Things No One Cares About: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

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

Things No One Cares About: Mistress Fortune

Reaching the end of this horrid month,we arrive at Mistress Fortune. I originally planned this as the follow up to Jojo month but for reasons lost to myself I didn't. Now I'm back with a vengeance to talk about my very first Arina Tanemura book. I have no deep story about why I picked this,it didn't call to me with a ground breaking premise or because a friend fervently recommended it to me. Nope,just picked it up because the pink and white spine looked nice. Well, now that I've outed myself as a vain idiot,let's talk about Mistress Fortune...finally.

Mistress Fortune shares a lot of similarities with the earlier I.O.N, in that both girls have psychic powers and are close to boys as a result. There is even a nice little call back to the flying scene from I.O.N as well as a few other series including Phantom Thief Jeanne. They both also feature a romance plot that slowly but surely overtakes the more fantastical elements. The only difference here is that the psychic plot is meant to play second fiddle to the main romance. Indeed everything is a side note to the romance between Kisaki and Giniro and every characters is semi aware of it.

The plot is a rather loose magical girl set-up that serves to help the main couple grow. The monsters or EBE as they are called are less harbingers of destruction and more oblivious tourists. Heck the first one the team fights, becomes a regular character and gets her own side story about becoming a socialite. The interpersonal drama between our two leads is mostly played for laughs,he's more interested in her tracts of land and this makes her angry. However when they do buckle down and get serious for a bit,there is some surprising tenderness in the relationship despite it seeming to be an aesthetic attraction. Once the apparently inevitable rejection scene comes up,it actually works this time. Mostly because again the romance is the focus so it's fairly important and she is actually rejecting him for a solid reason instead of just plot extender.

The characters themselves are not bad,more generic than anything else. Kisaki is one missing parent short of your typical shojo heroine and Ginro is the hot guy with the troubled past. Their director,Dr. Gunjo is a goofy jokester and Ebe-ko,the monster,is your wacky non-human sidekick. This can be forgiven as the cast is rather funny and likable. Ginro's love for the Kisaki's lady lumps and his inability to keep his mouth shut about them at risk of injury is funny. They all play their role well and get a few good jokes off.

This is shojo fluff through and through, attractive characters having a relationship that will be forgotten soon enough. I feel that Arina Tanemura is acknowledging her worse habits here and working with them as opposed to letting them run wild. It's just self aware enough that I can forgive the weaker elements while not being over reliant on them to the point of taking me out of the story.

So as I lay here at the bottom of the ravine dying slowly,alone and in pain, at least this month ended on a high note. I started this month for no real reason other than to have an excuse to read through some works of a prolific manga-ka. It's had it's ups and downs and while I won't claim I really know Tanemura's works better, I have a better feel for her when I get to her longer works. So I'll see you next time where I'll probably be a ghost or not mention that I died ever again

Till Next Time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About: Rohan Kishibe Won't Move

Hirohiko Araki is best known for his long running manga  Jojo's Bizarre Adventure,of which I dedicated and entire month to. When I first did that little stunt I had only read up to the third major arc,Stardust Crusaders,and had not experienced the unbridled pleasure of Diamond is Unbreakable.This part introduced the character of Rohan Kishibe,an eccentric manga-ka.Araki loves this character and says that if he himself had a Stand it'd be Kishibe's Heaven's Door. He has even given Rohan multiple spin-offs dealing with his escapades,including today's feature:Rohan Kishibe Won't Move.

Rohan Kishibe Won't Move is a series of short stories involving the titular character as he gets into odd situations while researching topics for his manga protects. The first story ran in Shonen jump in 1997 with the rest being published in a few different magazines between 2008 and 2013. The stories range from tales of suspense to the horrors of real estate. They are interesting little stories that let us see more of Rohan as a character and the weird things that go on in the Jojo universe.

The first two stories,At a Confessional and Mutsukabezaka,use Rohan as more of a framing device for the stories. Both are fun little thrill rides that give me that Twilight Zone vibe albeit with a much lighter tone. At a Confessional is probably the better of the two for its climax that elevates catching popcorn in your mouth into a fight to stay alive. I won't say much more about it as not to spoil the hilarious twist ending.

The second story is by no means bad,being just as weird as its predecessor but has a scene that really bugs me. Near the middle of the story,the female lead kills her lower class lover by accident.. The problem is that he keeps on bleeding form a rather small wound. However she has to hide him as her father and arranged fiance are coming. She starts hiding his possessions and then for no reason strips down to her underwear. Then proceeds to stay that way till she hides the body and this scene goes on for awhile. I think she might have got blood on her dress but her dress looks the same from the time she sees her boyfriend till she takes the dress off. The series has had fan service before but it was never this obvious or drawn out. Which is a shame because we do get to see a bit of how weird Rohan can be and the rest of the story is enjoyable if a bit vague.

