Hirohiko Araki Jojo’s Strange Adventure has had nine colorful protagonists since its initial release in 1987 – but one stands out, for good and bad reasons. Johnny Joestar is the protagonist of part 7 (Steel Ball Run), the next Jojo Partially awaiting animation, and he is the first Joestar of the second Jojo Universe, kicking off the entire lineage. He is unique in being The first is (identifiably) disabled Jojo LeadUsing a wheelchair and paralyzed from the waist down.
like Jojolion after that, Steel Ball Run is often considered one of Jojos best parts. In subverting a lot of Jojos established and self-imposed tropes, it provided a very fresh take on a long-standing franchise. It also has the benefit of including Jojos most beloved protagonist – but the way Steel Ball Run Ends has divided fans since its initial release.
Steel Ball Run was Araki’s sign that Jojo is alive and well
After resetting the universe in Stone Ocean, Steel Ball Run Start again
The original ending of part 6, Stone OceanPut Araki in a bind. He felt it Jojs strange adventure has reached his peak and that there is nothing more he can do at first Jojo Universe. instead of letting Jojo Or the Joestar lineage coming to an end, he did the unthinkable: Araki Scrap Stone OceanEnd up starting over from scratch. The idea of a new universe would leave Jojo Implement new mechanics entirely, allowing Araki to escape the rut he has created for himself.
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Steel Ball Run Inaugurated a new era for the series, set the foundations for Jojolion And The JOJOLands. Stands stuck around, but Hamon (or “ripple”) has been replaced by Spin as a fundamental life force. Spin is just one example of how Araki used the new universe (and the series’ reclassification of Sean to Sen) to Get more complex elements: Where the first universe often thought about the manipulation of space and time, the new universe plays with new fundamental concepts such as the golden ratio and the “natural law of disaster”.
Johnny Joestar is Jojo S Best protagonist
Beyond raw strength, Johnny is Jojos deepest and most resilient protagonist
Araki chose a creative way to demonstrate the new mechanics: A Pan-American horse race called the Steel Ball RunHosted by a major magnate. In the center of the part is a paraplegic protagonist, Johnny Joestar. Johnny was once a prodigious horse jockey who was paralyzed after cutting a line to impress a date. After an accidental interaction with Gyro Zeppeli’s spin mastery causes Johnny to briefly stand up, he becomes fascinated with gyro and spin, steeling himself back on a horse against all odds and entering the race.
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Initial attempts to impress Giro fail, and the pair wind up allied for the remainder of the episode. They clearly parallel Johnathan Joestar and Will A. Zeppeli in the sense that Zeppeli taught Johnathan about Hamon just as Giro teaches Johnny about spin. Despite this, the two spend more time together than any other “JoBro” pairing, and they guide each other’s character development.
More than that, because they endure a harrowing journey together and so much of the part is based on their dialogue and mutual dependence, readers get to see a very honest side of both characters. JojoThe main ensembles in the past tended to rely more on exaggerated personality traits (say, Muhammad Avdol’s stoic maturity or Okuyasu Nigimura’s impatient aloofness). Steel Ball Run Breaks from what to deliver Two very realistic leads Who, in the end, are close friends.
Johnny’s progression is from an entitled youth into a rugged man of honor. His sheer determination to win the race and learn about spin gives him the tools he needs to survive the very experiences that would change him for the better. He is inspiring because he shows that even if a person starts from an unfavorable position, they still have the tools they need to change themselves and the world around them.
Steel Ball Run‘s ending has always divided fans
Poor twists and insensitivity make Steel Ball Runs conclusion falls flat
On paper, the conclusion to Johnny and Giro’s journey in Steel Ball Run is amazing. It flawlessly threads together references to the original Jojo universe, new mind-bending concepts, unexpected twists and thrilling battles. The pacing is also impeccable, and it makes a number of bold choices that break the mold Jojos endings from the previous part.
Beloved characters like Gyro die in heartbreaking ways; In fact, the majority of the characters to whom the reader will be attached to death. The primary antagonist is not actually defeated by Johnny, but by Diego Brando, Dio’s new universe counterpart. One such bold choice, of course, is to have Brando and Joestar team up against a common enemy; However, it sucks the air out of the room when, at the end of the part, Johnny’s best friend is dead and the part’s hero hasn’t even defeated his main villain.
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From a disabled perspective, Johnny is a fascinating character. Although his mobility impairment is a major part of his character, it never becomes a joke, nor a regular topic of discussion. His desire to walk again is understandable, but importantly, the part does not condescendingly describe all the ways that people with mobility impairments “have it so hard”.
There is one particularly contentious aspect of the ending, and that is Johnny can walk again. From one point of view, it feels as though Johnny made a trade: his spin mastery “gave him his legs back”, but he also lost his best friend in the process. The part ends when Johnny leaves for Japan to return Giro’s corpse, and Jojolion Turns out he’s starting a family there and leading what, by any measure, is a “normal” life.
Steel Ball Run Therefore documents The perceived gap between two periods of normality. It is an irony, perhaps, that the concepts of spin, rotation and perpetual motion are the focal point of Steel Ball Run; His protagonist’s “perpetual motion” is arrested by an accidental paralysis, and his life stopped at the same time. Perhaps, amid the perpetual movement of cultural influences and personal biases, the idea that disability is inherently anomalous to normality was at play for Araki.
Johnny’s “happy ending” with a normal, able-bodied life feels natural. “Winning his legs back” seems like a Pyrrhic victory, rewarded with the melancholy trophy of Giro’s corpse. But then, the idea that the gap starts and ends with tragedy reaffirms the harmful preconception that disability is naturally tragic and tragically natural. The idea that spin, portrayed as an emergent property of physical laws, “fixes” its legs implies that Johnny is “restored” by nature to a “natural” state.
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People who don’t consider themselves disabled may see Johnny’s ending as inspirational, and in a way, it is. His motivations are relatable, and his determination is infectious. Many people with disabilities love it too, and even those who have a problem with it tend to love many other things about the part and Johnny’s representation. However, even small changes could have been made Araki’s representation of disability more sensitive While still allowing Johnny to go in the end. A more thoughtful approach might have saved Jojo’s Strange AdventureThe best protagonist of such a disappointing conclusion.