Going through this volume, I found myself still firmly in the trough of disillusionment. With that thought in mind, I paid little heed to the conclusion of The Empress or the build-up of The Fool. The introduction of a Jo Doggo was rather strange and seemingly out of nowhere. However, since it's a dog, I'm not inclined to complain.
Once the boys encounter a sound-sensitive enemy who is kilometers away, things take an interesting turn. I must give a shoutout to the coloring team. They truly made Jotaro's blues stand out vividly against the tans of the desert. Araki's art has continuously improved over time, but the color team enhances his work to a whole new level.
Avdol has a moment to shine, but then his throat gets sliced. Again, I have to question the purpose of inflicting such severe injuries on characters, only to have them brushed aside by the time the next baddie appears a couple of chapters later. This makes Kakyoin's relatively long-term injury feel odd, considering we've seen the lads easily shrug off comparably serious damage.
Jotaro chucking the dog is one of my favorite moments from Part 3. It's simple and crude, yet it's also the best solution given the circumstances. Then we get the sound guy's panicked inner monologue as he tries to make sense of the situation, which builds up to the reveal that Jotaro is standing right behind him. As I've mentioned before, providing more insight into the villains' mindset than the protagonist's is an effective way to make Jotaro's actions seem more intense and impactful. The reader experiences the same surprise and disorientation as the villain, followed by the visceral excitement of seeing a clever last-ditch effort succeed.
Now we come to one of my favorite battles in Part 3. Oingo Boingo is absolutely hilarious. I'm not sure which one is Oingo and which is Boingo, so I'll refer to each brother by their combined names. I previously mentioned the idea of the crusaders suspecting the work of a stand when, in reality, nothing out of the ordinary is happening. This is the opposite, where a stand user comes into play and self-destructs without any of them realizing. The result is truly one of the funniest things I've read in manga. A lot of comedy is based on defying expectations, so Oingo Boingo's power is such a clever foundation for comedy. It's a prophecy that a clown is desperately trying to fulfill against a series of coincidences and bad luck. I really don't want to overanalyze this scene, so give it a read for yourself and have some fun.
At this point, I'm having trouble coming up with terms to refer to Jotaro and his friends. So, from here on out, I'm going to have to think outside the box.
