Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part III: Stardust Crusaders, vol. 2

Stardust Crusaders Deluxe #2

by Hirohiko Araki, Pablo Tschopp (Translator)

Jotaro y los demás son atacados en un barco de camino a Singapur por un hombre que controla a Dark Blue Moon. Tras vencer en un duro enfrentamiento en alta mar, el barco es destruido y el grupo queda a la deriva... Pero tienen la fortuna de ser rescatados por un buque mercante. Aunque hay algo que no va bien... ¿Cuál será el Stand que la vieja Enya, aliada de Dio, les ha enviado?

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

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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 4 out of 5]

This volume covered the Dark Blue Moon arc to Yellow Temperance. We get to see Polnareff’s real personality and he is such a himbo. I think he has to be one of my all time favorite characters in the series. We also get the introduction of Anne. Which to be fair, I don’t really care for. I’ve always felt like Anne’s character really didn’t do anything for the plot. You could taken her out and everything would be the same.

Taking one star off because the whole orangutan thing was so uncomfortable to read. I want to erase it from my memory. Ararki, what was the reason?

I feel like in each part, the series really becomes more and more serious and a little darker. How graphic some of the panels are in the volume is evident of that.

We did see that iconic cherry scene with Kakyoin. Everything about it really makes me crack up, especially Jotaro’s face.

I love the shadow Dio scenes. Dio is already such a gorgeous character and the scenes Ararki draws is really hauntingly beautiful.

See you in volume three.

[maddie ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it took one (1) volume for stands to go from being a reflection of ur fighting spirit to a pedophile orangutang’s fighting spirit just being a big boat

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stardust Crusaders is so much fun! World hopping adventures, over-the-top humor, and ridiculous powers. This is my favorite Jojo story so far and it only gets better. Highlight in this volume was the Stand-using Orangutan.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I'm slowly changing my mind about Jotaro, I somehow forgot he was only 17, which makes him much funnier to me. So far part 3 is just some teenagers taking a terrible roadtrip with their funky grandfather. I still want more information about stands though. I do like how weird and fun they are though.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fight with Dark Blue Moon bores me, idk why. The “Strength” stand is always a little weird to read/re-watch because of what the orangutang does/tries to do, so seeing it get defeated is great. Polnareff’s 1v1 with Soul Sacrifice = 💯 bc that stand is creepy & reminds me of chucky! And, of course, Jotaro vs Yellow Temperance is always satisfying bc that stand user is unbelievably annoying.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

JJBA is an epic example of shonen manga, in that it’s characterized by high action, humorous foils, and is driven by male protagonists. In Part Three, we have the Stardust Crusaders: Jotaro, Joseph, Kakyoin, Avdol, and Polnareff.

What sets JJBA apart from other shonen manga is that at the introduction of every new arc, the author changes the main character. Just when you’re getting attached to one character and one scenario, he jumps ahead ~fifty years and changes everything. That’s quite a daring gamble to take, but I’m floored by how flawlessly he pulls it off every time. First Jonathan, then Joseph, now Jotaro, and currently five more after that, and you end up loving all of them. It’s like he doesn’t even have to try. No matter who he creates and how different they are, you’re going to root for them.

If I had to say there’s one downside to this arc, it’s Polnareff. I hate him, but I love hating him, so it’s okay. Stupid Polnareff.

So in the last volume, we had an air battle, and in this volume, we jump into extreme sea battles, mostly featuring Jotaro. If you ever think you know what’s coming in this series, you’re wrong. All you can predict is that it’s going to be unpredictable.

[Nora Suntken · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are going to be difficult for me to ~not~ give them five stars. This section was genuinely funny and exciting to read and I’d forgotten how much I loved some of the moments in Stardust Crusaders. Kakyoin and the cherry is a classic (and Polnareff’s hotel experience—no other character deals with as much shit as him). The little girl is such a random character but I love her relationship with Jojo. Solid volume right here.

[Connor Keir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jotaro was the real knockout in this edition. Defeating foes easily by himself. Love the cover art version of Joseph as well

[Miriam García · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMO A JOTARO

Mi Jojo favorito, cada volumen la historias se pone mejor. Eso es todo, sólo me queda una cosa que decir:

ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA

[Tessa Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why the ape look like that

