It’s a Wonderful World
Episode 38 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean Part II begins with Emporio being awestruck at the fact that he’s in Green Dolphin Street Prison. He overhears Jolyne and Jotaro yelling at each other in the interrogation room. When he arrives, he notices something about these two’s faces. Pucci enters the room and knocks out the Jotaro wannabe. He tells Emporio that he sent him into the past, puzzling him. Pucci says they leaped through the ultimate time, beyond the end of their universe. Pucci claims they’re in an alternate universe now that Maiden Heaven promised. Pucci says Jolyne, Jotaro, Anastasia, and Ermes’s souls don’t exist in this new world. Pucci plans to end Emporio’s life as he doesn’t want any of his enemies in his newly created world. Emporio tries fleeing, but Pucci says it’s futile. Emporio learns that the events that transpired in the original world occur similarly to this one. Emporio desires to flee from Pucci but does not follow the fateful steps of the previous universe. Emporio overhears a guard remembering events from the previous world. Pucci enters the hallway and knocks them out. He tells Emporio there’s no point in challenging fate as Emporio flees into another room using his powers. Emporio ponders Pucci’s words about alternate realities and recalls his studies about this phenomenon from books he read. Pucci enters the next room and starts chasing Emporio. During his chase, Pucci prattles on about this new world’s laws. He claims that everyone that transferred over to this alternate world can recall the future and have had their souls blessed. This is the happiness Pucci strived for with Maiden Heaven since people can now prepare for the future. Emporio stops to locate the gun he had earlier, but remembers he dropped it in the ocean. He promises not to head for the Ghost Room since Pucci knows it exists. When trying to flee, Emporio gets hurt by a nearby mop and is sent falling down some stairs. Pucci towers over Emporio. While he knows some details may vary, Emporio cannot change fate. Before Pucci strikes Emporio, they both get sent into his ghost room. Emporio inserts Weather Report’s memory and Stand disc into his head. In the ghost room, Emporio reveals that Pucci accidentally inserted the disc into his head when he punched him into the crack. He gained the other disc from Jolyne during their exchange. The two begin their fight, and before Pucci strikes he gets sent flying into the piano. Pucci’s baffled by this development as he finds it difficult to stand up. Emporio explains what’s happening to Pucci. He says that Oxygen is the most prevalent toxin that surrounds living organisms. While living beings need oxygen to survive, it can’t surpass 40% saturation. Pure oxygen is toxic to humans as they will die if they’re exposed to it. In high concentrations, it destroys the body’s organ systems one at a time. Inhaling pure oxygen causes people’s limbs to become paralyzed and their eyes to burst, causing blindness. Acceleration time won’t help Pucci in this case as he’s experiencing everything Emporio explained. Emporio says he’s been filling the room with pure oxygen, so Pucci will eventually lose consciousness. Emporio says he’s not causing this, this is the rage Weather Report built up that’ll lead to Pucci’s demise. Pucci begs for his life and offers to stop himself in this world from achieving Maiden Heaven at Cape Canaveral. Pucci doesn’t want to perish as it’ll undo everything he’s accomplished. He argues preparation brings true happiness, and to eradicate that would be villainous. Emporio and Weather Report’s Stand punch Pucci so hard that it causes the universe to reset again. Emporio awakens somewhere near Green Dolphin Street Prison. He overhears Ermes yelling at a bus driver on the bus. He investigates the area and learns that Ermes doesn’t remember who he is or what they’ve done together. The bus driver throws Ermes’s belongings out of the bus, leading her to yell at Emporio for wasting her time. Anastasia offers to give them a ride somewhere if they hand him cash for gas and meals. Anastasia reveals Jolyne to be in her car. They ask Emporio where his parents are, but he’s astounded by the fact that they’re all alive in this world. Jolyne reveals that Anastasia is her boyfriend in this universe and that she’s unsure if her father will give them their blessing for marriage. Jolyne gives Emporio her coat as he introduces himself to them with tears in his eyes. In Anastasia’s vehicle, Jolyne asks him to pick up a man on the road. This man ends up being Weather Report. The episode concludes with an homage to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s first ending theme, Roundabout. We’re to assume that everyone from F.F. and Jotaro has survived in this universe but doesn’t retain the memories from the previous world.
The Episode Review
While it isn’t perfect, Stone Ocean’s finale delivers a charming yet bittersweet send-off to the entire series. Hearing JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s first ending theme play as our heroes drive off into the sunset filled me with joy and wonder. Many fans will likely attain a similar feeling as the ending doesn’t hold back on its nostalgia factor. Besides the ending, David Productions included a neat homage to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s history too. We get a brief snippet of every JoJo protagonist from Phantom Blood to Stone Ocean. These extra additions will surely get a cheer and smile from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fanbase. This episode also surprised me with Pucci’s defeat, as I’d anticipated that he’d won. The whole chase sequence dragged on for a long time, though. Many may feel the same as Emporio enters his ghost room. While it’s fitting for Pucci to lose to the same entity he trapped years ago, their bout felt somewhat contrived. To some extent, it would’ve been great to receive one more episode to flesh out the fight between Emporio and Pucci. Having it end with an elongated chase sequence didn’t sit well with me. Even so, it was epic to see the universe reset itself in such a visual way. It paints the picture of how dangerous Maiden Heaven and Weather Report’s Stands were in the series. Otherwise, this was a bittersweet conclusion to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. It had some fun action, breathtaking visuals, and hard-hitting nostalgia for long-time fans.
