JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 4: Diamond wa Kudakenai

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 4: Diamond wa Kudakenai, the 4th part of Hirohiko Araki's iconic manga series. After the most iconic manga series of all-time, stardust crusaders, what can you do? Well, you make the greatest bit of media to even scrape the heavens.

[story-10/10]
Jojo part 4 takes us to the sleepy town of Morioh Japan, we follow part 3's protagonist Jotaro Kujo, Jotaro is looking for Josuke Higashikata, son of Joseph Joestar, of course Jotaro is here to talk about splitting the cash when Joseph dies, and also here on official business about a murder and the stand arrows, Jotaro meets Josuke and ... thus our journey starts.

Now to be fair part 4 starts slow, really slow, the first 15 so episodes are dedicated to exploring Morioh and expanding the cast of characters while building up to the main event with episode 17, Rohan Kishibe's Adventure and the introduction to Kira Yoshikage and Sugimoto Reimi, everything after episode 17 is what I consider the greatest piece of television, I absolutely love this part of the story and especially the Bites The Dust arc, JoJo part 4 has the hands down best story of any Jojo part.

[Art-7-10]
Why a seven? Well in the manga, Araki's art is flawless and is some of the greatest in the series to date, part 4 also marks a shift in Araki's manly art style of parts 1-3 to the more effeminate designs of part 5 and onwards, However, part 4's anime has some of the sloppiest animation and many character don't stay on model, this can be seen in the infamous Shinobu Kawajiri and Kosaku (Kira Yoshikage) Kawajiri scene, also Kira's model is often times off, there are also many issues with the animation, but this is made up for in the anime with the amazing still character shots that look absolutely beautiful, although there are many flaws they can be overlooked, also sometimes the animation has moments of sakuga, albeit the animation can also be very janky.

[sound-8/10]
The Ost is AMAZING. The best JoJo Ost to date, it has some of my favourite sound tracks, such as the incredible theme of Kira Yoshikage, which blended with the visuals is thematically fitting for kira and also a greatly composed piece, The openings are incredible, "Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town", "Chase" and "Great Days" are some of the best anime openings to date, there packed with subtle foreshadowing, metaphors and references, the ending "I want you" by savage garden, classic Australian pop/rock band and one of my favourite songs of all time. The VA work was incredible, the Voices of Jotaro Kujo (Daisuke Ona) and Josuke Higahsikata (Yuuki Ona) were phenomenal, of course I loved the voices of Kira (Morikawa Toshiyuki) and Kishibe Rohan (Takahiro Sakurai) as well as others.

[Characters-10/10]
easily my favourite in the entire series, seeing fresh faces such as Josuke, Okuyasu and Koichi was nice while also adding onto our veteran cast such as Jotaro and Joseph, seeing Josephs transition from street smart punk, to battle hardened veteran and eventually to loving caring grandfather and father, its bittersweet seeing his progression as a character, Jotaro turns from a brash and rude teenager, to a mentor and father figure. The new characters are great Josuke is the love child to Joseph and Tomoko, he's brash, quick witted, but passionate and kind hearted, he is one of the best Jojo's in the series, Second best JoBro Okuyasu Nijimura, is fun, loveable and dumb as shit, like Josuke, he acts more on Passion then Witt, and its also fun seeing him solve problems using brawn over intellect, of course the rest of the supporting cast is great, characters such as Rohan Kishibe, Koichi Hirose and especially Kira Yoshikage, Kira's desire to live his peaceful life is a breathe of fresh air compared to the world changing ideologies of Dio and Kars, Kira wants to live life doing what he loves as he pleases, his ideology of "why be first when you could be second?" is so contradictory to humans and is so interesting to me, everything about him is normal, until you count in the fact that he's a vicious serial killer who kills women for there hands using his stand "KILLER QUEEN", and during his time as Kosuku, I even sympathised with him, as Araki humanises him. Characters were fantastic.

[Stand Powers-10/10]
part 4 has some great stands "Killer Queen Bites The Dust" made one of the greatest arcs in Shonen anime history, 'Crazy Diamonds" is simple yet brilliant, I could list all of the phenomenal stands from this part (Echoes, Enigma, The hand, Star Platinum, Heavens Door etc), but if there's one thing unique about the stands of part 4, its the shift from tarot cards to the new way of naming stands, iconic 80's rock bands, albums and songs. Some of the best stands and some fo the most creative ideas in JoJo.

[Enjoyment-10/10]
Part 4 is fun as fuck! It's funny, action packed and most of all, engaging, I was never bored once, it keeps on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

[overall-10/10]
an essential viewing for any JoJo fan and a great introduction for new comers, it has mainstream ideas that anyone can enjoy while having enough to provide high end anime enthusiasts or Elitists with enough to dig their teeth into.

David Production was hardly a household name in the otaku community a few years ago. However, everything changed when the fire nation attacked...I mean when they released their JoJo's Bizarre Adventure adaptation in 2012! While the budget was pretty low, David Production blew the community away with their attention to detail and loyalty to the source material and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable is no exception to this.

JoJo Part 4 tells the story of Josuke Higashikata, Josephs's illegitimate son. In Josuke's home town Morioh someone used a magical bow and arrow to transform normal people into Stand users. This time we get ... to know a little bit more about the origin of the Stand abilities, which has something to do with these arrows. Of course, Josuke and his friends have to stop them.

Most of the time the crew encounters random enemies, but later they try to find out the identity of a certain someone with an especially dangerous Stand who is living in Morioh, who is the main focus of the second half of this story arc. This person is committing gruesome murders for several years but was never caught, so it's up to JoJo and his pals to stop him.

The reason why this plot works so much better than Part 3's, is because it feels much more natural. In Stardust Crusader, the plot felt very video game-ish, but in Part 4 fighting Stand users is more of a daily routine and not part of a journey to save the world. Araki successfully mixed Part 3's semi-episodic structure with some slice-of-life elements. Since they never leave their hometown, there is also a lot of attention to the city Morioh itself, almost like the city is it's own character. I wouldn't go so far as call it "world building", but all these little things about Morioh plus the recurring places definitely give this arc its own flavor and identity compared to the rest of JJBA.

Most enemies they fight turn into friends later on or are at least somewhat relevant to the plot later. This causes the team of allies to be very large, almost twice the size of Part 3's. However the last third of the show has very similar issues as Stardust Crusaders (too much obvious monster of the week) and some episodes are more exciting than others, but in the end, Part 4 feels much more tightly written than it's predecessor.

Most of the characters are interesting and their interactions are super entertaining. Of the 4 JoJos that are introduced at this point, Part 4's main character Josuke is probably the best. He is introduced as a polite delinquent, but he gets series when it comes to his hair: when someone insults it, they're getting their ass kicked! This is pretty much Josuke's thing. There is even a little flashback about why he is so sensitive about his hair in the first place. He doesn't use it as much as Joseph and Jotaro though and his tick is pretty much dropped later on and his flashback never received any further explanation, but it was still a nice touch.

The main villain of Part 4, Yoshikage Kira, is also great. He is not as "EPIC" as Dio, but he is very memorable in his own way. Unlike Dio, who was more of a cartoon villain (wants to take over the world etc) Kira just wants to commit murders without being disturbed by other people. He doesn't want world domination or anything like that, just a quiet and peaceful life. Unlike Dio or Kars, Kira feels like a person who could actually exist in real life, which makes him legitimately scary. The final battle against him was a little messy and the way he died was pretty anti-climatic, but I guess that made sense in this context and setting, since Kira is a more of a realistic villain. The fight was still exciting nonetheless and the way they used their Stands was pretty creative.

As you would expect from JoJo, the fights are awesome. The Stands are much more creative than in the previous story arc and they are used in very creative ways. You can really tell how much Araki improved the fighting mechanic in this arc. This is probably the most bizarre aspect of Part 4: melting bodies together, turning people into books or trapping people in a time loop; these are just a few examples of the crazy abilities. There were even new types of Stands introduced: automatic Stands and Stands that evolve into a more powerful form over time.

Sadly DiU is much less "GAR" and manly that the previous parts. The characters are also not nearly as buff anymore. This was around the time when the mangaka started to change up his art style. David Production chose to make the whole arc look more like the second half the DiU manga, instead of having this (admittedly awkward) transition from bulky to skinny.

Similar to the earlier seasons of JoJo, the animation looks very low-budget at times. However, David Production makes up for that with a unique art style, great use of color and lots of crazy effects. In the end, it's a very nice-looking anime, despite some derpy faces and low-quality character models here and there (they'll be probably fixing these things until the Bluy-Ray release anyway).

In conclusion, Part 4 has all the bizarre action, manly tears and likable characters that you would expect from this series and it even improves quite a bit on some of the flaws in Stardust Crusaders.


Final rating:
Characters: 9/10
Story: 7/10
General production value: 7,5/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

To anime and manga fans, Jojo is a classic that many may have heard of. Even if you’re not familiar with the franchise, you’ll bound to hear something related to Jojo somewhere whether it’d be a joke, meme, or reference. Diamond is Unbreakable chronicles the fourth expansion of the franchise and it’s among one of the most celebrated. As a personal favorite, Diamond is Unbreakable sets up for an adventure that is far more than bizarre.

As the four story arc in the Jojo franchise, Diamond is Unbreakable unites a lot of similar themes from the previous series. These would include the unorthodox style of the ... adventures, the colorful character cast, the creative Stands that characters uses, and most importantly, its bizarre yet infectious humor. The first few episodes reintroduces a character we should already be familiar with, Jotaro Kujo. He travels to the town of Morioh and encounters a young man named Josuke Higashikata, the latest in line of the Jojo family tree. As a youthful man sporting an unusual hairstyle, Josuke is your typical teenager with a kind heart. Even his Stand (Crazy Diamond) represents his personality as it’s able to heal and repair injuries. So in essence, don’t be surprised if you see him helping out some stranger out of kindness. In many ways, he is similar to Jotaro despite their age gap. Furthermore, Josuke is a guy that I think most of us can relate to. He likes to hang out with friends at school while always eager to make more, is often curious about unusual events, and is incredibly protective of his family and friends. For most part, I think Josuke is a character that many of us will like quickly.

But of course, Josuke isn’t just the main star of the show. His friends Koichi and Okuyasu also gets involved in the strange bizarre occurrences as their lives changes forever. They discover the existence of Stands as the show sets up for the many storytelling about them and their users. In some ways, the show is similar to the previous installment. However, one of the main difference is that the show takes place mostly in Morioh as opposed to a world journey. With that being said, the series does a decent job at crafting the town with its many features. These ranges from Josuke’s home, school, and the places he enjoy visiting. Then, there’s also other places that strange occurrences happen thanks to one of Dio’s lackeys and his supernatural Bow and Arrow. The storytelling of Diamond is Unbreakable follows many arcs that each feature a different antagonist, their Stand, and the problem they cause. It has a pseudo slice of life feel as most of these arcs are nonlinear in terms of plot. However, these arcs are important to develop the character cast. A prominent example would be Koichi as his Stand (Echoes) undergoes an evolution of change. It presents his development as a character from a timid kid to a courageous hero during his various confrontation with other Stand users. Okuyasu is also an example as a character that originally started out as an enemy of Josuke but changes into his best friend as the story progressed. Representing a more delinquent’s side of the character cast, Okuyasu’s personality changes as he takes devious risks to protect his friends and understanding them. Finally, I think a special mention should be given to Rohan Kishibe, a manga artist who serves more as a foil to Josuke. With his talent and abilities (including his Stand), he casts a narcissistic vibe with stubbornness. In essence, he’s the type of that guy that is hard to make friends with and throughout the show, we can see his growing rivalry with Josuke.

