September 4, 2023

Shine on You Crazy Diamond

Assuming that you already know that this isn't the beginning of JoJo, but instead Part 4 of 9, I'll be reviewing with that in mind.

As far as language goes, I'd say that 4 is harder than 2 and that in ease of reading, I'd currently rank the Parts as (easiest) 1 3 5 2 4 (hardest). 4 probably features the most teenagers and the main characters speak pretty weirdly. Whereas there's writing out spoken out speech patterns in a lot of manga, there's Josuke in JoJo. Not only does he speak like a teen, he has a weird accent that's just for him. It can be troublesome to read if you're not used to how speech is written out in general. If you've already read Part 2, then you've probably got enough practice. Also, the familiarity of the cast mostly living in the same place and being around the same age can make them a little harder to understand, especially in comparison to Part 3, where there's a mix of characters from different backgrounds and in almost all of the Part, they're working to figure out some problem/enemy at hand.

On the bright side, this Part has more onomatopoeia words in comparison to other Parts. For more advanced readers there's some fun quirks that say a lot about the characters using them.

As far as entertainment goes, I'd say this is the best written JoJo Part I've read (so not comparing with 6/7/8 and excluding 9). It's a love story to horror in the best way and I hope you enjoy that for yourself. The main issues I would say are with the overarching plot. During its publication Araki was working on a weekly schedule and only had so much time to plan in advance. I think it's pretty obvious around where in the story he figures out what he wants to do for the main conflict. Before that, the story feels comparatively disjointed.

Gradings:20
1
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DIO-Berry graded
on June 23, 2024
DIO-Berry graded
on April 8, 2024
DIO-Berry graded
on March 1, 2024
DIO-Berry graded
on September 14, 2023
similar in difficulty toThe JOJOLands 1L27
DIO-Berry graded
on July 30, 2023
DIO-Berry graded
on July 11, 2023
harder thanZUCCA×ZUCA 1L23
DIO-Berry graded
on June 12, 2023
similar in difficulty toジョジョの奇妙な冒険 1L28
DIO-Berry graded
on June 12, 2023
DIO-Berry graded
on June 12, 2023
easier than極主夫道 1L23
DIO-Berry graded
on June 12, 2023
easier thanララの結婚 1L30
DIO-Berry graded
on June 12, 2023
DIO-Berry graded
on June 12, 2023
DIO-Berry graded
on June 10, 2023
DIO-Berry graded
on May 30, 2023
DIO-Berry graded
on May 30, 2023
harder than海月姫 1L25
DIO-Berry graded
on May 7, 2023
similar in difficulty to岸辺露伴は動かないL27
DIO-Berry graded
on May 7, 2023