JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo S04E34 Review: Dies Irae, Dies Illa

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Golden Wind, Season 4, Episode 34: The Requiem Quietly Plays, Part 1

As we barrel through the final episodes of Vento Aureo (and I know, I'm running pretty late) we pick up right where we left off. Diavolo punching Polnareff through the gut, then the appearance of the enigmatic shadowy figure that plucks the arrow from Diavolo, who we later learn is Chariot requiem. And... and I do kind of like how Requiem is introduced. He just shows up, freaks the previously calm Diavolo the fuck out, and everyone starts falling asleep -- and it's not just Diavolo and our heroes, but also everyone in the city.

A significant portion of the episode sort of breaks the tension by focusing on the Freaky Friday esque body swapping, but I feel like it's something that's certainly done a lot better in the anime than the manga, because every single one of the body-swapped characters still talk with their bodies' voices, making the disorienting confusion even more felt, and the fact that, say, Giorno's voice actor is able to capture Narancia's vocal mannerisms, Trish's voice actor is able to catch Mista's voice mannerisms... some really great voice work from the voice actors in this episode. I definitely appreciate it. 

And, as crass as it is, the comedic highlight has to be the fact that Mista and Trish have swapped bodies, with Mista-in-Trish being absolutely confused when he tries to tuck his gun into his pants and realize that he no longer has a wee-wee. Absolutely love his priorities, groping Trish's boobs and being confused what those are, before realizing that the thing missing is more imporant than the thing that was added to him. Trish-in-Mista, meanwhile, is angry about Mista's stinky armpits and hairy fingers, and we get a fight when Mista-in-Trish keeps sticking his hands down his new body's crotch area because the butt-enhancing panties are giving him a killer wedgie. 

Of course, after jokes about armpits and panties are out of the way, the question ends up being who Bucciarati ended up switching minds with (Trish's daddy-sensors note that it's not Diavolo, not exactly), and they quickly figure out that it's Diavolo. Also something they quickly figure out is that their Stands follow the 'souls' into their new bodies, for lack of a better term, and both Aerosmith and Sex Pistols seem to be powered up. (Which won't bode well with the potential power-up given to King Crimson). 

And then... we get exposition, courtesy of Polnareff, whose soul has entered the body of Coco Jumbo the turtle. And... well, it's basically kind of a recap of the previous episode to our main characters, and I kinda wished that there was a better way to more smoothly handle this. Polnareff confirms that everything is caused by Silver Chariot stabbing himself with the arrow during the fight, but also tells them that Chariot Requiem is now out of his control. Oh, and also tells the team, finally, that "the boss is a duo!" It's a bit of an anticlimactic revelation and a slight cop-out, but at the same time, considering how badass Polnareff was in the fight against Diavolo, it isn't unearned, at least. 

We get a brief flashback to an incident two years ago which Polnareff notes as something really trivial, and I do like it -- Polnareff drops the arrow behind some furniture, and being a cripple, he sends out Chariot to grab the arrow. Chariot pricks his cute little finger on the arrow and transforms into Requiem briefly, causing the whole "everyone in a radius starts sleeping" thing. Polnareff also quickly identifies, somehow, that the true potential of the arrow is to control minds, not just soul-swapping. Okay, Polnareff, whatever you say. 


It's definitely a bit of a slower episode that's mostly exposition, but we do get a bit of action as Narancia-in-Giorno finds a figure moving towards the Colosseum, and we get the squad using hand signals to coordinate their assault, which is neat. "Diavolo" runs into the Colosseum, seemingly about to attack Chariot Requiem, who is holding the arrow... and then "Diavolo" unleashes Sticky Fingers, revealing that, hey, it's Bucciarati! The episode ends with Bucciarati-in-Diavolo punching Requiem's arm straight off, which is pretty damn brutal. 

Pretty solid episode, I suppose, even if it's more establishing the new plot twist of Requiem causing all sorts of weird havoc and reintroducing Polnareff to Giorno and the gang. Definitely a lull in the action, though, and I had kind of wished that the original manga had paced the events out a little better. I'm not complaining too much, though, because I'm really not too bothered by this odd pacing. I've seen worse. 

The JoJo Playlist:

• Chariot Requiem, or just "Requiem", is noted to be inspired by Wolfgang A. Mozart's Requiem in D-Minor, a very, very famous piece and one of the most significant pieces in the classical era. For anime fans, you would also recognize Mozart's Requiem as that music that plays in 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime during the Phantom Troupe's, well, requiem. 
• As is done with both Dio and Kira in previous seasons, starting from this episode, the opening ends up being hijacked by Diavolo's King Crimson. This time around, instead of stopping time or playing parts of the song in reverse, we get to see the 'skipped time' as King Crimson is activated, and Diavolo's voice actor (?) delivers a long villain speech in Italian.