I know right? He always was a lucky guy.
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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders |OT| ATTEMPT NO MANGA SPOILERS HERE
- Thread starter Tizoc
- Start date
- Status
Enter the Dragon Punch
Banned
Jotaro was blinded with blood. DIO probably thought that Jotaro wouldn't expect him to kick with that leg.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
FULL SPOILERS FOR JOJO PARTS 1-3 AHEAD
Ive been thinking about doing this post for a while now, and now that Stardust Crusaders has finally concluded, here it is. Forgive me if this is a bit messy, I had this mostly done before episodes 47/48 when things were added to the OP. I want to talk about the second opening, Sono Chi no Kioku ~end of THE WORLD~. Now personally I think all four OP are great, song wise and visual wise. If I had to rank them
Song Bloody Stream (2)-> Sono Chi no Sadame(1) -> Sono Chi no Kioku(4) -> Stand Proud(3)
Visual Sono chi no Kioku -> Bloody Stream -> Sono Chi no Sadame -> Stand Proud
So I pretty definitively think Stand Proud is the weakest. But lets focus on Sono Chi no Kioku. This OP is fucking amazing when it comes to visuals. I dont think a lot of people liked Kioku when it came out, because of the lack of a real hype moment (like SO NO CHI NO SADAME, JOOOOOOOOOJO or YA~ MI~ WO~) and the fact it keeps building up to something then resetting it, and the ORA ORA ORA at the end are kind of limp. Sadame and Bloody Stream might as well be classics by now and are extremely good in their own right, but Kioku does something amazing and that is slipping in constant foreshadowing and spoilers right under the nose, sometimes in extremely subtle ways. Sadame gives away the whole plot of Phantom Blood, having the OP filled with iconic moments like Dio kissing Erina, Dio being shot by the cops and living, Jonathans father dying, Dio walking up the burning mansion, etc. Bloody Stream is worse on that front, as it spoils Caesars death extremely obviously. Now its not like they were incapable of being subtle, Bloody Stream sneaks in Hermit Purple, even. And even in the obvious Caesars death part, the last bubble that flys by the screen is red, Caesars blood bubble he used to deliver the antidote to Joseph.
Stand Proud also did it having Iggy as the sixth star at the beginning way before he shows up, briefly showing Hol Horse, showing the group camping after the plane crash (you can see the plane on the right) and hiding things like the Joestar mark on Jonathans body at 0:50.
Right after that, the background shows the order of the fights plane for Tower of Grey, a boat for Dark Blue Moon and Strength, the cable car for Temperance and so on, which is cool. But I mostly want to go over all the little things in Sono Chi no Kioku an anime viewer or even a manga reader wouldnt have picked up on, and there are A LOT so get ready for images!
First off, the obvious motif of the clock and pendulum. The theme of time is all throughout this opening, foreshadowing the big reveal of The World's abilities and that the group is running out of time to save Holly. The pendulum is also supposed to represent The World itself, as in the final episode's OP it turns into The World.
You can also hear a heartbeat thats Jotaros. Its a reference to the scene where Jotaro has to use his Stand to stop his heart to trick DIO into thinking he died. It could also be Josephs at the epilogue when Jotaro restarts his heart doing the same trick.
It cuts across the desert, filled with gears - more things pointing toward time. It flies past the crew, ending on Polnareff's Silver Chariot using two swords - a reference to the Anubis fight, the same pose as well.
Next we cut to the group on the stairs, with silhouettes of the Egyptian Gods flying past, the theme of the enemy Stands in the second half. I checked, and they are in order and accurate. It ends with a shot moving downward, everyone frozen in time, ending on Jotaro, who looks up and summons his stand, foreshadowing his ability to fight against The World's time stop. Polnareff is also at the top of the stairs, a reference to him discovering DIO on the stairs. It's also split into the two groups, Polnareff, Iggy and Avdol then Kakyoin, Joseph and Jotaro. It also appears homage to the OVA (this scene never happened in the manga, obviously as two of these people were dead at the time) where they are all climbing the stairs. Credit to Jexhius for helping me remember this scene from the OVA.
In the final episode's OP, the World's fists are what make cracks on the screen you could see before.
After the stairs, it cuts to the group on the roof, you can see the sun setting in the background, and various lights popping up. You can also see the Pyramids in the background and the clock tower Kakyoin uses to show Joseph what The World does, and I think that is DIO's mansion they are looking at. The best explanation I have for the lights is the scene when DIO is on top of the radio tower, pulling down an electric cord and causing a light to flicker. Polnareff is also the only one who moves his body, I dunno why though.
A pendulum swings by and we see Avdol reaching his hand out to Iggy and Polnareff, as if trying to stop them. He is actually pushing them away from Cream, Cream swoops in, splitting the screen, turning Avdol's half red, signifying his death.
In the same scene, right after, the floor shifts to stairs, and you can see Polnareff move down it, a reference to his encounter with DIO when he moved Polnareff down the stairs. Credit to EmCeeGramr because I actually didn't notice this.
And added in the final episode's OP...
Look who you can see at the top of the stairs.
It shifts to Kakyoin, surrounded by string. This is the trap he laid for DIO using Hierophant Green. A pendulum swings by and it breaks, when DIO shattered his net and then killed him.
And in the final episode's OP...
The World cuts in to shatter it.
Cut to Joseph, hand outstretched, and the point going for his neck, the knife DIO used to "kill" him.
And in the final episode's OP...
The knife is replaced by The World's arm going into Joseph's chest, pumping slightly to show he is absorbing his blood.
Cut to Jotaro, stopped in midair, and dozens of the points come at him, the knives DIO throws at him.
Here is a real subtle one - if you look really hard, you can see Jotaro's finger wiggle, which is what stopped DIO from killing him out of shock he could possibly move when time was stopped.
And in the final episode's OP, that comes to fruition as Jotaro summons his Stand while time is stopped.
After that, a star shoots across the sky, splitting into the group. I'm not sure on this one but the only thing I think this could be referencing is when they jump out of DIO's tower and fly down, but I'm probably stretching it.
Cut to Jotaro at the top of the stairs, using Star Platinum to shatter some glass. In the reflection, if you look very closely you can see who is hidden there for just a frame...
Which allowed us to have this amazing scene -
Episode 47 special OP
Where DIO stops time for exactly nine seconds. Fucking DP, man.
Lastly, the final scene where Jotaro shatters the glass and DIO appears behind him, over his shoulder in time stop. In the actual series, it is the opposite, Jotaro appears behind DIO's shoulder in time stop.
...and finally ending on the ORA ORA ORA ORA barrage. But despite that you can make out someone else's fist...
That's The World's fist on the right, hidden in the barrage in a few frames.
And that's it. That's Sono chi no Kioku, a visually outstanding opening in every way in my opinion.
I was also going to grab some manga panels but that would have been a lot of work and hard to format, and the TV anime shots are pretty much the same. One thing I'm surprised they didn't try to reference was the iconic steamroller DIO drops on Jotaro, though.
Ive been thinking about doing this post for a while now, and now that Stardust Crusaders has finally concluded, here it is. Forgive me if this is a bit messy, I had this mostly done before episodes 47/48 when things were added to the OP. I want to talk about the second opening, Sono Chi no Kioku ~end of THE WORLD~. Now personally I think all four OP are great, song wise and visual wise. If I had to rank them
Song Bloody Stream (2)-> Sono Chi no Sadame(1) -> Sono Chi no Kioku(4) -> Stand Proud(3)
Visual Sono chi no Kioku -> Bloody Stream -> Sono Chi no Sadame -> Stand Proud
So I pretty definitively think Stand Proud is the weakest. But lets focus on Sono Chi no Kioku. This OP is fucking amazing when it comes to visuals. I dont think a lot of people liked Kioku when it came out, because of the lack of a real hype moment (like SO NO CHI NO SADAME, JOOOOOOOOOJO or YA~ MI~ WO~) and the fact it keeps building up to something then resetting it, and the ORA ORA ORA at the end are kind of limp. Sadame and Bloody Stream might as well be classics by now and are extremely good in their own right, but Kioku does something amazing and that is slipping in constant foreshadowing and spoilers right under the nose, sometimes in extremely subtle ways. Sadame gives away the whole plot of Phantom Blood, having the OP filled with iconic moments like Dio kissing Erina, Dio being shot by the cops and living, Jonathans father dying, Dio walking up the burning mansion, etc. Bloody Stream is worse on that front, as it spoils Caesars death extremely obviously. Now its not like they were incapable of being subtle, Bloody Stream sneaks in Hermit Purple, even. And even in the obvious Caesars death part, the last bubble that flys by the screen is red, Caesars blood bubble he used to deliver the antidote to Joseph.
