- —Tagline
Joker VS Giorno is the 189th episode of Death Battle, featuring Joker from the Persona series and Giorno Giovanna from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series in a battle between rebellious spirit-summoning criminals. Joker was voiced by Kevin Rivera and Giorno was voiced by Kieran Regan.
Interlude
The episode opens with Gold Experience and Arsène clashing in mid-air, which pauses and grays out as Ringmaster shouts...
The screen then statics into playing the Death Battle intro.
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Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates  
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Boomstick: Joker versus Giorno!
Wiz: The Phantom Thief of Hearts and JoJo's golden Gang-Star.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
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.
Joker
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Wiz: Ren Amamiya wasn't prepared for this to happen. When he witnessed an innocent woman being harassed and stepped in, he had no idea her assailant was one of Japan's most prominent politicians.
Boomstick: Poor Ren was forced to leave town, lose friends, and transfer to Shujin Academy. There's definitely more fun ways to ruin your life.
Wiz: But his run-ins with corrupt authority figures was only just beginning.
Boomstick: One might call it a theme, and it wouldn't just be dealing with your garden-variety scumbag gym teachers. Ren and his new friends found themselves in a whole new world: the Metaverse!
Questionable footage of Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms appears on-screen as horror choirs play.
Boomstick: Ugh! Less scary!
The footage switches back to that of Persona clips.
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Starlit Skies by James Patrick Taylor
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Boomstick: Yeah, that one.
Wiz: Derived from the works of Carl Jung, this Collective Unconscious is like an alternate reality formed from the amalgamated thoughts and feelings of mankind. What humans believe, or even what they fear, directly shapes it.
Boomstick: And inside this crazy mental realm, those who have been corrupted by power and abuse the weak have become evil superpowers, just like how they're viewed by many of their victims in the real world, victims like Ren and his friends: Ryuji, Ann, Makoto, Pancakes, and... the animal.
Wiz: They may have been hopeless against crushing institutional might in the real world, but in the Metaverse, they had a way to fight back: Personas!
Boomstick: As part of the summoner's inner self, Personas can become incredibly powerful spirits.
Wiz: By using their Personas to battle their foes in the Metaverse and steal their "Hearts," the source of their moral corruption, Ren and company could cause such foes to repent in the real world, so the friends formed a band called the "Phantom Thieves," with Ren as their leader codenamed "Joker".
Boomstick: And Joker's first Persona was the awesome Arsène!
Wiz: With razor-sharp claws and the ability to curse enemies with dark energy, Arsène was an excellent Persona... to start with.
Boomstick: But Joker's a Wild Card, literally! He can capture as many Personas as he wants. He's gotta catch 'em all 'cause they each have their own crazy powers, from shooting fire, ice, and lightning to dishing out status effects, healing, and resistances to lobbing actual nukes at the baddies.
Wiz: So Joker can fight with manifestations of deities like Beelzebub, Odin, and—
Mara is then shown on-screen.
Wiz: Jesus Christ!
Boomstick: Wow! He looks way different than in the paintings I've seen.
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Bust-up Of The Brave C by Andrew John Glen
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Boomstick: Oh hey, did you know that a Persona is connected to their user's own stamina? So, when a Persona is shattered, even though it's not like "dead" dead, it does rattle the user pretty badly.
Wiz: Well, without his Personas, Joker can still rely on his guns, grappling hook, smoke bombs, et cetera.
Boomstick: Might not sound like much compared to summoning actual Satan, but in the Metaverse, perception is reality. No really, it actually works like that.
Wiz: In the real world, Joker's gun is only a prop. However, with Joker's reputation in the Metaverse, this prop becomes a god killer. As the Phantom Thieves' reputation increased, so did their power, simply because that's how they were perceived.
Boomstick: Kinda like how Personas are empowered by the Social Links Joker possesses with his friends. Yes, in the world of Persona, hanging out with your buds makes you stronger. Anime... game!
Wiz: At their max, Social Links can bring a Wild Card user back from the brink of death, instilling them with willpower greater than the rest of humanity combined. I guess meticulously gardening your friends like a sociopath has its benefits.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick, with the Death Battle Lab's monitor showing the Persona 5 loading screen of Joker with the caption "Take your time". While they speak, their dialogue is shown on-screen in the same style as Persona 5's dialogue boxes.
Boomstick: Hey Wiz... Have a cold one on me!
Wiz: Uh... Thanks.
Wiz accepts Boomstick's beer as we see Boomstick's Confidant with Wiz, with him having the Hierophant Arcana reach its max rank of 10.
Wiz: Ah, looks like our relationship meter's maxed out!
Boomstick: Oh yeah... Welp, guess there's no point to us hanging out anymore!
We cut back to the analysis.
Boomstick: Later loser! I'm gonna go do untested pharmaceuticals and date my teacher!
Wiz: Aw... Wait, date your WHAT?!
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Wiz: Ahem, over the course of his adventures leading the Phantom Thieves, Joker's bonds made him as powerful as the gods he commands. He can dodge Lucifer's Morning Star, which summons an energy beam that travels several lightyears in seconds. Millions of times faster than light.[Note 1]
Boomstick: Or survive a cheeseburger that exploded big enough to eclipse a nebula! Talk about having stomach problems. No wonder Joker can face off opponents that can reshape all of reality.
