JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run

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Alternatives: Synonyms: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run, SBR
Japanese: ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 Part7 STEEL BALL RUN
Author: Araki, Hirohiko
Type: Manga
Volumes: 24
Chapters: 96
Status: Finished
Publish: 2004-01-19 to 2011-04-19
Serialization: Ultra Jump

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4.8
(80 Votes)
86.84%
5.26%
6.58%
1.32%
0.00%
0 Reading
0 Want to read
0 Read
Alternatives: Synonyms: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run, SBR
Japanese: ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 Part7 STEEL BALL RUN
Author: Araki, Hirohiko
Type: Manga
Volumes: 24
Chapters: 96
Status: Finished
Publish: 2004-01-19 to 2011-04-19
Serialization: Ultra Jump
Score
4.8
80 Votes
86.84%
5.26%
6.58%
1.32%
0.00%
0 Reading
0 Want to read
0 Read
Summary
In the American Old West, the world's greatest race is about to begin. Thousands line up in San Diego to travel over six thousand kilometers for a chance to win the grand prize of fifty million dollars. With the era of the horse reaching its end, contestants are allowed to use any kind of vehicle they wish. Competitors will have to endure grueling conditions, traveling up to a hundred kilometers a day through uncharted wastelands. The Steel Ball Run is truly a one-of-a-kind event.

The youthful Johnny Joestar, a crippled former horse racer, has come to San Diego to watch the start of the race. There he encounters Gyro Zeppeli, a racer with two steel balls at his waist instead of a gun. Johnny witnesses Gyro using one of his steel balls to unleash a fantastical power, compelling a man to fire his gun at himself during a duel. In the midst of the action, Johnny happens to touch the steel ball and feels a power surging through his legs, allowing him to stand up for the first time in two years. Vowing to find the secret of the steel balls, Johnny decides to compete in the race, and so begins his bizarre adventure across America on the Steel Ball Run.

Reviews (80)
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JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run review
by
Terako-chan15
Apr 17, 2021
Y'know the first time I've read Steel Ball Run, I was honestly peed off at Araki for not continuing Part 7 as a sequel after Stone Ocean, completely dropped it at 3 chapters last month. Then I suddenly realised this month I made a mistake and boy, I wasn't ready for all the shenanigans that were going to make me become addicted to reading the long whole 95 chapters in 1 day!

I tell ya, Gyro and Johnny were one of the best duo in the Jojo series. I laughed me ass with Gyro coming up with silly sayings like "Did you say something? Were you talking into my ass...? Because I can't hear anything with my ass! " including the cheese song he made up with Johnny. It makes me sad also but I ain't telling you what happened to him unless you read this manga. Gyro may be acting as a tough guy, but he has the best humour in terms of being unpredictable with his words.

I felt so sorry for Johnny though, like the poor fella, his father wasn't even proud of him being a jockey and kicked him out of the family home after falling out with him after the tragic death of his brother. It breaks your heart man like Johnny is actually such a nice bloke if you get to know him more through out the manga! It's even good that Araki created a character with a physical disability because it really shows whatever life throws at them, they can be super heros also equally as someone who doesn't have a physical disability!

I really wish they made Poco Loco join the team because I found he wouldve been the potential candidate to be a good team member alongside with Gyro and Johnny. Unfortunately we can't always get what we wish for in some mangas but yeah this was a very good reading experience. I just loved the horse racing scenes, including the pair bois going across the desert!

Yeah lads definitely advice you to read the whole story of this manga if Part 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 have impressed you enough!

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run review
by
Suzuhana8
Apr 17, 2021
TLDR
Story 9/10
Art 8/10
Characters 9/10
Enjoyment 8/10
Overall 9/10

Steel Ball Run is the Seventh Part of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and the first to be written for Ultra Jump after Hirohiko Araki left Shonen Jump. This Part is greatly considered Araki’s greatest work and one of the greatest Shonen stories, it currently ranks at #2 on MyAnimeList’s Manga Ranking. Though I agree that SBR is one of the best parts of JJBA, I personally prefer Part 5: Vento Auero more. I’ll discuss why I don’t think it’s perfect in the review

Story
This Story is great, I would personally consider the story the best that Araki has ever written and the greatest story I have experienced so far. SBR starts off as a simple story about our Protagonist, Johnny Joestar entering the Steel Ball Run, a race across all of America, in order to learn about the mysterious spin that caused his legs to work for the first time in years. However it is soon revealed that the Race is merely a cover-up for the 23rd President of America, Funny Valentine, to gather parts of the corpse of Jesus Christ in order to make America the strongest nation on Earth. Along the way, Johnny is taught the Spin by Gyro Zeppeli a little at a time, ultimately able to harness the Infinite Rotation.

