Anime Update: Iron-Blooded Orphans and Unbreakable Diamonds

As mentioned in my year-end posts for 2015, I did not complete nearly as many anime series in 2015 as I had hoped, despite my best intentions. However, I intend to make up for that in 2016, and I’ve already hit the ground running, finishing series that I started last year, and doing my best to catch up on as-of-yet-ongoing series.

First out the gate was One Punch Man, and that is almost certain to be the subject of my first anime review of the new year. I also viewed the second film in the Berserk Golden Age trilogy shortly after Christmas, and plan to follow up with the third film before the end of January. I will be reviewing that trilogy as a whole, as opposed to providing three distinct reviews for each individual film. For my first direct exposure to anything from Berserk, it’s proven decently entertaining, though the films are hardly consistent in quality, which is a point that I will cover more in-depth in my full review of the trilogy.

I’ve also devoted some time to the two latest Mobile Suit Gundam series, Iron-Blooded Orphans and the four-episode OVA known as Gundam Thunderbolt. While I only have five episodes of Iron-Blooded Orpahans under my belt, and there has only been a single episode of Thunderbolt released as of yet, I feel both are off to incredibly strong starts, and bring a wonderful mix of ‘something old, something new’ to the table. Meanwhile, I’m itching to get back to Ninja Slayer, as it was one of the most utterly bananas shows I’ve viewed in many years.

In April, the fourth part of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure will see its anime debut with the first episode of Diamond is Unbreakable. Stardust Crusaders crushed the competition in 2015, becoming one of my all-time favorite anime series. I can’t wait to see Okuyasu, Josuke, Koichi, and Kira animated, as David Production has done an absolute knockout job with adapting all of the previous parts of Hirohiko Araki’s long-running action/comedy series.

Other series on the horizon include Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, Gundam Reconguista in G, season three of Sgt. Frog, and the original Mobile Suit Gundam. All of these are series that I have watched within the past year, but have simply been watching with a lower priority. But, considering that I am nearly halfway through each of them, and they have proven quite entertaining, by and large, I feel compelled to follow them through to completion.

Perhaps there will be other series that join the pool in 2016 – the Digimon reboot is something that I would like to look into, and Daisuki has proven a strong go-to website for the general variety and quality of anime it is hosting. Depending on the release schedule of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, it may also join the ranks of my 2016 reviews. And I have yet to view Tekkon Kinkreet, a movie that I purchased a couple of years back, and have neglected to pop into my DVD player, despite hearing only good things about it.

25 Days of Jojo’s - #3: Yoshikage Kira

(Fair warning: there will be spoilers abound in this series of posts, as I find there are major moments that define some of these characters late in their respective story arcs. So in the event that you have not yet read/watched a particular part of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure storyline, you may wish to skip over certain entries.)

#3 - Yoshikage Kira: Unlike most of the other major antagonists in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Yoshikage Kira is not driven by dreams of grandeur, nor does his boast his powers. He is a simple enough man, carrying on his day-to-day routine as an unassuming well-dressed citizen of the town of Morioh. He enjoys the company of his girlfriends, taking them out for picnics and rides in his sleek car. Of course, the only part of his girlfriends that ever remain intact are their hands.

Yoshikage Kira is a serial killer, and his m.o. is to destroy every trace of evidence of his murders with the explosive powers of his Stand, Killer Queen – every trace, save for the aforementioned hands. When a hand begins to decay, Kira disposes of it and moves on to a new victim, and this series of murders is largely responsible for setting in motion the events of Diamond is Unbreakable. Kira is smooth, charismatic, and very attentive to the finer details in covering his tracks.

That is, until he begins to slip up. A simple mix-up between his lunch bag containing the hand of Kira’s most recent girlfriend with the lunch bag of one greedy and dull-witted teenager, Shigekiyo Yangu, blows Kira’s cover. And while he is quick to use Killer Queen’s destructive abilities to permanently silence Shigekiyo, he unintentionally lays a thread for Josuke Higashikata and friends to follow. Eventually, Kira is forced to face them on more direct terms, once they discover he was the one responsible for Morioh’s murders. However, Kira formulates one last-ditch plan, forcing the local salon owner to use her Stand, Cinderella, on him, swapping bodies with another local man named Kosaku Kawajiri. Believing Kira has bled out and died of the injuries he sustained in battle, the gang temporarily believes the case to be closed.

