While every protagonist in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has a strong team of supporting characters around them, Part 5’s Giorno has one of the closest-knit groups. Bruno’s squad had all the classic mafia bonds, but those were not strong enough to stop one of them from leaving the group.
Usually, “Jobros” as they’re affectionately called by fans, only leave the story when they’re killed by an enemy. Pannacotta Fugo is an exception. While he started out as a core member of the group, Fugo ends up abandoning the rest of his friends at the halfway point of the story. Considering how rare an occurrence this is in JoJo, it's natural to wonder what could have driven him to such a decision.
Fugo's Relationship With Passione
To understand why his departure was so hard for him and everyone else, fans need to understand his place within the organization, and specifically Bruno’s gang. Fugo grew up in a wealthy family that pushed him towards academic excellence at his own expense. Despite Fugo’s hatred for his situation and his anger issues, he had to bear his parent’s abuse and high expectations, even managing to be admitted to university at the age of 13. After being assaulted by a teacher at his university though, Fugo finally snapped and beat his teacher to a pulp, subsequently getting abandoned by his family for it.
Thanks to his intelligence, he was able to survive for a time by himself, but eventually, Bruno Bucciarati recruited him as the first member of his personal squad. Since Bruno helped raise him out of his life of misfortune, Fugo developed a strong sense of gratitude for him. He grew to become the strategic core of the squad, helping Bruno manage the others and carry out jobs for Passione. While he was one of the youngest members of the squad, he ended up being a second in command of sorts before Giorno’s arrival.
Thanks to his stand, Purple Haze, Fugo was also the squad’s trump card of sorts. Purple Haze is a stand that reflects Fugo’s hidden rage and is hard for even him to control. When one of the capsules on Purple Haze’s fists breaks, it releases the virus in a small area, infecting and quickly killing any living thing it infects. Bruno actively asks Fugo to avoid using Purple Haze since it can harm allies as well. When they need him though, it is the group’s most effective weapon for defeating enemies, thanks to the virus’ sheer destructive abilities.
His Reason For Leaving
By the time Giorno joined the group, Fugo was a loyal member, dedicated to helping Bruno rise up Passione’s ranks. Throughout the opening parts of Golden Wind, he performs his roles adamantly, whether it be giving Narancia orders from Bruno, trying to patch up Mista’s wounds, or taking out the members of Passione’s assassination squad. Once Bruno and Giorno betray Passione however, Fugo is met with the hardest decision of his life.
While he has love for the rest of his squad, Fugo at his core is a character-driven by logic and reason. While Abbacchio and Mista are able to justify following Bruno due to their faith in him, Fugo is too overcome by his fear of Passione's boss, Diavolo. Considering Diavolo’s record of murdering everyone who attempted to discover his identity, it’s not unreasonable for Fugo to fear for his life in this situation. He is also somewhat motivated by loyalty to Passione, but he emphasizes that he mainly just doesn’t understand why his companions would risk their lives for Trish, despite only having just met her.
While unconfirmed in the story, fans have also theorized that there’s a more meta reason for Fugo’s departure. Considering the sheer destructive power of Purple Haze, some believe that Araki wrote Fugo out of the story since his stand was too difficult to write around. This is a theory that applies to other overpowered Jojo characters like Rohan and Jotaro, whose roles seem to be diminished compared to what some expected of them. But while those other characters at least had dynamic and flexible abilities, Purple Haze’s virus is arguably very one-note. Even before his departure, Fugo only participated in one fight, in which his stand was the main challenge and solution, lending credence to the idea that it was too difficult to write.
The Effect of His Absence
While we’ll never know for sure how the events of Golden Wind would change if Fugo hadn’t left the squad, he was a valuable enough member that his presence may have made things much easier. In the final battle against Diavolo for example, Purple Haze may have been able to stop him from approaching the stand arrow by covering the surrounding area with its virus.
If he was there, he might also have allowed Narancia to survive, even if it meant someone else would’ve died in his place. Considering the events of the JoJo spin-off manga, Purple Haze Feedback, which takes place after part 5, Fugo might also have been able to avoid some of the danger he is thrust into in that story, as the events are a direct consequence of his departure.