Spoilers Off applies to all "Moments" pages, so Unmarked Spoilers Ahead!
Being hardcore mafiosi doesn't mean the death of a comrade won't bring you to tears.
- When Jotaro is explaining to Koichi who Giorno's father is, we see him holding and looking at a photo of the original Stardust Crusaders, made even worse by the very next shot of a closeup of Jotaro's eyes, filled with longing for his lost friends. It becomes clear why he sent Koichi on this mission to investigate Giorno: he's genuinely frightened that if he's anything like his father DIO, more innocent people could suffer the fate of Kakyoin, Avdol and Iggy.
- The gang's backstories are nothing short of tragic. They're only in the gangster life because they're all collectively social outcasts with no where else to go.
- Giorno was neglected by his mother, who actively refused to sacrifice her "freedom" to take care of him and left Giorno alone in the dark as a toddler at most to hang out at town. His step-father was no better, as he would beat Giorno for simply looking at him wrong. Giorno very likely would have become more like his true father if not for that fated meeting with a gangster.
- The anime has a scene of baby Giorno (then named Haruno) trembling in his crib, all alone in a dark and dirty apartment, with not even a toy for comfort except for a cheap-looking mobile with strips of cloth tied to it. The narration comments that he'd learned it was pointless to cry because his mother wouldn't come, so he could only lie there, shaking and chewing on his fingers. Imagine how many nights Haruno cried for his mother, only to be met with empty silence.
- Abbacchio was once a young, idealistic police officer, but his sense of justice was solely eroded by the society who he had sworn to protect. The citizens committed crimes, blamed the police for not doing enough, and criminals were able to pay for their release to avoid punishment. It came to a head when he accepted a bribe from a pimp to pay out a prostitutes' debt, figuring that they would just post bail later even if he did arrest them. Then one night he found the same pimp attempting to escape from a robbery, who shot at Abbacchio in a moment of hesitation. Abbacchio's partner leapt in front and shot back, injuring the pimp yet dying in the process. This moment turned him into the sour gangster he is today.
- Moody Blues represents this the best. It's a built-in guilt trap for Abbacchio, who is eternally hating himself for what he did in his own past. He's so caught up in the past that his Stand is built around it. The worst part? It only shows what happened in the past, almost as if to taunt him.Narrator: That moment was the end of Abbacchio's future. Not only was he charged for being a dirty cop, but he allowed his partner to die because of his actions, and that was a cross he would have to bear for rest of his life. It was then that his body and soul plunged into darkness. No matter who died, or even if he lost a limb or two, his heart would probably never be moved again.
- Moody Blues represents this the best. It's a built-in guilt trap for Abbacchio, who is eternally hating himself for what he did in his own past. He's so caught up in the past that his Stand is built around it. The worst part? It only shows what happened in the past, almost as if to taunt him.
- Narancia's mother died when he was a child from an eye disease, and his father ignored him. Which caused Narancia to ditch school and hang out with other delinquents. One of them convinced him to dye his hair blonde, which marked him for falsely beating and robbing an elderly women. Narancia was struck in the eye by the police in during interrogation, and a year later left juvenile hall with an eye infection just like his mother. His former friends kept their distance from him with knowledge of his infection and what happened to his mother; Narancia realized that his friend was the culprit and let him to take the fall for his crimes in a panic. With no one to turn to, Narancia came to believe that he would die the same way as his mother and became a street urchin before Fugo found him.
- Fugo's backstory as of the anime. He was a child with an unnaturally high intellect and born into a life of luxury, but his parents started placing high expectations on him that were slowly crushing him. He had some anger issues, but he could control them. He got into university at 13 years old, but he also attracted the terrible attention of his much older teacher who has been implied to have molested Fugo at least once. Fugo proceeded to lose control, beating the professor with a book. This all ended up with people at the university gossiping about the event, even saying he was the one who goaded the professor on. His parents used up their money so that Fugo would be found not guilty, but he was expelled by the university, disowned by his parents and left to wander the streets!
