JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 4: Diamond wa Kudakenai

The one thing that fascinates me the most about the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure franchise as a whole, is how the division of each part manages to focus on a different theme, all relating to its time and period.

Diamond is Unbreabakle is the fourth instalment, and while it doesn't have the thematic cohesion of Phantom Blood, the charisma of Vento Aureo, or the overall quality of Steel Ball Run, it remains my favorite, mostly because of how it treats is themes, especially in the second half.

The setting is Morioh, a small town that's apparently peaceful. As the stands threat starts to desolate the place, we are met with our group of protagonists, each trying to unveil the many mysteries behind their hometown.

The first half is arguably the worst, with many episodic battles that range from great (Let's go to the mangaka House) to just silly and bad (Tonio's Restaurant). The story sustains itself on developing our characters through the challenges they face.

Josuke is our protagonist this time around, and he's a great one. While his exterior may seem brute, with his tall stature and yankee-like appearence, he's a soft and kind person, always willing to help the others around him, no matter what. This is reflected on his stand. Crazy Diamond, who has the ability to restore things, "the kindest ability in the world", as described by Jotaro (who remains an uninteresting character, despite working better as a sidekick).

Koichi is also an interesting character, in that his fragile looks mask a strong determination and a great sense of duty towards his friends. Both of these characters work in the overall theme of DiU: appearence.

Morioh has a huge dissapearence rating, way bigger than any other town, but the people in the town don't seem to mind. They want to keep the facade. The exterior is more important than the interior. No wonder most of the villains end up becoming allies: onde you see - and accept- the true nature of someone, that person is inclined to grow closer to you.

Then comes Kira, a character that best represents this side of the story. He's a serial killer with a twisted obsession towards hands, but he still wants a peaceful life. He understands that, for that to be achieved, he must be invisible, to cloak his true self with a blank exterior. Because that's what people see, and only see: the surface. He goes as far as to change his appearence entirely and start a new life as someone else, adapting to the situation.

This is the thematic value of DiU, and while it's not worked perfectly, it is there. What about the "surface level" stuff? The battles are a mixed bag, and the formula of "villain of the week" gets really tired after a few episodes. Despite that, the final confrontation remains one of the best moments I've ever read in any manga, period.

Araki's art is sharp, even if this is where he started switching from his 80's manly style to a more 90's friendly one. The roots of the androginy that would become Araki's trademark are here, and would bloom with VA. Still, the way he works his frames is amazing, and his flow is as sharp as it's ever been.

"Goodbye Morioh - The Golden Heart". This is the name of the last chapter. It's a fitting name, considering that, after the cleanse, we can expect Morioh to be as peaceful as it appears to be. It is the end road to a story that's interesting, enjoyable and, most of all, exciting. Diamond sure is unbreakable.

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 4: Diamond wa Kudakenai Review


Story (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.15/10) Great

The Story for Part 4 was great and it's quite surprising, it shows me that I still enjoy small set pieces of mini arcs and episodic like story arcs as long as they come into play down the road. Part 4 links together it's mini arcs a lot better than I think Part 3 did as in Part 3 once they defeated an enemy most of the time you never heard of that enemy again not including the enemies that eventually become allies of the crew. Although there are certain situations where that would occur in Part 4 like the invisible baby or tonio it didn't leave a unsatisfying vibe with me although the overall had plots and characters that lead nowhere like the alien character for a good example which is probably why I can't give this section a 10 although in the grand thought it it not bothering me too much because it was entertaining nonetheless the fact that there were a lot of plots that were left open end still left me wondering why Araki does this and Part 4 is riddle with such cases. Part 4 I felt as far as danger aspect was definitely the least imposing in comparison to Lord Kars from Part 2 or Dio Brando himself from Part 1 and 3. But I'll talk about the main antagonist/villain more in the character section of this review because although I felt he was not as imposing as the previous villains I do like him more than both Kars and Dio.


Art (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.75/10) Great+

For 1995 I have to give this a 9, Hirohiko Araki is a beast and although there were times during fights that I did not understand what was entire going on I understood enough to not be confused to a given point. He's really really precise one certain things the he wants his readers to see and I personally think he did a great job depicting his imagination into his art. His consistency in his art style change which happened about 3 times in this Part did bother me a bit because I wasn't a fan of the 3rd last flamboyant art style we went with at the end of this Part because it indeed rolled over to Part 5.


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

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 no 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 like 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 bit and he's not the only one that's like this. 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 panel time then both Kars and Dio by far, Kira had chapters and mini arcs dedicated just to him and although it didn't really give him much character development it definitely gave us more 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. One of the main reasons this section couldn't a 10 was the same reasons the story couldn't reach a 10 for me. There were still some unanswered questions that I felt are most likely never going to be answered like who the guy was that inspired Josuke's hair style! This is directly related to his overall character I would like to know this and I highly doubt that it 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

My enjoyment for Part 4 started off very good and raised the more I read slowly but surely. It definitely kept the entertaining and bizarre factor to the JoJo's series and that's all you can really ask for when it comes to this series. The fact that there were chapters and mini arcs within it's Part that had no fighting at all within it and it still manage to entertain should let you know you have an outstanding series on your hand. The comedy was quite funny as characters like Joseph who is although old as dirt still funny and entertaining along side with Okuyasu he had me on the floor during the "Let's Go Out for Italian" mini arc. My enjoyment only rise my pinnacle of enjoyment like I said slowly but sure but during the last to climatic arcs "Another one Bites the Dust" and "The Invincible Crazy D" that's when it skyrocketed, which it's suppose to so I'm glad it delivered.


Overall (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.60/10) Great+

Diamond wa Kudakenai I started reading about a month or two before the anime was announced that it was coming out. So this was me going in there with the mindset of not having anymore JoJo's animated for the future but I'm glad David Production is animating Part 4 and hopefully future parts that I also plan to read probably sometime next year. Part 4 is really great and I can see why some people prefer it over any other part that came before or after it. This one really got me thinking which one is my favorite (NOT THE BEST but my favorite) it used to be Part 2 but know I have no clue but the fact that it can make me think this way is reason enough that I should know that still one was a really great part to me.

Quick thoughts on Diamond is Unbreakable:

After the epic journey of Jotaro Kujo and his friends in Stardust Crusaders, Jojo Part 4 transports us to the much more "tedious" Morioh, a small town where Josuke Higashikata, the user of the stand Crazy Diamond, and many other stand users live. Due to the fact that stand users attract each other, the city suddenly becomes flooded of people with the most assorted types of abilities; one of them being a killer, that's been terrorizing the city for a long time.
That way, Diamond is Unbreakable sets its mystery tone right from the start; but even though the pacing of the story is nice, it takes some time to really show what it came for at the beginning. However, each chapter is more bizarre than the last, adding unique characters and the most peculiar circumstances, while still keeping the battles of wits from the other arcs; ghosts, aliens, cat-plants... anything can show up, but still feels well-placed.
I believe the best aspect of this arc is how it handles the characters: We're introduced to a lot of them, each one with it's distinctive opinions, relations, motivations and stands; but instead of focusing specifically on the "main party", this arc manages to offer a significant amount of screen-time to their development, without deviating too much from its subject.
In the end it manages to combine comedy, action and mystery perfectly while delivering nice interaction between everyone, creative situations and immersing us in a very relatable universe with very relatable characters. Some slow chapters weren't enough to lower my enjoyment and were quickly forgotten after the breathtaking climax it had. Diamond is Unbreakable was an awesome experience and I would love to see it animated as soon as possible.

DISCLAIMER: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a currently ongoing series with (at the moment of writing), 7 complete parts and one ongoing one. It's important to first make the distinction that this is NOT one ongoing story split into parts, but rather 8 stories in the same universe following the Joestar bloodline, that share similar elements, plot points, and even motivations in some cases.
Due to that, this and my other JoJo reviews will follow an unique JoJo rating system, since in my opinion it cannot be easily compared to other manga, done in a beginner-friendly way so as to illustrate whether or not it is worth it to get invested in the series, and how it compares to other parts of it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Diamond is Unbreakable stands out from the rest of the JoJo series up until this point, because it changes the concept of "adventure". It's not about fighting a world-ending threat, and it's not about stopping someone from conquering the world. The adventure this time is completely self-contained in the small town of Morioh.

It consists of our lovely new Joestar, Josuke, making new friends and living his school life while dealing with stand users. Right off the bat you'll notice the atmosphere is totally different, as there is no urgent threat, only smaller threats resulting of bad people with stands using them to do bad things. It's a departure from the previous part's treatment of enemy stand users as hired henchmen, and the main cast as "heroes". In this part, they're just normal students who want to do good.


You can really tell Araki learned more than a few things after finishing Stardust, because DiU has a LOT of interesting stands, and it is at this point where stand fights essentially become puzzles where the characters have to find an opening in the enemy's stand ability to dish out as much damage as they can, before readjusting to the situation.
This means just about every single fight in this is extremely entertaining, and due to Josuke's stand ability of "repairing things to their original state", there are a lot more things to do in a fight, one of the most notable examples being destroying a bike to vault over a baby, and repairing it mid-air so he can fall back on it and continue driving away.


As previously mentioned Stand Abilities are now more situational and therefore, deadly. Because of that, the main cast has to use everything they can to think outside the box in order to outsmart their opponent. Sometimes in a logical manner, sometimes in a "I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY JUST DID THAT" manner, in the best way possible.


The art is a slight step-up from Stardust, looking less stiff, but equally as amazing and far more colorful. Not much to say here other than once again, the designs of characters and stands are rather impressive.


The main cast is one of the most likable shonen main casts I've seen, and one of the best in all of JoJo. Josuke looks like a delinquent, but he's a total goofball sweetheart, and everyone around him are amazing friends and truly interesting people. They feel like actual people you would probably meet in school and that adds to how much you care for them.
The "stand users of the week" are also surprisingly interesting, and because they're real characters and not just hired henchmen this time, it feels far more enjoyable to watch their fights with the main cast.


But most importantly, this has probably the best villain in JoJo, in contrast to the previous parts' world-ending threats. Not just that, he doesn't even show up until halfway through the manga, and when he does, you can tell right away how much of a threat he is, not to the WORLD, but to this small town that you've come to love. Because of that, you are much more invested in seeing how they'll deal with him than you were when the villains were just "bad guy who wants to end world".


