Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Vs. A Certain Magical Index! When two idealistic heroes collide, will the unstoppable force or the immovable object come out on top?
Intro[]
Wiz: Idealism. Not many can maintain this outlook, yet those who do shatter illusions to become unstoppable individuals.
Boomstick: And you can’t get much more idealistic OR unstoppable than Giorno Giovanna, the Gang-star and son of Dio.
Wiz: And Kamijou Touma, the wielder of the Imagine Breaker.
Boomstick: He’s Wiz and I’m Boomstick.
Wiz: And it’s our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win… a DEATH BATTLE.
Giorno[]
Wiz: Haruno Shiobana lived a tough life. Born to a single mother and left alone while she partied night after night, the young boy lived most his early years in solidarity.
Boomstick: Ah, I know the feeling. Chin up, king! Look how well I turned out, no dad required!
Wiz: …
Boomstick: *sobs*
Wiz: Eh, anyway, eventually Haruno’s mother would remarry, and together they moved to Italy. It seemed like things were finally looking up for him...
Boomstick: … except that his new dad was an abusive asshole. Not to mention the bullying he received outside of home anyway.
Wiz: Eventually, Haruno would rename himself Giorno Giovanna, to try and fit in with the locals. However, it wasn’t until one fateful day that Giorno’s life would truly change forever.
Boomstick: He came across a guy who was practically dead, and being hunted down by other gangsters. But Giorno realized, hey, screw these dickheads, he was gonna stand up for those in need! Even uh, even if they are like, also gangsters.
Wiz: Giorno unconsciously activated a bizarre ability within himself, covering the mans’ body with grass and flora. As it turned out, Giorno saved the man, who would later find the boy two months later and sincerely thanked him for his good deed.
Boomstick: And just like that, Giorno’s life turned around over NIGHT. His dad stopped beatin’ him up, the kids at school loved him, and best of all, no one made fun of his dumb hair anymore!
Wiz: This was all thanks to the stranger, who had decided to return the favor from the shadows. Using his ties as a gangster to threaten all who had previously given Giorno grief.
Boomstick: Like some kind of real-life fairy godmother. Only like, with a gun.
Wiz: And so Giorno finally knew what he had to do. He would become a Gang-star, and work his way up the Italian mafia to purge corruption from the inside.
Boomstick: And he definitely had the means to do it! Remember that grass he made grow? Well it turns out, Giorno had a Stand; Gold Experience! “OHH ALL THAT GLITTERS AINT GOOOLD”
Wiz: Gold Experience is a rather unique stand. Unlike the Stands owned by his technical relatives, Jotaro, Joseph, and Josuke-
Boomstick: Wait, he’s related to them? How?
Wiz: It’s er, complicated. Basically, Dio got around a lot when he was in possession of Jonathan Joestar’s body, so technically, Giorno is Joseph Joestar’s biological uncle.
Boomstick: HOLY SHIT!!!
Wiz: Back on topic, Gold Experience lacks the raw power of Star Platinum and Crazy Diamond, but more than makes up for it in its’ abilities. It can give life to anything it punches, whether they be inorganic or otherwise.
Boomstick: It can make a stone wall sprout vines instantly, or he can turn fabric into a real, living frog! As a certified magician myself, Gold Experience would make total bank in the business.
Wiz: The lifeforms Gold Experience creates aren’t exactly under his control, though. For instance, a snake created from a brick slab would behave exactly like any other snake, so Giorno has learned to adapt accordingly to his creations.
Boomstick: That’s not all though. If you even try attacking these things, you’ll end up with a nasty surprise; they can reflect damage too!
Wiz: Although it is fairly inconsistent, it may just be that Giorno must specifically create things with this ability in mind.
Boomstick: He can even manipulate actual living things, not just the ones he creates. Like, he could make you so perceptive you get a LITERAL out of body experience. Giorno is seriously in the wrong business, I’m telling you…
Wiz: That’s not even the full extent of Gold Experience’s capabilities. The versatility this Stand has cannot be understated; he can sense life, create literal organs, like eyes or flesh, and replace his own damaged ones, and can even clone organisms.
Boomstick: And don’t forget, unless you have a Stand too, good luck trying to hit it or even see it!
Wiz: As far as stats go, Giorno is pretty much a normal 15 year old – yes, he’s 15 – but Gold Experience is much more impressive. It’s strong enough to trash cars and buildings, and as for speed…
Boomstick: Alright, strap yourselves in, ‘cause this one’s a real doozy. *Ahem* Gold Experience was able to keep up with and defeat Sticky Fingers… yes, Sticky Fingers, in close combat. Sticky Fingers was able to do the same against Diavolo’s King Crimson, and King Crimson was able to deal some serious damage to Silver Chariot. Who, if you’ll recall from before, is really close to light speed, but not fully. That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say.
