So I finished Golden Wind
Before anyone says it: Yes, that was fast. But I can explain!! I speedran this part bc 1. It really did grip me and I HAD to keep going, and 2. It was the only one I needed a VPN for, and I didn’t wanna risk anything in 2023 given Netflix is gonna crack down on password sharers and I didn’t wanna find out if VPN usage triggered it
Just like with Stardust Crusaders and Diamond is Unbreakable, I think I’m gonna write my first impressions on this part here too. I’ll see if anything changes in the future too since I do plan on watching these again w a friend
Also also, once again: this is my Twitter thread for my JJBA liveblog, of which Golden Wind starts here, just in case you want to see how this was in real time
That said, let’s go lads. Obviously spoilers ahead even tho I’ve never really warned for this
What I liked
Bruno
Like, I wanna say “Just kidding! The characters” but no, Bruno. Bruno was the main reason why I fell in love with this part and I am not going to even pretend it wasn’t. His character was absolutely fantastic–a combination of ruthless and violent with the loving heart and kindness to feel realistic when you know that he is just the light surrounding everyone he can touch trapped in his own darkness he put himself in. Bruno’s truly the heart of his group AND the actual protagonist and you know it, and though it’s only through Giorno that he gets to push out of that darkness, it’s because of HIM that everyone else even does anything
I cannot state just how much I loved watching him, and how hard I cried when he died, and how much it hurt me to watch him desperately continue to cling to life even when his body gave out. How much it fucked me up to see how everyone loved him and how much he loved everyone. Bruno was ready to lay his life down for his little family because he KNEW they’d have his back, and they did the same for him. Hell, even Mista jumped out of a FUCKING SEVENTH FLOOR WINDOW to keep him safe. Bruno is one of the best characters I’ve seen in this series, period. I am legitimately in awe. I think he is probably my favourite character, slightly above Caesar (I know, what blasphemy is this right)
Anyways, back to Mista nearly killing himself for Bruno. Which does take me to actually talking about the others!!
You know how much I’ve praised the relationships between the characters in previous parts? Golden Wind is the epitome of that, but I do feel like it cheated a bit to get there. Bucci gang already knew each other for YEARS, which does explain just why they got along together so perfectly, but I think that was a decision that was worth making. Everyone played off one another fantastically and they showed just how close together they were in really believable ways. You really did get the sense that these people hit rock bottom and only after finding each other (and Bruno) did they get to feel alive once again
They all cared for one another. Even Trish, when she became part of their team. And you truly do get the sense that Bruno was behind THAT change of heart–how his desire to protect her transfered to all, because if Bruno believes in something, then it is obviously just worth believing in
I loved all the protagonists a lot. Their closeness absolutely made the big emotional moments hit HARD
Giorno was also a fun character to watch. I like how idealistic and determined he is (courtesy of Jonathan) and how ruthless and calculating he is (courtesy of Dio). I have other opinions I will save for my second section, but I did like what he brought to the table. I think Gold Experience was a fun Stand but it did feel a bit like… malleable? In the bad sense. I’ll save that for later
I do like how his two halves of his personality collide though. He is never too sweet, and he is never too ruthless–until Diavolo but listen, Diavolo kind of deserved that for what he did to everyone. But yeah, Giorno’s not my favourite Jojo (that’s still Joseph despite it all) nor did I enjoy him as much as I did others like Josuke or Jotaro, but I think he performed his duties as a protagonist well, and he shines brightest when you think of him as unlocking the potential of those around him rather than leading the fight at all
Giorno’s okay. He’s not great nor is he bad, he’s just okay. His role as a character is serviceable and I liked his power painting him as kindhearted above it all
The last thing I want to touch upon is I liked the tone and pacing tbh. It really does feel like GW is the culmination of all of Araki’s victories and mistakes, getting the best out of everything and making something entirely new. Still with some fuckups here and there of course, but I think what’s going on here is pretty good. I did get a feeling that Golden Wind was a bit like Battle Tendency in the way it presented the plot being an actual fixed thing whose twists still made sense. “Overthrow the boss -> hand over his daughter Trish -> protect Trish” makes sense because each point builds on the last, and the main goal is never lost, only expanded upon
It really does feel like a far cry from Stardust Crusaders lmfao
Anyways…
