The 2nd "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Shattered, Chapter 1 The 2nd "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamonds Will Not Shatter, Chapter 1" - The controversial live-action version of JoJo correctly reproduces the most important theme, "the will that is passed down from generation to generation"?

Japan is experiencing an unprecedented anime boom in 2025. In the world of live-action films, the presence of anime- and manga-based films is increasing even more than before.

On the other hand, many people may have the unfortunate impression that live-action movies based on anime or manga are "ah, so it's a live-action movie. ......

However! Are live-action movies based on anime and manga really all disappointing ? Are you just following the opinions of those around you and making up stories based on images without having seen the full-length films ?

In this three-part series, we will re-evaluate controversial anime and live-action films based on manga.

In this second installment, we will look at "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamonds Shattered, Chapter 1" (released in 2017 ), the live-action film of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" that is about to air and distribute the second part of Part 6, "Stone Ocean".

The 2nd Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamonds Shattered Chapter 1

JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure: Diamonds Will Not Shatter Chapter 1" is a live-action film version of the fourth part of "JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure.

JoJo" is a popular series, but it is also a work that is difficult to mix media such as movies and animations. The deep connections between the various parts of the series and the important role played by past characters and their relationships have been an obstacle to media mixing, since "JoJo can be enjoyed independently, but if you want to enjoy it 100%, you should read the entire series from the beginning. In the past, only key parts of Part 3 have been made into drama CDs and OVAs that start from the climax of Part 3, but these "strange media mixes" were unique to "Jojo.

In this context, "Diamonds Will Not Shatter, Chapter 1" is a challenging project, especially since it is a live-action film adaptation of Part 4, which is closely connected to Part 3. The 19 episodes in the 29th and 30th volumes of the book (from the start of Part 4 to the battle against Bad Company, "Sorajo Jotaro ! Part 4 - "Meeting with Josuke Higashikata Part 1 " - "Nijimura Brothers Part 10 ") into 119 minutes, and to make it enjoyable even for those who have never seen "Jojo" before, it is clear that the team had a hard time deciding which parts of the original story to cut and which parts to adopt.

If we were to describe "Diamonds Will Not Shatter, Chapter 1" in words, we would say that it is a work that carefully reconstructs the first part of the original story. The main character, Josuke Higashi, is a "stand user," the owner of a "stand," a special ability drawn from the mind, an anthropomorphic supernatural power. Together with his nephew Jotaro Sorajo, who is also a Stand wielder, he confronts the bizarre criminal Anjuro Katagiri (Angelo), who misuses his Stand, and the Nijimura brothers, who are searching for a Stand wielder for a certain purpose.

In this film, Josuke's grandfather, Ryohei Higashi, who did not have much of a role in the original story, is featured. He is a community-oriented policeman who works hard to protect the town. His relationship with Angelo, which was only mentioned in the dialogue in the original story, becomes the vertical axis of the first half of the film. In addition to this unexpected pickup, the film is interesting in its arrangement of the original story, connecting Josuke, Angelo, and the Nijimura brothers with the keyword "father.

The first thing to note is that the biggest explanation in "Jojo," "What is a Stand? and the timeline of the original work is reconstructed. This may lead to the aforementioned complaints that "this is not the original story," "why is Angelo treated as if he were the main character," and "I feel like I am being shown a movie of a different genre," but it is clear that the arrangement was painstakingly done.

A stand is "the power of the spirit," or simply put, "an anthropomorphic supernatural power" or "a kind of guardian spirit. Psychic powers, such as telekinesis, move things without even touching them. However, in the case of a Stand, a guardian spirit-like being (Stand) standing by the master grabs the object with its hand and moves it. In addition to moving things, a Stand can also stop time, heal those it touches, and manipulate water, among many other abilities. The battles between the Stand users, who manipulate the various Stand abilities, are part of the appeal of "JoJo.

What is a Stand? How do you get a Stand? What happens to the person who obtains a Stand? These are the most difficult but important questions for those who have not read "JoJo" to understand, so the explanation cannot be omitted.