There's not really a way to sum up Diamond is Unbreakable, but if you enjoyed the concept of stand fights and wished to see more of it, this will most likely be a very good surprise. The cast is amazing, the story's amazing, and it never tries too hard to be too serious despite the urgency of the main plot.

After reading part 3, which I personally didn't like at all, my patience was rewarded with one of my favorite parts of Jojo, and one of the best mangas in general.

My biggest problems with Stardust Crusaders are the flat characters, poor pacing, and the so-so stands. Diamond is Unbreakable shatters those weaknesses. While only two or three characters really go through any real, continuous arc, I enjoy all of them here, and they have clear personalities. While I don't like Yoshikage Kira as much as others, he's a great villain, and the minor villains are alright too. Jotaro feels more natural as the mentor who shows up on occasion. Okuyasu is an idiot, but he's my idiot. Koichi is a great character that sometimes feels more like the protagonist than our new Jojo. Josuke, our new protagonist, is goofy and fun, but he still feels like I normal kid, and part of the fun is seeing him learn to use his stand in great ways.

And what a stand he has. Stands are much more creative here than in part 3. The more limited and specific stands allow for battles that are creative and exciting. There are many more unique battles than before as well. The Darby fights were the only ones in part 3 that felt truly different, but the Italian food arc of Part 4 is much different than the Love Deluxe arc, which is different than the Highway star arc, and so on.

Now, what about the pacing? Well, this is actually much longer than part 3, but this slow pace works better here. Part 3 is supposed to be climactic and there's a ticking time bomb, so the unnecessary fights feel that much more unnecessary. In part 4, the scale is much smaller, and the story is almost slice-of-life. This is a surprisingly excellent genre blend. For many, the main villain not appearing until several volumes in may feel wrong, but it helps the tone of the story in my opinion. If we knew about Kira from the beginning, we'd never appreciate the slower moments.

Another thing is that overall, Part 4... makes more sense than the other parts. As much as a like Jojo, there's a decent amount of insanity, deus ex machina, plot holes, and contrivances. However, this is rarely in Diamond is Unbreakable. There is still the occasional lack of narrative tightness, but regardless, it never affects my enjoyment.

One other thing, the art is... amazing. This is some of the best weekly art I've ever seen. It does change from Araki's more masculine and edged style to the soft, somewhat feminine style that Araki is still developing today, but it looks good regardless, and the change is subtle enough that it doesn't take me out. Another thing is that sometimes when minor villains are defeated, they get shorter once they become 'good guys', which I like as an idea, but the first time I saw it I thought, 'who is this'? It was very odd and confusing, but since I pointed it out to you, you'll be fine reading it. (These characters are also short from the beginning in the anime, and the artstyle is also completely consistent throughout.)

You should read this. Should you read it as a standalone story and skip 1-3? You could watch a recap of the previous parts and then read this, but I don't recommend it. Reading all of Jojo is more satisfying anyway. I haven't watched much of the anime, but it seems to be a good adaptation that is more consistent with art, as I said before.

As Hirohiko Araki always does with new Parts of JoJo, Diamond is Unbreakable has a whole new, a bit more lighthearted tone to it compared to the earlier chapters. This time the adventure and traveling are cast aside for a murder mystery in the small quiet town of Morioh Cho but as always JoJo and his friends are up against an ever so bizarre cast of dangerous Stand-users as they chase the mysterious serial killer and reveal the secret behind the origin of the Stand-powers.

The story starts out somewhat slow and in the beginning it might feel like one of the weaker parts of JJBA but the story constantly picks up more pace and even, in my opinion, surpasses Stardust Crusaders later on when the episodic nature of it stands aside for the main story, even introducing a main villain that might just be scarier than Dio Brando ever hoped to be.

Some mentionable flaws could be the slow beginning and some of the characters who are introduced only to be nearly forgotten later but the latter half of the series greatly compensates for this as I mentioned earlier and some of the characters like Josuke himself or Koichi Hirose just grow on you and you start caring about them as you go on reading.

For me Diamond is Unbreakable is definitely up there among the better parts of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It's surely worth a read if you liked the previous parts of JoJo this far as long as you get over the slow start.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure was originally intended as a trilogy, ending with Part III, and that makes total sense. The way Part III ended had a sort of finality to it. However, when you're one of the best selling and most popular manga, the business won't let you go that easily. Araki started work on another part, which could very well have ended up terribly, but somehow, Part IV, Diamond is Unbreakable, turned out to be my 2nd favorite Jojo part, and was my favorite for some time.