- And the backstory isn't even the worst part. Throughout the backstory, Fugo gets blamed and punished for pure misfortune and the actions of others that he was in no part at fault for. He gets punished by the law, disowned by his parents, and treated like trash by everybody. It's to the point Fugo believes he's nothing more than a monster. The definite proof of this? Purple Haze, a manifestation of his soul, is basically how he views himself; a monster that does nothing but poison everything it touches. Credits to Wiktoria Rynkun's comment for this.
Wiktoria Rynkun: “Having seen lots of complains in the comments, I gotta say, I love what they did to Fugo's backstory in the anime. Don't get me wrong, PHF version of him getting upset over badmouthing his grandma by the professor is great. He has a reason to hate his violent side and to fear how furious he can become over smallest things. Whereas here what he does could be actually considered as justice and self defence. It's totally understandable and nothing to blame of. And that's the thing. In this version, Fugo sees himself as a violent attacker where in reality he is the victim all along. First he develops psychological issues before the age of 13 due to stress under which his parents put him. Then he gets effing molested by his teacher, so he loses it and acts the only way he knows to defend himself. He gets punished for it, disowned by his parents, and treated like garbage by everybody. Heck, even the narrator himself blames him here! And so he believes he's only capable of hurting people and he's best of alone. Not that he ever had any friends. He appears to find his way of living and to feel good with it. But I don't buy it. Just take a look at his Stand, the personification of his soul. He considers himself a deadly virus to both friends and foes. This boy hates himself for something he had no fault in. For something that all those awful adults in his life brought him to. And even now, when he found friends he can trust, he's not likely to tell them his story and finally hear that it's just. Not. His. Fault. TL;DR imo this version is tragically awesome cause our cheese boi is now a victim who sees himself as an attacker because of what he's been told by all folks around him.”
- And the backstory isn't even the worst part. Throughout the backstory, Fugo gets blamed and punished for pure misfortune and the actions of others that he was in no part at fault for. He gets punished by the law, disowned by his parents, and treated like trash by everybody. It's to the point Fugo believes he's nothing more than a monster. The definite proof of this? Purple Haze, a manifestation of his soul, is basically how he views himself; a monster that does nothing but poison everything it touches. Credits to Wiktoria Rynkun's comment for this.
- Mista had lived an easy going life compared to the rest of the group, until he stumbled upon an Attempted Rape and attacked the would-be assailant. In retaliation, the crook's friends unloaded unto Mista point blank, missing every shot while Mista reloaded a gun he stole from them and killed them all with headshots. The court dismissed his plea of self-defense in disbelief at the event and sentenced him to 15 to 30 years in jail for murder. At this moment, he was genuinely afraid and didn't know what to do. In a detail left out of the anime, Bucciarati is seen talking to someone about getting Mista out because he feels it's very unlikely that he'll last long in prison; he's likely to end up killing another prisoner, whether by simply getting in a fight or (at least implied) by being the victim of an attempted Prison Rape.
- Giorno was neglected by his mother, who actively refused to sacrifice her "freedom" to take care of him and left Giorno alone in the dark as a toddler at most to hang out at town. His step-father was no better, as he would beat Giorno for simply looking at him wrong. Giorno very likely would have become more like his true father if not for that fated meeting with a gangster.
- The death of the old janitor at Black Sabbath's hands is what drove Giorno to kill Polpo. He was just a victim of circumstance who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and Giorno can see that Polpo wouldn't care less even if he was aware. It makes Giorno killing him with by using Gold Experience to disguise a gun as a banana all the more satisfying.
- Despite Number 5 being the Butt Pistol amongst Mista's stand, it was very saddening in the anime to see him crying about Mista being shot in the head 3 times by Prosciutto. Made even worse that none of the other bullets were able to get up due to The Grateful Dead aging them.
- Pericolo’s ordered suicide, viewed through Moody Blues. While Pericolo himself doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, the reactions of everyone present show that they’re very caught off guard by his passing. Bucciarati, who was friends with Pericolo, is especially affected.
