Alas, Poor Scrappy: Even many of his biggest detractors felt bad when Shigechi got brutally blown up by Kira. It helps that his last moments had him wanting to protect his parents and that he gave the clue that starts the hunt for Kira. This is even lampshaded in-universe by Josuke, who notes that even though Shigechi was annoying and greedy, his death is no less of a tearjerker.
Keicho's final moments, where he says Okuyasu was always holding him back. Was he just being a bastard, or was he trying to save Okuyasu from Chili Pepper? Okuyasu seems to believe the former, but Keicho's general view on his relatives is... complicated.
Jotaro's kneejerk reactions towards Kira in the Sheer Heart Attack arc have lead some to believe that his confrontation with DIO in Stardust Crusaders caused him to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The situation is oddly similar: a blonde haired man has just punched a hole through his green-uniform wearing high school student friend before going on about how much time he has left (specifically mentioning seconds) and calling Jotaro's efforts "useless."
Yuya's relationship with Reiko, Yoshi and Akemi is often seen as a polyamorous one rather than just a bunch of fangirls clinging to him; especially as he doesn't favor one over the others and they don't fight each other for his affections.
Was Shigekiyo always greedy or did he let his Stand's potential to make him rich go to his head?
Is old Joseph really senile, or is he actually Obfuscating Disability? Considering the situation he's currently in, which is Suzi Q being mad at finding out he had an affair and an illegitimate son during their years of marriage, and Joseph's own trickster nature, it really wouldn't be put past him to just pretending he's a frail, weak and senile old man so that he can avoid more major blows. What seems to prove this being true is when he seemingly drops the act as he notices and tries to find the Invisible Baby, but Josuke doesn't believe him (at first) specificallybecause of how he tends to present himself. The final episode where Josuke steals his wallet definitely gives some evidence to this since Joseph is ranting and raving angrily like how he would've done in Part 3, prior to that, the way Joseph talks to Jotaro as he's leaving drops the strained feeling in his voice in the anime, and is a lot more coherent when it's just the two of them.
Some think Jotaro's fondness for Koichi stems from how similar he is to Kakyoin. They're both very polite, Echoes looks like a pint-sized version of Hierophant Green, he wears a green school uniform in the anime, and his injury at the hands of Sheer Heart Attack is very similar to how Kakyoin died. There's a common interpretation among fans that Jotaro's words to an unconscious Koichi in that scene were in fact what he had always wanted to say to Kakyoin but never got the chance after the latter's death at the hands of DIO.
Alternatively, some fans have compared Koichi to Polnareff after Koichi gets a haircut, although Koichi is meek and timid compared to the loud and boisterous Polnareff.
According to Word of God, Kira's childhood was intended to be abusive. In the story proper, however, Yoshihiro is extremely devoted to his son. It's entirely possible that Yoshihiro has become somewhat of The Atoner as a ghost, working to make up for his son's poor treatment as a child by protecting him as an adult.
Koichi and Yukako's relationship. Is he a Love Martyr, or is Aya's Cinderella actually doing its job?
If Mikitaka isn't actually an alien, it could be possible that he may be autistic. He's not a very socially adept person, his insistence on being an alien borders on fixation, and he's extremely sensitive to loud noises, all of which are considered common traits among people with Autism.
Americans Hate Tingle: Josuke/Rohan is widely shipped in Asian countries, but very divisive in the United States. This is because a lot of American fans note that Rohan hates Josuke—and even those who are able to look past Rohan's hatred can't look past how the ship is technically ephebophilia (with Rohan being 20 and Josuke being 16). It should be noted that both Rohan and Josuke are loved in the U.S., just not the pairing of the two—in the West, pairing Josuke with Okuyasu is the more popular option.
Arc Fatigue: A common complaint is that some of the story arcs prior to Rohan's appearance go on for far too long and that even then, it doesn't start Growing the Beard until the reveal of Kira's presence halfway through the Part. To top it off, DiU is the longest JoJo part that was published weekly.
Ass Pull: It's never explained why Akira knows about Jotaro's time-stopping powers, considering how Jotaro mentions he hasn't used them again since the end of Stardust Crusaders. While it is established that Akira can have Red Hot Chili Pepper listen in through electronic devices if it gets sent through it, the fact he knows and it is never commented on leaves it coming across as though a scene is missing to explain it.
Award Snub: One of the biggest ones in Crunchyroll's user-voted 2016 Anime Awards. Despite the anime adaptation being one of the best received anime of the year and being based on one of the most well-liked parts in the franchise, the only nomination it received was for "Best Villain"... which it lost to Gaku Yashiro from ERASED. Needless to say, there are a lot of fans who felt that it deserved more nominations ("Anime of the Year", "Best Fight", and "Best ED" in particular), as well as those who firmly believed that Kira should have won, claiming that Yashiro was too generic and predictable compared to Kira. Crunchyroll's official Twitter even shared the "Kira should have won" sentiment, to the point where they created a hashtag for it.
Awesome Art: Par for the course with this series, but the finale for the anime adaptation gets special recognition for Kira's final activation of Bites the Dust and the entire confrontation with Reimi as a ghost before getting Dragged Off to Hell by the ghost hands. The artistry, animation, and color palette were top-notch, especially given the problems this part has had with Off-Model and poor animation quality for long shots (compare Killer Queen's first appearance with its last for a good comparison).
Rohan has a colossal ego in being a famous mangaka, and few fans will say this is unwarranted in the slightest.
The same can be said for the smarmy, condescending Akira Otoishi, who is genuinely amusing despite his villainy.
Awesome Music: While not praised as much as the soundtrack for the next part, the Diamond is Unbreakable anime features many memorable and awesome tracks. Standouts include "Diamond is Unbreakable," another kickass protagonist theme, the laid-back "The Stardust Man Appears", and especially"Killer," an unsettling and dramatic piece that perfectly captures Yoshikage Kira's villainous personality.
Badass Decay: Providing the trope image, Joseph Joestar gets hit with this even harder than in the previous part. He's unable to walk without a cane, devoid of Hamon energy, and seemingly going senile. Which is justified given how much he's aged since then. And even if it is a ruse as mentioned under Alternative Character Interpretation, he still doesn't compare to his younger self.
Hayato Kawajiri has somewhat of a mixed reputation among fans. Many tout him as a badass Child Prodigy who is a master of Awesomeness by Analysis, as well as being pivotal to taking down Kira, while others see him as a shoehorned Designated Hero who's too much of a creeper and hater of his family life to be seen as sympathetic, as well as teetering on being a Plot Device in regards to helping take down Kira. Some also accuse his Combat Commentator role as being a poor man's Speedwagon, whereas others think he fits the role well.
Better on DVD: The general consensus about the Blu-ray edits. Since the animation production had to be outsourced to other studios, one criticism with the anime was that the animation and art were inconsistent. The Blu-rays, however, fix many of the animation and art problems (such as the infamous "Quality/Deadly Queen" scene) and many fans have found themselves going back and rewatching the anime to see the edited version.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: During the final battle. Josuke and Hayato take refuge in an empty house while Kira waits outside planning his next attack. Suddenly, a gonky neighbor shows up and accuses Kira of trying to steal panties from a woman living next door. Kira, annoyed, takes off, only for the man to spot a pair of panties hanging from a tree branch. Being quite perverted himself, the man assumes that the panties belong to the aforementioned woman and grabs them, only to be blown up by a bomb Killer Queen left there. It's a rather irrelevant moment of Black Comedy that pops up in the otherwise serious climax of Part 4.
Bile Fascination: The Duwang scans have garnered this status due to its infamously awful translations, with many fans looking it up simply to see how bad they were.
