumed user was enough for the ability to target and nearly kill Josuke. While pursuit is the Stand's most common trigger, Wonder of U can also attack any person who sees the back of its presumed user, regardless of whether or not they hold the intent to pursue. This was demonstrated by Mamezuku, who showed another prisoner in his holding cell a photograph of the Stand's back, resulting in the latter being mortally wounded. Objects that come in-contact with Wonder of U can be infused with calamity and trigger the ability when touched.

There is a strong correlation between the size of an object and how immediate and severe the injury will be upon impact. For example, while a discarded cigarette striking Josuke's hand resulted in it immediately piercing his palm, colliding with an umbrella stand caused a much more serious wound on Mamezuku's leg, though with a noticeable delay between the collision and appearance of the injury. It seems that for collisions with larger objects, there's a waiting period in which the effects of this impact can be transferred to another person. A bystander was shown to suffer a sudden, fatal neck injury after coming into contact with Josuke's blood within moments of the latter being hit by a car during this Stand's attack. As stated by Mamezuku, the severity of the calamities caused by the hospital director to someone who is not pursuing him seems to function as a form of karma and are influenced by an individual's history. This is demonstrated when a convicted killer who caught a glimpse of Wonder of U's back received a calamity that resulted in a life-threatening wound, while Mamezuku's took the form of relatively harmless things, such as a light bulb bursting and maggots appearing in his uneaten food. This is further expanded upon by Wonder of U, stating that there is a "flow" of things that always results in calamity which was previously hinted at by Toru.

However, despite Wonder of U's seemingly unbeatable offensive and defensive capabilities, a possible weakness in its defense is noted by Josuke following his initial defeat by the Stand. By remaining completely idle and forcing the Stand to confront him, Josuke was seemingly able to bypass the danger of the Stand's ability, as no behavior or environmental factors were present that could be extrapolated into a calamity. Non-existent things also won't be affected by it since it won't be seen as pursuit. Kaato Higashikata exposes another weakness in its ability through seemingly removing all thoughts to pursue mentally, and approaches Toru to begin her attack.

Ultimately, Wonder of U is defeated by Soft & Wet's new ability, Go Beyond, which doesn't exist in the world, therefore ignores all the logic in it. The calamity does not function against these bubbles, and Toru is obliterated by them.

It is discovered that even after Toru's death, Wonder of U can act on its own and inflict another calamity on someone else by entering their body, even materializing itself inside.

Medical Experience
Pretending to be a physician in charge of an entire hospital, it can be inferred that Wonder of U is knowledgeable on both general medical knowledge, as well as medicinal applications of the Locacaca fruit.

Background
Satoru Akefu's identity was stolen from an actual human doctor, who was a graduate of TG University Hospital. Toru uses his identity to infiltrate the hospital with Wu Tomoki, Urban Guerrilla, and Poor Tom, becoming the hospital director. "Akefu" is stated to have a long and illustrious career as a director and to have even received medical awards for "his" work, although these accomplishments may have been achieved by the original Akefu. Due to "his" honorary position, "Akefu" is no longer involved in any actual medical practice. "Akefu" and the rest of the Locacaca Organization conducted research on the Locacaca fruits and its potential as a medicine, using Tamaki Damo's group as subordinates and staff to perform unofficial human trials, and also testing their medicine on Holy. At one point, "Akefu" becomes acquainted with Mitsuba Higashikata and poses in a photo together with her.

Wonder of U seems to have some kind of relation with Mamezuku's father, as it attended his funeral. Furthermore, Wonder of U is implied to have been responsible for the calamities that affect the Mamezuku family.

The Wonder of You
"Akefu" is pursued by Josuke Higashikata, Yasuho Hirose, and Rai Mamezuku. Completely ignoring them, "Akefu" sends "his" ability after the three and makes "his" getaway on a bus. "He" is later spotted by Mitsuba Higashikata at both her son's elementary school and on the property surrounding the Higashikata House.

Josuke and Mamezuku discover that "Akefu" is scheduled to give a lecture on regenerative medicine. Deciding to pursue him to that lecture causes Wonder of U to activate and attack them just as the rain begins to fall. Cornered by the rain and the police, Josuke decides to let the raindrops shoot through him and be brought to the hospital. Meanwhile, "Akefu" keeps stalking the Higashikata Family and "his" ability causes disasters for them, with Tsurugi's illness triggering at the same time.