To get the full enjoyment out of Diamond is Unbreakable, it’s best to watch the previous series and get familiar with the Jojo universe. Part four introduces many new characters, some recurring while others are part of the ‘monster of the week’ structure. Noticeable characters such as Yukako, Mikitaka, etc will be more memorable while other may not be. Unfortunately for fans of Joseph Joestar, you’ll probably be disappointed by his role for part 4 as his presence and significance is reduced to be only involved in minor story arcs. However, have no fear as part 4 also introduces one of most interesting antagonists in the entire Jojo franchise, Yoshikage Kira. As a serial killer and hand fetishist with an obsessive-compulsive disorder, you’ll recognize that his role transform the story into a darker thriller. His appearance in the show adds a unique flavor that creates an aura of psychology. It’s a contrast to the bizarre humor of the series, something that has existed since the beginning of part 4. By balancing the humor and darker elements, Diamond is Unbreakable brings out the best of its storytelling with its characters.

As a manga reader, I am generally satisfied with the faithfulness of the adaptation. Only a few arcs are rushed while most of the story flows consistent with the source. I’m also impressed by how the adaptation captured the expressions of the facial reactions as it’s not always easy. Kudos to David Production for making a good promise to deliver the best it can be. In the meantime, fans will also probably notice a change in the art style of this season. The backgrounds has a much radiant style with multilayer colors. Moriah town also deceptively look simple yet many complex events develop as the story unfolds. Most impressively are the character and Stand designs. Each character looks unique ranging from Josuke’s infamous hairstyle to Kira’s trademark Killer Queen Stand.

The evolution of Jojo’s soundtrack still retains its depth and presence with its theme songs. “Crazy Bizarre Town” represents exactly how bizarre the show can be while the ED theme surprisingly has a more melancholic tone. However, what impresses me most is the overall directing of the soundtrack with its battle scenarios. Iwanami Yoshikazu’s talents are recognized easily as he is able to work around between balancing the slice of life moments and the intense fight scenes. Furthermore, character voice mannerism is credible to their characters. Kira’s voice tone is perhaps the most memorable for his egocentric personality and sadism while others like Koichi will be recognized for their courage and loyalty.

So what should fans look forward to most from Diamond is Unbreakable in the end? To be honest, it’s very simple. A show like this will be best enjoyed as a bizarre entertainment with what it presents. It’s essentially a series that takes creativity to extraordinary levels. Every story arc delivers some sort of unusual conflict to bring the bizarreness true to its form. The fights are crafted with creativity that rather than relying on strategy can be enjoyed with sheer entertainment value. And that really is what Jojo is about. It’s bizarre entertainment at its finest.

Morioh, an insignificant town that sits out in the sun for anyone to visit and the new home for the never-ending battle carried out by one family. Somewhere in this scrambled slice of suburbia, we're introduced to the latest member of the Joestar lineage, as we encroach on what would be one of many fights to come.

A new enemy Stand makes its entrance; veins protruding through swollen biceps; wrinkled brow plaster the expression of a robust figure; eyes fixated on the opposition; pompadour takes aim, a tangerine sky hanging above; onomatopoeias floods the screen—BAM! MENACING! RUMBLE!—with wall-to-wall color dancing around on the border of psychedelia ... and pop art. Head titled, shoulders rolled back, chest puffed out; an epic pose is struck. A feeble old geezer hunched over in the background, hands clasping his cheek, lets out a compulsory "Oh my Gawd!" in Engrish. A powerful aura exudes from the frame of the young Joestar. A muscle-bound, apparition clad in lavender emerges from within him, as he lets out a herculean roar: "CRAZY DIAMOND!!!"..., Gritted teeth, fist wound up, body arched back—fades to black..., trumpets blare, cue intro, welcome to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable!

Since 2012, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has been spearheading a campaign to bring GAR and all things manly back to the limelight; introducing newcomers to an anime staple that's been underrepresented in the 2000s, while also shamelessly serving as a form of fanservice for veteran viewers who self-indulge in all things retro. For those people that miss the blockbuster era of beefy action heroes that were deep-rooted in the product of 80s Americana. With a dedicated following that only grows bigger year after year, Jojo's crusade for "manly ass men doing manly ass things" has proven to be a successful one. A fact that's made all the more surprising when accounting for the current cultural shift in anime that favors infectiously cute shows or those garishly showered in 2edgy4u content. Jojo stands firm, pressing forward to the beat of its own drum while giving sensitivity the middle finger as it flexes its biceps in the name of awesome.

But perhaps the strongest aspect of Jojo isn't this flippant disregard towards popular trends, but the way it goes about expressing itself within it.

There are a few cardinal rules that most writers try their best to abide by, one of which is maintaining some semblance of plausibility within the realm of the written work being presented. Whether the story in question is grounded in reality or contains plenty of fantastical elements, maintaining some level of plausible "cause and effect" is what helps the audience experience immersion. Even in a fictional universe that contains many otherworldly themes, there are still constants that are expected to be maintained. In the same way, the theoretical law in our universe remains consistent no matter the time or location; the same is also expected with works of fiction. Anything that doesn't uphold established in-world laws tends to be perceived as poorly constructed or just outright "bad writing." We may not always identify it up front, but somewhere in our subconscious, the "bullshit" meter is going off.

And yet, even with this unspoken rule in mind, there are some stories that purposefully leave common sense at the front door. They're shows that are propelled by nonsensical conclusions, improbable physics, and pure absurdity. But somehow, despite this, or perhaps because of it, they have been adored the world over. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is that kind of show. A show driven forward by madness, adrenaline, and a gratuitous amount of machismo. It embraces the "Bizarre" in its namesake to the utmost extent, doing whatever it pleases with total conviction and never looking back at the body count trailing behind it.

And like the hyperactive installments before it, Part 4 continues to keep the ball rolling, following the lineage of the Joestar family and all the inherent problems that come with the blood-line. This brings us to the next Joestar tasked with carrying on the legacy, the ever-fabulous Jousuke Higashikata; a man of few words, unless the words addressed to him are insults directed at his ultra sleek Greece Lightening hairdo. Unlike the hard-boiled demeanor of Joutarou, Jousuke actions are driven by hot-tempered impulses, choosing to punch first and ask questions later. He wears his heart on his sleeve, an attribute that would usually be perceived as weak in the testosterone-filled world of Jojo, except for the fact that Jousuke kicks all kinds of ass with his Stand, Crazy Diamond. A Stand that grants him the ability to restore any damage inflicted to something back to its original state or alter it to its base elements. Pairing that with his hair-trigger personality makes for a formidable combo, something that many enemy Stands find out the hard way.

As the aftermath surrounding Dio Brando begins to settle down, remnants of his misdeeds are still spreading when the Bow and Arrow—the weapon used to create Stands—ends up in the wrong hands. Because of this, Joutarou finds himself traveling to the town of Moriah where his illegitimate nephew Jousuke calls home. And as the Joestars team up to rid the town of Stand users hellbent on causing harm to the citizens, they find themselves encountering greater threats along the way.

With a narrative that solely exists to have as many physical encounters as possible, Part 4 manages the impossible task of circumventing the trappings of episodic content while using that exact structure to create bottle episodes filled with high-octane battles. Whether it's pounding the snot out of an enemy Stand or simply going to a restaurant to eat, Part 4 is continuously pressing down on the gas peddle. For those that don't like stagnation, this sequel is a Godsend.

There's no calm moment of clarity to reflect on the situation at hand, all that's left on display is brittle logical leaps followed up by gonzo wall-texts flying in with a flurry of saturated color. It's vivid, it's spastic, it's a mural hacked up on PCP. And while this commitment to never slowing down may seem like a detriment for any other show, for Jojo—a show that's as straightforward as the content being displayed—there couldn't have been a better marriage of purposeful storytelling.

Jojo's brilliance is in its simplicity. It isn't a show that's out to have an intricate story-line filled with multifaceted themes, nor does it try to craft layered personalities that appear 3-dimensional. Jojo personifies the mindset of a neanderthal, where problems are solved with fists and beating enemies into submission. Loyalty is proven with actions and not half-baked words. And motivations that's as explicit as the expository dialogue being used to express them. The only thought process being taken is assuring that they properly utilize their Stand abilities to defeat their enemy with optimal results. These muscle-bound brutes painted up like Easter eggs leave no room for interpretation, what you see is what you get.

This isn't to say there's no thought placed into Jojo's production. The show is littered with inventive encounters that overlap Stand abilities to create a chess game of wits, seeing both sides constantly fighting for the upper hand over one another. Matches that eventually dissolve into pissing contests to see who would cave in first. Each Stand ability is accounted for, creating interesting back and forths between the combatants. And with there being countless possible Stand abilities that could manifest in someone, the end result is no two fights being the same. The battlefield is forever morphing, with something as simple as the changes in partnership or location altering the very course of a how a match can turn out.

It's this very ingenuity that demonstrates that behind the burly men clashing fists, there's still a thought process keeping the madness together. This also includes the more straightforward parts of Jojo's production, such as the naming of the characters and the reasoning for its brightly-colored world.

If you've made it all the way to Part 4, then this should come as no surprise to you that Hirohiko Araki, the creator of the Jojo manga, has consciously decided to name characters after musicians and songs, mostly from western pop culture. It's an inconsequential bit of trivia that doesn't do much for the long-haul but despite that, adds to the overall appeal of his work. And with French post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin being cited as an influential person in his approach to color theory, there's always a sense that Jojo was much more than just a whim being held up by simple admiration for a particular era. If you've ever felt like the colors used was oddly at home despite the constant clash of sassy meet gusto, that's because of this conscious effort on Araki's part to blend the two. This well-cultured sensibility is what gives Jojo such a distinct personality from its counterparts. It's an entity birthed outside of typical circular influence, having a unique appeal while winning the admiration of a broader market in the process.

But let's not mistake all this appraisal of Jojo as the show being a flawless creation, it does suffer from its fair share of issues. For one, because of its straightforward approach, there's never any questions posed at the actions being taken. And as such, this is an anime that only works because of the universe pre-established before it. Had we not seen the impossible happen time and time again, Jojo would have never worked. Its absurdity disallows genuine immersion in the circumstances taking place. You're entertained but never for a second buy into the ridiculousness of it all. It's a show where you laugh at the nonsense and take enjoyment out of how committed it is to seeing it through, despite the apparent shortcomings of said actions making close to little sense. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is always entertaining but never something to be held up as proper literature. It's the show's greatest strength but sadly its greatest weakness as well.

This issue also means that all of the characters are usually dwindled down to becoming internet memes or lovable caricatures. No one is looking onto Jojo for enriched characterization. All that's expected out of it is hyperactive personalities with cool abilities trading blow for blow in an environment that allow these occurrences to go on undisturbed. This is usually the trade-off for dumb-fun entertainment. Finding a balance between the absurd and tightly written is a rarity that escapes Jojo. But what it still has is an unshakable commitment to do everything at 110%, so even when you question the logic of a scenario, it doesn't take long before you accept it for what it is to continue seeing the Joestars pummel enemies into submission.

And if this fact can be accepted for what it is, then Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable should be nothing short of an entertaining ride for most fans of this bizarre adventure. With more epic poses, more stands, more cool ass character designs, and too much awesome shit to know what to do with, Jojo Part 4 has been one hell of a ride. And with this being another successful adaptation by David Production, here's hoping it's an adventure with many more iterations to come.

-Sepia bathe the screen, title card cropped in an arrow: To Be Continued-

The JoJo series had been my favorite anime to watch (I don't read any manga), and this arc was a huge letdown after 3 solid, enjoyable, and often amazing arcs. The Stardust Crusader OVA from long ago got me hooked, and I was really looking forward to seeing Diamond is Unbreakable after finishing the TV series version of Stardust Crusaders.