STORY
-----

Part III had a major sense of scope to it that none of the other parts had. While it went over with the fans extremely well, you can tell Araki didn't want to do something like that again, so he decided to go and do the exact opposite with Part IV. Part IV takes place in the small japanese town of Morioh, where we follow Josuke and his friends just... living life. Yeah. For the first half of the series, an overarching plot isn't really established. There are some hints here and there, sure, but for the most part, it's Josuke and his friends living and exploring Morioh. While one may think this would be boring, I must say I don't think it is. The story is a very interesting one when it does get moving, and even when it isn't other things keep the manga going. (10/10)

ART
-----

This is where Araki's art became what it's known as today. We go from early Part III-esque designs to a much more interesting and visually engaging designs. While the changes in design philosophies might catch some people off guard, I feel that they are a welcome change. I enjoy them a lot more than the earlier designs of the series. The stand designs also take an interesting turn. After Part III, the Stands become more 'Robotic' looking, a design choice I like. If you couldn't tell, I really like the evolution the art takes here. (10/10)

CHARACTERS
-----

Josuke is a great protagonist. He essentially takes the two great protagonists of previous parts, Jotaro and Joseph, and fuses them together. The side characters are great too. Koichi is a flat-out reference to Gohan from the Dragon Ball franchise. Okuyasu is not only a funny character, but he's easy to relate to, at least for me. Jotaro appears to fill the mentor role, and while he does do a lot, Josuke and the crew take a lot of the spotlight from him. Part IV is also home to the best villain in the entire Jojo series. I rank Kira Yoshikage over over Dio because of how real he feels. While Dio was over the top, Kira was methodical. Easily one of my favorite characters in manga, if not literature altogether. (10/10)

ENJOYMENT
-----

I enjoy reading this part a lot. I've read it twice, the first time was after Part III's anime had finished, and I needed more Jojo in my life. The second time was after Part IV's anime was announced. Both times took me about two weeks. The part is not only fun to reread, but I have memorized much of the earlier chapters in the series. (10/10)

OVERALL
-----

This was the best part in the series for quite a while. Not only because of the story, but because of the interesting artstyle, wonderful characters, and the almost living setting. Morioh feels like a character in itself, which I think is what Araki was going for. This part is definitely worth a read. Take a trip to Morioh, I guarantee you won't regret it. (10/10)











Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable is currently not available for purchase, however, it was confirmed that it had been licensed by Viz Media, but no release date or specifications have been announced.

To those who were planning to read JoJo only until the part 3 to get to know these series, and get disappointed with Josuke attitude on the start, I ask you; KEEP READING. Josuke is a character that grows at a humongous speed once he starts fighting seriously, and part 4 get more and more interesting by each chapter you read.

The main difference between the part 3 and 4 is the way that they use their stands. they are not used only for direct combat, so the battles are way more complex as they were on the previous series. The characters really outstand in this part, combining their stands and giving the most insane solutions for the battles ever seen.

This is a good manga, the only thing about him that brings me down about him is the start, but this one is awesome from (a little bit after) the beginning till the very end.

Jojo Part 4 is (in my opinion) one of the best JJBA Parts with a similar build-up like Phantom Blood, and an incredibly similar style that Stardust Crusaders had.

I love the main cast of characters, Josuke is a chad, Joseph is well, Joseph, Koichi is an amazing well-written shy and nervous character that can get really pissed off and can be on a rampage. Okuyasu was that character who I never thought of as that "dumb" character, he's been my favorite character when he joined the crew. it was nice seeing Jotaro mature a bit, thought still traumatized from the events of Stardust Crusaders.

The art-style is incredibly colorful which is something I think Araki intentionally put in, the 90s were colorful to most people that remember growing up in a pre-internet age, plus its like a colorful town with a darker hidden secret that most don't know.

Kira Yoshikage was a really well-written villain, trying to live a quiet life while also getting away with murder.

My enjoyment for reading this part was really amazing, I highly recommend it as it's amazing to read and was even better to watch, do it, read Diamond Is Unbreakable.

In a controversial shift, Araki succeeds his immensely action shounen series after Stardust Crusaders with a slow paced slice of life comedy/murder mystery. And you know what? It works. Diamond is Unbreakable is one of the greatest accomplishments in Araki's career.

STORY: 9/10
Diamond is Unbreakable takes place 11 years after Stardust Crusaders. Jotaro discovers Joseph had an affair with a woman in a small town in Japan called Morioh, giving birth to Josuke Higashikata, the 4th Jojo. He travels to meet him to investigate recent Stand activity in the town and get to know his new uncle and eventually aids him and Josuke's interesting friends to take out a Stand User serial killer in the town.

DiU has a near perfect story. There is ample character development and lots of time dedicated to fleshing out the world. The actual plot doesn't really kick in until halfway into the manga. The buildup to meeting Kira is great and it makes his first appearance all the more worthy. Character dynamics, chemistry, and interaction fuel Diamond is Unbreakable and thankfully it succeeds almost flawlessly. I knock off a point because there is a gaping plot point left unresolved in the end, which I won't spoil. However, if you're a Jojo fan, you probably know what I'm talking about.

ART: 10/10
The art in DiU is probably the pinnacle of Araki. It goes through three big shifts. First it's an improvement on Stardust Crusaders's style. Second, it's much more anime-like with larges expressive eyes and a great attention to facial detail, making for some truly great reaction pictures. Finally, it becomes a preview for Araki's more feminine artstyle that's seen in his future Parts. The art shifts match the tone of DiU very well and character designs are on point.

CHARACTERS: 9/10
Everyone in DiU is nearly equally lovable and it's hard to pick out a select few as the "best". Koichi is very easy to root for, and his Stand Echoes is hilarious. Okuyasu is one of the greatest buddy characters ever made, pretty much a Japanese human Patrick Star; endlessly hilarious, entertaining, and stupid. Rohan Kishibe is a complete asshole, but that's what makes him so great. Even Jotaro gets significant character development and you know what? He was probably my favorite Jojo when I read this Part for the first time. A minor character, Tonio, is one of my favs ever, and he was only in like 5 chapters. Some fall slightly under the radar. Without spoiling, Josuke's friend Shigechi only exists for plot and is utterly revolting but he's thankfully not around long. Mikitaka, who I won't go into for spoilers also, is very mysterious and open ended and thus his appearance late into the Part may turn some people off.

