JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

[Spark Of Spirit]

Am I the only one who thought of Polnareff when Koichi cut his hair?

[gunswordfist]

Oh my..Koichi got even more character development? Jeez, between this, the Brothers episodes and Tamani, this has to easily be the most and quickest any Jojo character has developed so far. I'm impressed. I also expected Koichi to be able to knock back people with his Reverb after what ek said but now

Spoiler

V2 is basically a reality alterer.

[close]

Jeez, pretty strong team since Jojo + Okuyasu can change time and space

[gunswordfist]

Am I the only one who thought of Polnareff when Koichi cut his hair?

Heh, I was like, he changed into Polnareff!!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Only JoJo's Bizarre Adventure could make an entire episode about eating Italian food so entertainingly bat-shit insane. I love it!

This episode also gets bonus points for the Ashita no Joe reference.

[Spark Of Spirit]

This might be totally off, but is it just me or do most of the Stands in this part feel more like Hamon than the Stands of Part 3? They remind me more of Caesar's bubble ability than, say, Polnareff's Silver Chariot.

On the other hand, this episode was hilarious. It was funny seeing Josuke completely in the wrong for once. Here's hoping Tonio shows up again.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

A lot of the Stands in Part 3 (at least the early half) were Araki experimenting with the idea of Stands. So you'd get more straightforward stuff like "punch really fast" or "fire". As time goes on the Stands get more and more creative and well, bizarre. Which is why they're starting to feel more like the creative fights of Part 2.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Second OP on the way.

I guess there will be a new OP each cour. They'll probably do the same with the ED.

[Spark Of Spirit]

39 episodes has been officially confirmed.

Not that there was any doubt.

[gunswordfist]

"Oh yeah, maybe we should worry about Okayusa"

Just found out that Josuke's Stand is actually called Crazy Diamond so I ignored CR's stupid censor for once and used my ears. And I didn't know Chili Pepper..was called Chili Pepper.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It was another great one. I'm guessing the first cour will end with them finally defeating Chili Pepper. That's just a guess, though.

Just found out that Josuke's Stand is actually called Crazy Diamond so I ignored CR's stupid censor for once and used my ears. And I didn't know Chili Pepper..was called Chili Pepper.

You'd figure that would have been a better name for Tonio's stand.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It's actually Red Hot Chili Pepper, to be accurate.

And CR's subs have been changing the names of JoJo's Stands and characters since the beginning due to avoiding copyright issues.

Anyways, it's great to see how effective of a fighter Okuyasu is when he's serious, even though he did blow it at the end for (understandably) letting his emotions get the better of him.

[Spark Of Spirit]

On a writing standpoint, I feel like this is clearly Araki's best part (so far) that's been adapted. The characters all have distinct strengths and weaknesses (Part 2 was the only other part that nailed that) and engaging personalities and good backstories. Even the villains.

You could criticize the episodic serial aspect of the story, but I feel it works well with the setting and characters to be this way. People say Part 3 was better because the were progressing towards a goal at the end, but it didn't change the fact that every episode was still essentially the same thing, even if done well. Part 4 might be an episodic serial affair with a different enemy as well, but the difference is that there is mystery and wonder in the setting that draws you in. It's a different kind of adventure than Part 1 and 2's traveling adventure, and Part 3's steady episodes to the end of the line. That's why I think it works so well.

So yeah, while I liked the first 3 parts (Part 2 was easily the best, though), I think Part 4 is pretty great. It is easily my favorite part so far.

[gunswordfist]

Whoa, didn't think Red Hot Chili Pepper's user would look that cool at all. Glad Okayusa got some revenge.

[VLordGTZ]

Man, the Red Hot Chili Pepper story was even more enjoyable than it was in the manga.  We're now getting even closer to my favorite main villain in the JoJo's series being introduced and I can't wait.   

[LumRanmaYasha]

On a writing standpoint, I feel like this is clearly Araki's best part (so far) that's been adapted. The characters all have distinct strengths and weaknesses (Part 2 was the only other part that nailed that) and engaging personalities and good backstories. Even the villains.

You could criticize the episodic serial aspect of the story, but I feel it works well with the setting and characters to be this way. People say Part 3 was better because the were progressing towards a goal at the end, but it didn't change the fact that every episode was still essentially the same thing, even if done well. Part 4 might be an episodic serial affair with a different enemy as well, but the difference is that there is mystery and wonder in the setting that draws you in. It's a different kind of adventure than Part 1 and 2's traveling adventure, and Part 3's steady episodes to the end of the line. That's why I think it works so well.

So yeah, while I liked the first 3 parts (Part 2 was easily the best, though), I think Part 4 is pretty great. It is easily my favorite part so far.

Part 3's biggest weakness is that it's ostensibly a world-trekking adventure story with a clear goal at the end, yet the journey, while a lot of fun, has many superfluous detours, which is more distracting and understandably frustrating when the story has a clear high-stakes and time-sensitive goal driving the motivations of it's characters. It certainly didn't help that Part 3 anime was drawn out more than it really needed too, with a lot of fights being two-parters when they could've easily worked as one. I think Part 3 would've been more palpable to those who preferred Part 2 if it had been around three cours instead of four.

I'm in the camp that prefers Part 3 to Part 2, but Part 4 definitely gives it's Stand-of-the-Week format work much more variety through more inventive Stand powers and scenarios, and a more distinct flavor thanks to the sense of community created by the lived-in environment of Morioh-cho. The cast of Part 4 is probably the best in the entire series: each character gets their time in their limelight in almost equal shares, and even minor characters like Yukako get meaningful development in their own way. But where Part 4 really succeeds over Part 3 is it's antagonists. While there are quite a few really memorable foes in Part 3, such as Hol Horse, Enyaba, Oingo & Boingo, the D'arby Brothers, and Vanilla Ice, the rest are mostly the same breed of jerk or a fanatical devotee of Dio with not a whole of characterization outside of that. In contrast, the antagonists in Part 4 aren't megalomaniacs or obsessively fanatical followers, but people who want to live their lives comfortably by using their Stand Powers to their benefit, the conflicts arising when they start using their powers to harm or at the expense of others. That their powers all so distinct and creative, and their reasons for doing and behaving how they do are so well-defined, distinguishes them as unique individual characters and makes them feel a bit more sympathetic and human compared to the antagonists in Part 3. Plus, the fact that most of the villains are believable domestic threats, be them simple neighborhood bullies or serial murderers, is quite refreshing and rarely done in a shonen battle manga, and especially for JoJo's after spending the last three parts fighting vampires, zombies, and pillar men. Not to spoil anything, but even the main villain of Part 4 has no ambitions other than simply living a normal life, yet most fans consider him their favorite antagonist in the series, simply because of how well-characterized, charismatic, and strong a personality he is (though for me, he's third best, after the antagonists of Part 6 and Part 7).

JoJo's keeps getting better and better as it goes along, and Part 4 in particular takes the foundation Part 3 laid out for the rest of the series and evolves it a step further. Now that we're done with the Red Hot Chilli Pepper stuff, we're fast approaching the debut of our last main protagonist and the overall antagonist of this part, both of whom are my favorite characters from DiU. This part is only just getting started: the best is soon to come.