Review of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

TL;DR: Part 5 is both fresh and exciting and brings more of the interesting story and heart-wrenching backstory that Part 4 excelled at. This show is still plagued however, by a significantly weaker last 25% of the show which both confuses me and leaves me quickly taking back words of praise. This show is definitely worth it overall, but is neither perfect nor free of any useless plot devices to simply keep the Part 3-styled shounen/adventure story that utilizes dime-a-dozen bad guys to keep the plot moving. [THIS REVIEW IS FREE OF SPOILERS BUT IS STILL A COMPREHENSIVEREVIEW OF PART 5 IN ITS ENTIRETY]

After watching Part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable, I decided to watch Part 5 after it was completed to properly binge it in all its glory, and having done so I can honestly say that it was worth the wait. Part 4 assured me that Araki's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure was on a steady incline of quality, and Part 5 truly delivered what I praised Part 4 for: interesting characters, meaningful plot, and interesting villain encounters. Part 5: Golden Wind is not without its problems, but it is definitely an ingenious addition to the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure anime series both in its story and visual appeal.

If you liked part 4, then part 5 not only builds upon that series' great traits, but improves drastically on its ability to show off characters that you'll actually enjoy watching throughout the show. I compare Parts 4 and 5 often not just because of their likeness to each other, but also because of their differences that they share from Part 3: Stardust Crusaders. Most of the characters in Part 3 are of the dime-a-dozen wannabe villain type, but parts 4 and 5 both share a definite increase in the quality of the characters shown on screen that is definitely noticeable.

Part 5 reverts back to a more classic Jojo style of story telling, as the story is essentially a grand adventure to kill the "bad guy". I enjoyed Diamond is Unbreakable because of this lack of grand antagonist-hunt that plagued the earlier parts of JJBA, but I enjoyed this show nonetheless. Part 5 truly succeeded in helping the viewer empathize with the show's main cast, as each of the backstories are either heart-wrenching or morally compelling, and in that sense this show got off to a great start. The majority, if not all of my complaints however come from the last quarter of the show, where we see both the creativity and the overall empathetic nature of the show slip and fall into the classic dime-a-dozen villain stepladder that they use to catch up to the big bad guy. I was completely underwhelmed by the end of the show, as the heart-wrenching backstories were all but either forgotten or tossed aside due to the diligence and perfect plot-filling strength of the main character. Truly I felt this show was reverting to Araki's past sins of Part 3 Stardust Crusaders, but even if that were true, I would still say that the majority of this show is better than its predecessors and definitely worth watching as a whole, but this process of a great start falling into a pitiful slow finish is...tiresome at best, and leads me to beg the question as to why this possibly is.

This show's visual quality however is seemingly almost unparalleled with its predecessors...for the first 75% of the show. The famous torture dance scene, which quickly gathered the attention of strangers to the series and fans alike, takes visual risks with both its experimental visual and psychedelic music, and begs the question of why the show's production team doesn't seem interested in keeping this incredibly likeable and interesting aspect going for the rest of the show?

This has not been my favorite review to write simply because of the swift quality nosedive that seems to have affected me with part 3 and now 5. Did I enjoy this show to the very last second? Wholeheartedly I did enjoy this show, but the inconsistent quality of the characters, the story, and the plot left me begging for more - and not in a good way either. Overall I enjoy the direction Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is taking, but I can't help feel that this truly isn't the best that this show can do; a bold and selfish statement to be sure, but nonetheless I can't shake the feeling that the production staff has more to offer the unique and timeless tales that it is attempting to animate and bring to the world.