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REVIEW: ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo’ Episode 1: “Gold Experience”

Disclaimer: This episode contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Ever since the Diamond is Unbreakable finale aired near the end of 2016, fans of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure anime have been anxiously waiting for David Productions’ animated adaptation of the manga’s fifth part, Vento Aureo.  After nearly two years of waiting, fans have finally been graced with  the latest animated Jojo part and, no pun intended, it’s off to a golden  start.

Image from Crunchyroll

Vento Aureo takes place in 2001, two years after the events of Diamond is Unbreakable,  and focuses on Giorno Giovanna, the illegitimate son of former series  antagonist Dio Brando. After Jotaro Kujo learns about the potential  existence of Dio’s offspring, he sends Koichi Hirose to Naples, Italy to  search for a boy named Haruno Shiobana as part of the Speedwagon  Foundation’s research. After arriving at the airport and having his  luggage stolen by Giorno, Koichi finds out that Giorno is a Stand user,  and that he might be the Haruno Shiobana he was looking for after  overhearing how Giorno’s hair color suddenly changed from black to  blonde a few years ago due to what could be presumed to be the awakening  of his stand.

One thing I really liked about the episode is how it added a few  anime exclusive scenes at the beginning to flesh out Giorno’s character  and the setting. Unlike in the manga where it just starts with Koichi at  the airport, the show takes a few minutes beforehand to establish  Giorno as a genuinely kind-hearted person despite his life as a thief,  with him returning a woman’s stolen purse and buying an ice cream cone  for a hungry child (albeit with money he took from the woman’s purse  using his Stand, but hey, it’s the thought that counts). These beginning  scenes also showcase the waves of crime that are plaguing Naples,  namely theft, drug deals, and corrupt police officers, establishing that  this part is going to be a crime drama and a departure from the lighter  slice-of-life antics of Part 4.

Along with introducing Giorno, the first episode also showcases his  Stand, Gold Experience, which has the ability to temporarily turn any  inanimate object into a living organism that can reflect damage back at  an enemy when attacked. One of the strongest aspects of ‘Jojo’ is the  uniqueness and utility of each Stand’s ability, and Gold Experience is  no exception. The power to turn anything into a living organism is an  incredibly cool ability that lends itself well for a ton of creative  uses, and this episode does a great job at introducing what the Stand is  capable of. Some notable highlights include turning Koichi’s luggage  into a frog to prevent him from reclaiming it and later using that same  frog to deflect a strike from Leaky-Eyed Luca’s shovel. It’s nothing too  crazy since this is only the first episode, but it’s still a great  example of the Stand’s practical use and combat potential.

Image from Crunchyroll

Aesthetically, Vento Aureo might be the best-looking part so far, combining the best aspects of Stardust Crusaders’ and Diamond is Unbreakable’s  art direction while staying true to the original manga’s art style. Due  to the first episode focusing more on exposition rather than heavy  amounts of action, we don’t know how good the show’s fight scenes are  going to look yet so I can’t really say much for how everything is going  to look in motion. All I can say is that I hope the show’s animation  quality remains consistent and doesn’t suffer from the quality drops of  some of DiU’s later episodes, lest we get a repeat of the Killer Queen incident.

The episode ended on an incredibly strong note, not only giving us an  animated version of the infamous and highly exploitable “taste of a  liar” scene, but also introducing major character Bruno Bucciarati and  setting up Vento Aureo’s first major stand battle between him and  Giorno. Bruno’s stand isn’t shown off much, but we do know that it has  the ability to create zippers on any surface, which he uses to torture  Giorno and interrogate him about the death of Leaky-Eyed Luca. The way  Bruno accomplishes this is incredibly unsettling, with him putting the  remains of Luca’s corpse in Giorno’s mouth, threatening to put the bus’s  fire extinguisher inside Giorno’s neck, killing him instantly. The  episode does a really good job making the viewer creeped out by Bruno  and establishing him as a threatening opponent.





Images: Crunchyroll

Featured Image: Jojo Animation

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