Unmarked Spoilers Ahead!
"I am sick of it...Having people up and die on me.. I’m so sick of it... YOU HEAR ME?!"
- Avdol's first "death" is terribly sad even if it wasn't permanent. First, Polnareff lashes out at him, pushing all of his Berserk Buttons before storming off, their budding friendship in tatters. Then Polnareff lets Hol Horse goad him into a fight he can't win — because J. Geil's Hanged Man was lurking out of sight, waiting to ambush him — leaving Avdol no choice but to defend Polnareff with his life. He's promptly stabbed in the back and shot in the face just a few feet from Polnareff and Kakyoin, who was just a second too late to save him. Kakyoin is visibly devastated and even clings to his body, begging him to wake up; only for Polnareff to turn his back on them and launch into an angry tirade seemingly insulting Avdol's sacrifice. Just as Kakyoin grows furious on Avdol's behalf, Polnareff peers over his shoulder, revealing that he's outright bawling- being guilt-ridden about Avdol's death and being sick of people dying on him.
- And things only get worse for Polneraff throughout the part and even into his second appearance in Part 5, as he loses more friends- including that first friend who came back- only to die an even more gruesome death and continues to suffer until he's essentially a shell of his former self.
- Hol Horse and especially J. Geil tormenting Polnareff afterward by gleefully reminding him that Avdol's death was his fault; and in the latter's case, how horribly his defenseless little sister died. The story arc doesn't exactly show Polnareff in the best light before his character development, but you can't help but feel bad for him when the enemy toys with his emotions in such a cruel way.
- Between Kakyoin actually shedding a few tears, Joseph ruefully calling Avdol his old friend while kneeling beside his body, and even Jotaro clenching his bloody scarf in helpless fury, it's clear Polnareff wasn't the only one who took Avdol's "death" hard. It's an excellent indication of how close the Crusaders have grown.
- Enya's death is surprisingly sad, despite being a horrible person who was a very bad judge on her arguably worse son's character. DIO had an assassin kill her off on the off chance she'd reveal his power despite all of her loyalty to him and having no intentions of revealing it anyhow. Just leaves a bad taste in the heroes' mouths and underscores how little DIO cares about even his most loyal underlings.Polnareff: The old bitch's son killed my sister and she gave me Hell, so I should be glad that she's dead... but I'm REALLY having complicated feelings towards her right now!
- Speaking of Enya, one can only imagine how Polnareff felt after her true personality was exposed. He was really caring for her, acting as if she was his own grandmother he looked up to, all the while the woman was wishing revenge on him for killing her son - which he killed in his turn to avenge his sister.
- N'Doul's death. After being beaten by Jotaro, he uses his Stand to kill himself in order to not spill out any information on his allies, especially DIO. Before he dies, he acknowledges Jotaro's strength and explains to Jotaro how he lived a lonely and miserable life, due to his blindness and Stand powers isolating him and forcing him to survive on petty crime, until he met DIO; who acknowledged him for who he was and gave him purpose and value as a person. Jotaro eulogizes his fallen foe and buries N'Doul's body respectfully — marking the spot with his jeweled cane — sadly wondering to himself why people like him turn out the way they do.
- On encountering Cameo, Polnareff is offered three wishes. After testing his first wish by asking for wealth (which he is promptly given), Polnareff debates what his second and third wishes should be. At first, he's torn between either his childhood dream of being a comic/manga artist or true love, but then he thinks of what he truly wants. He wishes for his sister, Cherie, to be brought back to life. And when he sees her apparently returned, and hears her speak, the look on his face is just heartbreaking. Polnareff is crying tears of pure joy, with the most genuinely happy look we've seen on his face in the entire anime. We're also treated to glimpses of Polnareff and Cherie's childhood together, and you can see how much he really loved her. Turned into a combo of Tear Jerker and Nightmare Fuel when Cameo twists Polnareff's wish by turning Cherie into essentially a flesh-eating zombie that tries to kill him. And then to twist the knife even further, Cameo brings a fake Avdol back to life as well, who begins to tear into Polnareff psychologically. The poor guy can't catch any breaks.