- Illuso may have been a smug and unrepentant villain, but his gruesome death at the hands of Purple Haze feels undeserved. He's so determined to survive that he chops off his own infected hand, but it doesn't save him.
- Trish breaking down in a corner as she's being delivered to her father. She tells Bucciarati she got kidnapped by gangsters and then gets taken to a father she doesn't know or love. She then wonders what is next for her or if she'll even like him. It's made worse when it turns out her father just wants to kill her, meaning she was completely justified in her fear and destroying what little hope that Trish had for the Boss being a supportive father to her.
- The sheer heartbreaking betrayal that Bucciarati suffered both in his backstory and the arc he flashes back to it in. In the past Bucciarati joined Passione in order to seek justice for his father, who had been shot by drug dealers and wound up passing from complications, only to find that Passione was also involved in the drug trade. He flashes back to this personal betrayal in his eyes when he realizes that the Boss he's brought Trish to intended not to protect her, but to kill her to protect his own identity. This realization destroys what little respect for the Boss Bucciarati still had, even after learning the Boss was dealing in the drug trade- a Necessary Evil that Bucciarati had to swallow as a gangster, because murdering one's own kin was an evil that could not be morally excused even as a gangster, especially one that didn't have any idea of why they were being killed.
- The deaths of Tiziano and Squalo. They may have been assassins out to kill Narancia and his gang-mates, but the sheer devotion they have for each other is sure to hit a chord in audiences' hearts. Especially when Tiziano sacrifices himself to protect Squalo, taking Aerosmith's bullets meant for him, and as he lies dying in Squalo's arms, he still encourages his beloved partner in his final moments. As Squalo wields Clash, a water-based Stand, the mortally-wounded Tiziano offers his own blood to help his partner complete their mission.Tiziano: This...should be more than enough for you to use. Give em hell Squalo. Things may not have... gone as plan but one thing remains true. Victory's within our grasp... nobody can reverse... our conquest now...
- The conclusion of "The Mystery of King Crimson" arc. The team's big fight over their future in the gang ends with an ultimatum: join Bucciarati and Giorno in treachery or opt out and avoid the boss's wrath. After much deliberation, all but Fugo join them on the boat and they speed away. In the end, it's Fugo standing alone on the pier watching his friends leave for the last time.
- Even more tear-inducing in the anime where Fugo, only an episode before, expresses his desire to climb the ranks of Passione with Bucciarati. Only to get disappointed in his friends for deciding to betray the Boss and in the process, destroying Fugo's dreams.
- Narancia's reaction to learning of Bucciarati betraying the Boss in order to protect Trish is to start panicking and admit that he's scared, because he can't process what's happening. He begs Bucciarati to order him get on the boat with him so he can feel better, but Bucciarati doesn't, instead he tells Narancia to make the decision himself, and if he can't, he should stay away for his own good. And just when it looks like Narancia isn't going to join Bucciarati, Giorno, Mista, and Abbacchio, he spots Trish's bloodied wrist, and remembers how he was betrayed & abandoned by his father and best friends, everyone who was closest to him. In the end, Narancia does join the traitors, deeming himself and Trish to be not so different, and makes it his own personal mission to protect her, despite knowing the danger.
- Even some villains, especially La Squadra Esecuzioni in this arc, invoke this, being a great deal more sympathetic than most of the other sagas' rosters of villainy.
- Pesci greatly admired Prosciutto like a big brother, despite being treated like an annoyance. When Bucciarati manages to pin him under the train wheels, Pesci is greatly saddened by this sight, enough to man up enough to give Bucciarati an even harder fight than his idol in order to make Bucciarati pay.
- It's easy to miss, but Bucciarati still has wrinkles when he takes Pesci apart. That means Prosciutto had to see Pesci fail and die before he himself died.
- More than that, Proscuitto had been willing to keep his powers and himself alive in order to make sure that Pesci could succeed admiring the resolved, cold killer he always knew he'd be. Then the last thing he sees is Pesci not taking his lessons to heart and losing all nobility to kill Bucciarati's team out of spite for being fatally wounded by Bucciarati. Proscuitto likely lost his will to continue to live after seeing his prized pupil truly not having what he always envisioned in him.
