「空条承太郎!東方仗助に会う」 (Kujo jotaro! Higashikatajosuke ni au)
“Jotaro Kujo! Meets Josuke Higashikata”

Less than a year after Stardust Crusaders, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure returns with its newest iteration in Diamond is Unbreakable, and things aren’t as they seem in Morioh, Japan. As a familiar threat returns in the form of hostile Stands, Kujo Jotaro meets Higashikata Josuke (the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar), and one careless comment about hair starts things off with a bang.

The implausibility of Joseph Joestar having an affair aside, Diamond is Unbreakable’s first episode ends up the standard introduction for the most part—filled with the many beatings and ridiculous abilities we’ve come to expect from this franchise. A small dose of family issues ends up with turtle abusers (don’t tell PETA), shallow men, and convenience store robbers all getting tossed to the way side, and one poor chap even ends up with a knife literally stuck inside him. The latter ends up being an impressive demonstration of Higashikata’s abilities, and let’s just say they’re as interesting as his fabulous hairdo and attire. Immense strength + speed mixes with an ability to repair/revert things to their original form (kind of) to create a combination of abilities potentially more lethal than his already powerful nephew, and I’d be lying if I wasn’t drooling in anticipation of how well they could work together to take down this new threat.

That said, perhaps the biggest thing in this first episode isn’t so much the characters themselves as it is the art and animation style they’re going for here, which is noticeably different from prior iterations. For lack of a better description, it seems like they’re using a more simplistic, stream-lined approach to things in Diamond is Unbreakable, with some details seemingly being left out intentionally to emphasize the diverse palette of colors they’re using and to give the series a smoother look. The good thing is that it works, and many of the scenes end up arguably more enjoyable than prior iterations of the franchise as a result. Every punch thrown seems more pronounced than ever before and the various visual/sound effects surrounding these moments more noticeable as well. What results is an increased sense of enjoyment despite being less visually detailed at first glance, and kudos has to be given to those behind the direction of the series for how they’re doing things here with this series so far.

All in all though, there’s honestly not much else to say. This first episode was another impressive start to a franchise filled with them, and at this point, it’s the expectation. You always know you’re in for a good time when another bizarre adventure comes along, and the return of Kujo from Stardust Crusaders makes for a great foundation from which to build with. The fact that we didn’t actually get any cameos from Joestar himself is a bummer, but at the very least we find out he’s doing quite well for himself even in his old age (was there ever a doubt?), and we’ll always have this compilation of “Oh, my God!” moments to look back on.

Looking forward, this is one show I’ll certainly be following as a die-hard fan of the franchise, but given the time constraints and how I much prefer just watching the series rather than discussing it (there are too many awesome things to describe and too few words to give it justice), there is no scheduled weekly coverage of Diamond is Unbreakable at this time.

 

Preview

17 Comments

  1. It is a shame that this show wont be covered here, but thems the breaks I suppose.

    Real talk tho, how many did expect the episode to have duwang subs since it aired on April fools?

    xxvan
  2. I didn’t think his hair was that great…
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

    I’ve been following the franchise for some time, and have really loved
    how the most far-out bizarre ideas this show offers and makes them fit
    the story line so well that it can’t be told without them!

    mac65
  3. It’s baaaaaaack! I dunno, I can see Joseph cheating in a moment of weakness. I’m really loving this part so far, animation and action are top notch as always, and I love how Josuke resembles part 2 Joseph at times. Friday nights are gonna be fabulous once more!

    Doctor Hochmeister
  4. damn.. that downgrade… they returned to the simple character design similar to Battle Tendency, Star Crusaders had been the best art so far. better detailed…

    i cant stand that color hue XD my god… well i guess ill be used to it, im glad we have Jojo again..

    its a pity this blog never have love for Jojo..if not because you always praise this series i would think you hate it..

    Neks
  5. Glad to be aboard the “JoJo Friday” train. (Though technically, I’m only able to watch it by the next day.)

    “One does not simply diss Josuke’s hair.”

    Also, Jotaro and Star Platinum are gonna get Worf’d, so I’m looking forward to seeing them use a little more guile like grandpa Joseph.

    And speaking of Joseph, there’s a lot of fanon as to why he had an affair with Josuke’s mother, though the most popular theory is that (Spoilers for Battle Tendency/Part 2)…
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Other comments:
    – I loved the call back to the first episode of Stardust Crusaders when Jotaro told Josuke’s fangirls to get lost (and said fangirls still finding Jotaro handsome anyway). He might have mellowed out a little, but Jotaro is still the 90’s anti-hero we all know and love.
    – Call it bile fascination, but I’m curious to know as to what heinous crime Angelo committed that Jotaro described it as “something that would make a sewer rat puke,” or something along those lines. (Preferably within spoiler tags…and I’ll have the brain bleach on hand.)

    Overall, a “NAISSU!” first episode.

    Incognito
    1. He saw his mom that one time, and that caused him to have an affair forty years later, after having at least one kid with Suzie Q? Sounds legit.

      Makes much more sense than that Josuke’s mom was in love, and smoking hot, and Joseph had a moment of weakness.

      Guile
      1. LOL, it wasn’t my idea, but it’s both plausible and hilarious enough to adopt as my headcanon now.

        Anyway…I’ve seen the second episode, and I finally found out about that heinous crime that would make a sewer rat puke. While I’m not gonna spoil what that is here (partly because its absolutely disgusting and partly because I don’t want to ruin it for the anime-only watchers), let’s just say the punishment Angelo gets from Josuke is quite fitting for his laundry list of crimes.

        Also, that ending song…
        Show Spoiler ▼

        Incognito
  6. I went back to the manga chapters covering this episode and I like the little changes the studio did here.Show Spoiler ▼

    Zhinvu

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *