Monday 24 December 2018

Super Smash Bros DLC Pack Concept: Erdrick From The Dragon Quest Series

So…let’s talk about the Super Smash Bros Fighters Pass:

Everyone is looking forward to it (i definitely am) so i decided why not discuss what characters i think could potentially make it into Smash Bros. Now this is mostly going to be from an objective view rather than favouritism - if i were to put my choices based on my favourites this would be a whole lot different. This are simply the characters i think are most likely to be in the fighters pass (there are four current slots available for DLC Characters so i will be making four blogs detailing my reasoning as to why i think they are going to be in as well as their potential moveset. For my first choice, i decided to go with a Square Enix representative that isn’t Chrono or Sora. Meet someone who you may not know but is definitely well known in Japan -it’s

Erdrick from Dragon Quest III

Now i know what you may be asking - why would Erdrick be in Smash Bros. Well i am going to break down my reasoning into several different reasons as to why i think that currently Erdrick is the most likely Square Enix Rep to make it into Smash Bros - starting with

Dragon Quest’s Popularity in Japan:

When it comes to America, the Dragon Quest franchise really isn’t that well known as say Square Enix’s other big franchise which is Final Fantasy but in Japan it’s a whole different story. Dragon Quest as a series had sold over 76 million copies combined worldwide which is very impressive but in Japan it has been described straight up as Japan’s National Game - the popularity of Dragon Quest even eclipses Final Fantasy in Japan (and that franchise is very popular in Japan). This does matter as Sakurai/Nintendo will likely want to appeal to as wide a demographic as possible with these DLC characters and considering how big of an audience the Japanese Gaming Market is - having a character representing Japan’s National Game would bring in all the money for Nintendo despite the series not being as popular in countries outside of Japan.

Dragon Quest’s Relationship with Nintendo

While significant relation to Nintendo isn’t a massive factor - i mean look at Cloud and Joker if you want but it definitely does matter in the large scheme of things. While Dragon Quest definitely has been on other consoles besides Nintendo Systems - it first made it’s home on Nintendo with the first Dragon Quest game on the Nintendo Entertainment System and they have been releasing DQ Games for the Nintendo System ever since with many being exclusives. As you can see - Nintendo have a very long history with Dragon Quest - maybe even more than Final Fantasy. As such i think it would make complete sense for Square Enix’s second rep to be a Dragon Quest character.

The Rumours

While this isn’t concrete because i mean Smash Leakers are inconsistent at best when it comes to leaking information but anyway there have been many rumours of the DLC Characters and one in particular was Erdrick. A week or so ago there was a rumour that Persona 5 would be getting a special edition as well as Persona 5 Arena being in development by Arc System Works but it wasn’t just those two details - the rumour stated that Erdrick from the Dragon Quest Series would be one of the DLC Fighters. Now this could very easily be false since a lot of rumours are well false but at the same time - Vergen who leaked a lot of the Smash Ultimate Roster - backed this up and is definitely leaning towards Erdrick being the second Square Enix Representative in Smash Bros.

Factors Going Against Dragon Quest Representation in Smash Bros

So in terms of rumors and other matters - there is certainly quite a bit of favour of a Dragon Quest rep in Smash Bros. Though at the same time - there is one potential problem that i should go over - there has been a significant problem when it comes to Dragon Quest and it’s main composer Koichi Sugiyama can be rather problematic when it comes to Dragon Quest Music being used outside of the franchise but at the same time - this is ultimately Square Enix’s call and despite Koichi being well problematic i don’t think that should affect the changes of a Dragon Quest character being in Smash that much.

Why Erdrick?

Though in regards to Dragon Quest - why Erdrick in particular - wouldn’t Slime make more sense as a representative of Dragon Quest since he is the series mascot after all. Well first of all - out of all the Dragon Quest Games - the most iconic and most well regarded Dragon Quest game by Japanese Fans is easily Dragon Quest 3 - It skyrocketed the popularity of the series in Japan and as such Erdrick is by far the most easily recognisable protagonist in the Dragon Quest Series and like Cloud it would make sense to represent the most well known Dragon Quest character into Smash Bros besides the series mascot of course. Another reason why i think they may choose Erdrick and this one is just a theory of mine also MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF DRAGON QUEST 11. The ending of Dragon Quest 11 heavily references Dragon Quest 3 and even has a cutscene of Erdrick in bed waking up which is the beginning of Dragon Quest 3. This makes me think that Square Enix purposefully put that there to tease the possibility of a Dragon Quest 3 remake - possibly using DQ11 Assets and coming out in the Switch. It would make sense to have Erdrick in Smash to coincide with the announcement of a Dragon Quest 3 Remake. So yeah these are my reasons why i think out of the Dragon Quest Cast - Erdrick is the most likely to make it in. Now i have explained why i think Erdrick could very well happen in Smash Bros - now i am going to go over what his design as well as moveset could be in the new Smash Bros.