- Their leader, Risotto Nero, is no exception. When Risotto Nero was 14 years old, his cousin was run over by a drunk driver. Though the driver was punished by the law, Risotto could not forgive him and, four years later, at age 18, he assassinated the driver. Even when he managed to create his own squad and Stand, he received little recognition for his successes, leading to an attempt on uncovering the boss's identity, it led to the deaths of two of his comrades in horrific ways. With vengeance in his heart, he decides to take revenge on the boss, with each death of his team fueling this desire more and more.
- On the matter of Sorbet and Gelato's deaths, especially in the anime. It begins with Risotto noticing their absence; leading the group to investigate their disappearance. Then Formaggio discovers Gelato's corpse, choked on his own gag with the note of "Punishment" written on it. Then thirty-six boxes are delivered to their hangout, La Squadra slowly noticing clues until the pieces are arranged to reveal Sorbet's sectioned off corpse in formalin frames having been sliced up while alive by either the Boss in the manga or by Passione's Torture Technician Cioccolata in the anime. The entire group is unnerved, ranging from trying to keep calm while sweating, to being tense, to Formaggio covering his mouth not to puke after screaming in agony, to Pesci not wanting to watch anymore. The sight was enough to dissuade the group from looking into the Boss and not avenging their comrades until Trish came in as a golden opportunity. If they weren't greedy assassins who enjoy their work too much and want the money from the drug trade; and even then, it's hard not to see why many would want to have La Squadra get revenge on the boss for what they did to their comrades.
- Gelato's corpse is found tied up and gagged in his own apartment, with his eyes blown wide in pure terror and tears pouring down his cheeks. His last moments were being Forced to Watch his boyfriend Sorbet being tortured to death by Cioccolata, before he killed himself by swallowing his gag and suffocating.
- Pesci greatly admired Prosciutto like a big brother, despite being treated like an annoyance. When Bucciarati manages to pin him under the train wheels, Pesci is greatly saddened by this sight, enough to man up enough to give Bucciarati an even harder fight than his idol in order to make Bucciarati pay.
- The death of Abbacchio, suddenly punched through by a disguised Diavolo to keep him from revealing his identity to the gang. He spends his last moments recalling his failures as a cop who let his friend die due to his bribery.
- To make matters crueler than they should be, Abbacchio, who has a few and far between moments of ever suggesting he was still a warm hearted person, helped a group of kids get their soccer ball out of a tree branch. The anime even gave him a light smile after helping them. Then Diavolo punches a hole in his chest.
- He wakes up in a dreamscape speaking with an officer in the middle of a crime scene. The meeting with a cop prompts Abbacchio to ask him what would happen if he failed in capturing the suspect and recounts his failure of carrying out his dream of being a righteous cop. Then he hears the officer say his name; after spending most of the part emotionally closed off from everything around him, Abbacchio actually starts to shed tears when he realizes the cop was none other than his partner who died on patrol and tries taking a bus to get back to the gang.Cop: Where are you going, Abbacchio?
Abbacchio: I'm getting on that bus. It's all coming back to me now... That's right! I have to get out of here! I have to help my comrades with what's coming!
Cop: Have you forgotten Abbacchio? You came here on that bus. It's the last stop, I'm afraid. There's no going back, not ever.
Abbacchio: Wait, it's you. All along, it was you! I took that damn bribe and you paid the price! - Giorno and company finding his body.
- Giorno, knowing that it was already too late to heal Abbacchio, can't even bring himself to try and can only hang his head down over Abbacchio's corpse. Despite Abbacchio’s antagonism towards him, his death struck genuine grief in Giorno (enough so in the anime that his VA sounds like he’s Trying Not to Cry.)
- Mista only stood in pained silence holding Coco Jumbo and remain so for the most part until he has to pry a desperate and angry Narancia off of Giorno when it became clear the latter couldn't bring Abbacchio back.
