New York's JoJo (Episode)

New York's JoJo (ニューヨークのジョジョ) is the tenth episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. It is the first episode of Battle Tendency. It covers Chapter 45 through Chapter 48 of the manga.

Summary
It's been 49 years after Jonathan Joestar's death, and a much older looking Speedwagon and Straizo travel to Mexico to investigate a mysterious underground cavern. There they find it filled with similar Stone Masks to the one that was destroyed many years ago, as well a body integrated into a stone column.

Meanwhile in New York, a peculiar tourist gets his wallet stolen by Smokey, a local pickpocket. However, he then saves that same pickpocket from two violent and corrupt 🇺🇳 by using the Ripple. This man is Joseph Joestar, the grandson of Jonathan Joestar. Joseph has just arrived to the United States with his grandmother Erina, who has been taking care of him since both his father and mother died.

Back in Mexico, Speedwagon is betrayed by Straizo. Straizo has come to envy the youth that the Stone Mask had granted Dio and dons one himself, to Speedwagon's horror.

JoJo, Erina, and Smokey all go to a restaurant, only for a 🇺🇳 to insult Smokey. Furious, Joseph takes the time to put back the man in his place. During the scuffle, Joseph amply demonstrates his talent at reading and outsmarting his opponents. However, a 🇺🇳 of Speedwagon's informs them that Speedwagon has been murdered by Straizo. Later that night, JoJo is confronted outside a cafe by Straizo, who had regained his youth as a Vampire. Straizo plans to kill Joseph before he can unlock the full potential of the Ripple, but Joseph quickly pulls out a Tommy-Gun and promptly blasts Straizo through the cafe window, declaring war on Straizo as revenge for Speedwagon.

Commentary
"This is the first episode of the Battle Tendency arc. Our approach was globally different from that of Phantom Blood. Notably concerning the colors.

Thanks to the experience from the first part, the team knew which direction to take. Ideas flew, everyone had something to say. It was the perfect state of mind for this Episode 10. It contains many day to day scenes. It was really interesting: the action is in suspension, so to speak; it was the mundane scenes that were the most spirited (laughs).

The plans with the pop colours were one of Yasufumi Soejima's ideas, our visual director. They remind of the aesthetic of the comic-books from this era while keeping the spirit of JoJo, and the drawings get sharper.

The dusk also has a small effect. The sky is blue. It is the color designer Shunichirô Yoshihira, who insisted he tried something with the sky. The results is, frankly, cool.

Episode 10 is also that of the cops or the guy with the brass knuckles. The casting was on top of its game."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentary

Trivia

 * The back cover of the Baoh manga features a legitimate comic ad for Aurora car models. The actor on the ad, Don "Secret Agent 86" Adams, was the star of the hit 1960's series called Get Smart.