Charming Man
Charming Man (チャーミング・マン, Chāmingu Man) is a primary ally featured in the ninth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, The JOJOLands.
He is introduced as an antagonist who stalks Jodio Joestar and his allies to try retrieving the Lava Rock, believing it has a connection to his younger brother Mauka's disappearance. He is also a Stand user who wields Bigmouth Strikes Again, which lets him disguise with his surroundings and confuse his enemies' perceptions.
Appearance
Charming Man is a 21-year-old man with an athletic build, and dark, spiky, shoulder-length hair. His hair is flat at the top with spiky bangs, and the back of his hair juts out in all directions. Charming Man wears makeup, including eye shadows and dark lipstick. He has distinct vertical face markings that run down from his lower eyelids to just above his jawline.
His outfit consists of a sleeveless jumpsuit with shoulder straps that connect to an upward-facing triangle at the back, and he has a large bow tie on his chest. The shoulder straps have a dark jagged pattern with triangles pointing outward. There are oval-shaped lace-like decorations of varying sizes on his chest behind his jumpsuit and bow tie. In addition, Charming Man wears dark wristbands, knee pads, and sneakers. In his first appearance, he has bow ties on his knees instead of the knee pads. In his flashback, he wears a t-shirt underneath his jumpsuit and the shoulder straps also lack the dark jagged pattern. While bicycling, he wears a helmet with a dark visor and has a backpack.[1]
When Charming Man uses his ability, he has numerous sand fragments floating around his face and upper torso. His skin also feels like coarse sand, which has been like that ever since he was born.[3][1] Due to his ability, his facial features can change. Charming Man is disguised as Paco Laburantes when he first appears, looking exactly like him. He hides the sand fragments floating around him before revealing his true nature.[2] At first, his irises are light when his disguise as Paco wears off, but they are normally dark afterwards.[3]
Personality
Charming Man is an energetic and caring elder brother,[1] yet also demanding and aggressive. He is athletic and enjoys participating in recreational activities such as bicycle races and 2-mile swimming marathons with his younger brother. He looks forward to those events with excitement and has a competitive spirit. He gains an interest in the Lava Rock after his younger brother falls into a lava tube where the Lava Rock came from. However, he doesn't desire it for money since he thinks that it's impossible to become rich using it.[1] Rather, he thinks using it would help him find his younger brother.[4]
Charming Man resorts to violence when he doesn't get his way, using brutal methods such as siccing Wild Cat Size onto Jodio and his friends to strangle them when they steal Rohan's diamond and Lava Rock. He also has no qualms about trying to murder them himself, nearly slashing Jodio's throat and stabbing Dragona in the neck. Charming Man is manipulative and cunning, since he attempts to psychologically persuade Jodio into handing over the Lava Rock. He aims to scare Jodio into thinking the mafia might be after him and his friends,[2] and shows an illusion of his cats' decapitated heads inside Jodio's food bag.[5][6] Moreover, he intelligently uses his environment to trick his opponents.[3]
He has a bad reputation among the local police officers on the island of Hawaii, who make excuses so they don't have to help him find his brother. They place the blame on him instead, bringing up unrelated issues such as an argument he had with Mauka on the previous day and his arrest record from injuring a police officer.[1] Nonetheless, their accusations aren't completely his fault, as the officer just scraped his palm against Charming Man's rough skin after stopping him for a traffic violation. Charming Man is also somewhat merciful as he gives Jodio a chance to return the Lava Rock first before personally attacking him.[2] Despite trying to kill them, Paco believes that he is actually a good person and chooses to make him their ally.[6] He doesn't consider Rohan an enemy and easily becomes cooperative with the gang when they suggest to work together, willingly answering any of their questions. However, it is possible that he didn't give his real name to them, as Paco wonders whether "Charming Man" is actually a name.[1]
He enjoys listening to the albums of Sia, H.E.R., and SZA, though admits he tends to mix up their names.[1]
Abilities
Stand
Bigmouth Strikes Again allows Charming Man to alter the perceptions of his enemies by camouflaging with his surroundings and creating fake disguises using his skin. This allows him to impersonate another person using another layer of skin. It's possible to hide objects under the disguised skin, such as a knife. The disguise can also be destroyed with enough force, such as Jodio's heavy rain.
