These two episodes are really one long running battle as Kars flexes his new might after achieving his long sought objective. He now thinks he has to tools to finally take revenge on Joseph for his lost companions. JoJo and his allies fight against this new and seemingly invulnerable threat to humanity in the only ways that they can.
1. Killer Squirrel
The first thing the new, more powerful Kars does is something that seems innocuous. His new powers allow him to reshape his body either at will or in response to some existential threat. We learn this as he reshapes his hand into a likeness of a squirrel he happens to see. Some of those gathered there even see the even as cute, of all things, until it goes horrible wrong when the all too cute squirrel becomes a mass killer like the bunny from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Now in addition to being functionally immortal, he seems to be practically kill-proof as nothing that JoJo does to him over the course of these two episodes seem to cause much mortal or permanent damage. The fight though and how its choreographed feels line it could be right out of a pulp era novel. It’s weird, wild and though it does jump the shark, it is a whole lot of fun.
2. Running Man
Joseph is ever the clown and his fallback plan never changes: its always run like hell. He resorts to it in episodes one and two and throughout the series, so why question what seems to work? After seeing what Kars is capable of after his “ascension,” turning to Smokey and yelling run only makes sense. It’s even funny how it’s often the right choice and it is likely the right one here too as the story plays out. This time instead of a Tommy Gun or clacker balls, Joseph pulls an entire seaplane out of nowhere. There was ample time to explain it being there. With some thought, it could have been how Speedwagon’s cavalry arrived and Smokey lead him to it. Its not what happened, but its at least a plausible reason for it. As it is he does just arrive with a seaplane and off we go to have a flight in the sky.
3. Be Careful with what You Wish For
Kars’s new additional powers make him unstoppable, it seems. Between JoJo and Stroheim, they tear Kars up as much as they can and eventually hit him with the plane itself and plow him into an active volcano. It’s pretty spectacular, though it is really little more then a speed bump for Kars now. Things look bleak for our heroes until Jospeh, who seems pretty much beat, pulls out the red Aja gem, the gem that the animators made sure we saw him pick up last episode. I’ll not ruin Kars final fate but it is a fitting end for him. His story ends not with death but with a “final” resting place in a frontier that leaves him with little or nothing to threaten. Hirohiko Araki likes to punish some villains in very cathartic manners and this is for sure a well deserved punishment.
4. Super Faithful Adaptation….
“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” has been running for a little over thirty years and these foundational two story arcs, though long since left to history, still affect the story going forward. Tragedy, self sacrifice, and idealism run as major themes from its Victorian horror beginnings until it’s current story line in an alternate/future universe. David Productions adapted the original stories fully faithful to Araki’s original, warts and all. They maintained the heavy handed storytelling that began this long running story. They kept faithful to those somewhat cringe-worthy moments and fast forward narration. It may feel odd given how decompressed modern arcs have become, but you can see how Hirohiko Araki’s growth as a storyteller even just in these two arcs alone.
5. “To Be Continued”
Every episode ends with a freeze frame and Hirohiko Araki’s iconic “to be continued” arrow. I simply had to do it once and though this is the end of my Summer Binge it is far from the end of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure the animated series. Some of my favorite bits from the arc are actually from this finale of Joseph’s first story arc. Hirohiko Araki tells us of the fates and lives of the characters we didn’t get to see very much of. We find out how amazing Smokey’s life is going forward, where Lisa Lisa goes from here, and the final fates of Erina, Speedwagon and Stroheim, marvelous or mundane they may be.
More then that we get a hint get a hint of future as we see one of the future Joseph heading to Japan in the 1980’s. From here we get to meet the first Japanese JoJo, Jotaro, and see the arrival of the super-natural power of the Stand that coms to define JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to so many fans. I hope that this may have brought some new eyes to the series. Be well people…and remember always…to be continued.
