Young Caesar (Episode)

Caesar: A Lonely Youth (シーザー孤独の青春) is the twentieth episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. It is also the eleventh episode of Battle Tendency. It covers Chapter 89 to Chapter 93 of the manga.

Summary
Lisa Lisa tells JoJo of Caesar's childhood, in which he took to crime with the exception of murder at a young age after being abandoned by his debt-ridden father, Mario. However, when Caesar turned sixteen, Caesar came across the wall containing the Pillar Men, which was booby-trapped by Kars. Mario saved Caesar from the trap, getting absorbed into the wall, but lived long enough to tell Caesar to find Lisa Lisa and learn the Ripple.

As Caesar arrives at the hotel, he is attacked by Wamuu, who is using streams of moist air to both protect him from the sunlight and reflect the light around him. Caesar launches an attack on Wamuu after he drags Messina into the hotel, but Wamuu manages to retreat inside the hotel, prompting Caesar to go in after him. Using a series of refractive bubble lenses, Caesar manages to redirect the sunlight inside the hotel to pin down Wamuu. However, when Caesar is short of delivering the final blow, Wamuu takes advantage of the split-second the sun is blotted by Caesar's attack to deliver a critical counter-attack. Too injured to continue for the fight, Caesar recalls how his father and grandfather gave their lives to turn death into a fighting chance to survive and uses the last of his strength to steal the piercing containing the antidote for the ring around JoJo's heart. He then uses his Final Ripple to create a blood bubble to deliver the piercing and his bandana to JoJo before being crushed by the collapsing ceiling. Wamuu, finding Caesar's fight and loyalty to be admirable, allows the bubble to remain. JoJo and Lisa Lisa are attracted to the hotel after Messina does not return, and unknowingly see the light of Caesar's Final Ripple. They discover the state of the hotel, finding the bubble with the antidote and Caesar's scarf, and soon realize that Caesar has died, and weep over the loss of their friend and ally.

Manga/Anime Differences

 * Caesar's flashback at the beginning of the story is told by the narrator rather than Lisa Lisa directly.
 * The entire scene from when Caesar entered the hotel up until the use of the bubble lens was present in the anime only.
 * In the manga, Joseph and Lisa Lisa enter the hotel to find a badly wounded Messina and attempt to find him medical care, only to notice Caesar's crimson bubble soon after. In the anime, the Messina scene is skipped; they enter the hotel and immediately see the Crimson bubble.

Commentary
"Here's an episode where a lot of things are narrated, but not necessarily with words. Toshiyuki Kato was in charge of the storyboard and the direction. I wanted him to do a good job but he ended up surpassing every expectation; the image of a homerun is what I felt in front of his exemplary work. I have nothing to say about it, it is a genuine lesson on direction. As for animation, Manabu Akita and Masahiko Komino formed a golden duo and the result is excellent. Again, I have nothing else to say.

For the music, Taku Iwasaki directly came to the studio for the final editing to ensure that the soundtracks perfectly fitted the images.

People aren't sensitive to the same scenes. For some, the real emotional sequence comes when Caesar hits Wamuu in vain with his last strength, others are more sensitive to Lisa Lisa's tears or Joseph's cry. I think it's a generational thing. (laughs).

Anyway, every member of the team's fits together brilliantly, it's one of our best episodes."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries

Trivia

 * This episode was widely considered by fans and staff alike to be one of the most moving episodes of the TV anime.
 * Tomokazu Sugita (v.c: Joseph) and Takuya Sato (v.c: Caesar) shared a brief character exchange over Twitter after the episode aired.