i see you read purple haze feedback. how's it feel buddy.
I feel insane!! I have so many thoughts that this won't be organized at all. This is probably more than you vouched for when you sent this ask so sorry in advance 😳
Firstly, something I love is how the story and characters manage to integrate into the canon universe of Jojo? When I saw how the author managed to write Volpe as Tonio's brother I was at a loss for words because of how easily they managed to write him in. And it worked well too. That goes for a lot of the other new characters too, like how Illuso killed Sheila E's sister and even elements like the Stone Mask which had been thrown away after stands were introduced- all of that was so cool to revisit in the story again. It's something I feel is wasted potential in the main storylines because after part 2 they acknowledge very little of the lore outside of the part that's happening apart from some characters showing up again (like Joseph never mentioning Caesar, Lisa Lisa or the events of Part 2 in Part 3, I don't think he even used Hamon in Part 4).
I also love how the story is written too. I'm someone who has a tough time reading books because of how the walls of texts blur into one, but this story's premise kept me interested and the writing was so good it kept me reading (although it still took me 3 weeks to get through it all). It really feels like something that happened after the events of Part 5. I know this is technically not canon but if it was I'd believe it because everything falls into place and flows so naturally. The adventure was enjoyable to read. And I did read the bonus chapter before getting into the novel which was a lovely but very sad conclusion for Trish and Buccellati's stories.
All of Fugo's inner thoughts and memories were such a great and much needed addition to his character as well. While I can acknowledge he didn't have much character before reading this (I didn't like him all that much) my recent pique of interest after rewatching the Illuso fight/boat scene is what made me pick up this novel. I wanted to see if the novel would build on the sparse elements of his character that were already presented in the story and boy did it do a great job. I haven't read the manga yet but I know Fugo didn't have a backstory in it- so for the novel to give him one (which ends up being similar to the anime's) and build a lot of his character off the interactions we've seen Fugo have but also adding new ones was such a treat. I really liked how much thought he gave to Narancia and Buccellati especially, as well as his thoughts about Trish- why risk it all for her? It made me realize that Fugo didn't know what Buccellati and Giorno knew and gives the boat scene a lot more interest, hearing it from Fugo's perspective. And all of the times he recounted conversations with Narancia, Buccellati, the whole team and that entire vision he had where he met Buccellati when he was young and they studied together hurt a LOT, really taking the bittersweetness of the events of Part 5 and running with it.
I enjoyed the characterizations of the characters in the novel too. Murolo and Sheila E were some great additions to the story- when Murolo "died", I reacted more than I thought I would. The novel, funnily enough, gives the narcotic team more character than Diavolo got in the main story, so the villain side was compelling to read about. I thought Giorno was a little more stern/demanding than I had perceived him to be from the anime but I thought it made sense. I do like how the novel doesn't have everyone being a tight knit group like a lot of people perceive the Buccellati team to be (although I like thinking of them as a family too) but creates some distance between certain members like Abbacchio and Fugo, which feels realistic.
Now another reason I picked up PHF was because all of a sudden I became really interested in Fugio. After watching the anime I was confused as to why the pairing was so popular because they barely interacted and knew each other for just three days. I didn't like it at all. Then recently, all of a sudden I was like, no, what is it about Fugio...I am interested... and now I can say. wow. I love how regal Fugio feels and I am here for it. I love Fugo's curiousity towards Giorno and how his mind wanders throughout the whole novel. Then Giorno gambling everything on Fugo's ability to control his stand but believing there was not much to worry about...I love pairings that I can associate with quotes (Exhibit 1: The only time I'm ever at ease...) and handing me such raw lines such as "if grief anchors your feet then let me share it" and "if you can't take a step forward, then I'll step halfway to you" is just the icing on the cake. I'm gonna be asking the Fugio community to welcome me
TLDR If you can't read that mess of a response (I understand) to sum it up, as someone who avidly enjoys Part 5 and Jojos this was such a great compliment to the canon material. I felt all kinds of emotions reading it, from discovering that Araki had drawn the photo that they had taken in front of the yacht and feeling melancholic to being proud to see Fugo's character grow from practically nothing. I'm really happy I finally got around to reading it! Now I will go lay down for a while