JoJo Bizarre Adventure: where do I even begin when it comes to this series? Across nearly 40 years of writing Hirikio Araki still remains a prominent figure in manga history and is still working with just as many passions as he's always had. And given the hellish working conditions of most mangka this is by far an achievement in of itself. Despite the series having so many inconsistencies and messy plotlines something that has always drawn me to the series was definitely Araki's ability to just be different from your average series. Time again and time again we've seen this series go from one vastly different protagonist to the next, kill off side characters in the most brutal of ways and be the birth of practically every meme I can think of. And yet despite the onset of the anime and the fandom being relatively accepting and well obnoxious at times Part 6 of this long running anthology has garnered immense division between the fandom for being conceptually different than the average ending to a story over 100 years in the making.
So with Stone Ocean still not having a confirmed anime release any time soon I decided to read all 158 chapters of the controversial part and give it a fair shake in this review before moving on to part 7. So step back and relax as I explain why Stone Ocean is an underrated gem of a part in a spoiler free review.
Story
In late 2011 we turn our attention to the "great" state of Florida where we look into Jolyne Kujo: daughter of the legendary Jotaro Kujo. Through a combination of outside events beyond her control, Jolyne is wrongfully sentenced to 15 years into the hellish Floridian correctional facility called green dolphin street prison. While this all seems random, it was actually an elaborate plan staged by Dio's holy boyfriend Enrico Pucci who seeks to use the young girl as a way to lure Jotaro to fulfill his lover's master plan. But this manipulation proved to be more trouble than anyone bargained for as through Jotaro's connections Jolyne managed to awaken her stand stone free!
And with this new power Jolyne decides to escape this stone ocean of a prison while at the same time accepting her lineage to stop Pucci's plans, whatever they may be! And trust me when I say this will be the most bizarre of adventures as history repeats itself in a rather universal scope.
Cast
Much like Part 5 Stone Ocean has a "diverse" cast. I never thought that I would root for a nymphomaniac, exhibionistic jailbird, her foul mouthed friend, an 11 year old prodigy that has been in the prison for 11 years, a sentient plankton colony, an amnesiac inmate and a murdering romantic fighting against a bunch of Flordian (or demonic your choice) prisoners controlled by a black priest but I did.
Jolyne is easily the best example of this since I personally find her to be the most underrated Jojo of them all. It's a very refreshing change of pace to have a main female protagonist in a shonen and even more so to have one as badass Jolyne with the best character arc so far. Because Jotaro never played an important part in her life Jolyne grew up to be a spiteful delinquent who pretty much was a side character in her own life in an attempt to gain love from others. However upon accepting her destiny and engaging in numerous life and death battles Jolyne evolves into a mature beautiful woman with inspiring determination. Through these fights Jolyne becomes a violent underdog who takes crap from no one, much like her father while still retaining her outspoken and righteous nature. She knows what it is like to get crapped on by the world and so manages to have strong empathy for her character. This is best shown through her stand ability Stone Free. It is a perfect reference to a Jimi Hendrix's song of the same name as both people wanted to be free from the backlash the world gave them. The stand ability also works with this message as Jolyne starts off a string of people's destiny until she decides to clump all of her potential into a powerful stand that can take on many shapes through said strings.
This is also a breath of fresh air since combine all of that with how she had to independently grow her stand in only a few months in comparison ( to other main jojo stands) limited stand and Jolyne's developments and fights become all the more pulse pounding and consistent. Jolyne begins the narrative trapped in the prison by someone else's control but she manages to thrive on her own terms.
My second favorite character is Foo Fighters: a former enemy turned friend of Jolyne. Despite their existence as a colony of supernatural plankton she becomes one of the most human characters in the series. Due to their unique existence F.F. is ridiculously curious of the world around them and also cherishes every new memory with her new friends. Heck she even becomes one of the most loyal and selfless companions in all of Jojo. Everyone else in the main cast though is alright by comparison though. Ermes is a fun foul mouthed Jobro, Emporio is a smart but flighty kid who learns true bravery and Anasai is a cold blooded killer who falls in with Jolyne's courage and is constantly inspired by her. Finally there is Weather Report, a mysterious character with a very strong late game connection to Pucci.
