JoJo Part 4 (Anime) - Review
Introduction
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure P1-P3 is a manly shounen show but with the staple insane bizarreness to keep it from being just another any manly shounen show. In Diamond is Unbreakable, they apply that staple to something completely new, allowing it to explore a different type of story than the quests it was in danger of repeating. Due to this DiU brings the freshest JoJo experience since the original first part and does so to great success.
Plot & Characters
DiU begins as a relaxing and fun tale. The main characters deal with some minor villains, eat sandwiches from the local shop, search for lottery tickets, generally fuck around and more. This all takes place in the quaint town of Morioh which the main characters value as their hometown they’ve come to love and the viewers become attached in a similar fashion over the first two cours. It’s soon revealed in the third cour that there is a threat to the town looming over it, the town our characters have come to love and so have we. Not a world ender nor an embodiment of evil, but someone that is a large threat to their way of life in the town. DiU’s setting is one of the most important aspects of the part and the villain, Yoshikage Kira, is a villain of the setting. Like the characters, he wants to live a life of peace in Morioh, but that has a vastly different meaning for him. He wants to continue killing in Morioh undisturbed, not take over the world. Just on hearing this, of course any sane person would say he’s a disgusting horrible human if he can even be called that. That is what makes Yoshikage such an endearing villain. He may be the worst of the worst, but he is presented to us as a human like the rest of the cast. There are little details about him that flesh him out as a human being, not as evil itself. You even see yourself root for him just a little which is a scary thought. He’s a thoroughly enjoyable character that has no limit to skilled battles. Lastly, most of the characters of which there are many lightly touched upon are fun but not notable. There are of course exceptions and it is understandable they all weren’t incredibly fleshed out.
Visuals and Music
David Production yet again near-perfectly replicates Araki’s style for the anime. Specifically, it replicates the later style of DiU it is more known for. Since Araki’s style is ever-changing, the early bits of the part looked quite a bit like P3 while being completely different in every other way. During the TV broadcast DiU was often criticized for poor visuals rightfully but nearly all of such instances have been fixed in the Blu-rays. Check it out for yourself. The art of the later part that is replicates conveys the feeling of the part quite well. We’re introduced to softer, more rounded art that feels more casual and comfier than previous parts like how the show itself is. DiU also continues to play with colors with creative shifts that exemplify the mood and feeling of a scene. The “default” colors all look quite good too, there is no shortage of style.
The music was largely forgettable except for some character themes, like the past soundtracks. The most memorable is Yoshikage Kira’s, where you can really feel the terror he invokes. The openings are well-done visual wise and music wise, but also because each opening represents the atmosphere of the cour it covers. Contrary to the antagonist opening from P3, DiU’s affects the OP entirely rather than just the end bit which is an absolute joy to watch as it hypes you up for the final battle.
Other
In the past three parts there’s been a distinct lack of friendly stand user side characters, making our main characters feel isolated to us in their pursuit of justice. DiU yet again freshens things up by introducing such characters. There are multiple stand users in Morioh out to do good or redeem themselves after a run in with the main characters. Some of these characters are firstly painted as evil and then revealed to only have other’s best interests at heart. Tonio, the first friendly stand user the MCs meet, is constantly shown as evil. The show will present misleading visuals mimicking the suspicion Josuke feels towards Tonio as his stand acts against, or perhaps for Okuyasu, his best friend. This suspicion is then flipped on its head when it’s revealed Tonio is just a good man who wants to help his customers stay healthy. After what could maybe be seen as exhaustion in retrospect of evil stand user after another, it’s a deep breath of fresh air. This “fight” does a phenomenal job at establishing the existence of friendly stand users through it’s mix of mystery, comedy and action making it easily one of the best JoJo fights even if it doesn’t seem so significant.
With friendly stand users have been introduced, stands are overall significantly better. P3 had no shortage of good and better stands but being the first part with stands really showed through ones like The Sun. Stands get their footing in DiU making nearly everyone is interesting, creative and enjoyable. Even a stand about rock paper scissors leads to an intense episode long fight.
Conclusion
Diamond is Unbreakable keeps things fresh by introducing new concepts with the classic bizarreness still intact if not amplified.
9/10