#but stardust crusaders had the worst plot | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jokerfan99 · 3 years

Photo

My Top 10 Favorite Anime Villains (Updated) by DarkChild316

In a different time and a different world, I did a list of “My 10 Favorite Anime Villains”. I am older now, and hopefully much wiser and now thanks to the global pandemic and my new subscriptions to Hulu and Funimation I’ve had the opportunity to go back and revisit so many classic anime that I feel like I should re-do it. Plus I’ve gone back and looked at my previous list and shook my head thinking to myself: “My God man, what in the f**k were you thinking with some of these choices!” So, I’ve gone back and redone the list, now this list is strictly for the men only. If you want to see a list dedicated to my favorite female villains, check out my list of “My Top 10 Favorite Anime Villainesses.” But for this list, here is my updated list of My Top 10 Favorite Anime Villains:

#10. Shishiho Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin): Growing up as a kid, Ruroni Kenshin was one of the first anime I had ever watched, and this guy was someone who I hated with a passion. Looking back at it years later, I realize now what an amazing villain and foil to Kenshin that Makoto was. Unlike a lot of villains on this list, Makoto wasn’t just evil for the sake of being evil, Makoto’s evil came from the worst type of trauma: betrayal! In this case the betrayal came from Makoto’s own government, where Makoto survived not only multiple gunshots, but being doused in oil and burned alive, leaving him in complete and utter agony. What puts Shishio on my list is what he manages to do after surviving death. He compiles an army of the best fighters Japan has to offer and plots to overthrow the entire Meiji Government. While in complete agony. Who else can claim that? Did I also mention he’s topping the list of the best fighters in the show? His swordsmanship is second only to Kenshin himself as he proves in their absolutely epic fight.

#9. Hisoka Morrow (Hunter x Hunter): Hunter x Hunter is a show with several great villains that truly stand out, and while Meruem was memorable, pardon me for believing that Hisoka was the standout villain from that show. A devious killer and master Nen user, Hisoka is driven by little more than his desire to find and kill strong opponents. Be they young children or master criminals, he’ll pursue them to the ends of the Earth with a bloodlust on par with that of a wild predator. Likewise, he doesn’t care what happens to himself or others in this pursuit. Mass civilian casualties, the loss of his own villainous allies or even the loss of his own limbs barely phases him, so long as he gets to fight with someone that tests his limits. As a result, he more often than not embodies chaos incarnate, wreaking havoc in his pursuit of battle and leaving a mountain of corpses behind him. Needless to say, this puts him at odds with the series’ protagonists at regular intervals. Not only do Gon and his friends fit the bill for what he seeks, but they often take on enemies that prove to be exactly what Hisoka is looking for. And yet, this also serves to make him all the more interesting. Where other villains might strike out at the protagonists and heroes immediately, Hisoka schemes, allies himself with and double-crosses people regularly, always finding the best angle to work in order to reach his goals. He may not be a world-ending anime villain on the level of a Meruem with seismic ambitions, but he’s undeniably the most interesting and brilliant villain in Hunter x Hunter to see at work.

#8. Izaya Orihara (Durarara!!): If you think of a list of top anime villains and this guy isn’t one of the first people who comes to mind, please raise your hands so I can have a few words with you in private with no cameras or eyewitnesses. The crazy thing about Izaya is that he doesn’t even realize he’s evil, and that’s what makes him great. He loves humanity; from the depths of his bones he loves us all. This is why he makes it onto my list; he does progressively more cruel acts against humans, putting people in situations that generally lead to their deaths. He is also a master of parkour and highly skilled with a switchblade in his hand (as evident in the above picture), which he generally only uses in dire situations or fights against Shizuo. In short, I absoulutely love this guy. I thoroughly enjoyed the way he manages to manipulate an entire populous, and that’s why he’s more than earned a spot on my list.

#7. Dio Brando (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure): You might have thought it was someone else, but it was me, Dio! All meme-worthy jokes aside, Dio Brando is unquestionably one of the most iconic anime villains of all time and, thanks to his series’ late-blooming popularity outside of Japan thanks largely to the 2012 anime adaptation, one that still feels modern in our minds. Dio is a tenacious bastard that takes advantage of the generosity of the Joestar family to further his own power, being intolerably dickish to Jonathan by constantly tearing him down, trying to make him look bad in front of his dad, spreading rumors to sully his reputation, and sabotaging his relationships. This escalates into killing his dog (his f***ikg dog of all things!), poisoning and later stabbing his adoptive father (I mean WTF!), and becoming a freakin vampire. Even after decapitation, Dio gets his revenge and sets in motion many of the events of the series, making a formal return in Stardust Crusaders as the main villain once again. With raw ambition taken to the extreme, iconic lines, poses, and outfits, incredible abilities from Aztec mask-induced vampirism and the time-stopping power of The World, Dio’s menacing presence towers over his series and over anime as a whole, which makes him MORE than deserving of a spot on my list.

#6. Light Yagami (Death Note): Yes, he’s a VILLAIN, get over yourselves Light Yagami fanboys! Anyway, there are a number of different adjectives and superlatives that could be used to described the lead character of Death Note: Diabolical, calculating, and determined to make the world in his own image all describe Light who was easily the most clever man in Death Note, as evidenced by the layers upon layers that composed his elaborate plans. Light started out as a good kid, doing well in school and heading to a bright career in police work like his father. But when he gets possession of the death note, he begins a remarkable descent into a disturbing mastermind who becomes judge, jury, and executioner for the entire world. But what truly makes Light's character stand out remains complicated throughout the story. His ultimate goal is to make the world a happier, safer place; a noble but perhaps misguided goal. His idealism and nobility still shine through when he doesn’t have the Death Note. When he temporarily relinquishes ownership of the death note to throw L off his trail, Light loses all memory of the death note and he reverts to his normal personality. His sense of morality returns and he shows more compassion for those around him. He even refuses to use Misa Amane to get information out of her when L asks him to. These qualities help to create a complex character who ends up being a detestable villain, yet you still kind of root for him to come out of this story as a winner. Light’s progression through the series is marked by his sheer brilliance. He's got a calculated and strategic mind that would make the great philosopher Machiavelli jealous, and the power of the death note adds a callousness that makes him free to use people in whatever way necessary to accomplish his goals. It’s highly entertaining to see his intricate plans play out. But Light’s messiah-like ego is just as big as his brain, and that arrogance ultimately leads to his tragic downfall.

