Hirohiko Araki ( 荒木飛呂彦) is a Japanese manga artist. He left school before graduation from Miyagi University of Education.
He enjoys the baseball manga Kyojin No Hoshii (Star of the Giants); the video games Mario Kart and Bomberman; and likes Prince and other African-American singers, as well as jazz, rock, and rap.
I'm a sucker for Rohan Kishibe, and there are some fantastic Rohan stories in here. A couple of great concepts, with the dice story and the "Speed" story. Plus our villain is heavily featured, and his personal life is getting very strange. If done right, Yoshikage Kira's arc could launch him right back into Josuke's line of fire for an epic finale. Guess I'll see whenever I get around to reading the rest of it!
The Highway Go Go adventure was pretty fun and mysterious and left me with some questions like what was up with the visions of Kira in the tunnel? And I really enjoy Morioh in all its mundaneness and absurdity. Also: I have never been so confused on whether or not aliens were involved since Reading I am a Hero? Seriously was that guy an alien?? I think so right? What do you guys think?
Idk what’s going on with my psyche right now but jojo is basically the only written media I’ve been able to get myself to finish in basically a month. This one wasn’t my favorite but we got some interesting Kira development and more alien shenanigans. Rohan lowkey pisses me off but I can’t help but stan.
This was one of the better volumes! The Highway Go Go arc was intense and exciting and the plant cat was a fun twist. Kira is definitely going to be this Part’s endgame villain so it’s nice checking in on what he’s up to.
OK I'm just going to admit it I don't get why everyone loves Rohan so much. I just don't get it personally I would have left him to die. End of. Any way quickly moving on I did enjoy the majority of this volume. I really enjoyed Mikitaka and the uncertainty over whether he was an alien or not. I really look forward to the 'Let's Live on a Transmission Tower' chapters in the next volume to see what happens with him next. (I do find it quite annoying that we only got the first chapter of this arc in this volume). In this volume we meet a new Stand user who's Stand, Highway Go Go, leads to a 'Speed' like race through the city with Jojo not being able to go below 60KPH or it would catch him. This was a fun set of chapters and I liked the bit in the tunnel which left us with the mystery of why did Rohan see what he saw? As with a lot of things in Jojo the ending did feel like a bit of cop out. The next set of chapters is completely crazy with a cat being killed and coming back as an evil plant. Yes you heard me right. We don't get a proper ending to this story so I expect it will come back in future volumes. A decent fun read but things are a little too easy and not some of Jojo's best. More Mikitaka and less Rohan would be fine by me.
Preface: I do really enjoy Jojo’s and am enjoying P4. However, for the sake of objective reviewing, I gotta be sincere in how I engage with it. When I read it as a complete story, it really lags. 130 chapters into a 170 chapter story, and the main cast has had one meaningful interaction with the bad guy. I’ll call Reimi a meaningful plot progression in the mystery of Kira. I think saying Jojo’s, when graded on the scale of a complete story without wasted pages, is subpar at best is a valid criticism.
As a pulpy, 70’s weekly villain-romp comic, Jojo’s is among the greatest of all time. Uncanny Tales, Eerie’s Weird, and Forbidden Worlds could not fathom the sharp, creative short stories that Araki weaves. When I grade Jojo on that scale, it’s a legitimate 1 of 1, a story that could not even be imitated by the highest caliber of writers.
Excuse my waxing on how I engage with Jojo’s. My enjoyment is great but still riddled with flashes of “what’s the point of this nonsense?”
I Am An Alien is one of those peaks of Jojo’s. If there’s gambling involved, there’s a Joestar in the plot and it’s gonna be phenomenal. Rohan and Josuke are a tremendous duo together, and I loved this chunk.
