(Anime Review) JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 4

If there was a single anime that I always looked forward to every Friday for the past three seasons, it was Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable.  It was consistently there, consistently entertaining, and I loved seeing what those wacky characters were up to.  Now that it’s gone, what am I going to watch every Friday?  I hope something turns up next season to fill that Friday spot, but I doubt it.  Nothing will feel the same.  When will this emptiness in my life be filled in again?  Even if there is another Jojo part gets animated, I wanted to spend more time with this one.  This is the first time that I felt like I knew these characters and the town that it takes place in as much as this in a Jojo series.  The Egypt part of Stardust Crusaders got close, but Diamond is Unbreakable went beyond that for me.  At this moment, it’s my favorite Jojo part and my favorite action series.

(Story/Plot)

This part has a very simple premise behind it.  Stop that killer from every killing again.  That’s about it.  A lot more time is spent developing the town of Morioh and its people then fighting other people and that works for me.  For one, the villain is a product of Morioh.  By knowing the town, we understand the villain more.  We also get to know our main cast more as well.  When the point of view character changes, we don’t have to worry about it shifting away from the main character because each character can carry the show.  I love that part 4 has that ability.

I should also mention that there are great stand battles in this series too, but they are interspersed in between a lot of crazy happenings around the crazy town of Morioh.  They are just as exciting as they have always been with various set pieces throughout the town that fleshes it out even more.  The world building is excellent.

(Characters)

Our main character is Josuke Higashikata.  He is the son of Joseph Joestar and is younger than his nephew, Jotaro Kujo.  The Joestar family has always been complex and this just makes it even more so.  Josuke is an average high schooler.  Well, as average as you can be for a Jojo protagonist.  He is an incredibly kind individual until somebody makes fun of his hair.  That’s when he blows up in fury and peoples the crap out of people.  I should also mention his greedy side.  Scheming for money is something that he does on the side.  What teenager doesn’t?  Josuke’s stand is called Crazy (shiny) Diamond and has to ability to repair things in any order he wants to.

Next up are his two best friends Okuyasu and Koichi.  Okuyasu is a complete idiot and somehow his stand, called The Hand, has ability of ripping away the space time distance between two objects.  He is the heart and soul of the group because he has an easier time expressing his feelings than anybody else.  Koichi is the short member of the group, but that doesn’t make him any less important.  His character arc is centered around building confidence.  Each that he becomes sure of himself, his stand transforms to a new act, in which there are three, that increases his power in a different way.  His stand, called Echoes, has the ability to control sound.

Jotaro Kujo, the protagonist from Stardust Crusaders, is back.  He still has the ability to stop time and he plays the role of the mentor role in this part.  I think it suits him better than being the protagonist.  His main student is Josuke, because Josuke is Jotaro’s nephew, but Koichi learns a lot from Jotaro as well.  His experience as a stand fighter has saved the lives of partners in many encounters.

One person that joins the hero group later on is Rohan.  He is a manga artist that is a complete ass hole and uses his stand to draw his manga pages incredibly fast.  He only considers Koichi as one of his friends.  His stand ability allows him to open people up like a book, figure out who they are, and change who they are in any way he feels like.  For example, if his chosen victim doesn’t like some kind of food, Rohan can decide that they do now.  It’s unfair and over powered, but it’s not used exceptionally well in the series.  Oh well.

The last person I am going to talk about in detail is Kira, our main villain.  All he wants to do is have a quiet life and murder females with attractive hands.  That’s it, nothing else.  If Josuke and the gang never found that one hand in a sandwich back, Kira would never have met any of them.  He is that that conspicuous.  He has blond hair, is about an average height, and wears a business suit.  That can be anybody.  After Josuke and the gang open up that sandwich bag, nothing is ever the same for him.  His stand, called Killer (Deadly) Queen, is the bomb.  Pun intended.  He can put a bomb on anything, make a heat guided bomb that won’t stop until it hits the intended victim, or create a bomb that makes a time loop.  Kira is pretty crazy, but incredibly fun to watch.

These aren’t even all of the characters.  Joseph Joestar still gets involved somehow, there is an invisible baby, some of Josuke’s class mates, an Italian chef, that one random guy that got in a car accident in a tunnel, and so much more.  Diamond is Unbreakable puts a lot of work to make Morioh feel like a living, breathing city and it shows.  I feel like I know this city as well as my home town and that is saying a lot.

(Art/Animation)

This is where Jojo is a mixed bag.  Since this show is  over thirty-nine episodes, the quality is spread around quite a bit.  There are some episodes that are as animated as they can be along with others that rely on weird angles and still frames.  It’s the nature of the game.  This doesn’t take away anything from the series, because it is all matched with Jojo’s style of insanity.  The moments that need to emphasized are with great color work and artistry.  David Productions really knew where to put their resources on this project.

The art style is as great as Stardust Crusaders, but has a different color scheme.  The whole city of Morioh is presented in a way that makes it feel special and interesting.  It has so many different locations that feel special in their own way.  Some features are even added by Jojo gang.  I should also mention the color shifts.  When Jojo needs some incredible emphasis, the screen will be colored like a kaleidoscope.  Lastly, the stands.  Each one is has such a cool design.  Jotaro’s stand’s design has changed a little bit, but it fits more in line with the rest of the part 4’s stands and is still recognizable, so that’s alright.

(Final Thoughts)

I think you all know how I feel about this show by now.  I really love it.  The characters are great, the setting is great, and the stand battles are unique and exciting.  The only thing that is lacking is the story and the animation from time to time, but everything else makes up for it.  Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable is such an original piece of entertainment that you won’t find it anywhere else.  Even from the other Jojo parts that have been animated so far.  Give this one a watch.  Even if you didn’t like the long slog that can be Stardust Crusaders (which it wasn’t for me), Diamond  is Unbreakable will make you pay attention.  I hope part 5 gets animated soon.   I need more Jojo in my life.