I understand this TV series stays pretty true to the manga, but I feel that the writer Hirohiko Araki simply ran out of ideas after the EPIC Stardust Crusader arc and made this filler arc (for the money) about nothing significant, creating characters that were hard ... to appreciate because they were whiny, talkative, immature, stupid, and simply lucky, in some sense, when defeating these super random unmemorable opponents with vaguely-defined abilities. I understand the characters are supposed to be young and immature, but I got tired of constantly seeing the characters suddenly act immature over and over in the middle of life-and-death situations.

I really enjoyed the JoJo series as a whole because of amazing powers and the characters having to be clever and creative in order to win, but this arc barely tries. Or perhaps the characters are so unlikable I don't care if the main characters actually lost/died.

The series brings back the main characters from the past storylines, Joseph Joestar and Jotaro Kujo, but Joseph is completely useless in this series and the reasons change from him barely having any memory and barely able to walk to being able to walk and think but having to take care of a pointless baby. I assume the baby becomes a major character in a future arc, but it's super lame how they introduced the baby and how Jonathan was completely out of commission.

If you are a hardcore fan of the series like I am, watch it just to get it over with. If you are new to the series, I highly recommend checking out the first 3 arcs over this one.

(If you're 11 and haven't experienced JoJo, skip to the safe space for my 'spoiler free' interview)

1999
"Let the joy of love give you cancer"-Araki

There's a reason why DiU sits near the top of almost any JoJo fans ranking.

Because its an absolutely and positively inspired piece of work.


...
Let's get the obvious criticism out of the way first. While the voice acting is grade A, this show puts the ugh in ugly, (I.E Quality Queen). But some episodes (I.E Bug Eaten) are stellar looking, with strong color pallets and character design. It's just quite obvious the budget from part 2 isn't there, which, while a shame, isn't deal breaking. At this point the Duwang scans have made me feel like Oliver Twist, I just want some more you know? I'll take what I can get from David Productions, as long as they deliver my beloved part 4, from Tony to Rock Paper Scissors to Ambulance, we're cool.

Which is what they did.

A common criticism leveled at part 4 is it's lack of focus. It doesn't start the "plot" and introduce the main villain until a third of the way through; but can you blame Araki for not knowing (at first) how to follow up a planned trilogy with a clear conclusion? While its unfortunate the first section of DiU isn't so smoothly connected to the rest of itself (Josuke time traveling, Araki how did you forget that), it is an undeniable fact that when Araki is provided breathing room to experiment, he gives his best work (See SBR).

Stands positively SHINE in part 4; gone are the "monster of the week" stands of part 3, which are replaced by a variety of stands that complement their given user. Echoes evolves alongside the growing Koichi, Heavens Door fits a mangaka such as Rohan like a glove, and The Hands overwhelming power is balanced only by the sheer stupidity of Okuyasu. Some stands have zero combat potential whatsoever (Cinderella, Pearl Jam) and exist solely to further the atmosphere of Morioh. While punch ghosts are fun, and Jotaro gets plenty of strong screen time, it's Araki's unbounded creativity that makes DiU so fun and unforgettable.


I'd be lying if I said the lack of Josephs mannerisms and catchphrases doesn't leave a bit of a hole in my funny bone. However, Araki does manage to preserve the magical humor of previous parts in DiU. If anything, JoJo has never been funnier. Jotaro's straight faced autism remains strangely both bad-ass and comedic, and Josuke's new personality mixes well with characters like Rohan and Okuyasu to create those bizarre situations we love. Then there's stands such as Stray Cat, Boy 2 Man, Earth Wind and Fire, and of course, Cheap Trick. Cheap Trick will leave you in a pool of piss on your hospital bed that you can't clean up because you're restrained and sedated. It's unfortunate that part 5 and 6 didn't take some notes.


If someone asked how Araki could possibly follow up DIO, then I imagine Kira as the proverbial slap in the face as his response. Whether or not you think he deserves a quiet life, the sheer presence Kira exerts on the show from the get-go is undeniable. Kira has personality, wit, motivation, luck (are those sirens?) and mother-fucking Killer Queen. A serial killer is a logical conclusion to the question of a villain in a setting such as small town Morioh, and Kira is as competent as his real life look alike. (R.I.P David Bowie)


JoJo op's are legendary, and for good reason. They're love letters; with hand-crafted songs tailored to fit certain parts of the story, bundled with little references for veterans to the series. As songs, CNBT and Chase are worthy successors, but as opening videos, they fall just short of Stand Proud or Sono Chi no Sodome. Still good op's, but the budget just doesn't seem to warrant a video I could call gre...

Then there's Great Days.
I've never seen or heard an opening embody a series so perfectly. And the rewind version features absolutely genius cuts and sound effects, making the DiO version of End of the World look like a linkin park amv.

And "1999 Bizarre Summer"? Holy shit that's a lyric?

I got a boner.


The only proof anyone should need to understand that David P is the studio worthy to adapt JoJo to the end, is Morioh Radio. It's a foreign element to the manga, but who would know? That high energy radio jingle only seeks to heighten the atmosphere of bizarre Morioh; and it speak volumes about the love and dedication the series is being shown by its creators.

Sasuga David.



(Kiddie friendly zone)

Me: How's the show, Josuke?

J: Great.

You though Stardust Crusaders would be the last of the JoJo adaptations, but it was me, Diamond is Unbreakable! Jokes aside, the adaptation of the next part is finally over after a 39-episode run. David Production has proven to be a very loyal studio when it comes to adaptations. For the last couple of years, David Production have been working on adapting the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series written by Araki Hirohiko into an anime format. After doing an adaptation for the first three JoJo parts, David Production has adapted the fourth Part of the series, Diamond wa Kudakenai also known as Diamond is Unbreakable ... or… Diamond is not Crash if that’s what you prefer. Though Diamond is Unbreakable isn’t quite popular in Japan as to let’s say the previous part, Stardust Crusaders, or the next one, Vento Aureo, it’s still well respected. However, in the west it is much more popular. Diamond is Unbreakable is my personal all-time favorite JoJo part… even more than Steel Ball Run. But does this adaptation manage to be perfect like the previous parts? Well in all honesty, this might just be the least loyal JoJo adaptation from David Production, yet it’s better than most adaptations of this generation. That says something…

~{Story}~
The premise in Diamond is Unbreakable is just as simplistic as the previous part. The story revolved around the town of Duwang, um, I mean Morioh and how after the presence of an arrow that can give people the ability to use Stands, Morioh is now filled with an ever-growing amount of Stand users (both enemies and allies) and it’s up to Josuke and his buddies to handle this issue. However, within the Stand users in Morioh hides a serial killer who targets women in the town (well their hands to be precise) and the allied Stand users must work together to stop this hidden serial killer and protect Morioh. First of all, unlike the previous and the upcoming JoJo parts, Diamond is Unbreakable takes place in one town and never leaves this setting. The characters don’t go on an adventure all around the world, nor do they take a month to get to Egypt. It’s just one town with one goal; to protect Morioh. Diamond is Unbreakable is known as the slice-of-life JoJo since its more about the characters fooling around while there’s Stand users to handle every week. Despite the fact that Diamond is Unbreakable is written in a smaller scale and that its initial premise is simplistic, there is no doubt that this part is the most interesting part story-wise, when compared to the previous parts. Even when compared to the future parts, it’s still better than all of them (though Steel Ball Run is on the same level). The first half of the series is simple fun, but once the main antagonist gets introduced, Diamond is Unbreakable ends up becoming an intense and somewhat unpredictable cat-and-mouse chase. Despite the fact that it’s not as large-scaled as Stardust Crusaders, its climax ends up being a satisfying fight that uses more strategy than brute strength. Diamond is Unbreakable proves that bigger is not always better.
Story: 10/10

~{Presentation}~
David Production has always managed to be the top of their game when it comes to loyal adaptations and they proved so with the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series. They manage to capture the style and essence the manga has. David Production is so loyal about the adaptation that they even write out the sound effects in the series. But not only are they loyal, but they’re also dedicated to the series. Whether animating the meme moments in proper quality, or changing up the OP to match the antagonist’s ability, these little things show how much David Production cares about this adaptation and how they’re not making this anime simply to cash off from the fame the manga has. Diamond is Unbreakable is adapted in full glory here, especially with David Production changing up their art style to what the manga series ends up being. Starting from the fourth part, Araki changed up his art style from the original gritty, gar, and manly art style with tank-style characters, to the new vivid, stylish, fancy, fashionable art-style with skinnier characters. Despite the art style change, it still feels like JoJo. You still have those epic sound-effect text, disproportional poses, epic one-liners, cool battle cries, and the weird alterations of color and lighting. However, due to the length of Diamond is Unbreakable being 11 episodes less than Stardust Crusaders, yet the manga being a volume longer, some tiny moments ended up being cut out. One or two lines from each episode would get cut out and some comic relief moments too, but they’re nothing bad enough to be noticeable. These cut outs are similar to Phantom Blood’s and Battle Tendency’s.
Presentation: 9.5/10

~{Character}~
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure never falls behind with their characters and Diamond is Unbreakable is no exception. As a matter of a fact, Diamond is Unbreakable has the best JoJo cast I have ever seen, with every character feeling likable and fun. Josuke is a fantastic protagonist with a fantastic personality. He’s my favorite JoJo, just right after Joseph. He’s the perfect mixture of Joseph’s lightheartedness and Jotaro’s chillness, while having Jonathan’s gentleman personality to him. With him having a running gag about how he can’t tolerate someone making fun of this hair, to him showing his dedication towards protecting Morioh, Josuke proved to be an all-rounder. Stardust Crusaders is completely gone as Jotaro is part of the main cast in Diamond is Unbreakable. He’s just as important in this arc as Joseph was in Stardust Crusaders. Throughout Part 3, Jotaro have more of a fixed personality and in some way, he was a bit bland, however Diamond is Unbreakable makes his character have more personality and feel more enjoyable. He still cool and relaxed, but he’s also wise and makes some jokes too. This might be due to him being a decade older than he was before, but either way he’s a lot more interesting. And then we have the JoBro of the part, Okuyasu, and he’s just as dumb as most other JoBro’s, but that’s what makes him fun. His unintentional humor makes the series feel more lighthearted and fun to watch. Every JoJo part always has that one little kid that plays some type of role. In Part 4, Koichi is one of the main characters of the series and he really grows on you. He originally starts as a kid that kind of ruins the fun by describing everything that goes on (I’m looking at you, Speedwagon… but you withdrew coolly). However, managed to be a lot more badass than he originally seemed, and he can be quite smart too. And then we have Rohan… Araki’s self-insert. A mangaka who also joins the gang later in the series and he easily is the most interesting character besides Josuke and the main antagonist of the series. But with all said and done, the character that truly steals the show and the one who ends up being the best and most complexly written JoJo antagonist ever, is Kira Yoshikage. Simply put, he’s weird yet normal, awkward yet cool, and a scumbag yet likable. From his hand fetishes to his will to stay in Morioh and continue his hobbies, Kira proves to be an absurd, yet believable character. With his appearance coming late in the series after many buildup, all of it gets payed off.
Character: 10/10

~{Art}~,
As mentioned before, David Production did an amazing job in adapting in Diamond is Unbreakable’s art style. In the previous parts, the series had a more darker look to it and the characters were the size of a football stadium, in Diamond is Unbreakable, the art is much more brighter and the characters don’t look like as if they bathe in steroids. Though the previous parts used that art style for its charm, Diamond is Unbreakable has its own charm, one that gets used in the future parts too. The previous parts used to alter its color palette at times to add a greater affect. Diamond is Unbreakable does that too, but it happens a lot more often. And this are sometimes colored in an unnatural way for style, such as the sky being purple or yellow at times. Despite the art having so many good qualities about it, its undeniable that the quality is pretty inconsistent. There’s some moments when character models were lack proper detailed or look deformed, especially if the characters are shown from a greater distance. However, the series makes up for it with its killer close-ups and some of them have a better quality than what was in the original manga, such as the close ups for the Stand, Killer Queen. Also, any issues with the art quality are being fixed with the Blu-ray and DVD release.
Art: 9/10

~{Animation}~
The animation quality is really good in Diamond is Unbreakable, however when compared to Stardust Crusaders, it is a bit lacking. The thing about Stardust Crusaders is that it originally started off with mind-boggling animations that seemed like as if David Production is a masochist and they enjoy putting too much detail into the tiniest things. However, as the series went on, the animation quality started becoming normal. Diamond is Unbreakable starts off from the normal quality of Stardust Crusaders, however, this quality remains the same throughout the series. There are some moments when the animation quality gets inconsistent and things aren’t as smooth as they should be, but Stardust Crusaders also suffered from the same issue. You won’t be able to expect anything legendary from Diamond is Unbreakable’s animations, but you won’t be disappointed either.
Animation: 8.5/10

~{Voice Acting}~
The recurring characters have the same seiyuu as they original had. Josuke’s seiyuu in the anime is different from the one that played him in the video games. And with these 39 episodes, it’s clear that Ono Yuuki is the perfect match for Josuke. He gets Josuke’s delinquent feel right, while making him a nice and kindhearted man. Also, he says “DORARARARA” the best. Ono Daisuke returns to voice act Jotaro, and he does just as good of a job as he did in Stardust Crusaders. He manages to make Jotaro feel a badass and you will never get enough of that “ORA, ORA, ORA”. Okuyasu’s seiyuu is the same as the one that was used in the games. Master of delinquent voice acting, Takagi Wataru does a great job in making his character sound like a complete idiot, while making him likable. Koichi’s seiyuu is also changed and the game’s seiyuu wasn’t used. Though I was kind of disappointed that Romi Park didn’t reprise her role, but Kaji Yuki does a great job as Koichi and he doesn’t disappoint. Though it’s a little weird since Kaji Yuki voice acted Johnny in the games, so I wonder who will voice act Johnny is Steel Ball Run gets an adaptation again. Kaji Yuki? And even Rohan’s seiyuu gets changed too. Though Kamiya Hiroshi might be the better seiyuu, Sakurai Takahiro proves to be the better match for Rohan. Kamiya made Rohan sound a little too rough when Rohan’s supposed to have more chill than that. Sakurai executes that perfectly. Also, Kira’s seiyuu has been changed too, for the better. Koyama Rikiya was great and all, but Morikawa Toshiyuki was completely sinister… as expected from Griffith’s old seiyuu. He delivers the lines perfectly, especially the creepy ones. Overall, all of the seiyuu changes in Diamond is Unbreakable is for the better.
Voice Acting: 10/10

~{Music}~
A JoJo part isn’t a JoJo part without great music, and I got to say, this has got to be the best music I’ve heard in a JoJo part. The series has three openings and one ending. The first OP “Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town” is a funky and fun opening that capture the slice-of-life charm of the series. It’s super catchy and the music for it has good beats. The second OP, “Chase”, isn’t something you would hear you would expect from JoJo since it has more of a shounen-y feel to it, but the song is really good and the vocals and music for it amazing. The final OP, “Great Days”, is easily the best one from Diamond is Unbreakable. It represents the theme of justice and hope the series used throughout, plus its really upbeat and fun to listen too. Just like the previous JoJo seasons, Diamond is Unbreakable’s ED is a western song from the last century. “I Want You” is a fantastic ED that feels really catchy and matches the slice-of-life tone of the series. Though it would’ve been nice if it had another ED (maybe something from Queen would’ve been nice, but the license would cost a fortune), but it’s fine the way it is. Kanno Yugo strikes gold with the OST of Diamond is Unbreakable. He did a great job with Stardust Crusaders and Ajin and with Diamond is Unbreakable, he showed the best of his work. The main theme of the Part is fantastic and is on par with Part 3’s theme. And the variation of the theme “Stand Activated” is really good too. The OST, “The Stardust Man Appears” is really cool to and it matched Jotaro very well. “Sudden Battle” is always perfectly used, “The Hand” is perfect for Okuyasu, “Irreversible Sadness” is used perfectly for the saddest death in the part, and “Courage” works well with Koichi. But the best OSTs are the ones that are used for Kira. Kira’s main theme, “Killer”, is perfectly composed to add that mysterious and uncomforting feel. “Second Bomb” and “Thrid Bomb” felt very intense when it was used in the series and “Another Face, Same Mind” is another great Kira track. Overall, all of the OST manages to elevate the enjoyment for this series and there’s no doubt that Diamond is Unbreakable has the best soundtrack of the year.
Music: 10/10

~{Enjoyment}~
Saying that I didn’t enjoy Diamond is Unbreakable is like saying Trump in not the U.S. president… it’s utterly false. Right after the latest season of Gintama ended, I needed something that could fill up that emptiness inside me. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure did that. Not only is Diamond is Unbreakable amazing, but it’s also the best part of the entire JoJo series. With so many hype moments with great voice acting and music used, it felt immensely satisfying. Even with some moments being cut out and some “quality” moments, David Production makes up for it with its stellar close-up art quality, and managing to represent the new tone and style of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series. David Production was the best thing that happened to JoJo and JoJo was one of the best thing that happened in the anime industry. Simply put, there’s no other anime like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Diamond is Unbreakable simply continues on that legacy. Plus, another gureto doze of amazing memes!
Enjoyment: 10/10

If you’ve watched the previous JoJo parts and liked them, I don’t need to recommend Diamond is Unbreakable to you because you’ve either already watched or you were just waiting for it to end. For those who found Stardust Crusaders to be a hit-or-miss or found Jotaro to be a bland protagonist, don’t worry, Diamond is Unbreakable is a much more consistent Part and Josuke is a great mix of the previous JoJo protagonists. With a much stronger story than the previous parts, and a new and stylish art style, Diamond is Unbreakable stands out more than the previous parts. And Part 4 easily has the best soundtrack of not just the entire JoJo series, but also the best of the year. The voice acting cast is perfect and it was a smart choice to change up some of them and use seiyuu who didn’t do those characters in the games. If you haven’t gotten into the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series yet, don’t worry, you have the holidays to catch up if you’re interested. With Diamond is Unbreakable, JoJo proves that it has its still creative with its ideas and still have a bright future ahead with David Production’s support.

+ Fantastic characters, including an entertaining protagonist and the best antagonist the JoJo series has ever seen.
+ The story in Part 4 is much more complex than usual with unexpected twists and turns and keeps the viewers captivated.
+ David Production does an excellent job in maintaining the manga’s style and representing the new JoJo art style.
+ Fantastic OPs and ED and the OST is the best of the JoJo series, and in particular, the Kira OSTs are brilliantly composed.
+ The new art style is stylish and vivid and the art looks exceptionally good at times, especially during the close ups.
- Production values are a bit inconsistent at times as some characters models far away can lack detailing, however, the BD/DVDs fix that.

Overall: 9.6/10

I'd like to preface this review by saying I totally understand why you might enjoy this show. Don't just look at this review, see its rating then click off. This review is a thorough dissection of Araki's Manga and DP's adaption of DiU. It's more of a fun than deep experience but I'm going to explain why DiU's critical flaws make the show very VERY difficult for me to enjoy.

Story: 5/10

The story starts off insanely strong with a shot of a severed hand being in someone we don't knows home. The story is about a serial killer using his Stand to hide himself and ... kill. That's an awesome premise. Too bad its hardly a factor of the story and it's mostly just the cast stumbling upon enemies that are just trying to use their stand to regenerate their body and petty theft. It loses so much focus. YUKAKO HAS A DEVELOPMENT ARC AND THEN HAS LITERALLY NO IMPACT OR TIME IN THE STORY AFTERWARD. IT WAS PROBABLY THERE JUST TO SHOW AYA TSUJI EXISTED.
Now onto why these fights and arcs have no impact on the story and why its downright purposeless...

I will accept the fights could be entertaining but the fights of this part are just not as well executed or choreographed as those from other parts. There are some exceptions like Highway Star but Araki even recycles ideas for stands and the environments are very strained as its mostly taking place in a house or on a street. Also these fights have minimal stakes due to Crazy Diamond being able to perfectly regenerate people. AND these brawls just have really forgettable, uninteresting enemy abilities. It puts these at even more discredit because these fights DON'T feel connected to the plot. Unlike parts like 1, 3, 5, and 7 where the enemies are either other members of the mafia that want something the heroes have, opponent racers pursuing the same goals, assassins hired by the enemy, minions, etc. The enemies in DiU are mostly just randoms. Plus the characters associated with the fight and some of the unique ideas usually carry the bland and boring execution on its back.

Art: 6/10

The art looks great and on model at times as does the animation but the key word is sometimes. Its animation can be fluid. The character designs are honestly great even for the minor villains. Although the characters can look great but even with the very simplified facial designs and vibrant colors the show still has big aesthetic problems. There is constantly bad frames. This is likely because the seasonal split that SDC had wasn't there. So they didn't have time to break or get back budget. The constant outsourcing made the main villains stand reveal a literal laughing stock. So much so I still see it getting meme-d on social media. The animation and art in DiU can be vibrant and fluid but it also gets unattractive and stiff. So much so you start to wish there was a seasonal gap.

Sound: 7/10

The music is catchy and fits the situation but it feels like a drop from SDC. Also Savage Garden all the way through instead of something as calming and beautiful as Last Train Home was a huge mistake. Last Train Home surpasses it in every way. You just get this tranquil feel of the Crusaders comradery. As you see them casually moving around Egypt together. It paints a very peaceful picture in your head. With I Want You, you have a very out of place song with very out of place direction. The Josuke in the end credits singing is so spontaneous and out of place. Its not remotely edited well is really forced in. (I'm not gonna criticize I Want You as a song because I am not into music criticism so that's why I more criticized its sloppy direction and what it does for the anime as opposed to dissecting the lyrics of a song from a 90's Boyband)

Character: 6/10

Here's where we get to DiU's biggest problem as well as it's best part.
I'll start by putting it simply Rohan, Koichi, and Kira are the best characters of this arc. Their characterization, development, and their focus almost always makes the episode great. I could do an essay on why Rohan is such an amazing character BUT simply put he is an excellent, greatly developed, incredibly layered and interesting character. Also the fights on the aforementioned tend to have impact on their character more so than ANYONE else in the show. Araki also does a very poor job at doing mass characterization AND making characters likable. Unfortunately you see a lot of Josuke and Okuyasu. Now I know A LOT of people like these characters. But hear me out. I do not hate these characters but they have very BIG problems as basically the leads of the part.
1) They have confused character motivation
2) They are stagnant and their development arcs doesn't effect them as characters
3) They are less interesting than characters that could've got more spot light

Okuyasu:
His brother dying is one of his main drives into the plot. That and his attachment to Josuke leading him in conflict by association. But Okuyasu wants revenge even though he accepts his brother is a bad person. They do not flesh out the fact Okuyasu wanted to avenge someone he knew was wicked. It doesn't dive into his psyche or feelings of justice or ideals. Just simple revenge motivation. It's insanely shallow and doesn't do ANYTHING fresh or unique. Now maybe I would forgive this if Okuyasu just didn't feel so bare. He meets his brothers killer, the person he wanted to commit revenge on. Then he loses. Then he meets him again. Can't beat him and then Josuke beats him. So Okuyasu gets no resolution with his brothers killer AT ALL. He doesn't confront him in the hospital. He doesn't kill him. They have no excuse because Kakyoin and Polnareff just is so much more satisfactory in terms of ending Pol's revenge arc. Kakyoin even helps him on what to say so he can feel fully satisfied when murdering the man who killed and raped his sister. And after this arc that goes literally nowhere Okuyasu doesn't get any more development for the rest of the show. Which honestly makes him just a one dimensional comic relief. He's entertaining but his character goes nowhere, is shallow, and has a really lame arc that doesn't effect him.

Josuke:
Josuke is nowhere near as bad of a case as Okuyasu. Josuke just gets less development and less consistent development than side characters like Yukako. And often forgets everything about his development where he wanted to become a force of justice. He commits fraud, tries to scam Rohan out of a ton of money, bullies and manipulates a 12 year old for money, and it wouldn't be such a problem if his greed didn't undermine his one development arc. You CAN NOT make his ONE development arc motivate him to become a force of good to protect the town and then have him not FEEL LIKE protecting the town he was so motivated to save. Especially when he literally wants to go against the law he wanted to uphold earlier in the show. It creates some interesting and funny conflicts but just really hurts his character. He doesn't get development outside of that arc and the arc REALLY doesn't affect his character. Like I can't do a page long analysis of their character because its just contrary traits and shallow personalities. Which is a huge problem as they are the big main characters of the show and suck away characters like Koichi and Rohans time.

Now one problem about a really good character; Kira is they try to introduce this part of his personality where he's falling for Shinobu but they bring it up once, don't expand on it, and it just feels forced in and Araki probably just forgot to capitalize on it.

Back to one horrid aspect about Araki's mass characterization... you can't make a psychotic outcast like Hazamada likable when in the same arc you're trying to make him likable in you make Rohan read off that he tried to rape a girl and then chickened out.

Overall DiU has some of the best characters in the franchise but also some of the weakest. And Araki despite making a great villain has a very hard time at naturally tying characters to the plot AND handling mass characterization well.

Enjoyment: 5/10

I enjoyed it sometimes. It could be fun. It could look pretty. Its story could hook me in. And it genuinely has AMAZING characters. But for all the fun that I had, I was too distracted with problems to enjoy myself. For all the beauty there's ugliness. For all the times the story had me, the payouts and dicking around on side stuff lost me. For every good character's time in the spotlight there's a significant amount of time spent on a much weaker, shallow character. Every time DiU does something great or good it does some thing to balance out its positively with very damning problems.

Overall: 5/10

This is a perfect score for DiU. I feel like its truly great characters save it from a 4/10. It's also pretty damn weird and pretty damn funny. But the animation and art problems. And the shallow leads. And the poor mass characterization. And the much weaker soundtrack compared to other parts sits it in a very rough place in terms of JoJo parts and other seasonal anime at the time. Definitely not a bad show, I can see why a lot of people would find enjoyment in it. But its lack of focus on its best characters, its lack of focus on its originally incredible story, sits it in a purgatory. Stuck between giving it audience something to love and shooting itself in the foot for 39 whole episodes.

DORARARARA!

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai brings us to the quaint *cough* mundane city of Morioh, a new Jojo with Josuke Higashikata, new Stand users be it allies or villains and our major focus for Part 4 being searching for a serial murderer who's been out on the loose for almost 15 years...

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai's core cast for the most part LA enjoyed alot though there were some aspects of the "Morioh Warriors" that could had more potential from them. The newest Jojo of Josuke voiced by Yuuki Ono reminded LA alot of Joseph Joestar in Battle Tendency ... mixed in with Stardust Crusaders, as Josuke implements and uses his Stand "Crazy Diamond" to constantly unique and inventive ways of combat even though at the start it's more a defensively overpowered ability of "fixing things" and yeah it's kinda weird yet awesome having three generations of Jojo's all in one due to Joseph, Jotaro and Josuke all being in Morioh to the lurking threat of the major villain hidden away in Morioh and trying to find him. But nonetheless Josuke was an excellent addition to the lineage of Jojo's and a proud one at that.

Now for the Morioh Warriors, Koichi Hirose voiced by Yuki Kaji was an all round extremely useful character outright and he had MANY shining moments for himself, he was pretty integral to the plot as well as his own misadventures and he was some of the few core members who developed immensely throughout the anime and that showed in both appearance and his Stand as it literally grew stronger and stronger as the episodes past. Okuyasu Nijimura voiced by Wataru Takagi being the first villain turned ally for Josuke like Koichi developed along the way but his was picked up and finished for the weakness he portrayed of being dumb and only taking orders as he didn't know any better, but over time, he was usually by Josuke's side and was even in the same wavelength as him and he grew out of taking orders and him thinking for himself to save the core cast at times, LA "did" wished he got some more development but nonetheless he was still fine in terms of plot. Rohan Kishibe voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, was something of a reference to Hirohiko Araki, as Rohan is a manga artist and he portrayed some of Araki's weirder aspects of himself, but Rohan was kinda of an interesting character in a ways, being "friends" with Koichi and doing anything it'll take to be a mangaka by experiencing everything and that obviously applies into his Stand. But development-wise, he wasn't exactly an enemy Stand, but once the major plotline of serial killer arose, he too toke hold of the plot and helped immensely with the plot. If anything Rohan and Koichi were almost working as deuteragonists outside of the Jojo's. The last of the core cast LA will talk about is Yukako Yamagishi voiced by Mamiko Noto and she gets the least screentime from the Morioh Warriors, not helped by the fact she turns into a satellite character for Koichi and being a yandere but like many of the core cast develops (albeit with one episode dedicated to herself) but at the end she kinda flips from yandere to shy girl with a crush (LA says it's odd as it's usually the other way around). With that, LA liked Rohan and Koichi the most from the Morioh Warriors, but Josuke being the main protagonist was great too and as much as LA wanted to put Joseph in LA's favorites but really couldn't from his very limited screentime, Jotaro stole the show even though HIS screentime was limited as well.

So to go a little in-depth with Josuke and his Stand powers, his is used uniquely in comparison to Jotaro's no holds-bar mental fisticuffs all due to how defensive Crazy Diamond is applied, but it allows not only his powers to manifest in his personality but allows us to show that his powers are used not for himself but to help others as the only downside to his Stand powers is that he can't fix his own injuries and thus it allows the other core cast members to help or even be in the limelight from either fights or their own character arcs due to his defensively overpowered powers. LA did say that Josuke is a bit like Joseph and this is kinda weird since he's the illegitimate son of Joseph and thus in turn Jotaro's nephew, so LA can easily see how his personality is like Joseph but the even more carefree and reckless version of him (this due to the setting of Morioh, not unlike Jotaro's save the world setting) in this regard. So all in all, Josuke as a Jojo is fine addition with his Stand powers complimenting his personality that in turn helps with the other supporting cast and the core cast as a result.

As for the supporting cast, well LA will be here all day if LA talked about all of them, so let's get LA's most notable characters down, Yuuya Fungami voiced by Kishou Taniyama was one of the enemy Stands that turned over a new leaf and was added into the plot afterwards well as odd of a Stand power he had, Tonio Trussardi voiced by Tokuyoshi Kawashima had the least screentime in the ENTIRE ANIME and had thee most bizarre Stand power in the anime at that, Shigekiyo Yangu voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi had prominence in the middle of the anime and kickstarted the major plotline of the anime and for what little time he had in the anime, he was kinda awesome, if it wasn't for his greedy personality. Finally Reimi Sugimoto voiced by Sayuri Hara was something like the core goal and belief that the Jojo's and Morioh Warriors were striving for and her presences in the anime was greatly helped.

So LA will now be going into spoilers and talking about the major villain of JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai, LA did it for Stardust Crusaders with Dio and LA wants to talk about the major villain here, LA just has to.

So, our major villain of JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai, is that of Kira Yoshikage and is the serial killer that's been out on the loose in Morioh, but here's the thing, he's a serial killer that just wants peace in his life, going about his daily grind and the come and kill an innocent woman for her hands (no seriously) as it's an urge for him to suppress the stress in his life. So yeah Kira is a psychopath and shows ALL the signs for it. As for his Stand "Killer Queen", well much like how Josuke utilized his powers in inventive and unique ways, so does Kira and he uses explosive powers to anything his Stand touches, you can see how this makes things interesting or intense in this case, let's not get to the point of the bow and arrow Enyaba had from Stardust Crusaders came into his possession and most probably how he got Killer Queen Stand. Dio Brando was a human villain mixed in with force of nature villain for Stardust Crusaders due to his THE WORLD Stand, but Kira Yoshikage is a completely different brand of villain, of being an entirely human villain for the entire cast but being a complete psychopathic murderer and Hirohiko Araki gave a new twist on his villains with Kira as although he is evil and malicious to achieve his peace in life and still murder in the process in comparison to Dio's "evil to achieve immortality but needing to kill out the Joestar lineage in order to do so". Kira Yoshikage was a brilliant villain in which you both want to sympathize with him, but his explosively murderous tendencies and the lengths he'll go to hide it is immeasurably villainous.

So those Stand powers, LA will easily say that Araki has nailed the usage of new and bizarre Stand powers now, Stardust Crusaders was his testing grounds using Egyptian and Tarot Cards themed Stands, but with Morioh, it's all free reign and Araki went all out with the Stands and their usages, LA said about Kira and Josuke, but even one off Stands like Cheap Trick or Rohan's Heaven's Door were explored and utilized throughout the plot incredibly well, even to the point that one shot Stands turned into Chekhov's Guns for the plot that easily made the anime intense and changed the game of the anime many times over.

Hell LA will even say that due to the expansive ways Stands were used and the plethora of characters by extension, that MORIOH itself was a character due this, with all the quirky landmarks and oddities that Morioh itself experienced in the anime. Araki made it that it was like your typical city filled with living characters going abut their day and if you managed to make your CITY be alive through it's bizarre incidents and characters, THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING.

In terms of animation, done once again by David Production, well what can LA say, it's typical high ended, crazily well done animation from them, again implementing color changes and palette swaps on a whim to the bizarrely crazy battles that was adrenaline pumping even for some of the more one shot cases. Character designs were vibrant, exotic and unique and always coming from Araki's blueprints from the manga and of course Jojo's brand of quirkiness it had to it. Really what can LA say about David Productions and Jojo's, they just go hand in hand high quality animation.

Voice acting was great as well with major props to Yuuki Ono as Josuke, Yuki Kaji as Koichi, Takahiro Sakurai as Rohan, Rina Satou as Hayato, Toshiyuki Morikawa as Kira, Sayuri Hara as Reimi, LA could go on but nonetheless the voice cast was AMAZING especially from Yuuki Ono. Toshiyuki Morikawa and Rina Satou. LA will say this as this is Joseph's departure from the series but also to Unshou Ishizuka the voice actor for Joseph who passed away in 2018, rest in peace my man, you will forever be Joseph Joestar and an incredible Jojo at that.

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai was another fresh take of finding a serial killer in a city and running with it with all the Stands and whatnot for Araki and is probably one of the best parts of Jojo's for LA as of now, Stardust Crusaders is too awesome in it's own regards, but Diamond wa Kudakenai just had that something, was fully realized and was fully executed in all it's glory in it's own bizarrely awesome way, sure Diamond wa Kudakenai had it's problems with development of it's characters which was LA's only gripe with and the occasional "Araki forgot moments" of Part 4 but that's small potatoes to the bigger picture. Diamond wa Kudakenai was just amazingly well set up and executed and LA was quite literally at the edge of LA's seat alot of the time and not alot of animes does that for LA. JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai is bloody brilliant and unbreakable, what else can LA say but...

What a beautiful Duwang.

Diamond is Unbreakable is a slice of life anime disguising itself as a Shonen action series. Sure, there is a fight nearly every single episode and action is one of the central parts of the anime, but the slice of life feel that comes out through the characters, story structure, setting, and overall atmosphere of the show makes part 4 very unique and much more interesting compared to other parts. And while it does not exactly contain the tropes common in many slice of life shows, the experience of part 4 ties intense action and goofy teenage antics in such a way that the show ... (at least to me) becomes an amazing and addictive experience.