Wiz: Like Maruki, who used the Metaverse to rewrite all of reality to fit his desires.
Boomstick: Or Yaldabaoth, who merged the real world and Metaverse together.
Wiz: It was in this battle with Yaldabaoth that Joker upgraded Arsène to create Satanael, the biblical angel of vengeance.
Boomstick: With a big ass gun! Perceive this reality, bitch!
Wiz: Its primary attack, Sinful Shell, is imbued with what is known as Almighty energy, which can bypass any defense, even that from the Omnipotent Orb, which can explicitly rewrite reality.
Boomstick: Yes, very good. BIG. ASS. GUN, Wiz!
Wiz: And with a shot heard around the world, Joker and his friends proved that you're never too young to change society for the better, no matter how arduous the forces against you may be.
Boomstick: If "The Man" is keeping you down, just call up the Phantom Thieves to put them in their place. They'll never see it coming!
Giorno Giovanna
Wiz: As far back as he could remember, Giorno Giovanna always wanted to be a gangster.
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The Swinging Parade by Alan Moorhouse
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Boomstick: 'Cause damn, it feels good to be a gangster! Gone are the days of leaving horse heads in your enemy's bed or squeezing their head in a vice till they pop! Giorno wanted to be a different kind of gangster.
Wiz: A more... progressive, metrosexual kind of mob boss.
Boomstick: A "Gang-Star"!
Wiz: A shy, withdrawn boy on the streets of Naples, Giorno's life changed the day he saved a wounded mobster.
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Chaos by Samy Simon Zouari
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Wiz: In return, he was rewarded with future protection from abuse and isolation. This act of reciprocal kindness convinced Giorno of the value of the mob as a social organization. If only it was commanded by the right person.
Boomstick: Someone like Giorno. All he had to do was take control of the Neapolitan mafia, Passione, and their army of superpowered assassins. Ambitious? Maybe. But hey, he's the bastard son of the insane vampire douche lord himself... Dio Brando!
Wiz: Who conceived Giorno while possessing the body of his arch-enemy, Jonathan Joestar. This technically makes Giorno both a Brando and a JoJo.
Boomstick: Hence the name... "GioGio". Get it?
Wiz: Well, he didn't just inherit the name but also the Joestar bloodline's power; Giorno possesses a Stand: Gold Experience.
Boomstick: Stands are invisible, intangible, punchy ghosts that protect their user and come with incredible superpowers, like stopping time, making fiction into reality, or... cooking Italian food– goddamn, gimme that one!
Wiz: And Giorno's Gold Experience has perhaps the greatest potential of any Stand in the series; with just a touch, it can imbue inanimate objects with golden life energy.
Boomstick: Turning them into any plant or animal in an instant, and back again. Giorno uses this with maximum creativity, like disguising a gun as a banana so you accidentally blow your own brains out! A gorilla's worst nightmare.
Wiz: Giorno is frankly a super genius when it comes to Gold Experience's abilities.
Boomstick: Like transforming bullets into flesh to heal the very wounds they made, or changing a brick into a snake that can detect body heat and find a hidden enemy, or turning his teeth into a special kind of jellyfish that filters out the toxins in the piss he was drinking. I thought I was the only one who did that!
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Wiz: Should the object Giorno gives life to be part of a greater whole, like turning a tooth into a fly, it will attempt to return to its original source.
Boomstick: Not only that, any damage Giorno's creations receive will be reflected onto the opponent.
Wiz: Giorno can even imbue living things with this same energy. This supercharges the target's consciousness, causing them to outpace their physical body, and leaving them totally helpless to counterattack.
Boomstick: It might seem like you got 10 times faster, but you're actually experiencing time at a way slower rate while your body is stuck in the same position. Imagine a "muda" to the nuts felt for 20 straight seconds! Fuhgeddaboudit!
Wiz: Especially when you're hitting as hard as Gold Experience. According to the JOJOVELLER artbook written by the mangaka himself, Gold Experience has a speed rating of "A", putting him in the same league as Stands like Star Platinum and Silver Chariot, which are faster than light.
Boomstick: And although his strength stat is only a "C", he can still shatter cars like glass and keep up with "A" strength Stands like Sticky Fingers. Perfect for a merciless Stand rush that lasts seven pages long! Daddy DIO must be so proud.
Wiz: With Gold Experience at his side, Giorno joined Passione, and rose to challenge its reclusive leader, Diavolo.
Boomstick: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. "Diavolo"?! You're telling me that Giorno, the son of God, battles the Devil,[Note 2] just like Jesus, who's full biblical name is "Yeshua", or "Joshua... ben Joseph"... "Joshua Joseph"... "JoJo"!
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Wiz: We're moving on! Diavolo's goal was to get his hands on a Stand Arrow, and when a Stand is pierced by a Stand Arrow, it evolves.
Boomstick: So, Gio got it first, and transformed Gold Experience into the most broken thing in anime... Gold Experience Requiem!
Wiz: Requiem Stands change the rules entirely; it's almost like they elevate your Stand beyond the need for combat. Gold Experience Requiem can, in short, negate any action taken against him and return it to a state of "zero", shifting reality back to square one.
