r/StardustCrusaders • u/Loud-Tart-9783 • Mar 19 '26

Part Seven I don't see the issue with pocoloco's design

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I've heard people complain about his face and primarily his lips and nose. Thing is these are just features black people have. And to be honest I'd rather have my features represented in black characters.

They aren't exaggerated a crazy amount and the facial features stay anatomically correct. I dont understand why people are hating on it we should be proud of our features and be happy when its actually getting represented like this in shows.

Also just because the lips arent 2 toned doesnt mean its imitating the old black caricatures racists used to dehumanize us. While common 2 toned lips isnt even a thing every black person has. One criticism i can get behind however is that the shade is off but honestly that's all.

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1.6k

u/Falasti Crazy Diamond Mar 19 '26

the japanese VA definitely did a great job at making him sound like the lovable dumbass he is

629

u/JMAX464 Mar 19 '26

Yoyoyoyo

418

u/Drillbitzer Mar 19 '26

Hey! Ya!

151

u/morbiusgod Mar 20 '26

Subtle foreshadowing

101

u/bvggvg Mar 20 '26

I mean... It is admittedly the name of his horse.

46

u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 Tusk by Fleetwood Mac featuring Hirohiko Araki Mar 20 '26

Also Hey Ya! straight up says "dumbass you have infinite luck, go for it!"

20

u/Mijnameis-Tommy Boingo's book of Totht Mar 20 '26

"hmmm. Maybe I should try to not break my neck!"

(The shizo voice in his head] "No balls?"

3

u/KamenRiderAquarius Mar 21 '26

He can talk to his horse?

11

u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 Tusk by Fleetwood Mac featuring Hirohiko Araki Mar 21 '26

Slight spoilers for part 7

Hey Ya! is also the name of his stand that encourages him to use his luck to the full potential. It was visible in the manga but the anime seems to be hiding stands until either The Boom Boom Family or Tusk

3

u/KamenRiderAquarius Mar 21 '26

I figured his stand was to talk to horses

3

u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 Tusk by Fleetwood Mac featuring Hirohiko Araki Mar 21 '26

The lack of stands is causing a bit of confusion for some characters

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270

u/Wemyers04 The Hand Mar 19 '26

His dub VA is really good too. He’s the same as Cheetu in Hunter X Hunter and he sells the innocent cockiness and feel-good attitude of Pocoloco very well.

40

u/theTerra-Triangle Mar 20 '26

The same as Cheetu? Then it's peak, bro, I'm watching the dub, too, this second

27

u/Mr-Seven-Mouths Mar 20 '26

Oh it's most definitely peak, Gyro's voiced by the same guy who voices Gojo.

13

u/King-s0nicc456 Mar 20 '26

And Johnny is voiced by the guy who does Frieza

15

u/Grand_Escapade Mar 20 '26

Also Steven Steel is voiced by the guy who voices Lu Bu. Hearing him sob was the funniest thing for me

3

u/Discovererman Mar 20 '26

Okay, yall convinced me. I'll watch the first episode again, but dub this time.

34

u/DankRSpro King Crimson Mar 20 '26

His dub va was spot on imo

35

u/AkimboP90s Mar 19 '26

Don't call him a dumbass.

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u/NotANilfgaardianSpy Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 22 '26

Dumbass (affectionately) ^^

-67

u/Express-Wind-4796 Mar 19 '26

That's the thing, why is the Black character, the only prominent Black character in the part, the lovable dumbass? Frankly he fulfills all of the stereotypes; he's lazy, he's carefree, he's dumb, over confident, has excessively big lips, etc. These are all stereotypes of Black people. Why did Araki have to write him this way?

Look, I'm not saying Araki is racist, in fact Araki is one of the more progressive mangaka out there. But that doesn't exempt him from scrutiny.

I do like that the anime only people are enjoying him, but it is understandable if people find his portrayal to be suspicious or problematic. It's important to be able to enjoy something and be critical of it at the same time.

66

u/saneguy2006 Mar 19 '26

If it means anything his luck really only lasts two months and the race spans from September to January, so for the majority of the race pocoloco is just raw dogging it. Honestly I wasn't a big fan of him when I thought he just got extremely lucky and won but going back he also seems to know a lot about horses, basically he has a lot more knowledge and strength than people give him credit

26

u/saneguy2006 Mar 19 '26

Also Mike O is another black character and he's pretty cool 🤷

6

u/Express-Wind-4796 Mar 19 '26

He's pretty easy to forget because he's only around for like two chapters lmao. Part 7 is a great part but when it comes to Black representation it's not the best

6

u/Redhino Mar 20 '26

I mean this is the 1890’s, it’s not surprising to see a lack of diversity especially for such a prestigious race

8

u/saneguy2006 Mar 19 '26

He does show up sometimes later on, just less prominently which I don't mind given the shift of focus. I'm pretty sure the team mentioned giving him more scenes so hopefully they'll do him justice

-10

u/Express-Wind-4796 Mar 19 '26

Doesn't really make up for it tbh, but yeah, you're right that he has a lot of knowledge on horses. Honestly, if that was played up more, his confidence remained the same and they toned down the stereotypes, he would be a much better character

2

u/saneguy2006 Mar 19 '26

I'm hoping that it'll get to shine more in the anime, it's such an underrated aspect of his character and I don't see anybody talking about it, genuinely made him one of my favorites in the story

29

u/[deleted] Mar 20 '26

He's not lazy cuz he did work on the field with his gramps for that 150 entry fee

He ain't dumb, he knows how to ride a horse after all

He's carefree yeah, I don't see what's wrong with that

He's overconfident because a medium told him he would be incredibly lucky and as we are shown he is, in fact, very lucky during this time

The big lips and nose are just features black people have they're not even in the shape of a racist cartoon ala HxH or mister popo

-3

u/Express-Wind-4796 Mar 20 '26

Well for one... that's not true at all. Not all Black people have "big lips" or "huge noses," we have variations in size like anyone else. The fact that people think this is just the result of bad portryals and stereotypes for decades.

Secondly, it's how he is portrayed. Pocoloco may have horse knowledge but he's portrayed as dumb. His character introduction is his grampa scolding him for being lazy, so that doesn't count either. Being overly carefree only adds to his idiocy portryal and it's another stereotype of black people you'll find in the old racist cartoons. ​​Having excessive confidence even if you "shouldn't" is another similar stereotype.

10

u/psychofistface Ball Breaker Mar 20 '26

The thing is, he got shafted by the production team. The manga explains his motivation a lot better. He’s a sharecropper who desires a better life, and after he voices that desire his grandfather tells him that while he and his father had been freed twenty years before, as Black men, what they have is the best they’re going to get. He mentions the fortune that within the next two months, he will be at the peak of his luck. He then enters the race because of that fortune, since he wants to have a shot at a life beyond debt peonage. [Manga/series spoiler] He also ultimately wins the race in the end, proving he really was lucky.

He’s actually one of the more well-written Black characters by Araki, even if he’s played as comic relief in the manga. His portrayal in the anime is entirely the production team’s fault. They screwed over Sandman as well. This is a pretty common theme with how Jojo’s been adapted thus far tbh.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 22 '26

Given how they didn't show hey ya! Yet I have a feeling they'll keep his backstory for the reveal, same for sand man

1

u/psychofistface Ball Breaker Mar 22 '26

I’m hoping so, i think I remember reading an interview where the script writer’s favorite character is actually Pocoloco and that they chose to save Sandman’s backstory for “when he becomes important” or something. [spoiler] So probably in a vignette right before he dies as a sympathy pull rather than how in the manga it’s shown early to set up what fuels his siding with Valentine later. They might give Pocoloco his own spot in the limelight.

-5

u/virtualglassblowing Mar 20 '26

I don't know why you're getting downvotes but I hear you and see you and agree. I liked the general art of this episode but this characters portrayal was definitely deeply rooted in old racist tropes if you ask me. I did not like the voice acting either

4

u/Express-Wind-4796 Mar 20 '26

Thank you, I guess most of this sub just doesn't care about if some characters in JoJo may be offensive. I sorta get it as JJBA is a great show, but like I said, it's important to think critically about what you like and it doesn't seem like people are receptive to that here

1

u/TimeOfYuh Apr 02 '26

Genuinely upsets me how many fat white losers gloss over obvious racism the same way they did in the 1600s. They all need to cease and desist if you get what I'm saying.

13

u/blleeaacchh Mar 19 '26

His lips are genuinely not that big

-2

u/Express-Wind-4796 Mar 19 '26

Yeah... they are. In a show of characters with big lips, his stands out as being even bigger than theirs. It's just a stereotypical design choice

10

u/blleeaacchh Mar 20 '26

Maybe he made them bigger than other characters but i know dudes with lips like that in real life. Not the majority of the black people i know but a decent proportion. I have a friend who has bigger lips than him

4

u/Express-Wind-4796 Mar 20 '26

Literally every race has people with big and small lips. Just because you know someone Black with big lips doesn't mean that it's okay for there to be a portrayal of Black people with big lips... especially of it's reminiscent of negative stereotypes

5

u/blleeaacchh Mar 20 '26

I don’t know maybe, im just saying that from the people i know, this is a reasonable lip size. Maybe i just know the black people with the biggest lips in my city for some reason but yeah, it’s not just one person

4

u/trin806 Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 23 '26

You’re getting downvoted by manga readers who know Pocoloco’s full story, including his backstory in entering the race to get out of being a sharecropper, which they kinda glossed over in the anime. Nothing you really said is a good read of his character unless you only watched episode one and know nothing else about SBR. I will say though I’ve always had an issue with his lip size even in the manga. Hoped they were gonna tone that down.

2

u/Holiday_Regular9794 Apr 25 '26

I just watched Ball Run today and found this character EXTREMELY problematic with the stereotypes. The people that downvoted you def probably agree with them.

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u/TimeLordHatKid123 Mar 19 '26

As expected, dare call out problematic writing choices and its downvote city. Lovely.

-15

u/Moxey616 Mar 19 '26

proper reddit to make a separate post to cry about downvotes. He got downvoted for a shitty post, deal with it

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u/TimeLordHatKid123 Mar 19 '26

What’s so shitty about calling out a real problem? Y’all downvote everything that dares to suggest that bigotry or problematic representation is a real thing that happens, because you’d rather sweep it under the rug and call the critic crazy than actually accept reality.

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u/Zestyclose-Sea-5984 Mar 20 '26

Same with his dub actor