Erdrick:

Appearance:

Erdrick has had many different looks over the years.

From his Classic Design:

To his SNES Remake Design

To his more recent design:

And his novel design:

In terms of designs, i think they are going to go with his classic NES Design and it will likely be the younger version rather than the older one (though i could very easily be wrong on that front). In terms of the SNES Colours i could very much them being an alternate colour for Erdrick. As for the more armoured look - i think i am going to incorporate it in a different way which i will explain later so overall i think if Erdrick does get into Smash Bros it’s going to be his classic kidish design rather than the more adult version - i could be wrong in my assessment though. I also sadly think there is likely not going to be a female Erdrick Alt if they are going with the NES Design.

Speaking of designs - let’s talk:

Alternate Colours:

Alternate Colours 1 - SNES Colour Design with the Dark Blue Shirt, Yellow Trousers and Purple Cape. Armoured Erdrick also has Light Blue Coloured Armour

Alternate Colours 2 - Colour Design based on the Dragon Quest 1 Hero with a red outfit with gold. Armoured Erdrick has Black Coloured Armour

Alternate Colours 3 - Colour Design based on the Dragon Quest 2 Hero Dark Blue with some gold. Armoured Erdrick as a Dark Blue Coloured Armour

Alternate Colours 4 - Colour Design based on the Dragon Quest 4 Hero. Dark Green with some white. Armoured Erdrick gets a Dark Green Coloured Armour.

Alternate Colours 5 - Colour Design based on the Dragon Quest 5 Hero. Purple with some white. Armoured Erdrick gets a White Coloured Armour.

Alternate Colours 6 - Colour Design based on the Dragon Quest 8 Hero. Yellow with some blue. Armoured Erdrick get a Yellow Coloured Armour

Alternate Colours 7 - Colour Design based on the Dragon Quest 9 Hero. Brown with some pink. Armoured Erdrick get a Brown Coloured Armour

Alternate Colours 8 - Colour Design based on Dragon Quest 11 Hero. Dark Purple with some black. Armoured Erdrick ges a Dark Purple Coloured Armour

These are the Alternate Colours i think would fit the most. I am pretty sure if Erdrick get into the game he will have his SNES Colours as an alternate costume.

Anyway with the appearance out of the way - let’s get to the main course - how is Erdrick going to play and what his moveset will be.

How Erdrick would most likely play in Smash Bros

Keep in mind - i am far from a competitive Smash Player though i have been playing lots of online Smash lately. Anyway - i am not sure how competitively viable the attributes and moveset i am giving to Erdrick will be - i just decided to make it based on the character and what i think would fit him best if he ever ends up in Smash Bros. So let’s start off with main attributes

Main Attributes

These are the main strengths and weaknesses of Erdrick as a character:

Advantages:

Good All-Round fighter, for the most part he is very easy to pick up and play
Has good (not great) combo potential
Lack of Landing Lag on most of his moves
Most of his moves come out quickly
Good Recovery
Has a tether which allows you to get onto the stage easier

Disadvantages:

Walk and Run Speed is not fast
Is a fairly light character (comparison would be Toon Link) and thus get’s KOs quite as easily Recovery can easily be punished at the end of the move
A lot of his moves lack damage especially at lower levels
Tether grab comes out rather slow and can be easily exploited
In order to get the best out of him you need to level him up

These are the main strengths and weaknesses for Erdrick as a playable fighter in Smash Bros. As for his Main Gimmick.

Main Gimmick:

In terms of his main mechanic/gimmick. It would be the leveling up system.

Level Up:

This is Erdrick’s main mechanic gimmick that makes him different from every other character. Level Up is a mechanic that allows Erdrick to progress through five different levels - these levels will drastically increase the damage and priority of his normal,smash and special attacks. Level Up can be achieved through two ways. The first is fighting normally - there is a bar near Erdrick’s profile image that will fill up while the user is fighting. Once that bar is full - Erdrick levels up.When Erdrick at certain levels his outfit will change like Lucario’s Final Smash in Smash 4. First he equips the Iron Armour when he is at Level 30 then his Classic Armor when he is at max level (Level 50).This will change the properties and damage of his moves in a significant manner - he walk/run speed and knock-back are also increased.