- Bucciarati is able keep his composure for most of it, but acknowledges that it was his fault for leaving Abbacchio unguarded. Then he bites his lip enough to make it bleed when Narancia begs him not leave Abbacchio behind.
- Keep in mind that by this point in the story, Bucciarati's body shouldn't be able to pump out any more blood after he became an undead following his first encounter with The Boss. Abbacchio's death affected Bucciarati so much that his soul made his heart pump blood one last time as a response.
- Narancia takes it the worst. While the others solemnly accept what just happened, he goes through the Five Stages of Grief. First he shouts at Giorno and threatens him into healing Abbacchio with Gold Experience. Then when Bucciarati orders the gang to leave the area, Narancia insists that Abbacchio will come back any minute in denial. When Giorno tells him they have to leave (in other words making it clear it was too late to save him), Narancia manhandles him and tries to beat him up. Then he turns around towards Bucciarati tearfully begging him to not leave their friend behind."So you're just leaving him here to rot, Bucciaratti?! After everything our group has been through, how can you just walk away?! Don't ask me to abandon him, anything but that! Please!"
- The anime makes this worse. It takes a long look at Abbacchio's body for him to finally accept that he was dead. Then he trips and lands face first on the ground, and wails in grief while Bucciarati and Mista walk away. Narancia's VA appropriately makes his crying sound not unlike that of a child.
- On that note, the fact that none of the others were able to bring themselves to outright tell Narancia that Abbacchio was dead, or even say it out loud in general.
- They were forced to leave his body to escape the danger of dying next and only took solace in Abbacchio managing to imprint an image of boss' faces into a rock using Moody Blues. The last shot of the chapter is with Abbacchio peacefully resting in the sky.
- The anime even makes this scene more heartbreaking as well with the combination of music and the direction, and both Daiki Yamashita and Kyle McCarley's utterly heartrending deliveries of Narancia's breakdown, especially when he pleads Bucciarati to not leave Abbacchio behind. It’s shown that where Abbacchio died a patch of flowers have appeared there, implying Giorno used Gold Experience to make a makeshift resting place for him. Abbacchio may have not liked Giorno, but Giorno respected him regardless. Doubles as a sad Foreshadowing to the next team member who perishes.
- Probably the cruelest aspect of Abbachio's death is how his Dying Clue, which is presented as a Hope Spot in the torrent of despair the gang is feeling at the loss of one of their members, initially looks like it will be of absolutely no help. Yes, it's an imprint of the boss's face that would help potentially identify him; except that when the group searches the internet and the police's databases for a possible match, they find absolutely nothing. That's right: unlike Kakyoin whose Dying Clue served to give the heroes a fighting chance in the long run, it initially looked like Abbacchio's sacrifice would have been senseless. Thankfully this is eventually subverted when Polnareff, noticing that someone used the police's database to look for someone matching Diavolo's appearance, contacts Bucciarati's group, setting up the final conflict in Rome.
- Narancia's death. In the midst of Diavolo's rampage, he swore to himself to return to his hometown and go back to school. And then the gang find him in Giorno's body impaled on a fence. It was completely sudden. Giorno manages to restore his wounds, but instead wakes up in his own body shedding a tear, lamenting Narancia's soul was gone. He apologizes to him for being placed in his body at the wrong time, blankets his corpse in flowers from his hometown, and almost loses his resolve over the loss of his friend. It says something that, aside from Caesar's death, it is one of the most heartbreaking moments in all of Jojo, period.
- Before it was revealed what happened, Mista became frantic when he realized he was holding onto four bullets and started begging Trish to put another one in his hand before something bad happened.
- The worst part of it: Narancia didn't die a Heroic Sacrifice. Other JoJo allies at least died either saving someone else or leaving a parting chance at defeat the villain. Narancia didn't get that, at least not voluntarily. He was simply and cruelly murdered.
