JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc

Episode 4

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure may be a very silly show most of the time, but it's also earned a legacy for being genuinely tense and frightening as well. I don't think the series has ever undergone such a dramatic tone shift between two episodes as the leap from last week to this one, but the really exceptional thing about Stardust Crusaders' jump from peak silly to peak scary is that both are truly peak Jojo's episodes. After seeing how Geb's material was handled (kinda straightforward and bland), I had my doubts about how engaging the darker and more straightforward Anubis battle would come across, but my caution was clearly misplaced. This episode commits to a disquieting tone right from the beginning, even through the fleeting bits of comedy, and the end result is a super-spooky Jojo's vignette with a killer cliffhanger, just as strong of a horror piece as the Oingo Boingo episode was for comedy.

One of the greatest points in the Anubis battle's favor is that it stars Polnareff. I feel like for as many fans as the tube-haired frenchman has, he's still an underrated gem of a Jojo's character. None of the Stardust Crusaders has quite the breadth of Polnareff. While the other members of the team are useful for more specific tones, Polnareff brings the best out of any situation you throw at him. While Joseph may be funny, Jotaro may be badass, and Kakyoin may be intensely dramatic, Polnareff can do all of these things, and do them as well if not better than the other leads! His comedy material is the funniest. His dramatic moments are the most touching. And of course, when he pulls out the stops and decides to get serious, he's a real badass as well. He gets to display all these shades in this episode without breaking the oppressive and eerie atmosphere always lingering behind him. It seems only fitting that the Crusaders' most lively member would be the best choice to go up against the Egyptian God of Death.

Of course, Anubis' nature as a living sword also makes Polnareff the only suitable fencing partner on the team. Yes, we've had infant stand masters and animal stand masters, so why not an inanimate object? Anubis is "controlled" by a haunted katana who possesses passersby that it deems worthy and uses them to do Dio's bidding before sending them and all who witnessed the possession to an untimely grave. The concept works largely because the sword's presence is treated with such gravitas every time it appears. Insects that lands on its hilt shrivel and die. The sight and sound of the sword being drawn from its scabbard have hypnotic effects on the wielder (and the viewers.) It's a Very Serious Sword by Jojo's standards, and watching Polnareff almost become its next victim right after defeating what he thought was its master is pretty upsetting, as he's drawn back to the weapon over and over, almost-but-not-quite succumbing to its power. (Thank goodness for Iggy! Why doesn't anyone ever listen to Iggy? He may have a bad attitude, but between this and last week's incident, he clearly knows what's going on with these enemy stands.)

The mood of the whole creepy adventure is aided intensely by an upswing in animation quality and the already excellent score. Polnareff's battle with Chaka is sharp, exciting, and packed with daunting shots of starkly lit ruins crumbling under Anubis' might. There's nothing in the fight to demand the lion's share of the animation budget on paper; it could be conveyed just as well with the more standard sound effects and speedlines of rougher past episodes. So the fluid swordplay is a nice surprise that greatly ups the intensity of the match. All the same, Jojo's visuals are once again outshined by its music and sound design, both working overtime in this episode to great effect. Guitars, tense strings, and ghostly choirs harmonize with the spooky sounds of a sweeping razor, the haunted sword's hum, and some nicely placed "ku ku ku"s from Chaka. Anubis' debut was outstanding as a horror and action vignette, and Polnareff's battle against the phantom stand has only just begun. Awaiting next week on pins and needles!

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.