So i’ve talked about what his strengths/weaknesses are as well as his main gimmick so how would his moveset play out..well

Special Moves: Neutral Special - Frizz/Sizzle

.Erdrick fires a ball of fire from his finger that lands on the ground and creates a small blast of fire. Good range and spacing tool though it doesn’t hit multiple times but does significantly more damage . When Erdrick has leveled up - it’s Damage as well as knockback levels increase dramatically.When Erdrick is increased to maximum level it becomes Sizzle. This allows Erdrick to fire a massive fireball forward that hits multiple times and does significant knockback. Level 10 - 8% Level 20 - 9%, Level 30 - 10%,Level 40 - 14%, Level 50 - 19%

Side Special - Zap/Kazap

Erdrick summons multiple thunder bots from the sky. These thunderbolts aren’t that powerful but can be used to momentary trap the enemy player which can lead to potential combo starters. Is a fairly slow move in terms of start up but is good on block and can be used to prevent the opponent from getting onto the stage. When Erdrick becomes max leveled - this move turns into Kazap - this summons a singler - much greater lighting bolt which can be used to spike enemies and does significantly more knockback. Level 10 - 6% Level 20 - 8%, Level 30 - 10%,Level 40 - 12%, Level 50 - 14%.

Down Special - Level Up

This Down B works similar to Cloud’s limit as when using this move - Erdrick will make a pose and it allows the user to fill a bar till it levels up.. Currently it goes from Level 10 to 50 though you level up by 10 levels each time the bar is full. When you are KOed you only go back to your previous level.

Up Special - Zoom

This is Erdrick’s recovery move - Erdrick surrounds himself with green energy and then boosts himself upwards - works similar to Inklings recovery though like Ridley’s recovery it can be directed so if the player wants - he can direct it vertically or horizontally. It will damage an enemy if it comes into contact with it but not much. It is a good recovery overall though smart enough players could be able to punish it. Level 10 - 4% Level 20 -5%, Level 30 - 6%,Level 40 - 7%, Level 50 - 8%

Normal Moves:

Neutral Attack - Erdrick slashes at the enemy with his sword and then slashes them again before pushing them away with a blast of magic from Erdrick’s hand. This move can be canceled into other attacks. It’s Damage depends on what level Erdrick is at - Level 10 - 2% Level 20 - 2.5%, Level 30 - 3%,Level 40 - 4%, Level 50 - 5%

Dash Attack - Lighting appears on Erdrick’s sword and then he dashes forward (with a trail of lighting) before thrusting forward at the enemy. Good knockback and good start-up frame but weak damage and can be pushed at the ending part of the attack. The Tip of the sword does more damage. - Level 10 - 5% (Base), 7% Tip Level 20 - 6% (Base), 8% Tip, Level 30 - 8% (Base), 10% (Tip)%,Level 40 - 10% (Base), 12 % (Tip), Level 50 -12% (Base),14% (Tip)

Tilts:

Forward Tilt - Erdrick fires a blast of magic from his palm. Has slow start-up but has decently high amount of damage especially if you are high enough levelled. It can be used to knock foes a fair distance (as long as they have high enough damage) and is good at preventing foes who don’t block or air dodge from getting on the stage - Level 10 - 8% Level 20 - 9%, Level 30 - 10%,Level 40 - 12%, Level 50 - 14%

Up Tilt - Erdrick fires a blast of magic from his palm upwards. Good for juggling and decent KO potential at high percentages. - Level 10 - 5% Level 20 - 6%, Level 30 -7%,Level 40 - 9%, Level 50 - 11%

Down Tilt - Erdrick fires a blast of magic horizontally downwards. Has low ending lag and can make for a good combo move but has weak knockback and is not safe on shield. - Level 10 - 7% Level 20 - 8%, Level 30 - 9%,Level 40 - 10%, Level 50 - 11%

Smash Attacks:

Foward Smash - Lighting will appear on Erdrick’s sword and will slice twice - the second slice also produce a diagonal electric slash that will appear after the move is performed (as long as it’s not interrupted). The first swing does not do nearly as much damage as the second swing and has no knockback. It is one of his most reliable kill moves. It’s knockback and kill potential drastically increase when Erdrick has leveled up. - Level 10 - 12% Level 20 - 13%, Level 30 - 14%,Level 40 - 15%, Level 50 - 16%

Up Smash - Erdrick will use his Flail of Destruction in order to hit above him. It is similar to Simon Belmont’s Up Smash and like Simon Belmont’s Up Smash - it has a tipper mechanic meaning if you use the Up Smash at the enemy hits the top of the Fial of Destruction it does significantly more damage than the middle. It is extremely good at hitting enemies who are above you. - Level 10 - 9% Level 20 - 10%, Level 30 - 11%,Level 40 - 12%, Level 50 - 15%

Down Smash - Erdrick pulls out the Double Edged Sword and then does a downwards slash. It is an extremely powerful Smash attack - having a good amount of damage as well as knockback but has it has one main fault. When doing the down smash you will experience some recoil damage - this recoil damage depends on how long the down smash has been charging for but still. This is a significant downside that hampers the smash somewhat but is still very powerful - Level 10 - 9%, Level 20 - 10%, Level 30 - 11%, Level 40 - 13%, Level 50 - 15%

Aerials:

Neutral Aerial - Erdrick thrusts his sword forward - good starting up time and doesn’t have a lot of landing lag and is very good for spacing and damaging shields but does not that much damage. Level 10 - 6%, Level 20 - 7%, Level 30 - 8%, Level 40 - 9%, Level 50 - 10%

Forward Aerial - Erdrick pulls out the Divine Dagger and does a short ranged slice attack. Very low landing lag and rather quick but doesn’t do a lot of damage. Level 10 - 3%, Level 20 - 4%, Level 30 - 5%, Level 40 - 6%, Level 50 - 7%

Back Aerial - Erdrick pulls out an Iron Axe and does a horizontal slash attack. Has great knockback and damage but suffers from having a long start up time - Level 10 - 9%, Level 20 - 10%, Level 30 - 11%, Level 40 - 13%, Level 50 - 15%

Up Aerial - Erdrick performs an aerial slashing attack with his sword. This slashing attack is performed in an arc. A fairly good aerial with good landing lag and starting up time but suffers from mediocre damage. - Level 10 - 6% Level 20 - 7%, Level 30 - 9%,Level 40 - 10%, Level 50 - 12%

Grabs

Grab: Erdrick uses the Gringham Whip to grab the enemy from a distance and pull them it. It also works as a tether recovery

Pummel: Erdrick hits the opponent multiple times. Fairly fast but doesn’t do a whole lot of damage. They are still wrapped in the Gringham Whip. Level 10/50 - 1%

Forward Throw: Erdrick swings the enemy away with the Gringham Whip. A strong forward throw but not particularly fast. - Level 10 - 3% Level 20 - 4%, Level 30 - 5%,Level 40 - 6%, Level 50 - 7%

Back Throw: Using the Gringham Whip, Erdrick throws the enemy behind him. A strong back throw but lacks speed. Level 10 - 6% Level 20 - 7%, Level 30 - 9%,Level 40 - 10%, Level 50 - 11% Up Throw: Erdrick swings the enemy over his head and then throws them up with the Gringham Whip. Can be used as a set up for his aerials (including up tilt and neutral tilt making for a great combo starter). Level 10 - 3% Level 20 - 4%, Level 30 - 5%,Level 40 - 6%, Level 50 - 7%

Down Throw: Erdrick slams the opponent onto the ground with the Gringham Whip. You can combo it with other moves (including his aerials). At high enough percentages it can be used to bury the opponent which can lead to other moves such as a forward or side smash. Level 10 - 3% Level 20 - 4%, Level 30 - 5%,Level 40 - 6%, Level 50 - 7%

Final Smash:

Heroic Trinity

Erdrick dash forward and slices at the enemy horizontally - this triggers a cutscene where Erdrick,Dragon Quest 1 Hero and Dragon Quest 2 Hero come jumping down from a bird. They charge at the opponent with Dragon Quest 1 Hero doing a flaming sword attack at the same time as Dragon Quest 2’s Hero creating an X style attack then Erdrick charges up his sword with lighting and finishes the final smash off with a lighting sword attack based on the Dragon Quest Battle Road Victory Super. 45% at All Levels.

So that’s Erdrick’s attributes,mechanics but what about the other small details.