Wiz: Keep in mind there are some small issues though. As previously stated, Silver Chariot is very likely NOT light speed, but it should be relatively close. Comparing it to King Crimson, we have to remember that Polnareff, Chariot’s user, was understandably caught off-guard by King Crimsons’ time skipping abilities. However, Polnareff did eventually develop a way to predict Crimson’s movements, and could dodge it afterward.
Boomstick: So, there you have it! Gold Experience is… not light speed, but its’ probably close!
Wiz: And yet, even that is not the full extent of Giorno’s abilities. By using a Requiem Arrow, Gold Experience can unlock its’ Requiem form: Gold Experience Requiem.
Boomstick: Lazy name aside, Gold Experience Requiem, or G.E.R., is seriously scary. That face is the stuff of nightmares, but so are its’ powers.
Wiz: Unlike Gold Experience, who has no distinguishable personality or sentience, GER acts of its’ own will, independently of Giorno’s consciousness. In fact, it can even speak.
Boomstick: Again with the nightmares.
Wiz: GER has the insane ability to revert anything to ‘zero’, which basically reverts any action back to before it happened. For example, if you were to try and punch me –
Boomstick: *Throws a punch at Wiz*
Wiz: - You would keep throwing your punch, but it would always reset to the beginning before it could ever hit me.
Boomstick: *Frustratingly keeps punching*
Wiz: This ability exists beyond space and time, and apparently even affects ones’ willpower. Plus, GER retains its’ abilities from before, being powerful enough to shoot lasers that can destroy pillars.
Boomstick: But GER’s scariest power has to be the death loop. Remember how Darkseid could trap you in a loop of literally infinite deaths for all eternity? Yeah, GER can do that, too.
Wiz: Specifically, the death loops require the target to actually be killed first. But once they are, they will be trapped in a continuous, unending loop of death in a new reality each time, unable to do much of anything before GER returns their death to ‘zero’ and starts over.
Boomstick: All this to say, you really don’t want to get on Giorno’s bad side. Actually, how the hell do you even beat this guy? Is this even fair?
Wiz: Well, GER may be frankly insane, but Giorno isn’t perfect. He is, after all, still just a 15 year old, with no actual combat skill or training, and while he is quick thinking, he’s entirely reliant on the abilities of his Stand. This can be problematic. Remember that if a Stand dies, so too does the Stand user, and vice versa. While GER may be practically unbeatable, Gold Experience certainly is not.
Boomstick: Still though, when you have as many abilities as Gold Experience, with the brains of Giorno and the absolute insanity that is Gold Experience Requiem, you can bet there won’t be many standing in your way to become the number one Gang-star.
"Come what may, I refuse to give up my dream!"
Touma[]
Wiz: Welcome to Academy City. Home to the world’s finest in scientific breakthroughs, responsible for perfecting biological cloning, completely accurate weather forecast satellites, and of course, unlocking powers within many a young, bright-eyed Esper.
Boomstick: It’s like if Hogwarts was a city, and instead of magic, it was brain powers! Sign me up any day.
Wiz: Said to be 30 years ahead of the world in technological advancements, Academy City is easily the most advanced city on the globe. With so many institutions specifically designed to train, evaluate, and awaken Esper powers, there is naturally a hierarchy to those that come to study.
Boomstick: Level 5’s are your top dogs, the guys who can mind control you with the literal click of a button, shoot anything from their hands like a… well a railgun, or even control the laws of PHYSICS.
Wiz: Naturally, as you go from Level 4 and below, powers vary drastically in efficiency and power. While a Level 4 esper may be able to, say, teleport any object they touch, given it isn’t too large, a Level 3 with the same power would not be able to do so nearly as quickly or adeptly.
Boomstick: The lowest level is 0, and that basically means you have no power at all. Like, you’re a step below slightly warming objects up. That’s gotta suck.
Wiz: However, there is one Level 0 who has proven time and time again to be perhaps the most dangerous of them all, even more than the Level 5s. His name is Kamijou Touma.
Boomstick: Kamijou is pretty much your average guy, down on his luck, late for classes, often dragged into unlucky situations.
Wiz: Indeed, since childhood Touma’s luck was so terrible, people claimed him to be a “God of Pestilence” for constantly bringing misfortune no matter where he went.
Boomstick: And Touma’s dad got fed up with people treating his kid like a circus attraction, so he sent him off to Science Hogwarts hoping they could find out what his power was. Surprise! He didn’t have one.
