Terry's Bullshit

The Fool Upright:  The Fool stands on a cliff's edge, overlooking the limitless potential of their future. The way is uncertain, but you have all the tools. Make the leap. Do not let insecurity blind you. Reversed:  The Fool rushes in without guidance, ignoring all the warning signs. Beware of acting rashly. Consider the consequences of your actions and tread lightly in the dark. The Arcana presents an interesting writing challenge. By choosing a chapter-naming scheme reflecting the Major Arcana, the developers (devs) force themselves -  Trinket Scenes and   Tales aside -  to tell a complete story in exactly twenty-two chapters. As a result, the player can see exactly how far they are into the story. They've even built a visual metaphor into the chapter-select screen: starting with Book XII - The Hanged Man , the chapter titles start moving from the left to right-hand side of the screen. In preparation for writing this essay, I replay...

A lot has been said regarding Araki writing himself into a corner by making certain Stands too strong. In particular, a common joke is that Purple Haze was so powerful and requires such specific conditions to be used effectively that Araki had no choice but to write Fugo out of the story. I call bullshit, not only because there have been and continue to be Stands far more busted than Purple Haze, or even because Fugo went on to become the protagonist of his own spin-off light novel, but because it's very clear to me that "writing Fugo out of the story" had always been the plan. Fugo's heel-turn is a brilliantly established twist when you consider how it's coupled with Abbacchio's face-turn. Think back to the fight against Illusio in Pompeii. Giorno is paired with Abbacchio and Fugo. It's an odd choice in regards to team dynamics, as Abbacchio's been nothing but outright hostile towards Giorno; and Fugo, despite his unpredictable temper, is typicall...