Highway Go Go was the best bad Jojo story yet for me. It takes too long with like 5 chapters of Josuke on a bike, repeats itself over and over with Shining Diamond’s destroy-rebuild scenes, and has one of the lamest Stands yet. However, Act Three’s “Let’s kill da hoe! Beeetch!” is an ALL-TIMER that I have to thank Highway Go Go for. The first destroy-rebuild of the bike was sick, and so was Josuke’s revival in the hospital. Best and worst short story yet.
Cats Love Yoshikage Kira is a really fun one, but again just feels long. 2 chapters of intro, 3 chapters of Kira standing off with the plant, 1 chapter where there’s literally zero payoff for all of it with Kira’s son. End with the intro to a new arc and character in a cell tower.
20 chapters and absolutely zero plot progression. Wouldn’t mind if all the stories hit, but this volume didn’t.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Un muy buen tomo de la cuarta saga de Jojos. El primer capítulo termina con el enfrentamiento entre Koichi y Ayako contra Cinderella, el final es sorpresivo como Araki nos tiene acostumbrados. El resto del tomo, en su gran mayoría, es el enfrentamiento contra Kira, el asesino que estaban buscando y quien parece ser el gran villano de ésta saga. Es un enfrentamiento brutal, podemos ver a Jotaro (quien siempre es verlo exhibir sus habilidades y su stand Star Platinum) y Koichi enfrentarse al villano en un duelo más de estrategia que de golpes. Vemos evoluciones claras en los personajes y vemos un enfrentamiento explosivo que también pone en aprietos al villano. Me gustó mucho porque a diferencia de la tercera saga de Jojos, donde vimos a Dio hasta el último tomo, aquí tenemos un gran enfrentamiento que casi marca el triunfo o la victoria de nuestros protagonistas y es apenas el tomo siete. La manera en la que Araki resuelve todo lo que sucedió en el enfrentamiento también me gustó mucho, todo parece perfectamente planeado pero en realidad lo que demuestra es que Kira es un villano tan inteligente como Jotaro. Poder ver la personalidad de Kira, lo despiadado pero inteligente que es y que además lo único que quiere es una vida tranquila fue muy bueno. Ayuda a darle dimensiones a su villano, la única vez que se le dieron esas dimensiones al villano fue en la primera saga de Jojos donde vemos la relación entre Dio y Jojo y cuál es el origen de Dio. Me gustó que ésta vez no fuera Dio quien estuviera detrás de todo, además el Stand de Kira, Killer Queen, es temible y muy poderoso. Los últimos tres capítulos del volumen nos muestran a los protagonistas buscando pistas sobre Kira para tratar de encontrarlo y se ven atrapados por el papá de Kira. Me gustó nuevamente ver la mente estratégica de Jotaro en acción. Hasta ahora ha sido el mejor tomo porque tiene muchos giros, una clara evolución de personajes como Kira o Koichi, mucha estrategia y mucha acción.
Man, at this point, part 4 is really starting to hit that 5 star stride I remember it for - the only SLIGHT hold up for me is the Highway Star fight, since... God, that stand is just a LITTLE too goofy and oddly specific for me, EVEN for Jojo's. But! I get the sort of "chase fight" format the stand was trying to help create, and even if I feel like the ability used for it could have been made a little better it's still a fun fight to read at the end of the day. And aside from that, it just goes even harder from there.
Tbh, the Mikitaka hype really got double dipped here because this volume and the last split his intro in half, and oh BOY does this half include the GAMBLE OFF between Josuke and Rohan, and if I am a sucker for anything, it's a good ol' fashioned gambling fight in Jojo's. It's really a shame how late into the game Mikitaka got introduced since I do think he's one of the more enjoyable side characters in the part, but despite it I guess really only constituting two arcs, it still feels like he does get a significant amount of screentime somehow, since luckily he wasn't completely cast aside after his first one! As for the Kira content, stray-cat is fun, but the highlight for me is that we also get more in-depth Hayato content in this one. This is sorta also based on his role later on in the last two volumes as well, but I'll just say it now that Hayato is really impressive as an added character to me - he's such a solid addition and its wild how quickly I feel like I grew attached to him in such a short period of time to the point where he really feels like a staple of the part at this point. So, 5 stars to creepo sleuth kid as well!