The real stars are Josuke and Kira. Josuke is a perfect mixture of all 3 Jojos before him. He is an aloof loveboy like Jonathan, a smug trickster like Joseph, and can be ruthlessly badass like Jotaro. Even still, he has his own very unique personality, and is one of the more fleshed out and realized Jojos. He loves money and will do anything for it, evne screw people over. But he makes up for it in the end (Unless you're Rohan), especially with the help of his Stand Crazy Diamond, which can repair broken things. His co-existence and comradery with Okuyasu is pitch perfect chemistry and coemdy gold. Kirai s one of the best Jojo villains too. He's cruel but he's sympathetic. A misogynistic fetishist who murders women for their hands, he is still easy to root for, and his desire to "live a quiet life" seems true and innocent. One can't help but feel bad for him at times, eh can't help it. Even still, he can lavish in his villainous role and feels as 80-90's cartoon villain as the likes of Cobra Commander and Skeletor. He's goofy and aloof, but there's still an evil and trulyscrewed up darkness in him. His Stand, Killer Queen, help this, as its power is literally making people explode.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
DiU is relentlessly hilarious while still having a story that can pack an emotional punch. While it may not be DIO'S WORLD, the final story arc, Crazy Diamond is Unbreakable, paired with Kira's Bites the Dust, is a fantastic and fitting conclusion. The fact that one cares so much for these characters makes the tension and payoff all the better.

OVERALL: 9/10
Diamond is Unbreakable is one of the most fun and entertaining experiences I've had. A nearly perfect story arc, DiU is loaded with an equally great ensemble of characters, Araki's pinnacle of artwork, and a story that's half endlessly entertaining slice of life and half murder mystery. It's very reminiscent of the likes of Scooby-Doo, Ed Edd n Eddy, Persona 4, Seinfeld, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In fact, I'd say it's a pretty perfect combination of all 5. A radically different but nonetheless fantastic turn for Jojo, DiU was, for a time, the pinnacle arc of the entire series. It's hard to believe that this isn't even the best Part of Jojo.

Part 4 of one of manga's longest running series gets off to a rocky start but with each volume gets better, funnier, more creative with battles and character abilities and culminating in re-establishing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure as one of, if not the, greatest shonen manga franchise ever.

Diamond Is Unbreakable's story begins with a few missteps, that of focusing on an illegitimate son thus almost rendering Joseph Joestar's courageous mission in the previous volume moot and making him look like a jerk (although this is played for laughs), and also more importantly slightly retconning the evil granny character of Enya by having her be a source of more trouble for the worlds citizens by going around with a mystical bow and arrow and randomly shooting people, giving them randomly assigned 'stand' powers.

Author Hirohiko Araki goes full on with crazy stand powers this time, emboldened with what he achieved in part 3 and the introduction of the crazy powers and their potential, you'll see a full range of quirky abilities that cause as many laughs as they do terror.

The main character of Josuke is thankfully livelier than the stoic and bland Jotaro of part 3, and with a more funky wardrobe courtesy of Araki's brilliant fashion sense. In fact the stylistic choices throughout the saga continue to get more and more inspired in their lunacy, it really is a joy to read and appreciate the unique art on display.

Josuke is surrounded by a motley crew of friends, family, enemies, enemies turned friends, friends turned enemies, random ghosts, aliens, and animals with attitude. They all fit one genre trope or another, but they're all very entertaining and very distinct.

Part 4 has awesome battles and abilities as usual for the franchise, and is almost worth it just for an action scene towards the latter half involving a motorcycle, a baby carriage and an unstoppable 'stand'. Araki's battles rarely ever rely on what today's staple shonen bestsellers always use: the old 'allies appear from nowhere and save the day' routine. Araki's characters get pushed and pushed into tight corners and work their way out using brain power, or if their allies do appear, it’s because of planned out teamwork, not mere coincidence or luck.

And even though there are a lot of 'standalone' stories in part 4 as opposed to a big mission, they're for the most part well thought-out and have plenty of great payoffs. They all thankfully advance the plot or character relations in some manner too, which is essential for good storytelling using a standalone format.

Especially the last story arc of Part 4 which is excellent indeed, with our plucky good guys facing-off against the saga's best villain. Yes better than Dio and his generic world-domination plans, Part 4's villain's threat is much more terrifying for its relation to reality. It’s easier to be threatened by a sociopath who avoids fights and attention (knowing full well he can silence anyone he pleases easily) and preys on the weak for his own satisfaction.

Despite its flaws and rocky beginning, part 4 sustains JoJo's tendency for making readers laugh out loud at the surreal humour and quickly turn pages in anticipation of the next outstanding battle and all the twists and turns it entails. Even Joseph's playa ways, which I cited as an unnecessary misstep, gets a humorous payoff at the end.

I can barely think of anything negative to say about this manga after all. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is probably the greatest shonen ever, its amazingly long publishing run and popularity proves it.