#5. The Major (Hellsing): An evil Nazi Scientist, I know everyone is just rolling their eyes right now thinking I’m reaching for the low-hanging fruit for this one, but just hear me out here. While he may seem like an obvious pick for a list like this, The Major’s goals, however, are somehow far more unhinged than what may first appear. Despite being an impassioned orator and uncompromising strategist willing to sacrifice countless soldiers, the Major himself had no especial loyalty or passion for the cause of Millennium. His sole obsession is to plunge the world into an unending conflict to the point of endangering not only the lives of others but also his own. The Major’s leadership of Millennium, his decades espousing the genocidal ideology of fascists, and subsequent war against the Hellsing organization, the Vatican, and the entire world serve only as a pretext to satiate his insatiable bloodlust. The Major is one of anime’s most insidious villains, a charismatic, nihilistic sociopath driven purely by his sadomasochistic death wish.

#4. Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist): Now, you may be recalling that in my previous version of this list, I had Envy listed as my choice as my favorite villain from this show. Well after careful reconsideration, I’ve had to reevaluate my decision and give that spot to this creep, because while Envy’s actions were despicable to a point, they PALE in comparison to this guy! He only really appears in one episode if I remember correctly, yet in that one single episode, he made more of an impact then most villains make in a lifetime, which really says a lot about this guy’s character. What was it that made him so memorable you ask? Well, it could have something to do with the fact that this man transmutaed his own dog and daughter to create a talking chimera, which hadn’t been done before, and for what other reason…all in the name of recognition in the world of alchemy! That mere fact alone made this guy the most hated man in all of anime, the fact that he sacrificed his own family for the sake of fame, with absolutely no hint of remorse, made this guy the definition of an absolute living piece of shit and the only thing worse is how the episode ended, but I won’t spoil that one for you if you haven’t seen it.

#3. Gendo Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Up next is a man competing with the likes of Medusa Gorgon for the title of “Anime’s Worst Parent”, Gendo Ikari, please step up to the front of the congregation. Now Gendo is a man who’s list of atrocities throughout Evangelion is far too many to name, but I’m going to try my best to list them here: You have being actively complicit in the premature instigation of a biblical apocalypse, resulting in a near extinction-level event that caused the death of nearly two-thirds of the human population. Emotionally neglecting his own son Shinji estranging himself from him for over twelve years, only to offer him up as a sacrificial pawn in his bid to artificially bootstrap humanity’s ascent into evolutionary godhood so that he could be reunited with his dead wife. Cloning said wife’s DNA into a harem of emotionally dependent albino ingenues who share a dogged infatuation for their creator. And that’s not even mentioning the horrific emotional abuse and mental manipulation he inflicts on Dr. Ritsuko Akagi and her mother Naoko. All-in-all Gendo is proof positive that love not only has the capacity to overcome any obstacle, but sometimes it can truly make monsters out of us all.

#2. Griffith (Berserk): Griffith did nothing wrong; at least, not by his own drives and ambitions. A peasant who grew to become the leader of his own mercenary band, Griffith was a self-driven man who pursued his desires with unparalleled efficiency. No matter the situation or obstacle, he found a way to overcome them, whether that meant facing down an army of thousands or assassinating a country’s leaders. All the while, he amassed a legion of friends and followers who would follow him to hell and back, caring for him as much or more than he cared for them. As a result, they were dragged down with him when his ambitions saw him imprisoned, tortured and maimed. They cared little though, risking life and limb to save him and help him salvage a life with what he had left. That wasn’t enough for Griffith though. When given the option to become a demon and continue the pursuit of his dreams, he whole-heartedly accepted it; even though it came at the cost of sacrificing the lives of each and every one of his friends and allies. But that wasn’t the worst of it, to further spite the early desertion of Guts, Griffith proceeds to rape Casca, Guts’ love interest, in front of him as Guts is held down by demons. So yes, Griffith did nothing wrong by himself. By everyone else though, he did them the worst of injustices, and continues to do so with each breath he takes, all of which makes him a compelling and infuriating villain.

#1. Johan Liebert (Monster): I’ve covered a wide variety of monsters (pun fully intended) on this list, but THIS monster (again, pun FULLY intended) truly takes the cake when it comes to anime villains. A serial killer who would fit in well in any blockbuster film, Monster told the story of a man who had truly become monstrous; a charismatic, intelligent sociopath with no other goal than to kill everyone else in the world. Johan didn't just kill people, he made other people into monsters just like him. This skill of his corruption is first displayed in his youth, when he used stories to convince the other boys in his orphanage to kill all the staff, and each other. Johan is often compared to Light Yagami of Death Note, but the two couldn’t be any more different. Light's fatal (and genius) flaw is his own ego, which leads him to put his own life above all else, even his goal of changing the world. But Johan has never been afraid of death. Quite the opposite, he welcomes and embraces it, being more than willing to put his own life at risk, and one of his signature traits is how he challenges people to shoot him. Another of Jonah’s signature traits is his skills as a masterful manipulator. Where Light and other on this list had to resort to supernatural means to get what they wanted, Johan just used his own wits and knowledge of human nature. He's easily the most frightening villain on this list because he’s the truest to life villain on this list and he exposes the base human nature of his victims and of human society. Monster's remarkable story was almost entirely due to Johan alone, and it’s why he’s #1 on my list.

So that's my updated list, what did you guys think about it? Love it, hated it? Go on and tell me what you think and let me know who your favorite anime villains are. See you soon!!!

Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/darkchild316

67 notes · View notes

dmgdstar · 3 years

Text

Plotted starter @cherrygamerfreak

Jotaro/Kakyoin post Stardust Crusaders au

Jotaro’s eyes flickered open, the blinding light piercing right through his head caused him to close them again for a moment. A dull ache throbbed at the back of his skull. And for a moment he laid there and just waited for it to end. Wondering if it would be better just to slip back into unconsciousness then to face the ache of his head. He wasn’t dead. He knew that much. Exactly how he had survived or gotten to where he was now though he couldn’t recall. His memory faded after the world had gone black. Had he thought he was going to die? Sure, it seemed logical to think that you may be facing your final moments when your body had grown too weak to support your weight. And even he had known that he had lost too much blood. It would seem though that fate had a different idea for Jotaro Kujo. The Joestar family bloodline wasn’t going to end there. His best guess on how he had ended up in the hospital had to be because they had won in the end. If they hadn’t been able to defeat Dio, it was very likely he would have bled out there in the streets of Cairo. Even so, his head hurt so damn bad he didn’t care to find the answer of how he had survived. There was no way for him to know how long he had been out for. Though again by the way the light stabbed right through him, he imagined he had to have been unconscious for at least a day, maybe more. The important part was that he had lived through it, though right? That was one way to look at it, but he was just relieved to know that his being there meant that Dio had been stopped. He didn’t want to imagine a world where that monster was left to reign.

“Hey! Jotaro is awake!” Came a familiar gruff voice.

His brows knitted together, and he forced his eyes to slowly open, glaring in the light that pierced through him once again. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see that the voice belonged to the man he thought it might, Joseph. His grandfather was standing at his bedside with a wide grin plastered on his face. “Could you keep it down, Old Man? You’re giving me a damn headache.” He muttered.

