English Dub Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders “Iggy the Fool and Geb’s N’doul, Part 1”

The “Battle in Egypt” begins!

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Upon finally arriving in Egypt, Team Joestar proceeds to meet up with some Speedwagon Foundation members who have brought a Stand User on behalf of Joseph to aid them on their journey via-helicopter, but Joseph stresses that this particular User has an attitude problem and it took lots of effort to bring him here much to Avdol’s dismay. The individual’s Stand is called “The Fool” whom according to Avdol is extremely powerful, to the point that it might not be possible for them to easily defeat it. However, despite being told how powerful he is by Joseph & Avdol, the rest of Team Joestar remains unaware about who the actual Stand user is but the two pilots both stress that it’s neither of them while remaining very apprehensive about the User’s strength and difficulty getting him here.

After informing them that the Stand user is sleeping in the back seat, Polnareff is left curious at how this is possible because all he can see is just a blanket, and even after being warned by the Pilots & Joseph, Polnareff demands the User to show himself which leads to one of the funniest moments, as the User turns out to be a small Boston terrier named Iggy, Who wakes up and straight-up attacks Polnareff revealing his Stand “The Fool” which is not only made of sand but can manipulate it to some degree. As Joseph gives an info-dump about how he was found, they learn that Iggy is a sucker for “coffee-flavored chewing gum” which calms him down. As the Speedwagon pilots equip Team Joestar with supplies, including a new Polaroid camera, Joseph marks the occasion by having a group photo with Team Joestar with the newly recruited Iggy.

Before the pilots depart, they also update Joseph in regards to news about “nine stand users” hired by Dio to kill them, and Holly’s condition which helps add a sense of urgency to the proceedings. Long after the pilots and Team Joestar go their separate ways, we meet a blind man who turns out to their first adversary named N’Doul.  In a well-paced & suspenseful scene, they find what’s left of the Speedwagon helicopter and upon seeing the bizarre & grotesque deaths of both pilots N’Doul’s Stand “Geb” wastes no time making his presence known by injuring Kakyoin’s eyes.  As Team Joestar attempts to retreat into their car, They’re put at an extreme disadvantage when Iggy wants nothing to do with the battle. but strangely enough, N’Doul lets Iggy live as he figures out that Team Joestar is unable to control the dog, but the episode ends when Team Joestar’s Car is under attack while Iggy sleeps away from danger.

Given that this is a new wave of episodes, Jojo steps their game up with not only a new original opening song but also a new end-credits tune in the form of “Last Train Home” by the Pat Metheny Group. The music itself is relaxing yet somber but that last shot was pretty damn emotional for me.

Our Take

As a new character, Iggy’s interactions with Polnareff, while pretty low-brow, excel at being pretty damn hilarious and leaves quite a first impression.

Score
9/10