Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak Launches First English Volume

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak launched its first English volume on December 3, 2024. The manga, published by Viz Media, features an original story set between JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s third and fourth story arcs, Stardust Crusaders and Diamond Is Unbreakable, respectively.

Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak is not the first JoJo spin-off manga. Series creator Hirohiko Araki published several, including the one-shots that eventually became the series Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe. However, Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak is the first JJBA spin-off manga not authored by Araki.

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What is Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak?

According to Anime News Network, Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak features a story written by Kohei Kadono (Boogiepop) and art by Tasuku Karasuma (No Guns Life). Nathan A. Collins, who previously translated the Diamond Is Unbreakable manga for Viz, returns as a translator. Amethyst Xuan contributes touch-up art and lettering.

Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak began serialization in Ultra Jump’s January 2022 issue, published on December 18, 2021. The manga follows Stardust Crusaders villain Hol Horse as he deals with the fallout of Dio Brando’s death. While searching for a parrot raised by the same trainer as Pet Shop, Hol Horse arrives in Morioh, where he encounters Josuke Higashikata.

Several other Stardust Crusaders characters return in this new spin-off. The most notable is Boingo, whose prophetic comic book Thoth plays a significant role in the manga’s storytelling. Mariah and her magnetic Stand Bastet also return. Lastly, it appears that Noriaki Kakyoin’s cousin will play a prominent role in this new story, perhaps as an antagonist.

What does a spin-off like Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak mean for JJBA’s future? ANN contributor Christopher Farris notes that the manga’s writing works to “reframe these former villains in a much more sympathetic light.” Perhaps this new spin-off will serve as a Suicide Squad treatment of Dio’s former lackeys.

Another question that comes to mind is if Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak has a future as an anime. After all, Netflix streamed the Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe OVAs in 2021. Of course, that will depend on how well-received this new spin-off is by its audience. Thus arrives the central point of this development: can JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure survive without Araki’s direct involvement?

Let’s see how Shining Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak fares with fans and critics. Christopher Farris’s review gives SDDH a B rating, praising the manga’s new perspective on fan-favorite characters while criticizing its inability to find purpose in Thoth as a storytelling device.

Reception from the r/stardustcrusaders subreddit is much more enthusiastic. Several reactions to an early fan translation note how the spin-off greatly surpasses expectations. Other posts delight in how SDDH ties up loose ends that dedicated JoBros have asked about for years. Both critic and fan reactions to SDDH suggest that Araki’s source material is in capable hands.

An adaptation of Hirohiko Araki’s long-running shonen manga, David Production’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure follows the Joestar family through multiple generations as they develop their familiarity with Stands and take on world-ending threats.

Release Date

October 6, 2012

Seasons

6

Studio

David Production

Japanese Title

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken

Based On

Manga

Creator

Hirohiko Araki

Number of Episodes

190

MyAnimeList Score

7.88 (Season 1)

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