[Rolando Marono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Increíblemente de un volumen a otro, la serie de Jojo cambia de tono radicalmente. Si bien la adición de los stands a los combates de Jojo le hizo bien a la serie para mantenerla fresca, y la actitud de Jotaro lo hizo resaltar entre Jonathan y Joseph, no prevenía que todavía vendría un cambio más en el tono de la serie: la violencia se eleva radicalmente hasta volverse gore a ratos.
Este tomo me gustó mucho porque por un lado tenemos a Jotaro enfrentándose contra dos stands muy diferentes, Polnareff se enfrenta a otros dos y la violencia escala exponencialmente. En este volumen tenemos desmembramientos, caras rebanadas, canibalismo, mutilaciones, etc. Todo ilustrado gráficamente. Hubo varios momentos que el arte y el tono que adopta el autor para mostrar cosas que son impactantes pero que parece que a los personajes de la serie se les hace normal, me recordó mucho al mangaka Junji Ito. Página tras página no podía más que asombrarme y maravillarme por la atrevida decisión que el maestro Araki tomó para su serie.
En el apartado narrativo tenemos un poco más de crecimiento en los personajes de soporte como lo son Kakyoin y Polnareff. También tenemos un buen momento entre Abdul y Polnareff en el que podemos ver cuáles son los motivos de Polnareff para estar con Jotaro y compañía. Los personajes de esta saga, son los más atractivos e interesantes a mí parecer, si bien Speedwagon de Phantom Blood y Caesar Zepelli de Battle Tendency me gustaban mucho, Jotaro y Polnareff, además de la presencia de Joseph de viejo se me hacen los más interesantes.
Entiendo que Stardust Crusaders es una de las series más largas de Jojos, pero no me imagino cómo se podría alargar tanto, en cada uno de estos tomos dobles se enfrentan a varios Stand y se van acercando a Dio de manera rápida.
Si bien algo que no hemos visto y creo que es crucial para el desarrollo de la trama en los siguientes tomos es que Jotaro entrene en el uso del stand. Nos queda claro que por ser un Joestar tiene el talento y las habilidades para controlar el Hammon y en este caso el stand, pero tanto Jonathan como Joseph tuvieron que entrenar con un maestro para adquirir el potencial de sus habilidades. No sé si ya vimos al maestro de Jotaro en estos tomos, pero la figura de Joseph podría funcionar como un parte de la trama más que como un recurso narrativo de nostalgia.

[Brigid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stardust Crusaders encounter their fair share of Stand users in this exciting and action-packed manga volume. Old Joseph, Jotaro, Avdol, and Kakyoin are joined by Jean Pierre Polnareff, who begins his encounters with the group in a duel against Avdol. In the great Joestar tradition, a one-time adversary quickly becomes dispatched, neutralized, and transformed into a trusted ally. Say what you want about the cursed luck entangling the Joestar family with Dio Brando, to be a Joestar is to possess friend-making ability only rivaled by the famous one tough creampuff, Kirby.

The Joestar Friendship Power does not extend to every Stand user, however, and the men must battle with a Stand user posing as a ship’s captain, an orangutan Stand user, and even a Stand user that can attack by remotely possessing a creepy doll. In regards to Devo the Cursed with the possessed doll Stand ability, Polnareff gets the funniest line of this volume (which can easily be applied to most Stand antagonists faced throughout this entire manga series!): “Oh man…this guy…has got problems!” Jotaro gets plenty of humorous moments to shine too—most particularly with the Stand user who acts as the Impostor Captain Tennille. After the Impostor Captain knocks Jotaro’s cigarette out of his mouth and chastises him for smoking on the ship’s deck, Jotaro returns with, “All you had to do is tell me and I’d have put it out…Quit acting like such a big shot, bastard!”

I am always a fan of the character information boxes provided by the author, which includes statistics of various Joestars and their allies. For Jotaro, readers can learn that his favorite color is “Anything you can see through,” and hobbies include “Looking at books about airplanes and boats.” For Kakyoin, readers are provided with some important information about his family (perhaps too important to disclose in a supplemental information box!): “Both parents alive, but this trip to Egypt is without their knowledge, so they’re very worried about him, thinking he’s run away from home.” I rate this volume as four-out-of-five-stars and look forward to the next volume.

[Alex Richey · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mismatch of expectations made this a bit troublesome to enjoy. The gruesome body horror has been cranked up to 11 in some places, and while I can certainly handle that sort of thing, I didn't see any of that in Part 2, so I wasn't prepared for it. I'm also a bit bummed at how much the author seems to like this Jojo so much more than in the past, because Jotaro has hardly any personality--he is a solitary tough guy and that's about it. I miss Joseph.

[Damián · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy fan. Me copa que el protagonismo se divida entre varios personajes.

