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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Deluxe editions #12

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3—Stardust Crusaders, Vol. 5

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A multigenerational tale of the heroic Joestar family and their never-ending battle against evil!

The legendary Shonen Jump series is now available in deluxe editions featuring color pages and newly drawn cover art! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a groundbreaking manga famous for its outlandish characters, wild humor and frenetic battles.

Bizarre things keep happening to JoJo and friends! Even more bizarre than usual! Stuff that can’t be explained or rationalized by any stretch of the imagination. Have they finally flipped their lids? Then Polnareff encounters a strange Stand that can grant impossible wishes! Is it too good to be true?

300 pages, Hardcover

First published August 9, 2002

37 people are currently reading
578 people want to read

About the author

Hirohiko Araki

662 books2,073 followers
Hirohiko Araki ( 荒木飛呂彦) is a Japanese manga artist. He left school before graduation from Miyagi University of Education.

He enjoys the baseball manga Kyojin No Hoshii (Star of the Giants); the video games Mario Kart and Bomberman; and likes Prince and other African-American singers, as well as jazz, rock, and rap.

He is a recipient the Tezuka Award for manga.

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5 stars
549 (46%)
4 stars
464 (39%)
3 stars
149 (12%)
2 stars
13 (1%)
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5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
Profile Image for Aurora.
128 reviews97 followers
September 30, 2023
This volume was the epitome of gaslighting. It followed some of my chapters as we covered Death 13 - The High Priestess.

We got to see one of the iconic subplots in this part which is Death 13, it’s witty, rememberable, and even a little crud.

The anime added a scene where Joseph calls Suzy Q while in the submarine during the High Priestess arc. Unfortunately that scene is not there in manga, which is a shame, because I actually liked those scenes where he talked to this wife. We don’t see a lot development in their relationship and those moments were just specs into the couple’s life. But it was clever for the anime adaptation.

As always, art style is a 10/10.

Finally we see our characters land in Egypt after five volumes. See you in volume six.
Profile Image for Blake the Book Eater.
1,276 reviews408 followers
August 17, 2025
This might be the most ridiculous one yet - the Joestar group fights a BABY. Still cannot believe the wild stuff this series makes me read and I’m eating it up. Also I find it hilarious that Polnareff is the one consistently the one who is GOING THROUGH IT.
Profile Image for Jules.
159 reviews1 follower
November 20, 2024
I love how these books follow scooby doo rules and the instant someone goes off on their own they will immediately be attacked.
Profile Image for atealantis.
97 reviews1 follower
September 5, 2025
Kakyoin is the GOAT.
Give that woman some clothes FOR HEAVENS SAKE.
They're all so corny I love them.
Time to ora ora ora ora my way out of shit as well.
Profile Image for Абрахам Хосебр.
774 reviews103 followers
September 12, 2024
Здається я знаю чому Польнареф вижив, схоже на те, що він доста натерпівся тому це його нагорода.
Бідолаху стало шкода найбільше в арці з Джаджментом і "воскреслими" Абдулом і сестрою. Справжнісінька ґвалтівня!
Сюжетно цікаво зроблений епізод з Арканом "Смерть" і так, я абсолютно поділяю ставлення Какьоїна до дітваків.
238 reviews1 follower
October 29, 2019
Fórmula agotadísima. SPOILER: La reaparición de Abdul no tiene mucho sentido y su justificación es bastante tonta. Como lo del perro. Por momentos, el dibujo me confunde y no entiendo bien qué está pasando.
Profile Image for Gigi Bell.
290 reviews3 followers
September 18, 2021
no one:
me: i dont care that you're a baby, i'll snap ur neck like a twig !
Profile Image for Rolando Marono.
1,944 reviews19 followers
August 8, 2019
Siento que la historia de Jotaro se ha alargado mucho. Aunque Polnareff es mi favorito y este tomo tiene cinco capítulos enteros con este personaje como protagonista, los enemigos y los sucesos no son tan entretenidos ni sorprendentes como en los tomos anteriores.
Lo bueno es que al terminar el tomo, parece que la fórmula y lo que había estado construyendo Hirohiko, cambiará un poco en el siguiente tomo. Esto es muy bueno porque parece que el mismo autor se dio cuenta que su fórmula se estaba volviendo cansada.
Tampoco me gustó el retorno de un personaje de tomos anteriores. Hubiera preferido que el impacto de su muerte hubiera sido permanente.
En este tomo se enfrentan a los últimos 3 stands aparentemente. Ninguno de los tres me sorprendió o me maravilló con sus habilidades. Pero también aparece un aliado de el equipo de los Joestar con el Stand de "The Fool" y me pareció muy gracioso e interesante como personaje. Esperamos que veamos más de él en el siguiente tomo.
De los tres combates de este capítulo el que más me gustó fue el de Polnareff, los primeros capítulos. Me gustó el desarrollo de su personaje y como Hirohiko se esfuerza en humanizarlo y mostrarnos sus sentimientos y remordimientos.
Profile Image for Chris.
609 reviews
August 1, 2022
Kakyoin was the star of this volume for me. It was great to see him front and centre and getting to kick some ass. There are some really interesting Stands in this volume with dreams and wishes adding to the general bizarre adventures. The Death 13 chapters were my favourite although there were a few gross out moments especially with the poor dog and Kakyoin’s revenge on the stand user at the end.
The Judgement chapters were also great with some fantastic surprises that are bound to make a lot of fans very happy. As with a lot of these mini arcs the end comes very quickly which is always a bit of a let down but the action was fantastic and the Stands ability wonderfully twisty.
And of course it wouldn’t be a volume of Stardust Crusaders without some vehicle related disaster excellently supplied by a submarine (yes really a submarine) this time around. There is a fantastic map in this volume showing their progress from Japan to Egypt which not only shows the Stands they have faced along the way but also all of their vehicular mishaps. So much fun.
I think this has to be my favourite volume of Part 3 so far it was so much fun which some great stands and a lot of humour. I loved it.