Stand Proud also did it having Iggy as the sixth star at the beginning way before he shows up, briefly showing Hol Horse, showing the group camping after the plane crash (you can see the plane on the right) and hiding things like the Joestar mark on Jonathans body at 0:50.
Right after that, the background shows the order of the fights plane for Tower of Grey, a boat for Dark Blue Moon and Strength, the cable car for Temperance and so on, which is cool. But I mostly want to go over all the little things in Sono Chi no Kioku an anime viewer or even a manga reader wouldnt have picked up on, and there are A LOT so get ready for images!
First off, the obvious motif of the clock and pendulum. The theme of time is all throughout this opening, foreshadowing the big reveal of The World's abilities and that the group is running out of time to save Holly. The pendulum is also supposed to represent The World itself, as in the final episode's OP it turns into The World.
You can also hear a heartbeat thats Jotaros. Its a reference to the scene where Jotaro has to use his Stand to stop his heart to trick DIO into thinking he died. It could also be Josephs at the epilogue when Jotaro restarts his heart doing the same trick.
It cuts across the desert, filled with gears - more things pointing toward time. It flies past the crew, ending on Polnareff's Silver Chariot using two swords - a reference to the Anubis fight, the same pose as well.
Next we cut to the group on the stairs, with silhouettes of the Egyptian Gods flying past, the theme of the enemy Stands in the second half. I checked, and they are in order and accurate. It ends with a shot moving downward, everyone frozen in time, ending on Jotaro, who looks up and summons his stand, foreshadowing his ability to fight against The World's time stop. Polnareff is also at the top of the stairs, a reference to him discovering DIO on the stairs. It's also split into the two groups, Polnareff, Iggy and Avdol then Kakyoin, Joseph and Jotaro. It also appears homage to the OVA (this scene never happened in the manga, obviously as two of these people were dead at the time) where they are all climbing the stairs. Credit to Jexhius for helping me remember this scene from the OVA.
In the final episode's OP, the World's fists are what make cracks on the screen you could see before.
After the stairs, it cuts to the group on the roof, you can see the sun setting in the background, and various lights popping up. You can also see the Pyramids in the background and the clock tower Kakyoin uses to show Joseph what The World does, and I think that is DIO's mansion they are looking at. The best explanation I have for the lights is the scene when DIO is on top of the radio tower, pulling down an electric cord and causing a light to flicker. Polnareff is also the only one who moves his body, I dunno why though.
A pendulum swings by and we see Avdol reaching his hand out to Iggy and Polnareff, as if trying to stop them. He is actually pushing them away from Cream, Cream swoops in, splitting the screen, turning Avdol's half red, signifying his death.
In the same scene, right after, the floor shifts to stairs, and you can see Polnareff move down it, a reference to his encounter with DIO when he moved Polnareff down the stairs. Credit to EmCeeGramr because I actually didn't notice this.
And added in the final episode's OP...
Look who you can see at the top of the stairs.
It shifts to Kakyoin, surrounded by string. This is the trap he laid for DIO using Hierophant Green. A pendulum swings by and it breaks, when DIO shattered his net and then killed him.
And in the final episode's OP...
The World cuts in to shatter it.