Bishōnen Jump Syndrome: This Part marked the transition from rather muscular character designs to slimmer proportions, which carried over into all the later parts.
Bizarro Episode: The "I'm An Alien" arc where we are introduced to Mikitaka Hazekura. Another victim of Yoshihiro Kira's Stand Arrow (or at least, he should have been, the Arrow bounces off of him(albeit causing a scratch on his neck), which shouldn't happen and never happens again), is initially thought to have awoken to his shapeshifting ability "Earth Wind and Fire" because of the Arrow. Yet he keeps claiming that he has always been in possession of this ability and as an alien is unable to awaken to Stand powers. We're never given a clear answer as to whether or not Mikitaka is an alien, his ability is that of a Stand, or pretends to be one as hinted by his mother.
The second opening song, "Chase", is probably the most divisive JoJo opening in the franchise so far. Detractors criticize its generic J-rock sound that sounds just like your average Shonen opening, which falls flat when compared to the much more memorable openings from other parts. Others enjoy its intense, darker sound that fits well with the Cerebus Syndrome that kicks in around the time it starts playing. And others yet think that its genericness makes sense when you consider the Fridge Brilliance of its lyrics, which are about Kira, a villain who wants to pass himself off as a generic person to avoid suspicion and live without conflict.
The Art Evolution. Some don't like it because it strays too far away from the "manliness" the series built itself off of in the first three parts while some love it because it showed how the series was evolving and moving past "manly men doing manly things." Some feel that characters like Josuke, Okuyasu, and Jotaro took a hit because of the art style change, while others feel that characters like Koichi, Rohan, and Kira would have not translated well in the original style. Whether or not the anime, which consistently went for a middle ground between all three of the part's art styles, should have adapted the Art Evolution à la Iggy in Part 3 is another debate entirely. (Although considering the overly huge workload that redoing the model sheet for the grand majority of characters thrice implies, this is rarely a complaint now, thanks to Part 5's release).
The identity of Josuke's supposed savior is a surprisingly contentious issue, due to rumors that have surfaced about Araki's original vision for the Josuke vs. Kira battle at the end. It is believed by a very significant portion of the fanbase that the stranger who saved Josuke when he was a kid was meant to be Josuke himself, having been sent back to the past by Bites the Dust. Meanwhile, others claim that it was deliberately meant to be a complete stranger and that his appearance. Fans who believe this will often point to the fact that it was Koichi telling the story and the only person he knows with Josuke's hairstyle is Josuke himself, which is why Josuke's savior resembles him in the flashback—Koichi just couldn't imagine anyone different in the stranger's place. Ultimately, the former was Jossed and the latter was proven correct when an interview with Araki that took place during Diamond is Unbreakable's serialization was still ongoing surfaced where he confirmed that time travel was never his intention, and that it was purely Josuke's own memory, making the former a Pop-Culture Urban Legends, but the Broken Base persists because fans in the former camp believe it would've been a clever twist and made for a better story if it were canon, while the latter believe it's more meaningful if Josuke's savior was a complete stranger whose act of kindness influenced Josuke's own kinder and more compassionate nature, possibly even influencing Crazy Diamond to have the power of healing as a result.
Angelo's And I Must ScreamFate Worse than Death is wholly deserved after murdering Josuke's grandfather and being a serial murderer, rapist and pedophile.
While Shigechi is nowhere near as vile as the above two, it can be very satisfying to see Josuke and Okuyasu outwit him, force him to share the 5 million yen equally (as opposed to their original agreement, which was giving half to Shigechi, and splitting the other half between Josuke and Okuyasu, much less letting Shigechi keep it all for himself), and demand that Shigechi use "-san" on their names.
After Part 5 introduced the concept of Automatic Stands (Stands which act on their own without a range restriction, and don't return damage to their user), some mistakenly consider Sheer Heart Attack to be an Automatic Stand, and express confusion at how it does return the effect of Echoes Act 3's Freeze onto Kira. In fact, Sheer Heart Attack isn't a Stand: the Stand is simply Killer Queen, and Sheer Heart Attack is a secondary ability which consists of Killer Queen detaching part of its left hand. Since Killer Queen isn't an Automatic Stand, Sheer Heart Attack sharing damage with Kira isn't a plot hole. In addition to its long range, part of the confusion may come from Kira not getting damaged when Sheer Heart Attack is attacked by Star Platinum, which is because of its armor, not the stand's type.
Which fight had the famous "Daga Kotuwaru/But I refuse" line? The correct answer is the fight with Highway Star, but many will claim it's the battle with Cheap Trick. There are reasons for the confusion. The main reason is that the fight with Cheap Trick is focused entirely on Rohan while Highway Star was just holding Rohan hostage in order to get to Josuke, so you would think the famous line would be in a battle focusing on Rohan. Both fights feature a humanoid Stand, both are attached to Rohan's back, Rohan is in a house/room, both feature a talking Stand (which is rare in Part 4), and both Stands encourage Rohan to betray his comrades.
It is incredibly common for people to believe that Jotaro's time stopping abilities put a taxing strain on Jotaro's heart, which is why it sees significantly less use and why its duration has been shortened. This is not stated or indicated anywhere in the manga or anime, but instead seems to have been conflated with Code Geass's Rolo, who did have a massive strain on his body for every time he used it and fans had justified the apparent weakening of the power with Jotaro not regenerating his heart, while ignoring that Jotaro's use of the power goes from half a second to two seconds over the course of the Part.
Complete Monster: Anjuro "Angelo" Katagiri is a Serial Killer and Japan's most notorious criminal. A robber and rapist since the age of 12, his infamy reached its peak after an incident in which he raped and killed two teenage boys before taking a third one hostage. He arranged a ransom with the boy's rich parents, but revealed at the exchange that he had cut off the boy's penis and killed him, and then killed one of the policemen who came for him. After escaping prison, Angelo body-jacked a man, took a woman hostage at knifepoint and tried to stab her to death in a fit of pique. After Josuke thwarts him, he goes on a killing spree with 7 civilian deaths. He attempts to kill Josuke and his mother out of spite, and then kills Josuke's grandfather. He returns for another attempt on their lives, and when defeated, he taunts Josuke with his grandfather's death and the fact that he can't kill Angelo without becoming like him, before threatening to throttle a young boy to death.
Contested Sequel: Initially a pretty big one among Japanese fans, and for many Western fans as well, though for the latter this was largely due in part to the comically atrocious "Duwang" translations. Common complaints include the artstyle shift that occurs midway through the part, some Ass Pull moments to set up the plot (Joseph's infidelity in particular being viewed as extremely out of character even for a trickster like him), and the fact that the manga is obviously in a Post-Script Season that goes nowhere fast for the first half. A modern high quality translation and a superb anime has done enough to change the opinion of both Japanese and Western fans by highlighting the parts strengths, such as its high-energy and enthralling fights, the evolution of Stand abilities from fairly standard Shonen powers into unconventional and unique abilities, and the strong characterization of the main cast. Couple this with the introduction of Kira, the rotating cast members for each fight, and the incredible artwork, and this sentiment has died down somewhat in recent years.
Crack Pairing: Okuyasu/Tomoko became this due to an off-handed comment Okuyasu made about Tomoko being hot, similar to Kakyoin/Holly from Part 3.
Akira Otoishi, who has an outrageous character design and personality, to the point of shredding on his guitar in the middle of combat.
There's no denying that Rohan is absolutely insane, what with him licking a spider's innards, prioritizing finding out how Josuke cheats over his burning house, or jumping in front of a truck to prove his luck and save a kid. This is also what makes him a really compelling character, and this craziness also leads to quite a few awesome moments, like his Laughing Mad moment before defeating Cheap Trick.
