Review of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

TLDR; Story: 9/10 Character: 10/10 Art: 9/10 Sound: Actual Perfection Personal enjoyment: 10/10 Overall: 10/10 After watching/reading every completed JoJo part, I can confidently say that Vento Aureo/Golden Wind is my favorite by a good margin. I don't know where Araki pulled this story from, but almost everything about Golden Wind is better than the previous parts (with a few exceptions that I'll go over).- Story -

Araki's approach to storytelling in this part is incredibly refreshing and a great change of pace. Unlike Parts 3 and 4, Golden Wind has a story that continually builds upon itself from beginning to end with stand battles between key story moments and great twists/turns throughout. Also, just the idea of taking over Italy's largest mafia organization is awesome to me, and the steps they take to get there are great.

The first act is amazing because of how well it sets up the structure of the mafia org, Giorno and Bucciarati's goals and how they have to go about achieving them. For real, by the end of episode 4 (which is still one of the most awesome things a main JoJo has ever done), I was completely hooked and Golden Wind continued to impress me.

The biggest complaint I hear about Part 5 is that its final act is anticlimactic, but I honestly disagree. I can't really go into detail without spoiling anything, but the main villain's ability combined with each party's goal makes the ending really tense in my opinion. The epilogue wraps things up nicely and gives a good satisfactory feeling.

My one complaint with this story is that characters don't die when they seem like they should (like for real, Mista got shot with his own gun more than he shot other people), and the deaths that do happen just seem really sudden and out of nowhere. It's like they just couldn't die until it was convenient for the plot. But aside from that, I think this story is fantastic.

- Character -

Golden Wind has my favorite cast of characters in all of JoJo. Everything member of team Bucciarati is awesome because of how well they complement each other. I can honestly say that I don't think there's a single annoying character in this part. Not only is everyone in the main cast unique, but they all have their own backstories that explain why they act the way they do. Take Abbachio as an example. Throughout this story, he is very distrusting of and rude to Giorno, and we learn later that he distrusts others because his blind trust of a criminal got his old partner killed. Also, Mista's stand has its own personality that gave the show some nice comic relief.

Even the minor characters like Giorno's hero and Polpo have interesting personalities and great dialogue.

Also, Giorno Giovanna is my favorite JoJo protagonist because of how he acts. As the son of Dio's head and Jonathan's body, he is the perfect combination of the two. With the same sense of justice as Jonathan and the same cruelty as Dio, Giorno really lives up to both of their names.

My absolute favorite character, however, is Bruno Bucciarati. With the way he leads and protects everyone on his team, the versatility of his stand, and the way he outsmarts his enemies, Bucciarati is (in my opinion) the most awesome likable badass character in all of JoJo. If anyone foolish enough dares to attack his children, Bucciarati will Sticky Finger their asses immediately. As shown especially in episodes 20 and 21.

I might say that the humor isn't quite as good as it was in Part 2, but there are still some hilarious moments.

Lastly, I'll just mention the main antagonist, who is also a great villain. I can't really explain why without spoiling anything, but he is personality-wise the most unique JoJo villain, and his busted stand makes the second half of this part tense and refreshing.

- Fights -

In terms of pure stand battles, I think Golden Wind does it the best. While it may not reach the highs of Jotaro vs Dio or Josuke vs Kira, the overall quality of fights combined with how well they're paced in the story make them the most interesting to me. Unlike with other parts, I can honestly say that they're isn't a single bad/boring fight in this part.

Araki gets even more creative with the abilities here, as there are so many diverse abilities and designs. Not to mention, each stand of the main cast (aside from probably Fugo) has its unique ability utilized well. For example, Sticky Fingers (Bucciarati) has a very simple ability of putting zippers on objects, but it's used in so many different ways that it feels like one of the most fleshed out stands in the series.

- Art -

I swear that Araki and David Productions is a match made in heaven. The character designs in Part 5 are even more epic and over the top than in previous parts. The art style increases in quality each part, and Golden Wind is no exception. Everything from the movement in fights to the swapping color palettes is phenomenally animated. Bless DP.

- Sound -

As always, David Productions made everything in GW sound perfect. The soundtrack is (in my opinion) the best it's ever been, the voice acting is great, and the sound effects seem realistic. DP got especially creative with the sounds of different stands. Gold Experience, Sticky Fingers, and King Crimson are just a few examples of stands with creative sounds.

As of right now, the English dub is on episode 13, and even if it's not as great as the original, the acting and dialogue is pretty good so far.

- Conclusion -

I wanna know what changed between the short time period between Part 4 and 5, because Araki's writing quality improved so much that it's insane. Combine that with the fact that David Production did their best work yet and you get the best season of JoJo thus far.