JoJo's Bizzare Adventure

[Lord Brofist]

Well the ending of Stardust Crusaders is just around the corner and the final battle with Dio is at hand. Has anyone else been keeping up with the series. I've greatly enjoyed it especially Battle Tendency. Even now Joseph is easily the best JoJo around.

I've also finished reading Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable.

 

[Yoshi]

I finished Part 2 a while back. I still have Part 3 on hold due to hearing about it being a repetitive mess. I even plan to watch the condensed anime adaptation Crusaders instead of reading the Manga version due to hearing how bad it is (overrated, but bad). I rarely watch anime adaptations of Manga, too.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

^The anime of part 3 is probably better, since it expands on some moments in an appropriate manner, whether for character exposition or humour, not to mention some excellent tracks and adding a foreshadowing of part 4. It also boosted the writing quality by a small amount by erasing a few plot holes (eg. Silver Chariot only removing it's armour once in the manga). Part 3 is an alright part, being one of the more entertaining ones and having an OK character cast, though the repetitive nature is somewhat annoying. It is, however, made easily tolerable by the abilities and characters allowing for some interesting strategic fights.

As for the OP, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ranks amongst my favourite manga/anime. Part 2 was my personal favourite in terms of entertainment, though the best written part was either 6 or 7. Also, yeah, Joseph is hands down the best JoJo (though Josuke's a definite second).

There's a lot of reasons I love the series. I'll provide a short list for now:

- Hokuto no Ken tributes in the early parts, as well as a small one in Part 6.
- The originality of each part focusing on a new protagonist and setting, something that most manga find hard to pull off, especially a Shonen series.
- Iconic poses as well as extravagant colour switches (mainly in the anime for the latter). It's so damn Fabulous.
- Many iconic moments ranging from quotes, battles and practically anything Dio does.
- Strategic battles, mainly those in Parts 2 and 6. The level of strategy and intelligence going into these superpower battles is easily on par with Shonen acclaimed for being strategic works, such as FMA and Hunter X Hunter.
- The cast of each part shows a lot of diversity, especially with the villains. Kira and Pucci are easily some of the most original villains in Jump.
- It's anime adaptation is one of the few series to stand on par with it's manga. In some ways, it even improved on it, since there were a lot of things that I didn't notice as much when I first read the manga. For example, Part 1 felt a lot more exciting, with the themes of family and opposing ideals resonating a lot stronger than the manga, which seemed like a mediocore Shonen plot-wise when I first read it.

 

[Lord Brofist]

I'm about to start on Part 5: Vento Aureo but I'm kind of worried. I've head that amongst the Parts its one of the weaker ones and that includes its protagonist Giorno Giovanna. But it may be worth it just to get by it and get to Part 6 and what not.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Yeah Part 5 was my least favourite, primarily due to it's weak cast and being the lowest point in Araki's art style. However, it did have some of the most creative and broken Stands in the entire series. It does feel like a spinoff, however, so it is optional to put it on hold until getting current with part 8, though you could just get it out of the way.

 

[Papasmurf]

I've read up to early Part 6, though I've been in no hurry to finish it since unless I fall into a coma for about 4 years, it'll probably take longer for Araki to finish Part 8 than for me to catch up to the latest chapter entirely.

My favorite was probably Part 4 due to Kira's more interesting ability and relatively long tenure in the series, as well as the non-main characters being fleshed out a little more (Koichi, the ghost girl, Rohan, Hayato, etc.). I admit it did get a tad episodic during some points. I quite liked the conclusion though, and Kira's end was more well-thought out than, say, either of Dio's defeats. (Though Akira Otoishi was a total faggot...)

Part 2, at least of the ones I finished, is probably my second favorite part, though it did indeed have one of the series' best fights in Wamuu vs. Joseph, and the final battle with Kars was memorable as well. I mainly don't rank it as my favorite part due to the supporting cast being a little useless other than Stroheim (and maybe Lisa Lisa), and somewhat linear set-up with the whole vampire Straizo --> Pillar Man Santana --> Esidisi --> Wamuu --> Ultimate Kars thing where each foe is stronger than the last.

 

[Lord Brofist]

In such a case I'll probably start on Part 6 instead. I also really enjoyed Part 4, Josuke was a great JoJo especially in contrast with the rather lacking of character for Jotaro. Surprisingly enough I think I actually like Jotaro in Part 4 more just because we don't have to focus on him as much. I suppose if nothing else, Josuke actually had a personality while Jotaro didn't. It's fine to have a stoic, no nonsense character but if you don't add anything to it what's the point?

And Kira was an amazing villain, definitely something you don't see in many series (and hence why he's my avatar) Araki always knows how to make great villains it seems.

Whammu vs Joseph was epic, I'll give you that. It's amazing seeing a fight in a Shounen series where the battles require intellect and not just straight up power. The fact that Whammu has that noble personality aspect of him compared to the other Pillar Men also makes him both likable and memorable.

 

[Papasmurf]

Yeah, Jotaro was a pretty lame stoic guy and should've been fleshed out far more considering his long-standing presence in the series as a mentor later on. Somehow Kakyoin and Polnareff were more fleshed out than him... and the former was a throwaway character. Josuke's pretty cool however, especially his comical antics with the "alien" guy and during that motorcycle episode.

I basically skipped Part 5 as well, although I watched a few videos of that PS2 video game and will probably watch the anime when a Vento Aureo anime starts up at some point. That way I don't have to labor through 16 volumes of that shit in the manga ^^

Kira's definitely one of the most unique villains in the series, and I even kind of felt sad for him when his Bite the Dust power was nullified and when the good guys totally cornered him. Not quite how I felt for that zombie-like fucker Dio or a lot of the other villains.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

I mainly don't rank it as my favorite part due to the supporting cast being a little useless other than Stroheim (and maybe Lisa Lisa), and somewhat linear set-up with the whole vampire Straizo --> Pillar Man Santana --> Esidisi --> Wamuu --> Ultimate Kars thing where each foe is stronger than the last.

The latter part, whilst solid for the most part, is debatable in the area of Wammu > Esidisi if factoring in mental strength/strategic intellect, since Esidisi's strategic mind being able to even temporarily mindfuck Joseph made him debatably an even more challenging foe to Joseph than Wammu was. If the two Pillar Men were to fight, Esidisi would also have an advantage over Wammu in terms of their Modes.

And Kira was an amazing villain, definitely something you don't see in many series (and hence why he's my avatar) Araki always knows how to make great villains it seems.

It's also worth noting that when Araki was writing part 7, he listed Kira as his 2nd favourite character and overall favourite villain. His #1 favourite was Josuke due to him seeming as a small town hero/role model, being a hero of a more condensed setting, as opposed to the kind of world saviour the 3 previous JoJos were.

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[Papasmurf]

Hmm. I'm not sure if Wamuu's strategic capacity is so inferior to Esidisi's that it would put him at a disadvantage, though you are probably right in the regard that he fights in a more straightforward way and relies more on fighting instinct than meticulous planning. I just tend to give him a notable edge since Joseph seemed pretty intimidated at base Kars after he picked apart Stroheim with his light blades (specifically fearing his mode rather than his mindfuck) and later thought he was still probably weaker than Wamuu, and indeed Wamuu displayed the greatest durability and stamina of the Pillar Men. (Although he probably falls behind the other two in wits.)

 

[Lord Brofist]

Whammu definitely showed a more fighting oriented style with a superiority in strength compared to the other Pillar Men. Eisidisi meanwhile showed a superior intellect and planning. Kars meanwhile falls somewhere in between them I suppose.

Superior in mental strength compared to Whammu but weaker physically while stronger physically than Eisidisi but weaker mentally. Of course Kars also heavily takes on a pragmatic approach and isn't here to be fair.

