Joseph's Thompson Ripple Overdrive didn't just catch Straizo off guard - it blindsided the audience as well. In a matter of seconds, countless viewers felt that familiar twinge in their backs, the kind of pain that doesn't come from tension, but from laughing too hard at the worst possible moment, faced with something so absurd and so brilliant at the same time.
By then, the contrast between Joseph and Jonathan had become impossible to ignore. Not just in the way they spoke or carried themselves, but in their entire philosophy of combat. Jonathan confronted evil head-on, with honor, clenched fists, and the quiet acceptance that sacrifice was simply part of the path. Joseph, on the other hand, treated every fight like a rigged game - one where survival was the only rule that actually mattered.
One fought like a knight.
The other like a gifted con artist who refused to die young.
Unfortunately for Joseph - and fortunately for the spectacle - bullets, even when infused with Ripple, weren't exactly kryptonite to a centuries-old vampire. The opening barrage was stylish, loud, cinematic… and completely insufficient.
But that was only the surface.
While the audience was still processing the fact that the protagonist had pulled out a machine gun in the middle of a supernatural battle, Joseph had already finished the most important part of his plan. As he peppered Straizo with gunfire, he'd casually planted grenades behind him, with the ease of someone scattering breadcrumbs along the way.
When Joseph tossed a single grenade forward, Straizo reacted on instinct - a sharp, contemptuous swat, as if brushing aside something unworthy of attention.
That was the moment the world exploded.
BOOM - !!
The blast swallowed the entire restaurant. Tables, walls, shards of glass, and fire were hurled outward as if the building itself had decided to self-destruct out of sheer shame. The impact was so violent that, for a heartbeat, it seemed impossible that anything could have survived.
And yet…
Even reduced to grotesque chunks of flesh strewn across the floor, Straizo's body began to reassemble. Bones slid back into place. Muscles twisted and reformed. Flesh sealed itself shut, as if reality itself were being openly defied.
Smokey froze completely. His voice trembled, small and fragile.
"J-Jojo… do you still have a way… to beat that monster?"
Joseph scratched his head, thoughtful, like he was choosing an ice cream flavor.
"Yeah… I do," he said calmly. "One last method. My ultimate trump card."
Then he pointed at Straizo's legs.
"See? After that explosion, his legs are gonna take a while to regenerate. And that means… we've gotta use our legs too."
Smokey blinked.
"Our… legs?"
Joseph didn't explain.
He simply turned around and ran.
"RUN, SMOKEY! USE YOUR LEGS TO RUN!"
"WHAT!?"
The shock was instant. Not just inside the scene, but outside it as well.
The audacity was staggering. There was no mental preparation possible for this. Joseph wasn't trying to look brave. He wasn't pretending to be heroic. He was being honest.
Honestly cowardly.
Honestly clever.
Honestly alive.
And somehow, that made him even more charming.
In the final stretch of the battle, Joseph lured Straizo to an isolated bridge, far from any civilians. In that last, razor-thin moment - balanced between victory and death - he channeled Ripple into a wine glass, used its reflection to return the Space Ripper Stingy Eyes, and flipped the entire fight with such precision it felt like cheating.
The victory didn't come from strength.
It came from brains.
From timing.
From sheer nerve.
Before dying, Straizo revealed critical information about the Pillar Men. Joseph listened carefully, already mapping out the next step.
Mexico.
When the episode ended, many viewers collapsed back into their seats, only then realizing how tense they'd been. Stiff shoulders. Locked jaws. Breath held for far too long.
The sensation was painfully familiar.
It was the same feeling they'd had weeks ago while following Bleach - that mix of exhilaration, pleasant exhaustion, and the uneasy certainty that stopping now was simply not an option.
The comments were no longer cautious. They were confessions.
"It's back. All of it. Only Alex can make a show feel like this."
"You can tell Joseph's Ripple is weaker than Jonathan's, but he still wins."
"He's unbearable. If he can't win with Ripple Overdrive, he wins with leg overdrive."
"The grandpa jumps into danger for strangers. The grandson asks why he should care. I love it."
In a single episode, Alex had introduced a new Joestar without erasing the old one - without repeating formulas, without apologizing for changing everything.
The conclusion was almost unanimous.
"This protagonist is insane."
Not just compared to Jonathan, but compared to almost any recent hero. Joseph didn't pose. He didn't preach. He used fear, sarcasm, and intelligence as weapons - and made it feel completely natural.
"See?" someone commented excitedly, clapping. "This is Alex's real power."
Meanwhile, somewhere far from the laughter and noise, Rebeca Verne stared silently at her phone screen.
She searched for her own film.
Bronze Pavilion.
Rating: 5.2.
She didn't react right away. She simply took a slow breath and typed in another title.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency.
Rating: 8.9.
Rebeca remained there for a long moment, eyes fixed on the numbers.
Then, slowly, something hardened in her gaze. It wasn't envy. Nor anger. It was understanding.
This time, there was no pretending it was bad luck.
No blaming trends.
No hiding behind coincidence.
The difference was right there, unmistakable.
And for the first time in a long while, she knew exactly where she stood - and just how far she still had to go.
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