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Viz Media Licenses JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable Manga & Live-Action Film, Golden Wind Anime

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Viz Media announced during the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure panel at Anime Expo on Friday that it has licensed both Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable manga, as well as the manga's live-action film adaptation. The company also announced it has licensed the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind anime.

In addition, Viz Media revealed that Billy Kametz will voice the character Jōsuke Higashikata in the English dub of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable anime, which will premiere on Toonami on August 18.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable is the fourth part of Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga. The story is set in Morioh, located in S City in M Prefecture of Japan, and it follows the misadventures of Jōsuke Higashikata and his companions, as they are involved in a series of bizarre incidents in their town.

The manga's television anime aired for 39 episodes from April to December 2016. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan.

Viz Media is releasing the overall manga in North America, and it has currently released up through JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 3 - Stardust Crusaders.

The live-action film adaptation of the Diamond is Unbreakable manga by director Takashi Miike held its world premiere at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Switzerland in July 2017, and it won the RTS Audience Award. The film opened in Japan last August. The film ranked #5 on its opening weekend.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind is the manga's fifth part, and continues the story from the previous parts of the manga. The story begins when Jotaro asks Koichi to travel to Naples to investigate a person known as Haruno Shiobana, whose real name is later revealed as Giorno Giovanna. The story then follows Giorno in his goal to rise to the top of the Passione mafia group and turn it into a band of honorable thieves.

The anime will premiere on television in October. The anime's first episode already premiered on Thursday in a screening at the Anyerri Hall in Tokyo, and a simultaneous screening at Japan Expo in Paris, France. Anime Expo screened the anime's first episode at the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure panel on Friday.

Yasuhiro Kimura (Three Leaves, Three Colors) and Hideya Takahashi (Keijo!!!!!!!!, Anonymous Noise) will direct the anime at david production, with Naokatsu Tsuda as chief director. Yasuko Kobayashi is returning from the previous anime to handle the series composition, with most of the staff also returning from previous JoJo's Bizarre Adventure anime. Takahiro Kishida (Serial Experiments Lain, Baccano!, Haikyu!!) is drawing the character designs. Shun'ichi Ishimoto is the animation director. Takahito Katayama is credited for Stand design and action animation director.

Source: Email correspondence with Viz Media, Viz Media's Twitter