JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE: STONE OCEAN – MY OWN IMPRESSIONS

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural

Studio: David Production

Hello my friends. Welcome to another entry of my blog.

After going on an adventure on a Galaxy, far, far away, with Star Wars Visions, I decided to go back to Earth to a very bizarre adventure… Well. Not really. But right now I want to write about a very funny experience that I got the last weekend, and I was about to watch the other three episodes of Spy X Family, as well as Shikimori-san, but before I realise, I was hooked on Netflix watching a really sweet anime, so I was thinking to Stand firm and watch everything to avoid another Standoff.

Yeah. That last part didn’t make too much sense.

Anyway… I adore JoJo.

Huh… I was talking about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

I remember that it was 2012, my final year of Deakin, and then, shortly before graduation, I was introduced to this series called JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, about a young British man, called Jonathan Joestar, whose father adopted Dio Brando, and despite being given hips of love, Dio attempted to usurp Jonathan’s place as the head of the Joestar family and his love, Erina Pendleton; luckily Jonathan stops Dio, who turns into a vampire with a mythical object, called Stone Mask, that turns Dio into a vampire. Now, Jonathan must gather new allies and stop Dio with the help of the technique of Ripple. (波紋)

Thanks for that, Wikipedia.

All the first series got a fantastic soundtrack, including a sweet opening and the famous 1972 song, «Roundabout» by the progressive band «Yes», as ending.

By the way, this first series is called Phantom Blood, and its continuation features Erina and Jonathan’s grandson, Joseph in the 1930s, with the name of Battle Tendency. After the sweet success of the first series, David Production spawned three more anime based on the subsequent arcs of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Stardust Crusaders, Diamond is Unbreakable and Golden Wind.

And the iconic…. ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!

My point is that, as of 2022, ten years after the release of Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency, I watch on Netflix the sixth series of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Stone Ocean. And, to be honest, I waited months for watching it completely. And… it was the same essence of its predecessor, yet, it manages to feel fresh.

And, since I am here, I must ask for a question:

Are you guys ok? feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am happy.

Now, let’s get into a Stand… with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Stone Ocean.

PREMISE

Set ten years after Golden Wind, and twelve years after Diamond is Unbreakable, Stone Ocean follows the daughter of Jotaro Kujo, Jolyne, who is sentenced to 15 years after being involved in a car accident and being framed of murder, she is sent to the Green Dolphin Street Prison. Once there, she is given a special power, called Stand, for a pendant, gift from her father. Afterwards, Jolyne is suddenly visited by Jotaro, who she barely know, who reveals her that it was a disciple of dio Brando who framed her of the murder, just where another disciple of Dio, Johngalli A. attacks them. In the battle, another Stand called Pale Snake steals both the memory disc from Jotaro, as well as his Stand Disc, Star Platinum.

Now Jolyne is determined to find the real culprit, as well as recovering the two stolen discs. Where she gathers some great allies, another inmate, called Ermes Costello, who receives a Stand from the pendant, F.F, or Foo Fighters, a water-based sentient Stand, Emporio, a young boy who was raised in Green Dolphin, and Weather Report, a Stand user with no memories of his past.

Just like the previous series of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Stone Ocean was in charge of David Production. But I must confess a secret – I thought that all the franchise was animated by MAPPA Studio.

I hope I wasn’t the only one.

Anyway. Stone Ocean has great voice seiyuu, including Fairouz Ai (One-Punch Man) as Jolyne, Mutsume Tamura (Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!!) as Ermes, and Mariya Ise (The Promised Neverland) as F.F., and of course, Daisuke Ono as Jotaro.

All the episodes of Stone Ocean were released in December 1, 2021 on Netflix. And the soundtrack, just like in Phantom Blood, is fantastic, including Distant Dreamers, from British singer Duffy.

STORY

There is one word that can describe Stone Ocean – Big!!! Everything is big in the sixth series of JoJo’s the animation is big, the action scenes are big, the backgrounds are big, and the character development are big as well.

From the beginning, we are prepared with the great colour palette for something that was going to be as entertaining as Stardust Crusaders. And form me, even though I have watched Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency and Stardust Crusaders, I am still amazed of how awesome the battle scenes are in Stone Ocean. All the time there is that factor of surprise and creativity that engages you into the battle. Just like its predecessors, Stone Ocean puts a lot of tension and unpredictability in all the actions scenes, from the moment Jolyne arrives to Green Dolphin, until her first encounter with Gwess. Personally my favourite moment is when Ermes and Jolyne fight F.F.

And the body the later adopts.

She is indeed one of my favourite characters.

Furthermore, Stone Ocean takes its time to develop the different Stands of the story, exploiting their presence in a colourful, incredible animation that really adopts the passion of Hirohiko Araki in his art, and despite Stardust Crusaders is one of the best stories in this sense, Stone Ocean manages to maintain the spark of JoJo’s intact.

Also, the setting of a state prison gives a lot of identity to the story.

Believe me. Stone Ocean will always surprise you.

But, sometimes, I do not know exactly where some of the designs come from. What is the author thinking in some of them?

But that’s one of the elements that you can always enjoy from Stone Ocean.

Finally, one great gift for the fans, or sweet fanservice, is the appearance of Jotaro.

If you enjoyed the last series of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, you will definitely enjoy Stone Ocean.

And the characters are cool, with incredible designs, and all of them, even the minor characters are memorable. In fact, I remember the antagonists and all of the prison guards as much as our protagonist.

Like I said, F.F. is one of my favourite characters, but I also love Ermes Costello.

Trust me. You can choose your favourite.

CONCLUSION

This is a great, fun entry of the franchise we all love. And even though you are not a great fan, you will definitely have fun with it, either for curiosity or for fan loyalty. But in whichever case, this is an anime you can’t miss, especially if you have Netflix.

So do like Jolyne – sacrifice escaping to the outside world and watch JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Stone Ocean.

And thanks for those who read my previous review of Star Wars: Visions, Irina. Hope you have enjoyed it.

Now. I am going back to space. Jotaro… Can I get some help?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! GALAXY!!! HERE I COME!!!!!

MY TOP WAIFUS OF 2021 – PART II (A LOT TO CHOOSE FROM)

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another entry of my blog.

Like I said the other day, I am ready to publish all the entries that I wanted to write for months. My top waifus of 2021. Thanks for those who read my Part I, and as I mentioned before, 2021 was a bigger year regarding female characters than in 2020, so that means I still have a lot of waifu that catch my heart.

Now, according to Wikipedia, waifu means A fictional character from non-live-action visual media (typically an anime, manga or video game) to whom one is attracted or whom one considers their ideal significant other.^[

I put this definition because I want to make sure that I am following correctly the definition of Waifu, because to me, I consider attractive a female character enough to be a Waifu through four simple elements.

1. Her appearance
2. Her personality
3. Her actions
4. Her contributions to the story

I know that including the definition of waifu is unnecessary, but I wanted to clarify that; now, let’s move on. This is My Top Waifu of 2021 – Part II

But first, I have a honorable mention that if I do not mention, I will explode, and that is…

MONA MEGISTUS (GENSHIN IMPACT)

Her character bio is pretty straight-forward. A young, powerful astrologist that takes up the residence in Monstadt, with exceptional water magic skills, but that is pretty modest regarding money due to her pride, for Mona refuses to use astrology for income.

I know there are a lot of powerful characters in Genshin Impact, and… I have never played the game itself.

But I have two very good reasons to mention her. The first one…

THE BEST, CUTEST, MOST PERFECT DERRIERE OF ALL GENSHIN IMPACT

Yes. I already said that. No regrets.

But also… her Japanese voice. Because I know that she is voiced by Konomi Kohara, and that is what left an impact on me. I am… a bit crazy about Mona Megistus because of that, more than with Fischl, or Klee, or Lumine herself, or even Paimon. I never expected that. But that was enough to hook me in.

But like i said, I never played Genshin Impact, so I do not know more about Mona, aside from what just wrote, and that is why she is merely an honorable… Big honorable mention.

Now… let’s go with the true waifus. Speaking of Konomi Kohara.

1. ROXY MIGURDIA (MUSHOKU TENSEI)

When our main protagonist, Rudeus Greyrat, shows great prodigy with magic, his parents, Zenith and Paul, hire a tutor for him, and that is Roxy Migurdia, a young water magician from the Migurd race that likes to travel around the world. She spends almost two years training Rudy, and both create a close friendship, and a true love for the Greyrat family.

Humm. Water, and Konomi Kohara…

Coincidence?

Okay. That’s the last time I am mentioning Mona Megistus.

In other words. Rudy is what he is, a powerful magician, thanks to Roxy. Honestly Roxy displays a great amount of wisdom, compassion and curiosity that makes her so special, along with her character design. And the fantastic job of Konomi Kohara gives more life to her, combining innocence and maturity beyond her years. No wonder she is one of the most popular characters from Mushoku Tensei.

But what makes Roxy so compelling is her sad backstory, the same one that the anime adapted extremely well. I am not going to spoilers, but trust me, the more you see the anime, the more you realise how charming Roxy is, and that is why she is one of my Top Waifu of 2021.

