Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part III: Stardust Crusaders, vol. 1

Stardust Crusaders Deluxe #1

by Hirohiko Araki, Pablo Tschopp (Translator)

Jotaro Kujo, descendiente de Jonathan Joestar, cree estar poseído por un espíritu maligno. Cuando su abuelo, Joseph, le explica que lo que le ocurre es que posee un poder llamado Stand, comprende el destino que le espera...¡Todo se remonta a Dio, que sobrevivió tras robar el cuerpo de Jonathan hace 100 años!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Shonen, Action, Adventure, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning to one my favorite parts is done so well. Ararki always improve with his art style with each part. His art style is so unique and so iconic that it will forever be memorable in the industry.

This volume covers a lot. With the introduction of Jotaro and stands to Avdol and Polnareff’s fight

I love Jotaro because he is such a momma’s boy. He won’t admit it- but he knew something was up when he didn’t give him his good morning kiss.

Loved seeing Joseph again. Honestly I he was so funny in part two and probably one of my favorite characters.

Props to Holly for being one the best anime moms and having to deal with both Joseph and Jotaro’s shenanigans.

Also it’s the return of Dio- who is such an iconic anime villain. I missed him in part two. His design has to be my favorite. To be fair, Ararki has one of the best characters designs. His love for fashion really shows on how unique the characters are.

Looking forward to reading volume two. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who likes an adventure story with humor tied into it, as well as iconic and memorable characters.

[Johnny Bahama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pokémon but with giant buff dudes. Five fucking stars.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably in the minority here, but I think part 3 is the most stretched out part of Jojo's. It's wonderful, especially in the last third of the series, but I am struggling to get into this as much as I did reading part 2.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stardust Crusaders is the point at which my guilty admiration for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure became unashamed adoration, and I'm delighted it's coming back into print in these particularly handsome editions. For all that, the arc is a little slow to get going - the team of characters doesn't quite click yet, and the story has to do a lot of conceptual heavy lifting. Not only does it have to introduce Jotaro, its third protagonist (a teenage delinquent with, of course, a heart of gold), it has to introduce the idea of Stands, spectral embodiments of each individual's superhuman abilities, which will become the main motor of JBA's increasingly baroque battles from now on.

Alas, in Stardust Crusaders the Stands are named after tarot cards rather than rock bands and classic LPs, which means the dialogue here is - by JoJo standards - comparatively sensible. And the rhythm of a Stand encounter hasn't been fully established in this first volume: the initial bizarre occurrences, the revelation of the new Stand's abilities, and the cat-and-mouse exploration of its power and loopholes accompanied by absurdly boastful shonen manga dialogue. At first Stand battles feel more like superhero fights, with relatively normal power sets - it takes a volume or two for Araki to really start stretching the concept. Once he does, he never looks back.

Fortunately, his art is as unique and gonzo as ever - an aesthetic that blends muscle manga, rock video, and catwalk to hypercharged effect. This volume is a slick, fun read, but really only a set-up for the arc's later joyful lunacy.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last! Part three! Jotaro Kujo, the grandson of Joseph Joestar, is our new JoJo. He’s nothing like the first two. He’s cold, rough, a man of few words, and he’s the reason wearing chains became cool. This hero is a loner, who must embark upon a journey “around the world” with the other Stardust Crusaders.

As always, superb character development, intense action, and loads of fun!

[Grace Arango · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of me wants to bitch slap Jotaro for being a dick, but the other part of me roots for him.

Anyways, I'm here for Joseph.

[jean vicquemare · Rating 4 out of 5]

JOTARO my beloved

[Jimmi Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of JJBA fans always note how Araki comes into his own as an artist by part 4, but honestly I'm already blown away by the work. The story and characters are in point because of course they are, it's a Jojo's Bizarre Adventure manga. Even side characters that you'll never see again are intriguing enough to have a spin-off, and that's world building at its purist.

lf I had any criticism it would be the lack of Harmon disappearing explanation. It was the back bone of the first 2 parts and now basically none-existent.

[Tengerleg · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite animes. I finally got around to reading the manga. The art is glorious and refreshing—Araki never ceases to amaze me!

[Gabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Podemos hablar de que la madre de Jotaro es fan de Kylie Minogue? It’s easier to learn than your ABC’s so come on, come on, Do the Loco-Motion with me.

[Saya Connor]

jojo

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

let's go, the next part of jojo which seems like it's the start of something new and the first parts were just a setup for these characters.

- part 3 mc: jotaru kujo! joseph's grandson.
- dio's chest!! it's brought back from the deep ocean
- this has the vibe of yu-gi-oh. (the alter egos part not the card game of course)
- hoho, the introduction of the "stand" powers, but I need to know how we got here frpm using hamon
- also, so far the kickass fighting characters of the joestar line are men, hoping to see a femlae mc in the future.
- it's my first time hearing/seeing the star on the neck of the joestar line (seems to be another thing introduced with part 3)
- also seeing the stands finally makes me apperciate the gintama jokes about jojo i didn't get when i was watching it
- the adventure takes them to egypt this time, and we have an egyptian main character. i gotta give it to the author, he's choosing a different setting for each part, and every time he delivers with the details
- i like the correlation between stand power and tarot cards
-like the author's note: how this was supposed to be the final part, this is actually our first japanese jojo, clint eastweood and around the world in 80 days are his main inspirations for this part.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is absolutely more of a 3.9 stars and not a 3 but i still didn't want to give it a full 4. I think this is my least favorite jojo installment so far. I'm not the biggest fan of Jotaro yet, and I'm hoping we get more stand lore later on. They spent so long explaining how hamon worked and training with it and then were just like "anyways stands are a thing now okay cool let's go" which felt kinda abrupt. I am very hyped for Dio to be back though. I also have a feeling Jotaro will grow on me but for now he feels a little boring if I'm honest.

[Alex Richey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been tweeting my thoughts as I read this book.

[maddie ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m kinda glad i watched the anime first cause i would have no idea what was going on otherwise

[thi · Rating 4 out of 5]

feels more modern and fleshed out already from the last parts 👀

[Fede · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Nipote, il vampiro che aveva molestato mio nonno è tornato, dobbiamo andare in Egitto per sconfiggerlo."
"Ma pensa te..."

[Gundham Tanaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

jotaro najlepszy jojo 😜🤠🤑

[Geo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jojo is five stars as always. I’ve watched the anime and really loved the hardcover art of the manga. Jojo always serves dramatic flare with amazing characters! Joesph Jostar will always be my favourite :D stardust crusaders is by far my favourite part of the Jojo series (battle tendencies is also really close, but it’s less loved by others!)

[Nellj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, before I start this review (and by review I mean rant) I’m just going to say that I haven’t actually read all of this book: I’ve watched the anime, though. So yeah. Basically I just wanted to rant about Polnareff for a while.

Also, SPOILERS ahead. And I mean spoilers, ‘cause I want to talk about the whole of Stardust Crusaders.

Let me get started by talking about POLNAREFF, as I mentioned previously. Okay, so the main character is supposed to be JOTARO, RIGHT?! Well then WHY does POLNAREFF get to do so much STUFF THEN?! It’s all just Polnareff Polnareff Polnareff. I mean, I like his character, but like... give me a break! At first he’s just chilling with the gang, but once he hits his first character arc... he practically becomes the main character! Like move aside, Jotaro, it’s all Polnareff now. I mean, he gets THREE SEPERATE CHARACTER ARCS. How many does everyone else get...? NONE?! AVDOL “DIES” SO THAT HE CAN BECOME EVEN MORE STUPID, GOSH DARN IT! He starts out as this respectable kinda guy, and then Avdol dies and he starts to get too cocky, and then he kills his fake little sister and then he GETS EVEN MORE STUPID! Maybe I’m just imagining it and he was just stupid the entire time, but I feel like in each arc he gets just a little bit more idiotic. And this idiot kills Centerfold while Kakyoin just watched, fights Hol Horse, almost kills Enyaba, helps kill that brain dude, and has a whole two episodes just for him and Judgement, that genie stand! He does so much!

