Jojo is an anime which is known for its eccentric art style, it's over the top characters, and overall bizzareness. Sadly, Stone Ocean experienced what I call getting "Netflixed". What do I mean by this? Well, in essence, getting Netflixed means getting watered down to a diluted version of its former self. Like many Netflix shows, Stone Ocean relies on an overabundance of poor CGI in addition to bad animation. It is hard to believe, given the extremely slow release date and batch release of this show when compared to previous Jojo parts, that it somehow was released at a lower animation quality than perhaps even part 1 had. Compared to the absolutely stunning visual style and animation of part 4, and the extremely detailed art of part 5, part 6 is a shell of its former self. The CGI sticks out like a sore thumb and is painfully noticeable (Good CGI ought to be subtle). Additional cut corners include not drawing full background characters (instead opting for silhouettes which clash with the established art style), and a generic bastardization of the background art compared to other seasons, such as generic sky, buildings, etc.
The abundance of cut corners when it comes to production even results in creating several minor plot holes during the first 12 episodes. In the first few episodes, there is a minor scene of Jolyne who is exiting a vent. Later in that scene she gets in a fight. This fight is resolved because Jolyne breaks a pipe that was coming out of the vent, which is shown to us in the form of a 'flashback'. The main issue is, that if you look back to the original scene there is nothing showing the audience that she broke a pipe (intentionally or not), and it was not until that flashback that we see any evidence of a pipe being broken, or the fumes that ended up coming from that pipe. While this is only a minor plot hole, it could have been easily avoided had the animation team just animated her breaking that pipe instead of resorting to a flashback that contradicted earlier events. The reason why I only include one example here is mainly so that the length of this review does not get too long. However if you pay attention these animated inconsistencies are prevalent throughout.
Ultimately, while the anime does have a few good things about it, especially the voice acting, it is dragged down by the visual quality to the point where I just was unable to relate to the characters and the plotpoint. Except for Part 4, Jojo has never been strong on plot, so the visual hit shows much more than it would in other shows. It's a real shame, and hopefully we don't see this issue in the adaption of part 7.
Rating: 3/10
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