Toshikazu Hazamada (Show off)
This episode was full of surprises. In the first few seconds alone there is a grotesque scene of violence. It’s not shown in detail but the implied imagery is enough to make it not for the faint of heart.
Kobayashi returns and gets a new purpose in the series. Considering it felt like he was just going to be the generic “Stand of the Week” character who would only show up once and never been seen again, it’s actually refreshing to see the creator decided to keep him around. He now serves as the information man who hears rumors on the street and will report them back to Josuke and his crew to help them in the future. It’s a lot better way of the characters getting leads then random bits of information reported from the Speedwagon foundation or more of Joseph Joestar’s psychic photos.
From there, an actual “Stand of the week” is introduced in the form of Toshikazu Hazamada’s Show Off (which is actually shown onscreen as being Surface, but again they had to change the name because they didn’t want to deal with copyright from the American band of the same name) which has the power to mimic and control its opponents. It’s here where the episode kicks into gear as Josuke and Koichi must work together to be able to put a stop to Hazamada. The pair really display some great teamwork and Koichi shows great use of his Stand despite only getting it in the previous episode.
It’s an episode which serves to help showcase more of Koichi’s powers and how he and Josuke will work together in the future. Still, it’s very entertaining and between the fact the next episode is a “Part 1” and Red Hot Chili Pepper returns to watch the heroes from a distance and contemplate how he will work to eliminate them, it’s obvious this show has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable is streaming on Crunchyroll.