However, I have two major issues with this story, one much more important than the other. My first complaint is the death of Hot Pants, an important character who appears multiple times throughout the part to both help and hinder Johnny and Gyro. A character like hers would’ve gotten more of a send-off in the earlier parts such as Noriaki Kakyoin’s death where a lot of time is devoted to his last moments. Hot Pants doesn’t get that, she merely reacts to Funny Valentine’s Love Train ability and is presumably killed by her own attack going into her heart, it’s a very unsatisfying way to kill one of the main characters.

My Second Complaint is the final arc, High Voltage. I believe if Steel Ball Run ended with Johnny solemnly riding his horse away, only to find the race had already finished, this part would be my favourite. Instead they decided to bring back Johnny Joestar’s Rival, Diego Brando who was killed earlier in the story by Funny Valentine. They do this by saying Funny Valentine had taken Diego from an alternate universe before his death. Perhaps I was missing something but there was no real way this could’ve happened because the timing makes no sense, Alternate World Diego must’ve been hiding on the train OUR Diego was fighting Funny Valentine on, which doesn’t make sense as the two would’ve violently have been killed as we see with Wekapipo during the first appearance of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. But putting all that aside, we see that Alternate World Diego has The World, DIO’s stand from Part 3. I believe this was one of the stupidest reveals as it felt like pure and utter fanservice for an earlier Villian. Alternate World Diego then easily defeats Johnny Joestar before going to hide the Corpse Parts so nobody else could use their power. Lucy Steel intervenes at the last second by giving AW Diego our world’s Diego’s head, despite the fact he was cut in half with his head intact. This causes AW Diego to violently explode just like Wekapipo earlier. If I’m not missing anything here, the entire High Voltage Arc makes little to no sense whatsoever.

Despite of High Voltage, I believe this part’s story is still great with an amazingly written Antagonist and Protagonist but I’ll return to them later.

Art
Araki had moved from Shonen Jump to Ultra Jump, so rather than drawing an entire chapter in a week, he could write one in a month due to now having monthly releases. This shows in the massively improved artwork...in the later half, in the first half the characters still seem like they were drawn in a week with plenty of slightly off model appearances, Johnny’s first appearance springs to mind, with him looking like an awkward background character rather than our main character.
Overall the art is much better than anything in the first six parts even though it got off to a rocky start.

Characters
Shonen Protagonists have a notorious habit of being bland and basic, Izuku Midoriya and Goku Son spring to mind with them only having surface level personalities and goals. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is guilty as hell with this, Jonathan Joestar is literally just kind, I cannot think of another character trait he has. Johnny however, is different. Johnny Joestar has an amazingly written backstory, he used to be a world class Jockey before he accidentally killed his brother, causing his father to say “God took the wrong son.” This makes Johnny incredibly arrogant on the outside when in reality he is just trying to cover up for his feelings of loneliness and self doubt. One day whilst taking a girl to the cinema, he is shot in the waist. The shot doesn’t kill him but it leaves his legs useless, no longer able to face himself due to being shot for his own arrogance, he becomes hopeless and almost depressed. When hearing about the Steel Ball Run he goes to see the beginning of the race where he encounters Spin for the first time, causing his legs to work for a second. This gives him hope and ultimately makes him join the Steel Ball Run which sets the events of the part into motion.

He is an amazing character and one of my favourite protagonists of all time. He isn’t the only amazing character as Funny Valentine, the main Antagonist is an amazingly written character. He used the Steel Ball Run as an excuse to hire racers to bring him the Holy Corpse Parts of Jesus Christ. He believes that in life, the only ones who matter are the ones who take control, this is why he takes the Corpse Parts to make America more powerful as the other countries haven’t taken them first.

