The Secret of Guard Westwood
Episode 16 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean begins with a brief montage highlighting the events and revelations shown in episode 15. We see Emporio learn about Jolyne’s plan to secure Dio’s bone and hear about Anastasia’s undying love for Jolyne. It also highlights the elements of Dio Brando and Enrico Pucci’s discussion revolving around Survivor and its abilities. ..
Flash-forward to the punishment ward, where Survivor has now affected everybody besides Jolyne. Westwood challenges all the prisoners he freed to a brawl. Jolyne takes the opportunity to survey her surroundings in hopes of locating Dio’s bone and Survivor’s Stand user. Unfortunately, Jolyne starts to succumb to Survivor’s ability and ends up obtaining an urge to kill. While lost in thought, Westwood takes the opportunity to rush at Jolyne. Jolyne notices him charging at her and is confident she can take on the guard with Stone Ocean (her Stand). Jolyne stands confidently against Westwood as Stone Ocean begins to take effect, but is quickly overwhelmed as he pounds her into submission with his bare fists. ..
Stone Ocean tries to attack Westwood, but he manages to avoid the attack and proceeds to climb a wall. He disappears instantly and reappears behind a frame to kick at Jolyne’s head. Jolyne avoids the attack and ties Westwood’s leg to his neck, making him attack himself. Despite his tight predicament, Westwood uppercuts Jolyne in the gut. ..
Jolyne is able to see through Westwood’s lies and strategies, and knows that he can’t fight an ordinary human. She decides to focus on his weakest points and hope for the best.
Jolyne manages to take down Westwood with a series of punches and kicks. She then uppercuts him with Stone Ocean, causing him to fall. He gets back up and tries to throw two punches at her, but she ties his hands to his neck. She then chokes him and delivers many roundhouse kicks to his face.
Jolyne tries to deliver a finishing blow but stands back after her arm gets wounded through unknown means. She tries to assess the situation and wonders what Westwood did to harm her. Westwood is slightly unconscious, and a Stand disc pokes out of his head. Jolyne realizes that he’s a Stand User. She worries that other Stand users may be present in the room with her. Jolyne asks Westwood how and when he became a Stand User, but he doesn’t answer her.
Westwood stands up and notes again that Jolyne’s thread is her strongest point. Jolyne uses her thread to stitch her arm up and challenges him to fight again. Westwood rushes at her and tries delivering a violent left hook, but Jolyne evades the attack. She manages to kick Westwood in the face and witnesses his Stand. Westwood falls but immediately bounces back.
Jolyne uses her foot and hand to deflect Westwood’s punch and successfully ties his hands. Jolyne uses Stone Ocean to punch him. However, Stone Ocean’s leg ends up getting wounded by something, as Jolyne falls. Westwood takes the opportunity to grapple Jolyne to the ground, and she gets the sense something is approaching her.
She tries attacking Westwood with Stone Ocean but fails. He’s found a way to lock her head and twist her left shoulder. This prevents her from using her right arm. He encourages her to grab his “family jewels” to escape, as Jolyne makes an attempt out of desperation. He anticipates her action and shifts his grapple slightly to counter her.
Jolyne and Westwood are stuck in a dangerous situation. They can sense that something is headed their way, and they use their left hand and threads from their right hand to send the small meteorites flying toward them. The atmosphere on Earth helps to protect the Earth from these objects, and two small meteorites fell at Jolyne and Westwood.
Meanwhile, Anastasia and F.F. manage to sneak out of the prison’s main building. They fought numerous guards during their travels. They are about to reach the courtyard that links to the Ultra Security House Unit. F.F. informs Anastasia that there may be multiple enemies after Jolyne, but Anastasia ignores her. He repeats that he plans to marry Jolyne to F.F. before furthering his traversal. F.F. is left speechless and humorously asks him what marriage means."
Jolyne continues to pull the thread she inserted into Westwood’s skull, and he eventually lets her go due to the pain. Unfortunately, she gets hit by one of the small meteors. Although one of them heads for Westwood, it disappears because of the power of his Stand deemed “Planet Waves.” Westwood grabs Jolyne’s wrist and tries locking her arm.
Jolyne retaliates by deploying a thread into one of Westwood’s boots. The thread wraps around one of Westwood’s toenails, and Jolyne pulls it immediately, tearing off some of the feet’s skin. Three more meteorites fall toward Jolyne, but Westwood’s loosened grip allows her to deflect the meteorites toward his direction. However, Planet Waves protects Westwood from meteorites.
Jolyne finds herself heavily wounded from her tactic, while Westwood’s capable of sending more meteorites her way. She stands up in retaliation and vows to continue fighting. Westwood toys with Jolyne and leaves himself open for an attack–on purpose. Jolyne draws her attention to a child-like prisoner playing with Dio’s Bone. Westwood takes the opportunity to corner Jolyne into a wall. Jolyne plans to use the wall as a shield against the meteorites, but Westwood calls in a larger meteor to destroy the wall.
Jolyne kicks Westwood in the face, throwing him towards a larger meteorite. Although Jolyne’s suffering from the pain, she doesn’t plan to give up. Westwood throws a vertical kick her way, but Jolyne avoids the attack and grabs his right leg. Westwood scoffs at her, but Jolyne remains unfazed by his crude remarks, as he falls right into her trap. ..
Jolyne uses her boot to deflect a meteor that would have hit Westwood. She then delivers a devastating headbutt to Westwood’s skull, winning the fight.
The Episode Review
This episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean was close to being a real spectacle. Planet Waves and Westwood are a formidable step-up from the action and villainy displayed by Sports Maximum. They managed to transform a standard security guard into a force to be reckoned with, and I adored the execution of his character. ..
The fight between Jolyne and Westwood is a great example of how the anime’s staff has done an excellent job in making the fights feel impactful and devastating. Every punch, kick, and tactical manoeuvre felt real and effective. Hearing Westwood and Jolyne cry out in pain as they fought was a heart-wrenching experience. The sound effects used in this episode were also very well done, perfectly aligning with the fight’s atmosphere.
This episode subverts expectations by showing that Westwood is a more experienced fighter than Jolyne thought. He manages to get the better of her multiple times, which shows his fighting skills. Jolyne should be able to defeat Westwood easily, but this episode shows that he is a more experienced fighter and she should be careful not to underestimate him. ..
Jolyne has undergone some mental growth in the series. At the start of the series, she came across as an arrogant female with father issues. In time, she’s becoming more tactical and careful of her surroundings. This fight with Westwood serves as a stepping point for her to grow her skills and think more carefully about her opponents. You could argue that Ermes’s stance against her during their bout with Maximum also played a part in developing Jolyne’s character. Regardless, this fight carried a lot of weight and made for an exciting time.
Anastasia’s scene with F.F. was the only oddity I found in this episode. I’m still on the fence regarding Anastasia’s affection for Jolyne. While it provided some comedy, I’m unsure if his feelings for Jolyne are genuine. I felt the scene could’ve been shortened or removed since it didn’t add any nuance to this episode. ..
Stone Ocean is on a roll, and I hope it continues delivering fun and exciting content from here on out. After witnessing the stellar fight between Westwood and Jolyne, I’m excited to see who she will fight next. I hope these next set of villains will leave as great of an impact on me as Westwood has.