Creepy Awesome: Yoshikage Kira is one of the most popular villains in the series, despite (or rather because of) the fact that he's a mentally unstable Mad Bomber and Serial Killer with a hand fetish. His time-travel shenanigans and complete nonchalance towards murder probably help matters.
Draco in Leather Pants: You would be surprised at how many people attempt to rationalize and justify Kira's actions around the fanbase. Many attempt to say that he only killed "bad" girls (his two on-screen girl victims being a gold-digger and a rebellious girl)... conveniently ignoring his many off-screen victims and Reimi Sugimoto/her dog Arnold. There are also people that blame Shigeki and the Morioh Gang for ruining his "quiet life", when that "quiet life" involved going unpunished for his many crimes and continued killing of young girls, or those that say that all his bad habits come from a fucked up childhood when the story even tells us that he had a healthy childhood — aside from having an overly doting father. And lastly, there are those that ship him with Shinobu... even though he killed her husband. While nobody can deny he's crazy awesome and a cool villain with some redeeming qualities, the story goes out of its way to show us how much of a bastard the guy is, and that being nothing but his own choice.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Diamond is Unbreakable, due to its heavy focus on its supporting characters. has generated a lot of these.
Yukako Yamagishi only gets two arcs where she is the focus yet is as synonymous with this part as the main characters are. She is often featured in many fan works related to this part and has gained recognition over the years for being the character that truly kickstarted the Yandere trope. She even got to be a playable character in Eyes of Heaven, and managed to be added as a new character in All-Star Battle R.
Following in the footsteps of fellow secondary antagonists Wamuu and Hol Horse, Akira Otoishi is reasonably popular among the fandom. His popularity mostly comes from his outlandish character design, being a legitimate threat to the heroes despite being a villain for one arc, and his memorable fight. Like Wamuu and Hol Horse, he was playable in both All-Star Battle and Eyes of Heaven.
Shinobu Kawajiri started to gain more attention with the anime adaptation for her amusing interactions with Yoshikage Kira as Kosaku Kawajiri.
Mikitaka Hazekura is one of the most memorable arc characters in the franchise for the sheer hilarity of his story arc and the ambiguity surrounding his character.
Yuya Fungami, like Mikitaka, is one of the most well-liked minor characters in the franchise. His debut arc is often considered one of the best in this part; his Stand Highway Star is cool, Josuke gets lots of creative uses out of Crazy Diamond's repairing ability, and three of the most famous scenes are in it. note Rohan's "Daga kotowaru"/"I refuse", Echoes ACT3's "Okay mastah, let's kill da ho! BEEEETCH", and Josuke's "If I healed you, that means I'm not beating a wounded person, right?" Not only that, but his love for his girlfriends is all but stated to be genuine, definitely making him more sympathetic in the long run. His spotlight in the Enigma Boy arc where he not only helps but saves Josuke also gained him a lot of fans.
Shizuka Joestar is only important in one fairly short arc and essentially a Living Prop for the rest of the series, and she's a completely normal baby (aside from her Stand). However, the idea of another Joestar Stand user raised by Joseph and running around happens to be high-grade Fanfic Fuel, which has made "Shizuka grows up" one of the most popular types of Fandom-Specific Plots.
Tonio Trussardi is one of the most beloved characters of this arc due to his highly memorable Breather Episode that serves as a refreshing subversion for the Monster of the Week format and being one of the few genuinely kind and altruistic Stand users who just wants to help heal his customers with his food. The fact that his episode has a heavy focus on Food Porn certainly doesn't hurt either. He gets even more sympathetic in one of the spin-offs, where it's revealed that he came to Morioh so that he could use a Morioh-exclusive ingredient to cure his girlfriend's cancer, and this isn't even mentioning Purple Haze Feedback, where he's revealed to be the sympathetic older brother to the novel's main antagonist, Massimo Volpe.
While Shigechi is a Base-Breaking Character, his Stand Harvest is popular for its design, surprising effectiveness in combat and ability to make easy money.
Mikitaka's entire character still puzzles fans to this day. Is he what he states to be an alien that just happens to have superpowers? Is he an alien that has awoken to a Stand? Is he just faking this all and just another ordinary Stand User? None of this is ever answered and all we're left to assume is either he really is what he states to be or is just delusional.
A lot of fans still wonder who the stranger that saved Josuke's life when he was a child was and what happened to him. The stranger has been a topic of discussion where fans either believe that the stranger is another person who simply got into a fight or a grown-up Josuke who had encountered a time-powered Stand. While an interview with Araki in 1994 confirms that whoever it was, it isn't Josuke or time travel-related, guesses still continue as to the stranger's true identity, ranging from either reasonable note like being the original concept from which Josefumi Kujo was inspired as an alternate continuity version to flat-out fun, hilarious or just plain crackish note Dandy and Robbie Rotten.
Even Better Sequel: For the West, at least. While Stardust Crusaders remains by far the most popular Part in the East, many Western fans believe Diamond is Unbreakable to be better, believing the Stand of the Week format to have improved, loving the focus on characterization and setting, and feeling that Part 4 has a more interesting tone.
Evil Is Cool: Kira is so threatening and sharp dressed that he has many fans of his evil action. He has the Fan Nickname "Japanese David Bowie", and Killer Queen is considered one of the coolest Stands thanks to its great design and power.
Fandom-Specific Plot: It is surprisingly popular to write fanfics where Josuke and Yukako are siblings.
If only for the notoriously memetic translation, the main and supporting characters of Part 4 * Josuke, Koichi, and Okuyasu, with Rohan, Jotaro, Yukako, and/or Mikitaka usually mixed in are sometimes referred to as the "Duwang Gang."
Yoshikage Kira (at least in his original look) is usually just referred to as "David Bowie" due to his uncanny resemblance to him.
Mikitaka is sometimes referred to as "Space Legolas" due to his long hair and pointed ears.
Koichi is sometimes jokingly called "Coochie" or "Coochie Horse".
"Eggoes" and "Echoes ACT 0" for the initial egg-shaped form of Koichi's Stand, Echoes.
Among Western fans, one emerged with Re:Zero, the sleeper hit of the Spring 2016 season. This rivalry stemmed from the fact that many JJBA fans were heavily looking forward to the anime adaptation of Diamond is Unbreakable (especially since it's one of the most well-liked parts among Western fans) but were disappointed that another anime was overshadowing it. It didn't help that there were many JJBA fans who gave labels to Re:Zero such as "edgy" or calling it a "generic light novel adaptation." Meanwhile, the Re:Zero fandom sometimes lashes out at the JoJo one, accusing them of over-hyping the franchise and trying too hard to paint everything as a reference to it. Among the Japanese fandom, however, the opposite is true.
An ugly one started with the Yuri!!! on Ice fandom due to the Award Snub incident above. Not helping matters was how whereas Diamond is Unbreakable only had one nominee, Yuri!!! on Ice was nominated for half the categories and won them: including Anime of the Year... which many felt that DiU should've won or at least been nominated for. Naturally, this resulted in heated arguments between the two fandoms where the DiU fandom dismisses Yuri!!! on Ice as being "blatant pandering and fanservice" while the Yuri!!! on Ice fandom claims the DiU fandom is "just jealous" and that JoJo was "nonsensical". It reached a bigger explosion when the more rabid members of the Yuri!!! on Ice fandom accused anyone who didn't like Yuri!!! on Ice as being "homophobic"... which did not sit well at all with the Jojo fandom in general. note JoJo has a sizable LGBT Fanbase, so you get the idea.
It would be easier to say that with some exceptions (Mob Psycho 100, My Hero Academia, and KonoSuba), any anime that became widely popular in 2016 started this with Diamond is Unbreakable. This is the result of the fact that many people who watched it already read the manga and proclaimed it as one of the best if not the best part of the manga and felt that any other show that got popular in the same year it aired would steal its thunder. It all boils down to the fact that while JJBA is certainly popular, most of its popularity on the internet is among anime bloggers, critics, and their fans or people who don't spend time on online anime communities while its rivals all saw widespread popularity across all fans.
A common theory circulating among fans is that Shizuka's mother was one of Kira's victims, and that she awakened her Stand out of instinct to protect herself.
Due to the nature of Bites the Dust, and the next part of the series introducing Requiem Stands as a concept, it's common to see people claim it's a Requiem Stand. Word of God has never supported this idea despite this.
A common fan idea is that Josuke grew up to become a police officer, just like his late grandfather. This usually boils down to how much Josuke is devoted to protecting Morioh and looking up to his grandfather's dedication and loyalty to the people. Common fan art of this fanon typically has Josuke's police hat not able to fit his head because his pompadour gets in the way.
Many fans who have this as their favorite parts are also fans of YuYu Hakusho and Persona 4 due to those works having similar characters and themes.
Crossover art with Ed, Edd n Eddy is fairly popular given that the protagonists of both shows involve a Power Trio consisting of Dumb Muscle, a Shrinking Violet and an outgoing leader in a suburban setting. Not to mention Part 4 takes place in the summer of 1999, while Ed, Edd n' Eddy aired in 1999 and revolved around the trio's summer vacation. Oh, and Josuke's, Okuyasu's and Shigechi's schemes involving money mirrors how the Ed boys love scamming people out of their change.
With Re:Zero... in Japan only. In fact it's an exact inverse of the situation in the West. While JJBA fans weren't fond of Re:Zero overshadowing the Diamond is Unbreakable anime during the Spring 2016, fans in Japan were happy that another successful anime could air alongside it. Even more so among the younger fans whose first exposure to DiU was watching the anime and also happened to be watching Re:Zero as well.
With Keijo!!!!!!!! once its anime adaptation began running during the fall season alongside the second half of the Diamond is Unbreakable anime, due to both series being rife with Crazy Is Cool, over-the-top action, lengthy ability explanations, and Refuge in Audacity.
As of 2017 it has become noticeable that many fans of this part are also fans of KonoSuba. Like Diamond is Unbreakable it was one of the most popular and well-liked anime to air in 2016 and the second season which began airing in the January 2017 season has begun to fill the void that the Diamond is Unbreakable anime left behind once it concluded.
Franchise Original Sin: The Big Bad being the only one able to defeat/kill the heroes, reducing the competency of their minions' abilities to do the same task, really began to take roots in this part, becoming a bigger deal in later parts. In previous parts, other villains that weren't the Big Bad such as Vanilla Ice, Wamuu, Esidisi, and Tarkus had been capable of killing the major heroes, with Dio himself being the most consistent Hero Killer- killing a majority of characters including two for a short while main Joestars. While Akira killed Keicho- it was more of karmic result from randomly targeting anyone with the Arrow for his plans- leading to one taking it from him, Yoshikage Kira killed Reimi in the past, Shigeichi and Aya permanently as well as Okuyasu, Rohan, Josuke, Jotaro and Koichi through a technicality via the Ground Hog Day Loop and the former being a Disney Death- while none of the other villains came close to that level of competency. It wasn't as big of a deal back then because his first two kills of major named characters were tertiary at best and his killing of the major heroes was excused through technically not happening and one coming back to life. It only really got to be an issue when Diavolo, Pucci, Funny Valentine, and Tooru- the Big Bad of each part killing the major heroes permanently being killed that it became an issue.
Genius Bonus: "Father-Son", Yoshihiro Kira's Leitmotif, has tribal music and chanting reminiscent of native American rituals. Native Americans superstitiously believed that cameras had the ability to steal souls, which befits Yoshihiro's stand Atom Heart Father.
In Japan, Part 3 is still the most popular, but in the West Part 4 seems to be more popular. Josuke is also a lot more popular in the West than he is Japan, with many fans there saying he's a better protagonist than Jotaro (the inverse being the case in Japan).
After a Slow-Paced Beginning, Rohan's introduction greatly picked things up, especially after Reimi's debut comes with the reveal that a serial killer is lurking around Morioh. Other moments generally cited as this are Nijimura Bros., for the introduction of Okuyasu and with him a lot of the emotional weight of the part, Tonio's arc and Red Hot Chili Pepper for pretty firmly cementing Part 4's more humorous tone, or, of course, the proper introduction of Yoshikage Kira. Basically, there's a lot of points throughout the first half of the part where things take a noticeable ramp up in quality.
For the franchise itself, Western fans tend to believe Diamond is Unbreakable further improved on the Stands after they were introduced in Stardust Crusaders (itself an example of Growing the Beard in many locations, such as its native Japan). This originality results in the birth of the complicated and cunning-focused fights that JoJo would later become known for, with the subsequent parts going all out with weird Stand abilities. Some fans even say that this part is where Araki truly found his calling with the franchise.
Rohan's debut arc is laden with Does This Remind You of Anything? moments, especially concerning the underage and very youthful-looking Koichi being "invited" to the personal home of a famous media content creator that he's a fan of. In early 2019, Rohan's English voice actor received multiple allegations of sexual harassment, including towards minors.
In the Niijimura Brothers arc, Koichi suspects that a ghost is haunting the abandoned house that serves as the brothers' hideout, a theory that creeps Josuke out. Later on, Koichi ends up being one of the first main characters to meet the ghost of Reimi Sugimoto, while the ghost of Yoshihiro Kira ends up becoming an enemy to Josuke and the others.
Rohan's derisive remark about America "having no taste" due to troubles publishing his work there becomes this due to the franchise's explosive burst in popularity in the West come The New '10s. More specifically, Rohan At The Louvrewas translated into English in America (which have also received Part 3, the Anniversary editions of Parts 1 and 2, the anime thus far, and several of the video games). Americans actually seem to love JoJo!
There's some deaths on telephone wires, there's a murderer hiding in plain sight in a Japanese town, and some high school kids (among others, albeit) are trying to track down the murderer while also fighting with supernatural powers that are basically the manifestation of psychological power. Are we talking about Diamond is Unbreakable or Persona 4?
Yoshikage Kira wouldn't be the last Kira who is a Serial Killer obsessed with staying hidden and who kills people with a nearly untraceable method of being caught.
Nor would he be the last misogynistic serial killer who lives a day life as a yuppie, and is introduced with a monologue of his name, age, address, and daily routine. note While American Psycho was originally a book released a year before the part even started, the famous monologue was actually made up for the movie.
A work whose main villain is an implacable, untraceable serial killer who is ultimately done in by a mundane vehicle-related accident in a suburban neighborhood?Sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it?
The "Koichi really steals? No dignity" line in the Duwang scans (Josuke tries to start a rumor about Koichi being a shoplifter in order to get Yukako to lose interest in Koichi) becomes this after this incident.
Speaking of the Duwang scans, given their legendarily poor quality, more than a few fans had a good chuckle when the first opening of the anime adaptation, "Crazy Noisy Bizarre Town," was performed by a band calling themselves The DU.
A dub example—this isn't the first time Mikitaka's voice actor voiced an alien. His performance also predates his performance as another blue-clad character with green hairwho also has pointy ears, except they're hidden. He also belongs to a species that also may or may not be an alien.