Personal Skills
Bicycle Riding: Charming Man is a skilled bicyclist who can do bunny hops to dodge fallen trees.[1]
Knife Proficiency: Charming Man fights with a knife he carries with him, frequently swinging it around. He is more adept at using it for surprise attacks than for hand-to-hand combat, as Paco is easily able to dodge and counter his attacks. Paco also notes that his skills with a knife aren't good enough for him to be an assassin.[3]
History
Background
Charming Man was born on the island of Hawaii and lived on a farm with his younger brother, Mauka. One day, he committed a traffic violation on Highway 180. The police officer grabbed Charming Man's arm hard, causing his palm to scrape against Charming Man's rough skin and turn red. The police officer arrested him for this, claiming that Charming Man injured him. A year later, Charming Man got into an ordinary brotherly argument with Mauka on the outskirts of his farm.
The following day, Charming Man and Mauka went racing on their bicycles on a valley at Hualālai. Charming Man taunted Mauka for being too slow, causing Mauka to wonder if he was planning on doing an ironman triathlon. Just as Charming Man mentioned that they'll be racing each other in a 2-mile swim as well once they get to the beach, he saw a fallen tree in their path. Charming Man evaded it with bunny hops and warned his brother about another fallen tree ahead, but then realized Mauka was no longer on his bicycle. Charming Man got off his bike and panickingly looked around. He eventually found water welled up on the ground, despite there being no water source on Hualālai. Mauka weakly called out for him from within a lava tube.
Charming Man called police officers to rescue his brother, but they all started to leave without even checking the hole Mauka fell into. Charming Man demanded that they hurry and save him, but an officer dismissed his concern, claiming Mauka was probably in the city eating pizza with a girl. Charming Man insisted that his brother slid into the hole, but the cop asserted there was no water anywhere nearby. The cop instead brought up Charming Man's argument with Mauka and his arrest record, making Charming Man the most suspicious one if they were to start an investigation. Before the officers left, the cop suggested that he should pay them if he wanted them to do a search, and warned that he shouldn't blame them if he were to get shot since the whole area was private property.
As time passed, Charming Man continued searching for his brother at the volcano but to no avail. He witnessed Rohan Kishibe constantly scattering dollar bills around and picking them back up. Rohan then picked up Lava Rocks from underneath the bills. Mauka had fallen in a lava tube uphill, where the Lava Rocks were falling out of. Charming Man wondered if there was a connection between the Lava Rocks and his brother's disappearance. He followed Rohan and spied on him at his villa with a trio of cats while the manga artist investigated the properties of the Lava Rocks.[1]
The JOJOLands
Pursuing the Lava Rock
While Usagi and Dragona are testing the Lava Rock's capabilities inside Diamotch, Paco goes to get chicken burritos for himself and Jodio while they wait. Charming Man transforms into Paco and returns with fake bags of chicken burritos, with one having three potatoes in it instead. He pretends to be excited to eat them, believing they're tastier in the island of Hawaii because the chicken are raised high in the mountains. Jodio then opens one of the bags and instead of potatoes, sees an illusion of the decapitated heads of Wild Cat Size inside due to Charming Man's ability. This makes Jodio suspect that an enemy is nearby and was stalking them the whole time.[5]
Still disguised as Paco, Charming Man tries persuading Jodio to return the Lava Rock to its "owner" since their job was just to steal the diamond. He hints that the mafia—or a lower organization with similar methods—might be against them. However, Jodio refuses, sure of Rohan being the only owner of the Lava Rocks. He believes that since Rohan was in the middle of investigating the Lava Rocks, and the "owner" was watching Rohan the whole time, the person also didn't know of its abilities. With the possibility of the mafia being after them, Jodio thinks their enemy would most likely also steal the diamond, as well as kill them to not leave any witnesses behind.
Charming Man tells Jodio that they should bring Dragona and Usagi out of the store since they have the Lava Rock. Just then, the real Paco arrives and apologizes to Jodio for taking so long. The shop he went to ran out of chicken burritos, so he asked them to fry up abalones for them instead. Jodio turns around only to see he was with a fake Paco the whole time, as Charming Man starts shedding off his disguise. Catching them off guard, Charming Man cuts Jodio's neck with a knife, claiming he had tried giving Jodio a chance earlier but Jodio wasted it.[2]
With Jodio down, Charming Man goes on to fight Paco. He swings his knife toward Paco, who quickly parries the strike by using THE Hustle to grab a food tray onto his arm, using it as a shield. Paco then punches his imposter in the face, before grabbing a chair with his back and throwing it, launching Charming Man into a pile of chairs and tables. As he gets back up, Charming Man sheds his disguise and reveals his true appearance. Paco asks how long he was following them for, but Charming Man stays silent and takes a fighting stance. He tries making repeated swings at Paco with his knife, but Paco swiftly dodges them all and is about to counter with a punch. Charming Man nearly succeeds in slashing Paco, but Paco retracts his arm and blocks the knife with his forearm, using THE Hustle to make his muscles grab the blade. Paco then punches his own elbow, vibrating the blade trapped in his muscles. Suddenly, Charming Man's muscles on his entire arm holding the knife start intensely vibrating and bulging out on the brink of bursting. As Charming Man screams from the pain of his forearm bending over from his inflated muscles, Paco grabs his neck.
Before Paco could strangle him, Charming Man makes Paco perceive his arm emerging from faraway clouds, pointing his knife toward Paco's head. Paco senses it before he's hit, and quickly uppercuts Charming Man's chin with his other arm, stopping the attack and sending him flying. As Dragona and Usagi reunite with Jodio and Paco, Charming Man takes the opportunity to strike with a surprise attack. The group sees a bird grab an expensive watch from a table near a couple, and Dragona is happily surprised to see that the bird is actually flying with the watch toward them. However, Jodio and Paco notice something is wrong and try stopping Dragona from touching the watch. They then realize that what they just saw was a trick messing with their perception, as the woman at the table actually still has the watch on her wrist. As Dragona is about to try grabbing the "watch" from the bird, Charming Man's body emerges from the birds and clouds, with his skin blending into his surroundings. Jodio, Paco, and Usagi watch in horror as the fake watch and birds crumble into his body at the same time as he stabs Dragona's neck with his knife and grabs the pouch holding the Lava Rock. Before Charming Man could escape, Jodio quickly activates November Rain, striking Charming Man's foot with the heavy rain and making him fall down.[3]
Charming Man hides in a nearby car owned by Leo, fusing himself with the door. Jodio finds him with his knife pointed at Leo's girlfriend. Jodio quickly grabs Charming Man's hand and kicks the woman away. Charming Man then shatters the door's window with his knife, knocking Jodio down and making his escape. He heads to the beach, but the gang is able to follow him by using the diamond as a radar, which is being attracted to the Lava Rock he is carrying. Fused with a splash of water, Charming Man emerges behind Paco, about to stab him. He disappears for a moment then re-emerges and slashes Paco's left leg. Before Charming Man could pierce Paco's neck, Jodio stops his arms from behind and drags him into the water. Charming Man asserts he was kind enough to give Jodio a chance before. He manages to turn around and is about to cut Jodio's neck, but November Rain activates and crushes the man with its raindrops, shattering the knife in half. Jodio and Charming Man sink deep in the water, but Charming Man gains the upper hand again and pins Jodio down, holding the broken edge of his knife to Jodio's neck. Jodio's November Rain continues its downpour, striking one of the rubber rafts. Usagi gets the message and kicks the raft toward Jodio. As the raft sinks right behind Jodio, he manages to breathe in air from the bubbles flowing from the holes in the raft. Thus, Jodio has the upper hand instead and plans to see how long Charming Man could last without breathing.[6]
New Allies
Paco decides to make Charming Man their ally, so Dragona tells Jodio to stop fighting him. Charming Man joins them at Kona Airport, where Jodio relaxes with him. They have a casual conversation, with Jodio inquiring about Charming Man's recent music preferences. While Jodio chuckles at his choices all being artists with 3 letter names, Paco, more pressingly, inquires about his name. Charming Man introduces himself and mentions the lava tubes at Hualalai. As the group undergoes airport screening, Charming Man questions whether they'd like him to accompany them to Oahu. Paco makes it clear that his presence is necessary if he's interested in the Lava Rock, cautioning against bringing any weapons on the flight. Charming Man, however, remains skeptical about the group's plan of getting rich from the Lava Rock, predicting they'll see the reality as they each drop out. After the flight, Charming Man waits outside Iko Iko while his new allies speak to Meryl Mei Qi.[1]
Charming Man is invited inside and Meryl asks Dragona why she should trust him. Dragona and Paco try to persuade her that he's a good person who just wants to save his younger brother. Charming Man explains to Meryl what happened to his brother and how he witnessed Rohan experimenting with the Lava Rocks. Charming Man is sure that there should be larger Lava Rocks higher up on Hualalai, but a company called HOWLER owns the land and prohibits entry to the area, which is also where Mauka went missing. Charming Man believes that he's still alive and thinks that they could find out what happened to him if they can go there. However, whenever he would try investigating it, the police or mountain rangers would stop him, and he's now considered a suspect for having killed his brother. He is convinced that society itself is preventing him from searching for his brother. Charming Man thinks that if they mimic Rohan by scattering bills around Hualalai, they could find another Lava Rock. Meryl expresses her sympathy for what happened to Charming Man's brother. She reveals her connections with HOWLER and unveils a plan for the gang to claim the entire Hualalai Mountain as their own by taking over HOWLER's assets using the Lava Rock. Meryl plans to give them 4% each of the total estimated 50 billion dollars if they succeed.[4]
At the Land Registry Office
In order to acquire the rights to the lands in HOWLER's possession, Meryl directs the gang to Hawaii's land registry office so that they can make the Lava Rock touch all the original copies of the ownership deeds of the company. She assigns Dragona, Usagi, and Charming Man to go inside while Paco and Jodio stay in the car as support. While they are waiting for the office to open, Charming Man drinks from a water bottle. They eventually enter the building at 10:00. In the atrium, Usagi trips and spills his cup noodles on the floor. Usagi argues that the security guards won't care about him, but Charming Man thinks that it's unlikely that they'll forget him. Nonetheless, the security guards leave them be, so the trio proceeds with their infiltration. Dragona uses Smooth Operators to fake an ID for Charming Man with a new photo. He goes to the counter and disguises his face with his Stand to match the ID, formally making a request to consult the original land deeds. Meanwhile, Dragona tasks Usagi with tampering with the cameras with THE MATTEKUDASAI so that their real appearances wouldn't be recorded. Although the clerk initially directs them to a PC to see digital copies of the deeds, Charming Man insists on taking a look at the original deeds by pretending that Usagi wants to study them.
The staff accepts and brings the group to the archive where the clerk presents the original land deeds to Usagi and Dragona on a table. The clerk puts gloves on and tells them that she'll be the only one touching the documents. While Usagi pretends to "study" them, Dragona stealthily touches the pages with the Lava Rock hidden in their pendant. At one point, the rock vibrates and attracts the deeds but Dragona separates them before the clerk suspects foul play.
After they are done, the trio quickly exits the building. As the plan seemingly went smoothly, Dragona is enthusiastic to see the results of their operation. Charming Man calls Jodio and Paco so that they drive back and pick them up but Usagi suddenly feels sick. Usagi collapses on the floor and starts to vomit, no longer being able to breathe. Charming Man notices that he's not throwing up food but a cloudy liquid and when he examines Usagi, he sees that his neck is covered in rock-like scabs. Dragona is just as puzzled as Charming Man by Usagi's symptoms, as they barely know him and don't know if he's suffering from a sort of chronic illness or has been poisoned. Dragona almost calls an ambulance but Charming Man warns not to because it will leave a trace of their presence. Anxious, Dragona suspects that they are under attack.[7]
Charming Man diagnoses Usagi with pulmonary edema, but instead of committing to saving him, suggests to Dragona that they leave Usagi for dead since he's barely an acquaintance and a liability. Usagi does save himself by cutting a hole into his chest and shoving a straw into his lung to make himself a secondary breathing orifice. Witnessing this, Charming Man develops some respect for Usagi's initiative and courage. They bring Usagi to the group's van and discuss the situation. While Usagi claims he's being attacked by an enemy Stand, Charming Man suggests that he's merely suffering from symptoms of a drug addiction. Usagi is proven right when the group witnesses the office lady who has been turning the land registry's pages for Usagi being evacuated by medics and suffering from the same symptoms. Out of respect for Usagi, Charming Man decides to send in bits of his body to check inside of Usagi's lungs. He eventually does notice a Stand attacking Usagi's blood vessels and pursues it. Noting that it is very weak and slow, Charming Man tries to drag it out of Usagi. However, he then also falls it and develops tumors around the eye as he came into contact with the Stand. Worried, Jodio tells him to stop. Worse, Dragona has also become sick.[8]
Relationships
Family
- Mauka: Charming Man is Mauka's elder sibling, often engaging in friendly bicycle races or swimming contests with him. Despite the occasional argument, they have a close bond. Charming Man panics when Mauka suddenly falls off his bicycle into a lava tube and demands for help from police officers.[1]
- Wild Cat Size: He is the owner of a trio of cats, using them to spy on Rohan as well as Jodio's gang. In his own words while disguised as Paco, he doesn't have the least bit of love for the cats despite being their owner.[2] However, this was likely a lie as Paco believes that he's a good person and keeps the cats as pets in the jungle.[6]
Chapters
Manga Appearances- The JOJOLands Chapter 8: Hualalai - Cat Size, Part 3 (1st appearance) (Disguised as Paco)
- The JOJOLands Chapter 9: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 1 (Disguised as Paco)
- The JOJOLands Chapter 10: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 2 (1st full appearance)
- The JOJOLands Chapter 11: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 3
- The JOJOLands Chapter 12: Charming Man
- The JOJOLands Chapter 13: Joestar Brothers
- The JOJOLands Chapter 14: Aim for That Fifty Billion Dollars, Part 1
- The JOJOLands Chapter 15: Aim for That Fifty Billion Dollars, Part 2
Quotes
Quotes- “This sorta move, Jodio... It's like something the mafia would do. No, it's the move of somebody even lower than that. They're making a threat here, indicating their own personal code to us. They're making it clear they have no interest in societal values by showing that despite being the cats' owner, they don't have the least bit of love for them.”—Charming Man disguised as Paco Laburantes, The JOJOLands Chapter 9: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 1
- “So, you won't give the Lava Rock back? Even after I went and gave you a chance to before you knew too much.”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 9: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 1
- “You're too slow, Mauka! Outta the way, or I'll send you flyin'!”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 12: Charming Man
- “Uhh, Sia, H.E.R., and SZA, I suppose. I always get them mixed up, but all of them have got killer albums.”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 12: Charming Man
- “Do you guys... want to make yourself rich with that Lava Rock? No chance. That'll be clear. Once each of you drops out, I expect.”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 12: Charming Man
- “My skin's been coarse and sandy ever since I was born. (That's just my physical disposition.)”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 12: Charming Man
- “Wait!! You gotta find my brother!! Someone! Someone, find my brotheeer!”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 12: Charming Man
- “If we make our way to that Lava Rock, then I know we'll find out what happened to my little brother.”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 13: Joestar Brothers
- “The police, the mountain rangers, the law, it's like society as a whole is going out of its way to obstruct me from searching for my brother.”—Charming Man, The JOJOLands Chapter 13: Joestar Brothers
Name Variants
| Language | Name | Usage
|
|---|
RomanizationGallery
Charming Man energetically racing with Mauka
His Paco disguise starts crumbling
Shedding off his disguise
True appearance revealed
Entering a fighting stance
Arm affected by THE Hustle
Stabbing Dragona
Pinning Jodio down underwater
Recruited as an ally
Introducing himself
TJL Chapter 12 Cover
TJL Chapter 13 Cover
TJL Chapter 14 Cover
Trivia
- In Chapter 14 of The JOJOLands, the driver's license Dragona gives to Charming Man lists his name as "Barack Hussein Obama", matching with the 44th president of the United States. Obama's Hawaiian ID is a novelty item based on the film Superbad, where the character Fogell makes a fake ID with the name "McLovin".
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 The JOJOLands Chapter 12: Charming Man
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The JOJOLands Chapter 9: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The JOJOLands Chapter 10: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 2
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The JOJOLands Chapter 13: Joestar Brothers
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The JOJOLands Chapter 8: Hualalai - Cat Size, Part 3
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 The JOJOLands Chapter 11: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 3
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 14: Aim for That Fifty Billion Dollars, Part 1
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 15: Aim for That Fifty Billion Dollars, Part 2
