Dio is back!!!
Story:
This season picks up where the last one left off. JoJo's group has now arrived in Egypt and needs to get to the capital, Cairo, where Dio is staying. Along the way, they again encounter many Stand users, all with creative and unique abilities. Because of the different Stands, each episode has its own unique feel. This formula had already worked very well in the first season of Stardust Crusaders. They are now relying on this formula and taking it further. In the first season, each Stand was the image of a Taro card. In this season, each Stand is based on an Egyptian deity. The starting point of the story of Part 3 is simple. Dio, the antagonist from Part 1, is back. He wants to subjugate the world and thus has to be defeated by the Joestars for moral reasons on the one hand. In addition, Dio is responsible for the appearance of the Stands. He has taken over Jonathan Joestar's body, the body of JoJo from Part 1, and could only survive that way. Thus the fate of Dio and the Joestars is linked. As a result, each Joestar gets a stand. So also the mother of Kujo Jotaro, the JoJo from Part 3, but she is too weak for a Stand and gets deadly fever. So Dio must also be defeated to save the mother of JoJo. Therefore Jotaro, his grandfather Joseph, Kakyoin and Avdol set off for Egyptian and meet more companions on their journey.
In Part 1, Jonathan and Dio's fate was one. They grew up together and died together. Now in Part 3, Dio could only survive with Jonathan's help. However, Dio can't get rid of the Joestars. Through Jonathan's body, his fate is now tied to that of the other Joestars as well. The fact that Jotaro's Stand "Star Platinum" is very similar to Dio's Stand "The World" is no coincidence. Both Stands are sewing fighters, with low range and high precision. In the finale, it becomes clear that Jotaro is the only one who can defeat Dio. Dio's Stand The World also has the ability to stop time. Kakyoin died for this information. Joseph understands Kakyoin's dying message and passes it on to Jotaro. Joseph also dies in the process. In itself, Star Platinum and The World are equal. The difference is that The World can stop time. Jotaro is conscious in the world in which time has been stopped, and can observe but not act. To everyone else, however, it seems as if time never stops. For them, Dio teleports, so to speak. Jotaro learns to move in the stopped world during his fight with Dio. First a few moments, then seconds, and finally he was able to stop time himself, which is how he then defeats Dio. So in the end they had the same stand. Dio's body decomposes in the sun and thus the invisible bond between Dio and the Joestars is seemingly severed. Joseph, however, was revived with Dio's blood. This may be a clue for later.
Characters:
The new thing in this part is the group dynamic. The group consists of Jotaro, Joseph, Kakyoin, Polnareff and Iggy. Together they travel from Japan to Cairo. On the journey, you get to know each character better. You understand their personalities and motives for hating Dio. I didn't like Jotaro Kujo at first. He seemed unsympathetic and would like to be cool. That was intentional. You understand later that he just wants to protect his family and he is just damn cool. In addition, his outfit is mega. He is my favorite JoJo so far. Joseph is also back here. He is the only one who still uses Hamon. It's useless against Stands, but still finds its use. His portrayal is different than in Part 2. He is portrayed here as a typical American with phrases like "oh no" or "oh my god". His phrase "next you will say" we get to hear again though as a reference to Part 2. My second favorite besides Jotaro was Dio this season. His performance is superb. He is the ultimate evil, super brutal and kills without hesitation for his own purposes. His synchro is great. All in all, his character design is very well done, both visually and the personality.
Humor:
In general, I love the over-the-top humor of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It was present in this part as well. However, I generally don't like pee pee humor. In the first season of Stardust Crusaders this was still okay, but in this season it appears more and more. Often connected with Iggy. Humor is subjective, of course. I didn't like this aspect of the humor, but otherwise it was top notch again .
Art:
The artstyle remains true to Manga in Part 3, as it did in Parts 1 and 2, with huge onomatopoeia and panel like splits of the screen. At special moments, the color scheme changes, adding highlights. The edgy artstyle fits JoJo's and gives the series recognition value. If you happen to see an image from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the series is directly relatable only through the artstyle. The animation is better in Part 3 than in Parts 1 and 2. The fights are nicely animated and have nice camera work now and then. So the visuals are perfectly done again in this part.
Sound:
The opening did not appeal to me. It's fine and the worst of the series so far. But the visuals of the opening were top. Beautifully animated, with nice pictures. In the last episodes Dio came into the opening, which was very creative and provided for variety. In the last episode, the opening had sound effects like in parts 1 and 2. No other series does that. It shows attention to detail and that fits JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The ending "Last Train Home" is unfortunately only an instrumental. It is atmospheric. But I would have preferred a song with lyrics. The episodes with Boingo had their own endings, which showed the creativity of JoJo's again. The synchro was again top. All roles were well played. In the end, I want to highlight the sounds from the Stand The World. Those deep, exploding basses showed the power of The World. In general, sonic underpinnings in this Part again did great.
Conclusion:
The journey from Japan to Cairo was super fun. The different creative Stands of the opponents provided variety. In addition, you saw many different places and cultures of the real world. So it never got boring. The characters were consistently likeable and worked great together. Each character also had his solo moments. The finale against Dio was a rewarding highlight after this long adventure. The series is over the top and I love that. This was especially evident again in the humor, art and sound of the series, which is what makes it so iconic. Part 3 is clearly the best part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure so far compared to Parts 1 and 2.
Thanks for reading
