What shows will it remind you of? Typically, this series is known for its lengthy shonen-centric fights reminiscent of series like Dragon Ball Z or Yu Yu Hakusho. While there’s plenty of combat to tackle in this round, there’s also a heavy dose of surrealism. It elevates this episode junk beyond mere shonen fighting paradise into simple “off its rocker” territory, making for some seriously entertaining scenes.
Our opinion: After another long wait between episode releases, round three of the Stone Ocean story arrives, completely decimating expectations. While you might think that the first episode of the final set would focus squarely on Jolyne, Ermes, and Emporio, it instead gets completely off the rails when it follows each character working to team up.
This first episode is one of the strangest you’ll ever find in JoJo, and it shows exactly why fans get so red hot every time there’s a new addition to the story. It’s completely insane in a way other anime series never dare, and even if it doesn’t make much sense at first, there’s so much creativity here that it’s hard to go back to other Shonen series after seeing what’s possible with Jolyne and the crew.
gender and skin: None are available in this particular episode, although it should be noted that some of the characters, like Jolyne, sometimes wear something that can be considered revealing.
farewell shot: After a confusing moment in which it appears Anastasia has been severed from his body, Weather Forecast ponders what might happen – an attack by a Stand user – as the camera lands on the cover of a children’s book: Little Red Riding Hood. The stark reality of what’s going on kicks in as the all-too-familiar To Be Continued arrow shoots across the screen: Weather and Anastasia are being attacked by storybook characters.
sleeping star: Stephen Fu infuses Weather Forecast with the stoicism that makes him a hero who can handle most situations, even when they seem ridiculously implausible. Fu still manages to add an emotional touch to the character as well, humanizing someone who might instead come across as disillusioned, as his voice has a lot of natural warmth.
Most pilot line: “You do realize we’re escaped convicts, right?” Ermes Costello (Tiana Camacho) calls out to young Emporio Alniño. (Casey Mongillo). “We get caught as soon as we get on the bus.” It’s ironic that in this episode that we can see, they actually don’t do much at all, and after doing everything they’ve done so far, there actually was a lot little chance of getting caught. It shows how silly and funny JoJo can be.
Our appeal: Stream it. Rocky Ocean is nearing its end, and it’s only getting weirder with each episode. It opens with a bizarre and totally surreal vignette that showcases some of this season’s weirdest stories that creator Hirohiko Araki is capable of. It wastes absolutely no time jumping in and showcasing the absolutely craziest parts of the entire series, and it’s the start of another exemplary set of moments JoJo Story. It’s clear that by the end of this series of episodes it’s going to end with a bang.
Brittany Vincent has been reporting on video games and tech for publications such as G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot and more for over a decade. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.