The Emperor and the Hanged Man, Part 1 (Episode)

Emperor and Hanged Man, Part 1 (と その1) is the tenth episode of Stardust Crusaders and the thirty-sixth episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. It covers Chapter 140 through Chapter 142 of the manga.

Summary
The group is in India, and despite Avdol's assurance, discover the preconceptions they had about the country are true: Polnareff steps in cow droppings, Kakyoin's wallet is stolen, and Joseph's taxi stops in the middle of the road because of a napping cow, which is considered a holy animal in India. Avdol, however, tells them that India is a beautiful country once you get used to it, to which Jotaro agrees. In a restaurant, Polnareff uses the bathroom but is taken aback when he sees a pig in the toilet bowl. Indeed, this is a pig toilet where waste is fed directly to the pigs.

As he washes his hands, Polnareff looks into the mirror and is surprised by a Stand with two right hands that he can only see in the mirror. Determined to avenge his sister, killed by the user of this Stand, Polnareff breaks the mirror and searches for the Stand user among the crowd. Polnareff decides to separate from the group in order to find his sister's killer and departs after a heated argument where he accuses Avdol of being a coward for fleeing before DIO.

Meanwhile, a cowboy named Hol Horse and his lover Nena ride an elephant toward some ruins, they separate after declaring their love to each other, and Hol Horse meets J. Geil, the man with two right hands and the user of the Hanged Man. Hol Horse tells him that he's just using Nena because she's a woman who would do anything for her love. Before they are able to discuss their plans, a snake attacks J. Geil. Combining their Stands Emperor and Hanged Man, the duo completely mutilates the snake.

Later, as Polnareff searches for a lead, he sees the two Stand users slowly approaching him. Even though Polnareff just saw Hol Horse and J. Geil approaching him, J. Geil suddenly vanishes from his view. The one left, Hol Horse, introduces himself and tells Polnareff how "the gun is mightier than the sword". Polnareff asks him about J. Geil, but the cowboy still insists how his Emperor is stronger than Silver Chariot's sword. The Frenchman makes fun of this comparison by falsely mishearing his line, what makes Hol Horse summon Emperor and shoot Polnareff. To intercept the bullet fast enough, Silver Chariot takes off his armor, but the bullet avoids the sword by itself and almost strikes Polnareff. Avdol appears just in time to push him out of the way, but the bullet changes directions again to hit him instead. As Avdol summons Magician's Red to burn the bullet, he is stabbed by Hanged Man, only seen in the reflection of a puddle behind Avdol, and hit in the head by Emperor's bullet. Kakyoin arrives just in time to see Avdol's demise and a crying Polnareff.

Commentary
"Here's an episode I particularly appreciate. There's a real change of scenery when we arrive in India. Thus, it's naturally directed by Kato (laughs). He employed himself to portray this busy and full of life India.

We aren't lacking in great material; between the toilet pig or Hanged Man's appearance, there's so much to see.

The most difficult tasks here were the numerous mirror scenes. In a reflection the image is inverted, but Hanged Man only exists in the world of the mirror so we had to always double check and avoid committing mistakes. It was messy, and apparently even Kato had let one or two scenes slip through him. In the end, one or two is, in fact, a good score.

We witness a big dispute between Polnareff and Avdol, a serious one. I like the moment where Polnareff drops a little provocation by passing his finger through Avdol's earring... or whatever this is. Let's mention Komino, who's surpassed himself with the shot of Polnareff in tears.

Hol Horse on elephantback is also an iconic moment, as well as Emperor's striking appearance. Fumiaki Kouta, the action animation director, personally chose a specific color for the weapon's flash and smoke effects."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries

Trivia

 * This was the first episode to feature numbered "parts" in the title.