JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders - Battle in Egypt

Aylia Sep 6, 2016

4

After a burning wreck of a first season, Battle in Egypt (tentatively shortened BE) follows the same pitfalls and mistakes until, that is, around episode 40. But I'll come back to that. BE continues where the last season of Stardust Crusaders ended and in traditional Stardust fashion, has a heap of monster-of-the-month type enemies awaiting Jotaro and companions. From the fluidity of Battle Tendency, this method of throwing random enemies into the show served only as filler to the final confrontation with Dio. While some enemies were interesting, their battles were not. For 30+ episodes we've followed the same worn-out formula to where we expect fights to go one of two ways, diverging when it seems that one of the heroes has won: Either they orate some witty one-liner before defeating their foe, letting them know how they lost (such gentlemen), or the villain declares it was all part of his plan, wounds the hero but the hero seems to have either predicted that or still beats the villain regardless. There's no tension and no reward with fights that are all, essentially, the same. The circumstances and environment might change, but the equation for solving their problems doesn't. Each fight feels like filler where nothing would actually change with their removal. Stardust, as a whole, could have been considerably shorter and told the exact same story, only we'd have less reptitive confrontations that are, in my opinion, lackluster and boring, and get straight to what I expect the majority of JoJo fans have been waiting for. Which is why it's all the more satisfying when one of the heroes actually dies. Suddenly the rules have change and Stardust Crusaders isn't willing to continue apologising for its Saturday morning cartoon "plots". At the moment that this hero dies, Stardust grows up. While I can't say much for the plot, the characters themselves are interesting, varied and likeable. Yet I find myself enamoured by Dio the most, and it's criminal that he's had so little screen time. But that makes the final confrontation all the more worthwhile when we do get to it. Mind games, lots of MUDA MUDA MUDA, and an insane fight that's as bloody and gory as it is exciting. Dio shines in his moment. He's ruthless, ambitious and monstrous. He's everything I remember from Phantom Blood, only you actually feel the effect of time on Dio's evolution. Dio is the centre-piece of this whole affair and should have been brought out a lot sooner. He also looks fabulous. Vanilla Ice is a villain I have to applaud for doing what no other villain in the show was capable of: changing the rules. It was at this point, with Ice's appearance, that the show began to resemble the majesty of Phantom Blood. I'm not going to spoil it for those who have yet to watch it but it managed to wring out many tears and fist pumps of joy.Ultimately, the show really only mattered from episode 40 onward, while everything else felt like filler. The only basis of these episodes was to flesh out the characters, give them personalities and struggles to overcome. In the case of Kakyoin and Polnareff, this was reasonably well done, but we're talking about JoJo, where the show is more about the flashy and spangly shit than it is on sociology. Jotaro and Joseph feel static throughout the entire show, but we sort of forgive this because, again, it's JoJo and they already have decent characterization. It's a flimsy excuse that wouldn't hold up in other shows, but JoJo isn't trying to take itself seriously - it knows it's ridiculous and uses that as a strength. Had this show been considerably shorter it definitely would have seen a higher score from me. The last 8 episodes were a 9/10, but the show, not just BE, is dragged through fields of cow shit for some 30+ episodes.If you watched Battle Tendency and are expecting the same vibe and engagement here, you'd do well to skip Stardust Crusaders and just go watch Diamond is Unbreakable. Or, if you love Dio as much as I do, watch it until you get bored and skip to episode 38 if you already know who Iggy is, although I recommend just watching the OVA if you're unsure because it really is not worth slogging through just to get to the relevant parts.