The third story,The Millionaire's Village, has Rohan confront his greatest foe:good manners. The story stars Rohan and another editor of his as he accompanies her to a buy a home in a remote village. Here we're shown a more caring side of Rohan as he does fight to win back his editor's life after losing her due to the village’s strict upholding of good manners. While you could read his care as more selfish ,i.e if she dies he'll be in big trouble,it comes of to me as a bit of genuine concern on Rohan's part.

The fourth and final of more story driven parts is Poaching Reef and brings back minor character Tonio Trussardi. It's funny to see Rohan just going along with the plot even though he points out how silly it is. The story is the two go poaching for rare albacore so that Tonio can possibly cure his dying fiance. Not much to it,the plan gets botched and then Rohan unbotches it. The story does bring up a weird detail in that the place the men go to poach belongs to Josuke's family. Josuke appears at the end and doesn't seem to mind that the men poached from his family's waters. The issue sort of goes with the “just roll” with it tone of the story,so I don't mind too much.

The last story is Rohan goes to Gucci. It ran as a pseudo-advertisement manga in the magazine Spur and is fairly pointless. The stories before it gave us a look at Rohan as a eccentric man who has a selfish streak but can be a good person. Here he's just a generic jerk to a random desk clerk at Gucci,a fashion company, and then spouts adverts. The mess is in full color but that just makes it look unappealingly gaudy in a way the series tends to avoid. The panels are disjointed,and one character just disappears with no warning,taking Rohan's wallet with her. Interestingly enough this story is the only one to feature a stand besides Kishibe's. The rest of the stories attribute the weird events to nature or demons. It doesn’t make them weaker by any means but I find it odd I guess. Maybe it was for the better as the Stand introduced here is just silly. A boring attempt to advertise for a brand the author favors.

In the end,four pretty good stories and one poor advertisement for a brand I probably can't afford. The stories are enjoyable and feel like solid Jojo stories despite the lack of Stands.

Till Next Time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 2012

Jojo once held the distinction of being one of the longest running manga to not have a TV adaption,only having a thirteen episode travesty of an OVA series Last year changed that and we received the first part of this ambitious project to adapt the the whole series. This part cover the first two arcs of the series Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. I'll talk a little more plot on BT as I already discussed PB a few weeks ago. Without further ado:Jojo's Bizarre Adventure...2012.

The first half is again Phantom Blood and covers episodes 1-9. The story is a straight adaption which hinders it on the character side as Johnathan Jostar is still not that interesting but makes up for it by basically having everyone ham it up. No one has an indoor voice and everyone just devours scenery. It's a sight to behold and makes the whole show enjoyable. Special mention goes to Takehito Koyasu as Dio who manages to steal every scene he is in and is a terrifying presence even when he's only a head. Along with Smoky in BT they have made Wang Chun a little less of a stereotype though it's still a little jarring. Overall this section works and we also get to see Dio taken out to Yes' Owner of a Lonely Heart which is cool. Also be on the watch for episode three which is possibility the most manly thing to be put on TV. I might be pregnant now from the sheer testosterone pumping through the final scenes. A minor compliant is that if your not familiar with the original arc it will feel a little rushed but it's a pretty short arc anyway so it's not too bad.

The remaining episodes(10-26) cover the slightly longer Battle Tendency and we our introduced to the amazing Joesph Jostar The arc covers his battles with the beings that made the stone mask form PB. To me this is one of the best Shonen manga arcs I've ever read. It takes the concepts from PB and takes them to their logical extremes while exploring the source of Dio's power and having Jojo fight that. It has only about four or five major fights but each one is grandiose in it's own right. Overall like part one it's just having fun. Joesph is a fun character he's constantly thinking about how to outwit his opponents. He's the only man that can make running away look heroic He is also a world class bluffer,talking his enemies into giving him a month to train because he might be able to beat them. Tomokazu Sugita is obviously enjoying the role and fits Joesph to a T, pulling of the goofy engrish catch phrases with panache. The main trio of Joesph,Caesar and Lisa Lisa are all well rounded enough and I think we get a little more back story on our antagonists the Pillar Men here than in the manga. The only character I really don't care for is Suzie Q due to her and Joesph's romance coming out of nowhere. If I have any complainants about this part specifically is that near the end R.E.O Speedwagon's shtick of yelling exposition gets grating and the last few episodes seem to meander around waiting to get to the final one for the big epic battle.Overall it is a load of fun to watch and Joesph Jostar is a sexy charismatic stallion who,who dammit I forgot what I was saying. He's great is what I'm saying,(stupid sexy Joseph).

The storys in this world of ham work perfectly but the art catapults the series to greatness The authors signature sound effects are strewn through out the scenes and like everything else the art just oozes style. It's so over the top that the very act of walking around is made fun. The colors are very bright and the outfits are glam as hell with Caesar's outfit not looking out of place at a 80's club.

Unlike those abysmal 90's/00's OVAs this is how you adapt Jojo: with style and fun. I honestly can't wait to see the next season for Stardust Crusaders maybe I'll actually enjoy the arc this time. If you're looking for a good fighting show and haven't watched this then go ahead and do so, you won't regret it.

As Always Stay Positive.

Jojo,Schedules and a Hiatius

I've always written reviews for fun.A side project to pass the time and help me form my opinions Then these JoJo OVA's came along and I honestly could not sit through them. They are bad,they just are. I'm not giving them a full review because I can't finish them.Instead I'll use this post to sum up my thoughts on the ones I did watch and Startdust Crusaders as a whole.

I'll admit I really don't care for Startdust Crusaders for a few reasons.First is the pacing,there are too many fights and we're never given time to be breathe before hoping in to the next one.Despite that the arc still feels too long(clocking in at 17 volumes) and padded. Second Jotaro is just not that interesting a lead especially when you have his grandpa,Joseph,right there.Jotaro lacks the fun of Joesph which is ok I don't want another Joesph but give him something to make him likable.Outside of kicking Dio's ass because he pissed him off. Third outside of the two Jostars,I never got attached to the main group so when some of them die I didn't feel a thing. I about lost it when I though Dio killed Joesph but everyone else was a meh.

There are some good things,most of the fights are very well done the highlights being Joesph's fights with the Empress and Mariah Carey and while I don't care about the main group I did enjoy their dynamic Which these OVA's stripped the group of along with Joesph's sense of humor. These episodes take themselves too damn seriously and lack what makes the series great style and humor. The manga had him cracking jokes and fighting with his usual flair to probably cope with the dread he feels that his daughter might die. The OVA's have him almost as sullen as Jotaro,which defeats the point of him being here.Also for some reason Enya,the old witch can change into a young woman,no explanation given and the first time you see here she's in the young woman form.So honestly if I finished theses OVA's,you wouldn't see me for a while as I would be crying into my girlfriends shoulder for three weeks just to ease the hurt.

Enough about me whining lets talk about every ones's favorite thing:schedules. I'll still be doing the 2012 Jojo anime this week so no back out on that.After that Things no One Cares about will be taking a semi-hiatus for a few months.I'll still do them and Mistress Fortune may be on schedule.This is because I want to start a short project I may actually finish and that is a case by case review of the Phoenix Wright games.

This is going to be a look at every cases of the original 3 games,picking apart the plot,the characters and various other things.It's like a mini version of Arcwords except not called that. I am not going to cover Apollo Justice or Investigations(for now). These will start next week and since they are pretty short I'll be putting two out a week on Monday and Friday. I may slip in a regular review on occasion but no promises.
Also so people know I'm saving Case 1-5 Rise from the Ashes  for the week I cover case 3-5 Bridge to the Turnabout  to give the week an epic feel.See you Wednesday for decidedly less whining and next week for some Legal goodness.
         

Things No One Cares About: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Phanatom Blood

I decided to change this review to Things No One Cares About. I'll save the long winded explanation and just say real life and leave it at that.

Phantom Blood is the first part in the Shonen epic that is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. When you hear Jojo most people either think of this arc or part three,Stardust Crusaders. Though if your a decent human being you should at least also remember Battle Tendency because it's where Joesph Jostar is originally  from and inspired a few Street Fighter characters. This and to an extent Battle Tendency tend to be old shame for the author and can best be described as Fist of The North Star if it was glam. So lets look see if this actually worth it or do I need to start drinking bleach to forget(though I might do that later when I'm bored).

The story here is pretty simple being divided into three parts each ending with some one biting it and manly tears being shed. The in between times are filled with hamminess  and diabolical plans. It is a pretty standard good vs evil plot with no real twists outside of the villain's refusal to just die. The fighting technique is the Ripple which again not to unique as it is just punching people while shouting silly things. It doesn't get much creative use as it will in the next arc outside of wine darts.