On the day of the lecture, "Akefu" unveils "his" product, the Locacaca 6251, to the public. The disguised Stand presents the new medicine and its processes. Meanwhile, Josuke is again attacked by the calamity and eventually revises his plans.

On the day of the harvest, "Akefu" is again seen by Mitsuba and Yasuho lurking near the Higashikata House but also by Rai Mamezuku just outside of the police station. At the Higashikata House, "his" ability causes a string of events that leads to the new Locacaca being unveiled. As Jobin argues with Norisuke and eventually takes him out, "Akefu" finally takes action. The Stand enters the Higashikata House and approaches the family. Mitsuba sees him passing by the door frame of the corridor outside of Tsurugi's room, pass through a computer screen, the glass panels of the bookcases, passing through the bathroom, the window near the bed, a frame, and then slipping under the bed sheets. Jobin, warned of his presence by Mitsuba, summons his Stand Speed King and attacks him. Soon enough, Akefu's ability causes another calamity and Jobin is drained of his blood, his potted Locacaca rolling towards the door to the garage.

At the TG University Hospital, "Akefu" is scheduled to meet with a reporter from the science journal "Pangea Land", Taoka. However, Taoka shows "Akefu" of Holy Joestar-Kira, the secret Locacaca laboratory, and a sample of the fruit inside of a jar. Taoka accuses "Akefu" of conducting illegal human trials and is ready to pursue him. "Akefu" thus raises the possibility of the sample being a fake and theorizes that Taoka must have touched the fruit, and that some juice may have slid into a small cut on his hand. The disguised Stand leaves Taoka, trusting its ability to kill the reporter and setting out to find the package's sender, Josuke. During this time, Rai Mamezuku utilizes Wonder of U's ability to his advantage to escape his prison cell heads towards the hospital to assist Josuke in his battle. As "Satoru" advances towards the Locacaca laboratory at the gynecology department, it is shown that the hospital director and the Stand are the same entity.

Both heading to Josuke's location in the hospital, Rai notices "Satoru" right behind him, seemingly autonomous and phasing through glass to reach the laboratory. Rai rushes to Josuke, watching "Satoru" phase through walls to confront him, the Stand's true face revealed. When it arrives at the laboratory, Wonder of U senses that something is amiss and doesn't step into the room. Instead, he deploys a Rock Insect named Dododo De Dadada, which begins it's attack on Josuke and Rai.

Wonder of U lets Dododo De Dadada attack Josuke, but Rai Mamezuku eventually intervenes and kills the Rock Insect. Rai approaches Wonder of U and confronts him, waving his sharp fingertips two centimeters away from the Stand's face, and with seemingly no calamity in sight to stop him. As he approaches the tip of his wire into Wonder of U's face, Mamezuku begins to claim that the Stand's power of calamity could be a trick. Wonder of U openly wonders what could happen as nobody has ever gotten this close to it but declares that still, nobody can attack it. Then, Wonder of U presses on Mamezuku's past, reminding him of the time his father died, how a mysterious insect laid waste to the Mamezuku family's orchard, and how Mamezuku's mother fell ill and died as she was overwhelmed with all the calamities that had happened. Angered by the taunt, Mamezuku directly grabs Wonder of U by the neck and threatens to impale it with his fingertip.

Suddenly, one of Mamezuku's braids flies off. Mamezuku narrowly missed the Stand's neck and spherical chunks of flesh have been taken off his shoulder. Josuke sees that his own soap bubbles were responsible for wounding Mamezuku. Wonder of U thus realizes that this was Josuke's trap: Josuke had laid several bubbles in the room but some of them were hidden and spinning at high speed. By letting Wonder of U come to him, Josuke had hoped to let these trapped bubbles kill the enemy Stand but instead, by sheer misfortune, these bubbles heavily wounded Mamezuku instead. As Mamezuku collapses, Wonder of U's confidence in its invincibility is reassured. However, Mamezuku with the last of his strength reveals the power of the Spin to Josuke.

Wonder of U asks again if Josuke intends on approaching it. Josuke briefly reflects on the true nature of his bubbles before regaining his focus. He declares that he's been the one making Wonder of U approach him. To bait him closer, Josuke summons Soft & Wet to destroy the vault containing all the Locacaca6251 test tubes. He disperses the tube and even destroys the doors with explosive bubbles. Wonder of U protests, stating that even if it takes the new Locacaca, the Locacaca6251 remains extremely valuable and that the world needs it. Hearing about the medicine price of 200,000 yen for a test tube, Josuke snarks about his 7,890 yen sneakers and stomps on the test tubes. Wonder of U finally steps into the room and approaches Josuke, while carefully staying clear of Soft & Wet's bubbles. However, Wonder of U then suddenly informs him that Yasuho is at the Higashikata estate and that she's in danger. Josuke hesitates for a moment, and resumes destroying the test tubes with even more fervor. However, a piece of glass ricochets into his neck. Wonder of U expresses incomprehension at Josuke's stubbornness and explains how the flow of calamity will attack him through all of the objects that the Stand is touching. At the same time, he ostentatiously touches the test tube and the wreckage of the vault. Josuke tries to high kick Wonder of U in the neck, but a bubble gets in the way and cuts a part of his leg. Josuke trips and impales his shoulder on a metal rod sticking out of the wreckage. Wonder of U expresses his satisfaction, but suddenly a gust of wind comes from inside of the vault. Born This Way appears. With its freezing wind, the Stand freezes several bubbles and sends them at Wonder of U, who tries to deflect them with its cane. However, one of the bubble hits Wonder of U and wounds its head, shocking the Stand.

Soft & Wet: Go Beyond
Kei Nijimura walks into the room mortally wounded but despite this, Toru deems that Josuke is still too dangerous to come close to. Wonder of U thus leaves the room. It heads towards the elevator and notices Josuke pursuing it. Confident that it will be safe, Wonder of U quips at Josuke before stepping into the elevator but Josuke prepares to fire a bubble at the stand. However, Wonder of U planned for this and summons a Rock Insect named Obladi Oblada that deflects the bubble and latches onto Josuke. Wonder of U enters the elevator. As Obladi Oblada begins to multiply itself and cover Josuke, Wonder of U explains a bit of its biology and taunts Josuke, who is now covered in the Rock Insects. Wonder of U closes the elevator door, but Paisley Park then hacks into it, forcing the door open and allowing Josuke to confront the Stand at point-blank range. Josuke shoots a second bubble, but Obladi Oblada gets in the way and deflects the second shot too. Wonder of U watches as Josuke collapses, overwhelmed by the insects, but then the invisible bubble that was shot out of Josuke's birthmark travels to the Higashikata House through Yasuho's Paisley Park. The bubble flies right towards Toru.

The invisible bubble reappears inside Toru's abdomen, knocking him away and stopping the flow of calamity. Back in the hospital, Wonder of U, appearing as its disguise Satoru Akefu, flees from Josuke with an injury to its abdomen and is approached by two nurses. However, they are blocked by a cart because of their attempt to pursue "Akefu". At the same time, Toru eats the other remaining Locacaca plant and runs towards Yasuho but is sent flying by another invisible bubble, landing on a car inside the garage where a mourning Kaato Higashikata stands.

As Toru crawls on the ground, Kaato stands mournfully. She begins to explain her son's favorite dish while Yasuho warns her about the Toru's consumption of the Locacaca. Toru begins to slowly stand again, and taunts Kaato about her son's death and her legacy as a cruel murderer. This attempt to goad her into pursuit fails, and Kaato begins to use her Space Trucking to pin him down. Wonder of U manifests ominously in the air sharing the same wounds as Toru signaling the beginning of a calamity. Kaato slowly reveals her true intentions, and releases Tsurugi Higashikata to perform an exchange on Toru's body. Wonder of U begins to hover directly behind Kaato as Toru and Tsurugi make contact.

As the exchange begins and Toru slowly crumbles away, Kaato reveals that she crushed the New Locacaca's branches and poured the sap into Tsurugi's mouth. Wonder of U manifests behind her and attempts to attack her but slowly crumbles away alongside Toru. The exchange is successful and both are seemingly eliminated. However, due to its nature, Wonder of U manifests again in Norisuke's mouth, attempting to kill him with calamity energy. This ploy fails when Josuke Higashikata arrives to the scene and eliminates it with Soft & Wet: Go Beyond, ending the calamity.

Trivia

 * The covers of Ultra Jump 2020 Issue #5, JJL Volume 23, JJL Chapter 96 and JJL Chapter 104 all feature imagery of multiple instances of Satoru Akefu levitating in the sky, bearing resemblance to the work of Belgian artist.
 * Using, Akefu's stated age of 89 years (８９さい) can be read as "ya-ku-sai". This is homophonous with the Japanese word for "calamity" (厄災).