[Grace Arango · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is full of WTF moments lol

[Gigi Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

polnareff finally serving proper bimbo representation we love to see it

[Maija McElroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hirohiko Araki’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 3 Stardust Crusaders vol. 2 is an action and supernatural manga set in Singapore of 1989 with its original Japanese publication being 1989 and its English publication being 2017. The volume continues and follows a larger overarching story of a delinquent teenager by the name of Jotaro Kujo, his prideful grandfather Joseph Joestar, a respectful classmate Noriaki Kakyoin, and two other friends, being the all knowing Mohammed Avdol and the mostly unserious Jean Pierre Polnareff on a journey against time from Japan to Egypt to track down and defeat Jotaro’s evil vampire great-great-uncle, Dio, who set a curse on his mother, before she succumbs to her condition. The team makes their way through Singapore’s waters to the mainland alongside a stowaway who claims she’s traveling to see her father. They encounter and must defeat Dio’s minions who all have their own supernatural powers called Stands which are controlled by the mind. Jotaro and his friends must counter these enemies with their own Stands and figure out as much information about Dio’s specific location and powers as possible before moving onto the next countries on the way to Egypt. The series explores themes of grief, survival, and perseverance as the group has to constantly fight their way to Dio, never catching a break from new enemies.
The volume was fast paced and action packed, picking up after a cliffhanger and having 4 main enemies across the ocean and land of Singapore. I liked how many new possibilities were introduced and explored when it comes to the seemingly limitless abilities of Stands and there were many suspenseful moments thrown into the mix while fighting them. While Araki’s storytelling abilities are incredible, in my opinion this specific volume seemed to be more focused on fighting rather than world or character-building. However, that’s how it can be when picking out one volume of part of a story told across 10. While I may prefer the deeper moments in the series, the action is necessary to the plot and still made quite enjoyable by how stylized and artistic the series is. The art was very strong throughout the volume, as per usual. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Araki’s artstyle overall is very unique and eye-catching, packing as much detail as possible into each panel. Araki’s work easily conveys his passion for his story and the experience wouldn’t be the same if Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was drawn in a different style. Stardust Crusaders Vol. 2 is a very strong volume throughout Part 3 and I think is definitely worth reading up to across the first 2 Parts.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 quick stand battles. They’re a nice blend of comedy and suspense. Araki has a lot of hilarious dialogue, unusual characters and scenarios, but always makes sure to include moments of extreme danger as well. The heroes’ personalities are distinct, likable, and consistent and create an evergreen appeal.

The art is good. A distinctive, expressive style, despite its flaws.

SPOILER

First up the captain of a ship with a sea stand. This one was perfunctory, most notable for Jotaro’s jokes.

Then they are rescued by another ship. There is a little horror/suspense sequence as they are hunted on the seemingly empty ship, the only living occupant a creepy caged orangutan who smokes and reads playboy. He turns out to be the stand user and is defeated by Jotaro using a button.

Then, in a Singapore hotel, Polnareff battles for his life against a creepy voodoo doll who taunts him like Chucky. Polnareff is always good for a laugh. He wins with a mirror after almost being electrocuted by the little bastard who doused him with liquids from the mini-fridge.

Lastly, Jotaro faces off against a shape-shifter who impersonates Kakyoin and does the weird cherry thing that became a meme. He also almost kills a thief who attempts to rob him as he is enjoying coconut water and eats a beetle. The fight itself isn’t that interesting.

All these fights are pretty simple but still entertaining. Later battles are much more complex and clever.

One thing I liked was how in battles 3 and 4, the other heroes figure out what is going on, but they don’t come to the rescue. Instead, Polnareff and then Jotaro are left to fend for themselves. The main beneficiary of the knowledge is the reader, not the targets. In fact all 4 of these fights are basically solo battles.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bizarreness is still in full force but this volume sees us take a trip into more of the horror genre with body horror, ‘ghost ships’ and lots of bloody violence.
The group’s trip from Japan to Egypt continues and we get to see a little bit of Singapore in this volume before they continue the journey on to India where they will no doubt encounter more Stand users along the way. This is where it can get a little repetitive. It seems to be defeat a Stand user, get to a new location or mode of transport and instantly get attacked by another Stand user. It’d be nice to take a little breather and get to know more about the characters, give them time to interact more with each other and get some proper relationships going. At the moment everyone seems to be taken at face value and instantly accepted, their motivations are not properly explored. There are some potentially great and different characters with Jotaro, Joseph, Kakyoin, Avdol, and Polnareff and it would be great to get a bit more out of them instead of the constant reliance on action and fights (yes I know I’m reading Shonen Manga).
Despite what I have said Part 3 is not bad. The story is pretty good and I like the concept of a group of mismatched characters traveling the world using every possible means of transport fighting evil along the way. It’s got a very ‘Lord of the Rings’ meets ‘Around the World in Eight Days’ written by HP Lovecraft vibe about it all. I just think it feels a little repetitive at the moment. Part 3 is ten volumes long so we have plenty of time for the story to grow and evolve so who knows where we will end up.

2022 Goals – #MangaMonday wk25

[jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say about this volume other than that it's simply CLASSIC Stardust shenanigans, and there is literally nothing better than that on the planet. While last volume was dedicated to fleshing out the supporting cast a bit, this volume begins Jotaro's spiritual journey of just simply punching his way through any stand no matter how insane it is, with TWO star finger dubs, and Polnareff's classic bit of leaving the gang for 5 seconds only to be immediately ambushed by an enemy stand user.

Also, I really appreciate the cutaway monologues from Dio even more now after part 6 - it really recontextualizes the entire plot from that part in a way that makes me appreciate my sexy vampire man in a whole new way. However, this volume also gives us that random stowaway child that is an entirely useless addition to the story and a pedo orangutan that gets horny for her, and for THAT, it absolutely has to lose a star.

Quote of the Volume:

"Rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero rero - oop!"

- Yellow Temperance, doing an absolutely spot on Kakyoin impression

[Lksreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun volume, but not much else. The plot already slows tremendously and falls into the monster-of-the-week elements. There’s a handful of Stand fights that compose this volume, which definitely expands on the Stands conceptually. They’re nuts and really can be or can do anything; Araki loves being the most creative, “bizarre” guy in the room. As I said, it’s fun.

In terms of everything else, not much to say. There’s not a lot of characterization happening (besides Jojo rippin’ cigs constantly (so based🗿)). Big fan of Jotaro constantly looking at everybody and everything like this 🤨 dudes so angry for what lol. No real themes developing or change of direction in the story to find Dio. And that’s okay! I’m down for some violence for the sake of violence and showcasing the infinitude of the Stand’s capabilities. There were a few good jokes around the way too, and I think the Jojo brand of humor is growing on me. Polnareff had me cackling.

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

- love me some international baddies
- i'll admit that unlike some mangas I've read, there's no chance to mix and confuse characters here, was each character has a unique look and design.
- that orangutan part creeped me out.
- the non-stop action is overwhleming.
- there's something wrong with the proportions. the girl isn't that young to be this small sized or just jojo and his gang are not normal sized.
- the level of gory details is intense in ths part
- chucky, is that you?
- i apperciate the author's note at the end that showcases how he got to stand abilities from the hamon abilities

[Jessica Quino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this volume contains my least favorite part of the series(Strength), it also contains my favorite Jotaro moment. Where he tricks the Captain into revealing himself as the stand user.

Yellow Temprence is also a really good arc. It contains one of the most bizarre and iconic and disturbing moments of the part. Jotaro is also great at being Jotaro, the akward and stoic character that he is.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enemy stands get weirder, the crew suffers a loss, random little girl shows up and is mostly unremarked upon.

Jotaro continues to be a jerk fawning over how he's really a sweet boy.

The stands are less connected to the meanings of their cards. I wonder if that's going to be the way it is going forward.

[Des Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid volume of this super fun series. Mostly its a showcase of various stand ideas, all of which are pretty entertaining, with solid fights pertaining to each. Not much of an emotional core here, mostly a bunch of rad stuff happening without a huge amount of story progress or character development. Still a lot of fun to read, and Araki's action is great.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly a review of this volume but: I really love the concept of stands. In most Shonen the protag and antag fight each other with swords or fists and the battle is drawn out because they have the same strength/ability, etc. In JoJo some stands seem way more powerful than those of the protags, so they have to use strategy to defeat their opponent, which makes for an interesting read.

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polarneff reveals his past and his quest to avenge his sister. On the voyage, Jotaro tricks the stand user to reveal himself. An orangutan stand user, whom Jotaro defeats what other stand users are there left to defeat? The doll from hell is after Polnareff, which he defeats. Kakyoin gets possessed by Yellow Temperance, thankfully Jotaro's two steps ahead defeats him in the end,

[India♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the actual hell did I just read! Polnareff is my favorite Stardust Crusader so I was definitely worried for him during his fight with Soul Sacrifice. I really could have done without that weird pedophilic ape storyline! That and the barnacles on Star Platinum made me want peel my skin off just like Petunia from Happy Tree Friends. I wonder what that little girls name is.

[Goober Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justified animal abuse

Anyways really fun volume. It’s weird seeing how simple stand abilities were. A ton of fights in part 3 that are done with really quickly. Although the fights here are a bit less interesting than what comes in future parts, but they’re short and sweet. Had a big dumb grin on my face the whole time I was reading.
I really love Jotaro :)

[Abeer Albossany · Rating 3 out of 5]

We started the volume by Polnareff joining the group and finished by discovering that Kakyoin was a traitor all along, or was not he? That what you will enjoy reading at the last two chapters. Rubber Soul against Jotaro is one of the best chapters of the series and the whole cherry thing XD.