JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable

Genre: Action, Comedy, Mystery, Shounen

Synopsis

The fourth part of JJBA focuses on Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar, with Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar along in a supporting role. Apparently feeling that Stands needed more explanation, Araki retroactively introduces the "Bow and Arrow," an ancient artifact which causes latent Stand ability to develop in people. Apparently Enya used this artifact on Dio, which then caused Stands to develop in the Joestar bloodline as well.

Preface

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a long-running manga franchise that has spanned for almost 3 decades. The long life span of this franchise is proof that it has high quality content, especially when certain animes spoof it.

Gintama's Stand Arc

Now personally, I've only watched part 1, 2, and most of 3 (the Stardust Crusaders anime is almost done) and read part 4 and the first portion of part 5. So far, part 4 has been my favorite because character development is one of my favorite aspects of a story. A story doesn't have to be a grandiose adventure (part 1 and 3) or a prevent-the-end-of-the-world-scenario (part 2). Unlike its predecessors, Diamond is Unbreakable has a smaller setting in a small town of Japan, which is something new and refreshing for the series after the previous stories consists of traveling the countryside in order to stop a vampire,

Phantom Blood

fighting vampires in Mexico and Italy,

Battle Tendency

and going on a journey from Japan to Egypt for the purpose of killing a vampire.

Stardust Crusaders

Characters

Josuke Higashikata has a pompadour styled in the same way as his childhood savior. He instantaneously becomes furious with rage and relentlessly attacks a person when they insult his hair. He is also the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar and the uncle of Jotaro Kujo. Unlike the previous JoJo's, Josuke is a more varied character compared to the noble Jonathan, the trickster Joseph, and the serious Jotaro. One would say that he shares similar characteristics of all of them combined because he has been shown to fight for what's right, play mind games on his opponents, and become serious when his hair is insulted. His Stand, Crazy Diamond, has a unique ability that restores anything back to their previous physical state (this ability really creates interesting scenes, especially in the intense action sequences) and is similar to Star Platinum in the way that it attacks with a barrage of fists.

Jotaro Kujo is the stoic nephew of Josuke (but is older than him) who goes to Japan in order to find Josuke so that Joseph Joestar has an heir. He is very quiet compared to Josuke and is like a mentor to him in this story. Enemies view him as the real threat because of his Stand, Star Platinum.

Koichi Hirose is at first, a meek short boy who's life completely changes when he meets Jotaro Kujo. He's acknowledged by many characters as a person with true virtue and bravery. Initially, he seems to be a lackluster character and appears to have the character archetype of someone who always has to be saved. Despite all of this, Koichi undergoes through significant character developments throughout the story and is pivotal to his allies' victories.  His character is really similar to Yugi Moto from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Review

Like I said earlier, there is no grand scheme of an adventure in this JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The story takes place in a Japanese town called Morioh. Because it has a smaller setting compared to its predecessors, Diamond is Unbreakable has a more slice-of-life feel in the story as it focuses more on the daily activities of characters like Josuke and Koichi. The setting is so casual to the point that you can relate to Josuke and his buddies in their daily activities as high school students and their typical troubles of women, money, and family. While Stardust Crusaders only had the Stands fighting battles, Diamond is Unbreakable has a more everyday use with Stands like cooking and cosmetics.

Tonio the chef

The Stand, "Cinderella"

Diamond is Unbreakable consists of several short stories which gives it an episodic nature. Even though these short stories don't seem like they add much to the plot, they always play a role in character development. To sum it up, each short story always contributes to character growth, plot elements, and character relationships. They're like puzzle pieces that contribute to the final product. Given the slice-of-life elements and a focus on character development, the story might seem a little slow paced at first and it might turn some people off, but it's a necessary slow pace that really adds to the suspense later on. The action scenes are some of the most exhilarating battles I've seen from a manga, not just in the terms of extreme fights, but in the sense of mind games and the creative thinking involved with these fights, which really highlights Josuke's character. I swear, I can't wait to see Josuke's battles animated because they're so creatively done. Another thing to mention is that the antagonist is always changing throughout this manga; therefore there is no central antagonist (until the last half). You won't really notice it until there is a shift in tone from the slice-of-life mood to a more sinister and suspenseful plot. Trust me on this one, the last villain in Diamond is Unbreakable is worth the wait as he is one of the most satisfying enemies I've seen in the entire JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series.

