JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders Chapter 53 Discussion

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                        Yeah, this is NOT going to be easy...



At any rate, if they were to fight that Stand user, they would have to think outside the box a bit. He's a long range user no doubt about that..

Joseph ain't the right person to give camel riding instructions!

In previous posts, I had written about how I feel Stardust Crusaders focuses more on making a cast of distinct but badass men rather than individually explored characters.  This went towards creating a sense of unity or brotherhood yet it still felt like something was missing for me.  While I haven’t changed my view, I do think it has only gotten better!  There was a time that I thought Jotaro, Abdul, and Kakyoin were fun but nothing to write home about.  Instead, I found the strength of the characters to be carried by Polnareff and Joseph, Joseph being a bit of cheat because he was characterized in Battle Tendency.  Yet, seeing the squad on the page with the map here made me realize how much I like everyone now.  This was because of the unique relationships they have formed with each other, the struggles they have gone through together, and most importantly, letting us see different sides of them.  Interestingly, Kakyoin as the quiet, held together teammate stands out so much more as the only character who feels underspoken.  Due to the impression of the others being bigger; be it through the loss of Abdul or me finding a deeper appreciation for Jotaro, his special, quieter style of badassery stands out.



To speak on this chapter more generally, it created a sense of adventure which I am fond of.  Maybe it’s just a desert, and testing out riding camels which gives me a bias, but it led to fun antics.  Joseph’s expressions and dumb confidence popped out of the page like I was reading Battle Tendency all over again. The line of Jotaro not wanting to fly with Joseph, while funny, had added depth now that we know Jotaro is willing to do anything for his safety, the tsundere grandpa/grandson bond is unstoppable!  And I liked seeing the consistency of Polnareff’s tongue bandage.  I like when characters' bodies and clothes change to represent the struggles they went through, normally done in ways such as Speedwagon taking Zeppeli’s hat, or scars being added to the body.  This one is the least cool variation of a battle scar I’ve ever seen, on the tier of Fukumoto's character Kurosawa and his permanent bump, and I like it for that!!!



Now… the sun never went down and it’s only getting hotter so the gang has speculated that the sun itself is the stand that has been following them!!!  That is, only after Jotaro used Star Platinum to look through binoculars which reminded me of One Piece, seeing supernatural powers be used to enhance the otherwise normal and human actions one would do.  Something which gives these powers a stronger place in the world.

First a ship, then a car, now a sun stand...

Quite a bit of comedy in this chapter. Thanks, old Joseph. Still probably the funniest character in the franchise so far.

It was funny to see Joseph brag about knowing how to tame camels because of a movie he watched and struggled greatly to get on the camel's back while the others just rode their camels without any trouble.



I like how Polnareff's tongue still had a bandage over it even after the Justice fight. Small details are satisfying~



The Summer Solstice has come early with the sun being up past 8PM. It's crazy that something that big and dangerous is under the control of a single person.