I remember you saying that Giorno has a bunch of Dio callbacks in the first bit of VA, is it not too much trouble to list a few? Because they flew completely over my head. Sorry if that's too much trouble, I'm just incredibly curious!

No trouble at all, my friend! I love doing these sorts of things. Plus it gives me a reason to talk about Giorno which I always enjoy doing.

The beginning of Vento Aureo is one of my favourites because of its pacing when it comes to the revelation of Giorno’s identity. It is very meticulous and keeps throwing metaphorical bricks of uneasiness at the reader. Pretty much all of us (to not say 100% of us) read VA in one go. JJBA is such a huge thing it’s very likely a lot of people went into part 5 at least having a vague idea about who Giorno was. But you have to think that back in the day VA was a weekly publication, and the people reading it had no way of guessing all the twists and revelations Araki threw their way during the entirety of the first tome - as in, Giorno’s whole introduction.

Let’s look at the first pages of Vento, shall we? (this gets really long winded, so I bolded the parallels if you just want to check those out and skip all my analysis - because I’m aparently incapable of making a bullet-point list like a normal person)

God bless the well translated color scans, I can show you pretty pictures, even if in this case the words are not as important as the images. This is the literal beginning of VA, the first 3 pages (well technically pages 2, 3 and 4). Let’s think about what’s happening here. We see characters we know from the previous arc talking about getting DNA from “An italian with Japanese blood” Oh, well isn’t that interesting. You see, here Araki is presenting us with a very familiar situation. Part 4 began with Jotaro going to Morioh because Joseph had an illegitimate son: Josuke. And here we are at the beginning of part 5 trying to obtain DNA samples for the SPW foundation from a kid who Koichi remarks sort of looks like Jotaro. Based on what we know, a reader’s first reaction would be to think the new Jojo has some secret link to Jotaro. Joseph had an illegitimate son, and at this point we don’t know Jolyne is a thing, so why not Jotaro too? (a bit of a stretch since Jotaro is 31 in part 5 which means he’d have had Giorno at 16 years old… but it’s not unlike Araki to get his ages and dates mixed up) or much more likely, a half-sibling maybe? We know Sadao was on tour while the events of SDC happened, and Joseph had Josuke while on a trip. Maybe Sadao had an affair and this kid is Jotaro’s half-brother that the SPW just heard about and they want to confirm it by getting a DNA sample.

This is a red herring of course. It tricks the reader by playing with their expectations using familiar situations. The beginning of a jojo arc is pretty formulaic, and we’ve grown to expect something of a Jojo when they’re introduced; in particular, them being introduced while being in some sort of trouble: Jonathan’s introduction is him getting beaten up, Joseph gets mugged and beats up some cops, Jotaro is in jail, Josuke is getting bullied, Jolyne is in jail BIG TIME… so when we see Giorno for the first time dealing with cops, it corresponds to the formula.

Except he’s not in trouble. He’s getting along with them. Also, his hair is very much not dark, but blonde.

What gives?

A lot of people when they remember Giorno’s ear trick wonder what was the point of it. It never comes back after this scene, and it sure is a weird trait to give to your main character. Why would Araki give Giorno such a fun but pointless little trait and focus on it as much as he does on the panels up there. That’s two entire panels with a zoom dedicated to Giorno’s ear trick. Clearly, Araki really wants us to focus on that. But why?

The recognizable trait of a Joestar is the star birthmark. But tell me… what blond character had something remarkable about one of his ears?

Giorno’s ear trick is a subtle callback to Dio’s three lucky moles on his ear. Giving Giorno three moles would have been too obvious from the get-go, so instead, Araki makes him a blonde (the only blond Jojo pre-reset) with something remarkable about his ear, so attentive readers can start going “heeeey, wait a minute…”

And talking about Dio’s three moles, Giorno also follows a rule of three. Dio’s moles were supposed to be a visible sign of him being exceptionally lucky. Giorno has three very noticeable ladybugs on his suit - ladybugs are widely considered to be good-luck charms. Three ladybugs for good luck, to mirror Dio’s three lucky birthmarks.

Not to mention that all the Jojos who got in trouble always did so for a good cause: Jonathan was defending Erina, Joseph beat up rotten, racist cops, Jotaro stayed in jail to protect his family, Josuke literally did nothing wrong, Jolyne was framed… Giorno is the only one who doesn’t get in trouble with the law while being the only one who actually breaks the law by giving the cops a bribe. Giorno’s ability to not get in trouble while actually breaking the law is reminiscent of the ability Dio had to trick and manipulate everyone into thinking he was a model son and brother when he was in fact plotting murder all along. As well as being a clear break with the other “real” Joestars. Joseph was a hot-head but you could always justify his brash attitude in the name of what was right. There is no “greater good” here. Giorno is simply breaking the law for his own personal gain. In just a couple pages, Araki has already told us he is not a “normal” Jojo, nor a “normal” Joestar.