Conclusion 

Diamond is Unbreakable is a quirky manga with a relatable cast of characters and a setting that is more character-focused rather than action. The action scenes are top notch with high suspense and creativity, the character developments are really intricate and well-done, and the last villain is one of the best villains I've ever seen. I tried my best not to spoil anything in this manga because I want you to read it. This is the best Bizarre Adventure that I've read (I've only read/watched Parts 1-5); therefore it is a must-read.

Rating

10/10

Disagree or agree with my review? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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Ichigo 100% (Strawberry 100%)

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Harem, Shounen

Synopsis

One day, Manaka Junpei walks to the roof of his school and encounters a beautiful girl falling down from above him and accidentally exposing her strawberry panties. The embarrassed girl runs away before Junpei can find out whom she is. He wishes to become a filmmaker, and this whole experienced seemed like it would make the perfect scene in a movie. And so he goes on a search for the girl with the strawberry panties in order to reenact it all on film. But he will soon discover that finding that one girl will not be that easy... (Source: ANN)

Preface

There's something special about a manga when you're constantly internally screaming because you're insanely frustrated at the main character. 

Very rarely do I ever read romance mangas because I prefer stories with great depth or great comedy. Ichigo 100% is a romance harem manga that surprisingly contains both, despite the negative reputation that harem mangas carry. Most shounen harem mangas are criticized for always being generic, shallow, and having fan service over content. The 2 most prominent shounen harem mangas of all time are Love Hina and Ichigo 100%, but I stopped reading Love Hina halfway through because I got bored of it (people will probably bash me for this). Unlike Love Hina, Ichigo 100% had me fully immersed in it. As a matter of fact, it's my favorite romance manga of all time because I've read the entire manga 4 times already. Sadly, this is Mizuki Kawashita's only successful manga, and it's a shame because she really knows how to create a male's perspective on romance, despite being female, and deliver great laughs throughout a manga. Another thing to mention is, even though I've used the anime's picture, don't watch the anime because it cuts out some important story details in order to fit the anime. It feels like an unfinished anime because it abruptly stops in the middle of a manga arc, and less than a third of the manga is shown in the anime.
And again, do not watch the anime and judge Ichigo 100% because it is an extremely poor representation of this manga.

Characters

Manaka Junpei and his strawberry obsession

Manaka Junpei dreams of becoming a great filmmaker and has a fetish for strawberry panties after experiencing a brief encounter with a beautiful girl that fell down underwear first in front of him. For an average guy who's always day dreaming and barely passing his classes, he seems to be the luckiest guy ever when he somehow ends up in many enviable situations. Every guy hates him for having the attention of the most beautiful girls in the school. Chances are that you're going to hate his guts for his indecisiveness in picking a girl. I mean, how many guys actually have a choice in picking which girl they want to be in a romantic relationship with? This guy is also like a complete saint for not taking advantage of all the enviable situations that he's somehow always in due to his conscience.

Note: Even though Ichigo 100% is known for its 4 heroines, I'm only going to mention the ones that the main character is romantically involved with.

Toujo Aya without her glasses

Toujo Aya is a shy, awkward, and clumsy girl who is usually at the top of her class. Aya sincerely wants to help Manaka make his dreams come true (that aren't ecchi ones) with her novelist caliber writing abilities.When she has her glasses on and does her hair in a geeky way, she's ignored, but when she takes her glasses off and lets her hair down, she becomes the hot girl of men's dreams. A nerdy awkward girl who isn't noticed with her glasses on and suddenly becomes beautiful when she takes them off? Sounds like a common manga heroine archetype right? That may be true, but mangas rarely develop those kinds of characters (and I'm not talking about her "well-developed" D-cups). She surprisingly becomes one of the most developed characters in the story, especially for a heroine in a romance manga.

Nishino Tsukasa

Nishino Tsukasa is another heroine who is pretty much the foil to Aya's character. She has a bold personality along with a desire to follow her own dreams. She's very independent and always takes the initiative in what she wants. *cough cough* Pay attention ladies. She also has significantly smaller breasts than Aya. Tsukasa is a very likable character and is surprisingly very mature for her age.