Enjoyment
I heavily enjoyed reading Steel Ball Run, however there were some faults with it. I didn’t enjoy most of it’s beginning, until the Scary Monsters Arc, everything felt rather underwhelming, especially Tomb of the Boom which is easily one of my least favourite fights of the entire series. It’s far too boring and it drags on for much longer than it should have with a stand that wasn’t even very interesting

Overall
I believe Steel Ball Run is an amazing part of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, full of amazing characters, interesting stands and the best story of the whole franchise, despite Vento Auero being my favourite part, I cannot recommend Steel Ball Run enough, it’s a brilliant part you MUST read if you’re a JJBA Fan
JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run review
by
TheBishList12
Apr 17, 2021
This part was great, one of the best of the series. Not a "masterpiece" as some people like to say, but still, it was amazing in its peak moments. If you are into JoJo, I highly recommend reading it, since the anime adaptation for this one may take many years to come out. Anyways, the rest of my review is full of spoilers, so be careful.

Story (8/10)
This part's premise is without a doubt one of the most creative. While other anime are mostly only in Japan or fictional worlds, JoJo once again recognizes other places in the real world and represents them properly, this time in the late 19th century USA, which is settling for the western cowboy story that is given to us. However, since it's a battle-seinen manga it will drag you into a lot of fights, and this part has some weak ones (Boom Boom Family) and the beginning is awful. Yet, the final fight (against Valentine) is amazing and will probably be the best in the series when animated. I also loved Disco.
Being the first part in a new universe, the elements brought here are some of the most interesting, like the holy corpse and the spin technique, a great complement to the stand battles that SBR also has. The story being focused on two main characters opens room for more characterization, and the protagonist here really has depth and development (one of the few in the series to have something like this), as we see him growing from a cocky brat that thinks too much of himself just because he is good at horse racing to a humble, kind (and traumatized) professional jockey that cares about his friends and family.
Talking so greatly about the story, the score I gave to this manga seems lower than deserved. Well, that's because it has a lot of flaws, and I left it all later on.

Art (9/10)
Once again, the art of the most recent JoJo series is great and unique as it always were, althought Stone Ocean's art was better. The character design is one of the most creative, wheter it's Johnny's cowboy style and hair shaped as devil horns, Oyecomova's Dia de Los Muertos design or Wekapipo's waffle-shaped hair, and so it goes. The different parts from the west to east of the USA are also very detailed and certainly gives this manga a reason to be outstanding, and also the diversity we have in the characters. A thing that I like about JoJo is that it's one of the few series to aknowledge the existence of other ethnicities and cultures, here having Oyecomova, Sandman and Pocoloco as examples. If you pick other manga or anime they'll probably show only white-skinned people and represent all americans as blonde people with blue eyes, as if it was a an european country.

Character (3/10)
Here is where things start to go down. This part has a lot of characters besides the main group and the villains, each one of them with their very own storyline, mostly unsolved when it ends.
Starting with the main characters, I already mentioned Johnny, this part's protagonist. People love to trash on him for being "selfish" while Valentine is "selfless", and I disagree. He might not have ambitious goals like "being the number one" "reaching the top" or whatever, but that makes him and most JoJo protagonists more realistic. His story is about surviving and evolving as a person while protecting the ones he cares about, the same as it was with Joseph, Josuke and specially Jonathan, his original universe counterpart, and none of them are selfish for that.
As for the other main character, Gyro is funny, entertaining and determined, being a great mentor to Johnny, yet his arc is a total dumpster fire. Unlike Johnny, he wants to win the race and has a reason for that, that being that he needs it to save someone's life. Basically he comes from a noble, wealthy family of executioners whose job is treated as honorable (besides this position never being a good one, take Ilyn Payne from the medieval-based A Song of Ice and Fire for example) and we have to see his father shit-talking about it A FUCKING LOT, and it's basically cutting people's heads off it's nothing to be proud for, I've seen other monarchic stories with contexts like this Zeppeli's family but this is too forced to the point that is ridiculous. It worsens when we hear about Marco, a 9-year-old boy who is a servant at a noble man's house and when this guy conspires against the king, the fucking POLICE and state intelligence somehow states that the poor boy somehow took part in the conspiracy and sentences him to be executed by Gyro. This isn't just a plothole, it's a massive crater. First, why the hell would they care about a plebeian child's life so much they would wait months for Gyro to win a race on the other side of the world to see if they kill him or not? Why would they accuse a child of conspiracy, and if he somehow was actually guilty, would they pardon a traitor of the state just because a guy won a race in the USA? All of this absurdity is brought up a lot in this part which is also full of absurds, but the problem is that this one is treated SERIOUSLY with Gregorio's babbling about the "honor" of killing a child. Basically, Gregorio and Marco are some of the worst characters in this part and they ruin Gyro's character. If he was an almost no backstory ally such as Kakyoin or Mamezuku he would be better, or if he was at least given a better backstory.
The third main character of this story is Diego Brando, a counterpart of Dio. While Dio was fun to watch but still was a weak, generic villain whose goals were the same of a cancer cell (conquering just because of conquering), Diego outstands as the best reread character from the original universe in SBR. He still resembles Dio and still is an antagonist, but his goals and personality are reasonable and so are his relations with other characters such as Hot Pants. All of this makes the character more realistic, a thing that Dio never was, even if the guy can turn into a dinosaur and eat rocks.
Hot Pants is the same, one of the best original characters this part gave us. Besides the ones in part 6, women in JoJo are usually represented as weak, clingy and or powerless, and with her it seems that it finally changes, even if it's just one time. Although she has less screentime than deserved, her scenes are amazing and she is great in the fight she protagonizes. She is paired with Diego and it's one of the few official couples in JoJo that doesn't feel forced, they are their own characters and don't need to clinge on each other to have a personality, still, they are great together.
Returning to the bad characters, Lucy was a terrible counterpart of Erina besides being more relevant than her. After the failed attempt of making her a main character she sticks in the part to be a damsel in distress, also being molested and drawn naked a lot besides being 14 years old (Really, Araki?), she may not be hateful, but it's terrible how she is treated by the story. A shame, because if she was good we would have the first badass non-stand user in Jojo since part 4 (well she actually has as stand, but she just never uses it).
For the others, Wekapipo took a brief role, but it was still nice to see him fighting and his relation with Gyro. Pocoloco and Norisuke also appeared too few times, and it's strange if you think that they were the ones who won the race in the end. And Sandman, I expected WAY MORE of him. He was the first character we saw in this part and new universe, he had more reasons to win than the rest and was determined to cross the whole country on foot for it. Yet, his character takes a 180º and decides to work for Valentine, god knows why. Also his name is not Soundman.
The main villain Valentine, besides suffering some retcon since the beginning, he was a good, participative antagonist. He had good motivations, mostly, but still was hypocritical and perverse, but yeah, he is the villain after all. Not my favorite, but definitely one of the best antagonists of the series. However, his personality and motivations are ruined by the end, when this character who is supposed to care about his country and do everything for it decides it would be nice to give an unlimited power source to a man he thinks is a lunatic, just because he wants to get revenge on Johnny.

Story Part 2 - The awful ending
As I said, we have a lot of character arcs and no closure for most of them. Yeah they have to die at some point, but the way it is done makes you wonder what was the point, like Wekapipo's case. There is also Hot Pants that is thrown off a train and we never see a final scene of her, not even a body, and Pocoloco, winner of the GODDAMN RACE THIS PART IS ABOUT, who never appears again nor have any conclusion to his story. Gyro's arc also ends like a joke, with the boy he died to save said to be "later he died from a cold". This is something I would expect to see in shows like South Park, for instance, and not in the end of an amazing manga. For the "father dillema" that takes a role in this part, while George Joestar's story had a conclusion with him asking for forgiveness for what he made his son endure and being forgiven later on, Gregorio Zeppeli never appears again, he suffers zero consequences for all the shit he has done to his son and that's it.
It pains me that Araki could've done a proper conclusion to all of this, but instead he decides to surrender himself to fanservice and squeezed the terribly placed, nonsense arc of High Voltage, the worst part of SBR. Starting with Valentine throwing out his character by bringing the AU Diego to this universe, this arc gives a fight that makes you question what are you reading. I mean, the main villain died but battles are still happening? And for what? AU Diego takes out Johnny just to be defeated by fucking Lucy Steel. This entire arc was an unnecessary nonsense and trashed the original Diego and Valentine's characters, just so you could have some Dio and The World fanservice. I REALLY hope it gets cut off when animated.

Enjoyment (6/10)
Is the ending good? Yeah, if you just consider Johnny, Gyro and Valentine. It could have ended with Valentine as the actual final fight and a closure later on, but that's just my opinion. I loved a lot of things from this part and hated some others, but I liked it and would read it again. It sucks that only Johnny and Lucy survived out of the main characters, I pesonally loved Diego and Hot Pants and wished to see more of them, but yeah, the best version of Dio couldn't make it.

Overall (7/10)
I think I said it all. People like this part and they have every reason to do it, I recommend it to people who have seen the previous parts, because it's really great, being the last good part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run review
by
Eclipsa12
Apr 17, 2021
Often, I wonder why I sift through disappointing and mediocre comics, why I read things I'm nearly certain I won't like, and why I don't just stick to what I'm familiar with. And then I read something like Steel Ball Run, which fuels my search all over again.

Steel Ball Run is the best part of Jojo. I've always liked the series, but I had problems with previous entries. Flat characters, filler fights, and plot holes/contrivances has kept Jojo from being its best. No one part could solve jump these three hurdles completely, only part 4 got close. Characters in particular were never too complex. We begin to see better characters in part 6, but part 7 has the best characters in the series.

Our two protagonists, Johnny and Gyro, have their own lives, stories, and motivations. It's incredible that a minor villain in this part has more character than half the main characters of part 3. The major villain, Funny Valentine, is also great, and sometimes feels more just than our protagonist. Diego is cool, I think Hot Pants was interesting but could've been better, etc etc... What really makes these characters great is their motivations and morals. We understand each character because we get to know them, and what they lose in eccentricity compared to other Jojo parts they gain in depth.

The battles here aren't quite as good as in part 5, but it's close. Johnny has a cool stand that actually get's more powerful like Echoes from part 4. Spin is a really cool power (Although it feels a bit broad and OP), and pretty much all the stands in the series are really cool. Sometimes stands similar to ones from previous parts are brought back, which can sometimes feel like a retread, but usually feels like a fresh take. I only wish there were more racing elements, as I felt that was usually secondary to stand battles.

The plot is actually really involved. A cross-country race with a hidden agenda, filled with battles, espionage, and powers is a great idea that is executed excellently. There's no filler, and a decent amount of variety in fights and arcs. The ending is a bit too rushed in my opinion (And by ending I just mean the last chapter). This is the best plot in Jojo.

Araki's artwork has reached a brand new level. He has perfected his style, with both expressive and detailed art. His backgrounds are also excellent, which is great because it brings the alt/universe America this takes place in to life.

Jojo Part 7: Steel Ball Run is one of those rare pieces of art that manages to be both entertaining and compelling. It's a unique story that only Araki could make, and I doubt there will be anything quite like this masterpiece ever again. You could skip straight to part 7. I don't recommend it, but you could.
JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run review
by
ThatRandomDude11
Apr 17, 2021
Steel Ball Run is what I would consider the perfect manga.

Story.
The story of part 7 is such a massive improvement from that of the other parts, it's hard to believe it's by the same artist. The setting of a race kept the pace of the journey consistent, meaning none of it dragged, and none of it was rushed. The way the characters' goals change as they learn more about what is going on behind the scenes of the race is extremely interesting.

Art.
The art is not only masterful, but also hugely creative. The detail put even into minor panels is phenomenal, even compared to some of the manga known for their detail, such as vagabond. The way Araki uses perspective and angles is something I've never seen in manga before. The panelling and action makes it so easy to read, which is why I read the whole part so quickly. The coloured scans online enhance the art even further, to what I believe is the best art I have ever seen in manga. It is barely comparable to the previous parts, which were still fantastic.

Characters.
The cast of Steel Ball Run is a fraction of the size of the other parts, meaning we get to see much more in depth how and why they act, especially since their backstories are more plausible than, for example, Giorno's. This makes the story much more easy to invest in, as I was constantly worrying about how the protagonists would escape some situations.

Enjoyment.
My enjoyment was easily the most I have had out of any piece of fiction I have watched or read so far. The natural interactions, the occasional hilarious moments, a brilliant antagonist and much more all led to a fantastically immersive and emotional journey.

Overall.
Everything considered, it is no surprise I am giving Steel Ball Run a perfect score. There is genuinely nothing I can criticise about this masterpiece. If anyone is considering reading Steel Ball Run, I highly recommend you do. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is now, having read this part, undoubtedly one of the greats in manga history.
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