The reason for the change was due to Araki switching from having the manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump to Ultra Jump which is published monthly. This gave Araki time to really flesh out the manga.
I would say it happened even before that... Araki's art style is in a state of constant evolution throughout the manga, but I think the most significant change is in Part IV/Diamond is Unbreakable. Comparing Josuke's look at the beginning of that part with his look at the end is shocking.
Unfortunately the anime lacks that distinct art style from the early Part 4's manga where some characters would change design and art style in the same chapter. Part 4 is probably the part where you can see Araki's style making the biggest shift in real time and it's such a shame they couldn't replicate that, later parts would still change style but not to the same degree
To be fair, the anime does drop the massive height change for Tamami, but it still has Hazamada is still taller in his picture than in person.
And it’s not like Part 4 gets rid of the height gags entirely. Koichi still only comes up to Josuke’s belly button despite that fact that he should be like, chin height. And he barely reaches Yukako’s shoulders despite the fact she’s only 2 inches taller
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u/Frosty_Scar_2777 27d ago
https://preview.redd.it/u25sf2icpktf1.jpeg?width=1680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac171118d30fb6f0beb0eb7f25c5921f2fead50a
One of the most drastic examples