Polpo
Polpo (ポルポ, Porupo) is a tertiary antagonist featured in the fifth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Vento Aureo, specifically the "Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall" and the "Joining the Gang" story arcs.
Polpo is the first of Passione's capo that Giorno Giovanna encounters. Kept in prison in a luxurious cell, Polpo is responsible for recruiting new members in his division. He then tasks Giorno to keep a lighter lit for 24 hours as a test. Polpo is a Stand User and his Black Sabbath automatically attacks Giorno during said test.
Appearance
Polpo is a massive and morbidly obese man easily towering over regular people, having an exaggeratedly large head proportional to the rest of his body. His most recognizable features are his black eyes with bright pupils and pointy nose.
Polpo wears a cap with multiple mushroom-shaped protrusions, a bracelet on his right wrist and a two-layered tunic laced at the bottom. The anime adaptation replaces the lacing with a motif repeating the crest symbol found on each side of his chest.
Color Schemes
Jolyne, Fly High with GUCCI
Polpo makes an appearance in the one-shot with a changed appearance. He is now one head shorter than average.
Polpo wears a bright blue jacket and dotted white shirt and brown trousers. His hat is portrayed as green.
Personality
Polpo acts like a stereotypical Mafia don, showing an affable side and an appreciation for various works of art, quoting philosophers and gastronomy. His table manners are, however, lacking, showing that his sophistication is superficial.[2]
On the surface, Polpo places great emphasis on one's trustworthiness and says that it is the most important characteristic of a good gangster.[3] In reality, he only thinks of his subordinates as pawns and is revealed to be thinking about how to exploit Giorno once the lighter was returned. Likewise, he preaches that giving due respect is paramount and argues that even God wouldn't object to murdering someone for not showing proper respect, linking it to his ideal of trustworthiness.[4]
He shows a very keen sense of awareness, deducing Giorno's injury from the marks on his hands and even how Bruno Bucciarati "told him" that Giorno wanted to join, despite not meeting him prior and Giorno proclaiming his initiation moments before meeting him.[2]
Abilities
Stand
Polpo's Black Sabbath is a long-range automated Stand that can travel in an object's shadows and forcibly drag out people's souls or their Stand by grabbing their shadow.
Personal
Illusionism: Polpo shows a talent for illusionism, hiding in his room despite his size and seemingly eating his fingers to suddenly pull out a lighter from his hand.
History
Background
Little is known about Polpo's past. It is known that he was at one point recruited into Passione and then became a capo, considered rather trustworthy within the organization and responsible for handling matters related to Stands.
Polpo managed to amass a treasure, converting his valuables into jewels and tasking Bucciarati with hiding the treasure. He was then imprisoned for an undisclosed crime but his influence was such that he turned his cell into a relatively luxurious room. He then kept overseeing his territory from the safety of his cell and also became responsible for recruiting people into the gang and turning them into Stand Users, using the Arrow that was given to him. It is known that he was Bucciarati's superior and that Narancia passed Polpo's test. Likewise, Guido Mista was freed from prison at Bucciarati's request and made to pass the test, which he succeeded in.
Vento Aureo
Polpo is first seen serving fifteen years in prison when Giorno Giovanna approaches and tells him that he wants to join Passione. Laying on the ground, Polpo is a first mistaken for a bed but then stands up. At first, Polpo notes the red marks in Giorno Giovanna's right hand and guesses, correctly, that he was holding his bag exclusively with his right hand because his left arm is injured. Polpo opens a fridge and offers Giorno a glass. When Giorno refuses as the guards have forbidden him from receiving anything from the capo, Polpo scoffs at this since, he declares, what people say and what people can are often at odds, a human behavior he considers as beautiful as it can be ugly. He then shows his secret compartment containing a TV set, books and even guns to show his point. After eating his cracker and expressing regret at not being able to see paintings exhibited outside of his cell, Polpo carries on to the interview.
For some reason, it appears that Polpo is munching on his fingers. After Giorno is distracted by a cuckoo, Polpo shows him a lighter. Polpo asks the teen what is the most important quality to consider in a list of candidate. Giorno tentatively answers that it could be what the candidates are capable of and shows that he's stolen the wallets of the guards as token of his ability. Amused, Polpo nonetheless says that the most important quality is trust. To test his trustworthiness, Polpo gives him the lighter and tasks him with keeping it lit for 24 hours, even if no one is here to watch.
The next day, Giorno returns with the lit lighter. At first unable to remember the teen's name, Polpo is reminded of it by Giorno himself and imparts his last lesson. If trustworthiness is so important, then that means that breaking that trust is an abominable act that would warrant death. That said, Polpo welcomes Giorno into the ranks of Passione and assigns him to Team Bucciarati. He offers a toast again, but Giorno leaves without a word. Annoyed, Polpo wonders if Giorno has become a Stand User but is sure he will be put to use. Polpo unwittingly shoots himself in the mouth with a gun which Giorno had disguised as a banana. This was an act of vengeance for having his Stand, Black Sabbath, carelessly cause the death of an innocent old man. This also destroys the Arrow in his Stand's mouth. As Polpo dies, Giorno, far removed from the scene, tells him to "savor [his] last meal". Polpo dies and his Arrow is destroyed. His death is ruled out as a suicide since no one was present at the time of his death.
