JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – “Stardust Crusaders” Episodes Ranked

Gone are the wishy-washy powers of Hamon — it’s Stand time, baby!

“Stardust Crusaders” is a much more episodic season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure than the others, which I liked … at first. The varying quality of Stands and storylines means this season is perfect for a ranking list, so I’ll do just that for all thirty episodes!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Meh

30 – The Sun (Ep 18)

Thank god “The Sun” is only a single episode – if this had been a two-parter I may have died of boredom.

The first half of the episode is waiting for a known twist, and the second half is just the crew waiting around to strike. If that wasn’t bad enough, they then called the enemy Stand lame!

29 – Set’s Alessi, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 32/33)

“Set’s Alessi” was the only episode other than “The Sun” that I didn’t like, but unlike that episode this one is mildly entertaining. The main problem, however, is that its content is either stupid or creepy.

Polnareff as a baby is fun at first but it leads to a really weird bath scene, and I can’t believe how dumb they made JoJo out to be when he didn’t recognise that the baby Polnareff was wearing exactly the same clothes as his recently-vanished friend!

OK

28 – The Curse of Dio (Ep 3)

Every single episode or two-parter in “Stardust Crusaders” either has a fight with an enemy Stand or within the team itself … so “The Curse of Dio” already stands out as being boring.

JoJo rescues Kakyoin and the series arc is set up, but not much else happens.

27 – Dark Blue Moon (Ep 6)

JoJo and company face their most fearsome opponent yet – a Stand that can swim!

It’s funny in hindsight to see how under-powered Dark Blue Moon is, and none of the action really gripped me.

26 – Hol Horse and Boingo, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 36/37)

Boingo returns to provide comic relief, and his partnership with Hol Horse should have been a match made in heaven … but the episode itself left me yawning.

Hol Horse’s meeting with Dio is a fun opening, and the part where he sticks his fingers up Polnareff’s nose was funny, but the rest was drawn-out and humourless.

25 – High Priestess, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 23/24)

“High Priestess” marked the final episode of the pre-Egypt arc, but I was left mildly disappointed.

The submarine setting is too cramped, the story is over with ten minutes still left to go, so it’s Joseph and Jotaro’s calls back home to Susie Q that have to carry the episode.

24 – Wheel of Fortune (Ep 13)

I like how they turned the “Wheel of Fortune” Tarot Arcana into a literal car Stand, but funny subversion aside this episode doesn’t have much going for it.

They chase a car for a while, JoJo outsmarts the enemy, the end. Onto the next, I suppose.

Good

23 – Strength (Ep 7)

“Strength” was almost a really good episode – the orangutan / ship Stand was a great twist, and the action at the end was fun.

But you can always count on Japanese media to make things weird. The nude scene with the pre-pubescent girl was unbelievably pervy, and it makes you wonder just who the target audience is (and what the animators have on their hard drive …)

22 – Khnum’s Oingo and Thoth’s Boingo (Ep 27)

I wasn’t expecting a purely comedic episode in the midst of the intense Egypt arc, but I appreciated it.

The clairvoyant comic book is one of the coolest Stands in the show, and the exploding orange was a funny scene.

21 – Who Will Be the Judge!? (Ep 2)

The second episode of “Stardust Crusaders” was a slight step down from the first, but it gave us our first proper Stand vs Stand battle to the death.

Kakyoin is at his fiercest here (especially with his art-voodoo power that never returns), and their fight in the school was gnarlier than expected.

20 – The Guardian of Hell, Pet Shop, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 38/39)

I didn’t really like the addition of Iggy the dog to the cast during the Egypt arc, but his solo adventure “The Guardian of Hell, Pet Shop” earned him some of my respect.

His battle against the falcon is cool, and it’s great how the episode ends with them finding Dio’s mansion … but Kakyoin returning randomly was an odd climax to the two-parter.

19 – Judgement, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 21/22)

Speaking of random returns, Avdol’s revival in “Judgement” felt cheap – and to make matters worse, his “new personality” is completely dropped after this!

The actual meat and potatoes of the episode is pretty good, though. Polnareff battling his dead sister was horrifying, and the setting of the dark field added to the terror.

18 – Silver Chariot (Ep 5)

Just like Kakyoin, Polnareff’s introduction is actually him battling the crew whilst under the effects of Dio’s brain bug thingy.

It’s a shame they pulled the exact same gimmick twice, but the fights that played out were decent fun.

17 – Iggy the Fool and Geb’s N’Doul, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 25/26)

The crew have finally made it to Egypt! An immanent battle against Dio in Cairo beckons … right?

I was a little miffed when they introduced a random Stand-user-dog to the crew to pad the runtime, and Kakyoin’s blinding goes nowhere, but the blind Stand user N’Doul was a fun adversary.

16 – Death 13, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 19/20)

I hate “boy who cried wolf” storylines so Kakyoin’s ostracization annoyed me, and the baby fumbled what should have been an easy kill on all four of them, but otherwise “Death 13” was good.

The dream world was daunting and the baby Stand user was a fun subversion, but I would’ve liked more.

15 – The Empress (Ep 12)

One of the biggest disappointments overall in “Stardust Crusaders” was Joseph Joestar – I didn’t hate his new, matured personality, but I missed the plucky kid from New York who always found a way to outwit his foe.