Terunosuke's Stand, Enigma, was given the Dub Name Change "Mysterioso." That was jarring enough since "Enigma" isn't even a trademarked term, but it gets even more hilarious come the anime for Part 5 when Enigma's namesake did the second closing theme, "Modern Crusaders."
This isn't the first timeD.C. Douglas voiced a villainous character with perverse erotic desires who was taken down by a group of teenagers.
Remember how Jotaro tells Josuke that there's no Stand that can revive the dead? Well, Stone Ocean introduces Sports Maxx, who possesses the Stand Limp Bizkit, which can raise the dead in the form of invisible zombies, including Sports Maxx himself. Also, Giorno's Gold Experience manages to resurrect Bucciaratti temporarily in Golden Wind.
For a third Persona-related example, Persona 5Royal sees one character (Takuto Maruki) evolve their Persona into an armored humanoid whose skillset can be boiled down to "punching things really hard" and "healing"—not unlike Crazy Diamond. This would be eyebrow-raising enough if not for the fact that Marukishares their voice with Josuke himself and is every bit a Nice Guy (albeit an Anti-VillainWell-Intentioned Extremist). To take a step further, Kametz's character is introduced as a student counsellor who was specifically hired to help counsel victims of Suguru Kamoshida, who is voiced by Yoshikage Kira's voice actor D.C. Douglas. In a way, Josuke is still 'healing' Kira's victims.
Yoshihiro's Stand being named after the album whose Title Track was originally going to be used as the theme song to A Clockwork Orange becomes this when in Purple Haze Feedback, Cannolo Murolo is designed after Alex DeLarge, the main character of A Clockwork Orange.
Avengers: Infinity War sees Thanos fusing Bruce Banner and the Hulkbuster armor he's in to a large boulder, much like what Josuke did to Angelo. Hopefully, none of the Wakandan wildlife used that boulder as a pit stop, too.
Iron Woobie: Okuyasu is very popular among the American fandom for this. His mother died when he was young and he was frequently abused by his father, and it only got worse when after DIO's death, his father turned into an immortal blob monster incapable of speech. Following that, his brother took charge of his entire life only for his brother to be killed when the two decided they'd help their father. Okuyasu has clearly been through a lot, but he confronts it by befriending Josuke and Koichi and trying to move past his abusive relationship with his father.
It Was His Sled: A lot of fans go into this part knowing that Akira is the Disc-One Final Boss and that Yoshikage Kira is the serial killer's identity. Of course a major aspect of the second half is less that the readers already know his identity and more that the main characters don't.
Keicho Nijimura debuts as a cold bastard who attacks people with the Bow and Arrow to draw Stands out of them; uncaring if people die or if the new users hurt others. He's abusive to his brother and even tries to dispose of him when Okuyasu gets in his way. Then we learn his backstory where in his childhood he was kinder and more protective of his younger brother especially after they lost their mother and their father turns abusive. Upon seeing his father devolve into a pitiful and barely human monster, Keicho would rather Shoot the Dog and put him out of his misery than let him continue as a pitiful shell of a man. In the end his past comes back to bite him when one of the people he gave powers to return to kill him, but Keicho's last action is to save his younger brother. Upon seeing his remains Okuyasu breaks down.
Okuyasu:My Big Bro... deserved to end up like that. There's no way he could have lived a decent life. That was his fate. But you know... In the end, in the very end my big bro defended me, didn't he?
Father Nijimura used to abuse his sons when he was human out of regret for his wife's passing and had no qualms with allying himself with DIO. Then Jotaro killed DIO... and he suddenly transformed into a blob monster incapable of speech due to the flesh bud inside him going out of control. He has spent years in his home's attic crying for days on end, because he remembered the location of the family photo that was torn up, and when Josuke repairs the photo he starts crying even harder. Despite everything he did in the past he's regretful towards mistreating his sons, realized that becoming one of DIO's henchmen only made things worse for his family, and he wishes that his family could be happy again like when his wife was alive.
Shigechi is a Fat Bastard who tries to screw his friends out of money in their introductory arc, but he becomes their close friend regardless. Ultimately, he's a middle-schooler with no friends besides Okuyasu and Josuke, very protective of his family, and his death at the hands of Kira is absolutely heart-rending.
Three of the most hated characters in this Part are Tamami, Hazamada and Shigechi, people with rather unpleasant personalities who end up on the heroes' side after being defeated. Meanwhile, the main antagonist, Yoshikage Kira, is a Serial Killer who has killed many people, including the aforementioned Shigechi, and is one of the most popular JoJo characters.
This ironically also applies to the three girls at Josuke's school who promptly ignore a horribly wounded Shigechi just because he's "creepy". Even many viewers who hated Shigechi were absolutely appalled by what they did.
Magnificent Bastard: Yoshikage Kira is a suave, handsome Serial Killer who wants nothing more than to have an "average" existence and live without any distress or worry in his life. Having spent his life specifically seeking third place in any competition or test he took, even planting himself in inconspicuous positions in group photos, just to remain under the radar as neither particularly gifted or flawed, Kira then used his appearance as a normal person to mask his serial killings, murdering women to then take their hands and treat them as "dates" so as to satisfy his hand fetish. Using his Stand, Killer Queen, Kira easily eliminates all evidence of his victims, murders all those who could even possibly stand in his way, and sets numerous traps for Josuke and his friends as they close in on the killer. When seemingly beaten, Kira escapes, kills a man and steals his identity, and gains Bites the Dust, a time-rewinding ability that he uses to murder everyone who could possibly stop him. Even when killed and sent to the afterlife, Kira happily accepts his new "peaceful" existence, only truly losing when the souls of his victims lash out at him and curse him to an eternity of suffering. Though spending much of his time on the run from Josuke, Kira stays one step ahead the whole time, and has such sheer willpower to survive that he unlocks entirely new Stand abilities, a feat nearly unheard of throughout the world.
Memetic Badass: Josuke becomes this thanks to his popularity in various Fix Fic, with Josuke being depicted as a multiversal traveler who encounters dying sympathetic characters and healing/fixing them, thus avoiding their depressing endings. The trend starts with the edit of the infamous NSFW manga Metamorphosis in which Josuke gives the miserable main character a happy ending, and gained resurgence with Oshi no Ko for similar reasons. Since then, many fans use Josuke as a hero to fix or avoid bad endings in fanfictions. As a bonus point, since Crazy Diamond is also dangerous in combat, expect some fanfics to deliver cathartic beatdowns to characters that are responsible for the sufferings, such as Ryosuke from the aforementioned Oshi no Ko.
Memetic Loser: Okuyasu is remembered as the guy who never used his Stand to the best of its abilities. The fact that he's regularly outsmarted by others contributes to this perception (Josuke, Akira, Yoshihiro Kira, etc.)
Memetic Molester: Yoshikage Kira is quite infamous for this among fans. There's already his odd fetish with female hands but it only gets crazier when as he is dying he talks about getting a boner when he first saw the Mona Lisa. Also of note is the scene where he is in the bathtub with Hayato. Then again, this is a serial killer we are talking about.
Memetic Psychopath: Josuke, due to his fixing ability letting him get away with things like casually punching a hole through Angelo's hostage and his mother's torso, driving at 60 km/h towards a mother and her baby without slowing down, or hitting a man in a hospital bed. It Makes Sense in Context clip compilations may show these scenes, but remove the part where he heals his "victims". Add to that a few more out of context situations that seem really bad, like setting Hayato's jacket on fire to find Yoshihiro, or him being forced to try and kill Jotaro because of Hazamada's Surface, and he looks more like the serial killer than the one who's trying to stop him.
