JoJoLands chapter 24: Chaos erupts on Howler's yacht as Paco and Usagi arrive too late

Heading into JoJoLands chapter 24, fans were expecting the upcoming issue to focus primarily on Paco Laburantes and Usagi Alohaoe’s rescue of Meryl Mei Qi. Officially released on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 in Japan, the installment instead split focus between the pair and Jodio Joestar’s team, significantly progressing each narrative likewise.

Of particular note is the focus on Jodio’s team, which sees the situation on Howler’s yacht quickly get out of hand. JoJoLands chapter 24 also excitingly revealed Paco’s origin story up until the point he partnered with Meryl Mei in her illicit activities.

JoJoLands chapter 24 sees Acca Howler cornered by Jodio and co thanks to the police’s arrival

Brief chapter recap

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JoJoLands chapter 24 began immediately where the last issue ended, seeing Acca Howler pointing his gun at Jodio Joestar and co after seeing the Lava Rock fragments. Jodio remembers Rohan Kishibe’s words about their Lava Rock being the only one left before attributing the Rock’s deterioration to all the money around them. Charmingman, in disguise as Dolphin Bank employee Yokohama (formerly named Mack), tries to get the meeting back on track.

However, Howler instead puts the gun to his head while asking if it's him who has the Lava Rock and brought it onto the yacht. Jodio tries to whisper to his brother Dragona Joestar, but Howler realizes this and takes warning shots at them while telling them to stop. The bullets pierce the wall behind them as Howler orders them to stand up slowly. Howler then begins questioning if they’re even really bank employees, prompting Key West to try to calm him down.

JoJoLands chapter 24 instead sees Howler point his gun at her, saying he’s the only one asking questions here, and that anyone who answers in a way he doesn’t like dies. Howler also makes it clear that he won’t be signing any papers involving his ancestral lands. He then tries to deduce the location of the Lava Rock, realizing that the Rock is responsible for recent chaotic financial events regarding the Howler Company.

Acca Howler refuses to give up his ancestral lands in JoJoLands chapter 24 (Image via Shueisha)

He orders Dragona to step forward first, with Key West showing him the information dossier on the trio as he does so. Howler then takes the money of several suitcases and dumps it onto the floor in a pile, ordering Dragona to step into the pile and bury herself in cash. He calls Dragona a woman as he does so, throwing him in after he hesitates. He then pointed his gun at him and told her he’s dead if he makes any sudden or false movements.

JoJoLands chapter 24 saw Jodio and Charmingman begin to panic as they whispered to each other, seemingly out of Howler’s earshot. Jodio instructs Charmingman to correct Howler on Dragona being a woman, saying they just need to keep the conversation going and get him to sign. Jodio then revealed he told Dragona to use his Smooth Operators Stand to slightly rearrange the bills’ serial numbers, temporarily making them counterfeit and worthless.

This meant that the Lava Rock would stop reacting to them, and thus would stop crumbling away. Charmingman (as Yokohama) pointed this out to Howler, who ignored it and instead began panicking when nothing happened with Dragona. He then began grabbing Dragona’s clothes, alleging he had it on him given he was closest to the stacks of bills. He pulled off Dragona’s pendant and looked inside of it, but it was empty.

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JoJoLands chapter 24 then revealed that Jodio had somehow obtained the Lava Rock from his brother while Howler ordered Key West not to let anyone leave the room unchecked. Key West then revealed that several fire and police boats were surrounding the yacht due to a fire having broken out. The source of the fire was revealed to be electrical and a result of Howler’s shots into the wall, flying out of which were sparks and puffs of smoke.

Key West advised evacuating, but Charmingman tried to pressure Howler into signing given the presence of police boats and that they’d be coming onboard to arrest him. Jodio then added that the state government would board soon after, and that they’re out of time to talk likewise. Jodio and Charmingman made a final push to get Howler to sign the land swap documents as focus shifted to Paco Laburantes and Usagi Alohaoe at the school.

JoJoLands chapter 24 then began flashback detailing Paco’s origins, first with his physically abusive alcoholic father who raised him alone after his mother left the family. Paco would use his Stand to defend himself until his father was too drunk to fight, but loved his father wholeheartedly nonetheless. A key part of their relationship was that Paco’s father would take him fishing every Sunday morning, which Paco cherished greatly.

Meryl Mei Qi is shown to play a major role in Paco Laburantes' backstory in JoJoLands chapter 24 (Image via Shueisha)

However, one day, Paco’s father got so drunk he passed out and awoke with a dead body on top of him, and a knife in the corpse covered in his fingerprints. This led Paco to begin purse snatching and committing check fraud to raise the 30 thousand dollars his dad needed for a defense. He was approached by the mafia one day when they offered to loan him the money, but he met Meryl Mei Qi shortly thereafter.

JoJoLands chapter 24 saw her explain that Paco’s father, and likewise him, was set up by the same mafia group. She offered him to come visit her at Iko Iko and work for her before driving off as focus returned to the present. The pair learned that Meryl Mei had left the building with Ningbo and Laem Chabang to an unknown location. The issue ended with them finding her severed fingers and an Iko Iko business card in her office, teasing where she was likewise.

Final thoughts

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With neither of the current main plotlines wrapped up in chapter 24, fans can expect the subsequent release to split time between them once again. Likewise, fans can expect Usagi and Paco’s fights to be set up as tension mounts on Howler’s yacht. Fans can also expect the next issue to elaborate on Meryl Mei and Paco’s history further, given that this latest flashback ended before he officially joined up with her.