I'm the type who gets so caught up in the torture process that I don’t extract any information at all. (私は拷問に熱中してしまって、結果何も聞き出せない…というタイプよ)
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—Hitagi Senjougahara
Hudgyn Sasdarl (ハジーン・サスダール, Hajīn Sasudāru) is a JoJo's Bizarre Encyclopedia moderator. A close associate of fellow JoJo PS2 modder penguino, Hudgyn has also been responsible for several mods and patches for GioGio's Bizarre Adventure,[2] and the two have released an English translation of the Phantom Blood PS2 game.[3][4]
Okay now you just being an smart-aleck know-it-all, a--hole right now
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—KarlSinghilinson, to Hudgyn
When first introduced to a situation, Hudgyn prefers to remain quiet and adjust to their surroundings in peace before slowly increasing the magnitude of their contributions. Once they become comfortable in a given scenario, they consistently take a deriding attitude toward people and media. Hudgyn particularly enjoys mocking JoJolion, citing what they see as its lack of focus or restraint, poor time management, abrupt shifts in characterization and detail, and inability to communicate its themes in an interesting manner. Though they are most pleased by their own jabs, they nonetheless support others' petty insults to nearly the same degree.
Hudgyn's insistence on poking fun at problems leads them to constantly adjust and tamper with their own contributions, hastily correcting any mistakes they see. The most notable example of this is their GioGio's Bizarre Adventuretranslation patch, which saw continuous updates of varying scale for over three years after its release. In the case of wiki articles, this habit often manifests as one large edit with an edit description followed by several minor edits with no edit description. This, ironically, is shown to have hindered Hudgyn's ability to deliver information on their first attempt, and they often require multiple attempts or edits to convey what they mean to convey.
Hudgyn has demonstrated the ability to enjoy media that caters to their tastes. Games such as GioGio's Bizarre Adventure and manga such as Phantom Blood and Gorgeous Irene's various one-shots have earned their approval, despite various minor complaints with varying degrees of plausibility. In order, their favorite parts of the JoJo manga are Parts 5, 1, 3, 6, 4, 2, 9, 7, and 8 (presumably with a large gap between Parts 7 and 8); their favorite parts of the JoJo anime, in order, are 5, 6, 3, 2, 1, and 4, which should tell you all you need to know about them.
Strangely, Hudgyn chooses to associate themselves with a fictional character named Hitagi Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari and its sequels. While their exact reasoning remains a mystery, it is worth noting that Senjougahara is initially characterized by her harsh tongue, brutal honesty, and insurmountable stubbornness and pride. Senjougahara also prominently displays growth as a human being as the series continues, something that Hudgyn seems clearly incapable of.
User Content
Hudgyn's sandbox page, consisting mostly of GioGio character movesets and previous blog posts, can be found here. In addition, Hudgyn uses a custom alternate Part 1 wiki theme inspired by the Phantom Blood PS2 game.
I recently 'binged' the OVA adaptation of Stardust Crusaders for the sake of the relevant wiki pages. Immediately, the thing one notices first is the animation, which is (at times) much more vivid than the anime. Watching each episode, you can tell that the animators took their job incredibly seriously. You can also tell, somehow, that production has always been troubled for A.P.P.P. On the other hand, the music and sound design leave much to be desired. Aside from the climactic sequence of the fight with D'Arby, much of Marco d'Ambrosio's work blends together, even if its contemporary nature gains points for novelty. I watched the OVA subtitled with Japanese audio, but even the Japanese voice actors feel somewhat amateur, aside from maybe Polnareff's.
As for the storyline changes... well, they tried their best. Enya's "redesign" feels like a capitulation to the higher-ups more than a writing team's idea to enhance the story, and many of the other changes feel unnecessary and strange in the context of the overall work. Decapitation was obviously the favorite method of execution at A.P.P.P. (I do appreciate the consistency with the trucks, though...) In general, the Justice and Vanilla Ice fights feel the weakest, likely due to most of them being entirely rewritten. If I had to pick a best fight in the 2000 series, I actually think I'd go with Hierophant Green's, surprisingly enough. Though, nothing in that half of the work holds a candle to N'Doul or D'Arby (which are 1:1 with the manga for the most part).
With all that said, the strongest aspect of the OVA is its tone, which is considerably darker than the manga. This is most apparent in the first half, with the muted colors and all, but even in the second half the writers are evidently willing to go farther than Araki was capable of at the time—and if I may be so bold, probably farther than Shueisha would be comfortable with nowadays... Even if it doesn't always work, I would recommend the OVA to people wanting to see a more "self-serious" (is that a word?) take on Part 3. The official English release is worth it for the bonus features alone, not that it's any easier to legally obtain than a fan translation anymore.