Chapters / Episodes
Manga Appearances- Chapter 448: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall, Part 1
- Chapter 449: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall, Part 2
- Chapter 450: Joining the Gang, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 451: Joining the Gang, Part 2 (Flashback)
- Chapter 452: Joining the Gang, Part 3 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 453: Joining the Gang, Part 4 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 455: Joining the Gang, Part 6 (Death)
- Chapter 457: Find Polpo's Fortune! (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 458: The Mystery of Soft Machine, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 461: Moody Blues Strikes Back, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 462: Sex Pistols Appears, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 465: Sex Pistols Appears, Part 4 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 468: The Hidden Six-Hundred Million Yen Stash (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 469: Capo Bucciarati; The First Order from the Boss (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 470: Narancia's Aerosmith, Part 1 (Cover only)
- Chapter 472: Narancia's Aerosmith, Part 3 (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 517: Bruno Bucciarati's Childhood (Mentioned only)
- Chapter 590: Epilogue: "Sleeping Slaves" (Mentioned only)
Anime Appearances- Golden Wind Episode 3: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall
- Golden Wind Episode 4: Joining the Gang (Death)
- Golden Wind Episode 5: Find Polpo's Fortune! (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 6: Moody Blues Strikes Back (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 7: Sex Pistols Appears, Part 1 (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 8: Sex Pistols Appears, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 9: The First Order from the Boss (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 10: The Hitman Team (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 11: Narancia's Aerosmith (Flashback)
- Golden Wind Episode 12: The Second Order from the Boss (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 13: Man in the Mirror and Purple Haze (Flashback)
- Golden Wind Episode 13.5: Inizio del vento aureo
- Golden Wind Episode 20: The Boss's Last Orders (Flashback)
- Golden Wind Episode 27: King Crimson vs. Metallica (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 28.5: destino (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 38: Gold Experience Requiem (Mentioned only)
- Golden Wind Episode 39: Sleeping Slaves (Mentioned only)
Quotes
Quotes- “Humans often... say something and do the opposite. That's the beauty of humans, though it can just as often be the ugly side of them...”—Polpo, Chapter 448: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall, Part 1
- “When one has to choose from a list of candidates... what do you think is the most important quality to note, Giorno Giovanna. [...] That is trust, Giorno Giovanna! When one has to choose from a list of candidates, the most important element to note is trust. Compared to trust, someone being smart or talented is as significant as this piece of chewed-up cracker scum between my teeth.”—Polpo, Chapter 449: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall, Part 2
- “I'll give you a chance... to see the two paths that you can follow... the first path for the chosen ones who will live... and the other! The path of death!”—Black Sabbath, Chapter 451: Joining the Gang, Part 2
- “If the most important thing in this world is trust, then, conversely, the most detestable thing in the world is to insult that trust. Do you understand? When you insult someone's trust, not only do you tarnish their good name, you interrupt their lives and back them into an inescapable corner. We don't fight for money or profit nor do we risk our lives or start riots because some fool took our seat on the bus or our concert tickets. However! Once we feel that our trust has been insulted, we have a sanction to put lives on the line. I feel that even God would permit murder, in this situation!”—Polpo, Chapter 455: Joining the Gang, Part 6
Video Games
GioGio's Bizarre Adventure (PS2)
Polpo makes his game debut in GioGio's Bizarre Adventure. Although his Stand, Black Sabbath, is faced in Chapter 2-1, Polpo himself only appears in two cutscenes, reprising his role in the original story.
JoJo's Pitter-Patter Pop! (Android/iOS)
Cooldown: 90
Cooldown: 90
Cooldown: 80
Cooldown: 80
Cooldown: 70
Date: January 25, 2021 - Present
Gallery
Polpo's first appearance, dwarfing Giorno
Polpo revealing hidden possessions despite being in prison
A Close-up of Polpo's face
Polpo seemingly eats his own fingers
Polpo with his own special lighter
Polpo showed a disrespectful attitude towards Giorno
Polpo's death
Polpo's first appearance
Polpo seemingly chews off his own fingers
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Polpo tasks Giorno with keeping his lighter lit
Polpo accidentally kills himself with his own gun
Polpo's first appearance in GioGio's Bizarre Adventure
Polpo holding the lighter
Polpo's death
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JOJO A-GO!GO! (Inside Illustration)
A tribute image of Polpo, drawn by Yoshihiro Togashi for 25 Years With JoJo
Trivia
- The two particular paintings Polpo has are Van Gogh's The Church at Auvers, and Gauguin's Vairumati.
- Polpo biting off the tips of his right index and middle finger might be a reference to Tony Iommi, the founding member of the band Black Sabbath, a namesake of Polpo's Stand: namely, on his last day of work in a steel factory, before going on a tour with his newly-founded band, Tony had the tips of his fingers completely chopped of by a machine in an accident, and replaced them with homemade prostheses made out of plastic bottle caps, requiring him to downtune his guitar to play it, creating their signature sound and helping to define modern metal music.
- The manga showed that one capo was in charge of both the assassination and bodyguard teams. Since the anime revealed that the Bucciarati Team was the bodyguard section of the gang, it means that Polpo was also in charge of the La Squadra Esecuzioni Stand team and no other.
References
- ↑ Chapter 440: Gold Experience, Part 1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 448: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall, Part 1
- ↑ Chapter 449: Meet the Gangster Behind the Wall, Part 2
- ↑ Chapter 455: Joining the Gang, Part 6