What I didn’t like
I mostly feel like because Araki’s writing is so tight in this Part, it makes a lot of his stupid “because I said so” decisions stand out the worst. And I do think that both Abbacchio and Narancia’s deaths felt like that, even though they also both made sense in context
Abbacchio’s was like… so why did you leave him alone in the first place? You know you’re in danger, and yeah sure Narancia and Bruno are chasing a possible assassin, but I don’t get why you’d leave the man who cannot defend himself with his Stand while the Stand is in use ALONE when you have previously been attacked by multiple Stand Users in the past. For a gang of experienced fighters it definitely felt sloppy
In the end though I can accept Abbacchio’s death because he was dangerous for Diavolo, sure, but the circumstances behind why he died are still super idiotic to me and stand out amidst a season that was so full of tight writing choices
Narancia also was kind of sloppy? Again, “kill Narancia since his Aerosmith could track Diavolo” was a good reasoning, and once you know what’s going on “sike Diavolo is possessing Trish anway so this is more of a distraction” is better, but. I feel like Araki got sloppy because of This:
It’s okay to do this, hell that’s what happened to Caesar, but damn I thought we’d left obvious death flagging behind. The main reason it worked for Bruno is he came back and repossessed himself, ergo feeling more like a subversion
Anyways those are most of my complaints on the deaths. It was tight anyway, these are just minor “Hmm :/” moments I had
Another thing I didn’t quite like were the villains? They felt a little forgettable save for a few others, but I felt like there wasn’t a lot of focus on Risotto’s team for me to truly give a fuck, and then Diavolo’s henchmen felt a bit thrown in. I can’t put my finger on it but I didn’t really care much, and when you have such a strong team of protagonists, a sloppy team of antagonists feels a bit boring
Speaking of antagonists… Diavolo. Oh lord Diavolo
Two personalities feeling cheap aside, I didn’t really mind Diavolo and Doppio all that much. They were fun to watch. The problem lies in King Crimson, and the fact that he just… felt like Great Value Dio
I am so goddamn sick and tired of time-based villains. First Dio has The World, which fucked severely, but then Kira out of nowhere develops an ability to loop time, and THEN Diavolo can essentially stop time again. It got so egregious I joked about Polnareff having war flashbacks about Dio and how “we’re suddenly at the top of the stairs” felt like the Opposite of Pol’s experience with Dio. What the fuck separates Diavolo from Dio, here? The fact that he can see the future?
Then why wasn’t that his fucking ability
Why did he need to also STOP time? Why did he need to literally be able to do literally the same as Dio? Now that I think about King Crimson his ability does sort of make sense–it’s essentially foresight with being able to move quickly within the time he sees–but then why was it STILL time based? Why not just foresight? Jesus Christ
Also on that note, the Requiem Stands. Requiem Chariot is fine, it was even a fun puzzle to solve. Golden Experience Requiem though? What the fuck was that. What ARE his abilities? I feel like I just witnessed an ass-pull in real time. That and the fact that it felt too close to Jotaro suddenly also being able to stop time at the end of SC was like… eugh. Araki write LITERALLY any other final fight challenge
Aside from that… Giorno’s something I disliked too, sorry. He was Dio’s son!! Ok. What does that imply. It just comes up once and then gets forgotten about. What did Dio want, letting a woman and her child escape him like that? GW doesn’t seem interested at all in answering any of that. I feel like his connection to Dio was severely underutilized, even moreso his connection to the Joestars. I dunno. I like what I got from GW but I wanted more on this
Eh. Also, the violence wasn’t it for me. I don’t think it makes it BAD and it makes sense because they’re the mafia, but personally speaking? Too much
Oh and the fashion was too fucking weird
Also actually… Rolling Stone was uh. I liked that little story and its implications, but it. Definitely felt very out there. I’m not quite sure I like it right now, but maybe my thoughts will change
Final Thoughts
Part 5 is great! I liked it a whole lot, and despite my negative thoughts on it I still think this is one of the best parts there is. I quite enjoyed my time with it, and I loved what it did, and even though sure this is the part that gets a bit too ridiculous with Stands, fashion, and etc, it’s still encompassed by a lovely story of love, justice, and companionship
I don’t have much else to say beyond what I already said here. I am going to take a HUGE break before I move on to Stone Ocean, but I am quite excited to do so. I was most excited to get to Golden Wind out of everything thus far and I can safely say that my expectations were very much met, and I’m satisfied with what I got out of this
Arrivederci and see you next time for Stone Ocean!!