On Screen Appearance:

Jumps from a bird and poses before getting into his neutral stance. Based on Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory

Taunts:

Up Taunt: Raises his sword to the sky triumphantly (the sword glows with electricity) while wind is making is cape blow. Based on the Dragon Monsters Battle Road Victory.

Side Taunt: Erdrick puts his sword on the ground and kneels looking straight at the enemy. This is based on the artwork by Mutsumi Inomata.

Down Taunt: Erdrick digs his sword into the ground and kneels. Based on the Super Famicom pose.

Idle Poses:

Erdrick puts his blade on his shoulder and smiles with wind blowing his cape. Based on this artwork
Erdrick puts his blade in front of his face before going back to his neutral postion. Based on this artwork.

Victory Poses:

Erdrick takes out a shovel before putting his foot them - smiling at a job well done saying “The Battle is Won”. It is based on this artwork.
Erdrick raises his sword into the air triumphantly before thunderbolts come from the sky.It is based in this artwork.
Sees a Slime come running by and moves forward into the screen and chases after it doing a slashing attack

Crown Cheer:

The Crowd says “Erdrick the Hero”

Also i am not going to do Palutena's Guidance for Erdrick mostly because i am not a good writer of comedy and i am not sure if DLC Characters will get Palutena's Guidance's.So that’s Erdrick done - but what about the other things that could be included in the DLC Pack:

Other Things in the DLC Pack:

Stage:

Alefgard/World of Darkness

The kingdom in Dragon Quest - 1,2,3 aka the Erdrick Trilogy. In Dragon Quest 3 the world is basically dark world as such the design of the area will likely be based around the DQ 3 Version. In terms of setting it would be a transition stage - transiting from the Port Island to Town of Brecconaly and then to Tantegel Castle and Finally Zoma’s Castle. The Stage starts off with Port Island having Sea Monsters they will come out of the the water to attack the enemy as well as a rickety boat then the characters side scroll to the town of Town of Brecconaly where Slimes will attack you. Then you side scroll into Tantegel Castle that will give characters buffs and then you fly into Zoma’s Castle acting as a stage hazard firing off Cold Breath and Disruptive Wave - then you can are teleported back to the beginning of the stage, It is similar to Rainbow Curse Stage but also has some elements from Mario Kart 8 and the New Donk City Stage.

Music:

Music is a tricky one considering the reputation of Dragon Quest’s composer being very finicky so sadly at most we will probably get two/three tracks at most.

My picks are:

Assist Trophy

I think there's a possibility we could end up seeing an Assist Trophy added on. My personal pick would be the Slime Army with an army of Slimes coming in to attack anyway who is not the person who activated the trophy. While i would have loved Slime as an actual playable character - i do not think it’s likely and think that Slime would make more sense as an assist trophy especially as it allows Sakurai and his team to reference multiple Slimes from the series.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, while Erdrick is not my most requested character (not even Top 5 material) i do think there is definitely potential in terms of making a really cool moveset for him to make him stand out from the other Smash Characters in the series so if he ends up being the second Square Enix Rep, i really won’t mind. As for next time, well let’s talk about..

Dante

Sunday 14 October 2018

JoJo's Bizzare Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind Episode 1/2 Review

Introduction:

It’s here, it’s finally here - after many many months of waiting (Diamond is Unbreakable did end in 2016 after all). JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind is finally here and i have quite a few things to say about these first two episodes so i decided to make this blog to convey my thoughts and opinions towards the first two episodes of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. While i have read the manga and know what is going to happen in Part 5 - i am going to keep it strictly focused on what happened in these two episodes and my opinions on how the manga material was presented. I may do another one of these when the 1st cour of Part 5 wraps up but it depends on if i want to. Anyway here are my thoughts and opinions towards JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Episodes 1 and 2.

Overview:

I am not going to give a scene by scene overview of what happens in these two episodes as that just wouldn’t be interesting and you can easily know what happens in these two episodes by simply watching the anime but i will be giving a quick story bit in order to get people who haven’t watched the anime - to understand the plot online of this show.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind is the 5th Part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Currently there are 8 Parts in JoJo). It is send in 2001 Italy and stars Giorno Giovanna who is the son of Dio Brando (the main villain of JoJo Part 1 and 3. He’s also a living meme at this point thanks to the internet). Giorno starts the story with a dream - in order to become a Gang-Star (basically his version of a gangster and to clean the mafia of its use of drugs), as such he wants to rise within the the ranks so he can get enough power to clear Italy of its Youth Drug Problem.