He let out an aggravated sigh, no point now in trying to rest anymore. Joseph had made so much noise that he couldn’t ignore it. And since he had gotten used to the light, he figured he might as well wake himself up a little. He shifted in the hospital bed, attempting to move from where he laid so he could sit up better. The movement caused a jolt of pain to surge up through him though. With a hiss and a wince, he fell back onto his back. The attempt had his grandfather moving to his side to assist him, much to his annoyance. And although he wasn’t so keen on accepting the help that was being offered to him, he didn’t object it. It looked like he was in worse shape than he had thought. At the time that he had sustained these injuries, he hadn’t really had a chance to feel much of the pain before he passed out from blood loss. Now that the was all patched up though and had been lying in one spot, he felt everything. And everything hurt tremendously. Yeah, there was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleeping after feeling that. It had him wondering if he hadn’t happened to wake up in between dosages of pain medication. What a shitty time to be awake. He silently cursed his grandfather for not letting him fall back asleep and catching him opening his eyes the first time. Though instead of verbally abusing the old man for doing just that, he settled for shooting him a sharp glare as he adjusted his pillows so he could sit upright in the now raised bed.

Once he was sitting up, he could get a good look at himself. He wasn’t surprised to find that he had been completely stripped from his regular clothing, being reduced to a hospital gown. Bandages peeked out from the collar of the gown, indicating that his entire torso had been wrapped up to cover his wounds. He noticed now that he was awake, there was a bandage placed over his cheek, a small square gauze secured by medical tape and some bandages wrapped around both of his hands. Those had likely been placed there to cover the small, cuts that he had received whenever he had taken on a barrage of gemstones. The worst of his injures would have been through out his chest and abdomen of course, where he had been pierced through. To a non-stand user, they must have looked like bullet holes. But he was certain that all the doctors taking care of him were from the Speedwagon Foundation. Joseph wouldn’t have had it any other way. Not only were they aware of the existence of stands, but they had technology that seemed to help the healing process. There wouldn’t be a need to explain to them what had happened to him and that he hadn’t actually just been shot by some large machine gun or something of that nature. That’s right… he remembered it now, everything that had happened clearly. These wounds that he had gotten was because he had refused to fight back against his own ally.

Those blues fell down onto his bandaged hands, recalling the moment that he thought would have been his last. Dio had gotten ahold of Kakyoin during their face off and while time had been standing still, he had managed to plant another bud into his attack. The flesh bud had taken hold of Kakyoin once more since he hadn’t been able to see it coming. It caused their ally to turn against them and his target had been set onto Jotaro after Joseph had been incapacitated. It seemed that Dio had one final plan to stop the Crusaders from stopping his plans to take over the entire world with his new stand ability. Have them turning on each other like he had tried to have done in the first place. It had backfired in the end, but on some level, it had nearly succeeded to destroy the Joestars. When Kakyoin had come to defend Dio against Jotaro, he had simply refused to call Star Platinum out. Jotaro knew he could take on Kakyoin and win, he had done so before. And although both stand users had grown during their journey to Egypt, Jotaro’s Star Platinum was still stronger. Fending off Hierophant Green would have been easy enough for him, if he had wanted to do it. But not wanting to cause harm to Kakyoin in the slightest, he had resolved to stand his ground instead without his stand. It might have been a standoff, if Kakyoin’s flesh bud hadn’t told him he needed to take Jotaro down while he wasn’t defending himself.

A barrage of emeralds had been sent again and again at Jotaro as he made a slow approach towards Kakyoin. The gems had pierced through his body like bullets and cut through his skin where they passed by. And despite how much he took and the blood that burst from each successful hit, he had kept his stride strong. Two meters was the range of Star Platinum, so even if he had wanted to attack him directly, he couldn’t without getting close to him. In the end, Jotaro had managed to knock Kakyoin down, grabbing hold of the flesh bud and once again forcing it out of him. When it had been done, the Kujo had fallen to his knees, weak from blood loss and exerting his wounded body. After that, he hadn’t known what had happened. He had to guess that Kakyoin was the one who had managed to defeat Dio. The details on that fight though were lost on him. Something that clicked in his head at the thought. When it came to mind, he lifted his gaze to find his grandfather arguing with the nurse about something. He had to roll his eyes at that as she came over to adjust his IV, leave it to the old man to insist that something get done. Seemed like impatience ran in the family.

“JiJi, where’s Kakyoin?” He questioned.

#cherrygamerfreak #SDC #jjba rp

5 notes · View notes

educated-ella · 3 years

Text

Stone Ocean review

(Image courtesy of Shueisha)

Ah yes, Stone Ocean. “The Bad One.” Does it hold up, or are the nay-sayers right?

Stone Ocean follows Jolyne Cujoh, the daughter of Jotaro Kujo (though she’s not particularly happy about that fact). After being framed for vehicular manslaughter, Jolyne is sent to Green Dolphin prison despite her innocence. When her father comes to break her out of jail, his memory and Stand are stolen by the enigmatic Whitesnake. With Jotaro now at death’s door, it’s up to her to recover her father’s memories, bust out of prison, and maybe end the Joestar feud once and for all.

This is a very tricky part to talk about just because of how many risks it takes. We’ve got a female protagonist, we’re stuck in a stationary location for most of the story, both Jotaro and Dio’s backstories receive slight retcons, Jolyne was originally going to get a girlfriend--there’s a lot to talk about. Does it all work? Well...

Many fans refer to Stone Ocean as “The Bad One” for a lot of reasons. “Whitesnake” and many of Jolyne’s allies do not have much character depth, Green Dolphin prison does not make for an interesting setting, the “assassin” conflicts feel much more forced here than they did in Vento Aureo and take themselves much more seriously than in Stardust Crusaders; these are all common complaints that get thrown Stone Ocean’s way. But I think the real problem here is with the pacing. SO has, in my opinion, the worst pacing in the series. Major events, such as the prison escape, are skimmed over while minor fights end up lasting chapter after chapter without much actually happening. Many of Jolyne’s allies get written out of the story for long periods of time, meaning that they never get the opportunity to fully develop as characters (Stardust Crusaders also does this, but it’s also a much longer story and in one instance, a character being put on a bus is a major plot point rather than a footnote). Even when these characters do get some depth, it’s ruined by the wildly inconsistent pacing; of the four character arcs that Stone Ocean tries to juggle, only one of them feels well executed. This part keeps too many balls in the air and can’t juggle them all at once, and it’s its biggest flaw.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Stone Ocean like many others online do. Jolyne’s character arc may be rushed to the point of almost not existing, but her character is leagues more charming and endearing than Giorno before her (and Johnny after her). The one character arc that is well executed, that of the plankton colony Foo Fighters learning to be human (welcome to JoJo, folks), is my favorite in the entire series. Some of the interactions between Jolyne and her allies are funny, and the fights that don’t stretch themselves out thin are very well done. But that aside, there’s really not much here that you can’t get from another, better paced part.

