Recap: Jonathan confronts Dio, who turns the stone mask upon himself.

Iro’s Thoughts:
JoJo as we know it pretty much kicks off with this episode. You may not have considered the first two episodes to be very bizarre, as it were, but now that ancient Aztec vampires are in the mix, all bets are off. You may have noticed several of Dio’s catchphrases while watching: repeated taunts of “weakling”, the battle cry of “MUDAHMUDAHMUDAHMUDAH”, and the ever infamous “WRYYYYYY” all make appearances this episode. Still looking for “ZA WARUDO”? You’ll be disappointed for a long time yet.

We also get a taste of the completely bullshit physics Araki likes to put into his fights, and I guess the series in general. In a way this is representative of all manga, but Jonathan and Dio have an entire conversation in the time it takes to fall three stories, and Jojo pulls of some  impossible tricks with the busted spear and his belt. If you can’t stand this level of dumb, then you may want to bail now. It only gets better from here on out.

Gee’s Thoughts:
So as Iro said, this episode is truly where Jojo starts becoming, well, a bizarre adventure. Everything seen in this episode is a good representation of everything that is Jojo. Absurdly long speeches, physical feats that defy the bounds of reality, and unbelievably fabulous events too insane to understand. With Dio finally having become the true asshole that he is, we see glimpses of the dickhead vampire antics that Dio became so famous for. You have him trying out different kinds of “WRYYYYYY” and “MUDAHMUDAHMUDAHMUDAH” in action. Personally, I hope he eventually gets to the high pitched one that is so famous, but I suppose we’ll see if this adaptation goes in that direction.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is defined by its insanity, and the third episode has given you just a glimpse of the beginning of a long and highly entertaining journey. If this episode was too cheesy or ridiculous for you, I suggest you turn away, because from now on, things only get crazier (and better).

Dragonzigg’s Thoughts:
Although both of the previous JoJo episodes have been great fun, it’s pretty obvious that this is where the series actually starts, as Dio stops even pretending to be gentlemanly and instead goes into full on villain mode, somehow managing to crank the ham dial even higher. There’s probably a bit too much talking in this episode for my liking, but it’s all so splendidly overblown that it’s difficult to feel too put out, and there’s some real gems in here, like the first appearance of the infamous WWWRRRRRRYYYYYY and JoJo’s ridiculously self-important narration.

For those who were already turned off by the lack of realism I’ve got bad news for you – any and all pretense at it is abandoned here, as Dio walks up walls, JoJo jumps dozens of meters into the air and the house apparently briefly becomes hundreds of stories tall. The increased action means the series sometimes obviously bumps up against it’s limited budget, but smart directing means that these moments are rare and never too obvious, and the brilliant art direction and bold palette choices ensure the series always remains fun to look at. Special mention has to go to Dio’s transformation sequence, which looks like a cross between demonic possession and a glam rock concert. It made me glad to see a sparkly vampire, and I never thought I’d say that.