Koichi, especially at the start, due to his short height and really young looks. Especially when compared to other characters who are around the same age as him like Josuke, Okuyasu, Mikitaka and Yuya.
Many people find Heaven's Door cute because it looks like a young boy and is one of the most human-looking Stands in the series.
Killer Queen is considered by fans to be surprsiingly cute due to its catlike features and wide-eyed stare.
Mis-blamed: The "Duwang" translation often gets called out for lapsing into complete gibberish. While it is undeniably not a good translation, a lot of the more commonly quoted lines from it are... actually pretty accurate to what's going on. (For instance, "I am wood" is said by a character who actually is made of wood, and Kira's rant about getting an erection from a picture of the Mona Lisa is completely accurate to what he's supposed to be saying) The problem is more to do with the series being incredibly strange and silly to begin with.
Josuke meeting Terunosuke Miyamoto due to the usage of a meme of the gun popping out of the paper at Josuke's head. But really makes it cheesy is how Yuya Fungami screams out Josuke's name in the Japanese dub.
Rohan licking a spider after piercing it to release its web fluid is so gross even Hazamada was puking his guts. You would do the same if you're arachnophobic.
The sight of Stray Cat firing an air bubble up Kosaku-Kira's vein can make one's skin crawl in absolute discomfort.
There are many jokes about Josuke burning down Rohan's house. Even though it was mostly Rohan's fault for leaving a magnifying glass unattended and prioritizing catching Josuke cheating over putting out the flames.
Despite it being for the purpose of giving Josuke an opening to kill an enemy Stand, Jotaro will most likely never hear the end of him nearly dying from a rat.
Jotaro wearing some dolphin-shaped pins led him to be seen as having a dolphin fetish, even though he ends up studying starfish for his marine biology thesis.
Older Than They Think: In every piece of JoJo media since All-Star Battle, Okuyasu has consistently been voiced by Wataru Takagi, being one of the only main characters in Diamond is Unbreakable to not suffer from The Other Darrin. However, what some may not know is that All-Star Battle isn't the first time that Takagi voiced Okuyasu, with his first voice appearance dating back to this commercial advertising both JoJolion and the then-upcoming JoJo Exhibition 2012. A good three months before Phantom Blood was even adapted into anime.
Padding: It's generally agreed upon that while the Slice of Life formula up until the battle against Akira was really enjoyable, Part 4 really starts kicking into gear once Rohan is introduced and the Kira arc gets underway. However, there are some who will argue that once Yoshihiro starts seeking out Stand users while looking for Kira and the story shifts back into the Stand of the Week formula from Part 3, DiU comes to a screeching halt and isn't that fun anymore up until Kira winds up getting Bites the Dust. In particular, there's next to no love for the Janken Boy story, The Cat Likes Yoshikage Kira has no involvement from the Morioh Gang whatsoever, and the eponymous Enigma Boy has no described motivation for attacking Josuke and his friends whatsoever other than, "because Yoshihiro told him to."
Terunosuke Miyamoto — his powers only work on a person if that person gets scared. This is easier for him to do than you would think.
As much as Yoshikage Kira seems Affably Evil, he invokes a fantasy-fueled concern: the knowledge that a serial killer lives in your town and could stealthily kill you at any given moment when you least expect it. Of course, Kira himself has standards that keep him from killing at random, but it doesn't make him any less menacing, and it gets even worse once Bites the Dust enters the fray. It's bad enough that he outdoes J. Geil's Hanged Man in every way possible with his eye-entry maneuver, but the fact that he can bend the world to his whim in a "Groundhog Day" Loop is unsettling.
Parody Displacement: For some fans, they can't take the "Morioh is a Beautiful Town" quote seriously due to the infamous "Duwang" translation.
Much of Yoshikage Kira's popularity stems from his trope. Unlike other series villains, Kira isn't a supernatural being or exaggeratedly corrupt and delusional, instead being a (mostly) realistically-portrayed serial killer. Like most real-life killers, Kira has no grand schemes and keeps a low, everyday profile, with his motives of self-gratification and modus operandi of isolation and evasion paralleling cases like Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, and Jeffery Dahmer, giving a chilling amount of realism to a character in a franchise that otherwise lives up to the "Bizarre" part of its name.
On a similar note, what makes Anjuro "Angelo" Katagiri the utterly sickeningly loathsome and absolutely irredeemably evil bastard he's shown as is this. For a character who spends his limited on-screen presence doing some unspeakably repulsive stuff, he manages to be a (mostly) realistically-portrayed serial killer, serial rapist, and pedophile, with his motivation to cause all the heinously horrible crimes he does being very reminiscent of real-life people of his ilk like John Wayne Gacy and Albert Fish. Also, discounting Angelo's exaggerated insanity and the fact that he's a Stand user, he looks just like other normal people, which allows him to blend in with society, which is the reason why authorities took so long in tracking him down.
Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Those who didn't like Jotaro in Part 3 definitely warmed up to and like him in this Part. This is mainly due to how most of his '90s Anti-Hero traits (which made him a big Base-Breaking Character in the first place) have become more downplayed, Jotaro being far more mature (justified since he's now in his high twenties), and him being an awesome Big Brother Mentor to Josuke and Koichi. Some fans even say that Jotaro makes a far better mentor character than protagonist.
Retroactive Recognition: When the Part 4 dub first came out, Tamami Kobayashi's voice actor, Frank Todaro, was a pretty underground voice actor, not having many prestigious roles to his name at the time. However, fans now recognize him as being the voice of Mugman in The Cuphead Show!.
Ron the Death Eater: While the three girls that don't try to help Shigechi after he's clearly injured are considered bad people for not even trying to help, the fandom blows it out of proportion for (usually) comical reasons. Even then, as this post points it out, the middle girl is probably the least bad of the three, as she genuinely apolgises for hitting Shigechi with a basketball, and probably would've helped him if her friend didn't suggest to leave him alone because "he's creepy".
Sacred Cow: At least until Steel Ball Run was released, Diamond is Unbreakable was considered by many to be the best part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure thanks to its likable characters, creative fights, and unique Stand abilities. As a result, bad-mouthing it will not be taken lightly by fans.
Tamami gets a lot of hate due to the hell he put Koichi and his family through in trying to rip them off, the Fridge Horror that he has driven people to suicide with his Stand's ability, his rather flimsy Heel–Face Turn, and being Easily Forgiven.
Hazamada is disliked for being a negative depiction of Otaku, his outright sociopathic behavior (gouging out his friend's eye after getting into an argument over a pop idol and Rohan revealing that he wanted to rape a classmate of his), and like Tamami, being Easily Forgiven.
Self-Fanservice: Fanart tends to play up Killer Queen's catlike traits to make him look cuter, and often depicts him acting like a cat as well (i.e. meowing, sitting in boxes, playing with yarn, etc.) There's even a subreddit dedicated to cute pictures of Killer Queen.
Right after Rohan's introduction we're introduced to Reimi Sugimoto who is the ghost of a teenage girl killed by a serial killer 16 years prior to the story. While the beginning made Diamond is Unbreakable out to be another Stand of the Week-style narrative, here it becomes apparent that the part is an all-out game of cat and mouse between the protagonists and the enigmatic Yoshikage Kira.
The opening of Episode 36 of Diamond is Unbreakable has Kira using Bites the Dust to rewind the opening!
Josuke punching a plate of spaghetti with Crazy Diamond while eating Italian food with Okuyasu. It's sometimes considered the best example of the It Makes Sense in Context that runs through the franchise as a whole, on top of the pose that Crazy Diamond makes before it punches the spaghetti being considered one of its most iconic poses.
At least among the Western fandom, the infamous "What a beautiful Duwang!" scene. Those who have read the Duwang scans have often attested to the original scene being permanently altered by the infamous translation.
Highway Star threatening to kill Rohan and Rohan replying with "I refuse!" is one of his most famous lines. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle even uses it as the "No" option in menus. It being referenced in No Game No Life also gave the scene an extra boost of popularity among people who would otherwise be unfamiliar with Part 4.
After a badly-beaten Kira suffers a mental breakdown, his mention of how the Mona Lisa gave him a boner the first time he saw it. His dialogue being so much cruder than it normally is made this into one of his most iconic moments.
Slow-Paced Beginning: Other than finding the Stand Arrow, there isn't much of a plot to the first half of Diamond is Unbreakable. Most of the early arcs are instead focused on explain the origin of Stands, developing the new main characters, and other antics such as eating Italian food. However, things really pick up when Rohan is introduced and we find out that Morioh has more problems than rampant Stand users.
So Bad, It's Good: The hilariously bad translation dubbed by many fans as the Duwang Scans. They originated when a pair of Chinese students decided to translate the manga for a project in their English class, and they translated the manga from Japanese to Chinese to English; they supposedly failed this class because of the project. For a long time they were the only available English translation of the manga online. The Duwang Scans were infamous for hilariously bad grammar, leaving Chinese characters untranslated, and many memetic lines such as "get a feeling so complicated" and "what a beautiful Duwang!"◊ Despite— or perhaps because of— the poor quality of this translation, the Duwang Scans have become a permanent part of JoJo history, often being the subject of dramatic readings on YouTube (like so) and some of the better translations keeping the memetic lines.
Song Association: As expected with the characters' Stands being named after songs and bands and the like, but there's also the song "ECNALUBMA" by They Might Be Giants. The song became associated with Yoshikage Kira thanks to Viva Reverie's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable But Really Really Fast video, in which Kira often plays Waxing Lyrical with the song's lyrics. The song also doubles as a foreshadowing to his eventual fate.
Squick: Kira, especially where hands are concerned. There's a scene where he licks his victim's hands, and even eats a sandwich off of one of them. And supplementary material reveals that Kira even uses them to wipe his butt, which leaves many fans wondering what else he does with his victims' hands in his everyday life.
The English dub of the anime is widely considered the best of the dubs for series, and many feel it does a better job overall than even the anime's Japanese cast. The new voice actors used for the dub have been the biggest praise as well; Billy Kametz as Josuke, Zach Aguilar as Koichi, Jalen K. Cassell as Okuyasu, Faye Mata as Yukako, and Andrew Russell as Akira have been seen as extremely good casting and helped make the characters stand out even more than they did originally. Matthew Mercer's performance as Jotaro, already considered a high point of the Part 3 dub, has been praised as even better here. Even the return of accents, through Tonio, was well received, due to his voice actor, Christopher Bevins, putting a good Italian accent on and giving an earnest performance. The casting of D.C. Douglas has Kira has been praised as well, with his short appearance in Episode 17 being enough to win over his performance.
Vic Mignogna's performance as Rohan was questioned at first; some fans found his soft, nasally voice to contrast with Rohan's true nature. However, it quickly became accepted as a great performance come Rohan's most hammy moments, and especially during and after his beatdown at the hands of Josuke.
Tamami getting smashed on the head with a brick by Hazamada, and Hazamada himself getting beaten up so badly by two civilians he assaulted earlier that he has to be sent to the hospital on a stretcher. Both are seen as satisfying moments to those who don't like those characters for being Easily Forgiven.
The scene in the first episode of the anime which foreshadows Kira's role as antagonist since it separating hands without a body are his specialty. Many felt that the scene removed the tension of the early chapters by immediately pointing out that there is a Serial Killer in Morioh. Of course, this is for people who ARE aware of the scene's significance. For viewers unaware, they could easily attribute it to the FIRST serial killer shown in the anime, the Starter Villain Angelo who's gory violence makes the grizzly scene easily attributable to him. Basically—many of those who knew it was a Red Herring take issue.
The fact that the openings aren't CGI-animated like the previous ones didn't go over well with some fans.
Needless to say, a lot of fans aren't pleased with Crunchyroll's translated Stand names, even if they are due to legal issues with the Japanese names.
The anime changing most of the Japanese voice actors from the (at the time) recent games (particularly All-Star Battle) didn't go over well with some fans. In particular some people were not fond of Yūki Kaji taking over for Romi Park as Koichi.
The anime leaving out a few scenes sparked this reaction as well. Most notably Josuke telling Rohan a joke about his grandmother being hit by the same car twice in one day (likely a reference to Lisa Lisa, his grandmother, being struck by Kars twice) and Rohan complaining that his manga never found an American audience (a reference to the difficulties JoJo had at the time with being localized and published overseas).
The art style shift that occurred starting with the "Yukako Yamagishi is in Love" arc. Some felt that it strayed too far away from what the foundation of "manliness" the series was built off of in the first two parts. Some don't like how Josuke and Okuyasu thinned out or how Jotaro's appearance was more in line with that of a regular guy than a muscular Clint Eastwood Expy. And on the other hand, the fact that the anime didn't adapt the art style change and stuck with the new art style the entire time, despite David Productions taking Iggy's design change into account in Stardust Crusaders. Considering this implies redoing every main character model sheet thrice, compared to Iggy, who only needed two model sheets, the omission is very understandable. Many take issue to the anime removing a lot more detail from Araki's artwork compared to the Parts 3 and 5 anime, though.
Related to the above, the fact that Shinobu is redesigned◊ somewhat in the Blu-rays to have a more doll-like look similar to the style seen late into the manga's life; many fans have decried this change in design for making Shinobu look unnecessarily Moe and less expressive in certain shots compared to her TV design.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: While minor characters frequently reappear in the background after their arc is complete, this does still happen to a fair share of characters:
Nothing is done with Okuyasu's father after The Reveal of his nature.
Tonio has absolutely no role in the story after his initial short story arc.
Hazamada, the only true scumbag among the former enemies of the main cast, only briefly has a role at the start of Rohan's introductory arc before dropping out after him and Koichi's first visit.
Akira Otoishi was dispatched in his introduction. He could have had a role as Yoshikage Kira's subordinate and act as Okuyasu's personal rival, in a similar vein to Vanilla Ice in the previous part.
Tomoko Higashikata, Josuke's mother in Part 4, shows signs of an interesting personality and dynamic with her son (and is said to still not be over Joseph), but barely ever appears and is explicitly kept away from him for her own sake.
Ryohei Higashikata, Tomoko's father and Josuke's maternal grandfather, is a silly but goodhearted old man. Unfortunately, he dies in the second episode and is promptly forgotten about.
Joseph never actually contributes to the plot of the part despite specifically being brought in to contribute to the plot, as Akira is dealt with less than a minute after he arrives in Morioh, has a brief arc with Josuke, and then becomes essentially a Living Prop with Shizuka. It's made even worse when one considers he may have been faking his disability the whole time, not only robbing him of importance or any explanation as to why he cheated, but makes him look much more selfish without reason as well.
Shizuka Joestar never reappears after the conclusion of Part 4. While not a Joestar by blood, mention of her would've provided interesting insight on what Joseph and the others were up to in the time after Part 4, and an older Shizuka with more control over her invisibility powers would've made a very useful ally to Jotaro and Jolyne. Shizuka's untapped potential makes her a prime source of Fanfic Fuel.
