This review contains spoilers for JoJos Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean Only one Stone Ocean review? Yare yare dewa 20https://bestanimations.com/SignsShapes/Arrows/Left/leftarrow15.gif https://anilist.co/review/14207 520https://i.ur.com/AabWOYW.jpg I havent been on the JoJo train as long as others two years ago I couldnt tell a Jonathan from a Joseph. On April 28 2021 Stone Ocean the adaption of the series sixth Part was announced to much rejoicing from the fandom. And even though I hadnt watched the series yet I got swept up in the hype. I decided to binge JoJos Bizarre Adventure so that Id be caught up in time for Stone Oceans premiere. I wanted to experience the show the same way others had tuning in for the socalled JoJo Fridays. Unfortunately that wouldnt be possible. Stone Ocean made its debut on Netflix vial batch format. I dont want to belabor Stone Oceans release too much as it already feels like a beaten horse at this point but ignoring it feels a bit disingenuous as its played a big part in this shows reception. The overwhelming majority of anime is released weekly which in the case of JoJo drives up discussion and hype. Netflix like most streaming services releases the episodes of most of its shows all at once. The hybrid of these two formats is known as batch format wherein a number of episodes will be released at once but not all of them. Stone Ocean was released in this manner. I played Devils Advocate for a long time regarding this release and while I still stand by it not being the Awful Terrible No Good Worst Ever format most anime fans see it as it obviously has its problems. Discussion of Stone Ocean is all but nonexistent compared to the previous parts as everyone watches the show at their own pace now. Theres little collective excitement to be had and thats a real bummer. Making matters worse was the utter lack of communication. I want to say we had no idea how Netflix would release it until the episodes dropped on December 1 2021. Many assumed the next batch would drop in March or so. Months passed and we got nothing. We eventually were told the next batch would drop September 1 2022 and the fandom went into full doom mode because we assumed that meant the next batch wouldnt release until well into 2023 making the entire part needlessly protracted killing what little hype it still had. Luckily the third and final batch released on December 1 2022 but the handling of the release was still very disappointing. As if that wasnt enough instead of Stone Ocean being worked on by David Productions Ateam the show was animated by the Bteam with the studios focus going toward this seasons Urusei Yatsura. This resulted in lower animation quality and it shows with background characters being simple outlines ala volume one of RWBYhttps://static.wikia.nocookie.net/rwby/images/9/9d/Shadowpeople2.png/revision/latest?cb=20130827001927. This isnt to say there arent genuinely wellanimated sequences the final stretch is particularly great but its very clear that the Agame isnt here. And while JoJo has never been known for its consistently great animation quality unless your name is Golden Wind it particularly stings here because we know that great animation was possible but given to Urusei Yatsura instead which didnt need it as much as Stone Ocean. Even if the animation has been poor at times before it always felt like David Production was trying its best with the hand it was dealt. Stone Ocean feels like it willingly tossed its cards away because it didnt feel like playing the game. Neither of these issues ended up hurting the show particularly badly but they did dampen my excitement. With the disappointing production addressed I can answer the most important question: was the show itself any good? At the onset Stone Ocean had a pretty big task ahead of it. Like its predecessors it had to be a good JoJos Bizarre Adventure installment in its own right. In addition to this Stone Ocean does away with the largely selfcontained nature of Diamond is Unbreakable and Golden Wind opting to be a more direct continuation of the DIO plot last explored in Stardust Crusaders. If this wasnt enough Stone Ocean is the last part to take place in the timeline weve been following since Phantom Blood meaning it not only had to satisfyingly put a bow on DIOs shenanigans but the entire series as we knew it. 520https://i.ur.com/b3nV3ZC.png Stone Ocean is a bit difficult to rank because it handles the tasks I outlined with varying degrees of success. As a part I didnt find it particularly strong. Dont get me wrong theres a lot to enjoy here and unlike Golden Wind I never found myself out and out disappointed by it. That said the vast majority of Stone Oceans run was just goodnothing more nothing less. But when I zoom out and look at this as a grand finale its up there as one of if not the best parts so far. Stone Ocean is definitely more about the destination than the journey and its a sight to behold once you get there. 