JoJo part 4 is extremely overrated amongst the JoJo community and while it isn't a bad part it certainly doesn't deserve to be constantly jerked off. Having a good villain and fantastic artwork doesn't make JoJo part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable a Masterpiece. This doesn't mean I hated everything and I enjoyed part 4 for the most part but a lot of the love for this part in particular seems unwarranted. But even so there are still some pretty awesome things about this part.

The story of Diamond is Unbreakable starts of pretty damn slow Were first introduced to Jotaro. The JoJo of part 3 who is looking for this parts JoJo. Josuke Higashikata. A lot of early part 4 is just introducing characters and I really like how Araki went for the whole Small town vibe it fits in really well and creates this sort of Slice of life esc feel. That's another thing Part 4 unlike the other parts is lesser in scale and is more comedic in general, This is certainly a novelty for the JoJo franchise and it separates Part 4 from all of the other parts making DIU a more unique experience. However the story drags a lot and this was an issue in Part 3, but since all of the characters in part 3 are great it made SDC much more bearable to read through because of how fun the dynamics of the cast were. Part 4 at least until the introduction of Kira is a slow grind and its kind of a pain to sit through. But once They introduce Kira Yoshikage the story gets really good. By the time Kira is introduced it starts to shift from the whole slice of life genre to a mystery Thriller genre and takes a turn for the awesome . All of the events from the introduction of Kira to the end of DIU are just fucking awesome. The Bites the Dust Arc is easily one of the best arcs in the series. The way Araki utilises Bites the dust is near perfect and I have nothing but praise for this part of the series.

The art in Part 4 is really damn Good, it's at this point that I started to look at Araki as truly great artist. The progression of art from Phantom Blood to DIU is incredible. There's always been a lot of thought put into the designs of each character and I really appreciate Araki's dedication to making everything look perfect.

The character of Part 4 are probably the weakest link for me. Josuke is Ok. He's a likeable character but I don't find I'm too engaging to read about. I like how we get to see him hang out at school and interact with the town but other than that Josuke feels a tad but flat. Okuyasu is Terrible he's such a dumbass for absolutely no reason but he happens to be the subject of probably one of the saddest moments in the series which I will touch on later. I feel as though Okuyasu is more of a plot convenience rather than a character Whenever he makes a mistake it's always "He's a Dumb dumb head so he fucked up" so instead of feeling like a character he ends up feeling like a generic sidekick that is used to create stakes when Araki can't think of ways for making stakes and also so that there's a dumbass so we can have a character explain something. Koichi also sucks We spend way too much time with him in the early parts of Diamond is unbreakable and he's just kinda boring. The funny thing is that Koichi is more of a conventional Shonen protagonist then Josuke Himself by just the way he acts and looks and in that regard he feels kinda generic But credit where Credit is Due Echoes is easily one of the best stands in the series and Sheer heart attack Vs Jotaro and Koichi is my favourite fight in part 4. Apart from the main Trio the supporting cast Varys from awesome to trash Random one off characters like Tamami and Tonio aren't really worth mentioning but for the most part they were ok. Some of the recurring characters like Mikitaka are ok but when we get to the more central supporting cast that's when it gets a bit divided Rohan is amazing he is the 3rd best character. His stand is awesome and his wacky personality is fun and endearing. Jotaro in this part is the best he's ever been in the series. You can tell he's changed from the Edgy brooding teen he was in part 3 to a stern yet more sympathetic Adult. He acts as the mentor and is generally great. Also Characters like Sugimoto Reimi who is adorable and extremely endearing or Yuya Funagami who is also very fun and entertaining. However Yukako is one of the worst in the series. She's underdeveloped and here entire character arc is to show the existence of Tsuji Aya. However I will say that the arc when she kidnaps koichi is awesome. Speaking of Aya Tsuji. Aya is completely boring she's literally just a plot device so that Kira can escape from the Morioh gang. At leas Yukako had a character arc Tsuji doesn't even get one. Shigechi is an annoying cunt and I haven't hated a character this much since Kirito from Sao. He's an annoying worthless piece of shit and every second spent on him is a waste of time. NOW that's only the "Heroes" The villains can also vary heavily. The first Major antagonist Angelo Sucks balls He's so generically evil that he reminds me of Jared Leto's Joker his stand Aqua Necklace is retareded and I hated his character. Otoshi Akira is awesome and his stand red hot chilli peppers is great I love his design and his wacky larger than life personality. Some of the other minor villains like Enigma and the superbly guy were just Ok nothing to right home about but certainly not bad. However now we have to talk about the Creme De La Creme of Part 4. The infamous man with a thing for hands Kira Yoshikage. And Kira is just a treat I love his Philosophy of Living life peacefully. Unlike Dio's World changing ideals or Pucci's ideas of making people see there own fate Kira simply wants to live peacefully admittedly killing women and having sexual relationships with there hands. But still he just wants to love a peaceful life. Throughout the story we learn little details about Kira that make him more Relatable. we learn his routine. His ideals and His general Philosophy however unlike other series which just go "Villain A likes pizza and Eating his own shit" we learn about Kira as a person through his ideals and likes lines like "I don't like fighting but if I was ever going to get into a fight I would never lose" sues us into what kind of person he is. Through his action we know he likes eating a Sandwich on a beautiful day in the park and we know that he gets to bed everyday by 11 pm. Its things like these that make Kira more real. And Kira is a major part of why DIU is so successful amongst the wider fanbase.

I really enjoyed DIU. I have my problems but I can say that I came out of the show with a more positive experience. Even Okuyasu. A character I disliked managed to make me shed a few tears when he was talking to his Brother in the Afterlife. Overall I think that Diamond is Unbreakable is Good. But I also feel as though the community blindly loves this part when there are plenty of flaws.

Final Score
Story 7/10
Art 9/10
Character 6/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Overall 7/10

Diamond is Unbreakable is the continuation of the jojos bizarre adventure series and a great one at that. The story all happens in one town, which also makes it all that more amazing. The art is amazing as always, but this time I think it really stands out as great. I won't spoil much about the story but it is a very unique and cool one. The character designs are very cool and actually prove you can relate to some of them since most of them are high school students. Lots of cool stand abilities and characters and I enjoyed this maybe more than a lot of people. My favorite Jojo story to date and I would recommend it to anyone. Overall a 9.5/10

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is, as of writing, 28 years old, and save for a gap year between Stone Ocean and Steel Ball Run it has been running the entire time. As such, this is one of the most enduring franchises in the entirety of manga. In a big way, it owes this to the way it is split up into parts - each new part introducing a new JoJo, a new main cast, and a new setting - but perhaps both the least obvious thing AND the most important thing that changes is the genre. Whilst it remains a battle shonen manga throughout, it merges the JoJo formula with a different genre each time, giving each arc its own firm identity.

In no other part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is this more apparent than in Diamond is Unbreakable.

Here, the series takes on elements of a slice-of-life series, and the sheer creative freedom afforded to Araki by this battle shonen/SoL fusion made way for some of the most inspired results possible (the fact that Araki would revisit the setting of Part 4 in Part 8, albeit with a new twist on the genre, is a testament to this).

It's a simple, but brilliant twist on things - everyday events, but with SUPERPOWERS. It's far more interesting to watch than the battles were in Stardust Crusaders, simply because all the enemies in Stardust Crusaders (Dio notwithstanding) were one of three things: A hired mercenary, a brainwashed puppet, or a Dio worshipper. In Diamond is Unbreakable, they can be anything from a manga-ka looking for inspiration, to a crazy stalker, to a beautician using their stand for cosmetic surgery. What other action manga could possibly make eating Italian food into a tense and thrilling viewing experience?

Interestingly, despite being hailed by most as one of the best parts nowadays, Diamond is Unbreakable used to be one of the most maligned JoJo parts - at least in the English-speaking parts of the fandom. This is due to the DUWANG scans, which for the longest time were the only way to read Part 4 in English - and which are legendarily, hilariously bad (they're worth a read in their own right - they transform DiU into something akin to The Room). That it was once hated, even though we all understood how bad the scans were, is a testament to just how much better the writing in Diamond is Unbreakable is than it was in the previous parts.

The same can be said of its protagonist, Josuke Higashikata, who was also once the most hated JoJo by most fans. Where Jonathan was noble, Joseph was outrageous and trickstery, and Jotaro was stoic, Josuke is simply an average guy. That's not to say he's boring, or an average protagonist - it's just that Josuke is very much your everyday regular dude. He's the kind of guy you'd want to be friends with (which explains why he befriends half the stand users he meets). He is defined by his jokes, his banter with his friends, and his witty dialogue... and also by his goofy pompadour, which he is very defensive of. Unfortunately, a lot of this was lost in the terrible translation we once had to rely on.

Part 4 has one of the best supporting casts of any JoJo arc as well. Rohan Kishibe, who is often considered an author avatar for Araki himself, is an assshole, but he's very entertaining at being an asshole, and his hatred of Josuke is always fun to watch. Okuyasu Nijimura is l̶i̶t̶e̶r̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶k̶u̶w̶a̶b̶a̶r̶a̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶Y̶u̶ ̶Y̶u̶ ̶H̶a̶k̶u̶s̶h̶o one of the most beloved JoJo teammates - he has the goofy idiocy of Polnareff and then some, and has great chemistry with Josuke. The only downside is that, unlike Polnareff, he's as stupid in combat as he is in general, winning only one battle in his own right (and that was mostly luck). That he is as popular as he is in spite of this speaks volumes about how fun he is. The only weak link in the main cast is Koichi, but he's not bad so much as he is just uninteresting.

We also have an excellent set of recurring minor characters, including a returning Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar (although the latter isn't quite what he used to be - him now being an adulterer and slightly senile damages what was once the best JoJo). The real standout character, though, is the main villain of Diamond is Unbreakable: Yoshikage Kira. Kira is a sociopathic serial killer who only wants two things out of life: Some peace & quiet, and women's hands. ONLY the hands. The two desires obviously clash with one another, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase as the main cast try to hunt him down, with Kira wanting nothing to do with them whatsoever.

As with the battles and the characters, the stands benefitted from the creative freedom of the setting. While they're an iconic part of the series now, Part 3 ddidn't really use stands to the best of their ability. But because not everybody had to have a combat stand any more, the stands became more interesting and varied as a result, so we have stands that can make food, stands that gather items, and the aforementioned cosmetic surgery stand, amongst others.

