First it should be noted, in the week between Episode 2 and 3, Fighting Gold has completely won me over. The ending theme though still leaves a lot to be desired.
Episode 3 of Golden Wind picks off exactly where Episode 2 left off, Giorno and Bruno agreeing to work together to take down the boss of Passione from the inside in order to cease of selling of drugs to children. In order to do that Giorno first needs to actually join the gang so Bruno sets up a meeting between Giorno and the local underboss, Polpo.
Image via Crunchyroll
Polpo in the manga was certainly unpleasant enough to look at, being an obese giant with beady little eyes. That is taken even further here, seeing him move and his tiny eyes glow behind his elongated nose and hearing the deep echoing voice he was given is creepy in a way the manga could never convey.
The remainder of the episode has some good problem solving by Giorno using his stand to get out of several situations and to keep the lighter Polpo gave to him lit for 24 hours. However, due to a clumsy janitor the lighter is put out and then re-lit summoning Polpo’s stand Black Sabbath. The stand kills the janitor and then starts to attack Giorno, leaving off on a cliffhanger for the next episode.
While Polpo seems to work better in animation, Black Sabbath certainly does not. In large part this could be attributed the the color choice for the stand. In both the black and white and colored manga Black Sabbath gives off a great impression of a spectral force and is one of the best designed stands in the whole series with its Renaissance design. It’s color also made sense, with a black hat and cloak to go with its name. The anime though chose an awful blue on purple on purple scheme that takes away from that incredible design and makes it look like a cheap toy instead of an Italian noble. However, the stand was introduced in a color switch section so it might revert to a more palatable scheme next episode.