Boomstick: Let's say I woke up this morning, got myself a gun, and fired it at Giorno. With Gold Experience Requiem, no matter how accurate I am, the shot will always miss... because I never fired my gun!
Wiz: That is "Return To Zero"... and also a horrific example of gun safety. This applies to any attack made against Requiem, including from Diavolo's Stand, King Crimson, which can infamously skip time, erasing the universe for 10 seconds! And Requiem negated THAT.
Boomstick: It undid time being erased. While time was already erased, which meant there was no time to un-erase the erased time and... I... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!
An error popup appears on-screen, displaying the error message "Boomstick stopped working".
Wiz: That's right, Boomstick. Requiem's ability acts independently of time itself. Sound crazy? Well, Requiem can counter the Stand Made in Heaven, which can accelerate time across the whole universe into infinity! So that kind of range of Requiem's ability is actually consistent.
Boomstick: It also reduces your willpower to zero, so you can't even fight back!
Wiz: Even your death can be returned to zero.
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Time Will Remember Us by Gabriel R Shadid
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Wiz: After pummeling Diavolo into pulp, Requiem prevented him from dying, forcing him to relive the experience of being killed over and over in a series of never-ending alternate universes. For ETERNITY!
Boomstick: Just when you thought you were out, Requiem pulls you back in! The second you hear that piano start playing... run!
Wiz: And so, Giorno took control of Passione and turned it into the peace-keeping social organization he always dreamed about.
Boomstick: With its streets free of drugs, Italy's youth can rest easy. Their hopes and dreams could be carried into the future on a Golden Wind. Vento Aureo!
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Death Battle
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On a black screen with a UI reminiscent of the loading screens in Persona 5 that shows Giorno's Security Level at 100%, two familiar voices can be heard in the background.
Giorno: Gold Experience!
Joker: Go, Arsène!
The screen cuts to the inside of an elaborate Palace in the Metaverse, where Giorno Giovanna's Stand, Gold Experience, and Ren Amamiya's Persona, Arsène, clash before sending each other back. Giorno sits atop a golden throne as Joker challenges him.
Joker: Giorno Giovanna, your heart is twisted! It is ours to take...
Joker sends Arsène out to unleash Cleave. Gold Experience narrowly avoids the attack as Giorno sits there, unnerved, as Cleave slices through the Phantom Thieves' Calling Card he was holding and part of his throne. He then casually flicks the split card away as he refutes his opponent.
Giorno: Sciocci fantasmi![Note 3] My dreams aren't yours to take.
Joker takes out his gun and shoots several bullets forward, which Gold Experience punches to transform into bees. When that does not work, he commands Arsène to cast Maeigaon.
Joker: Persona!
A dark flame suddenly engulfs Gold Experience, followed by Giorno grunting in pain as the flames are also inflicted on him.
Joker: Heh, he'll never see it coming.
Arsène rushes forward to engage the enemy further. Gold Experience on the other hand charges at Arsène yet again and throws his punch. Joker, seizing the opportunity, uses his grappling hook to swing above the Stand and Persona towards Giorno and aims his gun at him.
Joker: Checkmate.
Joker fires three shots from his gun, but they do nothing, revealing to him that his own consciousness is outpacing his physical body as one of his bullets turned bees buzz past it, leaving him wide open for Gold Experience to rush a flurry of punches at Arsène.
Gold Experience: Mudamudamudamudamudamudamuda MUDA!
As Gold Experience throws the final punch of his flurry and breaks Arsène, Joker's consciousness returns to his body, feeling the damage from his Persona. Giorno then rushes towards Joker alongside Gold Experience to give Joker a beatdown, with Giorno holding Joker down for Gold Experience to throw a flurry of kicks at Joker before Giorno knocks him away.
Joker is sent back a few feet but quickly uses his grappling hook to again swing upwards before Gold Experience can punch him. From there, Joker calls out another Persona:
Joker: Alice!
Alice: Die for Me!
Giorno chases after Gold Experience as he recollects what just happened.
Giorno: Impossible! A second Stand...
Suddenly, teddy bears with bombs on their chests from Alice's attack start appearing as Gold Experience fends them off until they overwhelm Giorno. The two then jump in the air before Gold Experience punches the ground as they land, summoning giant beanstalks around the Palace to get rid of the bears. Joker swings through the area until Gold Experience grabs his grappling hook.
Giorno: (laughs) You never took the time to understand my Gold Experience.
As Giorno says this, Gold Experience turns Joker's grappling hook into a snake. Startled, Joker fires a few bullets at it to prevent it from attacking him, but the shots are reflected back to and injure him instead, dramatically shifting the color hue of the fight.
As he falls, he notices Giorno and Golden Experience on one of the beanstalks' leaves and aims his gun at Giorno once more as Gold Experiences heals his wounds and a bee buzzes on past his head.
Giorno: All objects given life by Gold Experience desire to return home.
Still aiming his gun, Joker notices the bees fly back into its barrel, causing it to implode and the color palette to shift back to normal once they turn back into bullets inside the gun. As Joker flinches from his weapon's destruction, Gold Experience flies towards him and gives Joker another flurry of punches.
Gold Experience: Mudamudamudamudamudamudamuda MUDA!
Gold Experience then delivers a powerful kick, sending Joker crashing into one of the beanstalks and onto the floor. Injured, he gets up and gathers what he witnessed from their fight so far.
Joker: Nnff... (thinking) His Persona creates life... I've got to nullify that. (out loud) Jack Frost! Ice Age!
Jack Frost: Hee-hohoho!
Upon being summoned, Jack Frost releases a blizzard that freezes the area, including the beanstalks. In an effort to turn the scales, Giorno brings out his Stand Arrow and pierces Gold Experience as they are about to freeze. As they get encased in ice, a glow occurs within it and breaks, revealing Giorno and his evolved Stand: Gold Experience Requiem. Joker then runs towards Giorno until he hears an echo.
Joker: (echoing) Jack Frost! Ice Age! Ice Age! Ice Age!
Joker stops and turns to see past versions of himself for each second as Giorno explains what is happening, all while Gold Experience Requiem readies a punch.
Giorno: This, sciocco fantasma,[Note 4] is justice! This is Requiem!
After a dramatic zoom-in on Giorno's eyes, Gold Experience Requiem throws a long flurry of punches at Joker with "muda" kanji (脅威) appearing for every punch, delivering devastating hits on him.
Gold Experience Requiem: Muda muda muda muda mudamudamudamudamudamudaMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA! MUDA!!!
Being dealt an infinite amount of damage, Joker gets slammed to the wall, splattering blood behind him as he falls to the ground and draws his final breath. Now trapped in Requiem's death loop, Ren is placed in an interrogation room, where an unseen assailant points a silenced pistol at him, ready to kill. However, while strings of menacing kanji (ゴ) rise around him and the screen is slowly enveloped by a golden aura, he hears the calls of the rest of the Phantom Thieves echoing in his head.
Ann: Hey, are you okay?
Futaba: Joker?
Yusuke: I won't allow it! Joker!
Sumire: Keep fighting! You can do it!
Ann: Snap out of it!
Akechi: If you die now, I...
Haru: Joker, no!
Ryuji: Joker's got it!
Makoto: Joker!
Akechi: ...I'll kill you again myself!
With his friends' encouraging words, Ren regains his will as the golden aura turns blue and a blue butterfly flutters past his face, snapping back to reality in a burst of azure flames before calling out one last card up his sleeve:
Joker: SATANAEL!!!
Lavenza: I am thou, thou art I.
Satanael appears and roars, dispersing the flames. Joker then points his newly repaired neutral special at Giorno one last time as the Archangel of Vengeance follows suit, aiming his god-killing musket at his user's target.
Joker: Maybe you didn't hear me before. Checkmate.
With a pull of the trigger, Satanael fires his Sinful Shell at Giorno. As the Gang-Star braces himself, Gold Experience Requiem appears screaming, throwing a flurry of punches at the bullet fast enough that it leaves reality and the screen cracking apart...
Gold Experience Requiem: HAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!
...until its right arm suddenly explodes on impact in a moment of silent shock. The rest of Requiem then cracks and gets obliterated by Sinful Shell, with Giorno himself following right after as his body explodes upon the bullet's impact, screaming as only his head is left to burn away in a blue flame.
The Stand Arrow then flies out of the ensuing explosion and towards Joker's hand, where it catches the Treasure before the Phantom Thief looks at it and runs off to reunite with the rest of his crew. From there, the post-boss fight results screen from Persona 5 appears, showing Joker earned no experience, 91,385 yen, and Giorno's Treasure from the battle.
Results
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Boomstick: (sighs) Giorno never had the makings of a varsity Death Battle winner...
Wiz: This was an absolutely fascinating matchup and far from an easy call.
Boomstick: Joker versus base Gold Experience wasn't close though.
Wiz: Sure, Giorno's powers threw Joker for a loop, but Joker and his Personas were millions of times faster[Note 1] and could take on universe busters.
Boomstick: And there was no doubt Joker could see Giorno's Stand, considering he could spot similar beings like Shadows.
Wiz: Add in the versatility of Joker's hundreds of Personas, and Giorno could get quickly overwhelmed.
Boomstick: But that's where Requiem came in, and the game changed.
Wiz: With its ability to nullify any action taken against it, even ones that can affect entire universes, Joker's regular arsenal was rendered moot.
Boomstick: Remember: Requiem could act independently of time, so Joker wouldn't be able to avoid Requiem's ability. He'd have to beat it outright.
Wiz: Take when the Phantom Thieves faced Maruki; the group couldn't resist the reality-warping effects of his powers. He even had an ability that nullified actions against him, similar to Gold Experience Requiem!
Boomstick: But Joker still had an ace up his sleeve. While Requiem can reduce your willpower to zero, Joker's Social Links were able to recharge him.
Wiz: And finally, we have Joker's Almighty attacks, which could bypass reality-warping defenses like the Omnipotent Orb. The perfect counter for Requiem.
Boomstick: And this is actually backed up in JoJo! While Requiem only has one appearance in the manga, it did show up in the game Eyes Of Heaven.
Wiz: There, it faced off against The World Over Heaven, which can overwrite reality to overpower any attack, including Requiem's Return to Zero. That meant an Almighty attack that can bypass reality-warping would have the same effect, giving Joker the option he needed to land a killing blow against Requiem's perfect defense.
