Glad to be your 800th subscriber, just finished watching this video as I'm midway through my second read of Steel Ball Run, which I had first experienced a few years ago when I was in high school. Now, with myself more mature and in the stage of adulthood, I found myself appreciating a lot of the core thematic aspects in SBR that I wasn't privy to during my first read, many of which you covered greatly in this video. Keep it up man, can't wait to see other videos similar to this
Thank you for bringing out the little nuances and details. I've always thought of Jojo's as a quirky yet intriguing artbook with emotional dynamics. Although I was amazed at each character being so unique and having their own philosophy and moral compass, I never got to reflect on these nor how the protagonists themselves deal with their encounters with such psychological clashes. I recognised that Funny Valentine wasn't just the usual "good intentions with evil execution" kind of villain/antagonist because there was something inherent about him that resembled the many evils that other jojo antagonists have portrayed. To think back on it now, the entire concept of D4C revolves around having one stand used by an infinite identical stand masters that are the different Funny Valentines- a shared identity. Johnny defeated not Funny Valentine, but the stand which held them all together- a parallel to him defeating the idea of patriotism that was also keeping all of the clones on the same path despite having been from different universes. I had wondered why D4C was unique in this aspect, that there was only one D4C in the base universe but technically an infinite Valentines, even though the antagonist was not the stand itself literally. And Johnny defeated this school of thought, this abstract conception of a shared identity conceived by humans through achieving the pinnacle of a natural force in the JoJo Part 7 Verse, which helped him realise humanity and individual growth because Johnny ended up where he was only because he was intrigued by Gyro using the Spin on him and that spurring a true friendship. I love such video essays that explore deep themes of popular art. This is such a beautiful way of making people realise the intricacy of storytelling, the implications on real life and the importance of striving to make readers reflect rather than remember cool fights and sick dialogues. Everyone needs to understand that there is so much more to the art of storytelling, especially through images and drawings- incorporation of symbolism, the right messaging and piecing it all together to ensure it isn't just a compendium of philosophies but an experience. We learn through experience the best, and the medium of storytelling brings untold and inconceivable experiences to us. Like you mentioned, storytelling is such a powerful tool and that's why it dominates reasoning with logic in the context of patriotism- but for us the takeaway is that writing a story is not really simple. So, we must nevertheless learn to appreciate any piece of genuine effort and skill, such as this video itself! Wishing for your success as a youtuber and kudos to your ability to make such wonderful videos!
@@kyoiin17 thank you for your comment and such kind words. You put Valentine into words so nicely. And I love how Jojo tells its stories through unique ways, as you pointed out.
I liked the video essay. But just an uneducated comment: i haven't read SBR or any of the Jojos. Just took interest in the series and its myriad amount of references. i think Boruto is taking a lot of cues from Jojo ( Code might be a Pucci stand-in, Delta resembles Hato from Jojolion with her heel attacks and the Rasengan might be a spin move ). Onto the comment: the USA has done a lot in recent decades in the realm of war. Yes, many conflicts and a great death toll. But the USA with its volunteer army and navy take the brunt of being the tip of the spear against more authoritarian nations while also trying to obtain the resources necessary to satisfy the needs of its citizens. America needs lots trade, it's not self-sustaining in its need for growth and the increasing sophistication of its citizens. Another comment: the criticism of nationalism from Japan is not worth much in my opinion. While Arakki means good, I doubt he understands America and the complex life of its 333+ million citizens. There is something hiding in that "critique": Japan's fear of its great neighbor, China, and its inability to defend from it in a war. Either militarily or ideologically. Valentine reminds of Metallica's One and its music video. The sacrifices that America has required from its people for its advancement and peace. Arakki, as far as I can tell, has avoided making nods to Roxy Music save for a character in the Giorgio book. Looks to think he borrows thing from them. But i'm reminded of Ferry's interest in the possibility that is America can be more interesting than Jojo. From Prairie Rose from the Country Life album: ... (Texas) oh, that's where I belong It seems to me (Texas) Lonesome star, shine on The big country (Texas) With open skies, and you For company (Texas) Oh, prairie rose How happy I should be ... Maybe someone should make one of those AMV video of SBR with Prairie Rose as the track. :P
I have found him. I have been searching for him across all universes, all of time, all of the land. I looked through Italy, I explored Egypt, I rode across America, I asked everyone in Japan, I flew to Hawaii, I searched in Britain. I thought I'll never found him, but found him I did. A jojo fan with literacy skills. Finally, my search is over. I finally found a fellow human being who could look deep into Jojo and understand the complex themes underlying it. For far too long I have been driven mad with the idea that jojo is far more substantial, far more thematically significant, far more subtle, and far better written than many of the "classics" we read in school. But now, finally, I found a human who could not only appreciate these concepts, but also look into them at angles I never even considered. I can finally rest now. (Also jojolands is looking to be Araki's most philosophical work yet, it might even surpass SBR)
Jojolands will be the best jojo part by a landslide i think, so far it so it is so much denser than anything we have seen yet and the fights are playing out much more significantly than we have seen in other parts this early. For contrast part 19 of steel ball run johny used his stand for the first time, in jojolion it was shakedown road. For jojolands the final villian Might have been revealed. (I dont rly think he will be but its possible)
I've always read Steel Ball Run through a Nietzschean lens. There is no ultimate Ubermensch in the story, but he is found in the President, Johnny, Gyro, and Diego.
I have to say mayn that was a really good video. I was looking for more deeper analyses on STEEL BALL RUN and didn’t find a video that scratched the itch. After taking on a course in college that is making me think critically about fiction writing and requires good arguments as there are no right or wrong answers it’s a breath of fresh air to understand more of what one of my favorite stories is trying to convey.
I liked this video but I wanted to add that Valentines father might not have been from the Civil War. He would have been around 14 when it started (I think) and he looks younger than that to me in the flashback. I think it's likely that Valentine himself fought in the civil war which is when he got the Heart of the Holy Corpse. I believe he would have to have fought for the Union considering the 14th amendment barred former confederates from being a part of the US government. He's still undeniably a nationalist, opposing the confederates didn't necessarily mean someone actually oppose the ideals of the confederates. I'm not sure what war his father would've been in though.
That is correct, I was mistaken with the dates, so my point about his father no longer stands. I’m also very interested if Araki is referring to an actual war or just made one up 🤔. Thank you for pointing out my mistake though!
some constructive criticism: be more assertive by dropping "what I think" and "at least in my opinion" type phrases. "I think" was repeated often. maybe less filler phrases like "that's all you need to know" and "to begin this section" too. other than that just work on the audio mastering (for example volume level gets higher in chapter 4), maybe grab a pop filter-- everything else is great for a first video!
Great analysis! Though I do want to point out something at the end. When the american civil war started, funny was 14. In the images, him as a child is much younger than 14, so it can be assumed it was a war prior to this
Excellent video! I admit that a lot of the philosophical stuff went a little over my head while reading, and while I understood the basics the more complex aspects of both True Man’s World and Civil War escaped me. You gave me a lot to chew on. Thank you for making this, I really enjoyed it!
