Ringo Roadagain
Ringo Roadagain (リンゴォ・ロードアゲイン, Ringō Rōdoagein) is a minor but influential antagonist featured in Steel Ball Run.
Ringo Roadagain is a gunslinger at the service of Funny Valentine who traps Gyro, Johnny and Hot Pants at the beginning of the 4th Stage, near Cannon City, to seize the Saint's Corpse's parts. He is a Stand User and uses his time-rewinding Mandom during gun fights to get the upper hand.
Appearance
Ringo is a man of average to above-average height and slim to average build. He has light hair passing his forehead, swept to his left; a long, thin mustache, a soul patch in the shape of a cartoon cranium, and a beard of two slim patches bordering his chin.
He wears a light cap-sleeved jacket with a tall collar, dark gloves revealing his thumbs and index fingers, and a wristwatch of a fine, modern design on his right.
Personality
Ringo speaks gravely and acts with finality, fully committed to a philosophy requiring him to gamble his life against those of his opponents. Ringo's way of life, living to engage in one duel after another, might be inspired by a paragraph from the novel No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai.
A man with a strong personal moral code, Ringo prefers to fight on completely fair grounds, and will even give pointers to his opponents regarding their weapons and position in order to perfectly level the playing field before their battle begins. This staunchness also leads him to look down upon those who do not live by their own rules like he does. He makes a point in differentiating between societal values and a man's own values, believing that one finds his true strength in discovering the latter, and that he will walk the "path of light" and live in the "True Man's World" once he does. This is what he feels he began to do when he was a boy and has done ever since.
Ringo initially refused to fight Gyro out of belief that the latter had no chance of victory due his status as a "conformist", in that he was chained down by the religious dogma forced on him by his father. He seemed to be correct in this assumption, since Gyro was only able to step up to him once he became totally sure of his conviction in winning the Steel Ball Run, after which he gained Ringo's full respect.
Abilities
Ringo's Stand, Mandom, enables him to reverse time by exactly 6 seconds by turning a hand on his wristwatch. Although it is very limited, its ability is critical for Ringo to win his duels.
Ringo is also a capable gunfighter, and seems to have incredible perception regarding gauging the range of various weaponry.
History
Background
From birth, Ringo was sickly. As a young boy, he had fragile skin and was often ill. Ringo's father was drafted and sent to war, later escaped, imprisoned, and then died because of a disease. Ringo's family, branded as traitors, were forced to travel across the country. Ringo, ten, woke up one night to a large man in military uniform by his bed and his family, his mother and two sisters, killed-underneath the table that had a bloody knife sticking on top of it. The large man looming over Ringo then tried to rape him but was greeted with a gun, that Ringo slyly took from the large man, pointing towards him. Ringo quickly shot the man as he charged at him. It was after this event that the formerly sick young boy experienced a newfound power. He overcame a wall that he called "The True Man's World," that he believed it was the only path he could pursue.
Steel Ball Run
Ringo Roadagain is first introduced as a man standing by the curtains near the door of his small, worn out log cabin located within a orchard. After walking out of the door the readers find that out that he is a tall and slender man probably in his late twenties ranging to his early to mid thirties. Unbeknownst to the contestants of the Steel Ball Run wandering within the orchard, they were all under the effect of his Stand, Mandom. It is safe to assume to that Ringo Roadagain reiterates the same line over to people lost within the orchard "You'll find your way out after you kill me."
Gaucho, thinking Ringo was playing with him in some way, had enough and challenged him to a duel. Ringo then demonstrates his uncanny ability to "analyze" things and warns Gaucho. However, Gaucho's anger blinds him and he foolishly charges and fires a couple of shots at him, all of which were futile except one that scraped the bottom left corner of his neck. Ringo fires a single bullet and manages to hit Gaucho's heart. He continues to analyze the situation, concluding that "although it has reached the heart, it didn't destroy it completely." After taking one step closer to Gaucho, he fired once more and deprived Gaucho of his existence.
After seeing this unfold right in front of them, Johnny, Gyro, and Hot Pants devise a plan to kill Ringo. The plan fails against Ringo's Stand abilities. A fight ensues, leaving both Gyro and Ringo injured, and Johnny as well as Hot Pants unable to continue fighting. Ringo reveals that the president, Funny Valentine, hired him to retrieve the corpse parts from Johnny and Gyro.
Gyro follows Ringo into his log cabin hoping to end the fight. A colossal showdown ensues between Gyro and Ringo. Gyro sends a devastating attack aimed at Ringo's collarbone which will paralyze Ringo's whole left side if it made contact. After a shard of wood pierces Ringo right below his left side of the shoulder, Gyro finishes him off by throwing one steel ball right at Ringo. Before his death, Ringo utters, "Welcome...to the True Man's World."
Chapters
Manga Appearances- Steel Ball Run Chapter 33: The World of Man, Part 1
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 34: The World of Man, Part 2
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 35: The World of Man, Part 3 (Death)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 36: The Green Tomb, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 38: Catch the Rainbow (On a Stormy Night...), Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 59: A Dream of Gettysburg (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 84: Ball Breaker, Part 2 (Flashback)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 91: High Voltage, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
- Steel Ball Run Chapter 95: The World of Stars and Stripes - Outro (Flashback)
Video Games
All Star Battle (PS3)
Ringo Roadagain makes his game debut on the PS3 title as one of the menu guide characters, appearing as the voice announcer for the Versus Mode.
Every time both combatants were chosen and all options were set, before the match starts he says "Welcome to the True man's World", quoting his very last sentence said on the original story.
Gallery
Ringo's first appearance.
Ringo showing his Stand's powers
Entering the True Man's World
