Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Stardust Crusaders) Vol. 15 by Hirohiko Araki
Note: The following review contains SPOILERS for previous volumes in the Stardust Crusaders manga.
At last, the Joestars and their allies have managed to beat all of DIO’s important lackies, at great cost, meaning that it’s time to take the battle to DIO himself. And they’re running out of time, because when the sun sets, their greatest weapon against the most powerful vampire will be gone!
But first, Joseph, Jotaro and Kakyoin encounter an ordinary vampire nicknamed “Loser.” He’s no match for our powered-up heroes, and is forced to guide them to his master’s chamber. Meanwhile, Polnareff encounters DIO himself, but is unable to close for combat. Each time he tries to climb the stairs, Polnareff finds himself further down the staircase!
The other heroes arrive, and DIO retreats to his chamber. But when Loser is forced to open DIO’s coffin–Loser is the one inside the coffin! This must, somehow, be the power of DIO’s Stand, The World. As the sun sets, the heroes are forced to retreat because they have no idea what The World actually is. With the coming of night, DIO has no more fears, and a chase begins through the streets of Cairo.
When this translation was published in 2010, the “Stardust Crusaders” storyline was the only part of the Jojo manga that had been animated, so the earlier stories were skipped as not likely to sell. A couple of pages of explanatory material were included in each volume for readers who might be a little lost.
And indeed, this is the point where the series really started to take off with the fans, at least partially due to the introduction of Stands, which were kind of like personified psychic powers, except when they were not. Most of the Stands in this part are named after the Major Arcana of the Tarot, with a subset named after Egyptian gods once our heroes arrived in Egypt.
This volume ratchets up the tension as DIO finally, finally steps out of the shadows after fourteen volumes of sending minions after the Joestar family. He quickly demonstrates why he was in charge, and how fearsome a foe he truly is. Two of the heroes have fallen, and another one is about to bite the dust.
There’s a bit of dark comic relief with Loser, and with United States Senator Wilson Phillips, who DIO commandeers as an expendable driver. (DIO has not bothered learning to drive since waking up in the Twentieth Century.) While Senator Phillips’ affiliation is not specified, his reaction to taxes is to pay them, so I’m going to pencil him in as a Democrat.
The volume ends with a faceoff between DIO and Jotaro Kujo. Will Jotaro’s Platinum Star Stand even stand a chance against DIO’s master vampire abilities and The World? This and the following volume are first-class shounen battle manga, so highly recommended!
Content note: violence, gore, a cat is killed.
Here’s the animated version of one of the fights from this volume:
