JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has never been more popular and it’s all thanks to the currently running anime adaptation. Golden Wind has recently wrapped up, and all signs point to Stone Ocean getting an inevitable anime adaptation, bringing the OG JJBA continuity to the anime format in a complete fashion.
While a standout adaptation in every respect, there was one previous attempt at animating JJBA: the 1993 Stardust Crusaders OVA. An adaptation of Part III, the OVA was much shorter overall, only adapting a few key fights. It’s not a comprehensive adaptation by any means, but it’s a unique alternative to the manga. The most recent Stardust Crusaders anime certainly has its strengths, but the OVA might give it a run for its money.
10 OVA: It Trims The Fat
Stardust Crusaders is a very important story arc in the series’ greater narrative, but it’s not well paced, the anime less so, dragging out the arc longer than necessary. Stardust Crusaders is very hit or miss when it comes to its Stand of the week battles, especially before arriving in Egypt. Fortunately, the OVA’s shorter length offers an alternative.
It’s still not a perfect way of consuming Stardust Crusaders as there’s still a lot of substance to Part 3 in spite of its poor pacing, but the OVA shows audiences what Part 3 would look like with a bit more focus— and it looks good.
9 Anime: Better Represents Modern JoJo
Stardust Crusaders is a very masculinely charged series. The characters are the epitome of manliness and the manga showcases that rather consistently. As does the anime, but only to an extent. Stardust Crusaders features a more rigid art style than either the first season or later adaptations, but it’s not quite as extreme as the manga.
Rather, Stardust Crusaders’ anime aesthetic feels like a mix of Hiraki's Steel Ball Run era art and early JoJo. Part 3 also just resembles modern anime for the most part. The manga, on the other hand, very much feels its age, making it potentially difficult for some fans to go back to.
8 OVA: A Time Capsule Of Old School JoJo
On the flip side, the OVA is perfect for those fans specifically seeking out that earlier era of JoJo. Until around halfway through Diamond is Unbreakable, Hiraki really embraced Fist of the North Star levels of manliness, something the OVA exemplifies perfectly with an art style that brings the manga terrifically to life.
The OVA almost feels more grounded than the anime. Tonally, it’s certainly more serious and not nearly as tongue in cheek from a production perspective. There are still sillier moments, but where the anime knows to play up the right moments, the OVA is making certain moments iconic.
7 Anime: The Story Is In Chronological Order
The OVA’s biggest flaw is that it’s more of a companion piece than it is an adaptation. It’s a very difficult series to recommend to those who haven’t read or watched Stardust Crusaders. This also means that the first half covers Egypt before the second half serves as a prequel. The anime actually tells the story how it’s meant to be told.
Seeing the story unfold in order allows audiences to form a connection with Jotaro and the rest of the cast while gradually familiarizing themselves to the concept of Stands. It’s the best way to experience Stardust Crusaders, if only to understand how influential Stands will be on the rest of the series.
6 OVA: Focused On Handpicked Moments
The flip side of the anime covering everything is that it has to adhere to a budget and schedule. Not everything is going to fall into place for the right moments. Not every episode is well animated or well directed. That’s just the nature of the beast. The OVA doesn’t have that problem at all, though.
The OVA treats itself as an entirely curated experience, picking and choosing the best moments in Stardust Crusaders to bring them to life. The OVA’s version of DIO’s World is nothing short of amazing, completely blowing the anime’s version of the final fight out of the water.
5 Anime: Fleshed Out Story
Although Stardust Crusaders does outstay its welcome as an anime, it does at least try to use its time wisely. Much extra time is spent fleshing out characters, themes, and just the story itself. It feels like the characters are embarking on a long journey with the audience along for the ride. This also helps make up for a general lack of development for Avdol and Kakyoin.
Little moments are also added in to explain where the Runaway Girl went along with adding in some more leisure moments for the main cast, helping sell their bond as a group. If nothing else, all this extra screen time helps make the last set of deaths all the more impactful.;
4 OVA: Animation
As a long running anime, not every episode of Stardust Crusaders is going to be a hit. Even DIO’s World, the arc the series was building up to, doesn’t come off particularly impressive. The OVA, being a more focused, episode to episode experience is able to pull off some movie quality animation at times.
RELATED: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure : 5 Most Confusing Stands(& 5 Stands That Are Simple)
D’arby the Gambler’s episode is a stand out great, dripping with style and great animation. Just about any episode of the OVA completely overshadows the anime. A full anime in its quality wouldn’t be practical by any stretch of the imagination, but it would be out of this world.
3 Anime: Music
The OVA’s sound direction isn’t bad by any means, but the anime’s soundtrack is just so good. The Stardust Crusaders soundtrack has this jazzy feel that really captures the aesthetic of the series. Both Last Train Home and Walk Like an Egyptian are ending themes on par with Roundabout from the first season.
The main theme itself does a great job at building itself up before bursting into a medley that just screams “Star Platinum.” Stardust Crusaders also has two fantastic openings. End of the WORLD is a fantastic song to close out the first three Parts on. That all the previous opening singers came back for the song is a huge plus.
2 OVA: Action
With good animation naturally comes good action. Sometimes. In the case of the Stardust Crusaders OVA, it’s absolutely the case. Pretty much every single fight is worth watching. There are some standouts (again, DIO’s World is the one to watch,) but there isn’t a single weak fight in the OVA.
Some details are changed around from the manga, like Polnareff’s recruitment, but the fights always justify the changes to some degree. The 1993 OVA is far better crafted than some fans give it credit for. It isn’t randomly cutting things, it’s making deliberate changes to help bolster the action on screen.
1 Anime: Character Development
When it comes down to it, though, what good is action without characters behind the punches? The OVA is amazing, but it isn’t going to elicit an emotional reaction unless viewers are already familiar with the characters and the story. The Stardust Crusaders anime not only provides all the necessary context, it develops the cast considerably.
All that extra screen time pays off for character growth more than anything else. That helps give the action so much more weight. Jotaro versus DIO isn’t as well animated in the anime, but it has narrative weight because audiences have spent hours with Jotaro at this point. That in itself is loaded with value.