“In April of 1999, on my very first day of high school, I met two bizarre men…”
What They Say:
“Jotaro Kujo! Meets Josuke Higashikata”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Early morning—an American-style breakfast dons the table. Utensil at hand, the spread of bacon, eggs, and toast is ready to be devoured, when the camera slowly pans out, revealing the hand has been dismembered, dripping blood onto the floor while the nearby radio continues playing pop music.
This is the first scene in Diamond is Unbreakable—the fourth entry in the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure erm… adventure. It’s a notable departure from the Jojos preceding it in that within the characters’ world, we’ve finally reached a modern era. Sure, you can argue that Part 3 was modern enough as well, but the series still took place in this wild unknown—trekking through Egypt hunting down a vampire. With the start of this new arc, we’re already given the impression that the series’ setting will focus primarily on the small town of Morioh and all the oddities surrounding it.
Following the title drop, we’re presented a more familiar scene— a slightly older Jotaro stepping down in Morioh. Having been shown the kitchen scene prior to this, we’re already in anticipation of the danger looming in the town, but in classic Jojo style, we’re whiplashed to a more comical scene introducing the series’ new protagonist: Josuke Higashikata.
Unlike the stoic Jotaro, Josuke comes off as much more amiable from the get-go with the exception of losing his temper whenever someone speaks ill of his hairstyle. Borderline bipolar tendencies aside, Josuke essentially encapsulates the modern ‘90s child. Living in a bustling region, pacified by the times and eager to cause drama when something he’s passionate about is badmouthed, he makes for a perfect protagonist to follow, especially given the series’ new backdrop.
The small town of Morioh acts as an additional character to the series. As we’re introduced to more and more of its residents, we get to see just what makes its inhabitants tick, and in turn what defines Morioh overall. The rush of students making their way to school, the slow-driving car-drivers making moves on the female pedestrians, the police officers willing to let their daughters get away with beating up said car-driver for making moves on them… it’s suburbia expressed in a way only creator Araki could get away with. Top it off with the vibrant colors, unique screentones, and comicbook-style sound effects crawling their way across the screen as per the Jojo norm, and Morioh fits perfectly well with all other locales the series has hit us with in the past.
But as offbeat and colorful as Morioh is, it still has the general structure and feel of a small town. Long, asphalted streets break up the rows of identical two-story houses all coupled with a lush grass front yard; In the case of any notable drama happening in town, it’s guaranteed that word will spread among the community like wildfire; everything is just the right amount of small-town-y and peaceful that you just know something insidious is bound to happen soon enough, especially with Jotaro making his way on the scene.
Trouble is brewing in Morioh, and clearly these Jojos are in the center of it.
In Summary:
Regardless of the series, there’s always some kind of baggage when it comes to making a sequel or continuation of any sort. Is it similar enough to older material for me to care? Is it different enough from older material to warrant existing? And while you can pick apart every aspect of the series to prove for or against it, I think the most interesting point to bring up would be its music. Episode 1 of Diamond is Unbreakable clearly takes influence from Stardust Crusaders’ jazz-centric musical score, but at the same time will occasionally break out into more modern beat drops (veeery slight wubwub) as well as hip hop and record scratches. Yes, it’s building off the story of previous Jojos but just one episode in, it’s clear it can stand well enough on its own, using its rich history as less of a crutch and more as an establishing point to better move forward with.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Lenovo Laptop IdeaPad Y570, 15.6”