- The fact that the souls are swapped makes this entire ordeal much more devastating to sit through. It's especially saddening to see Giorno's body impaled in a crucifix position within the iron bars and even more devastating to hear Giorno speak in Narancia's voice and state how Narancia's soul has already departed to the afterlife. It sounds and looks exactly like Narancia himself is saying that he is already dead.
- The way Diavolo had Narancia disposed of is simply heartless and cruel. Instead of opting for a swift Megaton Punch like usual, he decided to impale him with broken metal bars, just to spite Bucciarati's crew. Seeing our lovable, childish, Book Dumb teammate, who had it rough ever since he was a little boy, having been murdered in such a brutal fashion is just heartbreaking. Having suffered due to a neglectful father and horrible friends at a young age, death was the absolute last thing Narancia deserved; this is the painful price of Giorno's dream.
- The anime makes it even worse. Narancia laments Abbacchio's death, and mentions if he ever meets Fugo again, he wouldn't mind being called dumb. He then swears to Trish that'd he'd protect her until the end. A few seconds after he states this, he's killed. As the gang mourns him, it cuts to a scene of Fugo walking down an alleyway, before he stops, as if he sensed something wrong. Then it shows where Abbacchio died, and what appears to be Aerosmith flying over, as if it was looking for its last place to land: beside his Big Brother Mentor.
- Building off Fugo's presence, the anime shows that he's walking near the restaurant that he and the rest of Bucciarati's gang always ate at. He misses his friends, and he's wandering aimlessly because he has nowhere else to go and nobody else to turn to.
- The anime also brings more drama to everyone's reactions to his death. Giorno's eyes do not simply well up with barely contained tears like in the manga. Instead, Giorno openly weeps through most of his realization that Narancia's soul is already gone. Trish silently cries. Mista calls out Narancia's name before giving a Skyward Scream through streams of tears. Bucciarati is the only one who barely keeps his composure, but a brief close up of one of his eyes when he first spots Narancia shows that he is just as heartbroken as everyone else.Mista: Well alright! You did it! Narancia's awake! Welcome back you little bastard, how you feeling? Jeez, you really scared us...
Giorno: (While in his own body.) I’m sorry... Mista. There’s... no one left... in here. It's empty. The physical wounds he suffered have healed... but still... Gold Experience couldn’t get to him in time... He was... he was already gone. Narancia’s... not here. (Giorno begins to cry through his own body while speaking through Narancia's.) His form... it’s just an empty vessel now, I can’t find him. His soul has left... there’s nothing here. Try as I might, I can’t bring him back. I wasn’t fast enough. My soul could just slip back in if it wanted... It could inhabit both bodies without a problem, not even one... he’s THAT empty. - Giorno crying outright becomes much more powerful when you remember that he learned from an early age that crying wouldn't do him any good, and he likely hasn't done so in a very long time. He'd been able to hold himself together when Abbacchio died, but with Narancia, he simply couldn't hold his tears back.
- Mista's wails are just brutal, compared to his attempts to not cry after seeing Abbacchio's body. This was because he wanted to set a good example to the teary Narancia at the time, hoping that he would move on and become a better person after all this trauma with the Boss. And now that Narancia's dead, he can no longer hold back his emotions. He's not just weeping because Narancia died suddenly, he's weeping because Narancia can never grow up from here on out!
- It's such a serious tearjerker that during the usual eyecatches, we don't even get to hear the usual music play. It's just silent, save for the sounds of water drops. Abbacchio's death happened right before, and even that didn't get the same treatment.
- Bucciarati and the rest are, in fact, so devastated on Narancia's sudden death, that they just sit around for what could be considered minutes. They are so hopeless at this point that they don't even care that Diavolo could attack without even a moment’s notice.
- Even more devastating is how Narancia was the one who was almost left behind at Venezia and was initially very hesitant to join Bucciarati and Giorno in their quest to overthrow the Boss. Bucciarati even specifically encouraged him to stay behind, not wanting him to suffer because of someone else's decision. Having seen Narancia man up considerably, only to have his hopes and dreams ultimately crushed because of one drastic decision is just heart-wrenching. Had he stayed behind along with Fugo, he would have made it back to his hometown and attended school.
