
One of the things that impressed me immediately with JoJo’s was its incredibly catchy closing songs. I don’t mind the energetic openings, but having established / popular songs over the end credits gave me something to look forward to.
There’s a wide variety of closing songs in terms of genre and quality … but how would I rank them all?
Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:
Meh
8 – Villain Concerto
Every time the Oingo Boingo brothers appeared in “Stardust Crusaders”, they got their own dedicated ending song with a unique artstyle.
The visuals are kinda cool, I guess, but the odd singing is too much for me. Maybe it’s a parody of a specific Japanese thing, but as an Englishman it’s lost on me.
OK
7 – Modern Crusaders (Enigma)
The song being called “Modern Crusaders”, especially since “Golden Wind” has some intrinsic ties to “Stardust Crusaders”, is the best part about this closer.
It pales in comparison to the first “Golden Wind” closer. It starts too slow – but the final few moments are pretty neat.
6 – Distant Dreamer (Duffy)
“Distant Dreamer” has the exact opposite problem of “Modern Crusaders”, where it peaks in the first few seconds and then I don’t care about the rest.
The ocean visuals and sea-swept guitar are such a strong first impression … and then the rest of the song keeps going. I think “Stone Ocean” needed something more epic.
Good
5 – Last Train Home (Pat Metheny Group)
When I first heard “Last Train Home” during the “Stardust Crusaders” Egypt arc, I was sure it was going to finish at the bottom of a list like this. It’s slow, lacks lyrics, and on the surface quite downbeat and moody.
After finishing “Stardust Crusaders” (especially as I was drawing nearer to the final episode), the song finally hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s exactly the kind of melancholic slow-jam the Egypt arc needed.
… But yeah, quite boring in a vacuum.
Great
4 – Freek’n You (Jodeci)
I’ll never forget the first time I finished a “Golden Wind” episode and “Freek’n You” played. It’s the last thing I expected – it’s always fun to watch other people’s reactions to it too!
The RnB fits with JoJo’s style remarkably well. If nothing else, the shock factor and meme status puts it up to the “Great” tier.
3 – I Want You (Savage Garden)
“Diamond Is Unbreakable” is a slam dunk in all departments, from the opening titles to the episodes themselves. I wasn’t surprised when the closing song was a banger too.
It has some of the best visuals of any closer, and “I Want You” by Savage Garden is such a bop.
2 – Walk Like An Egyptian (The Bangles)
After it was established in the pilot that “Stardust Crusaders” was gearing up towards a final showdown with Dio in Egypt, there was only one song that could ever accompany the closing credits.
“Walk Like An Egyptian” is the most appropriate of all the closers, both in terms of the time period and geography, and it felt like “Stardust Crusaders” was written around it.
All-Time Great
1 – Roundabout (Yes)
… Is it fair to say “Roundabout” as a closer is more famous than the show itself?
Everyone knows it from the “To Be Continued” meme, but that’s only because it’s so iconic as a closing song. It quite literally made every “Phantom Blood” and “Battle Tendency” episode better, and its cameo in the final episode of “Stone Ocean” was a highlight of the whole series.
Aaaaand that’s my list. You can check out some of my latest blog posts below:
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