2024 brought JoJo's Bizarre Adventure incredible news for fans during the final run of the year, and it's incredibly exciting. Steel Ball Race and JoJoThe seventh part of the film, centered on a Pan-American horse race of the same name. THE JoJo X anime ad JOJODAYone JoJo fan event in Japan “connecting the past and future of anime”, made it almost certain that Steel Ball RaceAdaptation is coming.
Steel Ball Race came to be called one of the JoJothe best parts, for good reason. Fans who have read the manga already know why: the part is huge in every way, full of twists and turns that will confuse even the most stubborn. JoJo fans. It is also one of JoJoThe Pinnacles of Storytelling: It could easily be considered one of the most creative efforts on the part of manga artist Hirohiko Araki since the fourth part, Stardust Crusaders. Here's why JoJo fans can't wait for its adaptation.
Jojo's bizarre adventure takes on a new frontier in Steel Ball Run
Stone Ocean's ending set the stage for the best part of Jojo in years
Steel Ball Race changed the game for JoJowhich is saying a lot considering the franchise is already known for constantly alienating fans and keeping things fresh. There is a very strong argument to be made that the previous part, Stone Oceanshould end with JoJoGiorno's previous protagonist Giovanna arriving to help Jolyne, Jotaro and the others defeat Pucci. Needless to say, that's not what happened in the end. In short: Araki felt that, mechanically and narratively, JoJo reached its apex with Pucci's position, and he wanted to start over from scratch.
Steel Ball Race represents a work built on a new frontier that Araki built for JoJo—a blank canvas that tantalizes with both its danger and its possibility. It is appropriate, then, that the part literally represents a border. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the installment follows Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli as they compete in a cross-country horse race called Steel Ball Race. The race, organized by an oil tycoon and with a curious level of oversight by the President, begins in San Francisco and crosses the little-explored frontier across America before returning to New York, the cradle of American familiarity.
This also works as a metaphor. Starting with the familiar – for example, a protagonist named Johnny Joestar –Steel Ball Race crosses the border, apparently extracting new concepts from the salt of the earth, isolated and sharpened by the foundation JoJo's Bizarre Adventure placed in its original universe. Ripple is replaced by a new mechanic called Spin, with an unconventional mechanism at its core. A certain character whose name leads one to expect him to be a villain actually plays a much more complicated role.
The end result is a part that, as Araki wanted, feels surprisingly new and familiar at the same time. Once the piece crosses the finish line, the general picture is what it looks like unequivocally JoJo. Steel Ball Race it exemplifies everything there is to love about the series.
Johnny and Gyro are highlights of the entire franchise
JOJO doesn't have a better Core Duo
Johnny and Gyro, of course, contribute to this familiarity. Their alliance is meant to parallel the former JoBro pairings of Jonathan and Will A. Zeppeli (and, less directly, Joseph and Caesar). Both as individuals and as a couple, the dynamics they bring to Steel Ball Race is one of the highlights JoJo considered an entire franchise.
Johnny is one of JoJo's best protagonists, and many even consider him the best. He was once a virtuous jockey, but an incident after jumping the queue for a play left him paralyzed from the waist down. He meets Gyro during a disagreement when he goes to sign up for the Steel Ball Run, and an unlikely interaction (extremely cool, by the way) makes Johnny interested in a power that Gyro calls Spin.
Gyro, in and of himself, is an extremely fun character. He gets more screen time and personality than any of his Zeppeli namesakes. Like the two of them, he teaches Johnny how to harness a power he calls Spin – like Will A. Zeppeli in particular, he is a very strong user of this power. The exact reason for Gyro's dominance of Spin is one of the most compelling parts of his character arc, but it's certainly more engaging than any of his namesakes ever received.
Although they are well written individually, Johnny and Gyro really shine as a pair. Their developing friendship is in the spotlight throughout, and the bond they develop is as charming as their on-screen interactions, which range from hilarious to touching. Precedent JoJo parts had friendships first, but Johnny and Gyro are so endearing, fascinating, and intelligently written that it's almost unstoppable.
Steel Ball Run is already amazing, but its anime will be on another level
Bringing Steel Ball Racing to life will inevitably be great
Steel Ball Race It's a part where things are perpetually in motion. From horse racing to the underlying mechanics of Spin, everything about Steel Ball Race it is a hidden reflection of this fact. What's particularly impressive is that the manga's static panels have earned such a reputation for actually being hyperactive.
What this means is that what fans love about this role comes from solidifying everything else. Steel Ball RaceThe pacing, storytelling, themes, and characters of are incredibly strong. One of the benefits of the alternate universe is that the original universe also established a conceptual foundation that allows Araki to be super creative. The concepts and mechanics that Steel Ball Race works are unwieldy and work mostly on an intuitive level, specifically because of that foundation – but they work, and they work incredibly well. It's all around one of JoJothe most interesting, dynamic and thoughtful parts.
All this to say that even fans of the series haven't seen anything yet. David Production has shown itself to be more than capable with its previous work on the franchise. If Steel Ball Race represents Araki's mastery of manga as a medium, JoJo's Bizarre AdventureDavid Production's anime represents the mastery of anime as a medium.
From the soundtrack to the impeccable animation, the clever use of the color palette changes to the way each voice actor completely locks into the role they are playing, with each JoJo part that worked brilliantly as a manga worked even better as an anime. This trend is unlikely to stop anytime soon – so if Steel Ball Race is one of JoJo's Bizarre AdventureIn its most brilliantly written parts, the anime's vivid intensity in adapting an already incredible story will certainly make for one of the best adaptations of the 2020s.