However, Kira has simply adopted an alternate strategy, masquerading as a family man and piling his resources for the perfect chance to re-emerge and take down his foes. He grows the sentient plant, Stray Cat, as a secret weapon that can be stored within Killer Queen’s hollow chest cavity, and acquires one of the arrows, granting himself new powers, including the ability to plant his Sheer Heart Attack bombs within people from a distance, and the ability to form temporal loops to iron out any errors he might make in exposing himself to Josuke and company.

Kira’s intellect shines through even during the final battle between his Killer Queen and Josuke and Okuyasu’s Crazy Diamond and The Hand. He plots out strategic approaches to combat, preferring to pinpoint the boys’ location and strike from a distance. However, Kira’s newly-instilled cockiness coupled with his intense focus proves his ultimate undoing, as an ambulance that arrives on the scene runs him over, killing him instantly. Kira isn’t even aware of the fact that he has died the second it occurs, believing he has trumped Josuke’s troupe, but is shocked to find that he has, so many years later, come face-to-face with the ghostly form of Reimi Sugimoto, his first victim, from a time before Killer Queen was awakened. With the spirits of the alley upset with Kira’s murderous streak, their hands drag him into a hellish shadow, tearing both his body and Killer Queen’s apart, like statues crumbling to pieces.

25 Days of Jojo’s - #4: Joseph Joestar

(Fair warning: there will be spoilers abound in this series of posts, as I find there are major moments that define some of these characters late in their respective story arcs. So in the event that you have not yet read/watched a particular part of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure storyline, you may wish to skip over certain entries.)

#4 - Joseph Joestar: In stark contrast to his noble and perhaps naïve grandfather Jonathan, Joseph Joestar is a more carefree hero, playful and comedic, but also not afraid to take justice into his own hands when necessary. The earliest impressions Battle Tendency offers as to what kind of protagonist Joseph will become arise from his handling of a few events in his home turf of bustling New York City. He give a couple of dirty cops a taste of their own medicine for their heckling young Smokey Brown, giving them mild injuries to teach them not to pick on people smaller than they are. Then, when Straits reappears and displays his fall from grace in embracing the vampiric powers once utilized by Dio Brando, Joseph displays a combination of fearlessness and resourcefulness, opting to pump Straits full of lead and play mind games with this ally-turned-foe before ultimately besting him.

Joseph is a goofball, sometimes a jackass, but no less of a hero than his grandfather or any of those who would follow further on down the Joestar bloodline. His ability to predict his foes’ behavior gives him a distinct advantage in surprising them, and when he himself is caught off guard, Joseph has a knack for crafting lucky half-baked gambles of plans on the fly. He is initially impatient during his training with Lisa Lisa and Caesar Zeppeli, thinking the former is asking the impossible of him, and not getting along too well with the latter. However, when the threat of the Pillar Men and their inhuman abilities becomes a more immediately pressing matter, Joseph tightens his composure and remains focused under pressure.

Despite exclaiming that his plans involve running away on multiple occasions, Joseph is far from a coward. These plays are almost always either a deliberate means of messing with his opponents and attempting to throw them off their game, or an attempt to bait his foes away from his friends and allies in order to ensure they are no longer in harm’s way. Joseph returns in later parts of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, acting as a core ally and mentor to Jotaro Kujoh and the other Stardust Crusaders, and later traveling to the Japanese town of Morioh to meet his estranged son Josuke Higashikata. Joseph is arguably the second most well-kown Jojo after Jotaro, having a similarly large impact on the course of events that shape the Joestars through the decades.

25 Days of Jojo’s - #5: Okuyasu Nijimura

(Fair warning: there will be spoilers abound in this series of posts, as I find there are major moments that define some of these characters late in their respective story arcs. So in the event that you have not yet read/watched a particular part of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure storyline, you may wish to skip over certain entries.)

#5 - Okuyasu Nijimura: Playing host to one of the most powerful Stands in all of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and being a loyal friend through thick and thin to Josuke Higashikata and Koichi Hirose, one might expect Okuyasu Nijimura to be a huge hindrance to Yoshikage Kira’s killing streak and the machinations of the other lesser antagonists of Diamond is Unbreakable. In truth, though, Okuyasu is more of a hindrance to himself than anyone else. While his Stand, The Hand, can effectively displace anything that it touches from the current plane of reality to somewhere else (meaning that any hit he lands is as good as an instant kill), Okuyasu is, unfortunately, a rather dim-witted individual. He is initially introduced as a trouble-making punk, fighting Josuke alongside his brother, but soon after befriends Josuke and becomes a primary friend and ally. His preference of brawns over brains does grant him a certain charm, and when he does find the occasional stroke of genius, Josuke and Hirose are almost always more impressed with his discoveries than he himself is. Okuyasu proves instrumental in besting a number of Morioh’s local baddies, and offers both plenty of action-packed showdowns and comedic relief to the fourth act of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

25 Days of Jojo’s - #15: Koichi Hirose

(Fair warning: there will be spoilers abound in this series of posts, as I find there are major moments that define some of these characters late in their respective story arcs. So in the event that you have not yet read/watched a particular part of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure storyline, you may wish to skip over certain entries.)

