Vento Aureo is a great opportunity for any JoJo fan to observe how Araki has improved and managed to incorporate elements of his preceeding parts into yet another interesting and entertaining part. As it follows a similar structure to Stardust Crusaders with some of what I deem as significant improvements due to what Araki has learned from Diamond is Unbreakable, I believe most fans of the previous parts can enjoy watching Vento Aureo at the very least, while at best enjoy it on the same level as either of the previous parts that incorporate stands. However, considering that it has relatively low stakes compared to every previous part, most fans could deem this story's events as not significant, and not be as involved with Vento Aureo causing them to lose interest, since it is the one part that you could skip and lose nothing of value. I additionally do not recommend anyone interested in JoJo to start with Vento Aureo, as I deem it to be one of the most experimental parts in regards to fights and has relatively low stakes compared to the prior ones. It is definitely interesting, but I believe it requires you to have experienced JoJo and cannot be properly enjoyed on its own. If you insist on watching out of order, do not start with Vento Aureo.

Experience:

Vento Aureo is very similar to its predecessors, as it has certain elements in execution from all of them, but the one it bears most similarities with in execution and story as well as the way it presents characters and entertains the viewers is Stardust Crusaders. Araki seems to have taken what he’s learned from Diamond is Unbreakable and has incorporated some of it into Vento Aureo while trying to breathe life again into an around the world journey style of adventure. If you have had enjoyed Stardust Crusaders, Vento Aureo has a better execution of most elements present in that part, but with lower stakes for the Joestar bloodline and the world at large, which is definitely not a bad thing.

It follows a story route that has loose similarities to that of Stardust Crusaders. The protagonist, Giorno Giovanna seeks to overthrow capo of the gang, Passione, so that he could no longer harm the lives of innocent people for the own selfish interests of the capo. This capo grants his subordinates Stand powers so that they can serve him and uses them to control Italy. Giorno’s journey is different from Jotaro's because he has to carry his goal on a journey he starts by himself, by joining the organization with the sole intent of betraying it once he’s received all of the information he needs. He gets a group of allies but his real goal does not align to theirs. While the story of Stardust Crusaders was a simple defeat the big bad story, Vento Aureo is not as simple and is better thought out in that regard. Still, the roots of Stardust Crusaders are there, where a group of people march towards defeating the mysterious villain and his unknown power for the betterment of the world at large.

It also has a similar structure to Part 3, where the literal gang this time, has to travel across Italy in order to achieve their goal, while they have to fend off any stand users that might attack them on the way. The differences here are that while in Stardust Crusaders they had a clear destination they had to reach, neither the party of the protagonist’s or the opponents they have an exact idea of where they have to end up in Vento Aureo. It is an ongoing investigation and adventure where these hints get revealed as the story progresses by the boss of the organization. This element was entirely absent from Stardust Crusaders as the end goal and what the content of the journey will be was clear from the get-go with very few actual surprises.

The entertainment value is mostly derived from the Stand Battles and the appeal each character brings through their abilities and quirks. This part is still very centrally focused on Stand Battles and characters confronting each other, just like the previous two parts. While the characters do not have as much identity as those of Diamond is Unbreakable, due to the sheer nature of the journey of Vento Aureo, it still manages to outperform Stardust Crusaders in that regard, since the goals of the characters is not going to be singularly “Dio-sama”. Some of them might seek to defeat the boss as well, some might seek to protect him due to their loyalty, and some are there for their interests because the organization benefits them. They are a lot more memorable than the villains of Part 3, and the fact that the motivations of the organization’s members can vary so wildly only show how the capo’s secrecy serves him so well since these characters are forced to fight another simply because their true goals being revealed could compromise what they are trying to accomplish. Unlike the previous parts, the fights also keep track of more than just the combatants it has but also of the environment present as well as tries to incorporate as many characters and abilities into each fight as possible.

Appeal & Execution:

While Diamond is Unbreakable is one of my favorite JoJo parts, one of the largest appeals of JoJo is the journey the characters have to take in order to achieve their goals, which in Diamond is Unbreakable was not a needed element due to its setting, and it relied mostly presenting different threats to the otherwise calm life of the town of Morioh and Josuke’s antourage. While I did enjoy how well executed that part was within that setting and how it tried to add elements of mystery to make due for what it has replaced, it lacked a hero’s journey that has been prevalent in all of the JoJo parts so far. But what I think Araki has learned from not having a hero’s journey pays off within Vento Aureo.

The way Vento Aureo executed its journey feels more significant than it has so far because the characters presented have an identity and motivations of their own, and they don’t strictly circle around the antagonist, but rather, the antagonist is an influential factor that is either an obstacle or a benefactor for the characters on a case by case basis. At the same time, Araki has learned in the prior part to use mystery in its story, and the main villain’s biggest strength in this part that he shrouds himself in it. Nothing is known about him and as such this part combines the investigative elements of Part 4 as well as the hero’s journey of Part 3. Elements that appealed to both sides of the JoJo fans have not been forgotten in Vento Aureo.

As the journey unfolds, the characters learn more about the man that leads their organization and that perfectly integrates two elements that enthusiasts of the previous parts have enjoyed.

However, this might undercut something that Part 3 enthusiasts have enjoyed, which is the high stakes of the journey. Dio was a threat not only to the entire world, but he has personal history with their entire bloodline. I don’t necessarily think that a villain that has direct personal ties with the protagonist is a good thing, nor do I need the stakes to keep getting higher, but some fans might need the significance presented by each part in order to continue feeling involved with the story presented. If this was one of the reasons Diamond is Unbreakable was not as impactful for you, this is not going to change in Vento Aureo

Entertainment Value & Characterization:

The Stand Battles have gotten more interesting than prior seasons, as Araki tried to incorporate more characters into the fights, as well as try to display how some abilities that seem to have a very specific use can be used in broader more open ended ways, as well as the vice versa of that. He doesn’t necessarily execute every fight of this season well, but they are more ambitious than they have had been so far and some of them are truly memorable, with only a few that I could say that are actually forgettable. Even if the execution of each fight is not always memorable, the ideas presented by Araki within those fights are still quite interesting, so this season has managed to entertain me constantly. I would say that within this part Araki has been the most experimental with his fights, but also had some of the best ideas he has had so far for the fights, some of them I’d even describe as too ambitious at times.

Araki also seems to have gotten much better at a specific element of characterization and that is defining the identity of the character. The majority of characters feel different in both motivation and personality; with very few of them seeming like an excuse for a fight. (Something the first three parts are quite guilty of, you might not say so for Part 1 and 2, but there’s a lot of cut content you have not seen if you are anime only) Each character presented you understand who they are and why they are there. But while these I can say were executed far better than before and I am willing to praise Araki for it, there’s hardly any character arc presented. The vast majority of the characters do not change in a significant way through the entirety of the story; they do not become different people. Their identity is constantly static. The journey is very dynamic, but the characters are static elements that push it forward. They have one goal that they pursue, and a personality, both well defined, but never a character arc. I’d say this is this arc’s biggest downfall, since that makes Giorno seem like a Mary Sue. He has no character defects and he doesn’t learn anything through his journey. His teammates are inspired constantly by him and his ingenuity. The main cast also doesn’t grow, which is a shame since they have flashback arcs showing how they became who they are. One easy fix could have been to have these story elements incorporates within their story arc, rather than presented in a flashback, and have them become different people over the journey. The characters are still a blast, but making them a bit more dynamic would’ve made them a lot more enjoyable. It’s just unfortunate that once you are presented a character, you know everything there is to know about them and that doesn’t change for the show’s entire duration.

Story & World Building:

The World Building has been pretty well done this season. The organization itself and its structure, and the way the antagonist has organized it in order to keep themselves safe and them do his bidding is one of the constantly interesting elements of Vento Aureo. It is very interesting to see how the organization operates and how even if its members are unsatisfied or their own selfish interests would be an obstacle to the capo, they cannot do much that could hurt the capo since if they even try, not only do they have no information they would be able to use, once they start attempting to gather it they will start getting eliminated. They can hardly gang up on the boss since if they become this big of a threat, they cannot do anything since once the organization stops working, and they no longer have a way to achieve their goals related to the organization or the capo. I guess this is yet another way I can appreciate the way Araki thinks.

However, what I often do not appreciate about Araki is the story he presents as it is often just a baseline to present shit he finds interesting and he never really presents something cohesive and meaningful. No different with Vento Aureo. As I have said prior, the characters do not change through the entirety of the story and it is all just one big confrontation. It is constantly interesting and intriguing, that is enough to keep me in the game and consider JoJo a good show, but if JoJo had a point, a story theme, a narrative arc, a world and characters that are relevant outside the confrontations presented and could still present everything it has so far, it could easily go from good to great. This would've been more important to have than in any other parts, since this is story is not as impactful as a whole on the whole JoJo universe, since its stakes are relatively low on its world and the Joestar bloodline. Vento Aureo outside of its fights and characters, can be very forgettable. Still, I have to congratulate David Pro on how much they have highlighted each character's personality, motivation and made them seem just as relevant as the protagonists. Despite their similar goals, the way the organization was set up caused them to not be able to pursue the same outcome, and David Pro made sure that will be clear to everyone watching.

Conclusion: If you enjoyed the previous parts of JoJo, especially Stardust Crusaders, Vento Aureo should also be a blast so long as you don't need high stakes within the story. It has improved on various elements comparative to the prior parts, and I believe it maintains a lot of the appeal that the previous parts had. The world of Vento Aureo has consistently been interesting and the fights that unfolded have been constantly intriguing. However, there's not a lot of personal involement you can have with Vento Aureo as it does not seem as significant as the other parts. And some of you might crave that. Vento Aureo is good entertainment value which is what I crave from JoJo especially since every element in its execution greatly enhances it. But it doesn't get to be more than entertainment. Vento Aureo is good for what it is trying to be. As long as you are interested by what it presents, I can see any JoJo fan enjoying this part.