Boomstick: DIO is SUCH a dick, he literally ruined his own son's Death Battle!
Wiz: Giorno was brilliant, but Joker had the versatility, experience, and Almighty power for the final blow.
Boomstick: Giorno missed his golden opportunity and had a Shell of a time. Eheh, hey Wiz, 'ya hear what I said? I said, "Giorno missed his golden opportunity and he had a Shell of a time"!
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: (fed up) The winner is Joker...
Comparison
Joker
- + Stronger & faster than Gold Experience
- + Almighty magic bypasses GER
- + More versatile options
- + Social confidants & Wild Card powers countered willpower negation
- - GER negates many abilities
Giorno
- + Has GER
- - Less experience
- - Cannot defend against Almighty skills
Original Track
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Composition
The track for this fight is "Requiem for a Thief" by Therewolf Media featuring Saoirse on vocals written by Brandon Yates. It is a vocal jazzy track highly reminiscent of the music in Persona 5, with motifs from "Last Surprise" (Persona 5's normal battle theme) and "il vento d'oro" (Giorno's theme) being heard throughout. The latter song is also used for the track's base tempo, and a rendition of its iconic and memetic piano beat drop is played for Gold Experience Requiem's appearance and Stand Rush on Joker.
Title
The title references the names of both the ultimate form of Giorno's Stand, Gold Experience Requiem, and Joker's team, the Phantom Thieves of Heart. It's also a play on the title of the Golden Wind anime's second opening theme, "Requiem for a Traitor", as well as possibly the title of the 2000 film Requiem for a Dream (likely as a reference to Giorno's famous "I have a dream" line).
Cover Art
The cover art done by John Mitchell depicts Giorno's Stand Arrow striking Joker's mask, shattering it as a blue flame and blue-glowing chains sprout from behind.
Lyrics
Just when you thought the show was over |
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Joker and Giorno Giovanna are that they are both the protagonists of the fifth installment of their respective franchises who are stylish, rebellious, teenage criminals who can summon their spiritual manifestation by their side (the Persona Arsène and the Stand Gold Experience, respectively) and partake in shady but noble activities in their countries (Japan and Italy, respectively), where they aim to root out the corrupt people of their worlds and to help reform society for the better, becoming inspirational members of their team (the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and Team Bucciarati, respectively). In addition:
- Both went through rough and unfair mistreatment in their lives and being ostracized by their fellow peers (Joker was given a false assault charge after trying to save a woman and was shunned for it, while Giorno grew up under a neglectful and abusive family and was the target of bullying).
- Both fought powerful, corrupt leaders (Masayoshi Shido and Diavolo, respectively), who rule over antagonistic factions which they fought against (the Antisocial Force and Passione, respectively).
- Both later unlocked a powerful transformation for their summons (the Ultimate Persona Satanael and the Requiem Stand Gold Experience Requiem, respectively) in their final battles against the ultimate main villain of their stories (Yaldabaoth and Diavolo, respectively), who desire complete control over society and intentionally caused several dangerous obstacles to prevent them from achieving their noble goals.
- This episode was originally slated to be the premiere for (what was originally known as) Season 11 prior to Rooster Teeth's closure and being replaced by Omni-Man VS Bardock for the premiere of Death Battle '24, as confirmed by Luis Cruz on Twitter.[1]
- Before Rooster Teeth's closure, Liam Swan teased writing the first episode's analysis with the line "A gorilla's worst nightmare,"[2] which would end up being part of Giorno's analysis.
- The line would also be used as part of Giorno's analysis preview's title, "Giorno Giovanna is a Gorilla's Worst NIGHTMARE!", likely as a nod to the Death Battle community's speculation over the line and what episode it could have been for prior to the preview's release.
- It was also likely teased at the end of Galactus VS Unicron, as the teaser trailer for Season 11 featured a shot of three Major Arcana tarot cards that relate to the combatants and matchup in some way:
- The arcana in general are a thematically important part of the Persona series. This also somewhat applies to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, though only for Stardust Crusaders, as Stands were initially named after the Major Arcana of the Tarot back in that part.
- The Fool is the starting arcana for all the protagonists of the later Persona games, including Joker.
- Death naturally relates to Death Battle.
- The World is both the final arcana Joker obtains at the end of Persona 5 and the name of the Stand of Giorno's father, DIO.
- It was later teased again in the Save Death Battle Kickstarter, as Giorno was the only character with a Reward Tier named after them who had not been a prior or confirmed combatant by the Kickstarter's end.
- Before Rooster Teeth's closure, Liam Swan teased writing the first episode's analysis with the line "A gorilla's worst nightmare,"[2] which would end up being part of Giorno's analysis.
- Saoirse, who performs vocals on this episode's track, has previously worked with Brandon Yates on a few vocal versions of his "What If?" fan-commissioned tracks, including "Phantom's Game", which was also for a matchup including Joker, namely him VS Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends with You.
- The tagline for this episode was originally "The Phantom Thief of Hearts vs JoJo's Golden Gang Star!" before soon being changed to "We can't get this battle's music out of our heads".
