Part 3: Stardust Crusaders



Part 3 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, subtitled Stardust Crusaders, is preceded by Battle Tendency and followed by Diamond is Unbreakable. Jotaro Kujo is the JoJo of this part and DIO is the main antagonist. The Agents of DIO and Egypt 9 Glory Gods serve as the villainous factions.

This part introduces Stands and concludes the first major saga of the series with DIO's ultimate demise.

Originally published under the title Part III: Jotaro Kujo - Heritage for the Future, the manga was first serialized from 1989 to 1992 in Weekly Shonen Jump.

In March of 1993 a video game RPG adaptation of Part 3 was released for the Super Famicon in Japan.

In November of 1993 an OVA adaptation of Part 3 was released. The first 13 episodes focused on Jotaro and the group in the desert on their way to fight with DIO. In 2000, seven more episodes were released as a prequel showing the start of their journey up to the battle in Egypt.

In December of 1993, an audio drama was released adapting certain arcs of Part 3. It included two new arcs which contained a fight between Jotaro and Hol Horse and a Stand battle against an unknown Stand User and his music box Stand, Strange Relation.

In 1998, a video game based on Part 3 titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Heritage of the Future was released in arcades and on the PlayStation and Dreamcast. It was released in North America in 2000.

Stardust Crusaders was adapted into a TV anime as the second season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation in 2014. The part is split into two arcs, the Road to Egypt Arc and the Battle in Egypt Arc.

Stardust Crusaders was the first JoJo part to be released in English, released from 2005-2010 under the title JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Legacy for the Future. It was officially rereleased in hardcover in 2016 renamed to its current title.

Shonen Jump+ Description
''A fiendish villain once thought to be dead has resurfaced and become even more powerful! To fight this evil, the aging Joseph Joestar enlists the help of his hot-blooded grandson, Jotaro Kujo. Together they embark on a perilous adventure that will take them around the world!''

Summary
The third part, set in 1989, follows Joseph's grandson Jotaro Kujo as he journeys across the globe in 50 days in order to save his mother from a curse. This part introduces the concept of Stands, supernatural abilities that manifest as the form of the user's fighting spirit. Because DIO has been revived, he has unlocked his own Stand, giving everyone in the Joestar family an ability as well due to their psychic connection to Jonathan's body, which DIO now inhabits. The part concludes with the defeat of DIO at the hands of Jotaro and his Stand, Star Platinum, however at the cost of losing several allies on the long journey.

Characters

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JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Genesis of the Universe (1993)
A non-canon light novel written by Mayori Sekijima & Hiroshi Yamaguchi in 1993 that takes place in the middle of Part 3 right after the Geb fight. It introduces two new arcs with three new Stand Users to fight against. The first arc is One-Way Trip from the Desert to Hell City, featuring a Stand battle between the Crusaders and two Stands, Demonic Coupler and Dark Mirage. The second story, The Gravestone of Red-Hot Sand, features a Stand battle between the Crusaders and a Stand called Ptah.

Oingo Boingo Brothers Adventures (2002)
In 2002 a compilation of the Stand Tohth's predictions were released. They are a physical book form of the book that Boingo uses in Part 3 and show the entirety of its predictions as shown in the original manga. It is written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki but does not feature any new stories, only what has already been seen during Stardust Crusaders.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Shooters (2014)
A free mobile game released in 2014 exclusively for Japan and while technically a spin-off of All-Star Battle, it mainly focused on Stardust Crusaders, but did feature characters from the first five parts. The game features Medals, particularly "Striker" Medals, each of which represents one character and their ability set. These units make up a team, in which there can be 5 Medals (a Leader, 2 regular frontline units, a Standby unit, and a Friend/Guest unit which can be chosen at Quest Selection). Like many mobile games, a Stamina system is used which regenerates over time and lets you play the game's Quests. Each quest takes a certain amount of stamina to enter, and consists of 1 or more Rounds. These rounds contain 1 or more waves of enemies the player is required to defeat to complete the round. Completing every round means completing the current quest and claiming it's rewards. Servers officially closed down in 2021, making it no longer possible to play.

Iggy the Stray Dog (2022)
A light novel telling the origin of Iggy's relationship with Mohammad Avdol. It is set in 1980's New York City right before the events of Stardust Crusaders and tells the story of the fateful battle between the two of them, which led to Iggy being taken in by the Speedwagon Foundation. The light-novel also reveals things about Avdol's past, like his relationship with his parents, and how he first met Joseph Joestar. A snippet of it originally released in JOJO Magazine in March 2022, with the full novel being released in May of the same year. It was written by Otsuichi for JoJo's 35th Anniversary.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Hotel (2017)
An escape room attraction based on Stardust Crusaders. Participants face off against a new Stand User created for this attraction, Dija Maker, and his Stand House of Holy. It takes place during Part 3 as the Crusaders stop at a hotel on their way to Cairo. Participants play the role of the Crusaders as they are suddenly trapped inside of the hotel by Dija Maker and his Stand. They must find a way to defeat House of Holy and get out before they are trapped forever.