BigDumbOhFace Jun 20, 2015

10

If you're watching this season without watching at least the previous one then what the hell is wrong with you.  I was aggressively waiting after Part 1 finished because I hoped that they'd just go straight until it finished.  When it first came out, I watched it ASAP.  However I was too exciting in the meantime and just read the manga instead.  Promise no spoilers. Story Previously, Jotaro Kujoh along with his friends finally made it to the last leg of their trip from Japan and finally made it to Egypt.  There, they must travel all the way to Cairo, find the greatest anime villain ever, Dio, and defeat him once and for all to save Jotaro's mother and perhaps the entire world.  Honestly, if you pick up the show at this point you really wouldn't be missing much.  They go over the main plot numerous times for those weirdos that just felt like tuning in at the middle.  There's a great blend of action but definitely hits of comedy here and there to lighten up the mood.  When there is a bit of comedy it's sometimes used to show how badass Jotaro is. Animation There is pretty much no difference between this and the previous two seasons.  There is the same female fan service character models.  There is the homoerotic poses.  There is the total change in color palette whenever something intense is happening.  One interpretation of a character design I loved is The World's color and how awesome it was.  One great aspect I loved is how they varied the opening once DIO was introduced.  They incorporated his Stand perfectly into the opening and it was just so awesome I was marking out.  The reason why is that it's not a full 10 from me is the heavy amounts of censoring.  There many are amazing scenes, although gory, but felt ruined because there's a giant black spot right in the middle of the screen.  Even Jotaro smoking required half his face to be censored. Sound There is not much spectacular here.  Everything is practically the same.  The voice acting is superb and comical whenever Joseph speaks his English.  The only difference would be the opening.  At first, I didn't like it too much because it felt like it had no direction and felt like it was all over the place.  After listening to it a bit and trying to figure it out I concluded that it was a way to telling how dire and intense the story has become since the group is so close to accomplishing their goal.  Afterwards, I just started jamming out.  One thing I loved was how they went about DIO's catchphrase and just had it on loop and fast forward along with Jotaro's Star Platinum going ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA.  Also there was touching music near the end when particularly heavy tearjerking moments came by.  It was a great touch showing two sides of the story. Characters Right off the bat we are introduced to a reluctant new hero named Iggy, who is actually a dog with Stand powers.  He was always a pretty unlikeable for me but definitely did a 360 at the end.  Each character definitely has their own charms that's definitely showcased  throughout this part of the entire series.  Joseph has his playfulness, Avdol has his righteousness, Polnareff has his chivalry, Kakyoin has his honor, and Jotaro in all his badass glory.  There's also DIO, who is by far my most favorite anime villain.  Everybody fits so well and plays off each other very well. Overall You should honestly only be watching this series because you've watched the previous one and just want to know what's DIO's Stand and how they defeat him.  It continues exactly where it left off in terms of quality.  The ending was pretty heart warming and concluded very well.

TheAngryBears Dec 11, 2015

8

If you came here for a review of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders as a series overall, well you might be surprised like I was that the first and second season of Stardust is considered 2 separate entities. Thankfully, my review covers Stardust as a whole, so if you have time to kill, check it out. The rest of this review will be devoted to discussing this second season specifically. Also part 1 of this review is here: http://www.anime-planet.com/users/TheAngryBears/reviews/21907 So, season 2 specifically then: Wow. Just wow. Overall the enemy Stands are more creative, the cast does more creative methods to not only use their own Stands, but also defeat other Stands, and Jojo: Stardust finally starts delivering on the "Bizarre" and "Adventure" parts of its title. Combat scenes are very satisfying, every Stand is bringing its A-game, its visually very fun and the music choices and sound design are fantastic. This is what I wanted Stardust to be, going into it. This second season will forever sit with me that sometimes I have to give a series a chance to surprise me, because Battle in Egypt was what made me go from respecting a well made but mediocre series to riding in the front seat of the Jojo hype train. Hell it even does a good job of making the series villain Dio an actual, authentic threat. Which is surprising because prior to this season his screentime is minimal. Its not perfect, but nothing is perfect. I wish the "comical" dog sidekick character Iggy was changed to be more interesting, or removed outright. I know he was in the original Manga but I'm sorry: Iggy isn't a good character. Hes a misanthropic dog who farts on Polnareff and chews coffee flavored gum. Thats it. At least the spoiler-free version of it. But even with the spoiler scenes in context he feels very pointless. But that nitpick doesn't affect the overall package of Battle of Egypt, or its overwhelmingly over the top, wicked-kick ass fireworks rock-and-roll levels of fucking awesomely satisfying conclusion. This is the cherry of a bland sundae, and its a great cherry. I'm glad I sat through Stardust, all 48 episodes of it, just to witness this ending. You owe it to yourself to check it out. But if you skip a few of those season 1 episodes, I won't blame you.