I guess this is the month where I get
to redact my opinions. First I'm over at Haywire
realizing that I never gave Devil Survivor 2 a chance and now I'm
here to take back most of my unkind thoughts about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure:Stardust Crusaders while also adding some new ones I skipped
over last time. Maybe the fact that it's animated now or that I
didn't binge the show like I did the manga but I enjoyed
the anime more than the manga.
Like it's predecessor, Stardust
Crusaders is a almost panel perfect adaption of said arc with a few
events subtly changed to match up with later events of the arc. As a
result it keeps the stories strengths and weaknesses mostly intact.
The plot follows Jotaro and his companions as they travel to Egypt to
stop DIO. Introduced in this arc of the manga are the iconic Stand
powers. Basically physic abilities that can manifest in those with a
strong will or in later parts surviving being pierced by a special
arrow. These powers of course manifest in the cast and more or less
kick off the plot in a way. The early episodes front load most of the
back-story on DIO,Stands and the Jostar family; which causes the
first few episodes to drag a bit especially if you've read the manga.
It's also here that we run into most of the speed bumps in the story.
The first big one is the case of Holly
Kujo and her inability to control her Stand. I could write a few
pages on why this is stupid in the grander scheme of the series and
also within in this arc. To keep it brief, Holly is portrayed as a
rather strong person yet can't seem to wield a stand. She may be a bit frailer physically but a baby and a decrepit old lady can use their Stands no problem,yet Holly can't. Probably because Jotaro needed more motivation than simply the world is in danger. To say
nothing of the unfortunate implications this brings up, I'll just
leave it at insulting and a waste of a perfectly good character.
The other gripe I have is that for some
reason DIO 's defeat means that Holly will be free of her Stand's
influence. Despite the fact that this won't affect any other Jostar
Stands which spawned as a result of DIO's theft of Johnathan
Jostar's body. It's almost like Holly and DIO as less characters and
more motivations. The lack of real interactions with DIO outside of
the final fight fails to make him anything more than a entertaining
if shallow villain. He's noticeably changed since Phantom
Blood,becoming much more paranoid and Genre Savvy than before
However like Jotaro it doesn't make him a particular deep
character.
Speaking of Jotaro, I grew to like him
over the courses of parts four and six but loathed as a lead since
we had more interesting characters in the group. Then I
finally noticed his much more sarcastic and dry sense of humor and
more subtle character development. He serves as a nice contrast to
the arcs wackier villains and supporting cast. While someone like
Polnareff
,the group's penultimate recruit, is more prone to rush right in and
play the fool; Jotaro seems more like an annoyed mom at the others
antics and it's funny to an extent. He does learn to grow closer
to the people in the group as the story progresses but not people in
general as evidenced by part six. He works well within the group but
still comes off as a boring lead. His stand,Star Platinum,
matches his blandness and versatility.
Star Platinum has precision and super
strength on his side, the latter coming standard on many a Stand
later down the line. While it is basic it aids in Jotaro's versatility, many of the more creative uses of the group's powers come
out of his Stand. From inhaling a gas based Stand to using it to
bluff a professional con man,it never feels like Star Platinum is pulling
something out its butt. That is till the end and concerns my last
major problem with Stardust Crusaders and spoilers for the Final DIO fight so skip this next paragraph if you want to stay in the dark.
The anime has the advantage of being
able to fore shadow events more clearly and fixing a few things
related to Avdol's (first) death. However the show never really explains Jotaro's ability to move during DIO's time stop that clearly. The logical
extension that Jotaro can stop time himself is hinted via the ability
to move during a time stop but the initial movements nor is Jotaro's
flying around like DIO ever really explained. Maybe the fact
that Jotaro can fly like that is meant to mirror DIO's The World and
show that they are similar Stands thus time stop should be possible
for Jotaro. Yeah, no it still feels like somewhat of an ass pull on
Araki's part and I'm sad that it wasn't better handled this time around.
Okay back in non-spoiler land,I said I
enjoyed this part yet all I've done so far is gripe. So what works in
this shows favor,everything else. The group dynamics that were
present in the original are played up much stronger here. Spending
time with these characters drew me closer to them as they all learned
to trust one another. Deaths in the manga that left me unfazed hit
me hard in the anime. Both versions of this story do fall into the
formula of travel some distance then have a fight. However with the
anime I was going at it's pace rather than my own and it let me stand
back and appreciate the story and characters. By the end of the show
I was sad that this journey had to end and I had to depart from
beloved friends.
The only weak link in the Jostar group
is probably Kakyoin. While pulling some cool tricks off with his
Stand,Hierophant Green, is put on a bus for most of season two. He
finally returns for the storming of DIO's mansion. Even then it
takes to the final fight to get some deeper development for him. It
could have been spread out a bit akin to Iggy's
development from cold jerk to loyal team member is played out. He's
still a fun character that is a bit of a walking meme and brings up
the idea of how growing up with a Stand might effect a person's
social skills.
Everyone else is the group also brings
something to the table asides from there Stands. Polnareff
and Iggy bring a bit of levity to the group while examining what it
means to live for others. Avdol is half of a cool old guy duo with
Joseph, while serving as somewhat of a mentor to the group. A role
that Jotaro would take on in part four, he's comforting to have around in a way. Joseph while not being full blown comic relief like Polnareff, is still a lovable hot blooded goof that has some what mellowed out since Battle
Tendency.What spurs these changes for him are again a whole article
by itself so I'll leave it at that.
The Stands lack the more bizarre powers
that later parts have but this arc was meant to ease people into the
idea of Stands,hence the stats of each one. It lays does the
groundwork for what Stands can do and who can wield one. This
doesn't mean the Stands are boring per se, they are used in
interesting ways to build some cool battles. Such as the battle against a gorilla whose Stand is the ship the characters are on.
The one major problem the 2012 anime
had was pacing,squeezing about twelve volumes of material into one
season is a bit difficult. However with two seasons to stretch it's
legs out in Stardust Crusaders does away with most of those problems.
The first season does have the aforementioned front loading problem
but once it gets going it doesn't look back. The fights move at a
quick clip and never out stay their welcome. The show still drips
with that signature style and compliments the crazy events on screen
perfectly. The voice cast works perfectly as well,everyone sounds
like they should. Takehio Koyasu reprises his role as DIO playing him
in a more subdued fashion while still retaining the sinister and
crazy fun aspects that made him a blast in Phantom Blood.
So I come to you a more humble person,it's a bit of a painful feeling.The pain is
dulled by the fact that Stardust Crusaders is better than I first
thought.While it has it's flaws,the story is one that ultimately
works with a colorful cast that I felt closer to than I ever have.
If you're like me and lukewarm about the Stardust Crusaders section
of the manga, then I encourage you to give the arc another try with
this anime. If you still haven't experienced this arc then this is
the best way to go about it.
Till Next Time: Stay Positive
