JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind Episode 37 Review: King of Kings

Not sure what just happened? Me neither. I still enjoyed it though. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind is now almost at an end, with the final two episodes airing in 3 weeks’ time. This episode saw Giorno finally get hold of the arrow, thanks to Bucciarati’s sacrifice.

Japanese title: 王の王（キング・オブ・キングス）

Plot

Trish is on the brink of death, and her spirit is starting to float away from Mista’s body. However, Bucciarati won’t allow this to happen. Not only does he realize that Diavolo purposely did not completely destroy Silver Chariot Requiem, but he has worked out that he needs to destroy the light behind him in order to take out the rogue stand. This action brings to an end the Silver Chariot Requiem effect and Trish’s body starts to return to where it belongs. Unfortunately Bucciarati has no living body to return to, and he begins to ascend into the heavens. We are given a very touching scene where he effectively passes on the gauntlet to a young Giorno. The arrow has chosen to be wielded by Giorno and not Diavolo, and it is able to pierce Gold Experience and give birth to Gold Experience Requiem. This new Stand does not go rogue like Silver Chariot, but its true abilities are unknown even by its user. Diavolo is now essentially trapped with no way to escape.

Highlights

– The scene where Bucciarati ascended was beautifully done, and I really had to fight back the tears. I absolutely loved the bright golden color of the clouds. I also really liked the angle upon which we looked down on Giorno from Bucciarati’s point of view, making the latter seem so small and cute, and reminds us that he is just fifteen years old.
– We got a nice trippy scene when GE Requiem was talking to Diavolo. Can you imagine watching that one under the influence? It’s even stranger when you remember that it is GE talking and not Giorno.

Trivia

– Although every single episode of the anime almost directly lifts iconic panels from the manga, this one is worth paying extra special attention to. These scenes are done with such care that you can really feel how much love the staff have for the original manga. If you have never read the manga, or if it has been quite a while since you did, you can usually tell which shots are lifted from the manga as they are usually still shots. Some of the most iconic panels form this episode where Bucciarati rising into the heavens and Giorno posing together with GE Requiem. The Renaissance art influence is very strong throughout.
– Bucciarati’s name is at the top of the ending credits.

‘This is… Requiem’

The Diavolo we are seeing now is quite different to the Diavolo the series was building up to. What we expected was a cool, calculating, ruthless enemy. Well, he is still those things, but we are seeing him losing his cool and he comes across as desperate. He may be beautiful, but he just doesn’t live up to Giorno’s half-father, DIO.

Also, yes, Bucciarati. If you’ve been reading my reviews you will know how much I love him. The mother to his team. Beautiful, strong, kind-hearted. His loss will leave a huge hole in everybody’s hearts, but what he has left behind for Giorno is huge, and will hopefully change the entire course of the underworld. Man, Araki is really not afraid to kill the characters I love. It’s true talent.

I’ll be back in 3 weeks’ time with my review of the double-whammy finale!!

Ciao for now!