SC Episode 21

Judgement, Part 1 (その1) is the twenty-first episode of Stardust Crusaders and the forty-seventh episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. It covers most of Chapter 174 through most of Chapter 176 of the manga.

Summary
Arriving on an island by the Red Sea, Joseph reveals that the person he needs to meet is Avdol's father, who lives as a hermit. Polnareff, still struck with grief over him causing Avdol's death, runs away.

On the shore of the island, Polnareff discovers an aged lamp that, after he rubs it, causes a genie named Cameo to appear. Cameo grants Polnareff three wishes, with Polnareff being skeptical until a wish for money causes a treasure chest full of gold coins to appear. Wondering if his wishes can bring people back from the dead, Polnareff wishes that his sister and Avdol were brought back to life. Sherry seems to be revived, only for her to viciously attack Polnareff to consume his flesh. As Cameo explains, he is actually the Stand Judgement, who can create zombie-like creatures from the earth based on the wisher's desires. Polnareff, terrified, tries to use his final wish to wish Sherry away. However, Cameo tells Polnareff he had already used his third wish: to revive Avdol.

Manga/Anime Differences

 * The anime added several flashback scenes from Polnareff's past that were not present in the manga.

Commentary
"This one comes in a pair with Episode 22, and it was a difficult duo.

I remember the team members discussing among themselves, a little confused by these enormous tongue-shaped plants on the island. It is surely some kind of tropical cactus, but in the end, it was still a mystery to us. (laughs) Suzuki, the series director, was so obsessed with the question that it became funny to witness.

This episode is centered around Polnareff's grief, as he's still haunted by the death of his sister. A rarity for this series, we meticulously represented the flow of time. On Suzuki's suggestion, the background sky goes through three different color tones as dusk and then night comes. I think that it contributes to support Polnareff's state of mind and his increasing sadness.

Kinryu Arimoto's voice fits well with the Stand, Judgement. During the auditions, we had asked him to play the voice of a crook, and he exactly nailed the tone we were looking for, at the same time persuasive, but also completely suspicious.

The scenes before Polnareff's meeting with Sherry are also well done. Everything is focused on his emotions and he is drowned in memories; we also come to hope that his wish has been granted.

Incidentally, Kenta Miyake, Avdol's VA, was beaming. He had just come back to the dubbing studio for the first time in a while, and he seemed jubilant at the idea of playing Avdol again."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries