REVIEW: ‘Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo’ Episode 5: “Find Polpo’s Fortune!”
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
Use the fields below to perform an advanced search of Ball State Daily's archives. This will return articles, images, and multimedia relevant to your query. You can also try a Basic search
70 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
by Katherine Simon The Nutcracker is not an easy piece of fiction to adapt into film by any means. Due to the Tchaikovsky ballet’s focus being mostly on visual presentation (set design, music, etc.) rather than story, it’s hard to create a compelling narrative for a film without taking a lot of creative liberties. When Disney decided to adapt the ballet in the form of Nutcracker and the Four Realms, they did it in the same fashion as their recent live-action film adaptations: by trying to appeal to an older demographic by presenting it as a grittier re-imagining of a classic story, and then completely removing any semblance of charm or originality. For a concept as stupid as “Disney’s edgy Nutcracker reboot,” I expected to at least be entertained by the absurdity of the film’s premise, but the movie just left me frustrated and bored by the end of it.
by Katherine Simon With Episode 5 of Vento Aureo being the first where Giorno is directly involved in Passione as well as the introduction to the rest of the part’s core cast, it was important for the episode to leave a good first impression and sell us on what the show will be like moving forward. Luckily, this episode does not disappoint in that regard, however it leaves much to be desired in terms of plot progression. Early on in the episode, we are introduced to the remaining four Passione members who make up the part’s main ensemble; Narancia Ghirga, Guido Mista, Pannacotta Fugo, and Leone Abbacchio. In this scene, the gang members are all out getting dinner and Fugo is tutoring Narancia in math. The group then gets into a fight, with Fugo and Narancia arguing over not getting a multiplication problem right and Mista being upset that the cake the group ordered came in slices of four. The tension quickly drops as soon as Giorno introduces himself to the group. To mess with Giorno, Abbacchio urinates into a teapot and serves it to Giorno, expecting him to drink it. However, Giorno catches onto his trick and uses Gold Experience to turn his tooth into a jellyfish that’ll absorb the urine before he can drink it. Even if “most intense urine drinking scene in anime” isn’t the most prestigious award to give a show, this is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure we’re talking about. The series is absolutely notorious for making its characters do weird stuff like this and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Afterwards, Giorno tells the gang that he has a stand, but won’t go into the specifics until everyone else shares what their stands are. The main conflict of this episode deals with the aftermath of Polpo’s death. Two Passione members named Sale and Mario decide to go after his rumored hidden treasure of 10 billion Italian lire. Only problem is that they suspect Bruno of knowing about the treasure due to his close ties with Polpo, so Mario decides to pursue Bruno to prevent him from reaching Polpo’s fortune first. He decides to strike when Bruno and the rest of the gang rent a yacht to retrieve the aforementioned fortune in Capri Island. While on the boat, Narancia, Mista, and Fugo end up disappearing and it’s up to Giorno, Bruno, and Abbacchio to find out where they went. They quickly find out that the missing three are still alive and that the boat is under attack by an enemy stand user. After Giorno puts himself at risk to expose the enemy stand, Abbacchio decides to summon his stand, Moody Blues, before the episode ends. Up to this point, Jojo has had a track record of creating some of the most memorable and entertaining supporting casts in all of Shonen, and Vento Aureo is definitely no exception. While the Diamond is Unbreakable gang is still my favorite, the Passione members are still endearing in their own right. The two standouts in particular are Narancia and Mista. While Narancia may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, his interactions with the other Passione members (especially Fugo) are fun to watch due to his personality. Mista fills the quota of “Jojo character with one oddly specific quirk” with his irrational hatred of the number four. This, on top of his ridiculously jerk-ish behavior, makes him the funniest character in the part thus far. Although Fugo didn’t have much of a presence as the other Passione members in this episode, his interactions with Narancia are incredibly entertaining. As for Abbacchio, well… let’s just say that he’s about as likeable as someone who makes a 15-year-old boy drink urine can be. While his development much later on in the manga makes him a more interesting character, he is arguably the least likable of everyone in Passione due to his poor treatment of Giorno for seemingly no reason. That scene aside, there’s a part later on in the episode where he refuses to help Giorno until he willingly puts himself in danger. While I don’t hate Abbacchio and think that he gets much better as the story goes on, I can definitely see why this scene would leave a bad first impression for anime-only viewers who don’t have context for his characterization yet. Characters aside, the episode itself was rather uneventful. Most of the time was spent getting to know the characters, explaining the rumors behind Polpo’s fortune, and setting up for the fight against Mario in the next episode. While none of that is bad by any means, the lack of action or plot progression until the very end made this a hard episode to review because there wasn’t much to delve into aside from the characters. While it’s important to have scenes or episodes dedicated to down-time so the series doesn’t feel too overwhelming, the episode doesn’t stand out much compared to the previous four episodes due to how little there is to talk about, infamous urine drinking scene aside.
