GW Episode 1

Gold Experience is the first episode of Golden Wind and the one hundred fourteenth episode overall of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. It covers Chapter 440 through Chapter 443, the ending of Chapter 444 and the beginning of Chapter 445 of the manga.

In the year 2001, Koichi Hirose travels to, by Jotaro's request to investigate the young "Haruno Shiobana", revealed to be DIO's son. At the same time, Giorno accidentally antagonizes a gang by putting one of their members in a coma.

Summary
It is the year 2001, the picturesque Italian city of Naples is plagued by crime: pickpockets, corrupt policemen, and drug dealers lurk within the streets. Among them serenely strolls a young boy clad in pink. Soon he finds himself helping take back a tourist's purse from a pickpocket. While he also takes two banknotes for himself by transforming them into butterflies flying to him from said purse, he uses the money to generously buy ice cream for a hungry child.

Meanwhile at the airport, the notorious thug "Leaky-Eye" Luca bloodily beats up a small-time scammer for not paying his tithe and learns that a certain Giorno Giovanna has been doing the same. Coincidentally, Giorno, the boy in pink, has just arrived here. Koichi Hirose has just landed at Naples, and prepares to take a taxi to his hotel before looking for a certain "Haruno Shiobana". Exiting the airport, he coincidentally meets Giorno, who proposes to ride him to his destination for a fee. Very suspicious but desperate to avoid the long queue, Koichi reluctantly accepts Giorno's proposition. Indeed, as soon as Koichi puts his inside the car, Giorno tries to take off without the Japanese teen. While Koichi easily stops the car thanks to his Stand, Echoes ACT3, Giorno calmly flees with a smile on his face. Koichi then sees that his luggage has somehow disappeared, with a small frog appearing where it should have been before promptly leaping into a sewer grate. Hearing two guards chatting about Giorno, Koichi decides to ask them for further information. Waiting, Giorno is then approached by Luca, who demands his tithe. Although the boy protests that he doesn't have any money as he already paid the guards, Luca still orders Giorno to pay up, only seeing a photograph of the late DIO in the latter's wallet. The frog leaps on Giorno, causing a disgusted and furious Luca to bash it with his despite Giorno's warnings. Too late, Giorno's powers reflect the heavy attack onto Luca, and his head is caved in the exact shape of his trademark shovel. It is then revealed that Giorno possesses the Star Birthmark. The frog transforms back into Koichi's luggage, and Giorno nonchalantly walks away from the scene.

A flashback details how Jotaro Kujo requested Koichi to investigate "Haruno", whom Koichi already noted a passing resemblance with Jotaro. In the now, Koichi walks the streets looking for Giorno, upset about his misfortune. By pure chance, he sees him at a café and furiously asks the boy for his passport and luggage. Giorno tries to run away, but Echoes multiplies Giorno's hand's weight. Cornered, Giorno is forced to summon his Gold Experience and creates a tree to lift him up to a roof. Koichi tries to break the tree, only for his attack to be reflected and knock him down. Before leaving, Giorno openly observes that Koichi has a merciful nature.

Jotaro Kujo receives a call from Koichi, who nervously narrates his encounter with Haruno, revealed to be Giorno. Explaining everything he knows, Koichi is then told that Giorno is in fact the son of DIO and that Jotaro wanted someone reliable to stealthily investigate the boy. Meanwhile, Giorno takes a funicular, trailed by a man in a white suit. The man soon approaches Giorno and although he initially acts friendly, notably explaining how he can observe and even taste one's sweat to uncover lies, Giorno soon discovers that his interlocutor is one of Luca's comrades from his gang, and that he is here to find whoever bashed Luca's head in. Ominously asked whether he's seen Luca at the airport, Giorno lies. The gangster is apparently convinced and leaves, but suddenly Giorno discovers an eyeball in his closed fist. The man in white reappears and immediately licks Giorno's sweat, discovering that he was lied to. Returning inside the funicular, the gangster, presenting himself as Bruno Bucciarati, begins his torture session on Giorno, violently beating him up to uncover the truth. Seeing that a zipper has appeared on his throat, Giorno understands that his opponent has the same powers as he does and summons Gold Experience, preparing to fight for his life.

Commentary
"I'd previously only heard about the atmosphere and acting unique to JoJo's, so I'm grateful that I was able to record with Yuki Kaji, who voices Koichi. I was able to see it all in person through someone with previous experience. I also remember being fired the first time I got to say "muda" in the scene with Leaky Eye Luca."

- Kensho Ono, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries

"Following JoJo creator Hirohiko Araki's example, the production team went location scouting in Naples and various other towns in Italy. As a result, I believe we were really able to capture the beauty and danger of the town's streets, scenic and lively yet reigned over by organized crime."

- Nobutaka Kasama, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries

"1. Meet Giorno Giovanna

Changing things up from the manga, Giorno's first appearance is an anime-original scene that introduces both his kindness and his severity. Chief Director Tsuda also states that he wanted to present a peek into what Giorno and they gang be up against through the lens of the Naples townscape.

2. Koichi at the Airport

Tsuda, who was also a director in Diamond Is Unbreakable, fondly recalls, "Koichi's wayward luck is nostalgic, and Echoes is cool no matter how many times I see it." The airport design is taken from present day (instead of 2001 when the story takes place) so that fans who visit Naples are able to see the same scenery as the characters.

3. Enter Gold Experience

Giorno manifests Gold Experience on screen for the first time when he is escaping from Koichi's attack. Gold Experience only appears for a moment, but Tsuda wanted its first appearance to shine more than any other Stand in the franchise thus far.

4. Giorno and Bucciarati's Fateful Encounter

The aim of Giorno and Bucciarati's unrelenting conversation was to create an atmosphere that was both casual and out of the ordinary. The production staff was able to experience the bizarreness of the cable car firsthand during location scouting."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries

Trivia

 * In the 2020 Anime Expo interview, Nobutaka Kasama (producer for the anime) explains the presence of the extra scene where Giorno eats a gelato. The production team wanted to make Giorno likable and added this scene to showcase how he fights against evil and had a caring side. They used a gelato because it was something iconic for Italy and pistachio precisely because the production team thought that pistachio was unique to Italy.
 * Kasama and a director of the anime first tried pistachio gelato after a day of walking and ended up liking the ice cream enough to keep it somewhere in the anime.
 * Kenshō Ono also mentions that he was surprised by this scene of Giorno eating gelato and theorizes that it also showcased Giorno's relative youth.
 * Shunichi Ishimoto drew this scene by himself while Reki Taki was responsible for drawing the background.