Kitaoji Satsuki is a very brash tomboyish girl who loves to flaunt her well-developed and athletic body. She's very straightfoward and doesn't really think about her actions and words before she does anything. A bro's kind of girl to hang out with, Satsuki is easy to talk to and is knowledgeable with television shows and other trivial things.

Review

You might think that you can predict who Manaka is going to be with at the end, but trust me, you will have the most difficult time predicting who it is. You will be pissed off at Manaka for his inability to decide who he likes the most. One moment you think that he'll be with Aya, in the next chapter you think that he'll be with Tsukasa, then in the next chapter you'll think that he'll be with Satsuki. This manga will keep you guessing throughout the entire manga. If you like unpredictability in a plot, here it is. Ichigo 100% is one of the most unpredictable romance manga that I've ever read, and that is why this manga stands out to me over most romance mangas.

Chapter 1

The art work is very well done and it really adds to the emotions that are conveyed in many of the emotional scenes. Out of all the mangas I've read,  Mizuki Kawashita really knows how to illustrate sad emotions on a person's face without the need of tears.

There is plenty of fan service that are really well-drawn throughout this manga. Some people hate on fan service in general, but the fan service really adds to the comedy and sometimes emotions of certain scenes like I said earlier. For some hilarious reason, Manaka always ends up in a situation like this:

Manaka in the Sea of Breasts

The comedy is gold in this manga and it never fails to make me laugh; I first read this back in my early years high school, fast forward to my mid college years and this manga is still hilarious. Every straight male reading this will always curse Manaka for possessing the devil's luck. 

Character development is the absolute shining star of this manga and pretty much the story. Because the entire story focuses on character development and the relationships of Manaka and the heroines, this manga literally has the best character development in all of the romance mangas that I've read. Because this manga is chronologically going through Manaka's school years, you will notice how Manaka and the heroines develop significantly as they grow older and more mature.

Ichigo 100% isn't without its problems though; the manga added an unnecessary character.

Kozue Mukai the unnecessary character

In the last third of the story Kozue Mukai practically dragged the plot a little bit, ultimately adding no value to the plot. The other problem is that the male characters other than Manaka have no character development because the story is female-centric and Manaka. To sum it up, all male characters other than Manaka are pretty much just extras.

I mean look at how plain these characters are compared to the females.

These problems are very minor despite how it sounds like because the character development, humor, and art completely overshadows them. The story is very enjoyable; me reading the entire 167 chapters of Ichigo 100% 4 times is pretty much proof.

Conclusion

This is a very well done romantic comedy harem manga is the prime example of how a romance this genre should be. The excellent character development is the focal point of this manga and the plot is extremely unpredictable. The characters are very likable.The artwork is great and really conveys the mood of scenes. Despite the constant fan service, it actually adds to the humor and story and that is very impressive coming from a harem manga because harem mangas never do this. I guarantee you that there will be laughs coming from reading this manga.

Rating

9/10

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Ane Doki

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Harem, Shounen

Synopsis 

A mysterious, busty, strong, beautiful, and mature high school girl... What more can a guy ask for? Apparently, Kouta, 13 years old, doesn’t want that. After giving a high school girl some ice cream, she returns the favor by promising to take care of Kouta while his father has gone on a business trip. However, Kouta dislikes the idea because the girl, Natsuki, treats him like a little child. Despite the one-way tension, Natsuki tells Kouta to become an adult that doesn’t run away from what he wants to do if he wants to become an adult. With her words in mind, Kouta finds the courage to rescue the idol of his school, Kanade, from three punks who try to harass her. Natsuki appears in time to beat up the three punks after a few punches have been thrown at Kouta. Kouta sees that she isn’t a bad person, and decides to accept her into his home. A new release brought to you by the author of Ichigo 100%, Hatsukoi Limited, Lilim Kiss, and Sonezaki Shinju; the funny and slightly ecchi love comedy between a high school girl and a middle school boy!
(Source: MangaHelpers)

Preface
Man, I remember back in high school when this manga first came out. I was pretty excited because the mangaka was Mizuki Kawashita, the mangaka of Ichigo 100%. I really, really enjoyed Ichigo 100% (I often kept believing that it was my turn to be Manaka Junpei and find a girl out of my league) and I expected a high quality romance comedy from Ane Doki. I got so many laughs from reading this, so when the manga came to an abrupt end, I was kind of sad because I wanted more from the story. Later, I find out that Ane Doki was axed because it wasn't doing so well in the Weekly Shonen Jump. It's a shame because this manga had potential to be another Ichigo 100% if the mangaka wasn't under so much pressure.