“The Empress” was the brief glimpse of young Joseph during this arc, and I liked the way he managed to outsmart the growth on his arm.

14 – A Man Possessed by an Evil Spirit (Ep 1)

“A Man Possessed by an Evil Spirit” had the tough job of introducing a new protagonist and a new powerset for the series moving forwards, but I think the writers and animators did a good job for both.

Joseph returning helped ease the transition, and I was excited to see where these new-fangled “Stands” would take the story.

13 – Tower of Gray (Ep 4)

“Tower of Gray” is the first proper enemy Stand fight of the series, and I think it delivered.

The plane setting is much more intense than the submarine from “High Priestess” (despite being as cramped) because there are innocent bystanders to worry about, and the Stand user reveal was a good twist.

12 – Bastet’s Mariah, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 30/31)

While Polnareff and Jotaro were off fighting one of the weirdest Stands in the season, Avdol and Joseph fought one of the coolest ones.

“Bastet’s Mariah” has some odd moments of “humour”, but the magnetic Stand leads to fun situations and a badass takedown.

11 – Anubis, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 28/29)

We’ve had animals as Stand users, but “Anubis” posed an interesting question – what if an object had Stand capabilities?

The cursed sword leads to some fantastic fight scenes that ramp up in skill and tension, and the final battle with JoJo against possessed Polnareff was a great one.

10 – Justice, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 14/15)

Enyaba was the woman who gave Dio his powers and taught him how to harness his Stand’s awesome abilities … but her own abilities were a bit tame.

I really liked the creepy hotel setting, and the fog Stand was admittedly cool at points, but I think there was some wasted potential in how it played out.

Great

9 – Devil (Ep 8)

“Devil” was the first Polnareff-centric episode other than his introduction, and I could tell he would eventually become one of my favourites.

The puppet Stand is one of the most horrifying in the season, and their battle in the hotel room had me nervous at multiple points.

8 – D’Arby the Player, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 40/41)

I was hyped when I saw that D’Arby the Gambler’s younger brother had come back for his revenge, but the resulting battle wasn’t as good as the aforementioned tussle.

“D’Arby the Player” is still a great two-parter with fun car racing and baseball videogames, but it doesn’t conclude until “Miasma of the Void” so I can’t rank it highly as it is.

7 – The Lovers, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 16/17)

Few Stand users got my blood boiling quite like Dan of Steel did.

His dastardly “The Lovers” powers meant that JoJo couldn’t lay a finger on him while the rest of the crew suffered, and it leads to one of the most euphoric comeuppances in the season.

6 – Yellow Temperance (Ep 9)

Imposter storylines have been done to death, but the fake Kakyoin in “Yellow Temperance” provided more comedy and action than I expected.

The cable car fight was awesome, JoJo besting the Stand user was amazing, and I’ll never be able to look at someone licking a lollipop the same way ever again.

5 – The Emperor and the Hanged Man, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 10/11)

I’d enjoyed all the episodes at the start of “Stardust Crusaders”, but “The Emperor and the Hanged Man” was the first one to have me on the edge of my seat.

The mirror and gun Stands were simple but effective, and Avdol’s “death” was a genuinely affecting moment … until later episodes ruined this development in retrospective. Is it a hot take to say Avdol should’ve stayed dead?

Amazing

4 – D’Arby the Gambler, Part 1 & 2 (Ep 34/35)

All of these episodes in the “Amazing” tier are populated by episodes surrounding the events of the finale, but the one exception to this is “D’Arby the Gambler”.

The titular conman is one of the smartest – and therefore insurmountable – foes the crew came across, and I loved Joseph’s coin game as well as JoJo’s ultimate bluff.

3 – Long Journey Farewell, My Friends (Ep 48)

The very last episode of the season may not have been my absolute favourite of all, but it did have some of the very best scenes in the arc.

JoJo finally defeating Dio is a euphoric pay-off to three arcs of villainy, and I really loved the scene where Joseph trolled JoJo after being revived (even if the reviving itself was a bit cheap).

2 – The Miasma of the Void, Vanilla Ice, Part 1, 2 & 3 (Ep 42/43/44)

There are a few things holding “Miasma of the Void, Vanilla Ice” back from top spot – Avdol’s death is too quick, Susie Q’s segment at the end drags on, and it’s weird how D’Arby the Player gets his comeuppance at the start of this story and not at the end of the previous.

All those drawbacks aside, this was some of the most engaging TV I’ve seen so far from this show. Polnareff and Iggy’s battle against Cool Ice is epic in every sense of the word, and Iggy’s sacrifice in particular was one of the saddest deaths in the series. By the time this episode was over, Polnareff became my favourite member of the crew.

1 – Dio’s World, Part 1, 2 & 3 (Ep 45/46/47)

“Dio’s World” was everything “Stardust Crusaders” had been building to – and it didn’t disappoint in the slightest.

Kakyoin’s death and the reveal that Dio’s Stand could stop time made for the best scene in the season, and JoJo stopping time himself was unbelievably hype. When the episode ended with Dio absorbing Joseph’s blood and becoming near-invincible, I was hooked to the screen.

Za Warudo! While time is stopped, you can check out some of my latest blog posts below: