JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable - Chapter 1

Got this movie as a gift for my boyfriend who is a huge fan of the show. We watched it together. The graphics were much better than any other live action anime adaption. Stuck to the story. Definitely worth the watch. Would totally watch a sequel!

So, as my title indicates, I am not a fan of manga or anime. I may get this wrong but I believe manga is the comic strip version and anime is the animated version of these stories. Either way, I just don't care for those formats. My son really enjoys them and I have an affinity for Asian horror and thrillers so when he comes to me and tells me there are live action films, I sit down and we watch them together.

I know, through my son, that there are a lot of live action adaptations that don't get a lot of love from manga and anime fans because it is hard to get the written and drawn aspects to cross over smoothly. The live action stuff just doesn't seem to have the same detail the other formats can offer and that leaves fans thinking they've been short changed. Since I don't follow those formats, I can base my opinions by what I've seen in the live action versions without bias.

I thought this was a good film but it has some flaws. My son stopped the film on more than one occasion to explain a few things because I didn't understand things seeing as how I am not familiar with the other formats. I didn't know what had taken place before what was shown in the film and he felt like some of it should have been explained better. I gotta take off a few points for that.

I loved the costuming and I thought the CGI stuff was done well. It seemed a bit lengthy during some of the last big scenes but I could excuse some of that because it was interesting to watch. We didn't realize that this was only Chapter 1 and my son was a bit frustrated by that. He, having experienced some of the other formats, knew what was coming next and wanted me to see what was supposed to happen next. We can always watch the sequel though!

My take away from this is that while it is a well made film and has a significant amount of detail, it is not easily watched as a stand alone film. You sorta need to know some of the stuff that has lead up to this moment in the series and the film just doesn't explain all of it. However, it was still an entertaining watch and I would presume that if you are a fan of the other formats you will enjoy it.

First of all I am not familiar with the source material, so I can only judge the movie on its own. It is stylish and well made cinematographically and the opening act sets up an intriguing scene, but then it just falls flat. The characters don't really develop relationships and the story is totally superficial and boring. There is no deeper meaning to it whatsoever. It's like watching a bunch of kids play a computer game where they have their colorful avatars fight one another.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable - Chapter 1 is a Japanese action fantasy movie based upon the famous manga series that was massively promoted upon release. Despite being labeled as the first chapter, there has't been any live action sequel to this movie as of yet. This film that was released to mixed to positive reviews takes place in the fictional town of Morioh where high school students investigate a series of mysterious murders.

On the positive side, the settings chosen for this movie are absolutely stunning. Principal photography has been shot in Sitges and Barcelona which makes viewers want to visit Spain more than most documentaries about these locations. The characters in this film are unique, quirky and bubbly as they provide at times surprising developments and unexpected depth. The special effects in this movie are also intriguing, especially in its second half that truly brings the magical world of the original manga series to life. The climactic showdown in an abandoned mansion is the movie's undeniable highlight and will keep viewers on the edges of their seats.

This decent film is however not without its flaws. Viewers who might not be familiar with the manga series might mix up a few characters, lose track of the complex plot and have trouble immersing themselves in this magical universe. The pace of the movie's first half is somewhat slow and features a few unnecessary lengths. Several questions remain unanswered by the end of the movie, aiming for a potential sequel that hasn't seen the light of day as of today. Miike Takashi is one of Japan's most creative filmmakers ever but his astonishing talent feels at times restricted by the precise guidelines of the source material and severe fan expectations.

At the end of the day, this movie is highly recommended to fans of the manga series as well as anyone appreciating contemporary fantasy movies starring youthful characters. Anyone expecting memorable plot and stunning filmmaking can however skip this film without any regrets. In conclusion, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable - Chapter 1 is a decent to good fantasy movie for a slow evening but fails to leave a deeper impression.

I can't never ever in a million years imagine a series like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure can work well in live-action form but apparently all you need is a good director and a reasonable script.You gotta know that Diamond is Unbreakable is just one part of a long running series with different timeline,location and characters so in order to make this movie with 2 hours runtime they made a lot of sacrifices so I kudos for that.The introduction of the important characters is fine and the selling point of the story is the battle between Stand User is way better than I expected.I'm completely okay with skip through some minor stuff if all the iconic moments and characters still there and seem like the movie go for that direction as well.The worst aspect of the movie for me still about the horrendous anime hair and the disturbing lack of Jojo poses.I know it a live-action movie but it not a proper Jojo movie without over the top poses