Cut to Joseph, hand outstretched, and the point going for his neck, the knife DIO used to "kill" him.
And in the final episode's OP...
The knife is replaced by The World's arm going into Joseph's chest, pumping slightly to show he is absorbing his blood.
Cut to Jotaro, stopped in midair, and dozens of the points come at him, the knives DIO throws at him.
Here is a real subtle one - if you look really hard, you can see Jotaro's finger wiggle, which is what stopped DIO from killing him out of shock he could possibly move when time was stopped.
And in the final episode's OP, that comes to fruition as Jotaro summons his Stand while time is stopped.
After that, a star shoots across the sky, splitting into the group. I'm not sure on this one but the only thing I think this could be referencing is when they jump out of DIO's tower and fly down, but I'm probably stretching it.
Cut to Jotaro at the top of the stairs, using Star Platinum to shatter some glass. In the reflection, if you look very closely you can see who is hidden there for just a frame...
Which allowed us to have this amazing scene -
Episode 47 special OP
Where DIO stops time for exactly nine seconds. Fucking DP, man.
Lastly, the final scene where Jotaro shatters the glass and DIO appears behind him, over his shoulder in time stop. In the actual series, it is the opposite, Jotaro appears behind DIO's shoulder in time stop.
...and finally ending on the ORA ORA ORA ORA barrage. But despite that you can make out someone else's fist...
That's The World's fist on the right, hidden in the barrage in a few frames.
And that's it. That's Sono chi no Kioku, a visually outstanding opening in every way in my opinion.
I was also going to grab some manga panels but that would have been a lot of work and hard to format, and the TV anime shots are pretty much the same. One thing I'm surprised they didn't try to reference was the iconic steamroller DIO drops on Jotaro, though.
And again, by that logic SP punches should be much weaker because of Jotaro's injuries. (And he got severely mudamada'd
I'm now wondering if Dio's body injuries should influence the durability of The World's clothing.
Question: Is Part 4 more like BT or SC plotwise ? Aka is it again stand of the week formula ? Do spoiler mark it so that no one gets angry.
There it is.
Stand of the week, but the setting and Protagonist are a lot more interesting.
toastyToast
Member
Was expecting a more interesting conclusion than that especially with it turning out that Star Platinum is basically a better version of Za Warudo. Given the absurdly distorted time in which this fight took place (it's been one second) you'd think that given a day or two Jotaro would be able to stop time for at least a half hour (it's been 1.005 seconds). Joseph coming back for reasons was a nice surprise. Speaking of Joseph, that death monologue lol. Did Jotaro stop time to listen to that because he had Dio beat if he did, that was a good minute of Dio standing there filing is nails. At least I know where the steamroller thing is from now.
Oh yeah, noticed this in the opening. Ignoring the the crappy song it has to be up there with the series' best.
edit: welp
Oh yeah, noticed this in the opening. Ignoring the the crappy song it has to be up there with the series' best.
edit: welp
This was a fantastic end. Really glad that this anime has made JJBA relatively popular again. Honestly I was most looking forward to a part 4 teaser at the end (part 3 is probably my least favorite part of jojos), but this final episode was really well done so I don't mind.
I hope the anime encourages people to go read the manga!
I hope the anime encourages people to go read the manga!
its more stand of the week-ish, but imo 4,5 and 6 actually have interesting settings and plot twists/turns that make you forget the structure of SC. SC is probably the most bland part in this regard because there is only one story beat: journey to find and destroy DIO. The following parts have a lot more going on with some pretty fantastic settings and characters.
Reverend Funk
Comfy Penetration
Kinda disappointed in that last episode as I was hoping Jotaro would win in a way other than "lol I'm stronger than you".
The Omega Man
Member
What a journey GAF, what a journey, we were thrilled together. we suffered together, we laughed together (at DTL's posts).
Now we must go back to hibernation until the good news we seek become a reality (if any).
I am cautiously optimistic that part 4 will become a reality, but if not..
what a fun ride it was, aba yo!
Now we must go back to hibernation until the good news we seek become a reality (if any).
I am cautiously optimistic that part 4 will become a reality, but if not..
what a fun ride it was, aba yo!
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Stand of the week mostly, but not every stand is an enemy, some users return as minibosses, and the setting and characters are better
Cheers.
Shame about the still SCish formula but what you say about more varied story, the setting and characters fills me with hope.
Sequence Six
Member
This is still how I hear Dio's voice, especially the WRYYYYYYYYYYY
Best twenty bucks I ever spent on my old PSX.
I figured for a while that that was Vanilla Ice and Cream as the bubbles. That's what Cream looks like when in the other dimension and you can clearly see that they're all standing in what looks like a room that was swiss cheesed up by Cream. It would make sense why Polnareff is the one that moves too since he has the biggest grudge against Vanilla Ice. As for the dots appearing in bursts I'm unsure if it's because of Cream swallowing things up bursts at a time or something else.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
That interpretation makes a lot of sense. At times I had trouble figuring out if things meant anything or they did not.
M0nochromatic
Member
I missed a lot of that. Great post!
I really hate how the fight ended with Jotaro punching The World leg so hard that it somehow made him explode for no actual reason. Gone was the nice strategies that we had during the entire fight, instead it all finished with brute force with a nonsense explosion to end it.
Really weak ending to an otherwise great fight, kind of left a sour taste.
Best part of the episode was easily Joseph trolling Jotaro, who'd actually bother to do that in that situation? Such a great moment.
Really weak ending to an otherwise great fight, kind of left a sour taste.
Best part of the episode was easily Joseph trolling Jotaro, who'd actually bother to do that in that situation? Such a great moment.
MillionStabs
Banned
You wanna talk about shit not making sense? We saw Joseph's spirit LEAVE HIS BODY. Not sure you can come back from that.
And Jotaro was so pissed he could punch hard enough to make Dio explod. It just works.
Never knew how much thought was put in the opening/ending but that is something.
Enjoyed the final fight but think Jotaro should have ended it by tricking DIO he was still in his time. Otherwise felt real good when Dio got what was coming to him.
Joseph continues to show why he's best Joestar.
Enjoyed the final fight but think Jotaro should have ended it by tricking DIO he was still in his time. Otherwise felt real good when Dio got what was coming to him.
Joseph continues to show why he's best Joestar.
Blackquill
Member
For those who think that Jotaro only won because "he was the strongest", you should remember that before the final blow, Dio's stand was weakened in his knees and Jotaro hits... his knee.
Reverend Funk
Comfy Penetration
He hit DIO (the immortal vampire) twice, which made him blow up.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
I like to think the middle of DIO's head never fully recovered after being sliced in half by Jonathan all those years ago. He still has a habit of closing his left eye which was destroyed by the ripple rose.
The issue wasn't that it was just nonsense, the issue was that it was an awful ending to a great fight, DIO exploding for reasons just wasn't satisfying,
Kars defeat was complete and utter nonsense, but it was grandiose and over the top fun.
Even if the fight had to end with a punch, we just need to look at last episode for an example of a better punch scene.
We had an entire build up with Jotaro trying to trick DIO into thinking he was dead, which then culminates when Star Platinum punches DIO right in the head breaking his skull. That right there was a much better scene than "punch DIO leg and DIO explodes", starting with the build up and all the way to the actual punch (and it's animation).
Professor Renegade
Banned
So is it too early to post gifs?
Monochromaticx
Member
EmCeeGramr
Member
a vampire dropped a steamroller on a dude and then the dude punched the vampire so hard that his head exploded
part 3 owns
part 3 owns
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
I think the final fight is great but kind of agree the ending could be better. The frenzied DIO fight could've went a bit longer but I think the way it ends is fine.
Yeah, that's what it comes down to for me, too. Part 1's ending was dramatic and Part 2's ending was over-the-top crazy. Part 3's was... just there.
The Right Deal
Banned
I was a little iffy on Joseph throughout SC, but him pretending to be Dio as well as his behavior in the D'arby the Younger fight encouraged a late game bump in the rankings which now sit at:
Polnareff>Kakyoin>Joseph>Jotaro>Avdol>Iggy
I'm a little bummed at how quickly everything was wrapped up, I would have liked to at least see Joseph and Jotaro reunite with Holly, and Dio's defeat was a tad anti-climactic, especially after how great the Road Roller was. Overall, this was a fantastic thing to keep up with every week, it never failed to make me smile, bring on part 4.
Polnareff>Kakyoin>Joseph>Jotaro>Avdol>Iggy
I'm a little bummed at how quickly everything was wrapped up, I would have liked to at least see Joseph and Jotaro reunite with Holly, and Dio's defeat was a tad anti-climactic, especially after how great the Road Roller was. Overall, this was a fantastic thing to keep up with every week, it never failed to make me smile, bring on part 4.
Professor Renegade
Banned
bobbychalkers
Member
......Friday has no meaning to me now.
The ending didn't top Young Joseph's escapades (you can't top bullshitting a plan to knock an ancient super being into outer space in a fate worse than death via a volcano and subsequently surviving earth re-entry while unconscious) but it was a fun ride all the way through.
The ending didn't top Young Joseph's escapades (you can't top bullshitting a plan to knock an ancient super being into outer space in a fate worse than death via a volcano and subsequently surviving earth re-entry while unconscious) but it was a fun ride all the way through.
AquaWateria
Member
That was such a great ride, Stardust Crusaders has been very enjoyable. Although I prefer Battle Tendency and think it's the best Part so far Stardust Crusaders was still very good. I hope they animate more JoJo and give us Part 4.
Also Joseph is the best JoJo.😎
Also Joseph is the best JoJo.😎
J
Jotamide
Unconfirmed Member
Absolutely agreed.
Also, Part 2 > Part 3 > Part 1 so far. I hope Part 4 comes out soon!
SolarKnight
Member
I never noticed the finger twitch or the Polnareff and the stairs part until other people mentioned. However, what's blowing my mind is this one
I might be overthinking it, but it's not just Cream swooping in and coloring Avdol's half red (which btw also excludes his arm, the only thing that was left of him from that attack), it's the trail that Vanilla was leaving when he was circling blindly around Polnareff to kill him. Polnareff is even in what would be the center while Iggy is in a "safe zone".
Holy shit this single second of the opening just has so much freaking stuff in it
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
I know what you are trying to do but whenever I see the OVA all I can say is "Wow, this is really ugly and garish."
And an oil tanker is 100x lamer then a steam roller
Wow. I think you are right. I've never seen anyone point that out.
SolarKnight
Member
I literally wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't pointed out the Avdol and Vanilla Ice thing in your post. Good lord this fucking opening.
I don't disagree, but you have to admit that "An oil tanker for you" is a fun line lol
TheRealTalker
Banned
Joseph Joestar always
faking out death
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
Amazing ending, can't wait for Part 4.
Jex
Member
Ugly and garish? In a JoJo's anime?
Watching both doesn't invalidate either. I consider both adaptations a compliment to each other: the anime for a faithful adaptation and the ova for better animation and extended final battle.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Woops, garish is definitely not the word I meant to use there, it's pretty much the opposite. Drab or something.
I appreciate the OVA for a lot of reasons, mostly the impressive animations and being storyboarded by da gawd Satoshi Kon himself but as a fan I actually kind of loathe it.
It's a weird balance.
I was one of those people who didn't want to wait each week for a new episode, so I just decided to read the rest of Stardust instead. Ended up reading through part 4 too, and then patiently started waiting for the anime to catch up.
Part 3 may be really rough in some spots, but I think the final fight is still one of my favorites so far. I really hope they get around to doing part 4, it's up there with Battle Tendency as one of the best arcs.
Part 3 may be really rough in some spots, but I think the final fight is still one of my favorites so far. I really hope they get around to doing part 4, it's up there with Battle Tendency as one of the best arcs.
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