Wiz: At least, not one that science could explain. Which is, I might add, frankly preposterous. Given enough time and research, I’m positive there is a scientific explanation for anything.
Boomstick: Oh yeah? Whats’ your science say about this! Presenting to you the unnatural, bizarre talents of the Psychic Boomstick. Watch as I use my mind to lift this can and pour the contents into my mouuuut-
Boomstick somehow lifts the beer can with his mind, but ends up dropping it on his head
Boomstick: OW
Wiz: I don’t need time and research to explain that someone like you could never master the mystic arts.
Boomstick: You could at least humor me!
Wiz: Uh huh. Anyway, Touma was labelled a Level 0: someone with absolutely no identifiable power. Yet it wouldn’t take long before tales of a certain Level 0 defeating the City’s top-ranked Esper would spread.
Boomstick: Somehow, Touma found himself in a fight with Accelerator, a guy who can literally control the direction of… well anything!
Wiz: Now may not be the time to get into the exact specifics of Accelerator's powers, but indeed, Touma truly became infamous upon defeating the once-undefeatable Accelerator. Combined with the timely encounter of a certain Nun, and Touma’s life would change forever as he became entangled in a world of magicians and espers, often colliding for control of Academy City.
Boomstick: So you may be wondering. How DID a Level 0 take down a guy powerful enough to withstand a nuke being dropped on his face?
Wiz: Touma possess the unique phenomenon known as the Imagine Breaker in his right hand. According to Index, who has memorized 103,000 magical grimoires, this power can negate anything supernatural, from esper powers, to magical spells, and even “God’s Miracles”.
Boomstick: What that means is basically that Touma constantly has terrible luck. Just by his right hand existing, it constantly erases any good luck he could possibly have. Next time a bird takes a dump on your car, remember how many times Touma must’ve taken those hits directly.
Wiz: Perhaps the most remarkable attribute of the Imagine Breaker is the fact that it is neither an esper ability, nor a magical one. Thus, it resides in a sort of gray area when it comes to interacting with other powers.
Boomstick: Its cancelled out things from natural lightning, to the literal Archangel Gabriel. All he has to do is touch whatever is attacking him, and POOF! Cancelled out, without a scratch. Or if you're literally made of magic or whatever... POOF! You vanish forever.
Wiz: However, the Imagine Breaker has limits, of course. For one, it is restricted only to his right hand. While Touma’s hand will protect him even from spells like, say, a global soul-swap, it cannot protect him if an attack hits his flesh elsewhere. Additionally, the Imagine Breaker can be stalled against with a constant projection of energy. Preoccupying Touma with a source of magical fire, for example, will not erase the source, unless Touma himself finds a way to come in contact with it.
Boomstick: That’s not all though. It turns out Touma had a DRAGON IN HIS ARM THE WHOLE TIME! Which he uh, found out after having his arm blown off. Twice. Yeah, his hand cant stop that either, no Ben 10 shenanigans here.
Wiz: The dragons that reside in Touma aren’t well known, but they are powerful enough to not only withstand but overpower an attack that could level Academy City. However, Touma doesn’t normally rely on having his arm, you know, ripped off, and he himself doesn’t understand much about his inner arm dragons either.
Boomstick: So much for being a normal guy. Touma is out here with actual DRAGONS inside his arm, fighting actual GODS on a regular basis.
Wiz: Yet despite all that, he’s still not above walking into a room of half-naked women, or having his belongings ruined after any given conflict.
Boomstick: It’s a good thing he’s got experience with the hot-headed Misaka Mikoto, because Touma is super fast too.
Wiz: Touma has fought Misaka on more than a few occasions, though never antagonistically. Still, Misaka’s lightning should clock in at well over Mach 100, and Touma reacts to her attacks regularly. Though that’s not even his most impressive feat.
Boomstick: Remember how he fought Gods? Well, one of them was Othinus, who can react to “hundreds of millions” of explosions and retaliate in the span of “an instant”.
Wiz: Reacting to that many attacks in less than a second would come out to speeds much faster than light, anywhere from 10 to 100x.
Boomstick: And Touma was able to fight with her! Like, actually fight with this God who could create universes on a whim and alter between realities just because! Oh, and that fight with Othinus? Yeah, he also died BILLIONS of times, over and over, and somehow still made it out alive!
Wiz: Don’t get mistaken, though. Touma doesn’t actually have any destructive power his own past what a really strong human would have. Touma has gotten into so many fights with magic users that he’s actually learned to read his opponents bodies in order to predict their moves, which is part of how he is able to avoid attacks from Othinus and Accelerator.