Story: 8/10

As I said earlier, the plot structure of part 4 very closely resembles the plot structure of a slice of life anime. Most episodes are broken up into sets of three or four that tell their own self contained story with their own villain. The only time the show begins to establish a large overarching plot is with the introduction of the main villain around two-thirds through the series. And the story being broken down into these chunks actually plays to the advantage of the anime, as each part can tell their own unique and creative stories without being limited by an overarching story or a common formula.

Each arc in the anime is creative, unique, and as the title implies, bizarre. Every arc, something weird or bizarre happens that either manages to catch you by surprise or just leave you in awe of what is happening before you. The weirdness in JoJo's is what makes the stories engaging and interesting, and along with the stellar characters, each arc ends up being fascinating and intriguing, with you also trying to guess what weird thing is going to happen next. Overall, the story in part 4 ends up being good because it's a collection of stories that are just weird.

Art: 8/10

Overall, the art in JoJo is very subjective because it is entirely dependent on if you like that Araki draws his series full of absolutely shredded adonizes. Although, he does tone down the strapping muscles quite a bit for this part, and draws the characters with more normal proportions while keeping the (in my opinion) charm of the designs in the earlier parts. The animation itself is smooth and good, but nothing is extraordinary about it. The fights are all very well animated, and there is not much to complain about in any aspect of the animation.

As for the parts that make the art really good, for me it is the clothing and the color. For clothing, I just really like the fashion that Araki gives his characters. The outfits are honestly kind of bizarre, but they give each character a lot of, well, character and are pleasing to the eyes. For color, I just absolutely adore the way the series uses color. In case you didn't notice, the town of Morioh has a yellow sky and other odd color choices that really hope to give the town its eerie, somewhat creepy feeling. I also love how during fight scenes, the color of the characters change, as I feel it makes the anime much more visually interesting and engaging.

Sound 10/10

The music in part 4, along wit the rest of JoJo's, is just absolutely phenomenal. Nearly every single piece of music in this anime is amazing, from Josuke's upbeat and energy inducing theme, to the eerie sense of dread that comes from Kira's theme, and even to the returning pieces of music, such as Jotaro's masterpiece of a theme. Based on my interactions with other people, virtually everyone agrees that the music in JoJo's is absolutely fantastic. So, even if you abhor everything else about this anime, you at least will have a great experiencing listening to the music.

As for the voice acting, overall it is pretty solid, although I can't say there are any stand out performances. Every actor does a good job of portraying their character, and I wouldn't say anybody is doing a bad job. The only one I would complain about is that Shigechi in particular is kind of annoying, but that little shit would be grating no matter what kind of voice you give him. So, a marvelous soundtrack combined with solid voice acting makes for the anime having an outstanding sound.

Characters: 9/10

The characters are really what make this series shine. Josuke, the JoJo of this part, is a fairly good main character that has a clearly defined and interesting personality. He is unique compared to the other JoJos, and in my opinion he does a good job of capturing what an actual teenager would act and feel like. Of course, the average teenager is probably not willing to fight the literal murderers that Josuke does, but Josuke still captures the essence of a teenager while acting with the insanity of you standard Shonen protagonist. Okuyasu and Koichi are also great supporting characters. Okusayu has a certain idiot charm about him that makes him entertaining to watch, and Koichi honestly just has one of the best character arcs in the entire series.

The supporting cast in this show is very large, and it helps to both flesh out the town of Morioh and keep the series interesting. The supporting and side characters, while usually not being too deep or complex, are still entertaining to watch and each of them is bizarre in their own special way. And the more prominent supporting characters, such as Rohan and Jotaro, are interesting enough that they can carry their own episodes.

The villains in this show are also great. Each villain, especially in the later episodes, has a very unique, interesting, or complicated ability that makes it fun to watch and see how the main characters are going to beat them. Most villains are also just fun to watch, having the odd psychotic and unhinged air that many JoJo villains have. The main villain of the series is also one of the best main villains in all of JoJo, and any fight or arc involving him is just absolutely marvelous. The aura he radiates is so unique compared to any other JoJo villain, and even if you aren't the biggest fan of JoJo's I think you will enjoy any arc involving him.

Enjoyment: 10/10

This anime is honestly just really fun to watch. Most of the fights are visual eye candy to look at, and seeing all the bizarre things that occur just make you want to keep watching. The plot structure prevents any story from being overly repetitive and the characters make most of the fights have actual weight behind them. The sheer weirdness of the show makes even the most mundane things or episodes fascinating to watch, and many times throughout the series I found myself with the urge to binge through all of it. This show is great if you just want to have some mindless fun without comprehending massively complicated plots or following complicated interpersonal character drama. And, if you can't enjoy two magic fighting ghosts going at each other, then I don't know if there is much hope left for you.

Overall: 9/10

TL;DR; JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable is an additive and amazing pile of fun that contains an excellent slice of life story disguised as an action anime, beautiful fights, an almost orgasmic soundtrack, and amazing characters. Part 4 is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and I recommend that any anime fan try it out.

Alright before I get into this, this review most definitely represents the JoJo Franchise in it's entirety, as well as for Part 4 personally. JoJo to begin with, is something I could easily live for just to point that out. There are an infinite number of reasons why I say these words. Simply put the thrill and edge cutting uniqueness it packs, is INSANELY incredible. From character designs, color pallets, references, inventive world building, meaning/symbolism, culture, history, music, humor, mystery, and infinitely on....the JoJo Franchise is the embodiment of all these things. JoJo is literally everything. JoJo is the World itself, no puns. It is ... a international representation. It exhibits all aspects of the world, it's cultures and all it has to offer. This is why I say this. Araki is and ever beyond his time.

Out of all Parts in the series, Part 4 is the perfect example of what the series is. No matter how much flack it gets. It represents what JoJo truly is and even demonstrates how it will continue to evolve into even greater. It assures that the viewer pays homage to the series previous parts and even accentuates their importance. It is heavily story driven, and even still with this task successfully blossoms with color, a sense of realism, detail, fantasy, fiction, sci-fi, brilliant stand battles, etc. It contains this seamless flow that is impossible to not enjoy. It introduces really well designed characters and stands such as Kira and Rohan, Terunosuke Miyamoto, or Echoes and Heaven's Door; which in my personal opinion are insanely genius works of Araki. Moreover, there is this sense of resourcefulness in every character that you begin to see appreciate as the story unfolds. This meticulousness that is somehow sensational. On top of all this, Araraki does what he does best---having the ability to take a basic concept and make it seem as if you've never seen it before, hence exotic. It's able to maintain this eccentric, thrilling, interesting demeanor so flawlessly. This is why JoJo is on a higher echelon of quality. This is what JoJo is and that's why there's truly nothing like it.

I firmly believe that this is the best part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that currently has an anime adaptation. The characters are the most fleshed-out they've ever been, the main villain is one of the best in the series, the music is phenomenal, the humor is top-notch, there are just so many great elements combined together in creating the most enjoyable experience JoJo's experience that I've ever witnessed.

I want to talk a bit about how Diamond Is Unbreakable subverted my expectations. Given what I knew about Part 4 (the fact that it is set around high school students, the main conflict is more of a ... murder mystery than a "save the world" deal, and the openings aren't incredibly ominous the way that End of the World was), I expected this to be a much more laid-back installment in the franchise. As it turns out, I was totally wrong. At times, Diamond Is Unbreakable feels like a series of horror movies. So many episodes are incredibly effective in creating tension, some even making me cover my mouth in pure shock.

While it took me around a month to finish Stardust Crusaders, I was done with Diamond Is Unbreakable after four days. Not because I just wanted to knock it out, but because Part 4 is immensely gripping, maybe even more so than Battle Tendency. It's certainly the most interesting part of the series, with unique Stand powers, character dynamics and fun moments that definitely helped me understand why this part is beloved by many. I've now seen parts 1 through 5 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and in my opinion, this one is in a league of its own. 10/10.

I absolutely adore part 5 of Jojo, I wish I could inject it on my veins. If it were a drug, I would be addicted beyond repair.

Part 5 begins with the protagonist, Giorno Giovanna (GioGio haha clever pun), walking through the streets of some Italian city. At first, this scene serves only to portray the degenerate state of Italy in relation with drugs and how they influence the youth. However, it also shows an important aspect of Giorno: his powerlessness and insatisfaction with the situation even if he himself is a criminal who aspires to be a Gangstar (another clever pun with the Joestar's name ... haha so funny). He soon meets Hirose Koichi (a character from the worst part of Jojo, part 4 GOD I HATE PART 4) and proceeds to scam him by steali

I will not proceed with this review, this is too boring.
Watch Part 5. 10/10

Plot: The beginning of part 4 of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Diamond is Unbreakable) Is kinda all over the place. It isn't until the introduction of the part's main antagonist where the show begins to shine.

Art: The art style was changed drastically from the previous parts. As a fan of the old art I was disappointed at first but I quickly got used to the new one. Aside from the introduction of Killer Queen all the stands look beautiful as well as the fights. The color pallet is constantly changing throughout fights which adds a really cool effect.

Sound: The sound is one of the highlights ... of this parts. Three AMAZING opening songs. AMAZING character themes my favorite being: "Morioh Cho Radio", "The Hand", "Killer", and "Another Face, Same Mind'. Lastly the sound effects used in fights are not over-the-top and subtly compliment the epic fight scenes.

Characters: This is THE best part of Diamond is Unbreakable. The entire main cast are well-written characters. The main villain is the greatest villain I have ever experienced in ANYTHING. The return of old friends from previous parts. Honestly, this part's main Jojo, Josuke Higashikata, gets really shadowed by the awesome characters in his part.

Enjoyment: 10

Overall: 9.

Friday was the highlight of my week every week this was airing. Greato Daze!

Upon getting a feel for the premise of Part 4, I came into the story expecting not to enjoy it as much as the previous parts. Boy was I wrong. To me, Jojo's just keeps getting better with each season, and Part 4 is no exception.

One of the things that keeps Jojo's fresh is the slight shift in premise and genre that comes with each season

Part 1 started us off with a manly Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) style adventure mixed with horror, with references to more traditional supernatural things such as vampires and werewolves. Part 2 took that to the next ... level with the pillar men Indiana Jones style in an action-adventure, and pushed the hamon energy premise to its peak. Part 3 switched to the stand abilities, and made it into a road-trip/around the world in 30 days type story. And now part 4 became a mystery/crime drama.

I loved Part 3 (well the second half in particular) a lot, and also rated it 10, but if I were to name a weakness it was the fact that the story was a little disjoint. A lot of the enemies faced in Part 3 seemed pointless, almost as if they were put there just to extend the story. We all knew what the end goal was, and yet even though it felt like they should have arrived half way through, it took another 24 episodes. But it more than made up for it in good writing and excellent characters.

Part 4 doesn't have the same strength of characters Part 3 has. They're very good, but they're not great. But in every other field it shines with flying colours. The pacing, the art, the voice acting, and more were all spot on, in my opinion. Moreover, almost every episode advanced the story. I'm sure you could cut out around 3 or 4 episodes (roughly 10%) and it still would have been great. But it wasn't as drawn out as Part 3, where you could easily shave off 30-40% of the series and tell the story perfectly.

So to summarise my scores:

Story - 10. Well paced, easy to understand yet intriguing, well executed twists and turns, and satisfying ending.
Art - 9. There was the occasional part that seemed lazy, but most of it was masterfully and lovingly executed as usual, in the old fashioned style. The colours and special effects were very well done.
Sound - 9. Music, sound effects, voice acting - all very well done. This is one area where I think Part 3 deserved a solid 10, and I couldn't justify giving this the same score as Part 3.
Character - 8. This, in my opinion, is the part's weakness. Most of the main characters were great, but the chemistry between characters didn't match what was there with Part 3, or even Part 2. Although part of this is the nature of the genre chosen for this part.
Enjoyment - 10. Easily, unlike in Part 3, there wasn't a moment I was bored or feeling like the story was dragging on for too long.
Overall - 10. If I could give it a 9.5, I would, since it isn't perfect, but it's damn near close. Favourite Jojo's so far.

Diamond is Unbreakable (hence DIU) is another TV series in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise, adapting part 4 of the original manga. Generally speaking, it is a good fighting shounen that keeps some fundamental elements of its predeccesors and also brings many new things to the table.

Before writing anything else, I would like to point out that while each part of JoJo may be viewed independently from others, it is much better to watch them in chronological order, as you may lose some important context otherwise. So, if you haven't watched anything from JoJo yet, I highly recommend to start with the first TV series.

STORY
Each ... part of JoJo follows the members of Joestar family at different time periods, and each of the already released series makes some shift in the formula. Since DIU is not the 1st series in the franchise, I guess it makes sense to draw some comparisons in order to put things into perspective.

I. Unlike the first series and both parts of Stardust Crusaders (hence SC), which have a strong adventure element with the characters travelling around the world, DIU takes place entirely in one town and its surroundings. However, even though the show has a relatively small slice-of-life setting, it doesn't prevent it from being interesting or entertaining in any way, as it has a good pacing and keeps introducing new characters, powers and stories which often take place in different locations of the town.

II. Speaking of those stories and plot continuity in general, DIU has a more continuous plot than SC. Whereas the latter has an entirely stand-of-the-week plot where events in different episodes have little influence on each other and the final outcome, this series has short story arcs where events are more directly related to each other. The fundamental similarity between the two series is that both of them are essentially about introducing many characters with interesting powers, putting them against each other and tying all those battles together. However, DIU does a better job at this because of a better plot structure.

III. Speaking of the powers, the characters use stands, which follows the change that happened in Stardust Crusaders. I actually like hamon/ripple from the first series a lot, because it adds an element of training to the plot, because it's somewhat akin to using qi in Chinese martial arts, and because using your own body & powers in a fight is generally cooler than using a proxy, in my humble opinion. That being said, the concept of stands also has its notable strengths, as it offers a lot more variety than hamon and always keeps the viewer interested with new powers and strategies introduced.
Overall, whether you prefer hamon, or stands, or like them equally is a matter of personal taste more than anything.

IV. While stands in SC are named after tarot cards and Egyptian gods, DIU returns to the practice of referencing Western rock bands that already existed in the first series: as you probably remember, it has a character named after AC/DC, and two characters named Dire and Straits, which is a reference to Dire Straits. This series, however, goes further than its predecessor and has more of these references. For example:
- the name of the main antagonist's stand is Killer Queen, which is a reference to a famous Queen song (and one of that stand's abilities is named after another famous song by Queen);
- one of the characters has a stand named Red Hot Chili Pepper, which is a reference to Red Hot Chili Peppers;
- another character has a stand named Highway Star, which is a reference to a famous Deep Purple song;
- and even the name of the protagonist's stand, Crazy Diamond, is an obvious reference to a Pink Floyd song called Shine on You Crazy Diamond.
Besides the rock references, the series occasionally refers to old-school manga and some famous people of that era: for example, they mention the name of some famous wrestler in one of the episodes, which is used as a pun.
Overall, this aspect is one of the things that I've always liked about JoJo, because it adds an interesting and unique flavour to the series, and also because I'm a rock/blues/metal guy myself, and I like many of those old-school bands very much.

Now, when I mentioned some specifics of the story, let's talk about the controversial aspects it has.

1) Just like other JoJo anime, DIU is very heavy on explanations and expository monologue, which is both good and bad:
- on the one hand, while the series constantly introduces new unusual elements to the plot (new stand powers, ghosts, aliens etc.), it also does a great job at setting the rules of how those elements work most of the time. This is something that I've always liked about JoJo and one of the things that makes this series good: no matter what crazy ideas the author comes up with, he usually gives some basic explanation and sets some limitations to the way they work, which makes the whole thing look a little less arbitrary, and also makes the characters use interesting strategies, which are undoubtedly one of the main strengths that all JoJo anime have;
- at the same time, the constant talking also leads to some fairly ridiculous situations. For example, one character gets attacked by the antagonist who stands several meters from him, and the attacked character and his friend somehow manage to exchange several phrases in those few seconds before the blow is landed, as if their dialogue exists in a different timeframe. Or, there is a situation when the antagonist talks to an almost defeated character, says that he has twenty seconds (!) before that character's friends arrive... and yet he doesn't hurry to leave the scene at all, keeps talking and gets beaten in the end.
Besides, this show is one of the biggest infringements of the "show, don't tell" rule I've ever seen, as the characters often comment on bloody obvious things that need no commentary at all. For example, the characters chase the antagonist, he disappears in the crowd, and one of them screams something like: "PEOPLE ARE GOING FROM WORK! HE DISAPPEARED IN THE CROWDS!". Well, thank you Captain Obvious: you've just ruined a dramatic moment by explaining something I totally couldn't see myself. And this thing happens quite often and, of course, detracts some points from the enjoyment.

2) While most arcs of the show are very short and often limited to one or two episodes, there is a long arc involving a serial killer, who is also the user of a very powerful stand. This arc is more interesting because it has elements of a thriller and many lives at stake, which makes it feel more important than all other arcs. The problem here is that the show that loves to explain virtually everything that happens on screen (including many things that need no explanation at all) somehow drops the ball in this arc and doesn't address a number of important issues that need to be addressed. Those issues are spoilers for the most part, so I'll try to talk about them as vaguely as possible. However, if you absolutely want to avoid getting spoiled, skip the next section of the review:
SPOILERS
- one of the characters introduced in this arc is an eleven-year-old kid who spies on his parents using hidden cameras installed all around their house and a monitor in his room, and this plays a very important role in the plot. The problem is that the show never explains where this kid got the equipment and how he was able to install, use and maintain it. Even if we assume that he is a young genius who somehow developed rather specific technical skills at his age that even many adults don't have, it still doesn't explain where and how he got all that equipment in the first place;
- the antagonist very conveniently reveals himself by loudly pronouncing his name twice in a situation where he absolutely doesn't have to do it;
- in the fight that follows, the antagonist fights against two characters, while the other three stand just round the corner. The kid, who is also present at the scene, simply has to call for their help, and yet he doesn't do that even though he knows that those three characters stand there, and nothing prevents him from calling them;
- after one of the characters explodes because of touching another character's body with the antagonist's bomb planted in it, Jousuke saves that character by restoring his body with Crazy Diamond's ability, even though all parts of that character's body including his head were already torn in little pieces, and thus he was certainly already dead (and Jousuke's stand can't resurrect the dead, as was explained in the beginning of the series).
SPOILERS END
Overall, I think the story is still fine as it is, because it's well-paced, entertaining, and has a satisfying and conclusive ending.
That being said, it could have been even better if the show didn't constantly talk about obvious things and instead addressed some aspects that needed an actual explanation.

ANIMATION
First thing you will notice when watching this series is that it has some crazy colour schemes that change all the time. For example, you may see an orange sky which suddenly turns pink, or a character with grey hair which may turn blond or blue depending on the scene. This is probably a matter of a personal taste more than anything, but I personally like this feature: it is artistic, unusual and fits the general bizarrity of the series. Besides, it reminds me a lot of pop-art and those portraits by Andy Warhol where he depicted famous people like Che Guevara and Marilyn Monroe using different colours. In other words, this aspect of JoJo's animation may be considered another interesting tribute to Western culture and something that makes this show stand out of the crowd.
Besides, the series is marked with important change in character designs. While most characters in previous JoJo series are huge ripped men akin to those in Fist of the North Star, the proportions of characters in this series are basically those of normal people. That being said, the character designs still look very stylish, as they usually have interesting haircuts and fashion accessories, which makes them different from designs in many other anime.
The fighting scenes are also well-animated, and the battles often feature good shots and close-ups that add a lot to the dramatic effect.
In general, the art and animation are quite impressive in their own way, being some of the most memorable aspects this series has.

SOUND
DIU continues the tradition established in previous series by choosing a famous song in English for the ending credits. This time, it's a very good and very catchy song called I Want You by Australian duo Savage Garden. It's interesting to note that all ending songs in English which have been used so far in JoJo TV series appear in chronological progression:
- the first series has Roundabout - a 70s song by Yes;
- SC has Walk Like an Egyptian - an 80s hit by The Bangles;
- and this series has a 90s song by Savage Garden.
So, not only it is a great music choice and another tribute to Western culture, but that time progression is also an interesting feature which I haven't seen in any other anime franchise to this day.
As for the opening songs and BGM, they are all very nice, energetic and fitting for the series, but not quite as catchy and memorable as the ending song. In fact, I can't even remember any background melody that particularly stood out for me, but on the other hand, they all do a great job at supporting the mood of the show.
Speaking of voice-acting, it's generally very good, with characters pronouncing various funny catchphrases, like Jousuke's "Greato!", Joutarou's "Yare Yare Daze" and, of course, Joseph's "OH MY GOD!!!". That being said, I really wish the characters didn't YELL all the time. I understand that YELLING is an integral part of JoJo that shows the passion and spirit of the characters, but sometimes it just sounds overly dramatic and really unnecessary, like in that scene with the antagonist disappearing in the crowds I mentioned earlier. Not saying it's a huge problem - just something the series could have improved on, in my opinion.

CHARACTERS
Just like the character designs, the cast also went through certain changes. While the protagonists in previous series were all ripped, GAR men, the protagonist of this series, Jousuke Higashikata, is an illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar and seemingly normal high schooler. However, while Jousuke looks like a normal guy of his age, he is by no means a generic character - rather, he is a smart, very reliable and kind guy (except when someone bad-mouths his haircut, that is), and I personally like him quite a lot.
His two best friends are Okuyasu, who is strong, not very clever and somewhat of a delinquent, and Kouichi - a short and seemingly timid guy who often overcomes his fear and becomes very brave in dangerous situations. They both are ok characters, but perhaps less charismatic than the companions of Jojos in previous series.
The anime also features the comeback of now older Joutarou Kuujou, who is easily one of the best, if not the best character in the series. He always talks sense and does reasonable things, and often acts like Jousuke's older brother and mentor despite being technically his nephew.
The other comeback character is Joseph Joestar himself, who is now an almost eighty-year-old man. He comes to Morioh in order to use his stand ability for finding other stand users. Sadly (and strangely), he never actually does that, and generally performs few memorable actions aside from some interesting father-son interactions with Jousuke and one truly heroic moment I won't spoil here.
The other memorable stand users are serial killer Kira Yoshikage and mangaka Kishibe Rohan. Rohan is one of my favourite characters in the show, as he eventually appears to be a much better guy than he seems at first: he actually cares about other people despite being a selfish bastard on the surface; his words may sound cynical, but they always make sense; and his fanatic, almost maniacal dedication to his work is actually admirable in its own way. As for Kira, he turns out to be a very good opponent for the main characters because of how ruthless and calculative he is.
The other stand users are far less likeable and interesting, in my opinion, like that yandere girl (whose only memorable trait is that she is a yandere), that greedy little guy Shingekiyo (who is fairly annoying and looks as if he belongs to Dragonball or some fantasy anime), Kira's father (who is fairly annoying and serves more as a plot device to create new stand users) and Toshikazu (who is frankly pathetic and has no interesting and respectable traits whatsoever). Perhaps, the only other stand user whom I genuinely like is Tonio the chef, but he plays a very small role in the series.
Besides the stand users, there are regular humans (like the stand users' family members, for example) and two characters who are neither stand users nor regular humans. I won't spoil who they are, but let's just say that both of them are quite likeable, and each plays an important part in the plot.
Overall, the cast may be somewhat of a mixed bag, but it's still good, and I liked a number of characters in this series.

OVERALL
Like most, this anime has its visible drawbacks and could be surely improved in some areas. That being said, it's still a good, enjoyable and memorable series which is far better than most other shounens and most recent stuff in general.
So, if you have already watched the previous JoJo series, I highly recommend to watch this one too. And if you haven't, go watch those first and enjoy the ride!

I rarely write reviews about anime I've watched, but I felt that I have to write a review for this specific season.

Story:

I've watched Jojo part 1 and 2 but I can't say genuinely I've enjoyed them, to be frank, I've skipped some episodes because they were too boring or not very important for the progression of the story. HOWEVER, Jojo part 4 has exceeded my expectations. Each episode becomes more interesting than the one before it to the point that I couldn't start or end my day without watching 2 episodes or so of this masterpiece.

Art:

what I love most about this season is the art ... style. To be honest, I've never liked Jojo's previous art style ( sorry ) and only endured watching it because of the story. However, the art style for this season is beyond gorgeous, I mean just look at Jotaro !! How he was and how he became ! (/ ‿＼✿)


Characters:

The characters, Oh god the characters how much I love them! Each character in this anime is so unique and can see them developing each episode especially everyone's boy Koichi. Even the antagonist has something special about him that you want to learn more. Also never forget my lovely Rohan sensei who I thought would be just another minor character for him to be one of the major ones! ( I wish Tonio Trussardi does exist. I want to eat that healthy food of his orz.)

Overall:

I think this season of Jojo series would be the only one that I'll ever love and enjoy ~

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai Review

Story (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.50/10) Great+

The Story for Part 4 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure I felt was great for it's uniqueness and laid back atmosphere presented in majority of the Part. It's definitely nothing like the first 3 Parts when it comes to tone as the first 3 were a combination of comedy, tension, hype fights and bizarre situations. Now although you can say that this Part of JoJo's had all of those things it definitely added it's own flavor of slice of life to the series which at first (back in 2015 when i read the ... manga) I thought it was odd (or should i say Bizarre) but Part 4 makes it work. Now back when I wrote my review for the manga I gave this section a 9.15. I do think the anime as far as from a presentation standpoint did present Araki's story very well, not perfectly but definitely nothing to complain about from an adaptation standpoint of quality. Now the actual issues I have with the story plot still exist which to name a few... Mikitaka (The Alien Character) his whole character straight to the end of the Part is still a mystery never do we find out if he is an alien or not and the Invisible never do we get to figure who where the hell it came from (spoiler nor do we ever get to see that baby in future parts grown which would have been cool but I'm saying this here to not get your hopes up, now if the baby did it wouldn't bother me so much but whatever). But the biggest plot that bothers me the absolute most and the reason that stops me from giving this section anything more than a 9.50 is Josuke's past. You remember when Josuke how he got his hairstyle? Do your remember that flash back?? Yeah the Josuke look alike? I bet you (and I sure did myself) assumed that Josuke later in the series went back in time to save himself somehow and it'll all come back around by the time the Part concluded NOPE. Guess what! and Here's a fun fact Araki (creator of JoJo's) actually wanted to do that! He wanted to somehow make Josuke (just like Kira) get a power up to his Stand to the point where he has the ability to go back in time which would make sense for how Josuke's Crazy Diamond ability works already (reverting things back to the way they were) so reverting time some how via a power to the Stand wouldn't have made me scratch my head. Kira was suppose to do something that forces Josuke to go back in time, he wanted to incorporate Josuke going back and saving himself during or after his final fight with Kira, but the idea was scrapped because Araki himself didn't know how to make it flow well by the time he got to the final fight. (This is what happens when you don't think your story plot through before writing it) it just has somewhat of an idea of what he wants to do and writes it as he goes. This Araki story structure mind-set has (in my opinion) hurt the overall JoJo's series as since Part 3-Part 7 all have certain things in their overall story plot that is similar to this Part as far as Araki having an initial and amazing idea that he wants to incorporate that eventually doesn't play out because he either didn't know how to incorporate it by the time it was time or he changes his mind on the initial plot point which SUCKS because if you hear some of the things he wanted to do for Part 3, Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7 it'll make you pissed off, I digress since it doesn't ruin any of the stories of those Parts (except Part 6.. fuck Part 6.. just kidding). Great story for Part 4 nonetheless and the anime is the better way to experience it in my opinion even thought the manga still has great art style which wasn't adapted perfectly over but we'll talk about that in the next section.


Art and Animation (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.50/10) Great+

The Art and Animation for this Part of JoJo's was great. Although like I said a little in the story section certain scenes from an art style standpoint was not done justice (like the time they first showed of Killer Queen.. but then was cleaned up in the next episode). And the fact that the overall art style for Part 4 was changed from the manga as in the manga the noses for the characters are similar to how Araki draws the noses of his character in Part 6 which is a weird decision DP (David Productions) decided to go with.. Either way the whole presentation from an animation standpoint was great every ORA and DORA was greatly animated and I'm far from unsatisfied with DP's work.


Sound (10/10) Outstanding

Every single voice actor, every single ost, every single sound effect were all outstanding. All of the opening songs was fire and i never skipped them once. The fact that when Jotaro get his shine they'll play his "Jotaro is about ORA dafuq outta someone" song from Stardust Crusaders is nostalgic and outstanding. David Productions did an outstanding job with this section no more is needed to be said.


Characters (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.50/10) Great+

*So when it comes to characters I'm going to paste basically what I said with some modifications to what I said from my manga review is it's basically the same.*

The Characters in Part 4 are straight up great. All of the characters (this includes the side characters and enemies) felt unique and great. I can't think of any character that felt like a waste of time or generic (now Tamami is debatable if u want to consider him i wouldn't) everyone's role they were suppose to play felt fitting and entertaining. The MC Josuke is definitely different from the previous Joestars before him which is good because when I saw is stand Crazy Diamond I thought he was going to be just like Jotaro, and to an extent they do have similarities when it comes to their stands (ORA ORA to DORA RA RA) and their sense of and for expensive real life fashion wear is similar also. But other than that, that's where it ends. But the other character indeed do remind me of characters from Part 3 with Okuyasu reminding me of Polnareff and Rohan reminding me of Kakyouin but that's only 2/6 from Part 3's crew that have similarities from the crew from Part 4. Kouichi gets a lot of spot light and shows off great character development and never before seen features from the abilities from the Stands. Mikitaka the "alien" as he calls himself was never really explained which urked me a quite alot and he's not the only one that's like this (invisible baby to name another). Like I said earlier the mystery behind the character who inspires Josuke's hairstyle we never really get to find out who that is although we can make assumptions and say that was him from the future and HOPEFULLY something happens in future parts to showcase that but for now it does bother me that we didn't get to figure it out in this part. The main antagonist Kira Yoshikage definitely had some shoes to fill because Lord Kars and Dio Brando are some big shoes to fill. Did he live up to the expectations of a OP JoJo's antagonist/villain? Ehhh debatable, I'll tell you what though out of the 3 of them Kira probably got the most screen time then both Kars and Dio by far, Kira has episodes and mini arcs dedicated just to him, we definitely got a big insight on the sick and weird mentality he had going on with him and with just that alone I think he was a great antagonist for Part 4. His stand Killer Queen was deadly and his companion the Stray Cat definitely had a great climatic battle between Josuke. The main reason i felt i couldn't give this section anything higher than a 9.50 was because there were still some unanswered questions that I felt are most likely never going to be answered that are directly related to characterization like who the guy was that inspired Josuke's hair style, even though I hope it gets explained in a future part I highly doubt that is going to be answered in future Parts but if it is then props to that specific part I'll give the credit to THAT part not this one.


Enjoyment (10/10) Outstanding

JoJo's Part 4 was my reason for waking up one Friday. JoJo Fridays as people call it and every single week it was a treat to look forward to. Even after reading the majority more than a year ago it still was the anime I looked forward to the most every week. Now that it's over man.. Fridays are going to be a drag. This Part of JoJo's definitely taught me that JoJo's is best watched weekly vs binged (at least in my opinion).


Overall (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.70/10) Great+
(Or should I say Gureto desu!)

When I finished watching Part 3 of JoJo's a year ago I didn't think David Productions was going to animate Part 4 so I went ahead and hoped over to the manga to read it only to be surprised a couple weeks after I finish reading it that it's getting animated! David Productions did a phenomenal job with Part 4's adaptation and I can't are for future Parts to be animated by them! Ougon No Kaze Let's go!

[Spoilers]

Jojo's Bizarre adventure part 4 is when this series went from being an entertaining series with a few obvious flaws and a variety of memes to an excellent series that I would highly recommend. Part 4's art is a big complaint for a lot of people, but personally I found the smoother, more cartoonish art-style to be very pleasing for the eyes and enables some of the vibrant color palates stand out as well as the darker color palates for darker scenes, part 4 makes excellent use of color to set tone. The story is a fresh take on the concept of JJBA in which ... the story is much more grounded in the real world, the main villain is no longer a vampire that has haunted your bloodline but in fact a serial killer, this also ties into the other villains whose motivations are much more simple and not all connected to one main villain and this humanizes the conflicts and the villains' motivations. Part 4 is in some ways even more episodic that part 3 as everyone is not tied to the same villain but the villain, Yoshikage Kira, leaves a massive imprint on the story as soon as he arrives creating a great environment of tension and thrill. The unpredictabliity of events as the Kira exists in the neighborhood blending into plain site and then after being caught vanishes again makes it impossible to not watch the next episode. The story is a masterstroke in pacing. The characters are all eminently enjoyable with distinct dynamics with each-other that much more memorable than even the stardust crusaders from part 3. For example I can remember Okuyasu's jealousy of Koichi and Rohan's hatred of Josuke which are both motivated by previous events making the world and characters of part 4 feel real which is saying something in. a world of punching ghosts.

To many, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is unbreakable is an experience like none other, and if you're one of those many people like myself, I'm glad to know you feel as I do.

Now why is it that I feel that way? Well let me explain.

JoJo part 4 as I'll refer to it as, is the 4th installment in the JoJo series and the most unique one at it's time, unlike it's previous parts, Diamond is unbreakable decided to branch off into it's own unique story, while of course still following the JoJo timeline, it was in itself, something brand new.

A murder mystery case comes ... to life as Josuke Higashikita and his friends soon learns there's a serial killer going around their once peaceful and beloved city, Morioh.

Part 4 includes the best character development up to it's point out of any JoJo part, significantly boosting the enjoyment and story. Although a rather simple plot, Part 4 finds a way to blend murder mystery with slice of life, action and taking out the baddies all in a spectacular way that leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what happens next.

The animation like expected is great, much more polished than previous parts and the art is probably my favorite in the series. Although some might disagree.

Really the meat and potatoes of Diamond is unbreakable is it's cast of amazing characters, bringing back previous crusaders, Jotaro and Joseph. Although Joseph is an old man and practically useless, it's still nice to see him return, however Jotaro is a much more fleshed out character than he used to be, and honestly I think they greatly improved upon him, as if I didn't love him enough already.
that isn't to forget the lovable idiot Okuyasu, and our brave hearted midget Koichi. Honestly you can't go wrong with the Part 4 cast and there's a character in it for everyone.

More importantly, the plot as I previously mentioned, might be simple, but this is JoJo and as we know JoJo is Bizarre, that's anything but simple. As the mystery begins to develop more and more, the plot itself somehow gets more complex, eventually leading to the ending which blew my mind. Of course I can't spoil it here but safe to say the finale arc left my jaw dropping.


In short: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is unbreakable is a show about a kind hearted main character and his friends on a determined adventure to figure out the evil lurking in their once peaceful city, and they will do anything to stop it with the help of their stands.