The Last Crusaders
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Special Event "The Last Crusaders" (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 スターダストクルセイダース スペシャルイベント「THE LAST CRUSADERS」, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Sutādasuto Kuruseidāsu Supesharu Ibento 'Za Rasuto Kuruseidāsu') was a special event held at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan on October 24, 2015, as a follow-up celebration for the concluded TV airing of Stardust Crusaders. This event is where the Diamond is Unbreakable anime adaptation was announced.
Summary
Greetings
The event featured the voice actors of the main cast and the singers of the anime's openings: Daisuke Ono, Unsho Ishizuka, Kenta Miyake, Daisuke Hirakawa, Fuminori Komatsu, Misato Fukuen, Hiroaki "TOMMY" Tominaga, Coda, and Jin Hashimoto. The voice actors presented on a set designed to resemble DIO's mansion and the clock tower at Cairo. Ono, a big JoJo fan even before he played Jotaro Kujo, greeted the audience by twisting a line from Lovers, saying "I am most, most, most, most grateful."
Miyake, also a JoJo fan, imitated Avdol as he declared "YES I AM! Is everyone doing okay with their JoJo withdrawal? Thinking it's all over? It's 10 years too soon for that, isn't it?" Hirakawa, who took the stage with red hair extensions reminiscent of Kakyoin, was teased by the host Hisanori Yoshida as "looking like a late-comer to the visual kei scene."
Stardust Crusaders Last Talk!
The first segment was "Stardust Crusaders Last Talk!" where the cast took the opportunity to try things on stage which they've wanted to do. When Ono expressed his wish to "try stopping time," Ishizuka and Hirakawa made fun of him, but when Ono declared on stage "I have stopped time...", his co-stars stiffened as if time had indeed stopped. Ono, while laughing, said "This segment is held together by everyone's goodwill," and performed a skit where he surprised the cast by reversing the direction of the chairs during the time stop. He also gave Hirakawa a punch to the gut, mimicking what DIO did to Kakyoin. Komatsu, carried to the side of the stage by Ono during the time stop, used Polnareff's line, "Let me tell you what just happened! I was sitting on a chair, but before I knew it, suddenly found myself on the side of the stage," eliciting laughter from the audience. Ono also told Ishikawa that he wants to hear Old Joseph saying Young Joseph's lines, so Ishikawa voiced Joseph's "Happy, joy-py, nice to py-t ya!" quote.
Miyake requested to see Eyes of Heaven on the big screen, so they showed the latest trailer of the game, featuring Heaven-Attained DIO. Next, Komatsu asked questions to the audience, such as "Do you like Polnareff the most in Stardust Crusaders, to which the audience would respond with "YES! YES! YES!" or "NO! NO! NO". Miyake also wanted to play D'Arby's surface tension game using coins and glasses against Ishizuka, with Ono as the judge. In the end, Miyake lost, and Fukuen pretended to be Osiris and squeezed his cheeks with her hands to turn him into a coin.
Hirakawa's request was to take commemorative photos of the Joestar group. The cast posed like various characters and Stands, finally taking a photo with poses like the characters did in episode 25. Finally, Fukuen's request was to eat coffee-flavored chewing gum, so the cast all tried it. Production of that type of gum was discontinued in Japan, so Warner had to get them from America.
Live Performances
TOMMY, Coda, and Hashimoto, performed the opening themes from Parts 1 to 3 of the series, JoJo ~Sono Chi no Sadame~, BLOODY STREAM, STAND PROUD, and Sono Chi no Kioku. They also sang the character image tracks from The anthology songs, Star Platinum, OH MY GOD,JAHHHHHHH!, Fire of Soul, Goodbye Nostalgia, NAKED SILVER, and IGGY WALK.
The cast then conducted a live voice-over session of the anime with intense reenactments of battles. The sessions included Jotaro and Iggy vs. N'Doul (Ono and Fukuen), Joseph and Avdol vs. Mariah (Ishizuka and Miyake), Pet Shop vs. Iggy (Fukuen), Polnareff, Iggy, and Avdol vs. Vanilla Ice (Komatsu, Fukuen, and Miyake), Kakyoin and Joseph vs. DIO (Hirakawa and Ishizuka), and Jotaro, Joseph, and Polnareff vs. DIO (Ono, Ishizuka, and Komatsu). When it concluded, Ono expressed that he had anxiety about whether it was truly possible for him to reenact the final battle scene again with the same intensity. However, looking at everyone with him, he felt he could do it. "I couldn't have done it alone. I've been on this journey thanks to the passion I received from these comrades." Ishizuka also commented on the trust among the cast, "This work requires overwhelming power to perform. I wondered if I had the strength to bring it up to that level. But just seeing everyone's faces raised my spirits."
In the final greeting with all the performers, Ono said, "I think everyone involved with Stardust Crusaders is a star. There are many different stars. Looking at the audience, there are young women, muscular men, and kids. Each has their own sparkle and has been drawn together by the gravitational pull of JoJo. We've come this far with the members on stage, the people who shaped the work but aren't here, and all of you, a gathering of various stars. We are all 'Stardust Crusaders'!" and expressed his thanks.[2]
As the event ended, they announced that the fourth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Diamond is Unbreakable, will be adapted into a TV anime, displaying a 45 second preview.[3]
Goods
In addition to the goods below, the Blu-ray and DVD volumes of the anime and CDs for The anthology songs were also available for purchase. Those who purchased goods worth 2000 yen or more were entered into a draw with ten winners for a script with autographs from Daisuke Ono, Unsho Ishizuka, Kenta Miyake, Daisuke Hirakawa, Fuminori Komatsu, and Misato Fukuen. An original design postcard limited to the event was also given on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers who purchased The anthology songs would be given an autograph from TOMMY, Coda, and Jin Hashimoto on a first-come, first-served basis as well.
Gallery
The Last Crusaders Logo
Art
Cast posing at "The Last Crusaders" Event
Cast at "The Last Crusaders" Event
Unsho Ishizuka and Kenta Miyake reenacting gambling scene at "The Last Crusaders" event
Daisuke Ono, Kenta Miyake, and Unsho Ishizuka posing at "The Last Crusaders" Event
Misato Fukuen and Fuminori Komatsu posing at "The Last Crusaders" Event
Natsumi Takamori
Ayumi Fujimura
Reiko Takagi
Sachiko Kojima
Junichi Yanagita
Masaya Onosaka
Hidenari Ugaki
Anri Katsu
Yasunori Matsumoto
Motoko Kumai
Makoto Yasumura
Yuko Kaida
Daisuke Ono from "The Last Crusaders" pamphlet
Misato Fukuen from "The Last Crusaders" pamphlet
References
- ↑ JoJo The Last Crusaders Special Event
- ↑ "ジョジョ3部ラストイベントで、小野D「色んな星が集まってここまで来れた」", Comic Natalie, October 25, 2015.
- ↑ Diamond is Unbreakable Anime PV