Boomstick: Now that’s badass. Imagine being one of the most powerful beings in the world, and getting beaten by some kid with no powers.
Wiz: Actually, Touma has realized how humiliating that is too. After defeating Accelerator, Touma began using his power to quite literally knock some sense into those who would do harm unto others. Though beyond his hand, his greatest weapons are his words, which have even turned the sadistic Accelerator onto a path of redemption.
Boomstick: Though I just wanna reiterate here… this kids literally just a 15 year old. He may punch hard enough to break a sword in two, and he can definitely take a beating, but he is still prone to hormones, bad grades, the works.
Wiz: Er, yeah, and you know, any kind of bodily harm. He’s not above to putting out his back from tripping on a soda can.
Boomstick: Still, this is one guy you don’t want to have a big head around.
"He's supposed to be the strongest... and I'm the weakest. LETS SEE WHO'S THE STRONGER ONE NOW!"
Intermission[]
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilties.
Boomstick: It's time for a DEATH BATTLE!!!
FIGHT![]
Touma found himself helpless lost again. The walking scientific contradiction turned to his side, letting out a deep sigh.
“Where did she go off this time? Just my luck…” Touma bemoaned.
From the corner of his half-shut eye, Touma noticed a certain bizarre sight. A young man, garbed entirely in a bright pink suit. It was more than slightly challenging to not stare a bit at the man’s exposed, heart-shaped chest window.
“Where do you think you’re going?” The stranger questioned.
“Uh… wait, me? I’m just looking for my friend. We tend to get separated a lot, haha…” Touma nervously replied, feeling a creeping feeling of trouble rising up inside him.
“A likely story.” The suited teen responded. It was only now that Touma had noticed the wasteland of bodies slumped atop and beside a street of totaled black vans. Instinctively, a gulp found its way down his throat.
The approaching figure gestured forward. “With you, I’ll finally stamp out the last of his crooked influence.” At that moment, a strange power seemed to fill the air.
“Wait, whoever it is you’re looking for, I swear I have no idea-“ Touma began flailing his arms helplessly, hoping to garner some kind of understanding.
In the blink of an eye, the accusing actor hurled a ladybug-shaped brooch toward Touma. As it flew through the air, Touma could hardly believe the sight of a suit accessory shapeshifting into a hissing serpentine, fangs blaring and tongue snaring.
Touma sidestepped narrowly, his expression changing from that of a pitiful fool to an observant combatant. The snake landed behind Touma, and curled skyward in a threatening pose.
“My name is Giorno Giovanna, and I have a dream. And I’ll see it through now!” The strange adversary revealed.
The Level 0 couldn’t waste time responding. Picking up a nearby stone, Touma gripped the bludgeon tight and swung toward the serpent. Though its undulating body writhed away, the snakes’ face was smashed against the concentrated mineral.
Giorno stood still, the destiny of his blood roaring silently. As Touma’s tensed arm slacked back in motion, he noticed the sprouting of flowers beneath his opponents’ foot. As quickly as he noticed the abnormity, the everyman was pulled down as though lassoed like an unassuming cattle.
The Gangstar began his slow approach toward his target. A jolt flashed down Touma’s spine, beckoning his lower body to thrust sideways. No more than a second passed before the ground cratered, as though an unseen mallet had taken aim for the Level 0.
Still, the new Boss of Passione was undeterred. Grasping the vines beneath his feet, Giorno heaved his victim toward him. Touma felt the drag of the sharp ground claw at his exposed skin.
Giorno lifted Touma by the collar, restricting his movement from top to bottom. With seldom a signal, Touma’s chest was met by the sudden crack of a strike, wheeling him out of the clutches of Giorno and the constricting vine.
When Touma could raise his head once more, he found himself lying on the road once more, though a considerable distance away from where he had just been. Though his back screamed out in torment, he knew better than to listen.
“How is he doing that?” Touma raced in his mind. “ He isn’t using any kind of artifact to do what he’s doing…”
The pinked predator Giorno raised his foot, slamming it into the brittle pavement. As the miniscule crumbs of roadway flew skyward, their descent was halted by a timely transformation into hawks. As though in slow motion, one could witness as the gravel sprouted wings, talons, feathers, and let loose a lively screech as they took flight.
“Such misfortune…” the Level 0 cried. Forcing himself to stand, Touma steeled himself for the triad of hawks advancing. With the swing of his fist, Touma shattered the skull of a hawk, its body plummeting as quickly as it had risen.
Giorno’s expression turned to a frown. Something wasn’t right.