2022 Goals – #MangaMonday wk31
Profile Image for Grace Arango.
1,350 reviews673 followers
June 28, 2021
I read this and the next volume months ago and forgot to record it on my goodreads XD

Loving the Stardust Crusaders so far ;)
Profile Image for Matthew.
559 reviews6 followers
December 6, 2023
Another master class from Araki.

3 battles here. Incidentally, it’s nice how these are complete rather than overlapping between volumes.

The art is excellent (not technically as Araki will never be a natural, fluid draftsman), but very expressive with a dynamic style. Character personalities and emotions are strong and clear. Contrast this with the abysmal cover art reflecting the current Jojolion style — flaccid, lifeless, boneless oatmeal.

This is a great group of characters with an appealing dynamic. The way they interact with each other and their contrasting reactions to assorted stimuli is what makes the book so engaging.

Araki has come up with 3 more compelling enemy stands. The first, a devious baby who attacks in dreams. Kakyoin takes center stage here. The challenge is mainly mental as Kakyoin struggles to convey the danger to the others but only ends up looking crazy. Quite clever.

The second, a malicious genie whose wishes turn out like the monkey’s paw. This one is about Polnareff. Note the way Araki extends the suspense when Polnareff’s sister is revived. First through scratching sounds. Then tracks through waving grass. Then the open grave. Strands of hair. Her voice. Seeing her from behind. Then cutting away to another scene (chapter break). Another chase through the grass. Chewed up birds. A conversation with Sherri, her face partially hidden. It almost seems like she might be genuine after all. Before she finally turns and reveals herself as some kind of zombie. The whole sequence is 16 pages.

Also, Polnareff’s anguish over the death of Avdol makes him much more likable and gives him depth under the cheery, goofy exterior.

The third battle takes place on a sub with a shape changing Gremlin. This one is a horror story somewhat similar to Alien, with the Joestar party hunted through the high tech confines of the sub, as in a spaceship, and the sea serving as outer space. The opening scene where they are gathered around a table drinking coffee is reminiscent of Alien’s chest burster scene.

Note how the story escalates in a series of increasingly dangerous trials. First, destroying Jospeh’s hand and slicing jotaro’s hands. Second, almost suffocating Polnareff. And third, nearly devouring all 5 of them in a giant mouth.
Profile Image for Ren the Unclean.
212 reviews7 followers
June 14, 2023
This volume of Stardust Crusaders is really solid. The pacing is great, burning through a couple of major plot points and a few stand users as we finally arrive in Egypt.

