JoJo no kimyô na bôken: Daiyamondo wa kudakenai - dai-isshô

Compared to other live action films based on anime I've seen, this one made quite an advancement in portraying the storyline of the anime... The director and the producer have obviously maintained a level of credibility. When it comes to characters that are derived from an anime and that can have a challenging theatricality in their performance, the acting has a much more realistic tone to it than other such films. The directing leaves the characters and the actions have their own way to show the theme which works great most of the time and has a smooth way to reveal mystery. The scriptwriting, as far as I've seen from JoJo's Bizarre adventures anime series, has done a remarkable job by structure of the story and specially selecting which background information that is to be mentioned; considering the significant history of Joestars that would only crowd the timeline. One last positive point is that I found that making this work into sequels was a wise decision that would prevent pointlessly rushing many previous or upcoming events.

I must say I'm finding several long pauses that doesn't add anything to the scene in my opinion except that the actor/actress waiting as instructed... Now that I've mentioned that, the choreography (same as other live action films based on anime I've seen) sometimes seems off (pros and cons of martial arts aside).

Other than that, I actually enjoyed the film as I occasionally find the anime-to-live-action-challenge something admirable. (I find myself against anime-to-live-action-series because mostly they are low budget and rarely given much effort - and that prove to have weaknesses in several department) Also, I am interested in watching the 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.

I must say i was skeptical about seeing Stands in the live-action but it was beyond awesome, Takashi Miike did an amazing job portraying every characters as well as their Stands.

The other thing my cousin and I worried about was rushing the intro and story of Yoshikage Kira, who honestly is one of the best villain in the anime.

I can gladly say without revealing too much that Part 1 only goes as far as the showdown between Josuke Higashikata (Crazy Diamond) and the brothers Keicho Nijimura (Bad Company) & Okuyasu Nijimura (The Hand).

The ending was the only thing that made me give a 9/10 as they changed something that does not make much sense as they skip a villain to introduce another one which had no motive to do what he did.

People were cheering like crazy at Fantasia 2017 Montreal and I for one cannot wait for Part 2.

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.

How do I watch it. There's no "Watch" button. Pls help.