Once we get to the final part the plot gets silly ,events just sort of start happening and I'm not quite sure why. There is also this malarkey about vampires that is dropped after this part of the manga. It's there to justify people following Dio,instead of just raw charisma like later story arcs. Three new characters show up to join Jojo and barley contribute to the plot. Hell one has a bigger part in Battle Tendency and he hardly did anything in this story. Back in the eighties maybe this was fine but now it just feels run of the mill.

So what saves this manga from the ignore list,that is style. The book just oozes it from every pore and everyone is hammy. The guys are manly,their fighting styles flashy,and it's just having a good time. Everything is done in big broad strokes and it takes the substandard elements and makes them tolerable. It's also fairly short and I mean that in the nicest way possible. The pacing is very tight and none of the fights get drawn out. The bulk of which happens in the last part letting the first two sections build up Dio and Jojo's relationship.

There is something to be said for the Johnathon(JoJo)/Dio relationship and that is that it is pretty good. They are polar opposites in every way and their schoolboy rivalry evolves into respect/loathing for each other. However Jojo is a gentleman of the highest caliber and that's about it. You still feel for Jojo but he's just not that interesting outside of his archeology major which serves more as a plot mover than anything else. He did start the trend of the Jostars being incredibly bright people,having that noble spirit,which would later add to the leads rather than define them. He also is responsible for Joesph,who I do not have a crush on,in that Joesph's personality is meant to be as far from Johnathan’s as possible

Dio is a little more tragic in a way. He essentially created his own rival in Jojo and is so blinded by power that he doesn't realize that he's become like or even worse than his despised father. He could make a good argument for either side of the nature vs nurture argument. Was he evil from birth or did his poor upbringing ruin any chance of a good life even after he begins living with the Jostars. It adds some depth to the character that Johnathon lacks.

The rest of the cast is mostly manly men being manly except for Erina who gets to be the medic to Jojo's heavy and has a really great supporting role. She doesn't do much but is still enjoyable. Also there is Robert E.O Speedwagon who is a fun example of captain obvious because I imagine his just shouting all of his lines. Plus he gets a sweet hat from Jojo's mentor to replace his already pretty cool razor blade hat.While not getting much to do here,his eventual fortune is a constant help to the Jostars.

Moving on to some talk about art: it's okay. This was my second time reading this and really the art is not as bad as I remember. Everyone has bodies chiseled in the image of the gods and all the men are huge. It's very dark to look at which adds to the atmosphere and the gore is fairly intense though nothing worse than something from Fist of The North Star. We do get the authors love for SFX words as they litter every page but not in a way that clutters it up.

In the end this is really not that bad a manga,it just hasn't aged that well and is weak compared to some later parts of the series.Though if you need to grow a beard read this, you'll be hairier than a bear in no time. It's still better than Stardust Crusaders and that has to count for something. Till next time: Stay Positive.

Next Week:Stardust Crusaders OVA's

Housekeeping Hijinks

Decided I'd do one of one of those fancy updates and let people know how the next month or so is going to play out.



Despite being a woman,I do tend to enjoy Shonen on occasion and most of the Shonen works featured on here  have been mildly ok and nothing to get worked up about.Well I feel like getting worked up and as the the temperature gets hotter,my blood follows suit.It only seems right to to talk about a series that has blood hot enough to boil noodles.I am of course talking about Princess Tutu...just kidding I'm talking about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Jojo is one one those old school series that many other series have taken inspiration from.Though it started out drawing from the also influential Fist of the North Star. It follows the long history of the Jostar family and their very odd lives usually intertwined around a man named Dio and later his followers. It also has enough western music references that describing this series to other people is hilarious. It's really fun to be able to say that Lisa Lisa was tricked by Cars or that Dio's right hand man is Vanilla Ice. Ok enough about subjects you can read about on Wikipedia,let's move on.

I'll admit that while I am a Jojo devotee I have not read past part 4 so I really can't comment on the later part of the series(maybe next year). This month will be covering the various anime products that Jojo has  received over the years. However I'm going to kick it off in a couple of weeks with an Arc words on the Phantom Blood section of the manga.After that we'll take a look at the Stardust Crusader OVAs and then talk about the game based on the same arc.We'll finish out the month on a high note with the most recent anime adaption. Before I get ahead of myself this week we'll be tackling Tompopo,a Ramen Western and then cooling my blood with Mistress Fortune.

Here's a list for people who hate paragraphs

May 29th:Tompopo
 
June 5th: Phantom Blood

June12th: Startdust Crusaders OVAs

June19th: Stardust Crusaders(SNES)

June 26th:Jojo's Bizarre Adventure(2012)

July 3rd:Mistress Fortune

That is all I  have for you today so for those who acknowledge it have a good Memorial day and a happy Monday to the rest of you.