Death 13 is a great stand, and I liked that Kakyoin has a moment to shine here. The solution of "I had my stand summoned when I passed out!" feels a bit convenient, but I didn't mind it too much.
Judgment was a bit of a miss for me. Another of the stands that sort of has arbitrary rules it follows about granting wishes that don't seem very well defined or interesting. I guess the major purpose here was to give Polnaref an encounter with his dead sister and Avdol, but it feels forced. Avdol's actual return here delivers -- it is fun and a bit wacky. Great that Polnaref is the only one who didn't know he was still alive. It is unbelievable, but solid comedy.
High Priestess has interesting powers that don't feel like they get much exploration, unfortunately. The minute we get in a submarine, you know that thing is sinking. It is satisfying to have everything go so horribly wrong with the perfect stand to mess this plan up. Jojo punches his way out of this problem (par for the course) and you love to see it.
These events feel like well-motivated side stories, and it is pretty hilarious that our crew can't catch a break.

The art in this volume is great, with some standout panels that are wild and creative in Death 13's dream world and some that are extremely violent in the dog D13 kills, Polnaref's resurrected sister, and most of High Priestesses attacks.

I like that we get to the end of the tarot deck here as we arrive in Egypt. It puts a systemic period on that part of the journey as the group prepares for the final leg on their way to Dio.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lksreads.
107 reviews
May 21, 2025
Yo, Death 13 is dooope. I like Kakyoin more and more as the story goes and it was great for him to have a couple dedicated main character chapters. The baby was freaky and the dream world was so cool, I loved this section of the story. Really learning to appreciate what JJBA can do that other series can’t/don’t by fully committing to the “bizarre” bit.

Followed up by two other bangers in Cameo, the wish-granting Stand and the shapeshifter High Priestess Stand. Both are so wild and so heavily laden with horror elements that it hits me like a truck, it’s very much storytelling of a style that grabs me. Polnareff really is always in the darkest subplot, the guy can’t catch a break.

With the party being bigger, I do really enjoy the character-driven moments, which I think were lacking in previous parts. It’s not a deep, complex dive, but it does add depth to see Polnareff struggling with guilt over Avdol and his sister. Also love the camaraderie; there’s a lot more opportunity for good bro moments and humor, which are in abundance. Polnareff and Kakyoin’s handshake bit in the submarine killed me dude.
Profile Image for jacob.
68 reviews4 followers
December 29, 2022
It makes me sad to give 3 stars to a volume with Kakyoin on the cover, but honestly, this volume surprisingly felt pretty weak. The highlight is of course BY FAR that Avdol returns and in the absolute PERFECT fashion by literally pissing into a guys mouth. Death 13 is also a really strong start to the volume as well fight wise, and gives Kak some much needed spotlight that he hasn't really gotten in a while due to the sheer amount of times that Polnareff continues to wander off and attract all the enemy stand users to him. However, the actual Judgement fight on Avdol's island is probably the most meh one to me out of all the fights in the part, and High Priestess is alright but not really strong enough to save the volume completely, although I do always enjoy watching Jotaro absolutely smash giant teeth to bits with Star Platinum's signature move - an absolutely massive amount of punches.

Quote of the Volume:

"MOHAMMED AVDOL?!"

"YES, I AM!"

- Jean Pierre Polnareff and Mohammed Avdol
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Pinky.
7,043 reviews23 followers
June 16, 2020
An innocent baby is not as he seems, the only one to notice is Kakyoin. Kakyoin is getting stuck in his dreams and his dreams start turning into reality. The dream stand, Death 13 goes after Polnareff and Kakyoin, the fanged baby is dangerous indeed. The gang doesn't listen to Kakyoin and they all end up in a nightmare of a dream. Kakyoin defeats Death 13 and saves the gang without them even noticing they were in trouble. A pleasant surprise for Polnareff, it turns out that Avdol didn't really die before. Polnareff meets an enemy stand that can supposedly grant wishes and brings his dead sister back from the dead. Avdol comes to Polnareffs rescue and saves him from his ''zombie sister''. A submarine trip turns into a dangerous venture for the group due to an enemy's stand called High Priestess. Jotaro almost gets crushed by her teeth but breaks through with Star Platinum.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kristina Mlinarić.
161 reviews3 followers
July 18, 2024
Encounter with Death 13 Stand must have been inspired with "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movie. The enemy can hurt you in your sleep, has total control of the nightmarish dreamworld and the characters are dismissing that reality until it is too late.

Kakyoin, however, was up to the task with his sharp mind and clever tactics. His intelligence rivals that of Jotaro but he's more softer and gentler in his speech. I could totally see myself spending time with him in the Jojo universe.

