Tonpetty (トンペティ, Tonpeti) is a secondary ally featured in the first part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Phantom Blood. He is a Ripple master who trained Will Anthonio Zeppeli, later joining forces with Jonathan directly alongside his disciples Straizo and Dire.
APPEARANCE[]
Tonpetty is an old man of medium height and build. He has dark skin, prominent brow ridges with no eyebrows, pronounced frown lines, and bags under his eyes. His head is bald, and he possesses a light chinstrap beard. His typical manner of dressing includes a light-colored monk's raiment with darker shoulder armor, the anime redesigns this look from the manga. During his first meeting with Zeppeli, he wore much baggier robes with fur covering the shoulders.
PERSONALITY[]
Tonpetty is a wise, world-worn man who shows great concern for others; during Zeppeli's training, Tonpetty warned him about his fate but did not attempt to dissuade him forcefully.
As a master of Ripple, he shows great understanding of the technique and admiration for exceptional practitioners. He taught a number of pupils and accompanies Jonathan Joestar in his quest to vanquish Dio Brando's evil.
ABILITIES[]
As a Ripple master, Tonpetty has trained multiple people in the art of the Ripple. He is the only character shown to be able to predict the future of someone by simply touching their hand, displaying a high level of skill. His students demonstrate multiple techniques as the result of their training with Tonpetty, including the ability to heal others. Tonpetty demonstrates a certain level of hand-to-hand fighting ability as he twists the neck of a zombie with a single slap.[2]
Precognition
Debut: Chapter 32: The Medieval Knights' Training Ground for Murder / JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Episode 6: Pluck for Tomorrow
The user can predict the future of any individual. Its regular usage allows one to see a few seconds into the future. Extremely skilled users like Tonpetty can see very far into the future of an individual by touching their hands, including their destiny and how they die.
HISTORY
BACKGROUND[]
Tonpetty and Zeppeli
Tonpetty is a Tibetan Ripple master who trained Dire and the then 25-year-old Zeppeli in the ways of the Ripple. He eventually revealed to Zeppeli that he would face a gruesome death if his training continued. Nevertheless, Zeppeli decided to continue with his training and pursue the Stone Mask. Upon discovering its location, Zeppeli wrote a letter to Tonpetty to ask for help in destroying it.
PHANTOM BLOOD[]
Tonpetty vs Dio's zombies
Tonpetty, accompanied by Dire and another student named Straizo, travel to Windknight's Lot to assist in the fight against Dio Brando. However, they do not meet with Jonathan Joestar and Robert E. O. Speedwagon until after Zeppeli's death.[3] Though Dire is killed attempting to fight Dio directly, Tonpetty and Straizo help kill Dio's remaining Zombies. After the battle, the group burns Dio's clothes as a way to erase his existence. Tonpetty is last seen at the docks with the rest of Jonathan's friends to see him and Erina off for their honeymoon. Tonpetty's whereabouts after this are unknown, but he was eventually succeeded by Straizo.[4] He is assumed to have died sometime in the 50-year span between Dio's defeat and Straizo's meeting with Speedwagon, as Straizo doesn't mention him when it comes to the remaining people aware of the Stone Mask's existence.[5]
NOVELS[]
JORGE JOESTAR
Tonpetty plays a supporting role in the light novel JORGE JOESTAR, with his full name revealed to be Ngapoi Ngawang Tonpetty (ンガプー・ンガワン・トンペティ, Ngapū Ngawan Tonpeti). He is named after a Tibetan senior official named Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme.
One morning, he has a prediction that George Joestar II will have a plane crash and tells Lisa Lisa the location of where George will end up stranded in the North Sea.[6] Lisa Lisa later takes George to the secret underground lair of the Ripple warriors in France. Tonpetty reveals that George had entered his dreams several times and that it is an honor to meet Jonathan Joestar's son in person. He claims that George has inherited Jonathan's courage, although George denies it.
Tonpetty secretly reveals to Lisa Lisa that he predicted George would die around the time of his marriage with her. This causes Lisa Lisa to distance herself from George out of fear and the two don't meet each other for three years. When George learns about this, he immediately becomes angry that Tonpetty made Lisa Lisa afraid. However, George's anger dissipates when he confronts Tonpetty and feels the man's intimidating aura. After George questions Tonpetty's prophecy, Tonpetty suddenly looks puzzled and feels that there is a chance George may not die after all. He informs George that a god is watching over him and if George can put his faith in that power, he'll survive his fate of being brutally murdered by something terrifying.[7]
Jorge Joestar from the 37th universe later learns about Tonpetty and decides to call him using the pebble phone created by Vinegar Doppio37 which can communicate across universes. Although Jorge feels like an idiot asking a man from a country which doesn't use kanji about what the spelling of his name should be, Tonpetty gives him the spelling 城字ジョースター (Jōji Jōsutā). At first Jorge thinks it's extremely weird from a Japanese perspective because the kanji that Tonpetty chose for spelling "Joji" means "castle" and "character", but then Jorge realizes that it is actually fitting for him.[8]