In contrast, the earlier OVA adaptation of Baoh the Visitor does a much better job of condensing the original story to around half its size. Aside from Sumire's kidnapping scene, which is executed somewhat quickly, the changes Studio Pierrot made to the source material largely work to the film's benefit. The action scenes are similarly flashy, but don't detract from the quieter story-focused scenes. The music is still forgettable, though. Araki may have wanted to see the twovolumes adapted separately, but I think Pierrot made the right decision in terms of pacing and content. Baoh isn't quite a must-watch, but it's well worth forty minutes of one's time, I think.
The ninth episode of the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan drama released. Two of them did, actually. The main event was standard fare for the drama, which meant it was great and really honored the spirit of what Araki was going for in the original work. I did expect a little bit more a year after Rohan au Louvre, but I certainly don't have any complaints. As for the bonus episode, it was honestly rather refreshing to see two sidecharacters from a decade-old work depicted in a more realistic and human manner. The fact that the team behind the drama wanted to create a separate 14-minute special to do that shows just how much they care about the world they've created, and I respect that immensely. Here's hoping for another season!
I watched the livestream of the Phantom Blood musical. Phantom Blood is short but dense, and it is very easy to go wrong when adapting it to other mediums, and in fact it has gone wrong several times before. With that in mind, I had high hopes going into the musical, hoping that they would finally do justice to the part and bring glory to Jonathan and Dio's story.
I don't know if there has ever been a better time to be a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fan than those three and a half hours.
The Cool Shock B.T. reboot published in Saikyo Jump finally received a translation. I'm not a fan of its art style, but I can't say it doesn't work. The decision to turn B.T. from a practical trickster into more of a technology whiz fits with the modern-day setting, but there is something a little off-putting about it. (Especially since deepfakes are his go-to!) On the other hand, Koichi feels a little too naive for the setting, though him being a first-year middle schooler does go a long way toward excusing it. I do appreciate that the antagonist takes advantage of the modern setting while still being just as irredeemable as the antagonists in the original work, though. For what the reboot sets out to do, I think it works just fine. Maybe I'm just a few years too old to judge it fairly.
As for the important question, the new B.T. would probably be just about evenly-matched with Nisio's older B.T., if only because he has the advantage of youth. In his prime, though, Araki's B.T. would massacre his Saikyo counterpart.
I recently watched the theater play adaptation of Under Execution, Under Jailbreak. Or maybe I watched a theater play that happens to use three lines from and share the same title as Under Execution, Under Jailbreak. Who can be sure? I am not particularly a fan of performance art, though I do appreciate the level of artistry being employed in the set design and choreography. The music isn't that bad, either, at least until the fifth or sixth repetition of each piece. What is it in service of, then? I wish I had an answer. The parallel drawn between the titular work and Dolce, and His Master is a great idea in concept, but you need to do something with it. The play briefly flirts with their premises, but from there it mainly becomes a series of unrelated exercises in repetitive motion, each going on around three iterations too long. I understand that the work is aimed at those who prefer watching the elegant movements of the human body, but the sampled "monologues" would probably become a turn-off in that scenario. For that reason, I struggle to understand who Under Execution, Under Jailbreak is for. Practicing artists? Necrophiliacs? People sexually attracted to cats?
Finally got around to watching Rohan au Louvre. As a fan of the original one-shot, I enjoyed the way the film vastly expands on the story, though the final flashback did feel a bit out of place. That said, I can see how it'd be really easy for people who don't know the source material or the drama series to be helplessly lost. It's a great film, when given the proper context. Nothing is happening this month, which has become a rare occurrence since The JOJOLands was announced. I feel like I've come to appreciate it.
Bit of a quieter The JOJOLands chapter this month. And next month, too, considering the hiatus. I don't expect Dragona to actually get in trouble regarding the watch, but Jodio and Paco might be outmatched. Usagi's mother is totally Meryl Mei Qi, right? Also, the live-action Rohan au Louvre film is out on Amazon Prime now. I haven't had the chance to watch it yet, but I'm sure it'll be good.
Usagi really did ram that car into that tree. Not quite sure why the cats were attacking to begin with, but Jodio seems to suspect something's been watching the lava. It was nice seeing the group get slowly but surely cornered before suddenly turning the tables, and I think that type of chapter is where the Ultra Jump format shines. It was also nice seeing THE MATTEKUDASAI's (is that how it's spelled now?) combat potential, though it may be at a disadvantage if the other main characters continue to take two to three pages to think about what they want. Also, Rohan au Louvre on digital, woo!
Seems we're back to only having The JOJOLands to look forward to. Fine by me. This month's chapter was significantly shorter, probably because it's the first part of an arc. Nothing too out of the ordinary for JoJo in Ultra Jump, though. Since there are at least three cats, I wonder if the other two have distinct Stand abilities from the floating string that we haven't seen yet. As for Usagi, I genuinely believe he is about to ram that car into the tree. It's still too early to have a betrayal of any consequence, I think, and I also don't trust Paco.
