JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc

Episode 22

Sometimes it's nice to just get exactly what you asked for.

This week of Stardust Crusaders brought the pain, the drama, and the time-stopping action I'd been waiting for, and I loved every minute of it. Okay, I didn't love the death of Kakyoin, but not because it wasn't excellent. No one wants to say goodbye to the Crusaders' resident nerdlinger, but neither his bravery or brains could save him from the power of The World. He went out like a boss, and the show gave his final moments the fullest dues it could possibly give. Unlike Avdol, Kakyoin is given some interiority before his death, as he reflects on his lonely childhood. (Iggy got this treatment before his fakeout death, so by the time his real final sacrifice came around, we already knew where he was coming from. Poor Avdol's the odd man out for introspective moments.) Decades before Facebook would even exist, Kakyoin muses on what we might call the "Facebook friend" paradox. The kids around him in school had address books packed with over fifty names of their friends and classmates, but he wondered how many of those names could really be someone's good friends? For Kakyoin, being his "friend" had to mean truly understanding his true self. It's a familiar lament for many introverted intellectuals, but for Kakyoin, the self-imposed isolation went one step further. Even if he found someone with similar interests that understood his reserved personality, they still wouldn't be able to see Hierophant Green, the biggest secret part of who he really was. Because of this, Kakyoin felt lonely and friendless for his entire childhood, and he also felt like it was all his fault. Then he met the other Stardust Crusaders. For as different as they were, they all understood the burden of having a stand, and Kakyoin was able to feel connected and appreciated by the group even if he was the sensitive dork of the manly-man pack.

So in his last moments, Kakyoin does what only he can do, revealing the true nature of The World to Joseph in a way that Dio won't notice. (He may talk a big game, but I strongly suspect Dio's brain is 90% hot air by volume.) The only reasonable assumption to make is that The World has the power to stop time! Of course, the phrase "he can stop time for about four seconds" is pretty silly when you try to wrap your brain around it, but that's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for you. The good news is that Dio's power is finally out in the open, which means the tension of each action scene has increased hundredfold.

Now when Dio stops time, we get to see it, helpless to stop him as he calmly walks up to our frozen heroes and seals their fates, while delivering an arrogant monologue for our ears alone. The show's opening and ending themes now seem more fitting than they ever did before, as both the ticking clock imagery and somber reflection come to a head during this episode's climactic events. We're finally seeing Dio animated with the dominant (yet mildly effeminate) power and grace that makes the character so memorable, while Joseph struggles to outrun and outwit the almighty vampire. This is also the first time Takehito Koyasu has really been able to cut loose in his villainous role in Part III, and his line delivery is absolutely fabulous in this episode.

All the restraint and decompression of the past couple episodes has finally paid off, as this episode leaps from memorable shot to impassioned line to inspired setpiece with almost no room to breathe in between. david production's animation is still limited, but the art and shot composition is directed to its fullest, with the soundtrack and voice acting once again compensating for some of those necessary long holds in the visuals. The most notable example of direction overcoming animation budget comes in the destruction of Kakyoin's Emerald Splash barrier, as the green ropes gently disintegrate while his life fades away, but also lead to his realization about Dio's powers. It's a pulse-pounding rollercoaster of good vs. evil from start to finish this week, and I couldn't be happier with the result.

Rating: A+

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Hope has been an anime fan since childhood, and likes to chat about cartoons, pop culture, and visual novel dev on Twitter.