SC Episode 25

"The Fool" Iggy and "Geb" N'Doul, Part 1 (「」のイギーと「ゲブ神」のンドゥール その①) is the fifty-first episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime, the twenty-fifth episode of Stardust Crusaders, and the first episode of Egypt Arc. It covers Chapter 183 through the first few pages of Chapter 186 of the manga.

The Joestar Group have reached Egypt, where a Speedwagon Foundation envoy brings them Iggy, an irascible dog Stand User who will serve as a reluctant ally. Moreover, the heroes are then warned that nine other Stand Users at DIO's service are waiting for them in the country. Indeed, the Stand User N'Doul is preparing to attack them in the desert.

Summary
Upon arriving in Egypt, Jotaro, Joseph, Avdol, Kakyoin, and Polnareff meet up with representatives of the Speedwagon Foundation who have brought the user of The Fool Stand on behalf of Joseph to aid them on their journey. They are told by Joseph that this particular Stand user has an 'attitude problem' and it took much effort to get them here, and also that their Stand is extremely powerful, to the point where it might not be possible for them to defeat it. However, they are unaware of who the actual Stand user is and initially suspect one of the pilots while remaining highly guarded and fearful about the user's strength and apparent bad attitude.

After the Stand user is revealed to be sleeping on the back seat of the helicopter, Polnareff wonders how this is possible considering only a blanket lies there. It is then that the pilots tell Polnareff that the user is under the blanket, to which he starts laughing, inquiring if it's a midget and slapping the seat. The Stand user, a dog named Iggy, then wakes up and engages in battle with Polnareff - a fight won by Iggy, and ended by Iggy's love for, offered to him by Joseph. Following this, Joseph is then informed about the gathering of the nine outside DIO's mansion, and the condition of his daughter, becoming aware that she has two weeks to live at best.

The pilots then depart. However, the group later finds the helicopter, which has crashed. The first pilot is revealed to have drowned in the middle of the desert while the co-pilot gets his head torn off and pulled into a canteen by Geb, the Stand of N'Doul, a blind man, and the group's next adversary. The next victim is Kakyoin who is put out of commission after getting slashed across the eyes by Geb. The group retreats into their vehicle and makes a getaway, while Iggy jumps out the window, preferring to have nothing to do with the Joestars' battle. At first N'Doul prepares himself to attack Iggy, however, after hearing the dog fall asleep, decides to leave him be, as it becomes apparent that the Joestars are not capable of controlling Iggy. The episode ends as Geb is attacking the Joestar group's car.

Commentary
"The beginning of the Egypt arc also marks Iggy's first appearance. Just like in the manga, he begins with a somewhat disgracious design. Indeed, when I looked at him onscreen, I couldn't help but mock him. (laughs)

In fact, Iggy has several designs. We have the one for his first appearance only, another one used during the N'Doul fight, the one used from Episode 27 onward, and finally the cute one from the second half of the season, making it four distinct designs.

It was the series' director Kenichi Suzuki who was in charge of the storyboard of the first episode in Egypt. The result is flawless, as expected.

As for the plot, the problems immediately come, and Kakyoin is taken out before having a chance to shine. It is the same story as in the manga, it makes you realize the terrifying menace that this new enemy represents.

By the way, during the making of this episode's trailer, we had to hide Kakyoin's defeat. The team must have had slaved a lot for the editing."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries

Trivia



 * There is a second version of the group photo, the only difference is that Iggy is angry. This was used for posters and the photo in the first episode of Golden Wind