Dr. Stone’s 4th episode was pretty intense this week! The initial first few minutes were comical as we learned how Senku planned on making gunpowder (which we then were told don’t mimic as it really is the real way to make it) but as the process continues Taiju ends up making the gunpowder explode into a giant smoke signal. It is then we learn that others are out there in this stone world as more smoke signals begin to go off from possible survivors but the smoke itself also helps Tsukasa find our trio! After an epic standoff between brains and brawn (though you have to admit Tsukasa is pretty smart himself) to save Yuzuriha’s life, Senku tells Tsukasa how to make the miracle fluid. Our episode ends with Tsukasa admitting if they had met 3700 years before the two might have been friends and then we hear what sounds like Senku’s death! We doubt Senku is actually dead but its a nice cliffhanger that made our eyes open wide and our hearts drop a bit. Senku...please be alright!

As the Hestia familia prepares for the upcoming war game, Hestia and Bell’s friends craft a mission to rescue Lili from her imprisonment with the Soma familia. Though it doesn’t end quite as expected, Lili is freed and even allowed to join the Hestia familia, along with a couple of Bell’s other friends!

This episode was a real surprise to those of us who have not read the light novel. I honestly thought Hestia would never have other members join her familia, since she is so infatuated with Bell, but I was so happy to see both Lili and Welf want to join! It looks like we will also get to see Mikoto join, and Ryu seems to be mysterious outside help that the gods’ council has allowed. This war game is shaping up to be really promising, though the Hestia familia still has a huge disadvantage going in.

It’s so amazing to see how far Bell and Hestia have come from when we first met them! Bell is stronger in his adventuring skills, as well as in the comradery he has found with his fellow adventurers. This is easily the most important part of his growth, as his friends are what give him the confidence to move forward in situations like this war game. There are so many people, adventurers and gods alike, who have lent their strength to help the Hestia familia this season, and it’s heartwarming to see Bell and Hestia’s family grow as a direct result of that kind of friendship.

It’s been a long three weeks to wait until this hour-long finale of Golden Wind – or, if you’re going by manga time, it’s been 20 whole years. But at last, the day has come, and it was absolutely worth the wait.

Diavolo suffers a beatdown so intense that it smashes through his prediction of killing Giorno, and thus Gold Experience Reqieum’s true power is revealed. It resets everything back to zero, so Diavolo will never reach the truth of either his victory or his defeat. He’s doomed to die in horrific ways over and over again... forever. Intercut with this is a flashback to just before the events of the series started, where Mista comes across a stone-shaped Stand that morphs into the shape of someone fated to die soon. It seeks out that person, and if they touch the rock, they will instantly die peacefully. When it shows that Bucciarati is supposed to be killed during the first confrontation with the boss in Venice, Mista smashes the rock to erase that fate. But as he leaves, the rock reforms itself into not just Bucciarati, but Abbacchio and Narancia as well. It seems that, no matter who you are, nobody can truly escape their own destiny...

David Productions’ adaptation of Golden Wind was so fantastic that it elevated this story from relative obscurity to one of the best parts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. They poured so much love into this anime to give it the style, sound, animation, and anime-exclusive additions that it needed to shine to its fullest potential. Thank you, DavidPro – and now onto part 6!

Thanks to an emotional outburst from Uenoyoma, Mafuyu decides to join the band after all. After Mafuyu initially declines Uenoyama's offer of joining the band, Uenoyoma tries everything he can to get him to join. With the help of Kaji and Nakanyama, Uenoyama is able to take a different approach with Mafuyu and find out why he doesn't want to join their band. Mafuyu tells him that he doesn't want to join the band because he is afraid he isn't as expensive as everyone around him. Upon hearing his reason, Uenoyoma angrily shouts at Mafuyu telling him how dumb of a reason it is and that the song Mafuyu had sung for him had shaken him to the core. Unoyama's words resonate with Mafuyu and he decides that he is ready and willing to give the band a shot.

This was quite an emotional moment. Coming on the heels of Mafuyu's encounter with Hiiragi, there is some fantastic character development for both Mafuyu and Uenoyama here. This moment was the culmination of three weeks worth of Uenoyama and Mafuyu bonding and growing closer as friends and maybe something more. It was really nice to see there is a lot more to Mafuyu than him just being a soft-spoken air hear with a little bit of baggage. With Mafuyu's past catching up with him and Uenoyama struggling with his feelings towards Mafuyu, we are sure to get plenty more great moments as Given continues.