JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc

Episode 10

The Stardust Crusaders are so close to finding Dio. They even have a spirit photograph that reveals his location! Unfortunately, all that can be seen in the photo is the side of a building, and there are millions of buildings in Cairo to choose from. They'll have to make a deal with the devil to find the right one, and that devil's name is D'Arby.

No no, not Barbie.

No, not Obie either.

Do you want him to turn your soul into a poker chip?

Yes, the master of the Osiris stand (god of judgment and the afterlife) is a crafty scam artist who uses the tempting allure of gambling to fight his battles. The odds always look fair to his victims, but D'Arby can rig his games right in front of even the most perceptive combatant like Jotaro's Star Platinum. Once they've lost D'Arby's wager, the victim's soul leaves their body to be turned into a collectible poker chip by Osiris and stored in D'Arby's fancy book like a commemorative coin. Polnareff is the first Crusader to fall to his schemes, and it looks like Grandpa Jojo is next!

D'Arby is one of the most well-loved foes in Jojo's Part III largely because he seems like he could have been one of the good guys. Like Kakyoin and Polnareff, he doesn't rely on an overpowered stand or any one simple trick to hammer away at our heroes, and he exudes a personality outside of "madly in love with Dio" that motivates his actions. Sure, his stand's power is a little wicked and insidious, but so was Hierophant Green. He still has the wit, verve, and individuality to hang tough alongside our heroes, making him a formidable and entertaining foe. (He even has a pet cat to go along with the Crusaders' pet Iggy!) Of course, he won't be changing sides anytime soon, not only because our heroes are already playing with a full house, but also because D'Arby enjoys doing bad all by himself.

Although he does have a tight relationship with Dio that we'll learn more about in the future, D'Arby clearly does what he does for the love of the game. He tells Avdol that he has a photographic memory of all his conquests down to the exact timestamp, with a story for every treasured poker chip in his collection. He needs his stand to carry out the ultimate penalty for his life-or-death games, but his skill at outwitting the Stardust Crusaders is his own, and he's damn good at it, bamboozling two generations of Jojos at the same time. Of course, like any great Jojo's combatant, he has a lyrical set of catchphrases to go along with all that charm. ("D-A-R-B-Y" and "Goooood!")

D'Arby has already bested the two most hot-headed of our heroes, and the team's two most cool-headed remaining members are already beginning to lose their nerve. (If only Kakyoin were here!) They still have a very foolish ace up their sleeve that D'Arby hasn't noticed, so there's hope for the good guys yet, but as Jotaro states, this is the toughest stand master they've ever faced before. It's going to take more than raw power to get past Dio's pet card shark, and it looks like it'll all rest on a game of poker in next week's duel for Jotaro's soul!

Rating: B+

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Hope has been an anime fan since childhood, and likes to chat about cartoons, pop culture, and visual novel dev on Twitter.