Speaking of the daddy, let's get to him. Pucci to me so far is my 2nd favorite villain (Kira is still 1st by a country mile). Pucci is strong enough to remain a constant threat but is human enough to still make mistakes. Combined with Pucci's utter resourcefulness and it makes every battle he has with the main heroes pulse pounding. Also like Kira I do like how Pucci could be considered one of the more complex villains. His machinations are the only where I can at least argue as being somewhat moral and I do like how he does show mercy and tries to be a shining light to people who have had bad fates. He is by far the most tragic one out of all the villains. Outside of these guys though I will admit that there were no other notable characters in this part as like Stardust most of the minor villains were mind controlled slaves with barely any real interesting personalities.
Presentation
This is my first time I've really gotten used to Araki's art style and I have to give the man praise for being able to change up his art style so much. Compared to Golden Wind Stone Ocean is where I really felt like Araki's art was going somewhere great. Jojo's is a series that could only be seen through color and this part shows that off so well. The colors really do pop and the characters have a lot more curved and soft look to everything compared to previous arcs. The various colors and framing makes fights extra intense. Stand fights are just as over the top as ever but now feature more direct hand to hand combat and unique solutions to equally unique problems.
Overview
Much like the previous parts, Stone Ocean completely flips the script into a prison break story. Green Dolphin Street Prison for all intent and purposes isn't a bad location. While some people think it's boring, the setting goes out of it's way to fully explore it's new location with only Morioh beating how in-depth it is. One fight could have Jolyne walking on the hellish bogs of Florida, another could be a race against time as she swings around the prison during lockdown. Which pretty much leads me into my next thing. A common complaint with Stone Ocean's villains is often the stance that the stands are well too weird. And I have to agree to disagree. As I said before the state of the prison makes it so Stone Ocean is the strangest part of them all, adding a level of unpredictability not seen in other parts. Our righteous inmates throughout the part have to deal with feng shui dragons, infinitely shrinking babies and memory manipulating bdsm stands which kind of works as unlike previous parts the inmates are not only mind controlled but they also are given stands in a unique way that gives them a level of disconnect.
Bearing all of that though I will admit that this Stone Ocean is mostly carried by it's themes, characters and battles. For better or worse the series is very much it's own story with barely any influence from previous jojo's taking the stage, leaving Jolyne and by extension Pucci to shine on their own. And while Dio does play a huge role in Stone Ocean I find these plans to be somewhat inconsistent compared to previous parts. Thus I choose to let all of Dio's leftovers be Pucci's strengths as he slowly gains more abilities. Speaking of that I will admit that Stonce Ocean despite its strengths is also paced weirdly. It remains a very slow build up throughout the first half of Stone Ocean but once that passes it quickly ramps up to the point where we don't really get to absorb a lot of info as we rush to the end. This can also slap the part with some of the worst fights in the franchise. I don't think these pace shifts are enough to ruin the part but it's food for thought since I think that's the main reason why we don't get as much of a close knit as previous parts. Overall though Stone Ocean's many strengths overcome these weaknesses.
Epilogue
Which leads us into easily the most controversial part of Stone Ocean, the ending. I won't reveal much, but I will say that it's bittersweet. For many some could see it as a disappointing ending to a century long story. An ending that makes all prior enjoyment meaningless. However I still think that it was nice that Araki could even give the series his own ending given the various criticisms he got from the fans. But for me I think the ending it shows off the best theme of the part. That through terrible adversity we can become our best selves as we see all of our characters evolve into their best selves. It's a story that discusses the coincidences of fate and how we fight against. And through the sacrifices of the ending we managed to get the best fate for our favorite family. Given current events though, I think we can all say that it's a very important message. I hope when Stone Ocean gets animated people will start to have their opinions change because while it's definitely not the best part for me, it was still a very enjoyable yet bizarre adventure across a story unlike any other.