Except for the ending.

This is another thing where your mileage may vary. MAJOR SPOILERS, seriously, if you have any interest in getting into JoJo, don’t read ahead.

Stone Ocean ends with Pucci (aka Whitesnake) destroying the Joestar bloodline once and for all and resetting the universe. The bad guy wins. Or at least, I think that’s what happens, because in the new universe we see copies of Jolyne and everyone else involved in the part, just with different names. Some people think this ties off the original universe perfectly. Some people don’t like that Pucci of all characters was the one who “won,” seeing him as a bland Dio-worshiper with little depth. Me? I hate this ending. If Araki was going to kill of all the Joestars and end the series like that, it’d be fine. I’d be disappointed, but it would still be fine. What bothers me is that it’s never explained what the new universe is and how different it is from the original one. Did every Joestar die when Made in Heaven activated, or just those at the space station? If Jolyne is replaced by Irene in this new universe, then who does Jotaro get replaced by? How different is not-Jotaro from his original counterpart? How does that affect literally everyone who Jotaro has interacted with since Stardust Crusaders (No Jotaro=Dio lives, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here)? Did Made in Heaven get rid of all Stands? Is this new universe related to the one seen in Steel Ball Run and JoJolion?

All of these are questions that I had reading Stone Ocean’s ending, and none of them were answered. I get the feeling this is a me thing, lots of people online tell me I’m dumb for not understanding what exactly happened, yet they never answer my questions. Who knows, maybe you’ll love the ending. But it raises more questions than it does answers. It doesn’t give me the sense of finality that Araki was going for, it just makes me confused.

1 note · View note

wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years

Text

Psycho Analysis: N’Doul

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Perhaps the greatest trick Stardust Crusaders pulls is keeping you thinking that there will be nothing but painfully average Stand users all the way until DIO. The first half of the series is very hit or miss, with some really great Stand users, some really average Stand users, and some really awful and forgettable Stand users. But as soon as the gang sets foot in Egypt, the quality is amped up to 11, and what better character to showcase that than the blind Stand user N’Doul?

Actor: Greg Chun portrays him in the anime, and there’s not much else that can be said other than that he gets the job done. He certainly doesn’t do a bad job, so don’t worry about that.

Motivation/Goals: As with most of DIO’s henchmen, his goal is simply to assassinate Jotaro or, if all else fails, at least keep the gang occupied long enough so that DIO can finally master The World and use it to stomp out his enemies with ease. N’Doul is very good at this job; he basically knocks Kakyoin out of the series until the final few episodes, and succeeds in murdering multiple Speedwagon Foundation men before he’s ultimately stopped.

Unlike a lot of Stand users prior, N’Doul actually does give a solid background that explains why he would follow someone like DIO: having lived a life where he felt shunned and ostracized due to his powers, DIO finally made him feel like he had a sense of purpose and belonging by accepting him for who he really was. It’s not the deepest of backstories, but at the very least it shows that ultimately, N’Doul is a tragic figure who may have been the groups friend in another lifetime.

Interestingly, later revelations show Kakyoin similarly felt he could not relate to others growing up due to his powers; in that regard, N’Doul is sort of a dark mirror to Kakyoin, and it’s a shame this wasn’t played up and Kakyoin instead gets wounded and put out of commission until its time to go to DIO’s mansion.

Personality: N’Doul is a truly loyal and honorable villain; he makes no excuses and openly states he and DIO are evil, and yet he still has some standards, decency, and honor, to the point where Jotaro actually comes to respect him by the end.

Final Fate: Ultimately, he ends up taking his own life after Jotaro gets the best of him, deciding he’d rather go out on his own terms than be executed by DIO for failure.

Best Scene: The moment when he accomplishes few others can ever claim to have done: knock Jotaro’s hat off.

Best Quote: I could put his massive monologue he gives right before his death, in which he outlines his morality, his backstory, and his loyalty to DIO in an epically long-winded dying speech that would make Sniper Wolf proud… or I can say his best quote is “I can't believe it! He actually threw the dog...” if only because it’s the sort of beautifully out-of-context insanity only JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure can provide.

Final Thoughts & Score: Much as Forever long ago eased everyone into the sheer insanity of what a Stand user could be, N’Doul easily establishes just what one should expect coming up from DIO’s henchmen. There are few weak links between him and the final confrontation, and the ones that are are ones played for laughs; N’Doul is a sign of just how intense the battles are going to be going forward.

As cool as I think N’Doul is, I do think there is some really great missed opportunities that ultimately hold him back a little bit. The aforementioned point about Kakyoin is the worst of it; Kakyoin gets so little to do in Egypt because of N’Doul, and on top of that he actually could have made for an interesting foil to Kakyoin. Sure, it’s unlikely someone as powerful as N’Doul could ever be more than a one-shot character and so any sort of rivalry with Kakyoin would have to have been condensed, but if there had been a little something it might have cushioned the blow of my boy Kakyoin being MIA for all the Stand fights going forward.

Still, I think the most major problem with him as a character is that he gets eclipsed by the more extravagant personalities of the other Egypt Stand users. N’Doul has a very subdued personality, and while he is certainly cool, intriguing, and mysterious, he’s not as fun as Oingo, Boingo, Alessi, or Mariah, and he is overshadowed in violence and depravity by Vanilla Ice and Pet Shop. Even with how cool his battle is, it gets overshadowed by the sheer intensity of the elder D’Arby’s battle. N’Doul is a nice way to ease us in for sure, but he feels a bit quaint compared to the others in Egypt.

Ultimately, I think N’Doul still deserves a very high 8/10, held back only by his one-shot nature and for just coming off as a convenient way to remove Kakyoin from the plot until its time for him to get punched through by DIO. He doesn’t even have the excuse Vanilla Ice does of being the penultimate obstacle before DIO to at least somewhat justify him taking out a hero, and while he doesn’t kill Kakyoin, he might as well have for all Kakyoin does upon returning. Still, N’Doul was cool enough for Diesel to rip off, so he’s cool in my book.

I think perhaps the most important thing to note is how he bookends Iggy’s time on the team. Iggy meets his end at a villain with no qualms about kicking a dog to death for the pettiest of reasons, while N’Doul reacts in shock at the mere notion that Jotaro would pitch a dog at him like a baseball. It’s nice to know there’s at least one JoJo antagonist who cares about the well-being of dogs.

#Psycho Analysis #N'Doul #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Stardust Crusaders

36 notes · View notes

winterbites · 5 years

Text

(Major JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime spoiler warning) My review of...

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders and Battle in Egypt (I'm counting them as one whole season but as two parts) is, admittedly, my least favorite season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. 48 episodes long across the two parts, the show is definitely enjoyable but I personally wouldn't watch it again for anything other than a few cool fights. However, once again showing his viewers just how crazy his work can and will get, Akari makes JoJo's Bizarre Adventure even more bizarre starting with this season. For this review, I'm going going to take both parts into consideration. As usual, I'm going to keep my review as neutral as possible even if Stardust Crusaders isn't a top pick for me.

Unlike its predecessors, Stardust Crusaders has no narrator for the majority of the season, only showing up to speak the occassional thoughts of characters or animals. Akari always keeping things fresh, I think this is good for the show; we're no longer in the past so we don't need a narrator to tell us events as they happen in front of us.

First, I'm going to talk about the new element Akari brings into JoJo's Bizarre Adventure with Stardust Crusaders: Stands. An absolutely badass idea, Akari plays with this new element of the show beautifully. Unlike many other shounen manga/anime, the ability to control a Stand isn't solely about who has the biggest dick energy attack, but instead Akari turns the tables and uses the Stands for strategic battles; this way, it doesn't actually matter who's stronger or weaker, but instead who's smarter (which very much counteracts the art style of buff men quite nicely). Due to the Stands and mental/wit battles instead of physical battles the way it usually is in the shounen genre, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure takes a very unique turn for the better and works incredibly well given the context of the series.

Now lemme tell ya about the intros: I LOVE the both of them, and I'll start with Stand Proud from the first part of the season. So much energy, wonderfully timed visuals and the fantastic 3D-looking 2D animation; there is nothing about this intro that I don't like. It's ranked as my second favorite intro in terms of song choice, is tied for my number one in terms of visuals, and is tied for my favorite in terms of sound effects. The beautifully drawn night sky, the small addition of sketched art, the subtle hints of enemy Stands in the background, and the background constantly changing in such drastic ways are such terrifyingly engaging imagery that it makes me cry tears of happiness. Not to mention the hard to see hint of Dio at the end, only people who are active on-lookers or were shown that he's there at all will see him. I also love that, in the beginning of the intro, you see 5 stars, alluding to our 5 main characters, but then a 6th star appears, which alludes to Holly Joestar still sick in Japan. Also, the physics of Jotaro's chain and shadow is absolutely ravishing, it's little effects like that that really get me going, as well as the gradual breaking of glass at the end of the intro. The entire sequence is a masterpiece by my standards, truly a job well done.

Now, as for the second intro, I don't like it as much as the first one but it's still great in its own right. I adore the mixing of vocals, going from hard rock to the softer sounding male and then mixing them both for a wonderful Ora Ora Ora duet. I lean in towards my computer screen each time I watch the intro because the fast moving visuals are so enrapturing, not to mention you can see subtle changes in the faces of the characters and their body stance between the fast-paced frames. There's even one point where the group is lined up and the beat strikes, quickly switching them out for their Stands before swiftly changing to the next image. I also admire the way the credits are so well integrated into the intro, jumping and spiking along with the enthusiastic beat, emphasizing the song without being in the way. And when Dio uses his ZA WARUDO to stop time during the second version of this intro, I go into orgasmic bliss because it's so awesome; you can even see that piss bucket SMIRK while hearing his soft footfalls and I love it. Once again, there is nothing that I don't love about this intro.

Just like with Phantom Blood, there isn't much I can say about the soundtrack as a whole, but is fantastic in that it reflects the current situation and could easily switch up its beat when a battle turned.

As for the outros, I love Walk Like an Egyptian and its spirited inspiration, beat and vocals (fantastic job by the Bangles). There's no song quite like Walk Like an Egyptian so it's always a win in my book whenever it's used, especially in such a fitting case. I don't really like the second outro because, unlike every other intro/outro of the series, Last Train Home is a more somber or melancholy song, which doesn't really fit the show in my opinion. It's certainly a nice sounding song, but I'm just not crazy about it.

As for the characters, while I don't like them as much as other characters from other seasons, they certainly aren't bad either; we even get to see character development throughout both parts. Some characters become more mature, more level-headed and smarter with situations, and each person is internally unique as exemplified by their Stand. Some were more likable than others but, in general, the cast was pretty damn cool.

Now that I'm done gushing about all the things I love about this season, I'm gonna gush about the things that made me dislike this season more than the others, and I'm gonna start with the female side character Anne. This girl... did absolutely nothing throughout the show. In her defense, she didn't get in the way of the characters, but she didn't do anything for them either. She was even dropped out of the group halfway through the first part of the season, being inconsequential the whole way through. There was also some kind of weird sexualization going about her too: her age is never stated but she's definitely prepubescent (given the dialogue, she's probably 11 or 12 years old) but she had the body of a teenager and fawned over Jotaro. Once again in her defense, young girls fantasizing about older men (I personally enjoy the company of older men as they tend to be financially stable and more responsible) and having more developed bodies compared to their peers isn't odd at all; instead, it's actually very normal and healthy. However, Jotaro is 17, which is a lot older and, generally, the older the man (or woman) is the weirder it gets.

Speaking of sexualizing little girls, I want to turn attention to the Strength Stand user orangutan, Forever. This literal animal had the hots for Anne, and tried to do stuff to her that I can only describe as attempted rape, so that was a thing. Obviously, that's some fucked up shit that wasn't actually necessary to the story since Jotaro found out about Forever anyway and beat the shit out of him.

Next is, once again, Dio's motives. I love Dio, I really do, but he's just not that much of a well-explained character. His goal is explicitly stated this time around: he wants to rule the world. Fantastic, but WHY does he want to rule it? Who knows, it's never said why.

My next problem is with the villains of the show, they all seemed the same and reused to me. While each Stand (expect for two that did legit the exact same thing of stealing souls and putting them into objects) was unique given the user, whenever they were defeated they did one of two things: they either begged for forgiveness, which would always result in getting the snot beat out of them, or they swore their absolute loyalty to Dio (less of them did this) and died. Some of them would run away, but all of them (save for two Stand Users) never made another appearance, so most of them were just throw away characters.

Finally, my biggest problem is with Iggy, the last party member in our group of main characters who showed up at the beginning of Battle in Egypt. I know Akari wanted to make an animal Stand user to be a part of the cast and I know that Iggy was dragged out to Egypt against his will, but that doesn't make him any less of an infuriating character. For nearly the entire season, I absolutely hated Iggy: he was more useless than Anne as he intentionally turned his head the other way when the group was in trouble and/or DYING, he tried to sell Jotaro out to save his own skin as soon as he was introduced, and he had the absolute worst ambition of any of the characters in that he basically just wanted to be a pimp. After getting fucking up by an avian Stand user that totally should have won the fight (the finishing icicle appeared so much more slowly than all the other volleys, plot armor truly is invincible) and getting his leg dismembered, Iggy finally stepped up to the plate that he probably should have been on to begin with and earned my respect. Seriously, why would you so eagerly make an animal Stand user only to not use him for the entire show and then kill him off when he's barely shown what he can do? It makes no sense and it's so frustrating.

