Paco Laburantes
Paco Laburantes (パコ・ラブランテス, Pako Raburantesu) is a primary ally featured in the ninth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, The JOJOLands.
Paco is a gangster working in the same gang as Jodio and Dragona Joestar. They are assigned to the same team in order to steal a diamond belonging to Rohan Kishibe. Paco is a Stand user possessing THE Hustle, which allows him to grab objects with his muscles anywhere on his body.
Appearance
Paco is a 19-year-old teenager with an athletic build. Despite his youth, he has rugged features making him look more mature. A piece of his left ear is chewed off. Jodio notes that Paco used to be sort of chubby but lost weight and became more muscular when he was around 17.[1] He has light hair that goes down to his neck, finishing in a square cut. His hair is mostly covered by his cap, which bears a stylized plate with "P∆CO" engraved on it. Paco has distinctive dark marks and spots below his eyes that extend vertically to his chin, and also has a chain of triangles split into dark and bright halves tattooed along his arms from hands up to shoulders.
Paco does not wear a shirt but instead wears a harness comprised of two wide straps with several grommets that cross each other over his solar plexus. There is a hood attached by the two grommets over his shoulders. On the strap crossing over his right pectoral is a large brooch-like object resembling a melting ice cream cone stylized to spell out his name "PACO". He also wears plain trousers with "P∆CO" engraved on the belt buckle, as well as several straps at the waist and knee pads. Finally, he wears sneakers, wristbands and, in earlier appearances, a necklace. Later on, he is also shown wearing a codpiece.[3] He wears a smartwatch underneath his left wristband.[3][4]
Color Schemes
Personality
Paco Laburantes is a loud, somewhat dim-witted teenager quick to speak his mind. He comes across as rude or ill-mannered,[5][6][6] and acts aloof. He socializes mainly with other members of Meryl's gang, and develops a particular fondness for Jodio[7] and Dragona. Paco is recognized for his skills as a kleptomaniac, his thrill for theft is described by Jodio as almost "game-like",[8] leading him frequently into trouble.
Having been held back a year in high school, Paco isn’t particularly intelligent and quite brutish. His speech is notable for the use of child-like words, such as "ouchi" (おうち) for "home" and "otete" (お手手) for "hand".[9] This style of speech, characterized by the duplication of syllables, is often found in toddler language or 'baby talk', serving to create simplified or affectionate versions of words.
Abilities
Stand
Paco's Stand THE Hustle allows him to freely manipulate his muscles, notably allowing him to bulge his muscles to grab objects and attach them to his skin.
Hand-to-Hand Combat
Paco shows he is proficient at hand-to-hand combat when he fights and fends off Charming Man for a moment. During their fight, he skillfully blocks and evades the enemy's dagger strikes, even managing to take an advantage and grab him.[10]
Relationships
Family
- Father: Paco has a strained relationship with his father, who bit off a piece of Paco's ear at one point.[1]
Gangmates
- Jodio Joestar: Although they work together, Jodio does not consider Paco as his friend.[1] Paco starts to appreciate Jodio after seeing his ability in action.[2]
- Dragona Joestar: Dragona and Paco seem to fight often. When Paco tries to steal from customers at Iko Iko, Dragona reprimands him and threatens to wrap his ear around his head. Paco also challenges Dragona to fight afterwards, though Dragona refuses.[1]
- Usagi Alohaoe: Paco despises Usagi, often telling him to shut up. Paco claims Usagi is a drug addict based on his energetic personality. When Usagi seemingly abandons them during the fight against the cats, Paco becomes angry and swears to kill him. However, when Usagi comes back to the rescue, Paco is also moved to tears.
- Charming Man: Paco and Charming Man initially meet as enemies. Charming Man charges at Paco using deadly force with his knife, though Paco derides Charming Man for having amateurish knife skills. Upon seeing that Charming Man is more merciful than at face value, notably when Paco notes that he didn't really kill his pet cats, Paco changes his mind about him and is the first to decide to make friends with him.[11] He helps Dragona persuade Meryl that Charming Man is really a good guy.[12]
Chapters
- The JOJOLands Chapter 1: Departure (1st appearance)
- The JOJOLands Chapter 2: South King Street
- The JOJOLands Chapter 3: The Villa on Hawaii Island, Part 1
- The JOJOLands Chapter 4: The Villa on Hawaii Island, Part 2
- The JOJOLands Chapter 5: "Rise Up"
- The JOJOLands Chapter 6: Hualalai - Cat Size, Part 1
- The JOJOLands Chapter 7: Hualalai - Cat Size, Part 2
- The JOJOLands Chapter 8: Hualalai - Cat Size, Part 3
- The JOJOLands Chapter 9: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 1
- The JOJOLands Chapter 10: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 2
- 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
- The JOJOLands Chapter 16: Lulu's Bags Groove, Part 1
Quotes
- “Dragona! There's a gym on the other side of the street! Wanna go there with me?”—Paco Laburantes, The JOJOLands Chapter 1: Departure
- “So what you're saying is you don't know shit, right? Well thanks for the pointless lava lesson! Now go find the damn safe!”
- “THE Hustle! Time to do your stuff!”—Paco Laburantes, The JOJOLands Chapter 4: The Villa on Hawaii Island, Part 2
- “Nice! Screw off! I beat your shitty trap, asshole!”—Paco Laburantes, The JOJOLands Chapter 4: The Villa on Hawaii Island, Part 2
- “I said don't move! You asshole! Otherwise, things are gonna have to get violent!”—Paco Laburantes, The JOJOLands Chapter 4: The Villa on Hawaii Island, Part 2
- “DO "the HUSTLE"”—Paco Laburantes, The JOJOLands Chapter 10: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 2
- “So you're sayin' if we don't surrender, the only path left is violence, huh? You sure about that', asshole? That just happens ta be my area of expertise.”—Paco Laburantes, The JOJOLands Chapter 10: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 2
Gallery
Trivia
- As of the first chapter of The JOJOLands, Paco was Hirohiko Araki's favorite character to draw.[13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The JOJOLands Chapter 1: Departure
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The JOJOLands Chapter 2: South King Street
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The JOJOLands Chapter 8: Hualalai - Cat Size, Part 3
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 14: Aim for That Fifty Billion Dollars, Part 1
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 2: South King Street P.27.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The JOJOLands Chapter 2: South King Street P.34.
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 2: South King Street P.22.
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 1: Departure P.54.
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 3: The Villa on Hawaii Island, Part 1
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 10: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 2
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 11: Kailua-Kona - Flight Waiting Time, Part 3
- ↑ The JOJOLands Chapter 13: Joestar Brothers
- ↑ Author's Note - Ultra Jump March 2023