I’m too anxious to catch up to “Stardust Crusaders.” I can’t stay
patient with this pace. Also, it was getting a little redundant to find
different ways to re-phrase how ridiculous, good and, at many times,
ridiculously good this show is. So, I’ll chew through the rest of this season
in chunks. It feels just that much more frenetic that way.
Anyway, as we continue to figure out where this show fits in genre
fiction’s whole train of influence, it’s worth noting that this batch of
episodes really made me think of the ROAD WARRIOR. Obviously,
that one flick had tremendous influence on pop culture, inspiring everything
from WATERWORLD to JOJO’s contemporary, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, to… well… a
good 50% of wrestling gimmicks in the 80’s. On surface level, you might liken the… threatening
sexuality of Wez to that of the Pillar Men, but I think the more profound
connection is also more subtle.
LITTLE KNOWN FACT: George Miller, the director of MAD MAX, started his filmmaking career
with a flick called VIOLENCE IN CINEMA that actually spoofed the kind of gory
movies he’d later be known for. And I think the reason ROAD WARRIOR made such
an impression was because Miller had picked apart action cinema so thoroughly
that he understood exactly what to with every competent when he
made a serious actioner. Having a healthy sense of humor about all the derring-do
- - as opposed to being overly dour about it - - probably helped, too.
I feel like Araki’s done the same thing here. The most striking part
about this story is that - - if you take away all the comedy bumps - -
it’s still a tightly plotted pulp adventure. The threats are constantly escalating. The reversals are surprising.
Tension is infused into even the most seemingly mundane exercise. It just also
happens to be funny. I previously called it the shonen antitode, but now it
really looks more like an antidote to overly self-service thrillers like GHOST
IN THE SHELL, TEXHNOLYZE and GUNSLINGER GIRL are. It’s giving you your cake, and letting eat
it, too.
Last point, while we’re keeping tally on all the references - - is one
of the Pillar Men really named for Wham? The references to AC/DC, Lisa Lisa and
the Cars were easy enough to pick up on, but that one wasn’t so obvious. Tell
me, lunatics - - did I guess correctly?
Watch "JoJo vs. the Ultimate Lifeform" and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode.
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