“Yukako Yamagishi Falls in Love”

Fridays at 12:30 pm EST on Crunchyroll

Yukako Yamagishi is in love with our bro Koichi… but she’s also a psycho who traps him in a seaside villa. Can he escape?

Iro’s thoughts

Elephant in the room: Araki’s not very good at writing women. Which isn’t usually too much of an issue, since JoJo is all about muscular men beating up other muscular men, but it is occasionally a bit uncomfortable, especially since Yukako is one of maybe four, five? ladies in all of Diamond is Unbreakable. I’m just saying, introducing the main crew’s only female acquaintance (and calling Yukako even that much is a bit of a stretch) only so she can turn out to be a super psycho is little iffy, even if it’s an elaborate Misery joke. I think it actually gets better once she carts out the electric chair, because that’s so completely over-the-top that it’s impossible to take seriously.

Anyway, Yukako’s Stand is by far one of the more boring ones in DU, and perhaps even all of JoJo. Controlling hair is not terribly interesting, and the conflict is more Koichi trying to escape her crazed machinations than any Stand-to-Stand combat. It’s a good chance for him to act like a total spaz, and also to squeeze some more utility out of Echoes. I’m not sure that old phones actually work by listening to the sounds of the keys, but it’s plausible enough in the world of JoJo for it to not matter.

Echoes’ evolution into ACT 2 (in clear reference to Cell’s evolution in Dragon Ball) is the focal point of the battle, and works great as an expansion of the Stand’s sound-based powers. ACT 1 is really just a glorified all-purpose megaphone, and it’s nice to give Koichi a more active ability. I mentioned this last time Echoes took center stage, but Araki fucking loves his written sound effects, and it really comes across as an excuse for him to use them in a more plot-relevant context. Not that I’m complaining, because Echoes is one of my favorite Stands, and I’m all for more bizarre powers. Keep ’em comin’.

Dorarara-bservations

• The show never says it, but Yukako’s Stand is called Love Deluxe.