“That hawk should have reflected that punch back at him. What is…?” the Boss frantically questioned, less concerned with watching as bits of Touma’s flesh was clawed off in pieces by the remaining predators.
“Come to think of it, how could he have possibly known to dodge Gold Experience? Does he actually have a Stand after all?” Giorno’s cognitive gears turned rapidly. Before he knew it, his perceived enemy stood atop three feathered corpses, soaking in a bloody stream.
“Look, if all you’re going to do is stand back and throw these things at me, then good on you. But eventually, I’ll get close enough and knock your lights out. Unless you can just stop and talk out whatever the problem here is?” Touma starkly barked, ignoring the tears and holes of blood that had found themselves all over his upper body.
“In order to see my dream through, to carve out my destined path, I’ll defeat you and his organization once and for all. That is all I have to say to you. Let your resolve speak for you now!” Giorno dashed forward, finally exerting physical force of his own.
Touma gnawed his teeth together. Breaking out into a sprint of his own, the two iron-willed youths locked sight as the distance between them closed.
“GOLD EXPERIENCE!” Giorno yelled. Touma had anticipated a close-range attack, yet his right hand failed to meet his suspected target to the right side. An impact found its way to Touma’s cheek, knocking the Level 0 to his knees.
“Hrgnh…” Touma grunted. Touma instinctively raised his palm to his wound. To his shock, his hand appeared to move as swift as the lightning he so routinely evaded from a certain Railgun. In fact, it seemed like a jar of molasses had encompassed the world to him.
Touma moved slightly, bolting to the left faster than he could possibly ever move. Turning to the right, he could see Giorno Giovanna develop a faint grin as he approached…
“Wait… that’s me!” Touma gasped, sweat dripping down his face. “What’s this…?”
Before Touma could ponder the new method of assault from his opponent, the deafening battle-cry from Giorno shut out his thoughts.
“MUDA!!!”
With that, Giorno’s soaring fist found a home in Touma once more, instantly thrusting his confused opposition back into his body.
“Guugah!” Touma flew into a nearby building, busting a curtained window open in a shattering shrill. When the high schooler came to his senses, he was bewildered once more to find Giorno standing outside the building…
“Please excuse us, sir. I promise you’re in no danger. This window here will be repaired in full by tomorrow.” The Gangstar courteously swore.
“Wait… who..?”
Touma turned his gaze across the room to discover a cluster of people equally scared and angry over the sudden arrival of the pink-suited Mafioso and the hedgehog-haired hooligan. Before he could even mutter out a “Sorry!”, Touma felt a force lift him once more before hurling him outside the window from whence he entered.
Rolling backward more cycles than comfortable, Touma staggered to his knee, teeth gritted.
“Look.” Touma uttered. “If you really think I’m your enemy, fine. So be it. But you can’t just go telling those innocent people everything will be fine when you’re out here leaving hordes of bodies, littering their streets!” He waved toward the street of trashed transports, decorated in suited bodies. He couldn’t tell if they were dead, or close to it, but Giorno’s contempt toward Touma didn’t seem promising.
Giorno’s head tilted, as though he were equally amused and confused. Standing proud yet controlled, Giorno began to respond.
“Do you have any idea what these peoples’ lives are like? For years, they lived in dependence of a faceless savior, with no hope for the law to abide their needs. What I’ve done is sever the head of their dependence that failed them, filling their children with drugs and dumping their fathers behind alleys. I’ve dreamt of nothing but doing right by them. My resolve has yet to fail me.” The blond-haired youth firmly rebutted.
Touma was standing now, his fists clenched in anger.
“So you’re going to replace a corrupt person, is that right? And you think that if you just muscle your way to power, everyone will suddenly be okay, . If you can’t see that, then you’re truly delusional.”
Silence set in for a moment. The teenagers stood in defiance of each other, angrily tensing themselves by the second. Finally, Touma would break the silence.
“I… will destroy that screwed up illusion of yours!” the wielder of the Imagine Breaker roared, bursting through the hesitant air.
“GOLD EXPERIENCE!” Touma’s senses flared once more. Giorno was raising his arm to swing, yet it was almost like… he was guiding something, and not actually intending to land his own fist. Touma’s right fist shifted trajectory; where once he would aim for Giorno’s face, he twisted left in anticipation of the invisible force the Gangstar apparently had.
The signature resonance of the Imagine Breaker rung out. In that instant, Giorno Giovanna stood speechless. Though Touma could be none the wiser, what the Passione boss witnessed was unprecedented. Upon colliding with Touma’s fist, Gold Experience began to vanish, as though it were vaporized. Precious few seconds later, Giorno would meet the curb that Touma had grown so accustomed to.