- After the episode's release, Anh Thu Duong (one of the animators for this episode) posted an "alternate ending" to the fight as a joke, in which Giorno gets fully reduced to a skeleton after being hit by Maeigaon before the screen fades to black and plays out like a game over for losing a battle in Persona 5.[3]
- This makes it the third episode to receive an alternate ending, after Shao Kahn VS M. Bison and Omni-Man VS Bardock, and with the next two being Bowser VS Eggman and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- Xander Mobus, Joker's official voice actor (who worked on the show before), shouted out the episode on Twitter and complimented Kevin Rivera's performance, while also joking about being offended that he put words in his character's mouth.[4]
- This episode's storyboards by John Mitchell include an unofficial bonus epilogue scene that takes place moments after the fight, where the real Giorno, after his Shadow Self was defeated by Joker, is prevented from having a mental shutdown caused by his Shadow Self dying by Gold Experience Requiem. He then has a change of heart and cancels a planned trip to Florida from the Speedwagon Foundation (referencing the events of Stone Ocean when all of DIO's sons were drawn towards Florida) in favor of suddenly wanting to restructure Passione.
- This makes it the second episode to receive a bonus epilogue in their storyboards, after Gojo VS Makima.
- OriginTheHero has previously made a set of commissioned sprite renders for this matchup prior to this episode's release.[5]
- This makes it the second matchup he's made sprite art for to have become an official episode, after Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
- Coincidentally, this episode was released two days after the anniversary of DIO VS Alucard, which featured Giorno's father.
Easter Eggs
- In Joker's "Background" slide:
- Chalk is listed as one of his dislikes, referencing how one of Joker's teachers at Shujin Academy throws chalk at his forehead, with Joker even being able to dodge it.
- The second-to-last bullet point notes he "Spent 10 years in spin-off hell", referencing a meme related to the numerous amount of spin-off media Joker has been featured in since his original game. This meme originally applied to his predecessor Yu Narukami but was passed on to Joker after surpassing him in appearances.
- The last bullet point notes him as an "Excellent dancer", referencing the spin-off game Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight.
- As Boomstick lists off some of the members of the Phantom Thieves in Joker's analysis, various footage plays behind them that relate to them in some way:
- Ryuji has footage of The Skeleton Dance behind him, referencing his codename of "Skull".
- Ann has footage of the Pink Panther behind her, referencing her codename of "Panther".
- Makoto has footage of a motorcycle scene behind her, referencing how her Persona, Johanna, resembles a motorcycle.
- Akechi has footage of pancakes and images of their ingredients behind him as Boomstick refers to him as "Pancakes", referencing Akechi's "I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes." line from Persona 5, which has since become a popular meme in the Persona community.
- Morgana has footage of him and Ann behind him, referencing his crush on her.
- Boomstick references the Pokémon series' English slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all!", in Joker's analysis while going over his Wild Card ability.
- When Wiz goes over Joker's gun during the "Arsenal" slide in his analysis, a clip from Joker's gameplay trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is shown on-screen, specifically the memetic "For his neutral special, he wields a gun." line.
- Wiz and Boomstick's dialogue boxes during Joker's analysis cutaway are done in the same style as the ones seen in Persona 5.
- The leveling up of Wiz's Hierophant Arcana is animated in the same way Confidants in Persona 5 proper rank up during their specific stories.
- The cutaway as a whole references a common joke in the Persona fandom around the feature of Social Links/Confidants and how it becomes pointless to spend time with friends after maxing out relationships with them.
- Joker's "Feats" slide lists "Survived the Valentine's Day massacre" as one of his feats, referencing this scene from Persona 5 that plays on the day after Valentine's Day if Joker decides to date more than one (or even all) of his female Confidants.
- Numerous gangster and mafia-related media are referenced throughout the episode in Giorno's analysis and the post-analysis:
- Wiz's first line in Giorno's analysis is a reference to Henry Hill's opening narration at the start of Goodfellas, with him even delivering it in a similar manner.
- Right after this, Boomstick name-drops "Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta" by the Geto Boys, with a clip from the song's music video even being played as he does so.
- He follows this up by mentioning gangsters "leaving a decapitated horse head in [their] enemy's bed" and "squeezing someone's head in a vice until they pop", referencing famous scenes from The Godfather and Casino, respectively, which even play on-screen when Boomstick mentions them.
- Right after this, Boomstick name-drops "Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta" by the Geto Boys, with a clip from the song's music video even being played as he does so.
- After Boomstick prompts the audience to think about receiving a 20-second-long Stand Rush to the nuts in Giorno's analysis, he tells them to "Fuhgeddaboudit!" as a clip of this scene from Donnie Brasco where the characters discuss the meaning of the word plays on-screen.
- Boomstick suggests he "Woke up this morning, got myself a gun" to start describing Return to Zero in Giorno's analysis, referencing the first two lines of lyrics from "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3, the famous opening song of The Sopranos.
- After Wiz describes Gold Experience Requiem's ability to put people into a death loop, Boomstick says "Just when you thought you were out, Requiem pulls you back in!", referencing this scene from The Godfather Part III, with a clip of it even playing as he says the line.
- Boomstick starts off the post analysis by remarking how Giorno "never had the makings of a varsity Death Battle winner", referencing this scene from The Sopranos.