However, Akari truly has magic hands because as soon as Iggy actually started doing something, he immediately became a badass in my book and I cried another river to his death.

Speaking of deaths, just as a side note, why kill Avdol, bring him back, only to kill him again? As I understand it, Akari killed off Avdol the first time around but then realized that if he was going to kill a main character, he should probably make that character more important. But then Avdol died again and his death still felt insignificant. A good opportunity to learn on Akari's part, but I feel like bringing Avdol back to life didn't make much sense either.

8 notes · View notes

zabbaninja · 4 years

Text

Number 27- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Battle In Egypt)

I really like this one, watch from the beginning though, full review below, contains spoilers.

SPOILERS BELOW

I remember finishing Battle Tendency and thinking, “How can they top this?” Answer is, they can’t. I like the first episode of Stardust Crusaders, then everything goes downhill. Don’t get me wrong, there is some solid stuff in here, but I really didn't like some of the episodes. I finished and realized that the next part, Battle In Egypt, was not on Netflix. I waited and waited, eventually saying I would never be able to watch it. But then imagine my surprise when they added it to Netflix. I was super hyped to finally finish the saga of DIO, but I was cautious. I was disappointed by the last season, so I was not expecting much. But lo and behold, I was absolutely amazed. From the moment they landed in Egypt, I knew I was ready for an adventure. Iggy is a great addition to the cast, though it is sad that Kakyoin had to sit on the sidelines for most of it. (We will get to the donut, trust me.) Oingo and Boingo are absolutely hysterical and completely unexpected. Anubis was awesome, I really liked Polneraff in this one, now that he’s not bitching about the Hanged Man 90% of the time. Joseph and Avdol’s gay adventure had me rolling on the floor, and Alessi was borderline terrifying. I did not know you could even show that on TV. And then, it happens. One of the best episodes of anime ever, D’Arby the Gambler. Even if you have never seen a single episode of JoJo, I think you should watch this. It is truly a testament to how quickly you can build up a character, make them the scariest shit ever, and then break them down to a total loser in only 40 minutes. This is JoJo’s greatest strength all on display at once. This… this is perfection. And we aren't even done! Hol Horse comes back! This is a pretty funny episode, but it’s all a juxtaposition to the following episode. Haha, funny dog man have funny standalone episodes. “What? It’s incredibly dark? What? Oh… oh shit.” This is completely insane. I cannot believe that Iggy would have the most sadistic, terrifying things you could possibly imagine. THE DOG!! Absolutely incredible. Kakyoin's back! (WE WILL GET TO THE DONUT). The walk to DIO’s mansion is so unreal. I could not believe they made a building so terrifying. D’Arby’s brother might not be as good as him, but it is still a fantastic episode. And then, he appears. The Miasma of the Void. Avdol dies. Now I did get spoiled that Avdol would die, but I thought, “Oh they’re just pretending to kill him right? Right?” Wrong. He is just dead. Like that. Damn. And then Iggy goes as well. I mean, you gotta kill the dog in the worst way possible. But man, I cried like a bitch when their ghosts flew into the air. I was not expecting that to hit as hard as it did. Even when I listen to the music at this part I cry. The wound cuts deep. But now we have made it. DIO. The final battle. ZA WARUDO!! Time stops. These last 4 episodes are truly spectacular. While it is cruel to bring Kakyoin back just to have him destroyed, I think that’s the point. This fan favorite crushed by DIO’s unrelenting power was not only shocking, but showed us how it is not like other anime. It shows us that JoJo is not afraid to do horrible things to our favorite characters, just as they destroyed Joseph. This scene still blows my mind. Joseph’s hand outstretched, telling Jotaro the secret to DIO’s power. This is how you make something impactful. And so the final battle commences. It’s ruthless, brutal, but truly special. I think the main thing that got me is the end. “There's only one reason you lost, Dio. You really pissed me off.” I used to find this line dumb, stupid even. What? That’s the big pay off? But now I truly understand the genius of it. DIO’s ambition, his ultimate power, is that innate desire to be utterly evil. And yet, Jotaro’s anger, his wrath of his friends being hurt by DIO was so strong it beat out Dio by a longshot. That’s just how strong Jotaro is. Okay, let’s take a minute to talk about the OP. This is the greatest opening to an anime ever. No question. That realization at the end, where all the vague shapes and colors were actually foreshadowing everything is a moment that any plot twist wishes it could emulate. Now this was an adventure. I still haven't finished part 5, but it looks like it’s going to be just as memorable and impactful as this. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure truly is in a league of its own.

#review #anime #jojo's bizarre adventure #long post #spoilers #opinion

0 notes

duhragonball · 7 years

Note

Since you finished part 6. How would you rate the parts, jojo's and villains?

I’ll probably go into greater detail when I’m finished with Part 7 and 8, but here’s where things stand.

1: Part II, Battle Tendency

2: Part III: Stardust Crusaders

3: Part VI: Stone Ocean

4: Part I: Phantom Blood

5: Part V: Vento Aureo

6: Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable

In short, Part 2 is just about friggin’ perfect. Short, but not too short, no wasted movements or cul-de-sac’s in the plot. Part 3 is basically like someone took Harry Potter and fixed everything I thought was wrong with it. Part 4 is the worst mainly because it lost the plot pretty early on and took its sweet time finding it. As soon as that second arrow turned up I knew I was in trouble.

As for the Jojos

1: Jotaro Kujo

2: Jolyne Kujo

3: Joseph Joestar

4: Jonathan Joestar

5: Josuke Highashikata

6: Giorno Giovanna

I’m not sure I’m totally settled on that list, but I like Jotaro the best because he’s so severe. The bad guys are often terrified of him, where they tend to underestimate the others. Jolyne kind of feels like an amalgam of the first five, and maybe she’s my favorite and I just haven’t come to grips with that yet.

Josuke and Giorno rank low because they never really seemed to take charge of their own stories. Half of Vento Aureo felt like Bruno was the main character, and Josuke kept letting Koichi, Jotaro, and Rohan take over for him, to the point where I don’t feel like we ever really got to find out what he was all about.

1: Dio Brando

2: ZA WARUDO

3: Toki yo tomare!

4: KURAE!

5: ROOOAD ROLLA DA!

6: Ha ha ha ha

7: MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA

8: WRYYYYYYYYY

9: Soshite, toki wa ugoki dasu.

10: Enrico Pucci

11: Yoshikage Kira

12: Diavolo

13: Kars

The only trouble with Kars was that he had a pretty one-track mind, and his presence in Part 2 was very minimalist until he was the only antagonist left standing. Diavolo has a similar problem, although his characterization made up for it. A guy like Diavolo sort of needs to be shrouded in mystery, where Kars was kept in the shadows mostly to make room for the other characters.