That is a very simplified version of the plot of Golden Wind but i think you get the general gist of it.Golden Wind is very much a mafia based story which is something Araki hadn’t done before but enough about the manga author - what about the Adaptation. Have these two episodes succeeded in adapting the manga to the anime: well

How well does the Golden Wind Anime adapt the Manga’s Story?

In my own personal opinion,extremely well. It has always been the case that the JoJo Anime has always been a faithful adaptation of the Manga and the Anime of Part 5 still adapts the Manga in a well told way though one of the most interesting things about the Story at least in the Anime is the fact they added a couple of scenes in that wasn’t originally in the manga.

The first scenes of note is that the first couple of scenes of VA are completely original and were not used in the manga at all - these include a scene where Giorno is walking through Italy and we see instances of crime,poverty and corruption going about:

While there are some Youtubers that weren’t that pleased with these scenes - personally i actually really liked these scenes as they clearly convey the setting of Italy as well as one of the main focuses of this Part - that being the crime and corruption going on in Italy (Italy may be a beautiful place but it has its own problems).

There is also another scene that focuses on establishing Giorno’s personality - in that he’s a nice guy but he also has a dangerous and deceptive side - almost like a rouge when he ends up giving a stolen wallet back to a tourist and then secretly took some money out of the wallet using his Golden Experience Ability:

These Scenes do a pretty good job at establishing Giorno’s Character as well as sitting up his clear disliking of crime and his good but deceptive nature. One scene i was a bit mixed on was the Leaky Eye Luca Scene which while wasn’t bad - i feel that they didn’t really need to add an extra scene but that’s just me however Episode 2 is when we get to one of the most notable changes in this adaption so far - that being the expanded backstory for the lead character Giorno - in the manga - Giorno’s backstory was only a page or two but they heavily expanded this for the anime adaption as well as having an entirely new scene where Giorno encounters a scene where he meets his gangster idol after he had murdered someone for dealing drugs only for that person’s kid to draw a gun on the gangster:

On the one hand you could make a fair argument that these scenes weren’t really necessary - on the other hand i feel it does a rather good job of portraying why GIorno admired the gangster he saved so much in a much more detailed showcase while also doing some more world building for Italy in that it’s really grounded. One of the strengths i have always had with JoJo is that while there are certain crazy insane powers and abilities in the JoJo verse - it still takes place in our world. While there are definitely shonen that to take place in our real world - usually the protagonist visits some supernatural world (like say Yu Yu Hakusho and Bleach) but even those instances are far outnumbered by the shonen that take place in a complete fantasy world like Naruto and One Piece. JoJo is neither of these things as it is always set in the world that we currently live in and thus the characters despite all the insanity that happens in the world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are kept grounded and relatable because these characters face real world issues and problems - that scene with the gangster and the drug dealer’s kid is a scene that could very much happen in real life as such i think while you could make an argument that the drastically expanded backstory was unnecessary - i thought it worked overall. The second scene was an added fist fight between Giorno and Bruno’s Stands which i felt was really well done so props to David Production for that.

Overall i would say David Production as done an extremely well done job in adapting this story as it’s kept faithful to the manga while also added some extra scenes that are well worth it even for me who has read the manga.

Characters:

While there are several characters in these first two episodes i am only going to be focusing on two - Giorno Giovanna and Bruno Buccellati - these two characters are arguably the main two protagonists of the Part (though there are allies that come in slightly later to expand out the cast - these two are the most important characters in Golden Wind but the question remains - did the anime do a get job at portraying these characters in animated form and i would say yes.

Let’s start with the main JoJo of this Part - Giorno Giovannia:

I am going to be honest - Giorno at least in the manga was always one of the weaker aspects of Part 5 at least in the Manga but i think David Production did a very good job of expanding and improving on Giorno’s character at least in these first two episodes. Giorno is very much unlike a lot of the other JoJos in that he’s very much a Joestar but he’s also very much a Brando. Like his father he retains Dio’s extremely ruthless streak as well as his ambition while also having Jonathan Joestar’s kindness and desire for justice and i think David Production portrayed this well. The expanded scenes helped give more context to Giorno’s past as well as the scene at the beginning of Episode 1 but i also thought David Productions did a good job with the manga scenes - in just first two episodes you get a clearly concise goal (he wants to get rid of the Drug Trade in Italy) as well as a very concise personality in terms of being more of a cold,calculating,thinker in contrast to the loud and brash Josuke.Giorno always read kinda boring in the manga but Kensho’s Ono voice for Giorno really did help him being brought to life so overall so far i think David Production have done a great job in portraying Giorno in this anime though i am still not a hundred percent sold on Pink Giorno.

Now there's Bruno Buccellati:

Bruno unlike Giorno has always been one of my favourite JoJo characters and is my second favourite Part 5 character (with my number one being a member of this Part’s Crew) and i really liked the way David did with his character in these two episodes. Bruno’s Voice Actor Yuichi Nakamura did a great job in portraying the character - both at the almost jokey tone he takes at the beginning of the exchange between Giorno and himself as well as the more serious and cold moments Bruno has when fighting Giorno. While there haven’t been too many expanded scenes involving Bruno besides the expanded fight scene - i really liked the final scene involving Bruno and Giorno where they were talking about Giorno’s desire to join the organisation that Bruno works for - i thought that was handled extremely well both on the scripting side and the voicing acting side. I liked that throughout out the two episodes - despite Bruno being an enemy of Giorno - there was this strange and almost likeable quality to him despite several moments of bizarreness:

Hello lick scene

I liked that the anime portrayed Bruno’s clear dislike of his organization using drugs. Not to go into any later spoilers but Bruno is clearly conflicted to his loyalty towards the organization he works for and his own moral ethics and i thought that was portrayed well in Episode 2 which later leads to a scene that likely will be in Episode 3 that i won’t go into due to this review focusing only on Episodes 1 and 2 but overall i thought Bruno was portrayed really well in this anime adaption - if this level of quality ends up being consistent - who knows but i pleased with what they have shown so far.

Let’s go onto one of the significant aspects of the Anime - the Animation.

Animation:

Every JoJo Part has both a different look and feel to do and with Part 5 it is no different. David Production for this Part 5 adaption decided to combine the more detailed shading of Part 3 with the more poppy colour art and colour changes from Part 4 and in my personal opinion - these first two episodes are some of the best looking JoJo has ever have been with some great use of character perspective, good use of CGI - which can’t be said for some recent anime:

As well as some great colour changes and some Sakuga Moments. I know what you must be thinking now - what is Sakuga is a term in anime where the is a term used in anime to describe moments in a show or movie when the quality of the animation improves drastically - usually Sakuga is saved for the really important scenes and this is no different with a particular highlight being the hand to hand fight between Gold Experience and Sticky Fingers:

Which reminds me a lot of the Josuke vs Kira fight but improved and what about those poses - one of the most iconic aspects of JoJo is those iconic poses and moments and personally i think they were portrayed well in the anime - conveying the sense of fabulousness right from the manga to the panel

I also like the use of sound effects as well as transitions they are doing with this Part 5 Adaption:

However, despite the praise i have given Part 5 it does have a couple of problems that i feel are worth pointing out which while are noticeable don’t affect the overall experience too much. One think i definitely noticed is that this adaption focuses much more on the close shots than the long distance shots which can lead to some shot’s looking slightly wonky though in this adaption - they tend to not detail the faces that can be seen in a distance. This shot’s are noticeable and expected - this is a TV Anime after all - they are not going to have the insane level of budget a TV Movie will have but they were still noticeable enough that i have to mention it. I also think while there are definitely some fun and interesting transitions between scene - it is slightly lacking the direction a lot of Early Part 4 had which is a shame but i would take Part 5’s artstyle over 4’s anyday. This is still early days and i am not sure how well the animation will hold up in Golden Wind’s 39 Episode Run but right now i am very impressed with it.

One last thing i have to talk about is the animation for the OP:

Honestly i absolutely loved the animation and music in this Opening Song - not only is Coda one of my personal favourite Japanese Singers but i loved the almost James Bond style imagery they had for this Opening (it reminds me a lot of Casino Royale’s opening which is my personal favourite James Bond Opening) and i love the use of transitions and Sakuga moments. I will say that it is a very different opening then a lot of JoJo Openings in that it is extremely fast paced which i think is fitting since Part 5 is by far the most action heavy part in the series. As for the foreshadowing - well not to spoil anything but there’s a lot to unpack in the OP and how it hints at certain events that have yet to be shown in anime.Here is the Opening if you were curious.

So overall as of Episode 2 - i am really impressed with both the animation in both the show and the OP. While i don’t expect this level of quality all the way throughout Golden Wind’s Run - the art-style and effort being put into this adaption definitely have me on board with it so far.

Sound:

While Animation is certainly an important part of an anime - i would argue sound is equally as important. There’s three main categories of sounds when concerning anime - sound effects,music and the voice acting. Let’s start with the simple one first - the sound effects. JoJo as a series is always known for its excellent sound effects and these first two episodes do not disappoint in that regard - the sound effects especially when concerning punching are perfectly suited to what is happening and enhance the scene. For example - in the second episode there is a scene where Giorno punches Bruno with an extremely hard punch which you can see here:

While this scene is an impressive bit of animation from the animation team - it’s not nearly as good without any sound. The sound effects help make the weight of the punch feel real and heavy which makes sense considering the strength of the punch as well as the sound of the tooth being dislodged from Bruno’s mouth and this is not the only case of great sound work in order to enhance the fight scene - one particular instance is the hand to hand fight between Gold Experience and Sticky Fingers which while impressive in GIF Form - is even more enhanced with sound. So overall i am really impressed with the sound effects this season.

Now for the music and ho boy - JoJo has always had great music that were fitting of the time periods that each part is set in and man did David Production’s Music Team hit it out of the part for this one. Golden Wind is set in 2001’s Italy and as much the music in Golden Wind is very classical with a lot of instruments that would be found in traditional Italian Music and of course there is the ever present Italian Choir in order to enhance certain scenes where high amount of action is taking place. The Music Selection is overall extremely strong though but there are two potential highlights i would like to talk about - the first being Giorno’s Beatdown theme - unlike a lot of the music in Golden Wind which is very classical - Giorno’s Beatdown theme is very late 90s/Early 00s as well as inspired by Beatdown Themes of JoJos. It’s an extremely rocking track and was used extremely scene during the final bit of Giorno and Bruno’s fight:

But there is of course there is one more music track that i have to talk about and that’s of course being the OP. Coda is my second favourite Japanese Singer who has worked on a JoJo OP (Number One being Tommy of course). He did a great job with Bloody Stream and he did a great job here. The song is not to everyone’s taste (some people even calling it a bit generic which i can’t agree with). I feel the song is perfectly suited to the more action based tone of Part 5 but that’s my own personal opinion. I understand that it’s not for everyone. One last note i have to talk about - Jodeci’s Freek’N You as the ED for Part 5. Honestly i really wanted to see Return of the Mack as the ED but i do admit i was happy with the choice of the ED though the song is extremely memeable thanks to the lyrics.

As for the voice acting - i honestly prefer Kensho Ono’s (the person who voices him in the anime) take on Giorno rather than Daisuke (despite me not understanding Japanese). He honestly sounds a little more natural than Daisuke did especially when considering the MUDAs. Daisuke’s MUDAs always sounded kinda weak to me and to me Kensho did a much better job. As for Bruno - i would say that Yuichi Nakamura has done a great job so far - portraying both the cool,confident side of Bruno as well as the moments where he loses his cool. I am kinda sad Noriaki didn’t come back for the Part 5 Anime but i feel that Yuichi has done a great job so far in his role. I do admit something felt a little off about Daisuke as Jotaro - maybe his voice is a little too high pitched compared to Jotaro in Part 3 and 4 but it’s not bad. The rest of the voicing acting in these two episodes were good (though i can understand if you don’t like Yuki Kaiji’s Koichi. Overall the sound in Golden Wind is great and i hope they keep to this level throughout the past (i am also excited to see.

Concluding Thoughts

Overall i am extremely pleased with the Golden Wind Adoption so far. I definitely do have some small problems with it (some of the dodgy face work as well some added scenes being a little on the unnecessary side) but the things that i feel are kinda meh about Part 5’s Anime Adaption are overwhelmed by the amount of positive thoughts and opinions about it. Like i said earlier - this is still very much early days and things could turn out to get really bad for the Part 5’s adaption but i remain faithful that the Part 5 Anime won’t let me down. Now is the best time to get into the series and see what you have been missing. I will admit the series is not for everyone but you want a series that is as well bizzare as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure then i highly recommend it. I will be definitely continue to watch the Part 5 Adaption to see how the anime does some of the best moments in Part 5.If i were to give the show a rating so far - i would say a A but this ranking could certainly change. Thank you for reading this long review and...