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
by Katherine Simon Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. With the previous episode establishing Giorno’s motivation for wanting to become a “Gang-Star” and having him form an alliance with Bruno, episode three gets into the real meat of Vento Aureo’s narrative by kicking off Giorno’s attempt to enter the crime syndicate known as Passione and overthrow their boss to put an end to Naples’ drug problem. While the first two episodes were mostly dedicated to introducing Giorno and giving the audience insight into his character, this episode is incredibly light on exposition and instead focuses on creating tension despite the lack of any real Stand battles, which it succeeds at in spades. In order to join Passione, Giorno must first go through an interview with Polpo, a lieutenant for the organization who is currently serving 15 years in prison. After completing the interview, Giorno is handed a lighter and is tasked with keeping it lit for the next 24 hours in order to prove his trust to Polpo. While the task might not seem all that difficult at first, it soon proves to be quite the heavy undertaking, with Giorno having to jump through such obstacles as smuggling the lighter through prison security, preventing the wind from blowing the flame out, and trying to keep it hidden from Koichi as he searches Giorno’s dorm for his passport. As mundane of a premise as “boy tries to keep a lighter lit for a day” might seem at first glance, the episode is possibly Vento Aureo’s most suspenseful yet. As soon as Polpo is introduced, there’s this feeling that something about him is not quite right. It’s very heavily implied during the interview process that Polpo possesses a Stand, but it doesn’t make an appearance until the very end of the episode and it’s abilities are unknown up until that point, which gives the impression that Polpo is much more dangerous than he lets on and that he will find out if Giorno fails to keep the flame lit. Aside from the obvious risk of Giorno not being able to join Passione if the lighter goes out, most of the stakes in the episode come from the mystery surrounding Polpo’s abilities and what danger Giorno might be put in if he fails to complete the task. Even if the episode lacks any real Stand fights, there’s still enough going on to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Also, I found Giorno’s solution of sticking the lighter in a piece of bread to keep it from falling over really funny. It’s somewhat of an impractical solution by most anime standards, but it makes perfect sense in the context of Jojo and I love the series for being able to play such a ridiculous scenario straight. When the flame is accidentally extinguished by an old man splashing water on Giorno, the man re-lights the lighter and ends up summoning Polpo’s Stand, Black Sabbath. Angry at the old man for reigniting the flame, Black Sabbath kills him by piercing his soul with an arrow and then immediately goes after Giorno, ending the episode right before their fight begins. The episode ended on an incredibly high note, not only ending an already intense episode on a cliffhanger, but also introducing Polpo’s Stand after an entire episode worth of build-up. Even if it only appears briefly at the end of the episode, Black Sabbath quickly cements itself as one of the coolest stands thus far. Not only does it have an amazing design (though I’m probably a bit biased because I’m a sucker for the Gothic aesthetic), but its ability to kill people by piercing their souls is awesomely terrifying and incredibly fitting for a Stand named after one of the pioneer bands of the heavy metal genre. One minor critique I have about the episode is that the animation quality felt noticeably lackluster. Due to the current state of the Japanese animation industry forcing tight deadlines on production teams with limited resources, it’s almost inevitable for most TV anime to be plagued with animation errors during their initial airings unless you’re working for a higher-end studio such as Kyoto Animation. The visual quality of the Jojo anime has fallen victim to rushed production cycles before, and this episode definitely feels like it was affected by the usual trappings of TV anime production. While the animation isn’t distractingly bad and there are still quite a few nice looking shots, the lack of character detail in certain scenes is still noticeable and it’s easy to tell that certain scenes, namely the part where Koichi is searching Giorno’s room for his passport, were hastily put together to meet the deadline. The animation quality didn’t detract much from my enjoyment of the episode, but there’s a lot that needs to be fixed up for the Blu-Ray release and I can definitely see why someone might find the episode’s visual quality distracting. That said, the animation is the only real issue this episode had and everything else about it was incredibly solid.
Disclaimer: This episode contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
by Katherine Simon 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. 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. 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.
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board.
by Katherine Simon The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board. In an era where media has made great leaps and bounds with positive representation of social minorities and making sure sensitive subjects are handled tactfully, it can be really frustrating to see ignorant writers producing problematic content despite the strides toward a more progressive media landscape. No film encapsulates this frustration better than Netflix’s Sierra Burgess is a Loser. To give a quick synopsis, the film centers around high school student Sierra Burgess, an unpopular student who is constantly bullied for her appearance and social awkwardness. One of Sierra’s bullies, Veronica, decides to give Sierra’s number out to a guy named Jamey, telling him that it’s actually her number. Once Sierra and Jamey start talking, they start to hit it off and Sierra has to keep Jamey convinced that he’s dating Veronica in order to keep the relationship afloat. When the film was released, a lot of people were upset with the movie’s insensitivity towards LGBT and disabled communities, romanticism of catfishing, and the overall poor quality of the film’s writing—to the point where a petition to get the film removed from Netflix has gained over 6000 signatures. While I do consider myself to be anti-censorship and believe that online petitions are easily one of the most egregious forms of online slacktivism, the film itself is still extremely problematic and, even if it’s too late to remove the film, it still deserves of all the criticism it’s received.