- The anime added a brief monologue for Fugo where he states that Narancia will die because of his decision to join Bucciarati. And he was absolutely right.
- Narancia only joined Passione because he looked up to Bucciarati for saving his life, despite the gangster telling him to not follow the same path and to go to school instead to make an honest living. At that moment, it's possible Bucciarati is wondering that if he had tried harder to stop Narancia from getting on the boat, or even from joining Passione in the first place, then the boy would still be alive.
- Narancia's death is also frighteningly realistic. In warfare, most combatants don't die heroically like in movies (or even in this very manga), they're disposed of like common trash and sometimes even forgotten about. Anyone can agree that even if Narancia had problems, he deserved better than to be slain in this manner.
- Bucciarati's death at the hands of Diavolo. He gets revived by Giorno's Gold Experience and manages to survive for a while, but is fully aware that he's slowly breaking down to eventually die for real. This culminates in his true and final death via Heroic Sacrifice in order to stop the mad mafia boss' ambitions by giving time for Giorno to gain the Requiem power.
- Before that happens, there is a moment when Giorno is concerned with Bucciarati's condition during their journey to Rome. He asked Bucciarati if he had just hurt his wrist, only for him to remain silent. However, Giorno finds out that Bucciarati's right hand has visibly deteriorated from his first encounter with Cioccolata and Secco. Bucciarati tells Giorno that his life had ended at that time, but his body continued to move thanks to Giorno's life energy given to him. Giorno responds by claiming his Gold Experience heals his wounds, but Bucciarati responds that nothing else can be done once a person's life ended. Doubles as a Call-Back to the previous part when Jotaro said the same thing to Josuke when his grandfather died.Giorno: Bucciarati, your wrist is injured. It looks pretty bad from here. Please, let me patch you up.
Bucciarati: (silent)
Giorno: Hey Bucciarati are you listening? There’s a chance the mold infected your wound. Please let me see it.
(Giorno is shocked at Bucciarati's right hand permanently damaged from his encounter with Oasis)
Giorno: What are you...! (touches Bucciarati's neck to check his pulse) Wait, the hell!? There’s no warmth on his skin! A-and his pulse is...!
Bucciarati: Hm? Giorno, what’s wrong, you seem a little perturbed. Did you say something?
Giorno: Did... Did that really just happen? So it wasn’t just my imagination! This is exactly like that other time in Venezia! I thought he was acting strange back then... But I had written it off as nothing!
Bucciarati: (looking at his damaged right hand) I suppose I was careless... But maybe I had realized this just a second too late. I'm quickly losing all of my feeling... No... I haven’t had my sense of touch for quite a while now.
Giorno: So you’re, but then that means..! When you rescued Trish back from the boss in Venezia, Bucciarati, you can’t really be saying you’re..!
Bucciarati: It’s strange. I'd already come to accept this as destiny. I thought of it like a little gift, handed down to me from heaven above. The life force you gave my wounded body could not save my life, even though I'm certain you intended it to. Unfortunately, all it has done is delay the inevitable.
Giorno: But why? Why did you have to keep this from us? Back then, Gold Experience was perfectly capable of healing all your injuries without a problem! I know it can do it again! There’s no reason we can’t fix whatever’s wrong with you!
Bucciarati: Giorno, I know this is hard. But even your Gold Experience understands this truth. Much better than anyone else I would expect... Nothing can free a person from death’s stubborn grasp. By the time you reached me, it was too late. Death has me now.
(Giorno is visibly stunned by the revelation.) - This scene is made even sadder, thanks to Phillip Reich’s heart wrenching performance in the English dub.
