The Secret of Guard Westwood
Episode 16 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean begins with a brief montage highlighting the events and revelations shown in episode 15. We see Emporio learn about Jolyne’s plan to secure Dio’s bone and hear about Anastasia’s undying love for Jolyne. It also highlights the elements of Dio Brando and Enrico Pucci’s discussion revolving around Survivor and its abilities. We flash-forward to the punishment ward, where Survivor has now affected everybody besides Jolyne. Westwood challenges all the prisoners he freed to a brawl. Jolyne takes the opportunity to survey her surroundings in hopes of locating Dio’s bone and Survivor’s Stand user. Unfortunately, Jolyne starts to succumb to Survivor’s ability and ends up obtaining an urge to kill. While lost in thought, Westwood takes the opportunity to rush at Jolyne. Jolyne notices him charging at her and is confident she can take on the guard with Stone Ocean (her Stand). Stone Ocean tries to attack Westwood, but he manages to avoid the attack and proceeds to climb a wall. He disappears instantly and reappears behind a frame to kick at Jolyne’s head. Jolyne avoids the attack and ties Westwood’s leg to his neck, making him attack himself. Despite his tight predicament, Westwood uppercuts Jolyne in the gut. As Jolyne spews blood, Westwood tells her that he can pinpoint her strongest feature. This is the thread that comes from her muscles. The might of his punch convinces Jolyne that she’s not fighting an ordinary human. She attempts to strategize ways to defeat him. Due to Survivor affecting her, Jolyne gazes upon Westwood’s internal muscles on his right arm and leg, which appear robust and healthy. However, she turns her attention to his left leg’s blackened muscles. This signals to her that these are his weakest points. Unfortunately, one of the prisoners ends up drawing Jolyne’s attention. This encourages Westwood to deliver a right cross, but Jolyne counters it with a kick to his shin. She uppercuts him with Stone Ocean, and Westwood falls. He manages to get back on his feet to throw two punches at Jolyne, but she ties his fists to his neck. She chokes him and delivers many roundhouse kicks to his face. Jolyne tries to deliver a finishing blow but stands back after her arm gets wounded through unknown means. She tries to assess the situation and wonders what Westwood did to harm her. Westwood is slightly unconscious, and a Stand disc pokes out of his head. Jolyne realizes that he’s a Stand User. She worries that other Stand users may be present in the room with her. Jolyne asks Westwood how and when he became a Stand User, but he doesn’t answer her. Westwood stands up and notes again that Jolyne’s thread is her strongest point. Jolyne uses her thread to stitch her arm up and challenges him to fight again. Westwood rushes at her and tries delivering a violent left hook, but Jolyne evades the attack. She manages to kick Westwood in the face and witnesses his Stand. Westwood falls but immediately bounces back. Jolyne deploys a thread between her foot and hand. She manages to deflect Westwood’s punch and successfully ties his hands. Jolyne uses her jacket to blind Westwood and uses Stone Ocean to punch him. However, Stone Ocean’s leg ends up getting wounded by something, as Jolyne falls. Westwood takes the opportunity to grapple Jolyne to the ground, and she gets the sense something is approaching her. She tries attacking Westwood with Stone Ocean but fails. He’s found a way to lock her head and twist her left shoulder. This prevents her from using her right arm. He encourages her to grab his “family jewels” to escape, as Jolyne makes an attempt out of desperation. He anticipates her action and shifts his grapple slightly to counter her. Stuck in his grasp, Jolyne can sense that something dangerous is heading their way. She displays threads from her left hand and sends them into Westwood’s ear. They travel through his eye socket and nose, allowing her to pull at them as small meteorites head toward them. We get a brief explanation from the anime’s narrator about the Earth’s atmosphere and how it protects the Earth from small meteorites and debris. Two small meteorites fall at Jolyne and Westwood. Meanwhile, Anastasia and F.F. managed to sneak out of the prison’s main building. They fought numerous guards during their travels. They are about to reach the courtyard that links to the Ultra Security House Unit. F.F. informs Anastasia that there may be multiple enemies after Jolyne, but Anastasia ignores her. He repeats that he plans to marry Jolyne to F.F. before furthering his traversal. F.F. is left speechless and humorously asks him what marriage means. Back at the ward, Jolyne continues pulling