Part 4 isn't perfect, mind you. I already mentioned that Joseph Joestar suffers from this arc, but there's also some lost potential when it comes to the final battle. Josuke has very little chemistry with Kira, and on the other hand, Rohan DOES have a reason to want to fight Kira, which is completely forgotten about by the time the final battle rolls around. And while the monster of the week formula works MUCH better for Diamond is Unbreakable than it did for Stardust Crusaders, this is because there is no clear end goal set for most of the series. Once an end goal IS set, it begins to suffer from the same problem as Stardust Crusaders, though not as badly - but there are a couple of fights that are below the standard of the rest of the series and could very easily have been cut.

But these ARE nitpicks. Overall, part 4 is one of the best parts of JJBA, and a very entertaining manga in its own right (which makes sense, as it is a fairly self-contained arc).


Final Words: Y̶o̶u̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶a̶g̶r̶e̶e̶?̶ ̶W̶H̶A̶T̶ ̶T̶H̶E̶ ̶F̶U̶C̶K̶ ̶D̶I̶D̶ ̶Y̶O̶U̶ ̶S̶A̶Y̶ ̶A̶B̶O̶U̶T̶ ̶M̶Y̶ ̶F̶A̶V̶O̶U̶R̶I̶T̶E̶ ̶M̶A̶N̶G̶A̶?̶ ̶D̶O̶R̶A̶R̶A̶R̶A̶R̶A̶R̶A̶R̶A̶R̶A̶R̶A̶R̶A̶

Story/Plot: 6/10.
Characters: 9/10.
Art: 9/10.

Overall: 9/10.

For fans of: Yu Yu Hakusho, Persona 4

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a very long-running franchise; it's been around for well over 2 decades. However to me the biggest challenge in getting into the series is not necessarily its length, but how long it takes for it to get legitimately good.

Make no mistake; the first three parts are entertaining in their own ways, however they are noticeably dated and lackluster in characterization and storytelling nowadays. While experiencing the first 3 parts, I was entertained certainly, but I wasn't that emotionally invested.

Then comes part 4 and it actually manages to catch me by surprise at how much better the writing becomes.

Part 4 takes place in Japan once again, this time in a small town called Morioh. The catalyst of the story is Jotaro coming to the town several years after SC to find the illegitimate son of his grandfather, a teenager called Josuke Higashitaka. Unsurprisingly Josuke turns out to have a Stand, and from that point onwards both of them get caught in shady dealings and eventually discover a grisly series of murders and try to find the killer.

What really makes part 4 shine is that unlike the previous parts which were more or less just pure action, it focuses a lot more on the character development, and manages to make even the side characters surprisingly lively and memorable. The protagonist, Josuke, is a huge improvement over Jotaro, with a much more interesting Stand and is overall a much more memorable and charismatic main character, similar to Joseph in ways but different enough to stand on his own. The supporting cast is great, from the wimp-turned-badass Koichi, the friend-turned-foe-but-still-just-as-dumb Okuyasu, the conceited and insufferable genius artist Rohan, and of course the unforgettable main villain Kira Yoshikage, who is one of the best antagonists in the entire series.

The fights and abilities are generally much more creative and interesting than Stardust Crusaders; Araki seemed to realize how open-ended the concept really was and strove to live up to the title of "Jojo's BIZARRE Adventure". the final fight with kira is one of the best moments in the entire series.

This is also the part where the series' art starts developing its own identity; while the earlier volumes keep the fist of the north star look, it eventually transitions to a more realistic style with a much more extravagant and fabulous art direction, which the series is now famous for. the art in the later portions is legitimately pretty nice, easily some of the better art Jump has had in its lifetime.

As good as Diamond is Unbreakable generally is however, it does have its problems. Mainly, while the characters are great, it seems to shelve a lot of them aside as time goes on, squandering their potential. Once the main plot with Kira comes in, a lot of them just stop mattering. Araki also ran into a problem with Jotaro's stand being too overpowered and it just feels too convenient that he isn't around most of the time to solve everything for the sake of keeping dramatic tension up. Additionally it does take a little while for the "main plot" to actually start; while i found it very enjoyable to read up until that point, that is when it truly begins to shine.

Regardless of its problems, part 4 is easily a big improvement over the other parts in the areas that matter. Starting with DIU, the series would generally get a lot better and the stories are no longer dated and bland.

Part 4 is my favorite part of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and brought along my favorite Jojo. The story is great and the fact that Part 4 doesn't have really strong characters like Kars and DIO, but instead it has a murderer who just wants a quiet life. Seeing Joseph even older than he is in Stardust Crusaders is great, but Jotaro looks no different than he did in Stardust Crusaders as the only thing that changes is his clothes(I still can't tell where his hat starts and where his hair ends).

Koichi one of my new favorites and the fact he is in a relationship with Yukako is cute. I also think it's funny that everyone towers over Koichi. Okuyasu Nijimura is funny and brings a lot of joy to the group. The story has the more characters to relate to like: Toshikazu Hazamada, Shigekiyo and Tonio Trussardi(Rohan is my personal favorite).

I really enjoyed part 4 and I hope they make an anime adaptation!