Giorno’s brain scrambled. Touma did have some kind of power after all! No one has ever been able to dispel a Stand. Was this the work of an enemy Stand? Or something more? He still could not see any signs of Touma possessing a Stand of his own. These questions would go unanswered, as Touma continued to deliver blows to the son of DIO.
“Hrhgh!” Giorno grunted in pain. He was used to receiving pain, but never so… directly. Never without the method of some kind of Stand. Still, it mattered not. Giorno had resolved long ago to stamp out the entirety of Diavolo’s web of power. After dedicating all his effort, he wouldn’t let this final obstacle stop him.
“Gold Experience!” Giorno cried, his voice reeling as he narrowly staggered away from a storm of fists from Touma. GioGio felt a wave of relief soar through his bones as the familiar golden spirit reappeared. As quickly as he could possibly consider, Giorno bore Gold Experience’s fists into the ground, erecting a tree.
Touma stepped back, the expanding bark throwing off his assault. Looking up, Giorno grasped at the branches atop his perch. A tactical retreat?
Giorno reached inside his suit. He knew little of it, but his trump card would set things straight. With a triumphant resolve, Giorno slammed his fists into the top of the brick building he now stood at level with. From the peak sprouted a root, burrowing through the infrastructure and producing another tree, this time below Touma’s feet.
Of course, the Level 0 knew this had to be a trap. Despite this, Touma knew he had no better opportunity for a clear knockout than to utilize the opportunity his opponent had provided him. As the tree expanded upward, Touma’s view of Giorno cleared. He was holding what appeared to be a giant, studded golden arrow.
Touma threw himself up, his Imagine Breaker clenched and arched at his side, determined to finish his foe off. As Kamijou Touma threw himself up, Giorno Giovanna tossed the arrow above his head, catching it once more with his Stand. With an unflinching thrust, the floating arrow thrust itself down.
The Imagine Breaker crushed Gold Experience’s flesh, as though cracking a shell. The Stand deteriorated once more. Yet, Touma couldn’t possibly have guessed the true purpose of the Requiem Arrow, which he had neglected to aim at.
Kamijou Touma found himself staring at Giorno, whose apparent and subsequent levitation was a result of the arrow.
“This ends now. Let’s see how your resolve holds up against Gold Experience Requiem.” Giorno coldly demanded. Touma, of course, could only guess at the meaning of such words. ‘Gold Experience’? What kind of magic is that, Touma wondered. But he could hardly waste time thinking. The facts were straight, Giorno was floating, and whatever this new power-up was, he couldn’t stand to waste any time letting it get the upper hand. Touma charged forward once more, prepared to knock his eccentric enemy off the building – and his ego.
The fist never landed. Gold Experience Requiem’s radiant energy exercised itself in the form of a golden aura beside Giorno. That much, Kamijou could still recognize. Surrounding the two adolescents, however, resembled more of a distant, barren land in space, perhaps resembling even the end of the world.
“What is this?!” Touma shrieked. Glancing at his person, it appeared as though he were in a mirror room, splitting his sight into many separate copies. Touma couldn’t quite tell if this was a vision, alternate dimension, or mental projection. But the goal remained the same.
“There’s no use trying it.” A voice monotonously declared. Touma could only imagine the source, as it came from beside Giorno. Giorno’s blank stare and closed mouth indicated Touma’s suspicions, at least somewhat, of an outside force working in tandem with the Gangstar.
“Your ability is troublesome, Kamijou. It is true that your hand possesses the power to erase Stands. But you will never arrive at the truth your hand strives for.” The Stand spoke, robotically.
Touma could feel a bizarre force overtaking his very being. Suppressing his will to fight, to be. Amid the vacant, sprawling space scape he found himself in, Touma’s mind began to run blank. Gold Experience Requiem’s fixed gaze and silent presence remained.
Touma screamed, lunging forward spontaneously. Within an instant, or perhaps over a millennia, or perhaps it may never truly even be quantifiable, Touma’s Imagine Breaker delivered a deafening, skull-fracturing blow to Giorno’s head. As instantly as Gold Experience Requiem’s power dissolved, so too did the bizarre, otherworldly scenery. Suddenly, Touma was back on the roof, standing over a bloodied and bruised Giorno.
“…How? That… isn’t possible…!” Giorno grunted, grasping his face in pain. “Gold Experience Requiem… how could…?”
Touma shook his arm off, blood from Giorno’s face flying off his palm.
