Fictional towns like Derry and Jerusalem’s Lot become sites of terror in several acclaimed Stephen King novels. The fog-drenched town of Silent Hill manifests as a psychological purgatory in the Silent Hill franchise. The suburban town of Lumberton becomes nightmarish in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet.
These examples have one thing in common: these idyllic towns are not what they seem. Each hides a seedy underbelly where dangers lurk beneath a picturesque surface. Part 4 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, called Diamond Is Unbreakable, also features an idyllic town with a rotten core.
Author Hirohiko Araki changes things up after a globe-trotting adventure in Stardust Crusaders (Part 3), shifting the scene to the beautiful town of Morioh. Part 3 protagonist Jotaro Kujo seeks out Morioh resident Josuke Higashikata seeking to learn more about his true parentage, which triggers a string of bizarre events in this seemingly peaceful small town. While Diamond Is Unbreakable embraces the franchise’s lighthearted suspense and combines it with slice-of-life elements, Episode 21, titled “Yoshikage Kira Just Wants to Live Quietly, Part 1,” introduces genuinely grounded horror into an otherwise whimsical season.
A blonde-haired man in a Valentino suit is glimpsed in earlier episodes of Diamond Is Unbreakable. This man, Kira, formally steps into the limelight in episode 21, which gives us a rundown of his day-to-day routine. At first glance, Kira looks like the average salaryman, but he is soon revealed to be a serial killer whose murders have gone undiscovered in Morioh for decades.
We learn more about Kira’s paraphilia in this episode: he slips a ring on the severed hand of one of his female victims, treating the limb like a lover. This disturbing revelation puts the reality of Morioh into perspective since the townsfolk remain oblivious to Kira’s true nature. Kira’s meticulous killing streak is broken by pure accident.
Middle-schooler Shigechi meets up with Josuke and Okuyasu while Kira is nearby, who is enjoying a sandwich on a park bench. During this meeting, a stray dog steals Shigechi’s lunch bag, and he mistakes Kira’s bag for his own, unaware that it contains a severed hand (which Kira refers to as his “girlfriend”). Fearful that the police might trace Kira’s ring on the hand back to him, Kira follows Shigechi and tries to reclaim the bag, but to no avail.
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