#15 - Koichi Hirose: The smallest member of Morioh's trio of main heroes, Koichi Hirose has an undeniably big heart. He seems to dislike conflict, or is at least made uneasy by it, as indicated during his earliest run-in with Okuyasu Nijimura and his antagonistic elder brother. However, when backed into a corner, Koichi will stand his ground and fight for what he believes is just and right. For a kid who constantly displays such a cheerful and friendly demeanor, the stark transition to his fierce battle stances can still be jarring in the late chapters of Diamond is Unbreakable.

Koichi is also rather naïve, finding himself caught up in the obsessive ‘romantic’ advances of Yukako Yamigishi. Being the gold-hearted high schooler that he is, Koichi tries his best to reason with her, despite his general confusion as to why she wants him all to herself, an whether she actually intends to shower him with affection or bring him physical harm. Though he doesn’t really want to, Koichi eventually unleashes his Stand, Echoes, on her agressive medusa-like hair, Love Deluxe. Later on, Yukako decides she would actually like to try and get to know Koichi on a genuine level, and while they are perhaps not head-over-heels in love with one another at the conclusion of Diamond is Unbreakable, they do appear to be on good terms, attempting something of a normal relationship.

As is perhaps most fitting of his personality, Koichi and Echoes do not see nearly as much consistent direct combat with other Stand users as his friend and schoolmate Josuke Higashikata does. He does, however, play a crucial role in the investigation to find Morioh’s local serial killer, and nearly dies at the hands of Yoshikage Kira before Jotaro and his other friends arrive to save him. The way that Koichi, Josuke, and Okuyasu’s personalities play off one another is thoroughly entertaining for Diamond is Unbreakable’s run, and is something that subsequent parts of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, given their wildly different settings and generally more serious and intense atmospheres, have never quite been able to replicate.

25 Days of Jojo’s - #22: Josuke Higashikata

(Fair warning: there will be spoilers abound in this series of posts, as I find there are major moments that define some of these characters late in their respective story arcs. So in the event that you have not yet read/watched a particular part of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure storyline, you may wish to skip over certain entries.)

#22 - Josuke Higashikata: Despite all the Jojo’s of their respective parts taking center stage during the late teenage years or early twenties, Josuke is the only one to carry on a relatively normal teenage life during his story arc. A high school student living with his mother in the small town of Morioh, Josuke has grown up without a father, and gets into scuffles with any of his peers who would dare insult his prominent pompadour. At the same time, however, Josuke is mature beyond his years, preferring to talk rather than fight whenever possible, and acting as a sort of culmination of big brother, mentor, and good friend to his pals and allies, Koichi Hirose and Okuyasu Nijimura. He is the ringleader of Morioh’s would-be heroes and super sleuths, and his very existence is what brings Jotaro Kujoh to the town.

Unbeknowst to Josuke, he is part of the Joestar bloodline, being the son of Joseph Josetar. Their meeting is a bit uneasy at first, with Josuke feeling as though he has been abandoned by his father for years, but later feeling some sympathy towards the now aging and senile Joseph. Josuke certainly could have let his emotions get the better of him, could have held his grudge for the remainder of the search for local serial killer Yoshikage Kira. But instead he shows compassion and spends what time he can afford getting to know relatives Joseph and Jotaro.

Above all else, Josuke Higashikata is unquestionably among the most sincere and soft-hearted of the major protagonists, which seems to reflect positively on nearly everyone he encounters in Morioh. Local mangaka Rohan Kishibe, in all his brooding egotism, reluctantly lends his services to the search, and Yukako Yamigishi, a girl who was initially introduced as an antagonist with an unhealthy obsession over Koichi, discovers a sense of normalcy as well as friendship through the actions of Josuke and company. It only makes sense, then, that Josuke’s Stand, Crazy Diamond, is bestowed with powers of restoration, able to repair broken objects as swiftly as it can pummel them to bits.

Top 5 Stands in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Though the Ripple abilities harnessed by Jonathan and Joseph Joestar are the sort of ‘magical energy’ trump cards in the first two arcs of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Stands replace them from Stardust Crusaders onward. Stands are, in essence, a manifestation of their users’ willpower, and while the most iconic ones take on humanoid forms, their appearances can range from a small toy-sized fighter plane, to one powerful possessed sword, an electrical socket that forms a magnetic field around anyone who touches it, and even the collective consciousness of hyper-intelligent plankton. As is explained a number of times over the course of the long-running Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure tale, Stand users are the only ones who can see other Stands, and they will be inexplicably drawn to one another, be it on friendly terms or seeking to destroy one another. Below are my five current favorite Stands – as Jojolion is still ongoing and there will likely be more parts to Jojo’s in the coming years, this list may change in the future. Also, this list is based exclusively on the Stands, their appearances, and their powers, and the personalities or actions of their respective users do not necessarily bear any significant hold on their ranking.

#5 - Moody Blues: When part five presented the idea of a group of teens tracking down a mob boss and attempting to piece together the mystery of his identity along the way, Moody Blues stood out to me the moment its powers were explained. It allows its user, Leone Abbacchio, to rewind time and discover what transpired in a particular spot hours beforehand. It might not be the most exciting concept when compared to the Stands of the other Vento Aureo protagonists, like Guido Mista’s smart-mouthed revolver shells or Bruno Buccellati’s opening portals via zippers. Moody Blues is, however, quite practical, given the focus of their mission.

#4 - Whitesnake: Stone Ocean offered up many cool ideas that never quite panned out in quite as exciting a manner as I had hoped. It did, however, present some very cool Stand and core character designs, Whitesnake being chief among them. Enrico Pucci, Stone Ocean’s main antagonist, relies on Whitesnake’s ability to seal the memories and Stand powers of his foes on CDs in order to gain the upper hand on them. Whitesnake is present from a very early point in Stone Ocean, keeping tabs on Jolyne Kujoh, but often remaining in the shadows, carrying out tasks on Pucci’s behalf. It is one of the few Stands to display an ability to speak, and has a sinister, scornful personality that wonderfully matches its creepy subhuman face, its starkly-contrasting striped body, and the crown-like piece atop its head, denoting it as master of the Green Dolphin Street Prison

#3 - D4C: Considered one of the most powerful Stands in the entire series, D4C (shorthand for ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’) allows its user and President of the United States, Funny Valentine, to slip between objects in order to travel to parallel universes. D4C’s powers are barely even hinted at until it makes its grand debut late in the Steel Ball Run storyline, but when it does enter the scene, it commands center stage, constantly thwarting Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli’s attempts to halt President Valentine’s visions of grandeur. D4C also grants Funny Valentine an immunity to the dangers of traversing the multiverse, as he is able to move back and forth freely in order to heal himself via swapping bodies with alternate versions of himself, which D4C will subsequently follow. Any other individuals who might attempt to follow President Valentine to another reality, however, will ultimately meet their destruction upon being forcibly pulled towards the other version of themselves native to that universe.

#2 - Silver Chariot: The Stands in parts three and four of Jojo’s generally have simpler designs and powers, which is by no means a bad thing. The goofball would-be-heroes of Stardust Crusaders all boast powerful Stands with specialized abilities that complement one another well, though my personal favorite – both in terms of its aesthestic appeal and mystical powers – would have to be Jean Pierre Polnareff’s Silver Chariot. Single rapier in hand, Silver Chariot is a simple enough knight in armor design, but its lithe build and lightning-fast jabs make for a fresh approach compared to the heavy-hitting, armor-burdened design that would have proved the easier route to take in designing a medieval warrior-style Stand.

#1 - Killer Queen: Another one bites the dust with each detonation of Killer Queen’s explosive powers. Killer Queen is the antithesis to the Stand of Morioh’s local hero, Josuke Higashikata’s Crazy Diamond. Whereas Crazy Diamond can repair any broken object, Killer Queen is gracefully destructive, leaving not a trace of any of serial killer and user Yoshikage Kira’s victims (save for their hands, which Kira keeps as companions due to his fetishistic m.o.). While most Stands have a set power level they will never surpass, Killer Queen continues to grow more powerful over the course of Diamond is Unbreakable, making use of fellow Stand Stray Cat to launch projectiles and Kira's eventual 'awakening' as a gateway to forming temporal loops to overwrite any mistakes in Kira's plotting. Killer Queen’s appearance is largely humanoid, completely white, with a feline face and decorated with small portions of purple leather and gold studs. On its shoulders, its belt, and in a few other places, Killer Queen bears a terrifying skeletal face that appears to be something of a fiendish mockery of its own face – an appropriate parallel to the smooth and beautiful exterior housing such a violently destructive routine.