Characters

Kouta Ochiai

Kouta Ochiai is just some average middle school boy with an average life. Like all young boys going through puberty, Kouta fantasizes about girls and nosebleeds at the sight of a sexy girl. His single dad is never around because he's usually working and partying, so Kouta doesn't see him too often, except when he comes home at 7 am, drunk from a strip club. 

Natsuki Hagiwara

Natsuki Hagiwara is not your average high school girl with a not so average life. Her parents promote independence, so they're never around, but it doesn't really affect her optimistic and carefree view on life because of her maturity. She's basically like your older sister's really hot friend who is 4 years older than you and looks out for you because she really cares about your well-being in an older sisterly way. Oh yeah, she can fight too. 

Review

So imagine being a middle school boy going through puberty and you encounter a really hot girl with a really nice body and a really pretty face who is obviously older than you. I know that I'd be thinking about her all day.

Ice cream scene

You go on the rest of your day as normal, until you come back home from school and suddenly your dad is running out of the house saying that he's being transferred to a place that's a 16-18 hour drive and he tells you to take care of yourself. Yeah, things couldn't get any worse, until the really hot girl surprises you and forces her way into living with you. In a way, it's like a guy's fantasy, but a nightmare at the same time because you have all these nosebleeds to the point that you need more tissue.

Lol. 

I mean wouldn't you also feel stressed out from going from a pretty normal life to a really crazy one? So yeah, this pretty much describes the most of the plot. It's crazy in a way that you wouldn't be able to expect any of this happening to you in real life because this is a really unique scenario. Despite being a female, Mizuki Kawashita really knows how to create a hilarious romance from a boy's perspective. Kouta overreacting over every single thing is really amusing.

Natsuki is a weird but charming girl

The highlight of this entire manga is Natsuki. Natsuki is literally the story. All the fan service is based on Natsuki, probably because all the other girls are in middle school. Her character is so charming and unique that she is the main focus of the reader and the reason why you're going to be laughing your butt off. She's fun, mysterious, down-to-earth, and she makes you wish that you had a friend like her.

The problem that I do have with this manga was that the plot gets rushed towards the last part of the manga (due to the manga having low rankings). After I finished reading Ane Doki, I felt that more story arcs could've been added after the 2nd to the last arc and make the manga even better. The characters were pretty underdeveloped (because the manga didn't have enough time) with the exception of Kouta, but even then, his character development had plenty of room to grow. You don't even get to know the names of Kouta's guy friends who are always hanging out with him throughout the manga. Nothing about Kouta's mother is ever mentioned (like if she's dead or divorced). But all of these problems won't affect your enjoyment of this manga at all.

Conclusion

The interesting and unique scenario of having a hot older girl live with you will keep you interested, but the charm that Natsuki brings along with the comedy is what will keep you reading. Ane Doki genuinely had a lot of potential and when I mean a lot, I mean a lot. When a manga makes you crave more from the story, it was because it had an irresistible charm. The rushed ending caused by lack of popularity is what prevented this manga from growing. What the manga lacks is made up for by the hilarious plot and likable main characters. This manga has a charm to it and I highly recommend it for the laughs and fan service because Mizuki Kawashita's artwork is great.

Rating

8/10

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I'm almost finished with Eureka Seven.

Sometimes I wish that stories never end, until they become like Naruto or Bleach where the quality drops like crazy and you wish that it would finally be over lol. Oh well. All's well that ends well.

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So lately I've been just working since spring semester ended for me, but summer session is coming by next week and I haven't fixed my terrible sleeping schedule.


I've also been watching Eureka Seven, and boy this anime is great. I've watched 40 episodes out of 51 in 2 days. You can bet I'm going to write a review on this anime.

I'm currently working on bringing more content to this blog though...I hope lol.

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