Why I like Part 7

1. Stands. The Stand powers are unique in the series in that a majority force the user to rely on external... Things, to make use of them. Whether it's Tusk making Johnny use his nails, Mandom's combat purpose basically amounting to duels, Catch the Rainbow weaponizing rain, etc. Also the songs they're named after! Oh! Lonesome Me and Mandom are really fitting for the Western genre that SBR is part of, and overall it feels like there's more theming of the songs/names than other parts.

2. On the topic of the Western theme, I'm kinda neutral on westerns. But I love Araki's take on it. I love how the main characters don't use traditional guns, Johnny has his nails and Gyro has the steel balls. It's a really clever way of allowing for that "showdown" convention in Westerns without forcing them to use guns. Also, of course, Mountain Tim with his lasso and the fact it's a horse race. It being in America and outdoors also allows for a LOT of different scenes and settings than normal. The coast, desert, cities, forests, snow, mountains.

3. The characters. I love how we're back down to a pair of main characters rather than the parties of 3-6. There are supporting players who come in like Hot Pants and Mountain Tim but the fact they never really travel with the group means we get more emphasis on Johnny and Gyro. What I like about Johnny is that he's broken and selfish and will do anything, even kill without hesitation, if it means he can walk again. And we see him grow closer to Gyro, until his friendship and determination are tested. During Sugar Mountain, we see him hesitate, as Gyro turns into a tree. He has to make a decision right there whether to keep the artifacts that can help him walk again, or save his friend. He chooses the latter. There's also the fact that Johnny has a very tangible powerup over the course of the part, something we haven't had since Part 2 because Stands are rather linear, and Tusk changing reflects his growth. Going from a small, squishy axolotl... Thing, to a humanoid who's combat-ready, with fully-developed legs.

I don't have much to say about Gyro but it's nice to have a mentor character who's also a peer to Johnny, and is more than a little ridiculous. There's some interesting discussion to be had about his backstory and why he's really in the race. Does he just want to save Marco, or is he trying to prove to his dad that sentimentality isn't weakness? If he wins an entire cross-continental horse race and has a boy be pardoned, that seems like it'd be a pretty big deal.

The other characters, I mean. Hot Pants doesn't get much backstory but damn, is it brutal, and it's interesting to have a good guy with such an overtly dark backstory. Even someone like Anasui doesn't seem to feel much remorse over what they did. Hot Pants was scared, in a desperate situation, and did something awful. The twist about her gender is... Yeah. Mountain Tim is awesome, the stereotypical cowboy, starts off being an opponent for a bit but then ends up working with Gyro and Johnny, and of course helps Lucy, only to die for it. Having a significant character die as early as he does is sad, and what he says makes it even sadder, particularly combined with the song his Stand is named after. Lucy and Stephen Steel are a nice pairing; I think they're cute together, though not in the weird way people tend to think of because they're married, and the fact they both are off to the sidelines but soon get involved with helping the two MCs in their own ways makes for more excitement.

Valentine is a great villain if only because of how many people, IRL, he's been able to sway. Look at all the people who call him righteous or noble when he lies, is willing to rape a woman, intentionally puts people in situations where they're going to die or suffer (the train engineer and the guy who was stung by wasps), all because he wants to get a corpse to bring good fortune to his country. And then there's the character that's the peak for me, Diego.

My reason for liking him is the same reason I like the Stands in this part: He's just cool. And I don't mean that because he's a dinosaur or another racer. I mean that his experiences put him in a situation where he is not the main villain, and is in fact trying to hunt down and KILL the main villain. Him and the Joestar of the part have the SAME GOAL. That's NEVER HAPPENED! I just think that's so awesome, that a Brando and a Joestar are effectively working together even if they never directly cooperate toward this cause. The dinosaur vampirism is a really neat idea though and in my opinion an interesting choice to not only replace vampires but to have in a western.

I could go on but these are the big things that make the part my favorite. There's also just the fact it feels refreshing after four parts of protagonist parties with punch ghosts joining up, getting individual fights dedicated to their own Stand and develop their character, and then just have a continual progression. In SBR, and same for JoJolion, I feel like the Stand encounters more fall naturally into the story rather than seeming segmented. I guess because there's more continuity and more stuff going on, there's more moving pieces.