The Crazy Heartbreakers novel is out. It's batshit. It's not JORGE batshit, but from what I've been told there are some wild details and insertions. "Pink Dark Boy knows a person named NiNiNi," wild. Jodio proved his worth in The JOJOLands this month with that interrogation sequence. The lava definitely has something to do with the Saint's Corpse, but unless someone stole it from the government and tossed it into an active volcano, I can't imagine what just yet. Also, there are multiple stray cats, and there's probably one Stand user privy to the lava's secret behind all of them. And as for things that don't matter, the Stone Ocean O.S.T. released. For once, something went right for this season.
Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak ended. Good. It's also getting a novel version, which I imagine is just the manga but with longer monologues. And apparently it's called Crazy Heartbreakers now...? Meanwhile in The JOJOLands, Paco used his ability again and Jodio didn't point it out. Rude. The diamond isn't a Stand, because the airport officials were able to see it, but it's clearly some kind of supernatural object. Does it simply open holes? The film version of Rohan au Louvre is upon us, but that won't matter much to me for a while, because I don't plan on visiting Japanese theaters. Hopefully it becomes available on Amazon Prime soon. And the Stone Ocean O.S.T. got a proper cover... well, more proper than the last one, anyhow. How'd they find sixty tracks?
Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak is ending. Good. It's also getting a novel version, which I imagine is just the manga but with longer monologues. Also, Bakin was shown in The JOJOLands. So that's fun. I think the cat's either a Stand or another Stand User's pet, or maybe some other supernatural phenomena related to the volcanoes. Hmmmm, what else is there...? The film and novel of Rohan au Louvre are being released soon. Very excited to see how the Rohan drama team will tackle one of his heaviest stories. I rather wish there was more to talk about, but...
I really, truly, honestly can't believe Araki finally jumped the gun and put Rohan Kishibe in the second continuity, seemingly completely unaltered. I mean, there were hints: JoJolion featured references to Mutsu-kabe Hill and Poaching Seashore (oh, God, did it reference Poaching Seashore), and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan referenced the wealthier Higashikata family and the Seiten Birdies, but it really did seem like one of those things where they were never going to collide. I believe Araki actually referred to TSKR as a "side-by-side world" with JoJolion once? Yeah, it was in JOJOVELLER. Still. My God. He's an absolute madman, Araki is. I mean, where do we even go from here? Was that the point of Radio Gaga, to firmly place Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan in the same world as Rock Humans and November Rain? Do we have to start questioning whether Millionaire Village exists near JoJolion's Morioh, or why the town changed its logo in Hot Summer Martha? Is Bakin going to show up? I mean, Bakin is a very good boy, so I wouldn't be opposed to seeing him again, but... I just don't know. I honestly don't have a clue. There are two Kishibe Rohans. Probably more. How do I handle this? Plus, we know from Millionaire Village that Araki doesn't worry himself about ages, so could Au Louvre fit into this somewhere? What about At a Confessional, was that caused by an unrelated incident? And those lookalikes of Josuke, Koichi, and Okuyasu, among other Part 4 characters? Do they exist in the Morioh of JoJolion? Who are they? I just... I don't know. Rohan Kishibe. In second continuity. What is Araki cooking? Is he cooking?
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Regarding "The Wonder of You" (formerly "The Wonder of You (The Miracle of Your Love)")
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Your Miraculous Love is nearly equivalent to The Wonder of You, save that the implied love in the latter is made explicit in the former. Araki has already used the "Katakana Name (Followed by Kanji Translation)" format for Sound of Terror (サウンド・オブ・テラー (恐怖の音), Saundo Obu Terā) (WSJ title), Interlude (インタールード (間奏曲), Intārūdo (Kansōkyoku)), and arguably the Awaken (AWAKEN-目覚め, Aweikun-Mezame) story arc. The wiki does not use Sound of Terror (The Sound of Fear), Interlude (Intermezzo), or AWAKEN - Awakening in these instances. Araki has used parenthesis to indicate different information before, as in Koichi Hirose (Echoes), Toshikazu Hazamada (Surface), Catch the Rainbow (On a Stormy Night...), and The Plant Appraiser - Rai Mamezuku (31). However, in each of these instances, the text in parenthesis is clearly distinguishable and inequal to the text outside parenthesis (with a possible exception for Catch the Rainbow if one overlooks the ellipsis at the end). In addition, several Japanese sources regard 君の奇跡の愛 as a Japanese translation of The Wonder of You or Wonder of U.[WOU 1][WOU 2][WOU 3] Finally, it's worth noting that the "miracle of love" is never explicitly brought up as a theme in the arc, and the only "miracle" during the battle that could be said to come about as a result of "love" begins in Safety First and Go Beyond, with neither chapter sporting the arc name. (As a matter of fact, the wiki classifies both chapters as part of the Go Beyond story arc.)
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