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!

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.

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.

Feel under budget and poorly post edited. very disappointed at a missed opportunity of a great franchise. sure , some scene and characters were like the animation but too many uninspired long shot that make me thing this should have been trim 30 min. they really screw up the ambience with the quasi non existent soundtrack. this movie need to be recut, amplified the mood, maybe even re color the film stock. This is my most severe critic to date . lazy Miike care of final products or post producing cost cut by studio?

This is by far the very best live action anime adaption I have ever seen. It's done seriously well. I went into this expecting another low budget live action movie, but I've been very pleasantly surprised. I wish they'd make the whole series in this style.