Kira and Pucci are much more well-rounded characters, to the point where you’re almost rooting for them because you get to understand their motives so well. What puts Pucci so high on my list is that he’s a fixture from almost the very beginning of the story, so he and Jolyne have the whole arc to cultivate their grudge.

But nobody’s touching the Za Warudo Guy. I was scurred of that guy before I even knew what JoJo was.

#ask duhragonball #jojo's bizarre adventure #spoilers #mintios #2017jjbaliveblog #stone ocean

10 notes · View notes

wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 5 years

Text

Michael in the Mainstream - JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

It’s been a long while since I’ve talked about Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure; the last time I talked about it was when I reviewed Phantom Blood, which makes this review even weirder. How on earth could I skip over Battle Tedency?! Well, the thing with Battle Tendency is that that part is almost universally loved, especially in the West, and at the moment I feel like I can’t say much more about it than “Yeah this was a good part of the show.” But Stardust Crusaders? There’s a lot to unpack with this chapter of the Joestar’s saga.

Stardust Crusaders has had a divisive reputation in America as opposed to its status as generally beloved that it has in Japan. Some people really enjoy this part, and others really don’t like it much at all. I think a lot of the ire this part draws comes down to character focus and the overall story and how it flows, though I do think overexposure may have at least some part in it, as this was one of the few parts widely known in the West back when the franchise was a cult classic. To be frank, I find the divisiveness a bit unwarranted, though at the same time I do think that this part of the series does have some issues with it that I do think need to be addressed.

Probably the biggest point of contention is how the story progresses. The story is a very simple one: Jotaro and a ragtag team of misfit Stand users travel to Egypt to kill Dio once and for all, and they have to fight through an army of Stand users to get to him, with all of their foes in the first half of the series have Stands named after tarot cards and then all the Stand users in Egypt having Stands named after Egyptian gods. It’s your standard “monster of the week” anime, for better and for worse. While I do like how fun and creative most of the Stand battles are, the issue is that a lot of the enemy Stand users are entirely forgettable, especially the tarot Stand users, who tended to be rather boring, with Arabia Fats being the worst on the merit that he’s only ever seen after being knocked unconscious.

Most of the others don’t really rise above being mediocre, with a few exceptions. The best of all the tarot Stands is, without a doubt, Hol Horse, the gunslinging cowboy Stand user whose Emperor allows him to control the trajectory of the bullets from his Stand gun… and yet, he never once is able to hit anyone other than himself. He’s the sort of bumbling idiot villain I love to see, and the fact that he also frequently mentions how he respects women and also has no qualms about kidnapping oracular children makes him even funnier. He’s definitely a standout of the first half of the series, and Stardust Crusaders as a whole. Aside from him, the Geils tend to be the better Stand users of the first half, as well as Forever and Mannish Boy if only for the weird factor.

Egypt, however, is where the show picks up the pace, with every single Egyptian Stand user being an absolute blast. Mariah, Alessi, N’Doul, Anubis, the D’Arby brothers… all of the Stand users encountered in the latter half of the show are wildly entertaining and have some truly creative fight scenes. Perhaps the most memorable of all of them was the sadistic hawk, Pet Shop, who gave Iggy an excellent battle right before the steps towards the finale. But special mention also needs to go to the utterly hilarious Oingo Boingo brothers, perhaps the greatest moron team in all of anime, or even cartoons in general. They’re so amusing they even get their own special end credits (and Hol Horse gets to join in when he teams up with Boingo.

Now, while I do love all of the Stand users in Egypt, I have to admit that the old 90s OVA did have a pretty good idea in trimming the fat and only keeping the most plot relevant Stand users while cutting out the more unneeded ones. Forever, Hol Horse, J. Geil, and Enya are the only tarot Stand users fought, and only Daniel J. D’Arby, N. Doul, and Vanilla Ice are the only Stand users in Egypt fought. While I am generally a bit iffy about cutting out a lot of the more fun stuff – the lack of Pet Shop and Oingo Boingo bros is really depressing – the general idea of trimming some of the fat to get to where they need to be sooner probably would have helped this a lot. It really feels like a slog to get through this, even though there’s plenty of fun to be had, mostly because things start to get exhausting right around the time they actually get to Egypt. By then, you’re so fatigued by watching all of the enemy Stand fights that you really just want to see them pulverize Dio.

So frankly I do think the OVA had the right idea, I just think it cut too much of the fun stuff. A lot of the reason Egypt was such a good part of the arc is because the Stand users danced the line of being fun and being serious, with all the pervert and blowjob jokes in the Mariah episode and the juvenile and child endangerment jokes of Alessi’s episode; if there could have been a way to get to that sooner or at least change up the first half to make it more fun would have really helped. We really don’t need to see Captain Tenille or Devo or Rubber Soul or whoever, as they are mostly plot irrelevant and serve only as the obstacle of the day.

Of course, the OVA also cut a lot of the fun and lighthearted battles, leaving mainly the most intense ones, and part of what makes Stardust Crusaders good is that it swerves into darkness after comedy. The way the OVA is set up makes the whole thing dark and bleak, which is just not the case. I do think there’s a balance between the two, but it’s definitely not achieved in the anime and it’s easy to see how anyone could become fatigued by some random Stand user of the week showing up and then never being referenced again, only serving as an obstacle to hinder a hasty arrival to Dio’s lair. I think cutting out a good chunk of the tarot Stand users would have really helped the flow of the arc.

Now, onto the characters; one of the most contentious parts is the Jojo of this journey, Jotaro Kujo. Jotaro is a stoic stone-cold badass, one who uses his Stand Star Platinum in numerous ridiculous ways to achieve victory over his opponents. Some see him as a boring, invincible hero, but I don’t find this to be the case. He’s really no more invincible than any other shonen anime protagonist, and he gets beaten down even if he always comes ahead in the end. And yes, while I will admit that Star Platinum does have a tendency of pulling new powers out of nowhere, I don’t see it as much different than, say, Yugi drawing exactly the card he needs to win the duel in Yu-Gi-Oh. It’s just part of being a shonen series, I suppose. That sort of writing off of Jotaro also ignores that most of his victories are won through his decisive wit and quick thinking rather than just Star Platinum punches; that’s usually the finisher after Jotaro pulls off a flawless plan. One of his best victories, in the poker game against D’Arby, doesn’t even feature any ORAORA-ing at all.

As for the stoicism and his unflappable demeanor, as well as his rude and arrogant attitude towards the start of the series, the whole of the show shows Jotaro growing out of this and developing real bonds with his companions, to the point that his rage at the harming of his friends drives him to fight with every ounce of his power against Dio. Jotaro is a very cool and worthy protagonist when it comes right down to it, and Matt Mercer’s voice definitely helps Jotaro ooze eve more cool than he does on his own. While even I’ll admit he has some less impressive moments, the fact of the matter is that he does develop quite a bit as a character, certainly more than the bland hero figure of someone like Jonathan.

