Set's Alessi, Part 1 (Episode)

Sethan's Alessi, Part 1 (「セト神」のアレッシー その1) is the thirty-second episode of Stardust Crusaders, the eighth episode of the Egypt Arc, and the fifty-eighth episode of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. It covers last few pages of Chapter 204 through first few pages of Chapter 207 of the manga.

Summary
At the same time Joseph and Avdol pursue Mariah, Jotaro and Polnareff grow impatient. While Polnareff looks at children playing in the mud with a degree of nostalgia, Jotaro suggests to actually go look for Joseph and Avdol as they could have encountered an enemy. For his part, Iggy leaves to wander on his own.

However, Jotaro and Polnareff are also trailed by an enemy: Alessi, User of the Stand Sethan. When a boy bumps into him and gets mud on his trousers, Alessi reveals his character as he cowardly beats up the kid when he learns that his father is absent. Alessi trails Jotaro and Polnareff in the streets, but Polnareff soon confronts him alone, as he's guessed he was an enemy. Alessi plays dumb but must reveal Sethan when Polnareff summons Silver Chariot. Sethan, which in reality takes the form of a shadow, takes Polnareff by surprise and grazes him before the Frenchman jumps out of the way. Alessi flees with Polnareff behind him, but Jotaro has lost track of him. As Polnareff pursues Alessi in the alleys of Luxor, he notices that the world around him has gotten abnormally tall. It is only when he looks at a mirror that he finds that he's been turned into a child. Jotaro meets him but fails to recognize him and leaves, allowing Alessi to come out and try to assassinate him. Alessi corners him in an alley and tries to shoot at him, but thankfully, Polnareff has had his Silver Chariot since childhood and it deflects the bullets. Nonetheless, the young Silver Chariot is weak and it is overpowered by Sethan. By chance, its blade snaps and stabs Alessi in the shoulder, causing him to roll in pain. Polnareff escapes and then meets a kind woman mistaking him for a lost child.

The woman takes Polnareff to her house and gives him a bath, and Polnareff loses himself in the enjoyment of seeing a woman in underwear. However, Alessi still lurks near. He enters the bathroom, taking Polnareff by surprise, and swings his ax at the boy.

Commentary
"When Polnareff pursues Alessi through the alleys, he's shrinking little by little. This scene is similar to Episode 1 where Holy runs across the prison to go see her son. It's a mix of 3D effects and drawing, which is very difficult to pull off. Even more so because you have to change the animation as Polnareff becomes tinier. It was a real ordeal for the whole team.

If there's something unforgettable in the episode, it would be the sexy bath scene. On one side, the humor of Polnareff who is a child again, and then the lightly risqué touches while never falling into vulgarity. There's also these soap bubbles floating in the bathroom, which I'm sure some of you will feel you've seen them somewhere before. I won't tell you where. (laughs)

The scene where Iggy is peacefully strolling across town was added in the anime. He steals a kebab directly from a passerby's hands and watches the fight between Joseph and Avdol against Mariah without batting an eyelid... He's doing whatever he feels like. As I have said about Episode 31, it's this kind of scene that represents the timeline more clearly."

- Naokatsu Tsuda, Blu-Ray limited edition commentaries

Trivia

 * Due to the Mariah fight and Alessi fight happening at the same time, some scenes were reused from the previous episode.