I'm personally of the opposite opinion- Part 3 is one of my favorites(along with Part 1), while Part 4 is one of my least favorite(along with Part 5). There are several reasons, but one of them is that Part 3 had a better sense of working toward an overall goal, while Part 4's plot tends to wander. While I believe that Kira is a better villain than Part 3's DIO, at least DIO is introduced before the Part reaches its halfway point.
As for Kira, while he's an interesting villain, he loses more than a little sympathy when he not only plans on killing Shigechi for uncovering his identity, but also threatens to kill Shigechi's parents if Shigechi doesn't tell him about whether Josuke and Okuyasu have Stands. I personally didn't like Shigechi, but even that, as well as Shigechi's tragic end, made me feel bad for him.
You have a point about Kira's victims, but Shigechi's death gave Jotaro and Okuyasu a personal motivation to hunt down his killer, even if they didn't really like Shigechi, while Reimi was the motivation for Rohan(and possibly Koichi to a lesser extent).
I agree that Josuke isn't that interesting as far as Jojo protagonists go. While Jotaro was unemotional for much of the series, his ability to stay calm in virtually all situations was a key character trait that made some of his victories possible, and it was all the more significant when he gave in to rage late in his fight with DIO. Josuke's motive is a relatively generic desire to protect his town, and his grandfather, the one who inspired that, is forgotten about not long after his death. And, of course, there's the highly contrived plotline about him being Joseph's illegitimate son.
Part 4 was fairly good overall, but I found it had a number of glaring flaws that were worth mentioning.
Incidentally, you don't need to put so many trope names in the text of your review when you can pothole them into text instead(e.g. "downplaying his evil traits").
I\'m currently watching season 4, and it\'s certainly different in a lot of ways than previous seasons, but not for the better or worse. I liked the ludicrous levels of testosterone poisoning in the previous series, so whilst I am a little put about by the abrupt change in visual style, characters and pacing, it\'s not a bad replacement and I enjoy the mundane setting and more down to earth characters and villains.
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Unexpectedly Good For A Detractor Of The Franchise
Apart from Part 7 and 4, I hate JoJo. While my expectations couldn't get any lower after Part 3, Part 4 is more than enough to warrant a positive response for me.
Don't get me wrong it's not perfect, but to me, this is what JoJo should be. Part 4 focuses on mundane situations for the most part. It reminds of a video game where the side quests are as interesting as the main story. I loved that each episode wasn't just another life or death battle against some Stupid Evil villain, but a more unique formats like earning cash. Some even had An Aesop. Overall, it creates a bizarre but enjoyable experience.
The Rated M for Manly nature is downplayed to where it's not nauseating. As a result, the characters feel more like people, rather than Testosterone Poisoning. Josuke, despite being even more generic than the previous protagonists, is a much better lead. His status as an Audience Surrogate, and useful stand makes him a likable Escapist Character. But his motive, while believable, is uninspiring. Koichi's someone you wouldn't expect in a series like this and is a welcome addition. Okuyasu's actually funny compared to the previous "JoBros." Bringing back Jotaro means they can focus on other characters more. Of the supporting cast, Shigechi, Yukako, and Shinobu stand out.
The animation and music is on point for the most part, although besides a few tracks, there's not really anything memorable. The pacing is also a bit off, like going off topic in the 2nd half. It feels like a game where you can't progress to the next main mission until you complete a bunch of irrelevant side quests.
As for the villain, Kira is a vast improvement over Dio. Now, while I love Kira as a villain, there's a big problem with him: I end up Rooting for the Empire and downplaying his evil traits when I know I shouldn't. It's tough to dislike him because we see very few of his murders and the ones we do see are either against Asshole Victims, or the victim was too underdeveloped to make me care. He also grabs the Idiot Ball once or twice. Overall, some of the best episodes revolve around Kira and he deserved even more focus than he got.
The other flaw is that there's no true Sacrificial Lion, which undermined Kira as a threat at times. Perhaps him killing someone I truly cared for would've made me Love to Hate him.
Best thing is you don't need to watch the previous parts and waste your time to watch it like I did. So take it from someone who loathes the JoJo franchise that Part 4 is worth a shot.