Quote of the Volume:
"When I saw that none of the needles pierced her eyes... I felt something. An EMOTION. Relief...? Could I actually be worried about someone else - about a WOMAN? NO! Surely not."
- Yoshikage Kira
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The Rohan/Josuke dice game is great shit, it really shows the most entertaining sides of each character. I also like that it’s somewhat of a reversal of the D’Arby fight from Part 3, but instead our main protagonist is trying to outwit the ruthless “victim”. Then it feeds nicely into the Highway Star fight, which is absolutely one of the peaks of Part 4. One long relentless chase scene, filled with richly tense moments that push Josuke to his limit. When it’s over I keep wanting more, it’s really great. The Stray Cat fight is fun and strange. It’s refreshing and deliciously cathartic to watch the main villain nearly get his ass kicked. Overall, I feel that this volume makes for a good sampler of what this series excels at: intense battles of the mind, high octane action, and strange concepts. Very great.
Yoshikage Kira, el asesino en serie de Morioh quiere tener una vida tranquila y poder dormir por las noches, pero su apacible existencia se trunca cuando Shigechi muere asesinado por Killer Queen, su stand. Jotaro lo está buscando y él, junto a Koichi, dan con él gracias al botón que consiguió Harvest. Ahora Jotaro y Koichi deberán enfrentarse a él e intentar no morir con el poder abrumador de Sheet heart atack, la segunda bomba de Killer Queen.
Un tomo buenísimo donde cada vez conocemos más del malvado de la saga y pasamos el ecuador de la historia que cada vez se pone más interesantes.
"GIVE ME YOUR NUTRIENTS!!" Another good volume. Part 4 is officially my favorite Jojos part. Josuke using Mikitaka as dice to win some money from Rohan was pretty clever. Rohan is really growing on me, especially when he tried to stop Josuke from entering that room. Then there's that weird cat plant. It's kind of cute when it's sleeping I can't lie. Also, someone PLEASE stop me from trying to ship Shinobu and Kira! He's a literal serial killer like I cannot be one of those people. I wonder who that gut in the transmission tower is. He's got a pretty good setup up there.
Came with a good cover and was pretty entertaining to read and re-read. And the colored pages at the end were pretty nice additions. The high point of this was the art, as well the Highway (A GoGo?) arc. It's as entertaining as it is in the anime, sometimes even more with it's page by page pacing. Definitely read it and the rest of the volumes if you're looking for a casual manga to read, or if you've watched the show and want to know what the manga's like.
Ridiculous plotlines just keep on coming and it's a ton of fun as always, like a character pretending (or not)? to be an alien. Meanwhile, Kira has infiltrated a family as a different person and it's eerie how the wife thinks of him as the most masculine man ever. Only the son, obviously more intelligent, suspects that this is not his father. It will be up to him to protect his mother from Kira and his evil pet cat shaped like a plant..
- if the first thing you do when you first meet an alien is to use them in cheating and making money, then you're a real human. no comments there. super realistic human representation - that kid's suspicion of his family is suspicious - pet cemetry, is that you? - cats are misunderstood and misrepresented in the jojo world - hayato is too smart for his own good
Josuke tries to cheat Rohan out of money while playing Ceelo, Rohan's house catches on fire. Josuke saves Rohan from Highway Go Go and Yuya the stand user a beating. A cat turns into a stand and gets killed. After Kira buries it, the cat comes back as a plant stand.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I can't believe that Josuke met an alien and the first thing he wanted to do was use him to cheat Rohan out of money. Even though Josuke is the one who won the lottery??
Stray Cat, Highway Star, Mikitaka, and Kira and Shinobu's relationship are all some of my favorite things about part 4, so this volume was spectacular!