Speaking of witches…

2. SAYA (WANDERING WITCH: THE JOURNEY OF ELAINA)

Technically, I should not be mentioning The Journey of Elaina, for it was released in 2020, but since I started watch the anime the previous year, I am making an exception.

Anyway, Saya is a witch apprentice from a Far Land of the East. Separated from her sister, she meets Elaina on episode 2, begging the latter to train her so she can pass the magic exam. After that, we discover that Saya lied to Elaina, forcing the Ashen Witch to stay together due to her loneliness; and after some wake-up call, Elaina gives Saya her spare hat, her friendship, and the confidence to pass the exam and become a witch.

The reason why I am choosing Saya over Elaina is because I relate more with her than with the Ashen Witch, because I understand the fear of failure, and the anxiety of having to do things by yourself most of the time. Of course that does not justify most of her acts on Episode 2, but Saya is not a bad person. In fact, is one of the most human characters of Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, something that is a lot to say.

And in every episode, you see Saya’s evolution as a witch, so you feel happy for her. And… despite her awful obsession with Elaina, Saya is possibly the best character of the series, even better than Elaina and Amnesia, at least from my perspective.

So heed my words, Jougi Shiraishi-sensei… Please do a spin-off with Saya.

3. Kang Sae-byeok, a.k.a. Player 067 (Squid Game)

Kang Sae-byeok, played by HoYeon Jung, is a North Korean defector that made it to South Korea with her little brother, Kang Cheol, but her true problems only started when she arrived to Seoul, because her brother has to stay in an orphanage, her mother is still in North Korea, and the broker that she hired for getting her out betrayed her. So she participates in the Squid Game for getting a house and protect her family.

Okay. Another character we can sympathise with, because she reflects every tragedy that North Korean defectors have to go through when escaping their country, but also, most of us learnt through Kang Sae-byeok that many defectors never are accepted in South Korea. And the performance of HoYeon Jung is outstanding, to the point that you believe that Kang Sae-byeok really exists, even though she does not.

Furthermore, her relationship with the main protagonist, Seong Gi-hun, has a lot of development through the first season, from a violent girl that trust no one to someone that values friendship and understand she is not alone.

Han Mi-nyeo is also a great character, but for now, I choose Kang Sae-byeok for what she is – strong, meticulous, intelligent, perhaps a bit brash, for all that, along with how well-written she is, we have one of the best characters of all of Squid Game.

4. Jeanne (The Case Study of Vanitas)

The Hellfire Witch is a very capable fighter that had to annihilate other vampires during the Hundred Years War. Some time after the war ended, she became the bodyguard of Lucius Oriflamme, the nephew of the Chevalier of Ruthven, but after some encounters with our favourite vampire, Vanitas, she is very conflicted between killing him and loving him. Because yes…

She feels easily aroused by Vanitas’ blood.

I still need to talk about Vanitas no Carte, but I will when the time comes. Nevertheless, if there is one character that really hooked my heart, more than Vanitas himself, that is Jeanne. Because beneath her badass persona and her relentless strength, we see a sweet soul with a very tragic past that feel in love with him; and every time they are together, her chemistry is simply one of the best elements in all the story. Jeanne is strong, but also beautiful, conflicted and loyal, and for me, the moments together with Vanitas were a big surprise.

Seriously… Get married and be bloodily ever after

For me, if Jeanne made me root for VaniJeanne rather than Vanoé, she has something really special.

5. U-1196 (CELLS AT WORK: CODE BLACK)

How can I forget of U-1196?

She is a Neutrophil cell that has to fight violent germs, viruses and bacterias in a really unhealthy body that drinks and smokes, and in every fight, she puts all her strength and soul to defend the body, earning the respect and trust of her fellow Neutrophil Cells and of the Red Blood Cell known as AA2153.

She indeed is a really attractive, reliable partner. I think my description and her design was more than enough to prove that she is my waifu, in fact, she can easily surpass AE3803 as the best female character of Cells at Work! (But not the platelets), at least in my opinion.

And her uniform adds a lot of appeal, indeed.

Already I said it. No regrets.

And the reason is because she knows how to balance her badass size with her human size with both her Neutrophil sisters and with AA2153, the scenes with both of them is among the best among Code Black!!!, and with the path of the anime, you grow to know her and love her with her scenes.

Excellent balance between beauty, humanity and strength. I feel Cured because of her.

CONCLUSION

Wow!!! More wonderful waifu from the last 2021.

And yet, I still have to do the Part III, because I enjoyed a lot watching these beautiful female characters. Probably this is only my opinion, but I am surprised of how many great, or at least, decent characters that can become waifu. Or perhaps it is because I am not too demanding.

Anyway. Tell me what you think about Part II, I hope you guys like it. And stay tuned for Part III.

See you soon!