JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind – 38, 39 (END)

「ゴールド・E[エクスペリエンス]・レクイエム」 (Golden Experience Requiem)
“Golden Experience Requiem”

「眠れる奴隷」 (Nemureru Dorei)
“Sleeping Slaves”

After enduring a long wait, that last chapters ofVento Aureo have finally been adapted, closing out Part V of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure through two pairs of episodes. Although some might have been itching for the conclusion to come right away, the inclusion of the final “Sleeping Slaves” chapter is what holds the two together, and ultimately ties Bruno to his untimely fate.

The first of the two episodes closed out the Diavolo fight by showing us the full extent of what Gold Experience Requiem did to him. His final fight does fall under the DIO syndrome of not showing us the full extent of his powers while he’s exposed. Unlike Kars or Yoshikage Kira, who had not only showed up to torment the main JoJo’s regularly, making their powers look far more fearsome in comparison, DIO’s presence in Part III is comprised of his influence on the hitmen he sent after Jotaro’s party and the final fight where he is regularly one-upped by Jotaro until Star Platinum’s time-stop ability made quick work of DIO. Diavolo had a better excuse to hide in the shadows since he stealthily sniped Bruno, Narancia, and Abbacchio, but he often hid under the guise of Doppio. By the time we saw Diavolo’s true form, he lost his composure on a regular basis, whether it be through Silver Chariot Requiem’s powers or his frantic desperation to try to get the Stand arrow from Giorno. What we’re left with as a general impression of Diavolo’s real self isn’t the menacing figure that we’ve followed for most of the anime, but a dopey opportunist who constantly bites off more than he can chew, culminating in getting punched into a river.

That’s not to say that Episode 38 was weak, however, since they did an awesome job with the influence Gold Experience Requiem has on Diavolo’s life from now on. It was genuinely terrifying to see how far we get inside of Diavolo’s head as he’s killed over and over again. The karmic retribution was clear when he was stabbed by a man living under a bridge who was addicted to the same drugs he pushed out on the streets, but it reached completely different territory when he was fully conscious during his autopsy. Where you can tell Araki’s love of horror influenced the nightmare fuel that came from Diavolo writhing in pain as an incision is made in his chest and his organs are slowly pulled out. With how much the anime reveled in the torment that Diavolo was facing in this situation combined with the filters that distorted the color palette of Diavolo’s world, they were able to capture the full extent of the neverending fear of dying that Diavolo would be facing from now on.

The episode dedicated to “Sleeping Slaves” was also poignant in showing how much guilt Mista has been carrying with him about the possible circumstances that may befall on Bruno based on their interactions with the Rolling Stones Stand. The prophetic nature of Rolling Stones made for a fearsome yet mournful series of moments where Mista did his best to try to prevent Bruno from having his death become a reality only to prolong it for so long until Diavolo dealt the blow that he would eventually succumb to. The chapters did have two of my favorite Mista moments packed in with the anime doing great justice to his speech on how he would never worry about resorting to cannibalism because omnivorous/carnivorous animals were designed to taste terrible and the moment where he and Trish have a good laugh about his lack of personal hygiene. While the ending originally felt abrupt in the manga, the anime helped at the very least tie together both Mista’s interactions with Rolling Stones and Giorno’s resolve as he plans to use the Stand arrow to pave a more optimistic future for all of Italy. What will he do with the Italian mafia now that he was able to slide into the pilot’s seat without a problem? Will he continue all of the seedier mafia activity as long as it doesn’t involve drugs? It may be up in the air, but with Giorno’s influence, he hopes to help Bruno’s dream become a reality by at the very least making sure drugs stay out of kids’ hands.

Final Impressions:

Back when I first read Vento Aureo, that particular part drew me in with its loveable cast and inventive fight sequences. As far as JoJo parts went, it started out as one of my favorite ones along with Battle Tendency and Diamond is Unbreakable and Guido Mista quickly became one of my favorite characters in the series with his sense of humor and his willingness to place himself on the line in nearly every fight he’s involved in. There were a couple of issues I had such as the wonkier fan-translations in English, Bruno being far more suitable as a main character than Giorno, and the conclusion feeling abrupt in swiftly coronating Giorno as the new head of the Mafia with little clue on what his future faces. But in spite of that, Vento Aureo was still a fun and thrilling experience to read, brings out some of the coolest Stand abilities to make every battle engaging and nail-biting and is easily the best part to read if you want to watch some inventive, crazy fights unfold.

That’s why David Production really outdid themselves in translating what made Vento Aureo as awesome as it was into anime format. All of the pulse-pounding action that this part is known for excelling at is turned up to eleven with slick visuals and brutal beatdowns. Memorable fights such as the ones against Grateful Dead & Beach Boy, White Album, Metallica, and Green Day & Oasis were an absolute blast to see unfold in all of its animated glory. In addition to bringing the manga to life as it did with previous arcs, it continues the trend of fleshing out the material given by doing justice to details that were otherwise left out of the manga or not as fleshed out in the past. Scenes like the dance montage that turned a few panels into a trippy, funky music video and extended sequences with La Squadra operate as a team showed just how much David Pro was dedicated on making the Vento Aureo anime a memorable experience. Seeing everything in action also gave weight to many of the emotional scenes such as Abbacchio’s past flashback from his time as a cop, when Abbacchio reunites with his departed friend, and when Bruno decides enough is enough and turns against Diavolo. Not only did Vento Aureo show us the growth that Araki underwent as he started to see how deadlier fights would unfold with more lethal, situational Stands, but based on this anime adaptation, it also shows how far David Pro has come in creating material for the JoJo animes that remains faithful to the manga and gives us further insight that was otherwise left out of the original story, yet fits like a glove. They have gotten far busier with Fire Force and I wouldn’t want to put pressure on them to get Part VI of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure ready as soon as possible, but I’d be excited to see how they pull off Part VI once they plan to cross that road. But for now, arrivederci!