the thread she inserted into Westwood’s skull, and he eventually lets her go due to the pain. Unfortunately, she gets hit by one of the small meteors. Although one of them heads for Westwood, it disappears because of the power of his Stand deemed “Planet Waves.” Westwood grabs Jolyne’s wrist and tries locking her arm. Jolyne retaliates by deploying a thread into one of his boots. The thread wraps around one of Westwood’s toenails, and Jolyne pulls it immediately, tearing off some of the feet’s skin. Three more meteorites fall toward Jolyne, but Westwood’s loosened grip allows her to deflect the meteorites toward his direction. However, Planet Waves protects Westwood from meteorites. Jolyne finds herself heavily wounded from her tactic, while Westwood’s capable of sending more meteorites her way. She stands up in retaliation and vows to continue fighting. Westwood toys with Jolyne and leaves himself open for an attack–on purpose. Jolyne draws her attention to a child-like prisoner playing with Dio’s Bone. Westwood takes the opportunity to corner Jolyne into a wall. Jolyne plans to use the wall as a shield against the meteorites, but Westwood calls in a larger meteor to destroy the wall. He kicks Jolyne in the face, throwing her in the direction of a larger meteorite. Although Jolyne’s suffering from the pain, she doesn’t plan to give up. Westwood throws a vertical kick her way, but Jolyne avoids the attack and grabs his right leg. Westwood scoffs at her, but Jolyne remains unfazed by his crude remarks, as he fell right into her trap. During their exchange, Jolyne swiped one of his boots and uses it as a shield right as the next wave of meteors hits her. She deflects the meteor with the boot at Westwood. The boot absorbs the meteorite’s impact, so even though the meteor can’t harm Westwood, the boot sure can. Westwood reels from its impact and the heat. This allows Jolyne to deliver a devastating headbutt to his skull. Westwood soars into the air and falls to the ground with tremendous force. Jolyne declares her victory, and the episode ends with her strutting a triumphant pose.
The Episode Review
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean is picking itself back up as this episode was close to being a real spectacle. Planet Waves and Westwood are a formidable step-up from the action and villainy displayed by Sports Maximum. They managed to transform a standard security guard into a force to be reckoned with, and I adored the execution of his character. Jolyne’s fight with Westwood is a stellar example of why many fans love this franchise. Every punch, kick, and tactical manoeuvre felt impactful and devastating. Hearing Westwood and Jolyne cry out in pain as they fought sent chills down my spine. The anime’s staff utilized sound effects brilliantly in this episode to coincide with that. The crunches implemented in the fight made it feel realistic and sometimes difficult to watch (in a good way). Outside the grotesque and brutal scenes, I adored the theme surrounding this fight regarding experience versus power. Jolyne should be able to defeat Westwood easily based on past fights. However, this episode subverts those expectations when Westwood showcases his fighting experience. He manages to get the better of Jolyne multiple times in this fight, and that’s impressive for someone portrayed as this dim-witted knucklehead in the prior episode. No matter how gullible her opponents appear, Jolyne will think twice about underestimating her opponents. On that note, I argue that Jolyne’s character has undergone some mental growth. At the start of the series, she came across as an arrogant female with father issues. In time, she’s becoming more tactical and careful of her surroundings. This fight with Westwood serves as a stepping point for her to grow her skills and think more carefully about her opponents. You could argue that Ermes’s stance against her during their bout with Maximum also played a part in developing Jolyne’s character. Regardless, this fight carried a lot of weight and made for an exciting time. Anastasia’s scene with F.F. is the only oddity I found in this episode. I’m still on the fence regarding Anastasia’s affection for Jolyne. While it provided some comedy, I’m unsure if his feelings for Jolyne are genuine. I felt the scene could’ve been shortened or removed since it didn’t add any nuance to this episode. Otherwise, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean is on a roll, and I hope it continues delivering fun and exciting content from here on out. After witnessing the stellar fight between Westwood and Jolyne, I’m excited to see who she will fight next. I hope these next set of villains will leave as great of an impact on me as Westwood has.