“You’re crazy. Whatever noise you can spew, whatever bizarre abilities you think are infallible, I’ll shatter them, too.” Touma exclaimed, his sight of the injured Giorno accompanied by the background of the town. Somehow, the collective normalcy of it all gave him comfort after experiencing yet another reality-bending power.
Giorno's body tensed. Though his Requiem Stand’s power had proven fruitless against Touma, he still had his innate powers to rely on. And this, Giorno wasted no time in doing. Gold Experience Requiem’s power surged once more, lifting the Gangstar above the roof.
Gold Experience Requiem remained perfectly still, lifting chunks of the roof with levitation. With the flick of a finger, dozens of concrete plates accelerated at a rate faster than light. Touma’s mind flashed, overriding his body’s screams of pain: he turned, leaping back to the tree he had been shuttled upward. Though his body’s contortion narrowly evaded most of the concrete lasers, the Level 0 was tagged in his right shoulder by a stray.
“HAAGH!” Touma cried out, his body latching desperately to the bark of the tree. His shoulder blown open, he could scarcely muster the strength to hold on much longer. However, the concrete ammo was far from just projectile weaponry. As all twelve pieces made their descent through the air, they began to shift their form into those of scorpions. All it took was a single stinger to find its’ way to Touma, and Touma knew this. Weighing the options rapidly, he let loose, sliding down the tree’s rugged, spintered bark. As he reached the base, his feet trembled at the weight of their fall.
Giorno looked down at the worn-out Level 0. Finally, the chase would come to an end. Touma was once again greeted by the Boss as he struggled to regain his bearings.
As victory lay within reach, Giorno decided to omit anymore speeches. The great days ahead were about to finally reach the actualization he had dreamt for.
“MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA… MUDAAAA!!!!!!”[]
Giorno’s vocal chords writhed in release. Gold Experience Requiem’s rapid assault lashed through the space between Giorno and Touma. If one could observe the visceral rush of Giorno’s attack, it might even resemble a golden wind.
“Hghh…” Giorno grunted. His Golden Stand’s final swing rung out with a crashing THOOOM, obliterating the immediate ground nearby. As the dust and debris fell, Giorno began to walk away.
“What?!” Giorno turned, once again in disbelief. Gold Experience Requiem was nowhere to be seen. Though his sight was still obstructed from the wake of his intensive attack, Giorno could see one silhouette – an open hand, outstretched forward.
It was as though time itself had skipped forward. Giorno could hardly recall the moments leading from this observation, to that which resulted in his face meeting the very same hand.
Touma’s fists found their target again, then again, and once more. For a moment, only the unrelenting echo of beaten flesh could be heard. Then, the distinctly deafening sound of a crack.
Giorno Giovanna’s face lie a mushed, bloodied mess, contorted and twisted beyond recovery. For his part, Touma could let out no more than a grunt before collapsing beside his fallen opponent.
K.O!
Verdict[]
Boomstick: Okay, how the hell did a normal guy take down Gold Experience REQUIEM?
Wiz: I know it may seem farfetched, but there’s a good explanation as to why. Touma might have had the perfect way to survive Giorno’s trump card, but it certainly wasn’t clear cut. Let’s take a look at their speed first.
Boomstick: Touma has tangled with Misaka Mikoto, giving him plenty of experience dodging lightning, which we’ve even see is at least comparable to natural lightning, if not literally sometimes.
Wiz: Though more importantly, Touma was able to react and dodge attacks from Othinus. Recall that Othinus was able to react to hundreds of millions of attacks - and release her own counters - within an instant. While we don’t know exactly how fast “an instant” is, if we assume it to be less than 1 second, that would mean Othinus can react AND attack at lightspeed. Comparatively, Giorno’s best speed feats come from scaling to other Stand users, but this process is fallible and prone to contextual variables. Even if we give Giorno the benefit of the doubt, he would only be able to match Touma at lightspeed combat, which Touma has proven time and time again to be capable of evading. And while Touma wouldn’t be able to see Stands, his precognitive ability, which enabled him to evade Othinus’s instantaneous and dimensional-warping attacks, would more than suffice against an opponent he only needs to touch once.
Popup: While Gold Experience Requiem is stated to have infinite or at least undefinable speed, this seems to only apply to its immunity to time-sensitive abilities. In actual combat against Diavolo, it was faster than base, but nowhere near “infinite”.
Boomstick: Touma had the experience too. While Giorno is super smart and great at battling, he had never even used his Stand on another human before fighting Bucciarati, and he became the Passione boss in a WEEK.
