JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable VOL.1 Review

Story and Art By: Hirohiko Araki
Published By: Viz Media

 

Grab onto your pompadour and strike your best pose! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4 continues to build on to the ongoing fight between Johnathan Joestar’s family line and Dio Brando’s stain on the planet. Volume 1 spans 18 chapters (351 not including credits and author notes). It’s a bit larger than a regular tankōbon style manga, but it is completely justified. Of the 18 chapters, we go through 3 different story arcs. This makes the length of the entire volume very  understandable.

Other than the number of pages, what does the hardcover, diamond filled, volume offer to its devoted fans? Well, Viz Media has done a wonderful job at producing great structure to their literature. The diamond pattern on the lining of the book and the laminated pages that display the manga’s contents are always a treat to see in whatever hardcover series they produce. The reader also will be able to check out some color pages of the manga panels themselves! At the beginning of each story arc, you can expect a beautiful, near- sepia red color that highlights the characters and the environment around them. The JoJo series is well known for its use of dynamic color. So, this hue is of no surprise but it is very much appreciated.

Being that this JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable debuting in 1981, jumping right into this part of the story could seem a bit daring. However, I’ve find that every plot point that is confusing was summed up well enough to make this new era of JoJo’s easy to follow. I cannot emphasize how important this is in the manga series. Especially ones that have been in circulation for as long as this one has. A manga artist understands that their regularly scheduled chapters, whether weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, will often be picked up right in the middle of the series. It takes a lot of foresight to be able to anticipate this and produce your work.

That being said, the story JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4 weaves itself in nicely with the events of the other 3 parts preceding it. You could argue that Josuke is a shoe-horned addition to the Joestar family. But his presence in the story soon becomes necessary. We end up coming to love the hot tempered hooligan. Of course, we learn that he is the bastard son of Joseph Joestar, main protagonist of Part 2: Battle Tendency. The person looking for him in the beginning of the story is none other than Jotaro Kujo, Joseph’s grandson. For those who have followed the series, Jotaro was the main protagonist of Part 3: Stardust Crusaders. A little confusing? Well, the series creator, Hirohiko Araki does a much better job at explaining it than I do. Suffice to say, Jotaro is in town not only to let Josuke know of his ⅓ inheritance, but to investigate the possibility of a Stand User who has been causing terror in the town of Morioh. The investigation leads to a a tragedy in Josuke’s life and a vow to stomp out the evil wreaking havoc in his home.

The first 2 arcs addresses the immediate danger posed by the mysterious Stand User; that is, one who can use spiritual energy to summon a familiar. Nobody is in the clear however. As our main duo learn; this is only the beginning. The darkness that looms over the city is merely a shadow cast by an even bigger danger. Even after Dio’s death, his influence is far reaching and still manages to bring discord and danger to the people of the world.

Things are ramping up and the stakes are getting higher! There are plenty of seeds put throughout the story that will most likely brings the story to a close. No doubt there is always something larger at play that one single generation cannot stop alone. So the fight continues on! What will a hair obsessed high school student and his nephew do to bring peace to this town? We are left with this question after another layer of evil reveals itself in the form of another Stand User. Its also very possible, an uncountable number of them. They will need the help of their new friends, Okuyasu Nejimura and Koichi Hirose to contain the threat echoed through generations.