- Before that happens, there is a moment when Giorno is concerned with Bucciarati's condition during their journey to Rome. He asked Bucciarati if he had just hurt his wrist, only for him to remain silent. However, Giorno finds out that Bucciarati's right hand has visibly deteriorated from his first encounter with Cioccolata and Secco. Bucciarati tells Giorno that his life had ended at that time, but his body continued to move thanks to Giorno's life energy given to him. Giorno responds by claiming his Gold Experience heals his wounds, but Bucciarati responds that nothing else can be done once a person's life ended. Doubles as a Call-Back to the previous part when Jotaro said the same thing to Josuke when his grandfather died.
- Despite being the split personality of the main antagonist, Diavolo, Doppio is a well-meaning teenager who has some redeeming qualities, such as trying to save a kid from an oncoming truck. This makes his death sort of sad as he lays on the ground, alone, hoping the boss will call him so he won't die alone.
- The anime makes it even more tearjerking, as after he's confident that Diavolo will win, he laments on how lonely he is, with his soul coming out from Bucciarati's body. He even reaches out for a phone near him ... but due to being in Bucciarati's body, who had his eardrums busted, he wouldn't have been able to hear the phone anyways.
- And despite Doppio Dying Alone, his passing was much calmer than what was set for Diavolo. While he was objectively a purely repulsive and evil individual, Diavolo is subjected to a literal infinity of death, never knowing any type of reprieve from torment as he's eternally killed in bizarre, distressing and painful ways, being reduced to begging for his life in desperation each time he comes back to life.
- The entire story of Diavolo/Doppio becomes significantly more depressing the more you think about it. His behavior and appearance was significantly more in line with Doppio for the majority of his childhood until he seemingly snapped at some point, burying his mother alive and torching his entire village down. It's likely that Diavolo was a manifestation of Doppio's repressed violent urges, or even a psychopathic twin, and this ruined his chance to live a decent life.
- Polnareff has been switched into a turtle's body for the rest of his life. However, his recall to his adventures and losses in Part 3 is very tearjerking for what was thought to be his last thoughts at the time.
- This also comes with the cost of losing his beloved Stand, Silver Chariot. Think about it: first he's forced to relinquish control of it, then he's forced to battle against it. The same Stand he trained all his life, constantly praised its speed and abilities, the one he would've built a statue for if Polnareffland became reality. Remember how it cut up Devo the Cursed? Turned J. Geil into a pincushion? Joined Star Platinum in beating the shit out of Alessi? Pushed Vanilla Ice into the sunlight? Stabbed Dio through the head? The beloved stand is completely gone. For good.
- The end of Part 5, where Giorno, despite being hardened from the events of the series, finally starts to tear up at the loss of his friends Bucciarati, Narancia, and Abbacchio he fought alongside, until Buccarati's spirit talks to him and encourages him, along with Narancia and Abbachio, before departing. He mans up and takes hold of his (and Bucciarati's) dream for them.
- The story started with 6 members in the group. Unless one would count Trish, it ended with only two left (Giorno and Mista) with three dead and one who didn’t have the resolve to go with them.
- This is easily shown in the anime adaptation when he looks at his surroundings with golden sparkles flying around him. In the very first episode, he is shown with a light smile on his face. But in the final episode, he is shown with a hardened but melancholic expression.
- The anime adaptation also adds some decorations to the room where Giorno is made Boss; namely the flowers he buried Narancia and Abbachio in, Buccarati's zipper, and a bottle of champagne/sparkling wine Abbachio usually drinks (it was also part of the last meal they had together before they were attacked by Squalo).
- All this also takes place in a little over a week. Joining Passione, Polpo’s cruelty, the deaths of not only his friends but doubtlessly several innocent Romans (due to Cioccolata ), finding out just how heartless and paranoid The Boss is. All in one week.
- The track titled "Ascension" in the anime, played during Narancia's final rest and Bucciarati's ascension. Despite only played in those two moments, it would take those with hardened souls to not get teary eyed to this theme, especially when the One-Woman Wail chant starts kicking in.
- This even more tearjerking and haunting for sharp-eared audience, especially if you're a devout Catholic. The chant played in this track? It is actually taken from Requiem aeternam.*
- RequiemTranslation
Requiem æternam et lux perpetua luceat eisTranslation
Amen