P.S. I found that listening to Bronski Beat album while I read is oddly fitting for Stardust. We are in the 80s after all.
Profile Image for Nora Suntken.
660 reviews10 followers
December 8, 2023
To be completely honest, I kind of found much of part 3 underwhelming in the anime, but after starting this read through, I’m realizing it’s an incredibly iconic piece of literature. We start this volume with the one and only user behind the Baby Stand moment (which I truly think is Peak Kakyoin). What follows is the equally memorable Avdol resurrection and Polnareff’s zombie sister. Our final stand was the one I remembered the least—though Polnareff and Kakyoin’s handshake moment continues to be hilarious. Everything here was over dramatic and honestly just kind of goofy. What a blast.
Profile Image for Jimmi Allen.
94 reviews
November 20, 2025
Hirohiko Araki introduces some pretty hectic characters in this volume specifically Death 13 and High Priestess. While Death 13 isn't necessarily must original stand, the Stands user being a genius infant child is just awesome! The originality of High Priestess's stand though blew my mind! The concept of a creature being able to mimic inanimate objects may seem common place now with Prey and COD, but this was written well before, in the 80's!

A side note, this is the funniest book so far in the series with a few suble 4th wall breaks.
Profile Image for India♡.
792 reviews
May 16, 2022
I really liked Death 13 as an enemy stand user. The character design was the best of the enemy stand users. I just wish he didn’t take the physical form of a baby. Also what happened to that girl!? She just vanishes then randomly pops back up. Why did Polnareff’s sister Sherry have to be naked!? So unnecessary because no one’s buried naked.
Profile Image for ♡ Piff ♡.
155 reviews
June 19, 2023
THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

This volume marks the spot in the anime where I finally started getting interested and actually started thinking this part was good. And I felt it here too. This volume was a delight. I love the shenanigans, I love the boys so much UGH.

Despite Avdol's comeback being cliché and whatever, it had to happen. Avdol rocks and he's supposed to be there, period. I loved that he got back and everything was back to normal yayyy Avdol
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ComicNerdSam.
623 reviews52 followers
October 18, 2023
More great stuff, although I feel the High Priestess fight as a tad weak. A really cool concept that I doesn’t get as much use as it should. Still, the Judgement fight is great because it’s a lot moodier than Araki has gone before. Polnareff’s horror at what his sister gets twisted into is so good. I adore the Death 13 story, maybe because I like Freddy Krueger so much. It includes a scene involving a megaphone and a dog carcass that I won’t be forgetting soon.
Profile Image for Radwa.
Author 1 book2,310 followers
December 8, 2024
- it starts with a bang! creepy children are the worst!
- that whole baby arc was lowkey funny?
- a genie and a mgical lamp? gimm! nevermind that it's not actually related to egypt per se, but liking how the author's trying to cram a lot of "arabian" plots and themes.
- he's back! it doesn't make sense and i don't buy that explanation, but nothing makes sense in this world anyway
- i feel bad for the idiot polnareff!
Profile Image for Tyler.
84 reviews1 follower
February 22, 2025
3.75 stars but rounding it up to 4 bc I love JoJo. I’ve never been a huge fan of the fight with Death 13, but after seeing it on the page & thinking about the creativity/artistry behind it, I’m really impressed by it. It’s a perfect fight for Kakyoin too. (I had a reason why but forgot!!) The fight with Judgment was alright, he just annoys me I think. I’m glad Avdol returned!! I always think it’s entertaining seeing them in the submarine, but the fight with The High Priestess is sort of meh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jessica Quino.
8 reviews
August 20, 2019
"I'm starting to think this baby is a stand user!"

Kakyoin really shines during the Death 13 arc. Also this arc is just really bizarre, and I'm still not sure if the baby was a very smart baby or a weird adult.

Polnareff's reunion with Avdol is also really heartwarming, and the small character interactions after Death 13 were nice.
Profile Image for Arabella Trasmonte.
13 reviews
Read
June 4, 2025
holy shit not this fuckass baby stand user (as if history doesn't repeat itself later on in DIU)

justice for Kakyoin PLEASE. why did I have to see my favorite character go through one of THE most controversial things ever (involving SH to prove himself) ALL because of Death 13. JUST WHY.

they could never make me hate you Kakyoin ☹️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews

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