- Polnareff and Joseph back away from Kakyoin in fear (while Jotaro just watches it happen), whispering about him behind his back, and even considering abandoning him after Mannish Boy manipulates them into believing he's insane. These are the only friends Kakyoin's had. Not to mention Death 13 is constantly torturing him in his sleep, leaving him exhausted and mentally unwell.
- During the fight with Alessi, a random Egyptian woman takes Polnareff (at the time a seven-year-old) in and tries to help him. She gets de-aged to a fetus by Alessi's Stand, only surviving because Jotaro and Polnareff beat the hell out of Alessi, undoing his power. When she comes to, she finds Polnareff's lost earring (he left it in the bath when Alessi tried to drown him) and runs out after the duo, asking if they've seen a young boy. Polnareff, not wanting to get an innocent woman caught up in their trouble, denies any knowledge. Now here's where the tear jerker comes in: in doing this, he abandons the earring, the only thing he had left of his sister. And as they walk away, he orders Jotaro not to say a word. Polnareff's various tribulations are played for laughs a lot, but this is a rather somber moment. Even more so if you know the usual kind of personality Polnareff has.
- When Suzi goes to visit her daughter Holly, it's clear that she is in failing health. Even still, Holly smiles warmly for her mother. Even with the grim specter of death looming over her, she never loses her positive outlook.
- Avdol's real death, also trying to save Polnareff and Iggy. The real heartbreak was that it comes from a decision Avdol made to sacrifice himself for Iggy and Polanreff after explicitly telling them that he wouldn't watch out for either of them when they enter Dio's mansion. It showed just how much he cared about them when he unflinchingly decides to save them at the cost of his own life. It's so sudden that Polnareff feels immediate guilt and anger towards Vanilla Ice once he reveals he killed him while Iggy's stuck in disbelief about what happened.
- It's especially sad from Polneraff's perspective, Avdol had seemingly died due to Polneraff's impulsive revenge, leaving him extremely guilt-ridden until Avdol revealed he managed to survive. Polneraff has this feeling of relief for a while that his friend is back...only for Avdol to die permanently in a sudden manner. One moment Avdol is alive then he's stated to be killed by his enemy holding his friend's dismembered hands before devouring them as well. It's no surprise how Polneraff has to relive that experience of his friend dying again, and becomes utterly enraged at his inability to protect him again. And he then loses Iggy shortly after this and Kakyoin a little while later.
- And what's especially tragic is that unlike with J.Geil and Hol Horse, it wasn't even Polneraff's fault this time around. It was an enemy that was untraceable in the conventional sense and if Avdol didn't do anything, all of them would've been killed by the enemy by surprise. So Avdol decides to push Polneraff and Iggy away while they were currently unaware of the situation despite saying he would've abandoned them if they were ever in that exact scenario. It was an unknown factor completely out of anyone's control and Avdol had to do the best he could to ensure the continuation of the mission even at the cost of his life.
- It's especially sad from Polneraff's perspective, Avdol had seemingly died due to Polneraff's impulsive revenge, leaving him extremely guilt-ridden until Avdol revealed he managed to survive. Polneraff has this feeling of relief for a while that his friend is back...only for Avdol to die permanently in a sudden manner. One moment Avdol is alive then he's stated to be killed by his enemy holding his friend's dismembered hands before devouring them as well. It's no surprise how Polneraff has to relive that experience of his friend dying again, and becomes utterly enraged at his inability to protect him again. And he then loses Iggy shortly after this and Kakyoin a little while later.
- Iggy's death. Especially since he died saving Polnareff, the guy he'd spent the entire series bickering with. It starts with Vanilla Ice brutally kicking Iggy to death, not to just eliminate an enemy, but for making him raise a hand at DIO, even if it was a sand copy that would've harmed him otherwise- with the blind fanatic dragging out the punishment instead of his usual swift executions. Since Iggy is essentially a Boston Terrier, albeit one with a Stand, instead of one of the human characters that are much more durable, this essentially causes his death.
- The OVA version is even worse as it seems like Iggy had defeated Vanilla Ice only for the latter to slice Iggy in half with his powers...and proceeds to brutally kick the dog even after he fatally wounded him around. Needless to say, Polneraff immediately answers this cruelty by killing Vanilla Ice via multiple stabs before slicing the revived man's head.