VIZ Media premiered the attraction in the American fans in 2018 twice, at FanimeCon in San Jose, and at the 2018 Anime Expo in Los Angeles. It is the only JoJo's Bizarre Adventure attraction to get a release in the United States.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Real 4-D: DIO's World (2017)
A cinematic attraction titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Real 4-D: DIO's World was promoted at Universal Studios Japan during 2017. It was an adaptation of the DIO's World Arc in full CGI animation from the perspective of the Speedwagon Foundation. You are guided by Joseph as you watch the battle unfold. It featured the same voice acting and score from the 2014 anime adaptation. It is the only attraction for Part 3 that wasn't an escape room attraction, and can be watched in full on YouTube.

Invitation to DIO's Mansion (2018)
A maze attraction at Shueisha's Shonen Jump theme-park, J-WORLD. It was held from February to April 2018. One day, during a sightseeing tour of Egypt, you receive a strange invitation letter from DIO, asking you to come serve him. Unable to resist DIO's magical charm, you respond to the invitation and head to his mansion. After giving their "invitation" to a servant, players will progress through a dark maze within groups of 1 to 4. The attraction offers a DIO or Jotaro ending, which can be chosen in advance. The attraction also featured a dice-based mini game called "Rushing! F-MEGA Dice Boost," which reproduces the videogame played between Kakyoin and Telence D'Arby.

The Letter Inside DIO's Mansion (2018)
An escape room experience based on the anime for Stardust Crusaders, created through collaboration between SCRAP and the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure TV Anime Production Committee. Participants engaged in solving mysteries within DIO's mansion, teaming up with characters like Jotaro and friends. The storyline unfolds taking place after the "D'Arby the Player" story arc.

It was held in Tokyo from February 15 to May 31, 2018, at Tokyo Mystery Circus's Mystery Plaza, the indoor event offered flexibility with no specified team sizes or time limits, though the game typically lasted 30 to 60 minutes. Participants discovered letters in mailboxes within the venue, each containing riddles and puzzles crucial for their escape.

Clamp in Wonderland: JoJo's Bizarre Married Life (1994)
Two doujinshi's were released for the 1994 Clamp event. The first, JoJo's Bizarre Married Life, is set some time after the end of Stardust Crusaders in a reality where Kakyoin never died. It focuses on Kakyoin becoming a housewife to Jotaro. The two of them exist at home, Kakyoin does work around the house and cooks for Jotaro. DIO even appears, though obviously this is non-canon.

The second one, released sometime after titled Clamp in Wonderland 1994 Summer, begins with Kakyoin laying an egg that hatches into Jota Kujo, the son of Kakyoin and Jotaro. The doujinshi focuses on the strange child's childhood, including the awakening of his Stand Charmy Green, which is named after an in-universe dish soap. Charmy Green is a fusion Stand of both Star Platinum and Hierophant Green, as it has a combination of both of their powers. Later in the doujinshi, Jota fully grows up and meets Josuke Higashikata.

Diesel (1997)
An American comic one-shot written by Joe Weltjens in 1997. It is highly influenced by Part 3 and is an adaptation of the The Fool' Iggy and 'God Geb' N'Doul Arc. The author discovered the Part 3 OVA and fell in love with it. Realizing that Americans would not have the opportunity to experience the Part 3 manga, he attempted to get it localized, but when that failed, he created his own comic heavily inspired by it. It features a completely unique cast, and almost each of them has their own unique Stand. Characters like Thomas Diesel and the blind Stand User are directly inspired by Jotaro Kujo and N'Doul. Diesel's Stand, Meta Hammer, and the blind Stand User's Stand (unnamed) are also directly inspired by Star Platinum and Geb.

Having been written by an American and inspired by a fan-subbed OVA, it is technically the first JoJo related media to have been available in English, since the Part 3 OVA came out officially with English subtitles in 2003 and the manga itself didn't get localized until 2005.

Creation and Development
When planning this series initially, Araki intended Part 3 to be the final part. He first pitched it as a modern retelling of Dracula. There was only one person in the room who thought it was a good idea; the rest were utterly confused. His editors told him to have at least one Japanese character/story arc prior to this part, as they felt the story had too many foreign characters and settings for the comic's target audience.

Stardust Crusader 's title was added later into the series' run. The word "stardust" is meant to represent the Joestar Family, and more specifically Star Platinum, and Araki envisioned the Joestar Group's journey across the world as a crusade against DIO.

Trivia

 * This part was possibly inspired by the novel "Around the World in 80 Days" by JulesHe game, traveling between a series of stops.
 * This part has the longest anime adaptation so far, with 48 episodes, even though it is the third shortest part by chapter count. It is longer than the Parts 4, 5, and 6 anime adaptations even though they are significantly longer by page count.
 * The minor villain Hol Horse was originally meant to become a full member of the Stardust Crusaders, but Araki scrapped the idea because he felt that his personality was too similar to Polnareff's. This may serve as an inspiration for the premise of the spin-off series Crazy Heartbreakers.

Iconography
Stardust Crusaders has had multiple different icons and imagery representing the part as a whole. Compared to the previous two parts, there isn't one McGuffin in the part that the story revolves around, so iconic imagery has to be found elsewhere.

One prominent theme in Stardust Crusaders imagery is Egyptian iconography, including the pyramids, desert, and hieroglyphics. It is most prominent in the two OPs for the anime's second season, where even before the group enters the continent of Africa, Egyptian imagery is used in the opening and ending sequences. The ending sequence for the first half of the season is the song "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles, and imagery shows the Crusaders among exotic colors and icons and ends with the iconic Eye of Horus. The Egyptian pyramids are also used as the backdrop in the manga's Bunkoban logo icon.

Another icon used quite often to represent Part 3 is Jotaro's hat emblem depicting the palm of a hand. It is most often associated with Jotaro, but also with Araki's personal publishing company, LuckyLand. It is also used as the identifying icon for Part 3 in All-Star Battle and Eyes of Heaven.

Continuity

 * The Joestar Birthmark is formally introduced in this part. While the original manga did not include the birthmarks in Parts 1 and 2, the anime adaptations of those parts added them to their respective protagonists retroactively. The original manga retcons Joseph to have had it the entire time, as well as his father and grandfather. George Joestar I remains the only member of the Joestar family not to be shown with the birthmark in the original continuity.
 * Joseph Joestar returns in this part 50 years later as the deuteragonist.
 * Smokey Brown and Suzi Q also return in this part. Suzi Q being Joseph's wife, she is shown off to a decent extent living in New York and dealing with the news of her husband and grandson travelling the world, and Smokey Brown is mentioned to be the mayor of Georgia, which was previously mentioned at the end of Part 2.
 * While the Stand Arrow was not revealed officially until Part 4, it can be seen hung up on the walls of DIO's mansion in an episode of the anime adaptation.
 * The parrot that appears on DIO's shoulder in a chapter of the manga is retconned to be Pet Shop, the bird Stand User in DIO's Army in the anime. The spin-off manga Crazy Heartbreakers attempts to explain this by introducing the actual parrot, who was trained under DIO by the same person as Pet Shop, and who is, in turn, also a Stand User.
 * This is the last part to feature Hamon to a certain degree, as Joseph uses it to deal with the Stand Empress and against DIO during the final battle.
 * Instead of using any of his wide arrange of attacks, he has resulted only to using the "Overdrive" attack.
 * Joseph appears 50 years older in this part, although he is a Hamon User like his mother, he has aged physically, unlike her. This is because he did not practice in Hamon training extensively like his mother or Straizo did in Part 2.
 * Joseph's Stand, Hermit Purple, is described as being the "Hamon User's Stand," and Araki claims that if the Crusaders were to go back in time and see Joseph during the events of Part 2, they would see him with purple vines wrapped around him, implying that his Stand has always been a dormant part of him.
 * This also is meant to explain why DIO is able to seemingly use Hermit Purple. This is actually Jonathan Joestar's Stand which DIO is able to manipulate because he is in the body of a Hamon User.
 * The non-canon spin-off novel Jorge Joestar gives Jonathan's unnamed Stand the name The Passion.
 * It is incorrectly theorized that DIO was able to use Jonathan's Stand because Araki's original plan for DIO's Stand was that he was able to use all of the Stands of the arcana variant.
 * During the fight with Empress, Joseph uses his catchphrase from Part 2 where he correctly guesses his opponents next words to intimidate them.
 * The kanji for the word "Stand" in Japanese mean "ghostly ripple," which implies a connection between the two powers.
 * Most of the Stands in this part are named after tarot card arcana and Egyptian mythology, with the exception of Tenore Sax and Cream, which are named after songs. This will later become the staple for Stand naming in future parts.
 * The Speedwagon Foundation appears once again in this part as an aid to the Joestars after having been mentioned in Part 2. With Speedwagon gone, they are still fully operational and give support to the Joestars many times throughout the series.
 * The photo that the Crusaders take together when the first meet Iggy, and the same one Jotaro looks at reminiscing on his plane home at the end of the part, was originally first see in the Part 5 manga. The origins for the photo were added in the anime adaptation.

Gallery
"'Despite being 50 days in the story, Part 3 has finally come to an end. Part 4 is next'"