The following contains spoilers for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: The JOJOLands, Chapter 18, “That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3,” by Hirohiko Araki of Shueisha’s Ultra Jump.

Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is no stranger to radical narrative departures that may seem arbitrary in the moment, but then contribute to the larger picture and give the characters important context. The JOJOLands was quite focused with its central narrative – almost to a surprising extent – ​​and really took the keystones of the heist genre to create a creative and kinetic crime thriller that differs from previous JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Sagas. “That Girl’s Bags Groove” was an enlightening experience in The JOJOLands that ties together many of the more disjointed elements of Part 9. The most impressive thing about this current story arc is simply how well it creates tension and terror by slowing the narrative to a snail’s paceEach chapter provides concise snapshots of the current dilemma.

“That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3” probably clocks in at 30 minutes, if that, but it’s also the most exciting way to tell this story. The characters – and the audience – don’t get a chance to catch their breath, and it’s a suspenseful structure that suggests Jodio Joestar and his gang may be in over their heads. They still have the Lava Rock in their possession, but it also looks like Lulu and Bobby Jean are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to HOWLER’s busy assassins. “That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3” is undoubtedly one of the The JOJOLands’ the most adrenaline-filled chapters that will take readers’ breath away from start to finish.

Bobby Jean’s hail of bullets leads to a great fix for the stand

Quick thinking makes Jodio’s gang bulletproof against HOWLER’s evil attack

Hirohiko Araki knows how to create compelling action panels that convey an economy of visual language. The beginning of “That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3,” however, is on a whole other level. Building off the dramatic conclusion of the previous chapter, Jodio, Dragona, Paco, and Charming Man are bombarded with Bobby Jean’s hail of bullets, aided by Glory Day’s. Araki lingers on chaotic, visceral violence that makes the audience feel trapped, just like the characters. Glory Day’s is a stand that can change the speed at which bullets move and This is wonderfully conveyed through several beautiful splash panels that leave the reader no chance to escape this carnage. They are also stuck in time.

Equally effective illustrations can be seen when Paco and Jodio meet Lulu and Bobby Jean at the elevator. Araki constructs these panels as if they were horrific moments from a slasher film which create maximum tension between the parties involved. The hail of bullets that follows looks like a deadly maneuver, but it should be a JoJo The reader learns that the gang remains resilient even in the face of danger. The JOJOLands has previously highlighted that each character’s Stand serves a unique purpose that is ideal for pulling off a heist. That idea is revisited here, but in the context of rapid recovery and emergency triage.

Jodio and his colleagues have really different Stands, but it’s kind of remarkable that they’re all used for essentially the same purpose here. Dragona’s Smooth Operators dislodge the bullets from Paco’s body, Charming Man’s Bigmouth Strikes Again crumbles the skin around the impact site to prevent the bullet from penetrating deeper, and Jodio uses November Rain to alter the bullet’s trajectory. The latter of these maneuvers is particularly exciting, as Jodio activates November Rain from inside his mouth after the bullet pierces his cheek. It’s so strong evidence of how far Stands have come In JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It’s also really funny to see the hospital staff checking on Jodio and his companions, who are just casually fending off the flesh wounds they’ve sustained. It’s one of several moments in “That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3” where these over-the-top characters are successfully juxtaposed for comic effect, such as when Bobby Jean and Lulu experience the equivalent of an awkward lover’s quarrel shortly after Jodio and his companions are screaming for their lives.

MRI machinations keep Usagi out of the picture

Medical drama mixes with slapstick shenanigans

The other major hurdle the heroes must overcome in “That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3” is that Usagi still has a Stand that is wreaking havoc inside him – specifically his brain – and overcoming it requires cutting-edge medical technology. THE MATTEKUDASAI finally replicates an MRI that can hopefully solve this problem, but it also brings its own unexpected obstacles. The MRI serves its purpose and will hopefully shed light on what the heroes need to know about the lesion in Usagi’s brain. The strong magnetic force of the MRI leads to some surprising slapstick escapades.This feels like classic Araki, where he focuses on an interesting little thing that fascinates him and he just has to share it with the world.

There’s a lot of casual humor in “That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3,” but this MRI scene is the funniest material. Dragona becomes magnetically bound to the MRI, but also attracts a variety of nearby metallic objects, such as a cart. At this point, it’s just harmless silliness, but it’s not hard to imagine the MRI’s magnetism reaching exaggerated levels and having catastrophic effects when the entire hospital is exposed to its Stand-induced magnetic field. It is the least successful element of this chapterbut that doesn’t mean the next chapter doesn’t connect the dots better. It’s entirely possible that the MRI’s magnetism is the solution to Bobby Jean’s bullets.

Bobby Jean and Lulu are still ready for a conflict

The top agents of the HOWLER Company keep their eyes on the target

Bobby Jean and Lulu continue to act as the secret weapons of “That Girl’s Bags Groove”even more so now that they have revealed their secret weapons. These two are really dangerous and Acca Howler obviously trusts them to do his dirty work. In addition to their strength and Stand skills, The JOJOLands really relies on the chemistry between these unconventional partners. Some of the most interesting scenes of the chapter are the ones where the two are just engaged in conversation with one another. “That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3” reveals that Lulu is an orphan who was apparently taken in by the HOWLER Company, which is hopefully something that will be developed further in the series. It’s unclear if Bobby Jean perhaps executed Lulu’s parents and decided to take her under his wing out of guilt, or if HOWLER simply had the child in some macabre arrangement that gradually hardened her over time. Lulu really pushes Bobby Jean to become her adoptive father and join his family, which he has no interest in doing. Bobby Jean makes it clear that their relationship is purely professionalwhich could potentially be his undoing in the long run, as Lulu still has additional information from HOWLER. It would not be unexpected if Lulu is the one who kills Bobby Jean and she turns out to be an even more dangerous Stand user. More details will surely come to light, but these two are currently The JOJOLands‘ most compelling characters. An entire spin-off dedicated to these two would be a delight.

“That Girl’s Bags Groove, Part 3” is an exciting chapter that begins and ends with gunfire, and the heroes are still in great danger. Lulu and Bobby Jean remain committed to their mission – although their cover is eventually blown – and Usagi’s condition seems to be getting worse by the second. This is anything but a happy ending and it looks like it will be a while before Jodio and his gang can finally relax and celebrate the “success” of their mission. The JOJOLands builds to an epic stand-up battle between Jodio’s gang and Lulu and Bobby Jean. This arc has made a lot of use of these opponents’ passive attacks while they absorb ricochets – both figuratively and literally. It would be truly shocking if they weren’t involved in a real fight by the end of the next few chapters. However, as bullets fly and the magnetic pull increases, Jodio feels a strange sense of calm optimism as the Lava Rock continues to do its job, bringing his crew closer to victory – even if it currently looks like their doom. “Buy back fate” is presented as the credo for this chapter, but it also applies to the entire chapter. The JOJOLands. When Mack is killed by a ricochet bullet, it’s clear that his karmic failure is beginning to solidify. Every character has a bright, shiny destiny hanging over them, but it’s irrelevant if they lack destiny.