Chapter 235. Shining Tiga
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The flow had changed.
Or rather, with no spoilers from the manga, the recent developments in "Stardust Crusaders" weighed on the audience like a mountain, suffocating them.
It's fair to say "Stardust Crusaders" was gripping, that characters like Jotaro had embedded themselves deeply in the viewers' hearts. So, seeing their beloved characters like Avdol, Iggy, Kakyoin, and Joseph… facing death one by one, felt unbearable. The deaths depicted in the opening (OP) scenes were happening in the storyline almost every day, verifying that the death foreseen in the OP was no joke.
The next target for Green Dolphin Studio? None other than Jotaro. The audience's sense of despair was immense!
With spoilers out, could the "Stardust Crusaders" plot really be changed? Could it be altered?
The audience didn't know. Some didn't even want to know.
This time was different from "Phantom Blood" and "Battle Tendency". DIO's vapor freezing technique and Kars' ultimate life form transformation had left viewers with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness at first as if these villains were unbeatable.
Yet DIO, even as a vampire, initially lost to Jonathan, who was still human and hadn't even learned Hamon. And the Pillar Men, who nearly exterminated ancient Hamon warriors, were no match for Joseph's human ingenuity.
These flickers of hope, carefully interwoven into the plot, assured the audience that DIO and Kars weren't invincible. Even if the viewers couldn't initially figure out how they'd be defeated, JOJOs with courage and human qualities would prevail!
But in Stardust Crusaders? DIO had returned after a hundred years with Stand powers—had he ever known defeat?
Regrettably, no…
When Kakyoin, Polnareff, or Avdol first encountered DIO, their only thought was to flee!
If they couldn't escape, DIO would control their fate.
This unparalleled terror, combined with Enya and N'Doul's self-sacrifices for DIO, gradually painted DIO as a savior of villains, backed by the power of [The World], a Stand worthy of such a title.
The combination of these elements fueled the viewers' despair, leaving them both curious yet unwilling to know what would happen next. They feared the outcome might be something they couldn't bear…
But now, things have changed!
When [Star Platinum] and Jotaro's earth-shaking "Ora Ora!" resounded in the OP, paired with his thunderous punch toward DIO, everyone could see it like a clap of thunder.
All of them!
The despair that had blanketed the audience seemed shattered by [Star Platinum]'s punch!
Though they hadn't yet seen how Jotaro would achieve it, this was the allure of "JoJo"—the courage to defy fate that didn't only arise in the JOJOs but also spread to their companions and even to the audience.
Yet...
"—[The World]!"
The gears of time suddenly stopped turning.
Under this immense power, even the viewers felt as though they were frozen by the altered OP's intensity.
In the post-OP storyline, time is stopped by DIO's hand.
"So, the Joestar bloodline is finally at its end, by my hand."
It was as if DIO was mocking the audience, leisurely walking up to the immobilized Jotaro, mirroring the OP's poses and actions, shattering any hope that Jotaro in the plot could do what Jotaro in the OP did.
DIO raised his hand to strike Jotaro, sneering, "You, my destined enemy, farewell…!"
[The World] was unbeatable!
Even if Jotaro knew its abilities, it didn't matter.
If Jotaro was within [The World]'s range, nothing he tried could withstand its power!
...That's how it was supposed to be!
"Wh-What? He moved! How could it be!? His finger just moved!?"
DIO's triumphant smile shifted to disbelief. He quickly stepped back, moving away from Jotaro.
DIO's panicked tone conveyed his disbelief:
This was impossible! How could this be?!
"Could it be... the same!?"
"[The World] and [Star Platinum]—they're the same type of Stand... with the exact same ability?!"
Five seconds passed in the blink of an eye.
Just like the new frames Pucci and others added to the "Stardust Crusaders" OP, time resumed, color returned, and the world continued.
As the previously silent comments began to flood in, the screen was overwhelmed with the viewers' fiery responses, expressing their intense feelings.
If the OP changes gave them a thrill similar to seeing Kuuga before Daguva or Tiga before Gatanothor, then now, not only had the OP foreshadowed it, but the "Stardust Crusaders" plot had brought this scene to life!
Now, it felt like Ultimate Kuuga and Shining Tiga had truly come to life for the audience!