In the original work, this explanation has already been finished at the beginning of Part 3, where the rules of the Stand are explained through the main character Jotaro, who is newly awakened to the Stand (Jotaro, who had no knowledge of the Stand, initially calls it an evil spirit and isolates himself because he does not know how to control it). ) The idea of the Stand is novel, but the film does what is important in a supernatural story, which is to draw the reader's emotional response to the supernatural powers of the protagonist, who was once a normal human being.

However, it is not possible to recount the beginning of the third part at length in the film. This is a situation peculiar to "Jojo," in which "each part can be enjoyed independently, but if you want to enjoy 100% of the story, you should read the whole thing from the beginning. In the original Part 4, the explanation is given in the latter half of the movie when Josuke's best friend Koichi Hirose awakens to his Stand, but we can't keep withholding the explanation until that point.

But we can't hold off on the explanation for that long. He awakens to his Stand ability after being shot by the mysterious "bow and arrow" by Kagecho Nijimura. He appears in the town where Josuke lives, doing evil deeds, and the two stand users face off against each other.

Therefore, Angelo appears in many scenes in the early part of the film, and the film takes on the color of a bizarre crime story. JoJo" fans are understandably puzzled, saying, "This is not like the original story," "Why is Angelo treated as if he were the main character?

Then again, it is not as if the main character, Josuke, should be playing this role. In the original story, he was awakened to his Stand when he first appeared in the movie, and his ability to use his powers without hesitation had a strong impact as a "dangerous new hero. If the film depicts the moment when he awakens his Stand and his confusion in the original story, it would be "not as in the original story".

In the movie, the relationship between Angelo and Ryohei is picked up, and the daily life of Ryohei and Josuke is depicted. The film depicts how Ryohei is relied on by everyone and how he tries his best, which is one of the reasons why fans of the original manga were confused by the depiction of Ryohei and Josuke, saying, "It's like a Japanese film about humanity.

Although these depictions do not follow the original comic book, they depict the theme of "the will that is passed down from generation to generation," which is also emphasized in the original story.

After Ryohei is killed by Angelo, Josuke inherits his will and decides to protect the town, but the depiction of Ryohei and Josuke's daily lives makes the story more convincing and emotional. The theme of "Jojo" as a whole, "the will passed down from one generation to the next," and the structure of Part 4, "a delinquent boy stands up to protect the town without being noticed," become easier to understand.

On the other hand, the action and battles involving the stands are faithfully reproduced from the original work. Although there is no scene in which "Josuke fights off a delinquent and heals a tortoise with his Stand ability," the flow of each battle is largely the same as in the original story.

The flow of each battle is largely the same as in the original story. "Angelo's Stand, which had entered the battle by hiding in the water, is captured by a strange plan that makes use of Crazy Diamond's ability to fix objects. The Hand, a stand that shaves off space, explodes, and the "No Trespassing" sign is shaved off to become "No Trespassing.

The eeriness of the stand of the shape-shifter, Bad Company, which is "a group of small soldiers like GI Joe, armed with helicopters and tanks, attacking in an orderly fashion," is emphasized by the CG. When the soldiers are shot at and blood comes out from numerous bullet holes as if they had been poked with needles, the amount of information provided by both live-action and CG makes it seem as if you can feel the prickling pain.

Of course, not everything is reproduced exactly as in the original. The characters' costumes have been greatly simplified. Josuke looks like he would be about 2 meters tall in the original, but in the movie, he looks smaller, while Koichi looks too tall compared to the original. Jotaro, who looks young in the original, has chiseled cheeks in the movie, and Masaki Okada, who plays Katajyo, looks more like Kakyoin in Part III than Katajyo. Yukako Yamagishi, the psycho type girlfriend, shows her infatuation with Koichi, but since the confrontation as a stand user is not depicted, those who do not know the original story are left wondering what this character is there for.

In addition, DIO, the most important character in the series, is erased from existence in the film version. The list of changes in this area is endless, but it is a situation that is unique to a major serialization, as no amount of time would be enough to make everything the same as in the original story.

