Locacaca
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The Locacaca (ロカカカ, Rokakaka) is a mysterious species of plant in JoJolion.
Summary
Locacaca (term designating both the plant and its fruits) is a small tree with a tubular and crenellated trunk, small enough to be hidden in a suitcase. At the top of the tree is a crown of leaves. Thin, thorny, leafless branches grow out of the trunk, and they rotate perpendicularly to be able to grow fruit. The fruits themselves hold in the hand, are ovoid and are covered with small points of flesh. The interior of the fruit is compartmentalized like a citrus fruit. The fruit tastes of bitter fig.
The exact nature of the Locacaca and its fruit continues to be one of the central mysteries in JoJolion. It is first mentioned to have existed when Tsurugi explains to his grandfather and Josuke why he trusted Yotsuyu Yagiyama; he had observed the man feeding a dog afflicted with the stone disease a fruit, and it seemed to have been cured as a result. Although the two are skeptical, Josuke is the first to see what appears to be a fruit disappearing into the ocean during his fight with Yagiyama, just as the man dies and crumbles into stone before being able to tell him what the fruit was.
Norisuke IV observes that the fruit smells like fig, and using the abilities of King Nothing, gives shape to leaves attached to the fruit resembling fig tree leaves.[1] Mistuba describes the Locacaca's taste as similar to a fig but bitter instead of sweet.[2]
Using King Nothing to automatically track the fruit, Josuke discovers the fruit's scent lingering on Tsurugi's father, Jobin Higashikata. Josuke, Tsurugi, and Yasuho resolve to obtain the drive record data from Jobin's car in order to find out where he has been in hopes of discovering the location of the fruit's tree.
Yasuho and Tsurugi discover a Locacaca tree in the possession of Yotsuyu's associate Aisho and it is then that its nature of "equivalent exchange" is demonstrated when an elderly man missing a leg eats a Locacaca fruit and regrows his lost limb, losing his eyes in the process after they turn to stone.
The nature of the fruit and its miraculous abilities have made it the subject of many people's interest, including Yoshikage Kira for its abilities to assist in the treatment of his ill mother Holy, and it is noted that after destroying several trees, he kept one in his apartment for his personal use. The Rock Humans also seek out the fruit, as they were the ones illegally importing and selling it in Japan until Kira and Josefumi Kujo stole a branch from them.
Yasuho later researches the Locacaca, and finds that it originates on the island of New Guinea, where it was known to the natives as recently as the 1930s. At certain times of the year, men would go into the mountains to harvest the Locacaca fruit, which doesn't come from a tree but rather a perennial plant that has one to three fruits growing from it. Finding a Locacaca was rare, even for the native Papuan peoples who lived there for 50 thousand years. There were stories that women suffering from infertility ate the fruit and became pregnant, but their breasts gave sand instead of milk. Furthermore, the elderly who had lost their teeth through the years swallowed the fruit and grew a set of stone teeth to replace them. However, all reports of the Locacaca disappeared after the Imperial Japanese Army invaded and occupied New Guinea in 1942.
The Locacaca fruits resurface again in Morioh when it is revealed that Jobin Higashikata was helping the Damokan group smuggle fruits. At some point, Holy researches the fruits in a hidden laboratory at TG University Hospital, before the operation is taken over by the Locacaca Organization.
Abilities and Powers
Equivalent Exchange
The fruit of the Locacaca tree follows the same principles of "equivalent exchange" as the grounds of the Higashikata estate; they are capable of granting anyone who eats it "something" by taking "something else" from them. The most faithful example of this concept is when the old man uses the Locacaca fruit to regrow his lost leg in exchange for his eyesight, both of his eyes transforming into stone and breaking apart soon thereafter.[3] Apparently this process can be repeated as long as someone has a fruit, continuously sacrificing random parts of their own bodies in order to gain back what they had given in the previous instance.
Yasuho's research into the fruit of the Locacaca shows that the equivalent exchange provided by the fruit takes the form of part of the afflicted's body turning to stone. Infertile women gave birth, but their breast milk turned into sand and the elderly grew back teeth made of stone in order to eat again.[4] Dr. Wu Tomoki has performed research on the fruit and discovered that 125 grams of the fruit are needed to perform one unique equivalent exchange. Upon being ingested, the fruits begins being absorbed as early as in the labial frenum down to the small intestine, in time invading the whole body through the blood. Then the Locacaca takes 3 minutes and 21 seconds to heal a specific lesion in the body, prioritizing the gravest one over others, and taking the cells and nutrients from another region of the body which turns into rock. However, the chosen region is random and no one knows how it chooses. Until then, Wu has used the Locacaca in conjunction with Doctor Wu to prevent the Locacaca from entering vital areas like the brain and cancel the risk of death.