And I’m nowhere near done with him, so sit tight. He plays a huge part in almost every single stand battle once they make it to Egypt! Okay, so with the High Priestess, Jotaro beats her, and same with N’Doul (and the only thing he does in the episode is be incredibly annoying and petty, getting our boy Kakyoin’s eyes cut and putting him out of commission for 10 episodes). But THEN it’s just Polnareff, pretty much! He has that whole thing with the sword for two episodes, becomes a baby for another two (and is naked for most of that, eugh. Although I do have to admit, Silver Chariot as a baby is quite cute), questions fake Jotaro for an entire episode... and then sells his soul to that gambler dude. And it only gets worse from there, when he has those two whole episodes in DIO’s mansion! Polnareff talked about how he wanted to make Polnareffland in Judgement Part I... Judgment must’ve made that come true because that’s what you live in during Stardust Crusaders Battle in Egypt! It’s just Polnareff! Jeez! The only Polnareff free episodes in the whole thing are the ones where Joseph and Avdol are magnetized by Bastet, which is quite the hilarious arc, I might add.

Anyway, with that out of the way, I do have to say that I love Stardust Crusaders! I mean, it’s not as good as parts 4 and 5, but it’s still funny, action packed, and intense. I just finished the last few episodes and I was so attached to Kakyoin that I cried a little when he died. And I don’t cry about any old book or show. Just saying. And yes, I knew Kakyoin was going to die before I even started the part. And I still cried (Yes, I’ve gotten heavily spoiled on this part, and I knew every big plot twist and death that happened in the whole series before I even started episode 1 of Phantom Blood. Yes, I didn’t care. Still don’t).

Okay, I’m continuing to rant about Polnareff now. Get out your popcorn or something.

I don’t REALLY have a problem with Polnareff, I mean... his character design is disgusting and I hate looking at him... but if he looked less nasty then I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with him being the star of the show in most episodes. Oh wait, I actually do have another problem with the fact that his character undeveloped with each character arc, and the issue isn’t that just dumb, that part’s fine, I mean, he’s allowed to be a funny kind of extrovert. I love those kind of dumb-yet-still-intelligent characters like Koro Sensei from Assassination Classroom (he may have knowledge, but he doesn’t have common sense, he literally tries to teach his students how to create visual clones of themselves, forgetting that they’re humans) and Mob from Mob Psycho 100 (yes, he’s dumb, have you read the series? Just because he’s quiet doesn’t mean he gets to escape from the curse of being a middle schooler), so I don’t really have a problem with in being an absolute idiot. Just wish he didn’t back track like that with his cockiness and going-off-alone-ness. Like you’d think that after Iggy and Avdol died that he wouldn’t go off alone anymore... right? WRONG! He runs off to fight DIO all by HIMSELF! TWICE!!! He’s so stupid!

I have a lot to say about that Frenchman, but I’ll stop for now. Anyway, still giving this 5 stars! No series has captivated me like this in a long time, so you know that JoJo is special, and the kind of anime/manga you’ll only come across every so often. This gets my highest recommendations!

[ZgniłyKotlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

W skrócie:

Emo typ idzie zabić swojego 100 letniego, gejowego, przybranego prapradziadka

[Xirimoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

mis pequeños gays

[BattyReader Zeppeli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best manga series, the best one for the memes, has a LOT of filler at the start, but it clears out near the end and the finale is one of the PEAKEST moments in human history. (Part 4 is better personally, with less unnecessary content)

[Tiago Rech · Rating 5 out of 5]

This issue marks the beggining of JoJo's most famous arc - Stardust Crusaders - and the apparition of what would then become the series staple - the Stands.

I very much enjoy Stardust Crusaders. JoJo never really fit into the Shonen genre for me, and while it does have certain shonen trademarks (such as named techniques and fights) it just feels different.

There are no training segments or martial arts tournaments here - the story is told as a road trip, with a (rather disastrous) voyage from Japan to Egypt. Accompanying the characters as they visit Tiger Balm Garden, India and many other places is very fun (I'm totally a sucker for road movies, so there's that too).

The characters are delightful. Jotaro is very different from his gentlemanly great-grandfather Jonathan and streetwise grandfather Joseph, being a high school delinquent. He's sorta serious and very rude, but he comes to grow on you as the series progresses, and seeing him beat the crap out of people with Star Platinum again and again is always satisfying.

Avdol serves as the wise counselor, Polnareff is a fun womanizer and Kakyoin is the gentler, more mild mannered member of the group.

But I have to say, the character who shines the most in this JoJo arc is Old Joseph Joestar. As he says it himself, "Joseph just seems to get better with age". I always felt Araki did a great job in portraying an older Joseph, and the fact that he seems to constantly get involved in the strangest situations of the story only adds to the charm of an already extremely charismatic character.

The Stands turn every fight and enemy encounter into a surprise that has the characters truly working in order to solve the situation. I also really like how Stands ended up inspiring lots of similar "spirit-wielder" anime and videogames, such as Shaman King and Persona (which I also greatly enjoy).

Having the characters travelling to a definitive point is another major draw of the story. We already know Dio DIO and what a big, stinking bastard he is, and Araki does a great job in creating a mystery around him. Araki also makes great use of a very defining characteristic for vampires: sensuality. Time and time again we see that DIO's allure is strong enough to spellbind people into becoming his followers. DIO may be evil for evil's sake,
but he's a really fun villain to hate at that!

I could go on and on about this whole series (which has kind of taken over my life
in the last few months), but I think the bottom line is this: read this! And watch
the anime! It's good! :)

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Move, bitch."

"Stardust Crusaders" was always my least favorite Part of JoJo, so hopefully I'll learn to appreciate it more as I re-read. My main thing was it felt like too much of a "monster of the week" story, with battles happening Just Because, but also that these early Stands were not nearly as interesting as what we'd see in "Diamond Is Unbreakable" onward.

I forgot how I reviewed previous JoJonium volumes. I think I just catalogued Hype Moments? Do I want to do the same here? Not really....

What's tricky about JoJo compared to other battle manga is that the "story arcs" in this series are basically just grouped by who is the current enemy Stand-user. I guess, to make a weird analogy, it would be like if Dragon Ball had a Dodoria Arc, a Zarbon Arc, something like a Zarbon Returns Arc, then a broader Ginyu Tokusentai Arc, and finally Freeza Arc, rather than lump everything together as just "Namek Arc." Or else you'd just call "Stardust Crusaders" a complete arc. When I review other battle manga, I like sometimes to write my opinions on each arc as a whole, but here I'd have to do something like review each fight. Which is actually a cool idea that I think might end up being too annoying for other series, but might be fun to try here...! I think I'm going to mix it up by mostly writing about each new Stand as they are introduced, and write about the fights as they fit said Stands.

****

Star Platinum. Our first protagonist Stand. Its power is basically just high strength, high speed, high precision/accuracy. Nothing too wild, but it fits to have a rather generic power-set for Jotaro, just as Jonathan had more generic Hamon powers than Joseph.