As for the appearance of the cast, even the author, who is a fan of the original story, got used to it after a while. Not only the enthusiastic performances, but also the fine art of reproducing the antenna-like bouncing hair on the back of Josuke and Hitotai's heads and Jotaro's trademark hat, which is integrated with the back of his hair. I think it is a good idea to reproduce the original work of art.

Personally, I would like to focus on the reconstruction of the original story and fan service. For example, there is an original scene in the film in which Josuke looks at the case files in the city that Ryohei collected after his death. In the file, he reads about a brutal murder that took place at the Sugimoto house and a four-year-old boy who narrowly escaped and repeatedly stated, "Suzumi onee-chan let me go. Ryohei regrets that he was unable to catch the perpetrator of this crime and chose to bury his bones as a police officer in the city.

Needless to say, this is an incident caused by Kira Yoshikage, the last boss of Part 4, and the 4-year-old boy is Kishibe Rohan, the stand-up manga artist familiar from the NHK live-action TV drama. Although Ryohei's involvement in the investigation is an original setting for the film version, it is a good alteration that establishes Ryohei's character without contradicting the original story and reinforces the connection between Josuke and Kira.

The scene where Josuke, his mother, and Ryohei sit around the dinner table is also original to the film. In this scene, Ryohei says to Josuke, "You almost died 13 years ago, but now you are alive. Don't forget to thank the people around you for keeping you alive," he tells him, and Josuke touches his head and is deeply moved. Needless to say, this episode is also about Josuke's spiritual origin, which is depicted in the latter half of the original story. Josuke was on the verge of life and death 13 years ago when he developed a high fever, but was saved by a student with a regent hair style, and in admiration of him, he has adopted the same haircut. This episode is the reason why the mild-mannered Josuke gets angry when someone criticizes his hairstyle.

Although people who do not know the original story may not understand the movie well, it is an important part of the movie in order to clarify the character of Josuke, and we can feel the respect for the original story. Although it is a minor detail, Koichi riding his BMX to school is a continuation of the part of the film that was made into the movie, the Tamami version (The Rock). Also, the restaurant Trussardi, where Josuke's mother tries to go, is run by a chef who uses a stand that appears later in the film. Both of these services will make fans grin.

And in the film version, we see the Angelo version - the shape-shifter version - all at once, and the new theme of "father" is emphasized by the addition of the film's original setting, in which Angelo holds a grudge against his own father. Angelo lies that he became a criminal because of his father. Josuke grew up in a fatherless household and lost his grandfather, who had taken his place as a father. He tries to save his monstrous father by killing him, and shouts that only by accomplishing this will he be able to start his own life. By strongly linking the key word "father" in the original "Shape-shift" to Josuke and adding an original setting to Angelo, the three characters' three different relationships to their fathers are brought into relief.

A father is something that is passed on to his son. As mentioned above, the "will passed down from generation to generation" is an important theme in "Jojo. Although some may feel that this is a very Japanese style film, it is one interpretation of the original story.

In this sense, "Diamonds Are Unbreakable, Chapter 1" is a proper reconstruction of the original work. As a fan of the original work, I regret that some memorable lines and scenes are not used in the film, but it is a work that should be evaluated in the sense that it reconstructs Part 4 of "Jojo," which is particularly difficult to enter from the middle of the story. The last part of the film also hints at the appearance of Kira, the last boss of the film. The author felt anew that he would like to see a follow-up work to the first chapter with the same staff.

(Text by Shinichi Yanamoto)

Product Information
JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure: Diamonds Shattered Chapter 1
・On sale
Price:
Collector's Edition Blu-ray 8,580 yen (tax included)
Collector's Edition DVD 7,480 yen (including tax)
Standard Edition Blu-ray 5,280 yen (tax included)
Standard Edition DVD 4,180 yen (including tax)
*Rental Blu-ray & DVD to be released simultaneously
Released by: TBS
Distributor: TC Entertainment Inc.

(c) 2017 "JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure: Diamonds Shattered Chapter 1" Film Partners
(c) LUCKY LAND COMMUNICATIONS/Shueisha