In terms of straight up combat ability I'd probably put it in like this:

Whammu>Eisidisi>Kars

But if I were to account both combat ability, mental strength and all that, it might be more like this.

Esidisi>Kars>Whammu

Although I do believe Kars pragmatism could ultimately give him the edge over Esidisi if it came to it.

 

[Mighty Oracle]

I get the feeling I should avoid this topic in case of potential spoilers since I haven't seen the conclusion of the Dio fight yet. Come back in a few hours, maybe.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

So, the Stardust Crusaders anime finally finished. The last episode was pretty good overall. Despite Dio keeping the "lipstick" look like in the manga, his performance was perfect. Koyasu really is a great Seiyuu. Jotaro's rage was also presented better than in the manga, allowing me to find him slightly more likeable.

The only complaint I have is there being no Part 4 teaser, though considering it didn't link directly into Part 3 in the same manner Part 2 did to it's sequel, that's expected. DP would be dumb not to adapt it with both the Japanese and international popularity for the anime, so I've got no worries on there being no potential news yet.

 

[Papasmurf]

I'm somewhat disappointed that they didn't put in Stand Proud in the credits like they did Bloody Storm for the first season's ending, but as they've already teased Part 4 through the appearance of the Stand-producing arrow I'm near-certain they will adapt it anyway.

As for the episode itself, some of the battle scenes seemed to go a bit faster than the manga shows, and I guess the scene where Joseph pretends to be possessed by Dio's blood was appropriately dark. No real complaints, though you gotta wonder if they will make use of that blood that spurted on the floor when he ripped the cords off. Lol

And yeah, I guess Part 3 and 4 don't really link like Part 2 did to 3, or 4 to 5 with Joseph and Koichi flying to a foreign country. Although, Jotaro does visit Josuke much the same way anyway...

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Soundtrack-wise, I was more disappointed that Stand Proud or one of the other openings wasn't used when Dio got killed, though considering how fast it happened compared to Kars' banishment it's expected. The overly fast pacing seems quite appropriate if remembering what was said in the manga, in which the narrator comments that the battle will end in half the time that there was between Kakyoin's death and Dio defeating Polnareff, when ignoring timestops of course.

 

[Lord Brofist]

Damn, I was really hoping they'd start blasting "Sono Chi No Kioku: End of The World" somewhere during the battle. Could've had it going on when Dio and Jotaro are having their all time epic steamroller sex. Get the song that really puts in the mood of intensity.

Ever since they did it in the final battle with Kars, it would seem likely for them to use something here but I suppose not.

Oh well, it was a fine episode over all and I can't wait (assuming it comes) for Diamond is Unbreakable.

I do have to say though, even though the voice acting for the 2012 anime absolute crushes the late OVAs, I really do miss the fluidity and animation presented in those OVAs. Even if they weren't in the manga, some of the additional bits added to the fight I thought really made it quite enjoyable.

I just truly wished the battle with Dio (not only on this episode but the entire fight with Jotara and Dio) could have that same fluidity seen in the OVA. I think it would've made a good fight even better especially when, as its already been stated, the 2012 scenes seems to go faster than what was in the manga.

Even though I knew the battle was rather short in the manga, I didn't realize it was only six or so minutes in before the steamroller came crashing down.

 

[Papasmurf]

Yeah, that's why I would have liked to see Stand Proud being played as they took the flight back to Japan or something, but I guess they just didn't have enough room this episode to insert the song.

 

[Papasmurf]

Even though I knew the battle was rather short in the manga, I didn't realize it was only six or so minutes in before the steamroller came crashing down.

The fight was stated to be very short as a result of the timestops, which is also why they managed to resuscitate Joseph before his brain died from oxygen deprivation.

 

[Lethal]

Reviving this thread cuz I said so and I thoroughly like the anime and manga.

Was really hoping they'd play Roundabout when Jotaro and Dio were walking up to each other, that would've made the scene epic to me.