Magician's Red. Also somewhat generic, its power is control over fire and heat. Its elemental ability actually ends up standing (heh) out a bit, since basic elemental powers end up being rather rare in the franchise. Araki could have been lazier and given all the main heroes simple fire, ice, earth, wind, and maybe thunder/metal powers, so it's to his credit that he did not. Avdol's display against Jotaro is the first "fight" we get in this Part, and Araki sets the stage for the future of more unique powers by having Magician's Red use Red Bind, which creates shackles of flame to prevent Jotaro from moving - certainly more interesting than just throwing fireballs around! Magician's Red does later get a giant fireball power, Crossfire Hurricane, but it's an ankh shape, which seems to kinda-sorta extend into the Prince symbol....

Hermit Purple. A supportive Stand with no real combat ability (unless I'm forgetting fights in the future?). This is kind of weird for Joseph, who was a previous protagonist, leading Part 2 of the manga, but it makes sense in a metatextual way: Jotaro is the new hero, so Joseph doesn't need a combat-type Stand that might overshadow his grandson's role as main character. Joseph can still use Hamon Overdrive, as we see against the Flesh Bud. DIO also can use Hermit Purple, but that's because of some weird thing where Araki may have planned DIO to have all the Stand powers, and fell back on limiting him to The World.

Hierophant Green. A far more alien design, foretelling key themes for many Stands in later Parts. Hierophant Green has a longer range of control, at the cost of being far weaker up close, working to establish a major element of balance in Stand power-levels. Kakyoin's Stand also has more of a unique power than Jotaro or Avdol's due to its puppetry ability, but its special move, Emerald Splash, makes it feel like e.g. a Saint Seiya or Hamon technique, thus making its power feel more familiar to other Jump fans. With this skill-set, the fight between Jotaro and Kakyoin is at least much different than the struggle against Avdol, as half of the fight is Kakyoin possessing the school nurse to attack Jotaro as a puppet, before Star Platinum can pull Hierophant Green out of her body, after which Kakyoin relies on spamming Emerald Splash.

Tower of Gray. Magician's Red has a bird head, but is otherwise mostly humanoid. Tower of Gray is a giant beetle. Beyond just the vines of Hermit Purple, Tower of Gray expands the aesthetic of Stands to encompass things that are not remotely human. Its speed also exceeds that of Star Platinum, creating a new sense of power balance whereby Jotaro does not (yet) have the fastest Stand. I misremembered Stardust Crusaders as giving most fights to Jotaro, but Kakyoin is actually the one who defeats the Tower.

Silver Chariot. Not yet a hero as of the end of this volume, but will become on shortly. Like Tower, Polnareff's Stand also has insane speed. But the only fight is against Avdol, so we can't quite see how Chariot fares against Star. In another example of my faulty memory of this Part, I thought Silver Chariot's power was just "has a sword and is fast," but apparently it also has a power like a prototype of The Hand, where it can cleave a "gap" in the air, as when it carves Red's fire up. Its armor can also be removed, meaning Stands follow more real-world logic than we might have previously thought; if a Stand is an expression of a person's will, it's easy to assume each Stand is "whole" as we see it, but Chariot challenges that idea.

****

The modernized depiction of Star Platinum on the back of the volume just looks cursed.... But, also, the more I look at it, the more I accept it.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I loved Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency--ESPECIALLY Battle Tendency, I think this segment is shaping up to me my favorite part of the series. Certainly, the anime was my favorite. Having a blast reliving the adventure, and can't wait for the rest of the books to come out :)

[Damián · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante el comienzo de esta tercera saga. Incluye varios nuevos elementos (y quizá peca de meter mucha información junta), pero me copa la estructura nakama a lo One Piece (viaje en barco incluido). Jotaro es un buen protagonista.

[Tropo Alegro · Rating 4 out of 5]

El viaje iniciático por excelencia del shonen manga.

[Sam Scholer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure part 3: Stardust Crusaders by Hirohiko Araki is an extremely enjoyable read that is a fantastic addition to the series as a whole. Upon learning of the rebirth of Dio, the mortal enemy of their bloodline, Jotaro Kujoh and Joseph Joestar race to his location in Egypt to defeat him once and for all, before Jotaro’s mom is killed by a curse triggered by Dio’s awakening.
This has to be one of my favorite books: Araki has a completely unique writing style that could only be described as planned nonsense; while there are some incredibly well written portions of the book, sometimes there are instances where he gives a character a special ability, only to barely ever use it. Even this, however, makes sense, considering the bizarre nature of the story.
Additionally, Araki’s writing perfectly engages the reader; a great example of this is how he writes in the minor villains. Although the reader knows that they are going to lose, the villain stands are given interesting, niche abilities that make for a battle which always keeps you on your toes. The stand users themselves are also written to be just the right amount of unlikable; they are evil enough for you to see them be defeated, but not so annoying that their presence is unbearable.
Although I don’t think Araki had many goals when writing this book (other than continuing an already popular series), the goals he did have were fulfilled, and then some; Stardust Crusaders introduces the idea of stands, a physical manifestation of a person’s fighting spirit, which is the focus of literally every part after it. Plus, the main character is Jotaro Kujoh, who would later become one of the most iconic characters in the franchise.
Despite how good the book is, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you know what you are getting yourself into: there is a decent amount of gore in the books, and some of the scenes are a bit… bizarre. They aren’t inappropriate in your traditional way; they are simply very odd, which makes for humor that is an acquired taste to say the least. However, for anyone who is willing to give it a try, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders is definitely worth looking into.
Speaking of which, the book is probably meant for people around the ages of 16-25. While Araki did succeed in reaching these audiences, he happened to draw in some younger fans as well; In fact, I’ve seen some as young as 12. With the amount of violence present in the book, the fact that literal children are reading it is pretty odd to me, but I digress.
Another thing I like about Jojos is how unique it is; after all, no other series ends up with a punchy ghost throwing a dog at a blind man. The concept of stands is pretty similar to the concept of a persona from the persona franchise (a manifestation of yourself that appears behind you), but other than that Jojos is in a genre of it’s own.
All and all, I think Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders was great: the art was fantastic and captivating, the characters were funny, and the villains were just the right amount of goofy for the setting they were in. As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of reading, this book is a masterpiece… in the most bizarre ways possible.

[Mark P · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2019 (I think) I watched the Jojo Anime Parts 1 to 5 before going on to read 6 all the way up to the latest chapters! It wasn't until Stardust Crusaders - especially it's second half - that I truly feel in love with this series (perhaps my favourite series of all time!).

As much as I enjoyed the anime of Part 6, I preferred the manga, so I always knew I would go back and check out the earlier parts in manga form, and recently bought all of Part 3 for myself as a birthday gift :D

Simply put, it's amazing. Araki's art style has changed so much since then, but I absolutely love how this looks. The artwork is truly insane, and only gets better as it continues. I love how Kakyoin, Jotaro and Dio look in this especially.

I am actually so glad I saw the anime first, as I feel like it was much easier (as someone who doesn't read THAT much manga) to get an understanding of how stand fights 'feel' - their rhythm, and what is meant by the stylish flourishes when things like 'VWOMMM' or 'ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!' are occurring.

Unlike Part 6, I feel like the anime and manga are almost equal, a true testament to how well the story was adapted to anime.

At the back of the books, Araki shares some retrospectives of his, one that stood out to me was how he feels the Oingo Boingo brothers, and the D'Arby brothers stand battles really took Jojo to another level. I 100% feel this too! They are the epitome of the best Jojo fights: conflicts relying on both willpower and wits, and outright hilarious too. The fight with the older D'Arby is masterful with it's twists an turns of who has the upper hand.

Also, Vanilla Ice's battle is extraordinary epic in the manga: the artwork is out of this world, and the tension as Polnareff and Iggy make there stand is incredible - even thought I knew the outcome. The final fight against Dio is absolutely amazing as well - the senator scene is the the most absurd black comedy.

Amazing.