Anime Hajime Impressions: Benkyou – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders Season 1 – Episodes 11 to 15

Original Run: April 5, 2014 - June 20, 2015
Number of Episodes: 48
Based on the Series Created By: Hirohiko Araki

As A Reminder:  Anime Hajime Impressions: Benkyou is not a review series. Anime Hajime’s LofZOdyssey attempts to watch an anime in Japanese with no English subtitles. Therefore, misinterpretations and misunderstandings are possible.

Feel free to leave comments, clarifications, and thoughts in the comments section below.

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Jotarou “JoJo” Kujo and his grandfather, Joseph Joestar, have begun their long, over-land journey to Egpyt. There, the two will face the Joestar family’s oldest and fiercest enemy, the vampire Dio Brando. Joining their effort are fellow Stand Users, Noriaki Kakyoin, Muhammad Avdol, and Jean Pierre Polnareff.

JoJo’s group makes slow but steady progress. However, on each step of their journey, they must face Dio’s assassins. Although each encounter is brutal, the team always makes it through. However, tragedy finally strikes in Calcutta, Inda.

Polnareff finally tracks down the person who murdered his little sister, J. Geil. Enraged, Polnareff decides to face this foe alone. Unfortunately, he is outnumbered and quickly overpowered. Before his enemy can deliver the final blow, Polnareff is saved by the last-minute intervention of Avdol. Sadly, Avdol had unknowingly walked straight into a trap.

J. Geil uses his Stand, the Hanged Man, against an unsuspecting Avdol, fatally wounding him. Polnareff and the rest of JoJo’s group now mourn the loss of their friend.  

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Japanese Title: 皇帝と吊られた男 その2
Romaji Title: Enperā to Hangudoman Sono 2
English Title: The Emperor and the Hanged Man, Part 2

Episode Summary

Following Avdol’s death, J. Geil eggs Polnareff into mindlessly attacking. But, with the situation perilous, Kakyoin convinces Polnareff to retreat for the time being.

As they are escaping the scene, Polnareff and Kakyoin figure out how J. Geil’s Hanged Man Stand works; it uses light to jump between any reflective surfaces.

No matter where they run, Polnareff and Kakyoin can’t shake J.Geil. Then, out of nowhere, the pair run into a random child. To their horror, the two see the Hanged Man reflecting in the kid’s eye. Not wanting to hurt an innocent bystander, Polnareff and Kakyoin are stuck.

To ensnare them even further, J. Geil reveals himself and forces a group of beggars to surround Polnareff and Kakyoin.

However, Kakyoin uses the situation to force an opening. He tosses a coin up in the air, and all the beggers point their eyes up to follow it, thus breaking the Hanged Man’s line of attack. Thanks to this distraction, Polnareff uses his Silver Chariot Stand to cut down the Hanged Man and slay J. Geil, achieving his long-sought revenge.

The enemy defeated, the Kakyoin and Polnareff track down Hol Horse. Seeing that he is outnumbered, Hol Horse attempts to flee but runs into JoJo and Joseph. But before the team can capture Hol Horse, one of the assassin’s lovers, Nena, holds them back.

Hol Horse escapes, and the group is left to treat the wounds Nena obtained in the struggle. Unfortunately, no one notices a drop of Nena’s blood land on Joseph’s arm, where a strange growth appears.

Principle Characters

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Japanese Title: 女帝
Romaji Title: Enpuresu
English Title: The Empress

Episode Summary

Back in Egypt, J. Geil’s mother and advisor to Dio, Enya the Hag, learns of her son’s death. Enraged, Enya takes solace in knowing that JoJo’s team is now in the crosshairs of the Empress.

Having continued their journey, the group, with Nena in their company, arrives in Varanasi, India. Since it first appeared, the growth on Joseph’s arm has only gotten worse. With no other choice, he heads to a local doctor to get it checked out.

When the doctor goes to remove the growth, it comes alive. The thing murders the doctor and raises the alarm. With no one else seeing what happened, Joseph is framed for the murder. Not wanting anyone else to get hurt, Joseph runs for it.

The growth reveals itself to be the Empress Stand.

Joseph runs around the entire city, looking for a way to remove the Empress. Nothing works, including Joseph’s famed Overdrive. But as the Empress gloats, it is unaware that Joseph has already set a plan in motion.

Secretly using his Hermit Purple Stand, Joseph locates a vat of coal tar. Once dunking the Empress within it, the Stand can no longer move. With it helpless, Joseph rips the growth off him, killing the Stand and its User, Nena.

Principal Characters

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Japanese Title: 運命の車輪
Romaji Title: Howīru Obu Fōchun
English Title: Wheel of Fortune

Episode Summary

The team leaves India and enters Pakistan. While driving, they come across a mysterious car. Thinking nothing of it, they give the vehicle a pass and continue on their way.

To everyone’s surprise, hitchhiking along the road is none other than Anne.

*Note: I totally didn’t catch the bit where JoJo’s group had intentionally left her in Singapour.*

The team picks her up and tries to make it to the next town. However, the car from before appears once again. This time, though, their interaction is much more violent. The group suspects a Stand User, but given the condition of the road, they don’t have any room to counter-attack.

Soon, the car attempts to push the Joestar car over the cliff. But to some quick thinking between JoJo and Kakyoin, they reverse position and send their opponent over the edge instead. Except, that was only the beginning.

Sure enough, the unknown car is a Stand, the Wheel of Fortune. Its driver, ZZ, douses most of the group, including JoJo, in gasoline. When JoJo stands his ground, ZZ uses sparks from Wheel of Fortune to ignite the gas and engulf our hero in flames.

While ZZ gloats over his supposed victory, JoJo reveals his deception and separates the enemy Stand User from his car. Once on the same footing, ZZ is a complete pushover and is soundly defeated.

Elsewhere, Enya the Hag decides to face JoJo and his team herself with her mighty Justice Stand.

Principal Characters

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Japanese Title: 正義　その１
Romaji Title: Jasutisu Sono 1
English Title: Justice, Part 1

Episode Summary

At their first stop following their encounter with ZZ, Joseph convinces Anne to return to her family. Once Anne hears what the team is trying to do, she reluctantly agrees.

As the group moves on, they come across a town covered in a thick fog. Hoping to rest for the night, JoJo and the others try to locate a hotel. They are all shocked to find the village in a horrific state. The team even comes across a dead body riddled with strange holes.

With night coming soon, everyone is at a loss of what to do. At that moment, Enya the Hag (who the group has never met) invites them to stay at her hotel. With no other options, they agree. But in their encounter, JoJo gets an odd feeling towards the old woman but has no evidence to follow up his suspicions.

Once at the hotel, the group attempts to rest up. Down in the lobby, Enya devises a plot to enact her revenge, especially on Polnareff for killing her son.

Then out of nowhere, Hol Horse arrives at the hotel. To Enya, Hol Horse is partially to blame for her son’s death, leaving him there to die alone. Enya attacks a distracted Hol Horse. In the struggle, Enya uses her Justice Stand to kill her fellow assassin.

Principal Characters

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Japanese Title: 正義　その2
Romaji Title: Jasutisu Sono 2
English Title: Justice, Part 2

Episode Summary

Enya tries to hide Hol Horse’s body. Right as she gets her crime squared away, Polnareff walks into the lobby.

With no reason to be suspicious, Polnareff speaks friendly with the seemingly harmless hotel owner. Eventually, Polnareff turns his back on Enya, and she goes in for the kill. However, she is foiled by Hol Horse, who had not been killed.

With her façade exposed, Enya unleashes the townspeople (all dead) she has under her control. Outnumbered, Polnareff tries to escape. Unfortunately, Enya manages to grab him with her Justice. But before she can do any harm, JoJo enters the room next door.

Seeing a chance to kill one of the Joestars, Enya holds off killing Polnareff and turns her attention to JoJo.

Like before, Enya attempts to lower JoJo’s guard. The problem is, JoJo’s suspicions towards her caused him to be extra cautious. He tricks the old woman into revealing her true intentions.

In the ensuing fight, Enya’s Justice appears unstoppable. However, instead of a direct attack, JoJo’s Star Platinum sucks in the entire fog surrounding the hotel. Having consumed Justice, Enya falls unconscious.

As day breaks over the town, the team decides to hold Enya for information about Dio. As they determine their next move, a recovered Hol Horse steals the group’s car and drives off.

Principal Characters

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Thoughts and Impressions

I suppose this is a good place to vent a concern I’ve been having. Stardust Crusader’s incarnation of Joseph Joestar has felt useless.

For the majority of this show, Joseph has been nothing but a comic relief character. While his sarcasm was an enduring quality back in Battle Tendency, Joseph could also back up his bravado with actions.

Therefore, it was good to have him be the star of an episode. It demonstrated that he is the old JoJo we once knew.

In fact, that has been a great aspect of Stardust Crusader. The entire Joestar team has had to hold their own in fights; Jotaru has not needed to step in and save everyone every time. This had made the show much more interesting because there has been more variety. Plus, it is easier to connect with characters if you feel they have value in being around.

Thanks for following along with me. If you’ve seen this series and feel I am wrong in my descriptions, please let me know in the comments below. I wouldn’t want to put this show in an inaccurate light.

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For Anime Hajime, I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next week for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders Season 1 Episodes 16 to 20.

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