- Boomstick repeating the ending pun for this episode to Wiz after just saying it is a reference to Paulie Gualtieri's habit of repeating jokes to someone immediately after he told it to someone else in The Sopranos.
- Wiz's first line in Giorno's analysis is a reference to Henry Hill's opening narration at the start of Goodfellas, with him even delivering it in a similar manner.
- In Giorno's "Background" slide, the last thing listed in his likes is "epic piano", referencing "il vento d'oro"'s memetically infamous piano beat drop, with it later being referenced again by Boomstick near the end of his analysis and a rendition of it playing in the fight's track, Requiem for a Thief, when Gold Experience Requiem appears in the battle.
- As Wiz gets Giorno's analysis back on track after Boomstick's tangent on Jesus being a JoJo, a clip of the famous Pepe Silvia meme from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia plays on screen.
- When going over King Crimson in Giorno's analysis, Wiz notes how he can "infamously" skip time, referencing the meme in the JoJo community surrounding people trying to understand the convoluted nature of King Crimson's time-erasing ability.
- Several elements from Persona 5's UI are incorporated into the fight:
- The fight begins with a loading screen with a "take your time" graphic, as well as a Security Level graphic.
- A majority of Joker's casted spells have their names displayed in a box in the top left corner.
- After Gold Experience Requiem finishes his Stand Rush on Joker, his health bar is shown being depleted.
- The fight ends with a post-boss fight results screen, including a "recap" button that appears upon exiting a Palace.
- Giorno's initial pose on the throne is highly reminiscent of how his father DIO sat on his throne in the opening of the Phantom Blood anime.
- The kanji that appears and the accompanying sound effect that plays after Arsène's Cleave cuts the Calling Card and Giorno's throne are both references to Dio's arrival at the Joestar Mansion in the first episode of the Phantom Blood anime.
- The sprite of the bees that Joker's bullets turn into thanks to Gold Experience originate from the Beehoss enemy sprites in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.
- Joker's "Heh, he'll never see it coming." line is a reference to the first line of the chorus of "Last Surprise" from Persona 5, "You'll never see it coming", which was also referenced by Boomstick at the end of Joker's analysis.
- The scene color shifting during the "All objects given life by Gold Experience desire to return home." scene is a recreation of the same stylistic choice used in the JoJo anime during dramatic scenes.
- Joker using Jack Frost to counter Gold Experience's life creation is similar to how Ghiaccio, whose stand White Album could also manipulate ice, did the same in his fight with Giorno.
- The poses Giorno and Gold Experience Requiem strike after breaking out of the ice created by Jack Frost come directly from Requiem's full-body reveal in Chapter 147 of the Vento Aureo manga.
- Gold Experience Requiem's Stand Rush barrage on Joker is shot similarly to the iconic "7-Page Muda" that Giorno unleashes on Cioccolata, even down to the dramatic close-up of Giorno's eyes before the ensuing punches.
- The last punch Requiem lands on Joker during this to send him into the death loop knocks out one of his teeth, referencing how Bucciarati lost a tooth when Gold Experience did the same thing to him during his fight with Giorno.
- The pose it strikes immediately after is the same one seen after hitting Diavolo with its last punch at the end of his final fight with Giorno, with the shot as a whole even being framed the same way, albeit mirrored.
- The last punch Requiem lands on Joker during this to send him into the death loop knocks out one of his teeth, referencing how Bucciarati lost a tooth when Gold Experience did the same thing to him during his fight with Giorno.
- When Joker is initially killed by Gold Experience Requiem, the scene cuts to him about to be shot by an unseen assailant in an interrogation room as his first death in the death loop. This is a reference to how the same thing happens upon getting a game over by missing a deadline in Persona 5, with Joker being shot and killed by the assailant, only here, Joker breaks out of the death loop before it can happen.
- Satanael's appearance in the fight has him fully rendered as a 3D model, similar to his depiction in Persona 5 The Animation.
- Giorno's death parallels both of his father DIO's defeats from his respective Parts:
- Giorno's body getting destroyed and burned up while his head (temporarily) remained intact is a more lethal version of what happened to Dio after his climactic penultimate encounter with Jonathan Joestar.
- Gold Experience Requiem cracking and eventually being blasted apart by Sinful Shell before the bullet obliterates Giorno immediately after parallels Jotaro Kujo cracking The World with Star Platinum's punches, which directly led to DIO's death.
- When put in a month/day/year format, the value of the amount of yen Joker receives at the end of the battle, 91,385, can be read as "9/13/85", the Japanese release date of the original Super Mario Bros. (September 13th, 1985), likely serving as a nod to the following episode.
- Giorno's only advantage in the "Results" slide being "Has GER" is a reference to a running joke in the versus community where comparisons between Joker and Giorno end in Joker having almost every notable advantage but humorously losing anyway purely because Giorno "Has GER", as the Stand and its infamous abilities were the primary focus of the debate. Unlike most instances of the joke, however, the episode's research concludes that Joker can ultimately counter it, with him even doing so in the fight itself.
- Wiz's exasperated tone of voice as he announces Joker as the winner may be a call-back to how he announced another Joker's victory at the end of Joker VS Sweet Tooth in a similar manner, with both instances being a result of Wiz hearing Boomstick's ending pun for the episode.