Urban Guerrilla mentions that while the process is beneficial for Rock Humans, there is some incompatibility between the plant and regular humans due to the carbon in a human's body cells and its differences with the qualities of silicon-compound organisms.[5]
Miraculous Curative Powers
Perhaps the most intriguing and relevant ability of the fruit to the storyline is the effect it has on those afflicted with the stone sickness; namely the Higashikata family, the Joestar family and the dog Iwasuke. As shown in the case of the latter, Yotsuyu was able to 'cure' it of the stone sickness by feeding it a piece of a Locacaca fruit.
The abilities of the fruit and their correlation to the Rock Humans and stone sickness make them a constant source of interest to the antagonists of JoJolion, which motivates the conflict between them and the allies of the amnesiac Josuke.
New Locacaca
It's eventually revealed that the branch stolen and grafted by Josefumi Kujo resulted in a New Locacaca (新ロカカカ, Shin-Rokakaka). Although the fruit cultivated with this branch had not yet ripened, it demonstrated a unique ability compared to typical Locacaca fruits. Upon feeding Kira the fruit that they had grown, Josefumi began transforming into stone, beginning with parts of his body that were in direct contact with his late friend. No negative side effects were shown on Kira's end, implying that this species allows an individual to undergo the fruit's effects by using another person's body as collateral for the equivalent exchange, rather than their own. This is shown as Yasuho eats the New Locacaca to exchange with Joshu, where Joshu's arm becomes shriveled and disappears as Yasuho's regrows.[6] The specifics behind it are not fully seen as of yet, but according to Urban Guerrilla, the New Locacaca could be used by Rock Humans to gain a significant advantage over the rest of society. Obtaining the New Locacaca is the main objective of the Locacaca Research Organization, including Poor Tom and his associates.[7]
Locacaca 6251
Locacaca 6251 (
The equivalent exchange ability of Locacaca 6251 is noticeably more potent then that of the raw Locacaca fruit— just one dose is able to heal Josuke Higashikata's multitude of injuries, some of which are life-threatening. In addition to this, the parts of Josuke's body lost in the exchange were all relatively benign. With the exception of his left eye, the only matter taken during the regeneration process are small patches of skin around Josuke's face and neck. This suggests Locacaca 6251 is engineered to produce greater results with minimized risk of life-threatening side effects. However, as stated by developer Satoru Akefu, the drug is still incomplete, as evidenced by Josuke's aforementioned loss of vision in one eye.
The abnormally speedy development of the drug is due to the Locacaca Organization's use of Holy Joestar-Kira, a doctor at TG University Hospital, as a test subject. Soon after taking over the hospital from the inside, the members of the organization began administering Locacaca 6251 to her without her knowledge, causing a rapid deterioration of both her mental and physical well-being. As the drug was developed further, the group continued to test it on Holy, exchanging her health for the success of the drug.
People Who Have Eaten the Locacaca
Gallery
A portable, bonsai tree sized Locacaca plant.
Yasuho holding half a Locacaca
A Locacaca in Iwasuke's mouth
The new Locacaca grafted onto a tree
The new Locacaca grafted onto a cactus
The new Locacaca nearing harvest
Trivia
- The Locacaca 6251's name is a reference to the JoJo6251 artbook.
- In JJL Chapter 33, Norisuke uses King Nothing to recreate a Locacaca plant from a piece of fruit provided by Iwasuke. The shape of the branch appears to be different from Locacaca plants seen later in the series, but is notably more similar to the branch Josefumi grafted the stolen Locacaca onto. It is unclear if the differing appearance of this branch is the result of a design change.
References
- ↑ JoJolion Chapter 33: Josuke! Go to the Higashikata Fruit Parlor
- ↑ JoJolion Chapter 82: Doctor Wu and Awaking 3 Leaves, Part 4
- ↑ JJL Chapter 39: Doobie Wah (1)
- ↑ JJL Chapter 47: Hato Brought Her Boyfriend Home (1)
- ↑ JoJolion Chapter 69: Urban Guerrilla and Doremifasolati Do, Part 2
- ↑ JoJolion Chapter 101: The Wonder of You, Part 18
- ↑ JoJolion Chapter 64: Mother and Child
- ↑ JoJolion Chapter 92: The Wonder of You, Part 9
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