Tubular Bells (チューブラー・ベルズ, Chūburā Beruzu) is the Stand of Mike O., featured in the seventh part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Steel Ball Run.
It is an ability Stand that allows Mike O. to blow into metallic objects and shape them as if they were balloons, then command said objects.
Appearance
The Stand itself does not have a physical form.[1] Tubular Bells manifests mainly upon Mike O.'s application of his ability. His balloon animals in particular assume some independence, and take on small, shining eyes.
Color Schemes
Abilities
Tubular Bells is mainly a versatile ability-granting Stand which enables Mike O. to create semi-automatic balloon animals, thus allowing him to deploy his Stand over long distances and have a comparatively wide array of options during a fight.
Like many ability-granting Stands, Tubular Bells is poor at defending its user, which proves to be Mike O.'s demise against Hot Pants's Cream Starter.
Metal Blowing
Tubular Bells grants its user Mike O. the ability to inflate metal items by blowing into them like balloons, and likewise shape them into automatic drones he can command.[2]
Mike O. simply has to blow into any metallic object, such as nails,[2] screws, fences, or tin shutters,[3] to inflate them like he would a rubber balloon. The inflated metal then seems to partially take on the characteristics of a balloon, as it is able to be easily reshaped by Mike O., floats midair.[3] and has great elasticity, able to stretch or flatten to fit inside narrow spaces.[2]
The shape of the balloon seems to depend on the shape of the inflated object. With long nails, Mike O. forms long thin balloons,[2] while most are typically round.[3]
Mike O. is able to model the metal, and chooses to create balloon animals most of the time — for instance, dogs out of nails or birds out of tin shutters. The balloons can be remotely modeled, and they act on Mike O.'s command, able to follow simple instructions. For instance, he can register someone's scent into a balloon, which will automatically attack anyone with the same scent.[2] However, that autonomy also means that the balloons can be lured into attacking someone unrelated.[3]
When the balloon animals make contact with their target, they burrow into their body and revert to their original form, harmfully embedding their constituent object there. By converting a flat heavy metal object into a floating balloon, it is possible to fashion a guillotine with enough potential energy to tear down a wall.[3]
Chapters
Manga Appearances- Steel Ball Run Chapter 48: Tubular Bells, Part 1
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 49: Tubular Bells, Part 2
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 50: Tubular Bells, Part 3 (Death)
Gallery
Scarlet Valentine accidentally attacked by Tubular Bells
Mike O. inflating screws
Spiked bubbles
Balloon swans ready to attack Hot Pants
Explanation of ability
SBR Volume 13 Cover
SBR Volume 13 Illustration
Super Action Statue (Hot Pants's accessory)
Trivia
- Tubular Bells is based on balloon art.[1] It is likely that it was inspired specifically by Jeff Koons's Balloon Dog and Balloon Swan series of sculptures, which feature the respective balloon animals made out of steel. The orange color of the balloon dog created by Tubular Bells on the cover of SBR Volume 13 is most likely inspired by Balloon Dog (Orange).
Notes
- ↑ The album is most famously known for its partial use in The Exorcist's soundtrack. The Exorcist is amongst Araki's favorite horror movies.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 JOJOVELLER: Araki's Stand Commentaries - Tubular Bells
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Steel Ball Run Chapter 48: Tubular Bells, Part 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Steel Ball Run Chapter 50: Tubular Bells, Part 3