And speaking of contrasts in Giorno’s attitude and his actions, there’s another one: his speech. Japanese speech patterns cannot be translated - all the particles added at the end of a verb, the grammar the character uses; these are details that give a sense of who the character is in Japanese but for the most part are lost in English. It isn’t uncommon for people to find huge similarities between the way Giorno talks and the way Dio talks, not only because their discourses are similar (N’doul thought Dio “saw his true worth”; meanwhile Giorno inspires his teammates to become even better than they thought was possible - or reveals their true worth if you will) but also because Dio and Giorno have very similar speech patterns in Japanese. Giorno in Japanese is easily the most polite of all the Jojos. He has impeccable grammar, using the full form of all the verbs and speaks with the -yo particle. Joseph and Jotaro both speak rudely, using -ze and -zo particles and shortening the negative form “nai” to “nee”. Josuke speaks with a -ssu particle (“ohayossu” you can hear it in some soundfiles in the ASB sound gallery) which, if the pompadour wasn’t enough, identifies him clearly as part of the yanki subculture - a school delinquent (doesn’t make Josuke any less of a sweetheart). And no, actually, Jonathan himself didn’t speak that properly. Remember how he used to be scolded by his father about “not acting like a proper gentleman”? Aside from his table manners, Jonathan spoke in a casual way, but not overly proper (in one of his iconic sentences, when he yells “I won’t forgive you!” at Dio, he shortens it to “Yurusan!” instead of the full form “yurusanai”). The one person who speaks so properly, using the -yo particle is, ironically, Dio-sama. Of course this was likely not picked up upon right away, but the same calm and serene attitude while comitting a crime along with the familiar speech pattern is bound to have caused some unease.

Speaking of unease, I’m sure you’ve seen this post going around

As if such a direct callback to one of Dio’s key characteristics wasn’t enough, right on the next page, Koichi overhears this conversation

Koichi doesn’t know what they’re talking about. The important bit of information for him is that Giorno’s hair used to be black like in the picture but suddenly turned blonde. He overhears this conversation to realize that Giorno Giovanna IS Haruno Shiobana; but for the reader this is a much bigger revelation (also pretty much settles the debate of “did Giorno’s hair turn blonde little by little or did he wake up golden and sparkly one morning?”)

The first chapter ends shortly after, on the ominous reminder of stand users attracting other stand users and Koichi noticing some stand shenanigans with his suitcase as Giorno leaves.

A week later, just a couple pages onto chapter two, the reader sees this

Right after hinting that the might be Dio’s son in the previous chapter, the first time seeing Giorno we see him from the back, with a pose that is very reminiscent of Dio’s body language

(I’ll admit I debated a lot with myself about putting this one, since I couldn’t find a specific Dio pose it was referencing in SDC. I decided to include it anyway, because I just couldn’t shake off the impression and because this was actually the one thing that struck me as a Dio callback the very first time I read Vento Aureo, before headcanon and knowledge of the fandom came in. If you don’t think it’s relevant, then feel free to just enjoy Giorno’s high-heels. I’m so sad he wears non-heeled shoes later on.)

After the encounter with Luca we get confirmation that Giorno is, indeed, Dio’s son. No more hints, it’s an undeniable fact; so after that, the Dio references become much more on the nose.

Like for example this page that breaks my heart

Jotaro is asking Koichi that specific question because he remembers Dio. He remembers the sort of impression Dio left on people - and he’s worried Koichi will say what N'doul said. What Abdul said. He’s afraid Giorno will become Dio 2.0

Which he sort of is, to be honest.

Dio and Giorno share the same backstory. They were both abused by their father/step-father, both were attached to a beloved keepsake of their preferred parent: his mother’s dress that Dio was so furious at Dario for selling; Dio’s portrait that Giorno keeps with himself at all times (I have a whole theory about why Giorno keeps that picture and why he loves Dio - or rather, the concept of Dio he has in his head, but that is for another post) and both their lives took a dramatic turn when they were taken under the wing of a kind stranger. George Joestar for Dio and The Gangster for Giorno. In this case though, both encounters had completely different outcomes, as we know. Meeting George was a springboard for Dio to become the Ultimate Evil, while meeting the gangster that protected him and saved him from abuse cleansed the darkness of Giorno’s heart and inspired him to protect those he deemed weak - albeit in a very unconventional manner.

Also both Dio and Giorno are crooks: Dio won money by playing chess at a bar against men and was prooobably in illegal fighting rings (you don’t just learn “futuristic boxing techniques” to defend yourself in the ghettos) and Giorno cons tourists out of money with his (illegal) taxi business (where did he even get that car? Giorno you’re 15). Also Giorno considers his “real” talent to be pick-pocketing. To be fair, the kid is pretty damn skilled at it. Before being the golden prince of the underworld Giorno Giovanna was probably the prince of pickpockets in Naples.

Finally, even Giorno’s stand Gold Experience has a little nod to Dio in its design. I take no credit for this one, it was actually noticed by a Japanese artist on Twitter. Just take a look at the lovingly rendered crotch-shots below

Crotch-suspender twinsies.

Giorno is practically a Dio clone in almost every aspect. From his looks to his past to even his attitude at times, except for one detail: While Dio considered the weak to be unworthy and things to be eliminated; Giorno, ultimately, has a good heart. He doesn’t stand for the victimization of those he considers weak and innocent. And while for Dio all his companions were pawns to be used and discarded, Giorno genuinely cares for his, and he proves it multiple times during the arc by endangering himself personally for the sake of his teammates, and refusing to leave anyone behind, even if it means endangering the mission.

This is not to say Giorno is pure hearted. Of course not. He is by far the most morally-grey of all the Jojos pre-reset. He doesn’t stand for the victimization of innocent people, but you have to fit into his definition of a “good person” for him to extend that privilege to you. When they’re on the boat on the way to Capri, he off-handedly remarks that if any civilians get in their way they’ll just have to kill them. He lies, cheats and bribes. He kills in cold blood; bad people, yes, but he’s still the only pre-reset Jojo to actually kill someone with his own two hands: Jonathan? didn’t kill Dio even when he thought he had, Joseph? ACDC was killed by the sun and Wham committed suicide. Santana is still alive. Jotaro? Never actually kills any of Dio’s minions, just puts them out of comission. He “killed” Dio by punching his knee with his eyes closed and that was more meant to incapacitate him until the sun took care of the rest. And while it’s very funny to imagine that once Giorno took over Passione it just became a whacky black-market for pastries it’s unlikely Giorno dismantled Passione’s drug-network by asking nicely and then thought all people needed to change was a hug and an inspirational speech. Mafias are criminal organizations. Giorno is a criminal. He is the lesser of two evils.

Which is a very convinient way to put it because Araki didn’t draw all these parallels for nothing.

Making Giorno, the son of the franchise’s Big Bad, a hero as well as giving him a backstory and mannerisms that are for all intents and purposes identical to those of the aforementioned Big Bad is very coherent with one of Araki’s favourite themes: that of Nature VS. Nurture. Are you born Evil or do you become Evil along the way? Araki touches on this theme very often, especially when it comes to his villains.

Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, as they are in Phantom Blood, by Araki’s own admission, are not meant to be characters as much as they are concepts. They represent humanity’s eternal fight of good versus evil. Dio is called The Ultimate Evil in canon. Logically speaking then, by his very Nature, nothing good could come out of him, right? From arc 1 to arc 4, Dio has been, pardon my French, Fucking Things Up Big Time. Even when he wasn’t even there! And then Arc 5 happens. Enter Giorno, the son of this very same Ultimate Evil, who yes, has a darker side than all the other Joestars, but ultimately has a good heart. A Golden Heart that makes him want to do good for his city and make it so other people don’t go through what he had to go through during his childhood even if it means bending the rules a little - or a lot. He still fights for the Greater Good.

Even if Nature dictates you should be a rotten person, you can still rise above it. You can fight the fate of your blood.

This is why it breaks my heart whenever people say Giorno is Jonathan’s son instead of Dio’s. By being the son of the Ultimate Evil, Giorno’s moral-greyness is actually a redemption of sorts. Even if he is not as just as the rest of the Joestar bloodline, he overcame what could have been a much darker future that was predicted in his very blood and still does good. Thinking of him as Jonathan’s son suddenly means that he didn’t overcome something dark, but rather was corrupted along the way. From the pure nobility that was Jonathan, came something that is not awful, I guess, but is still a criminal. Someone not as gentle, not as fair, not as deserving when you compare him to the original.

It makes Giorno a much less hopeful character, and not only does it make me sad, but I also think it’s making him a huge disservice.