- When Vanilla Ice goes for the final attack, Polneraff gives a heartfelt farewell as the void heads towards him and he resolves himself to die. The anime episode really sells this as a potential final end for him as it concludes with his earring falling to the ground, seemingly confirming his death.
- Polnareff: So long, Iggy.
- Polnareff describing the feeling of a dead Stand- with Iggy saving Polneraff after the latter resolved himself to die at Vanilla Ice's hands and his sorrowful Pre-Mortem One-Liner is hauntingly beautiful as he laments his inability to sacrifice himself for his friends- with those same friends sacrificing themselves for him, leading him alone to carry the burdens of their deaths.Polnareff: (thinking) Th-This feeling in the sand ... How could this have happened? Damn it! It's an Empty Shell. A Stand's empty shell... This is cold annihilation... The destruction of life. Damn it! I'm the one who survived! Ig ... (shouting) IGGY!
(Polnareff drops down and stabs Vanilla Ice in the head) You're too slow, Vanilla Ice. And you're exactly right. I have really bad luck when it comes to friends. - The anime adds a convincing moment where Iggy almost dies until he's saved at the last moment. After barely dispatching Pet Shop in an all-or-nothing suicidal attack, a badly-wounded and exhausted Iggy looks like he's about to die and laments the chain of events that lead to him sinking towards the riverbed, flashing back to his life in New York City and his antics in Egypt. He doesn't die there due to being rescued from the water by the same boy he'd earlier saved from Pet Shop, but people who know what's coming won't enjoy this "sneak preview" of his eventual fate.
- Polnareff, after burning Vanilla Ice alive in sunlight for killing Avdol and Iggy, witnesses the spirits of his two friends and floating away giving him their acknowledgment, driving the big man to tears. The anime version drives the viewers to tears with some of the most heart-rending music
played over the scene where their souls ascend to the afterlife, which itself has some of the best animations in the series.- Polnareff tells himself afterward he doesn't have time to wallow in sadness, and that he needs to get to DIO despite everything that just happened. He then breaks down crying regardless.
Polnareff: I just realized how much I liked him. It always happens this way. I only understand after they're gone.- The way he screams their names afterward, in both the original and dub, is utterly heart-wrenching.
Polnareff: Avdol... (voice cracks) ...IGGY!- It's almost as bad in the OVA version as well: where, after Polnareff kills Vanilla Ice, he limps over to the top half of Iggy's body after the vampire had fatally cut him in half, gently picks him up, and weeps as he hugs him to his chest. And this is after Vanilla Ice had just mocked Avdol's Heroic Sacrifice and rubbed it in by saying he probably would have been able to escape on his own if he had not saved Polnareff. At least in the original manga and anime, Vanilla Ice actually complimented Avdol's Heroic Sacrifice and called him responsible for the wounds he had suffered from Polnareff.
Vanilla Ice: It was only for a little while, but you should thank Avdol for extending your life. At that time, if he hadn't pushed you away, you would have been swallowed by the sub-dimension together. He could have survived if he'd tried to escape alone. What an idiot!Polnareff: (wounded and lying on the ground) "Idiot", you say...?!Polnareff: (trying to get up) Y-you...!Vanilla Ice: You can still move? But, this is the end. Die as you regret your own stupidity. - As Kakyoin vows to uncover the secret of DIO's Stand, we get a flashback to his youth — he was estranged from other kids his age, and even his own parents. It wasn't that anyone didn't try to reach out to him; rather, he never felt he could truly be understood by anyone because no one else could see his Stand, Hierophant Green. It wasn't until he met Jotaro and the others in the present day that he ever truly felt a bond with anyone.
- This is perhaps highlighted best in his image song "Goodbye Nostalgia", after listening to this you just want to give the poor man a hug.
Kakyoin: Yesterday, I knew that my reality was different from everyone else. Loneliness. Instead of trying to understand others, I had decided to give up until that day. The slight tingling of Emerald. I was wondering why I was still living. - Kakyoin's death. It makes it worse that you get to hear his final thoughts, and they're about his unseen parents, who have no idea where their son is and what's happened to him.Kakyoin: I wonder if they got the letter I sent them... oh well, they probably didn't have time to read it anyway...
