Almost two years after the end of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind anime adaption, we have finally gotten an announcement and a trailer for Stone Ocean—the sixth installment of the popular anime series. Anime and manga fans are eagerly anticipating the television debut of the JoJo series’ first female protagonist: Jolyne Cujoh.
Following the five other parts of Hirohiko Araki’s manga, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean tells the story of Jolyne Cujoh, the daughter of former protagonist Jotaro Cujoh. After being wrongfully sentenced for murder, Jolyne must fight for her life against other inmates and fanatics of the late Dio (the series’ overarching antagonist).
The trailer published by Warner Bros. Japan Anime is fairly barebones. It showcases the previous five animated parts and concludes with Jolyne Cujoh standing besides a title card for the anime.
Seeing as David Productions Inc. (the studio behind the anime) has faithfully adapted the previous parts of the manga, there’s little room for speculation of Stone Ocean’s plot. However, the release, cast, and ending song are still up for debate.
It’s possible that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the early stages of development, and the quality of early episodes may reflect this. Seeing as there’s no official release date yet, it’s also likely that David Productions is planning to take their time to deliver animation that is up to standards.
Besides the release date, the question of casting is also open. In the past, the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime has featured many big names in the realm of Japanese voice acting such as Tomokazu Sugita and Keiji Fujiwara. Surprisingly, the only official cast member announced so far is industry newcomer Fairouz Ai who will be voicing Jolyne Cujoh.
The choice of Fairouz Ai seems a bit strange seeing that her voice acting credits are mostly from low-budget comedy anime. The fan reactions to this casting decision seem to be mixed.
Some are praising Ai’s demo-reel and delivery of Jolyne’s famous catchphrase “Yare Yare Dawa”, but others have expressed disappointment that Miyuki Sawashiro (who voiced Jolyne in a couple video games) will not be reprising her role.
I personally think that Sawashiro fits the role better with her tough, delinquent voice that perfectly captured the “young punk” nature of Jolyne’s character. However, I’m still open to seeing how Fairouz plays the role, and her demo-reel seems promising.
Since the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime has a tradition of using Western songs as end credits music (such as “Roundabout” by Yes and “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles), fans are debating on which song will get picked. This fan-made video provides a concept for an end credits sequence featuring “Easy Lover” by Phil Collins, and another fan video uses “Check The Rhime” by A Tribe Called Quest. I’m hoping for “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash or “Rusty Cage” by Soundgarden.
Stone Ocean is one of the most controversial parts among JoJo fans due to its bizarre mix of screwball humor and dark themes. With the manga finally getting an anime series, I hope Stone Ocean earns the respect it deserves as one of the most ambitious parts in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series.
Seeing Stone Ocean finally animated will definitely be something special. The original manga (which ran from 2000-2003) is one of the most trippy, surreal things I have ever read, and seeing it motion is bound to be a treat.
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