520https://i.ur.com/9EvhRle.png Stone Ocean follows Jolyne Cujoh. As you could probably guess shes the estranged daughter of Jotaro Kujo so estranged in fact that she spells her name Cujoh instead of Kujo to distance herself from him. In her teenage years she largely became as much of a delinquent as her father was in his youth making it all easier for her to be framed for a crime she didnt commit. While being transferred to the highsecurity prison Green Dolphin State Prison shes given her belongings including a pendant from her father. Upon pricking her finger on it shes given the power of a Stand Stone Free. This turns out to be a great help as the prison is absolutely crawling with hostile Stand users. As Jolyne tries to free herself from prison she makes allies and stumbles upon a conspiracy involving her father and an evil he defeated in Egypt years ago. Since the beginning JoJos Bizarre Adventure has been enhanced by its colorful cast of characters and since Battle Tendency the rich relationships between those characters have elevated the series further. The relationship between Jonathan and Caesar was the highlight of Battle Tendency and the latters presence was sorely missed after his death. The bond between the eponymous Stardust Crusaders is compelling enough to get viewers through the lull periods of the part theyre featured in. The same goes for Diamond is Unbreakable even if the cast isnt as closeknit as the Crusaders they play off each other well. Even though Im not the biggest fan of Golden Wind I can admit that Bucciaratis Gang is fun to follow. 520https://i.ur.com/GkAk4sc.png With all that came before its hard not to find the cast of Stone Ocean or at least their implementation a mixed bag. The characters themselves are fine enough. Going in I was ready to have Jolyne be my favorite JoJo and while shes not quite there I can definitely say shes in the top three or four. She has a forceful and entertaining personality thats more engaging than Jonathan and Giorno. Shes cool without being stoic unlike her father during Stardust Crusaders. While subtle she also has character development that I enjoy gaining a sense of justice and purpose as the series goes on. Jotaro isnt as prominent here as he is during Diamond is Unbreakable its kind of hard to be when youre comatose but when hes active he still makes for a great mentor. Hermes is a fine Jobro not boring just not particularly notable either. I absolutely love Foo Fighters and the zany energy she brings to the cast. Like Caesar before her you can really feel it when shes gone. While Weather Report makes for a compelling character and Emporio becomes Stone Oceans MVP these occur either near or at the very end of the part. Throughout most of the part Weather Report is kind of cool if not shallow while Emporio may as well be Smokey or Poco in how hes used. The only person I outandout dislike in the group is Anasui as he just comes across as a violent creep. I do enjoy his genderbending design though. 520https://i.ur.com/2f2J8SQ.gif My biggest problems with the protagonists of Stone Ocean are their interactions with one another or lack thereof. There isnt a moment during the part where the entire group is together. This means that it doesnt really feel like a group of friends. If they feel like allies its mostly only through them having roughly the same goals and less because theyre actively helping each other achieve those goals. The only three that feel like friends are Jolyne Hermes and Foo Fighters because they spend the most time together. Once Foo Fighters dies it feels like the connective tissue of the group dissolves. Weather Report Anasui and Emporio are largely doing their own thing throughout the part. The final battle is the only time everyone is together and it doesnt feel particularly cathartic. By the time it happens both Foo Fighters and Weather Report have become golden cloudshttps://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeadlyEuphemism and the final battle doesnt last long before everyonenotnamedEmporio is wiped out. It just feels odd that the previous parts group of professionals feels closer than this group. And I guess you could make a point of prison not being a great place to foster friendships but an explanation doesnt make the situation any more satisfying. Speaking of which we have our first JoJo part that takes place primarily in America and it just so happens to mostly be set in a state penitentiary. Theres probably a joke here. Anyway Araki gets points for uniqueness but I have to stop far short of giving our wacky mangaka a gold star because wholly hell is the setting drab. As bizarre as it is a prisons still a prison and doesnt make for a visually compelling setting. And again Im sure thats largely the point as prisons no pleasure cruise but it doesnt change the fact that its a bit boring. But beyond that its a bit amorphous and undefined. Its a bit of an unfair comparison as its literally the best setting in the series but I cant help but think of Morioh. The quirky town gave Diamond is Unbreakable a sense of place that no other part quite had. Even if not realistic thanks to its inhabitants it felt realized and believable I can still picture it as if it were real. Even if he didnt paint it as a place Id want to go to Araki still could have put more work into making Green Dolphin State Prison feel real. He could have given it more notable locations and gone more into the daily life of the prisoners. The locales of Stardust Crusaders and Golden Wind even if not cozy are at least beautiful. The setting of Stone Ocean is about as compelling as the setting of Phantom Blood. Things feel more lively once the characters bust out of prison because duh but by that point the parts almost over. As always the Stand powers were a treat and made for some pretty creative fights. Its hard not to appreciate the zaniness of Weather Report summoning frogs to rain from the sky. And even if its a bit hard to follow though obtuse abilities are nothing new for JoJos Bizarre ItJustWorkshttps://preview.redd.it/d15eknhocpj51.jpg?width=640crop=smartauto=webps=4087990f075edadfc58e912932944e769acbbbb6 Adventure you have to at least respect the interesting use of feng shui in the Dragons Dream fight. 520https://i.ur.com/duePUa9.png Yugo Kannos score is still terrific with standout tracks being Jolyne and Puccis theme. Both openings are great and its nice to see the CGI models return even though I didnt mind the traditionallyanimated openings of Parts 4 and 5. The ending theme Distant Dreamer by Duffy is beautiful and encapsulates the feelings of wishing for a better future perfectly. Its gone on to be one of my favorite endings of the series. I wish the accompanying animation had a bit more effort put into it. And yes ocean waves are a good contrast to prison but again even if it fits doesnt mean its not disappointing. Prior to its final arc Stone Ocean is just good. And if it sounds like Im damning it with faint praise I am. Its wild and unlike the vast majority of things youve seen before but its nothing to write home about in the context of JoJo. Its fun yes but even the worst of JoJos Bizarre Adventure is fun. But then something magical happens. It ends. And it ends with a bang one louder than any weve heard in the series thus far. Stone Ocean can be seen as a pretty direct sequel to Stardust Crusaders not just in terms plot but in structure. Even as someone who likes Stardust Crusaders monsteroftheweek format more than most I can admit that Part 3 was backloaded to the nth degree. I found it good throughout but it really only hit it out of the park during its final arc DIOs World. Similarly Stone Ocean is fairly middling until the gang breaks out of prison. Besides the refreshing change of scenery Stone Ocean improves thanks to having more energy injected into it as the heroes race against time to find the villain. Stone Ocean becomes even more compelling when were treated to the backstories of main villain Enrico Pucci and Weather Report his twin brother. 520https://i.ur.com/H7FWM5c.png Puccis backstory is the most detailed of all the villains thus far barring possibly DIO and its much better for it. Unlike Diavolo Pucci feels like an actual person and unlike Kira as much as I love the bastard its easy to empathize with him. His backstory draws us in and shows us that he has an understandable reason for doing what he does though this isnt to say his reason is necessary good. Pucci and Weathers backstory is tragic in a way that nothing else weve seen before can top in part because we experience it with them. Their flashback is much longer than say each of the flashbacks used to introduce the Golden Wind cast. This draws us into their struggles and makes the flashback feel more like an important part of the story instead of an aside. Puccis desire to split apart his siblings to stop their unknowingly incestuous relationship while keeping his vow of secrecy as a priest only to have his plans unravel horribly once he realizes hes made a deal with the Devil in the form of the Ku Klux Klan its really crazy how Araki handles the horror and ridiculousness of racism as an aside better than Murao does while having his entire mangahttps://anilist.co/review/13505 center around it helps us empathize with his plans. His plan to create a Heaven where people know their fates as immoral as it may be certainly makes sense when youve experienced just how much Pucci feels hes been screwed by fate. And I appreciate Weather more due to how tragic his own life has been. Ive said it before but JoJo up to this point hasnt been what Id consider deep. The backstory might not be particularly deep either but its certainly arresting in a way that nothing before has quite been and gives Pucci more layers than I thought possible for the series. 520https://i.ur.com/ewqgjyv.png Pucci/Weathers backstory and the ensuring arc would be enough to elevate the part for me but like an overexcited infomercial host Araki says but wait theres more While not quite measuring up to DIOs World in terms of actual combat the final battle of Stone Ocean made my jaw drop thanks to its spectacle. Made in Heavens speed makes it one of the most terrifying Stands weve seen. Its hard to fight because of how hard it is to hit exemplified by us hardly getting a good look at it once its in motion. Its like a horror movie monster. Beyond that its collateral damage is ludicrous it makes DIO wrecking Cairo or Green Day and Oasis rampage through Rome look like minor mishaps in comparison. Made in Heaven is the most destructive Stand when it comes to affecting the world around it. Were treated to scenes of time rapidly accelerating causing dentures clothing and food to rot. We watch people freeze within seconds of entering a walkin fridge. Glasses fly to the ground and shatter as soon as theyre out of peoples hands. The sun is rendered a streaking comet in a sky that rapidly changes from light to dark and back again. Mangaka cannot make their deadlineshttps://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking except for Rohan Kishibe of course. All this would be enough to cement the ending for me but no. In the bloodiest final battle since Stardust Crusaders our heroes fail. One by one theyre picked off by the monstrous power of Made in Heaven until Emporio is the only one left standing. He eventually defeats Pucci using Weather Reports stand in whats probably the most satisfying beatdown in JoJo so far. After Emporio finds himself in a new universe one where analogs of all his allies barring Foo Fightershttps://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MyFriendsAndZoidberg survive. Despite this the preceding deaths dont feel cheap because the people he knew are gone even if Irene is similar to Jolyne she doesnt have quite the same history or personality. Emporio and Emporio alone will be witness to what happened in the original universe. To drive this point home images of the original cast are depicted in the sky as the show draws to a close. 520https://i.ur.com/E51Fknh.png The new universe is the perfect ending to the original run of JoJo because it marks the end of the Joestar line. Or at least the need for the Joestars. In this new universe Jotaro JoJo Kujos daughter isnt Jolyne JoJo Cujoh shes Irene LastNameNotGiven. She may have the Joestar birthmark but she doesnt need to be JoJo she doesnt need to devote her life to fighting evil. With the last of DIOs flunkies erased from existence the Joestars can lead a bizarre yet relatively peaceful existence. The anime drives this point home further than the manga did. During the final credits sequence we see snippets of iconic scenes from previous parts followed by the final scene of Stone Ocean meaning that the series as we know still happened just with a happy ending. And speaking of the credits the use of Roundabout is absolutely wonderful and ties everything together reminding us of how far weve come. Curiously while Stone Ocean mirrors Stardust Crusaders as a good part that was elevated to greatness in its final arc Stone Ocean contrasts Golden Wind due to how different they are in consistency. Golden Wind was consistently good not bad nor great. The final arc didnt elevate the show for me unlike DIOs World or Bites the Dust before it. All in all Golden Wind is enjoyable but ultimately disappointing for me. I expected a lot from Golden Wind what with the main character being DIOs son and the main villain having a split personality. I felt that there was the potential to do more with Golden Wind but it just coasted by. Meanwhile I expected very little from Stone Ocean by the time I approached the end. Yet it broke consistency to deliver something great something that stretched the series in a way Golden Wind hadnt. It felt like a proper sequel introducing exciting new elements while honing in on what made the predecessor great. But thats the ending the vast majority of the show is merely great. Taken as a whole while enjoyable Stone Ocean is nothing special in the context of JoJo. Your thoughts on Stone Ocean are ultimately determined by how important you find the destination compared to the journey. Endings make or break shows for me so this breathtaking exciting and beautiful ending that honors all before is enough to make Stone Ocean one of my favorite parts. But if you find the journey more important youll see Stone Ocean for its more middling traits as they describe the vast majority of the show. Either way Stone Ocean is a show Id recommend but with the caveat that it doesnt get great to the end. Its not a big deal but I always hate being the guy to say wait I know you didnt like these twenty episodes but I promise you it gets so much better That said the ending is so amazing that Id be hardpressed not to recommend it. Its been a bizarre ride but I think this is where my journey ends. I wont be waiting for anymore JoJo anime so Im glad I ended on a high note. 200https://i.ur.com/zPKVlty.png 520https://i.ur.com/sd8dNMn.png Fortunately Araki has made other manga and Ive decided to read those. The first one Im reading is about horseracing I think?https://anilist.co/review/19777