REVIEW: ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 4—Diamond is Unbreakable,’ Volume 7

wayJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 4—Diamond is Unbreakable Volume 7 is written by Hirohiko Araki and is published and distributed for the U.S. by Viz Media. Diamond is Unbreakable Volume 7 is a fun look into how mangaka Araki is able to control tone and atmosphere in this tale of the mysterious town of Morioh. Introducing aliens, gambling, cat-like plants, and stranger-than-usual stands, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Diamond is Unbreakable, Volume 7 takes us on a journey that lives up to the weirdness that only JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure can deliver on.

For starters, this volume focuses solely on Josuke, Rohan, and Yoskikage Kira. Central characters like Okuyasu, Koichi, and Jotaro are rarely present throughout, which is a detriment to this volume. Rohan and Josuke find themselves in a gambling situation at the beginning of this volume that exists purely for characterization. Josuke finds a shape-shifting alien in the town of Morioh that he convinces to turn into dice to cheat Rohan into giving him money.

It is through this battle, that brings out both of the boys stands (Shining Diamond and Heaven’s Door respectively) in attempting to resolve the issue. Rohan is characterized as a man not willing to be bested by another. In a dramatic scene, Araki depicts Rohan cutting off his own finger, screaming at Josuke that he will not be made fun of or taunted during their gambling sequence.

While Rohan may be a fan-favorite, Araki is sure to drill home that Rohan is a rather selfish and deranged character literally willing to set his house on fire to prove himself to a 16-year-old kid. While this sequence is entertaining and the action portrayed is inked in a top-notch way, this characterization does nothing to further the overarching plot of a serial killer loose in Morioh. The two other story beats within Diamond is Unbreakable Volume 7 are also hit and miss.

The Highway GoGo story puts Josuke and Rohan at odds again but this time Josuke has to save Rohan from an enemy stand user who is siphoning all of Rohan’s body nutrients. Within these chapters, Araki’s art and lettering is a fantastic exploration of how talented he is at drawing action sequences. While the plot itself is filler, we see Josuke riding a motorcycle all throughout Morioh and utilizing Shining Diamond to fix all the things he breaks during this journey.

Josuke runs into a baby and mangaka Araki cleanly gives us a play-by-play artistic depiction of how Shining Diamond harms and then heals this child as he speeds away on his cycle. The stand design for Highway GoGo is terrifying. He is shown to have a curly-fry separated head and a springy hand. Highway GoGo lurches and hunches over as he chases his prey. He then sucks all of the nutrients out of others by making these vacuous holes that would be sure to freak anyone out with Trypophobia. While this is mindless, fun enemy-of-the-week filler, the strongest aspect of Diamond is Unbreakable Volume 7 is when the focus is brought back on Yoskigae Kira.

With Kira in hiding in Morioh, Araki’s writing and art shifts into higher quality. The care around characterizing Kira as a cold, calculating killer is shown when Araki writes his inner dialogue to contemplate whether or not he cares for others. The art style by the time we reach these chapters is a lot softer. Harsh lines and intense muscle is widely known as a signature for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure lightens up. Kira is a tall, lean man with a stand that also differs from the usual hyper-masculinity of stand designs.

Kira’s stand Killer Queen is designed as a tall, pink cat humanoid that wears a loin-belt, much like a wrestler’s. Killer Queen has on what looks like black fighting gloves with little skulls on them. Out of all the designs in Diamond is Unbreakable Volume 7, Yoshikage Kira’s and his stand is my absolute favorite. It’s a delight to read the fight that ensues between Kira and a cat who manifested a stand in the form of a cat-planet after their death. Tensions are rising as the town of Morioh keeps getting more strange and bizarre.

Diamond is Unbreakable Volume 7, despite a lack of plot-driven content, is still an enjoyable read. It has all of the staples of a volume of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure while still evolving and changing with fights focused on the fleshing out of key characters as opposed to fighting mechanics. As a treat to readers, there are beautiful, orange-colored pages at the volume’s end where it brings back Okuysau and Josuke as they investigate the town some more.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 4—Diamond is Unbreakable Volume 7 is available anywhere where books are sold.