Polnareff tends to draw a bit of ire as well, mainly due to people wondering if he deserves all of the screentime and development he gets. The short answer, from my perspective anyway, is yes. The long answer is yes, but at the same time there is a lot with him that could have been done better. He’s easily one of my favorite Jojo companions out of any of the first three parts, but I feel like after his original motivation – finding the killer of his sister – is concluded only a few episodes after he’s introduced, he almost feels superfluous and he really gets shafted by being reduced to the butt of a lot of jokes, though all that being said it’s clear that Polnareff is a man driven by honor as well as vengeance even from the start, so the fact he’d stay on to help in the fight against Dio is completely unsurprising. And while I love Polnareff, I do wish that any of the other characters got as much screentime as he did.

One of the big issues is that a lot of the other characters get pushed to the side, with the story heavily leaning towards developing Polnareff and Jotaro at the expense of every other character. This isn’t much of a problem for Joseph, as by this point any viewer is likely to know that character quite well from the previous season, but Iggy, Avdol, and Kakyoin especially get hit pretty hard with irrelevancy, especially later on. Avdol is one of the more interesting cases, as he “dies” halfway through the tarot Stand user arc, only to be revealed as having survived a few episodes before the gang reaches Egypt, where he then proceeds to do very little until he is killed for real. This is interesting because Avdol has far more of an excuse than the other two, as Araki originally was going to have his first death in the manga be permanent; it’s clear Araki had no idea what to do with the poor guy after he came back, but regardless, it’s still sad he feels all wasted.

Iggy only ever gets one major solo fight before he’s killed, though it’s one of the best in the season and it gives us some insight into who Iggy is. Still, Iggy just ends up feeling like a sacrifice to tug at your heartstrings, one that works of course but one that feels at least a little cheap and needlessly cruel, especially after all the other cruel dog deaths in the season. Kakyoin is perhaps the most depressing, as he ends up getting sidelined for almost the entirety of the Egypt arc before returning in time to go fight Dio and then getting brutally killed by the vampire. It’s even worse because he’s portrayed by Kyle Hebert, who you may know as Ryu of Street Fighter fame; his performance in Kakyoin’s final moments is so genuine, powerful, and heartfelt that you really wish Hebert got more time to shine and Kakyoin got more to do.

These issues aside, though… I really do love this arc. This is mostly because this here is the part where you can see things come together to form the series we all know and love. Up until this point, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has been fantastical but not too out there; sure there were cyborg Nazis, ancient Aztec vampires, and a man name Robert E. O. Speedwagon, but all of that seems a bit grounded, even when it got more fantastical. Even with the introduction of Stands, it’s not really anything too out there, they’re physical manifestations of the wielder’s fighting spirit.

And then you come to the porn addicted orangutan who has sapience and whose Stand takes the form of an ocean liner, and all bets are off.

Forever really marks the point where these adventures truly became bizarre, and set the precedent for all arcs to come, eve Egypt to some extent. Notice how most of the tarot Stands have rather simple abilities, even ones like Star Platinum and Hierophant Green which., while versatile in what they can do, have obvious areas they excel at. Strength, Forever’s Stand, is really a standout with how out there it is, a feat that wouldn’t be matched until the Egypt Stand users came on the scene with their wackier powersets. Nothing reaches the insanity levels of something like, say, Heavy Weather, Bohemian Rhapsody, or Dirty Deeds quite yet, but this was the transitional period between the more narrow-usaged Hamon and Stands, so it makes sense that the waters would be tested with simpler yet still creative abilities at first. Stardust Crusaders really does a good job of easing people in to a series that eventually has hand-collecting serial killers who get boners from the Mona Lisa and a United States president who wants to collect the pieces of Jesus Christ’s corpse to make America invincible, and let’s not even get into the whole situation with Gappy’s testicles. All I’m saying is that if you want to get people to accept a turtle with an interdimensional hotel room inside it… you gotta start with an orangutan.

This is also where all the musical references kick into high gear. Obviously they were there before; Dio, Wag Chung, Speedwagon, Whammu, Kars, and Eisidisi did not escape my notice, after all. But here they became far more pronounced, with characters like Oingo & Boingo, Enya, J. Geils, Captain Tenille, Pet Shop, and perhaps most ridiculous of all, Vanilla Ice and his Stand, Cream. Vanilla Ice actually, ahem, stands out as being the first example of what would become the standard naming convention for all Stands to follow, that is to say, named after a song or band. Ironically, this makes him stand out in the very arc he appears in.

While in general the Stands were a bit less wacky than later Stands would be, there was a lot of creativity in the battles for what limited powersets they had. J. Geils and Hanged Man, Forever and Strength, Mannish Boy and Death 13, and Midler and High Priestess stand out among the tarot Stand users, while just about every single one of the Stand users with Stands named after Egyptian gods stand out as creative and exciting battles. Daniel D’Arby’s battle in particular is one of the best in the entire arc, as there is not a punch thrown and instead the entire thing boils down to an intense poker match. And, of course, I’d be remiss to not mention the multi-episode final duel against Dio and his Stand, The World, which is so utterly epic and filled with badass moments (as well as Matt Mercer getting to say “It’s high noon”) that it’s impossible not to love it.

Stardust Crusaders is definitely an arc with some serious flaws. It’s incredibly long, its format is a bit unrefined, it has a lot of filler characters, it doesn’t evenly distribute screentime, and a lot of it reeks of growing pains and early installment lack of direction. Considering the point in the series the anime is based on, it was kind of destined to be this way. And yet, despite the flaws, it’s still an incredibly fun, exciting, and funny adventure. Even if underutilized or overexposed, all of the main cast is enjoyable and likable; even if there are far too many to the point of exhaustion, most of the enemy Stand users are fun; and even if the arc drags on to the point where it gets frustrating and tedious, things always eventually swoop around and the show becomes as absorbing as it ever was.

While Stardust Crusaders is definitely not the best arc of the franchise, it’s a hell of a lot of fun and it’s easy to see why this part in particular is so popular and influential. A 2010s anime based on an 80s manga series has no right to feel so fresh and exciting, and yet here we are. It likely manages to work so well despite its shortcomings because, frankly, most other series like this have kind of vanished in this day and age, which helps the show stand out more despite the manga it’s based on helping define its genre back in the day. It’s basically a case of it being the right thing at the right time. Sure it’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be, so long as it can suck in and inspire new generations of fans the way the original manga did. It’s a great watch, though honestly, there are quite a few episodes you could skip over if you want to have a faster, cleaner viewing experience, namely most of the tarot Stands.

Whatever the case may be, I think all of us can agree on one thing:

This arc is WAY better than Phantom Blood.

#Michael in the Mainstream #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #Stardust Crusaders #anime #review #tv show review #anime review

7 notes · View notes