Echoes Act 2 has an incredibly versatile power, and its vaguely-reptilian design is very unique. It's a bit disappointing to see it evolve into the more by-the-book and humanoid Act 3 without much use outside the Sheer Heart Attack fight, even if Act 3 is still a fun Stand in its own right.
Joseph's affair rarely gets brought up. We get little mention of Suzi Q aside from her being mad at Joseph about the affair (and eventually forgiving him only to nearly get mad again when he brings home Shizuka), and it would have been interesting to see Joseph try to work out a potentially dying marriage.
The Kiras' relationship wasn't really explored either. While Yoshihiro is shown to be extremely devoted to his son, we don't get to see Yoshikage's side of their relationship and both of them only interacted during the "Bites the Dust" arc. Araki revealed in an interview that he wanted to flesh out Kira's backstory and reveal the extent of his "abusive childhood", but decided against it thinking it would make Yoshikage too sympathetic.
Another plot revolving around Kira is the brief family life he takes up when going into hiding. Despite what one may expect of a serial killer, he is actually a significant improvement to Shinobu's life compared to her previously loveless marriage with a son who spent much time keeping to himself than interacting with her. Seeing Kira actually curb his murderous intent for a while and showing he cared for her appealed greatly to fans, many wanting to see Alternate Universes where he reforms and becomes a family man and gets the quiet life he always wanted.
In an anime-only example, with Akira Otoishi being voiced by Showtaro Morikubo, who has an extensive side career as a singer and musician, some fans ended up disappointed that Morikubo never got to sing a song for the show, especially after the anime adaptation of Stardust Crusaders had Oingo, Boingo, and Hol Horse's voice actors perform the ending song "Villain Concerto". It's also not as if Morikubo didn't do the same thing for other projects, as he performed threeseparatesongs for the Mega Man X series, in which he was also the voice of the titular protagonist.
Too Cool to Live: Being the main antagonist of this Part, inevitably this trope happens to Kira due to having a Stand with versatile use of his explosion powers, incredibly deductive mind and eventually a Story-Breaker Power of "Groundhog Day" Loop, which would've made him a difficult threat to detain or even defeat conventionally—hence his rather mundane death by ambulance.
Some fans have this opinion on Shigechi. Despite his gonkish appearance, some found him strangely adorable, especially whenever he's actually being nice and pleasant to the gang. This sentiment likely increased after his death by Kira's hands.
Mr. Nijimura's disfigured form to some extent as well after Art Evolution made him less monstrous and more cartoonish in appearance.
Unintentional Period Piece: Despite being set in the then-future of 1999, this manga couldn’t escape this. It features then current technology and fashion for what was popular in the early 1990s (the time of the Manga’s release) instead of late 1990s (the set time of the manga).
In the West, Koichi getting together with Yukako, his stalker, wouldn't fly well nowadays thanks to Western culture's increased awareness and heavier stance on stalking. While Josuke does show concern for him, some have pointed out that it's never really treated as a terrible idea for Koichi to go back to dating the woman who kidnapped and almost killed him for not loving her, even if she is genuinely trying to (somewhat) become a better person.
One of the clues Jotaro discerns about Kira's identity was that since he brought his suit jacket in to a tailor to get the button replaced, he wasn't married, otherwise he would have had his wife do the job. This assumption that wives always handle this kind of chore can seem baffling to people who live in countries in which married women might work outside the home.
Vindicated by History: While it was already popular in the West, the anime has done this Part many favors in Japan. While it wasn't very well-liked during serialization in the 90's, the anime was able to draw in many new fans. Not only has the anime seen high Blu-ray/DVD sales figures, but Tower Records frequently advertises it during releases. While still not as popular in Japan as Part 5 or especially Part 3, it's a lot more popular than it once was.
Occasional bouts of Off-Model aside, the anime has some stunning animation quality, art direction, and usage of visual effects such as Crazy Diamond's healing powers, The Hand's Portal Cut visually distorting the frame, and every activation of Bites The Dust being visually distinct while still staying true to its depiction from the manga. A particular praise heaped on it is the use of a more vibrant and psychedelic color palette compared to the last three Parts, which were all mostly realistic in color aside from the Once per Episode color shifts.
For the live-action film, the CGI used for the Stands to be featured in this Part have been called nothing short of stunning. After a long period of worry that the Stands' designs would be hampered by the generally poor CGI quality that comes out of Japanese cinema (exacerbated by the visuals for them not being revealed for a long while after the film's announcement), seeing the first live-action portrayal of a Stand has been met with much acclaim from the fan base and Japanese cinephiles in general as a step up from the usual quality.
Hayato Kawajiri only wanted his father's respect and is often ignored by his mother. However, he doesn't know that his real father was killed by Kira, who assumed his identity, and when he does find out, he ends up becoming victim to a "Groundhog Day" Loop in the form of Bites the Dust. Even when Kira's out of his life, his dad remains dead, and life doesn't really get better.
Likewise, Shinobu Kawajiri, who thought Kosaku was her dream man and married him, only to end up in a marriage that she finds unsatisfying. Every day, when Kosaku would come home, he'd frequently refuse to talk to her, only attending to his dinner, bath, and sleep. Strangely enough, Shinobu finds her relationship with her husband being rekindled after Kira takes on the identity of Kosaku, but even that doesn't matter, as Kira's acknowledgement of her is merely him using her as a means to an end. At the end of the story, Shinobu doesn't even know that Kira was run over by an ambulance, and believes that Kosaku went to work, waiting for him as he never comes home.
The aging Joseph Joestar as seen in this Part. Once a proud warrior who saved the world from the clutches of the Pillar Men and took a stand against DIO, is now a bumbling old man with memory issues and physical handicaps. There's also the fact that he feels regret for abandoning Josuke and leaving him without a father because of how he used to think that his father abandoned him.
Practically every relative of Kira's victims, like Shigechi's parents, deserve a mention. Their loved ones suddenly go missing without a trace, and because of the nature of Kira's murders, they will never realize that they have been murdered by a serial killer.
To hide the true cause of Ryohei's death (he was murdered by an enemy Stand), it was explained that he died from a brain tumor. While it's not impossible for a tumor to go unnoticed for a long time, a seemingly healthy man just suddenly dying from cancer would raise a few red flags (nevermind that an autopsy would immediately expose it). The dub changes the cover-story to Ryohei dying from a stroke, making it more plausible.
Red Hot Chili Pepper's Dub Name Change to "Chili Pepper." Not only does it still keep the basic idea of its namesake, but it makes sense since it's not actually red.
Similarly, "Shining Diamond" is commonly considered to be one of the better Stand name changes out there, due to it still carrying the connection to the Pink Floyd song it's named after, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".
Since Yoshikage's writing and voice acting relied on how he spoke, being both how he is able to maintain normalcy while still being presented as Affably Evil, the dub conveys this by having him speak in a more formal tone and manner compared to using any regional dialect like in the Japanese version, such as using more refined words and phrases, and speaking in a generally soft tone when not under stress. This keeps the spirit of his personality consistent in the dub, helping him seem both normal while making him Affably Evil still.
Ken's nickname is changed to "Roshamboy," keeping the number of syllables of the original nickname, and rolling off the tongue better than a literal translation.
In the original Japanese voice track, the upperclassman thugs called Josuke's hairstyle "Astro Boy/Atom" hair and Josuke imagined them comparing his hairstyle to that of Sazae-san, while the English-language dub replaced it with generic insults such as "fugly cowlick" and "motley toupet."
The much-memed line from the paramedic in the final episode to an obviously injured Josuke is changed from "Are you one of the injured too?" to "I need you to just lie down.", which is a lot less hilariously stupid.
another kickass protagonist theme, the laid-back "The Stardust Man Appears"
