Gyro Zeppeli

Gyro Zeppeli (ジャイロ・ツェペリ) is a character featured in Part VII: Steel Ball Run. In Steel Ball Run's alternate universe version of the world, he most likely takes the place of William Antonio Zeppeli, Caesar Antonio Zeppeli or another previously unseen member of the Zeppeli family. He is the main protagonist of this series alongside Johnny Joestar.

Personality
Gyro has a cocky and flamboyant personality, appearing to have a high opinion of himself. However, he can be driven by emotions for other people and become realistic and serious when a problem presents itself. Like most manga archetypes, Gyro is incredibly intelligent when he needs to be. His most distinguishable body features are his long hair, western hat and his teeth which have "GO! GO! ZEPPELI" written on them, revealed whenever he smiles at someone. His signature laugh/chuckle is "Nyo ho ho ho~". On more than one occasion, Johnny has said that Gyro doesn't have the drive and determination necessary to get things done, no matter what the cost may be. The challenged his pride, making him push himself to work harder.

Past
Gyro is from the Zeppeli family, a line of practiced executioners in Italy. They use an ancestral technique named the 'Spin' which allows people to die painlessly, usually applied through the use of an iron ball. Gyro lived this way until his late teens, becoming a skilled executioner. However, this is not to say that Gyro killed indiscriminately. Although the Zeppeli family usually stuck to delivering the death penalty to serious and dangerous criminals, there was one incident which resulted in the arrest and death sentence of an innocent little boy who made a living from cleaning shoes. Gyro was devastated when he heard of this and became conflicted when the boy offered to clean his own executioner's shoes. Gyro's father was strictly convinced that the Zeppeli family are in the hands of the state and aren't the ones who choose whether or not someone dies. Refusing this, Gyro pleaded the king for an appeal. They then agreed that Gyro would receive an amnesty to release the boy if he could complete the American cross-country race, the Steel Ball Run.

Stand
See Scan and Ball Breaker

Fateful Encounter
Shortly after joining the race and before it begins, Gyro goes into town where he fights a man using his 'Spin' and iron balls as weapons. When the paraplegic Johnny Joestar touches one of Gyro's spinning orbs, it causes his paralyzed legs to move for a moment. Gyro attempts to convince Johnny that it was simply a reflex of his legs but Johnny isn't convinced, joining the Steel Ball Run race to follow him in order to learn about the Spin and how to move his legs once again.

During the start of the race, Gyro quickly gains the upper hand. He then meets Dio, a genius jockey who becomes his main rival during the race. Using his iron balls, Gyro attempts to finish the first leg of the race in first place to win a high amount of points. However, Stephen Steel reduces Gyro's points for using an "unauthorized weapon."

A Tragic End
In the final battle against Funny Valentine, Gyro uses the most advanced technique of the Golden Rectangle: the "Super (or Cavalry) Spin", which is created by invoking the golden rectangle while riding a horse to gain momentum. By combining this technique with his newly developed stand Ball Breaker, his attack becomes very powerful. Although his technique is very effective, it is not enough to beat Valentine, who resists his injuries long enough for Gyro to die from his own wounds. However, before dying, Gyro gives his last lesson to Johnny, allowing Tusk to reach level 4 and giving Johnny the power to defeat Funny Valentine.

The 'Spin'
The "Spin" is the Steel Ball Run counterpart to the "Hamon" used primarily in parts 1 and 2 of the original universe. The Zeppeli family's 'Spin' technique is Gyro's primary means of attack. The steel balls which Gyro carries are weapons with which he uses the 'Spin' technique. By throwing them, he seems able to control their path - causing spiral ripples in flesh and even having them return to him after an attack. However, Gyro explains that the 'Spin' technique is meant for offensive purposes. It is in fact used as a medical treatment or for anatomical purposes.

See also: Golden Rectangle

Trivia

 * In the popular pixel avatar site | Gaia online, there is an obtainable item know as Roto's Hat. This item first pose allows the avatar of the site to wear a hat identical to that of Gyro's, cleverly name Roto's hat. During a Halloween event on the same site, one of the NPCs dressed in Gyro's outfit.


 * He is one of the few characters to possess a stand and lose it, others being those implanted with stand discs and Holly Kujo after Dio's death.


 * In Steel Ball Run Vol. 19, he reveals that "Gyro" is just a nickname. His real name is actually 'Yulius Kaiser Zeppeli', which is apparently pronounced 'Julius Caesar'.


 * In the Italian edition of SBR, Gyro's name is written as "J.Lo" as a reference to American-Latino singer Jennifer Lopez. This is also a slight pun on the fact that the pronunciations of "Gyro" and "J.Lo" in Japanese are nearly identical.


 * The first time Gyro and Johnny meet Lucy, he refuses to let her ride with him and states that "no woman (will) ride my horse". Later, he explains that Lady Luck would be jealous if he let "another woman" ride with him.