Wiz: On the other hand, Touma has fought expert magicians and deadly espers nearly every day for months, even playing a key role in World War 3, and, in his encounter with the aforementioned Othinus, was subjected to torture via endless death for billions of years. This would give Touma DRASTICALLY more experience fighting an opponent who is likely faster, if not as fast as Giorno, who also operates on a similar power level.
Popup: While Eyes of Heaven is non-canon, it is one of the few media in which Gold Experience Requiem appears. In it, GER is shown to be vulnerable to Reality Warping on a universal level. Touma, on the other hand, has reality warping powerful enough to negate Othinus’ Gungnir, a weapon which destroyed multiple universes. And while Giorno may not have been prepared for it, he was also unable to prevent Pucci’s universe reset in canon, indicating the Stand’s limitations.
Boomstick: Speaking of which, obviously Touma wasn’t going to go around busting planets or anything, but he was able to negate the powers of Accelerator, a guy who IS planet level. Gold Experience Requiem was nowhere close in physical might. Yeah, it could flick rocks hard enough to destroy pillars, and it was able to kill Diavolo in one rapid-fire burst, but Diavolo is just a normal human, and we’ve seen Stands like Star Platinum do way worse to way more resilient beings, like DIO.
Popup: The use of the Dragons within Touma’s arm are unlikely to be used, given Touma’s own lack of knowledge of them, but if they were to be involved, they would likely top Gold Experience Requiem in raw strength. Even if we assume GER is equal to Star Platinum in striking power, it still wouldn’t compare to the Dragons who were able to overpower Level 6 Misaka’s city-busting attack.
Wiz: The Imagine Breaker passively protected Touma from a planet-spanning spell that swapped the souls of everyone on Earth. Seeing how Gold Experience Requiem seems to activate its’ revert-to-zero ability passively, it’s unlikely it would actually work on Touma, or at least, not for long.
Boomstick: And well, there shouldn’t be any question about the Imagine Breaker working on Stands. They are called personifications of your spirit, after all, and Touma’s hand to a spirit is like a needle to a balloon. And while Stands can phase through things, they still usually resort to actual punches, so all it would take is one of those for Touma to take advantage of.
Popup: It’s unclear what exactly would happen if Giorno’s Stand was dispelled. However, even if that didn’t kill him instantly, Touma is vastly superior in a brawl and would easily defeat Giorno in that state.
Wiz: Ironically, Giornos best bet here was to rely on Gold Experience’s life-granting powers, which actually proved to be a suitable tactic. While Touma could negate the existence of illusions or magical creations, he couldn’t expel creations that were completely organic and natural like Gold Experiences. Although, Touma could bypass the reflection of Accelerator, whose vector reflection could protect him from a nuke, so there’s no way Giorno’s reflective abilities in his life creations would pose a threat to Touma.
Popup: Gold Experience’s out-of-body inducement would possibly be an ace in Giorno’s favor, but it is likely that Touma could dispel the effect naturally, or at least recover much quicker than normal people would. In the past, Touma’s body has been filled with magic, only for the magic to be negated entirely once it reached his hand.
Boomstick: Yeah, there’s probably a few instances where Giorno’s versatility nabs him the win without even pulling out the Requiem Arrow or relying on reflective damage.
Wiz: But more often than not, Touma’s superior experience, perfect counters, and superior evasion gave him all he needed to prevail.
Boomstick: Giorno just got Giorn-owned.
Wiz: The winner is Kamijou Touma.
Bonus[]
Connections:
- Giorno and Touma are around the same age, but neither particularly act or look like it. Touma can take far more physical punishment than a normal boy his age, and Giorno, despite being considerably more lean than other Jojos, is still remarkably buff, if his chest opening is any indication.
- Giorno and Touma exemplify the "Immovable object Vs. Unstoppable force" trope. Gold Experience Requiem is unstoppable for a large number of potential opponents, while the Imagine Breaker is nearly completely immovable by most of Touma's potential opponents. Combing the two broken abilties, of course, results in the Imagine Breaker prevailing, as it was designed to do.
- Both Giorno and Touma are incredibly idealistic and have noble, if somewhat naive, ideals. Giorno strives to topple Diavolo so he can cease the selling of drugs to kids, but has no problems with the rest of the mafia's actions. Touma is similarly naive, but in a different way. He gives deadly magicians and espers the benefit of doubt frequently (after beating them up) and hopes they change their ways. Sometimes they do, but not always.
- Both Giorno and Touma, by the very nature of their abilities, are incredibly unremarkable by their own individual physical stats. Gold Experience (Requiem) and the Imagine Breaker completely carry them in fights, where they are otherwise completely normal people.