- The anime takes it a step further — after using his Stand in a last-ditch effort to tip off the others about the specific ability of DIO's Stand, Kakyoin's final thoughts are heard over haunting, sorrowful music as the color slowly bleeds out of the scene, reflecting his impending death:
Kakyoin: (in thought) It's a... message. It's the best I can do... Mr. Joestar… please understand. Please, figure it out...- As a lot of fans have pointed out the saddest part about Kakyoin's death is the fact that the days he spent traveling with the protagonists were the best times in his life. Just as Kakyoin had finally found people he could truly call friends and reached the high point in his life, it was all cut short by DIO.
- Once again, Joseph Joestar has to watch a brilliant, brave young man die as he is unable to do anything to stop it. The trauma of Caesar Zeppeli's death follows him even into his old age, as shown in this splice of Old and Young Joseph◊ — the exact same expression of wracked grief, separated by decades.
- Joseph's temporary death at the time. Jotaro sees DIO draining Joseph of his blood and proceeding to drain further out of sadistic spite. Jotaro is about to fly off the handle when he sees his grandfather's spirit rise up to give him some words of wisdom while DIO is ignorant of what is transpiring and telling what fun that he had during the journey with Crusaders.Joseph: No matter what DIO is about to do with my body down below, you must not never get enraged and lose your cool. Don't worry about me anymore. This happened because it had to happen. Kakyoin discovered the mystery of DIO's Stand. I relayed his message to you. If we had fought DIO all at once, we would've perished instantly. You've become able to move a bit within stopped time. You have two to three seconds now. Use that time wisely. No matter wha DIO does, you mustn't get angry. If you fly into a rage and strike first, you'll only put yourself into a bad situation. Jotaro. This trip was truly fun, wasn't it? So much happened. I swear....these fifty days were fun.
- The dubbed version managed to be just as moving, but also more personal, especially near the end.
Joseph: You have to stay calm. From here on, no matter what DIO does to me, keep your cool. Focus. Tempting as it may be. Never allow yourself to succumb to anger. Don't worry about my fate Jotaro. I've accepted it was meant to be. Kakyoin deciphered the mystery of DIO's Stand and I've imparted that knowledge to you. If we attacked DIO together before learning his secret, he would've been able to kill all of us. You now have the ability to move while time is frozen, but you only have two or three seconds. Make sure you use that time wisely. Remember what I told you Jotaro, you mustn't lose your head. If you lose control, it'll only backfire. Keep your emotions in check when you face off with DIO. Jotaro, it's been quite the journey, my boy. An unforgettable adventure. Call me crazy, but our time together was a lot of fun. More fun than I had in a long time. - The fact that DIO survived by tearing off Jonathan's head and attaching his own head to his body. Even after everything Jonathan went through, DIO still got exactly what he wanted, and it's a real Tear Jerker that such a kind and noble hero was so thoroughly desecrated after death.
- The ending for the second half of the anime. After the awesomeness of Yes's "Roundabout" for parts 1 and 2, and the jaunty "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles for the first half of part 3, we have the non-vocal and melancholy "Last Train Home" by Pat Metheny Group. The credits itself are mostly still frames, one includes a depressed Joseph holding three train tickets and the other shows Jotaro, Polnareff, and Joseph on one side of a bridge, while Avdol, Iggy, and Kakyoin are on the other side. The last shot of the ending animation is of the group photo the heroes took shortly after meeting Iggy, which becomes all the sadder when you realize that by the time the story ends, half of these brave heroes will die.
- The Crusaders are ultimately successful in killing DIO and saving Holly, but it feels like a borderline Pyrrhic Victory for them. Avdol, Iggy and Kakyoin are gone, and the experience has undoubtedly left Jotaro, Joseph and Polnareff with physical and mental scars. And while the three of them all manage to return home, their adventures are far from over.
- And in a weird way, DIO's death. Yes, he absolutely had it coming but he's so charismatic that it's honestly a shame to see the franchise's most iconic antagonist killed off for good. The music that plays in his death is also quite poignant.
