Episode 18

Stroheim's Unit Strikes Back (シュトロハイム隊の逆襲) is the eighteenth episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. It is also the ninth episode of Battle Tendency. It covers Chapter 81 through Chapter 84 of the manga.

Esidisi was defeated but he's managed to send the Super Aja to his companions' lair in Switzerland. Worse, he's taken the maid Suzi Q hostage and the Ripple users must find a way to save her and then chase after the Stone.

Summary
After his fight with Esidisi, Joseph heads back to the manor without realizing that Esidisi's brain had latched onto his back. Meanwhile, Lisa Lisa prepares for her bath while Suzi Q has trouble deciding on which blouse her master should wear. Suzi Q runs into Joseph downstairs, not recognizing him because he lacked the mask he'd been wearing for the past few weeks. She informs Joseph that Lisa Lisa had asked to see him and advises him to wait for her to finish her bath. Suzi Q leaves and Esidisi is shown to have left Joseph's body. Joseph goes upstairs and notices Suzi Q handing off a package to a mail boat at the docks. Joseph decides to peep on Lisa Lisa bathing through the keyhole and sees Suzi Q inside, to which he expresses confusion as he had seen Suzi Q down at the docks only moments before. Lisa Lisa notices that the Red Stone of Aja is missing, and Esidisi (inside Suzi Q's body) reveals he had mailed it away in order to get it to Kars. Joseph comes in but Esidisi intends to stall them by holding Suzi Q hostage, as in order to kill Esidisi they would have to kill her. Caesar returns and is told by Joseph and Lisa Lisa to catch the mail boat before it arrives in Venice. Esidisi attacks Caesar and blocks the doorway, preventing anyone from leaving. Joseph and Caesar use their combined Ripple energy to force Esidisi out of Suzi Q and neutralize any damage to her. Esidisi is disintegrated by the sunlight and Joseph admits his respect for him. Suzi Q reveals that the Stone is aboard a train headed to Switzerland and Joseph, Caesar, Lisa Lisa, and Messina drive off to catch the package before it reaches its destination.

Elsewhere, Kars wonders why Esidisi had not reported back to him and assumes that something must have happened to him. A dog is nearly run over by a pair of drunk drivers, but Kars uses his Light Blades to kill them. Joseph wakes up to find that the train had been stopped by customs and that Nazis have retrieved the package from the train, stating that they are taking it for research. An unidentified Nazi who speaks to Joseph as if he was familiar with him tells the group to talk with him in a log cabin up ahead.

Later on that evening Kars approaches the cabin and senses the body heat of several soldiers inside, killing them with his Light Blades shortly afterwards. When he enters, he notices that there is still one soldier left in the room. Confused as to why he can't sense his body heat, Kars attacks the soldier, who blocks with his hand. The soldier's glove rips from Kars' attack and reveals that it is mechanical underneath. Joseph enters the room and identifies the soldier as Stroheim, much to his surprise.

Commentary
"This episode is a transition into the part in Switzerland, so you may think it's more peaceful, but it may be the most "JoJo" episode of all. Lisa Lisa is nude here... What other anime can show a woman in her fifties like this? Well it's true that on-screen, she doesn't look over 30 (laughs).

In the first part, Joseph and Suzie Q have more interaction than in the manga. They are a future couple after all, we wanted to show them being more intimate. The episode doesn't really have any signature scene, but you'll notice the application of a red filter in the shots with Suzie Q possessed by Esidisi. It's very difficult to create tension in an action scene in broad daylight, but the filter adds a little something. The layout is also very JoJo; I'm thinking about the teens Kars slices up in their car, or Messina's pose.

The goodbye to Suzie Q is also polished a lot; in here she tosses a pebble with an authentic little girl's throw that doesn't go far... (laughs). Everything is in the details."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries