Review of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

Part 5 is a mixed bag for me. Overall I liked it, but didn't like everything about it. I feel this iteration of Jojo leans pretty heavily on fighting and gore moreso than puzzle-solving. It can be fine for some people, but that isn't my preference. Enemy stand users seem to get less time, which is a shame because they're all interesting characters and their stands generally have neat abilities to overcome. There were points where it felt like the main characters found out what the Stand did pretty quickly, namely Giorno pulling out sudden (albeit educational) facts. This is then usually followed by asolution that's out of this world, which is entertaining, but also left me with "Well, I was never gonna figure that one out in a million years." This doesn't mean the Stand battles were BAD, just that I felt like I was strapped in for a crazy, unpredictable ride each time one started.

My biggest problem with Part 5 is the injuries. They are extremely over the top, but the characters don’t react how you would expect them to when they have a whole limb torn off or they’re shot 20 times or they lose literal gallons of blood. I know it's a work of fiction and it's all for spectacle, but it turns something that's meant to make a situation dire into something trivial. Basically, big hits in fights don't feel impactful at all, which is kinda a problem. Not to mention, despite this, some characters end up dying to injuries that were basically taps on the shoulder by comparison, which felt really inconsistent.

Another problem I have is the unbalanced use of protagonists. Giorno, Bucciarati, and Mista handle most situations. It's hard to be too frustrated about it since their stand abilities are really cool (especially Bucciarati's...which I still can't get over), but it definitely makes me miss the good ol' days where every character got their own episodes. Also I wish Trish got that treatment where she could defend herself and show off her personality instead of being silent for most of it.

Some minor other minor things: Please god stop saying a stand is invincible! If a character wasn't the focus, they looked pretty bad pretty much all the time. And I sure as heck couldn't follow that ending when I first watched it.

So it sounded like I didn't like it, but I think Part 5 is pretty good in its own way. It feels like a Jojo Part where it's best to turn off your brain and just enjoy the plot, characters, and crazy stand situations for what they are. I don't think you can really IGNORE the things I described above, but I don't think they soil the enjoyment of Part 5 nor do I think everyone even agrees they're bad things. So basically, I recommend seeing it and judging for yourself!