- According to Brandon Yates, the first line of Requiem for a Thief, "Just when you thought the show was over" (referencing Joker's tagline for his "finishing touch" card upon initiating an All-Out Attack, "THE SHOW'S OVER"), also doubles as a reference to Death Battle becoming independent following Rooster Teeth's closure, addressing the community on their thoughts of the show possibly ending during the uncertainty in between the two events.[6]
- Likewise, the line that comes after it, "We're only closer to a full disclosure", can also double as a reference to the Death Battle team buying the rights to the show for themselves during this time and the eventual announcement of it going independent.
Errors
- The episode's tagline is missing a period at the end of its sentence.
- In Giorno's analysis preview, Boomstick stated that Gold Experience's ability to turn inorganic objects into natural life works "vice-versa" in Giorno's analysis (with Polpo's banana turning into a gun being the example used). This wasn't exactly accurate, as Gold Experience can't turn pre-existing natural life into inorganic objects; in the given example, Giorno actually turned the gun into a banana beforehand and deactivated Gold Experience's ability right as Polpo was about to take a bite of it. This was addressed in the final episode, as Boomstick's dialogue was rewritten to make it clearer how the ability actually works, with the final line being "[Turn] them into any plant or animal in an instant, and back again."
- In Joker's analysis, the icon for Light Skills is used to represent the Almighty element.
- In Joker's "Feats" slide, Enlil and Samael's names are misspelled as "Elil" and "Samuel", respectively.
- Though it was likely a creative decision to prevent more sprite work, Joker's mask remains on his face even when one of his Personas is out, even though the mask momentarily goes away whenever he fights with a Persona in Persona 5 proper.
- Despite the Giorno seen in the fight being his Shadow Self (as evidenced by the fight taking place in his Palace), his eyes do not have the golden glow that other Shadow Selves would have.
- Maeigaon is misspelled as "Maegion" in the episode's sneak peek on DEATH BATTLE Cast. This was fixed in the final episode.
- Joker's blood splatter on his chest after taking his reflected gunshots disappear during and beyond the shot where the bumblebees enter the barrel of his gun to implode it.
- The blood on Joker's face disappears when he turns around under the effects of Return to Zero.
Other
- Excluding sprite animations with hand-drawn shots, this is the eighth episode to be animated in more than one animation style, after Metal Sonic VS Zero, Optimus Prime VS Gundam, Deadpool VS Mask, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, Saitama VS Popeye, Bill Cipher VS Discord, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next two being Bowser VS Eggman and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the 12th Video Game VS Anime/Manga-themed episode, after Vegeta VS Shadow, Pikachu VS Blanka, Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu, Kirby VS Majin Buu, Guts VS Nightmare, Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Mega Man VS Astro Boy, Pokémon VS Digimon, Lucario VS Renamon, Shadow VS Ryuko, and Guts VS Dimitri.
- This is the sixth time that the Video Game character wins, after Pikachu VS Blanka, Kirby VS Majin Buu, Lucario VS Renamon, Shadow VS Ryuko, and Guts VS Dimitri.
- This is the fourth Sega VS Hitosubashi-themed episode, after Vegeta VS Shadow, Weiss VS Mitsuru, and Trunks VS Silver.
- This is the third time that the Sega character wins, after Weiss VS Mitsuru and Trunks VS Silver.
- Prior to this episode, Brandon Yates made a track for this matchup called "A Fool's Requiem" as part of his "What If?" commission tracks.
- This makes it the ninth episode that received its own commission track before its release, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, and Galactus VS Unicron, and with the next six being Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Simon the Digger VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the eighth one to be done by Brandon Yates, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, and Galactus VS Unicron, and with the next six being Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Simon the Digger VS White Lantern and Ruby VS Maka.
- This makes it the ninth episode that received its own commission track before its release, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, and Galactus VS Unicron, and with the next six being Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Simon the Digger VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the fourth episode to feature Wiz's memetic "That's right, Boomstick." line since Yoshi VS Riptor back in Season 1, after SpongeBob VS Aquaman, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
- This is the third episode where the loser kills the winner but doesn't end the fight (as Joker managed to break out of to Golden Experience Requiem's death loop after being killed by it dealing infinite damage to him), after Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash and Phoenix VS Raven, and with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
- Interestingly, the last episode to involve a combatant with an infinite death loop was also the only other episode to end with the loser dying to a gunshot.
- This episode reached #5 on YouTube's Trending page.[7]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Morning Star Distance: 40,208,000,000,000 km away
Time Morning Star Takes To Reach The Ground: 0.0167 seconds
Morning Star Speed: 8,047,167,084 Times Faster Than Light - ↑ "Dio" is Italian for "God", while "Diavolo" is Italian for "Devil".
- ↑ Italian for "Foolish phantoms!"
- ↑ Italian for "foolish phantom"
References
- ↑ https://x.com/JumpNJetz/status/1848115198516695530
- ↑ https://x.com/LiamRichardSwan/status/1762240744335528306
- ↑ https://x.com/_AssassinKnight/status/1850673839585333559
- ↑ https://x.com/XanderMobusVO/status/1850790459368693945
- ↑ https://x.com/OriginTheHero/status/1623109374590738433
- ↑
- ↑ https://x.com/AEthan48/status/1850904548057252108
