JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run

Mild spoilers! it is difficult to talk about the story or characters without saying something... "What is so hype about Steel Ball Run?" It is a question that people who do not read often wonder the answer. The part basically gets rid of stands and focuses on stand abilities, so its more the user if fighting than the actual stand. Guns are actually a threat for the first time in the series in a while, and stands are so much weaker that Gyro doesn't even have a stand throughout the part. The fight against the main villain is also very well done, with both sides having interestingabilities. Gyro and Johnny's friendship is also very well done and both are likeable characters. Andd "Why is Steel Ball Run so good?" It's one of the most maturely written JoJo story in the entire saga. It's pretty dark, featuring what can be considered the least good JoJo in a moral stance. Unlike previous parts where it's either saving the world or stopping Dio and his minions, Johnny's motivation throughout the story mostly selfish. Some fans might argue that Valentine is more justified in his actions as the antagonist than Johnny is as the main protagonist. Besides that, the setting really takes advantage the fact that its a race that spans all of the USA in the 19th century. You have various locales and a unique variation of enemies Johnny and Gyro face off against that came all over the world to participate in the Steel Ball Run. I could go on like how Valentine is written as a very likeable villain, how Diego is more than the "i'm evil because i can" guy his original incarnation was, how unique the story behind the stands and the spin are, and all other stuff. The most important thing is that Araki done a very terrific job rebooting the JoJo universe with SBR. If anything, Part 7 is his magnum opus. Yep, that's it. I've finished reading the adored and said best part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure... What a journey ! I enjoyed every bit of it, from the story (the idea of a horse race through the late 1800s America and the twist of Jesus's corpse being the real objective), characters ( I particularly appreciated Hot Pants and her chemistry with Johnny, but also Sandman who is the absolute madlad, or even minor stand users such as Mr. Blackmore or Ringo) to the entertaining stand fights and the beautiful landscapes shown throughout the race. I must say I really enjoyed the character of Lucy, a kind of "part 7 Hayato", who endured numerous traumatic experiences, but without giving up. Furthermore, her relationship with her husband was really moving and cute to my mind. Then Valentine, the perfect villain : behind an evil and selfish goal hides in fact a strong feeling of patriotism, that couldn't nevertheless overcome the thirst for power and control. D4C was a reaaaally op Stand that was absolutely wonderfully used to create entertaining fights with the protagonists. And finally, oh boy, oh Gyro, such a deep character. He showed us lots of aspects that a JoJo character was expected to embody (a difficult yet moving background, courage, wit, a noble objective, humour, sometimes sadness, and so on. But that was a lot deeper than that, and Gyro was the perfect match for Johnny. Their relationship just works so well it becomes unreal. Two strangers, different nationalities, different backgrounds yet they are perfectly fit for each other. I fricking loved the jokes/songs moment where Gyro put his whole heart only to be in front of a cold yet amused Johnny, even sometimes adding more to the ridiculous situation. Johnny was an interesting JoJo to follow. He started the adventure for himself, continued for himself too but couldn't hold back his feelings to intervene when dealing with other characters like Hot Pants or Sandman. Above all, his sincere friendship with Gyro is what made him strong enough to go on on his journey for the corpse's parts. The protagonist is complex The main allies are interesting The villain is believable Even the throwaway villains are fascinating, especially Ringo Roadagain The artwork is exceptional (as per usual) The Stand battles are brilliantly choreographed And Pulp Fiction reference... !Yep, like everyone who reads, we can agree to say it was a bizarre yet amazing adventure! A Cripple who likes balls, an Italian executioner, a cross dressing nun, and a Dinosaur man race across America, finding Jesus' Corpse Parts, and fighting the president with neat hair. Thanks Araki.

I am writing this review simply because there was only one review which means that no matter how bad this review is it will still end up being the second most helpful. Set in an alternate universe from previous parts as a result of the events at the end of Stone Ocean, Steal Ball Run is probably the apex of the massive Jojo's Bizzare Adventure franchise, which is no small statement. Araki has once again recycled and improved upon his formula for making terrifically bizarre adventures. The premise for Steel Ball Run like many of the other parts of the JJBA series is fairly simple and straightforwardyet manages to go so far beyond the limits in depth and development of such a simple story. Essentially the story is about a cross-continental horse race across America with a prize of $50 million. There are many wacky and wonderful characters who enter this race ranging from a native american trying to save his village to a man who entered the race because he got a good fortune from a creepy fortune teller. Moving onto the two main characters of Steel Ball Run. We have Johnny Joestar the titular Jojo of the series and Gyro Zeppeli. In his youth Johnny was a promising horse jockey until he was shot and paralyzed which resulted in him being unable to compete, he also lost all his fame and his father's love as well. It's at this point Johnny encounters the flamboyant Gyro Zeppeli who Johnny believes holds the ability to restore his ability to walk, with nothing to lose Johnny pursues Gyro. Gyro whilst reluctant at first allows Johnny to race alongside him in the Steel Ball Run. Araki decided only to have two central characters in this part as opposed to previous parts such as Stardust Crusaders and Vento Aureo which results in both characters receiving brilliant development over the course of the series, this is hands down the best bromance in anime and manga. There are still many notable side characters present and they still play an important role in the plot, we have a magnificent cameo performance from previous villain Dio Brando in the form of the suave ladies man Diego Brando who is willing to do anything to achieve his ambitions. As well as the mysterious Hot Pants who provided one of the most shocking twists in the entire series. We then have the antagonist of the story Funny Valentine (named after the song 'My funny valentine' by Chet Baker) who happens to be the President of the United States and is the one secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes of the Steel Ball Run for his own nefarious means. Valentine manages to set himself apart from the other villains in the series and even manages to surpass his counterparts which is very impressive considering JJBA arguably has some of the best villains in any series. He manages to combine his strong philosophical and political views with perhaps the coolest ability of all time to become a truly great villain. Once more Araki's artistic style has evolved further, his eccentric character designs have been brushed up to the point of perfection. Since the series moved from Weekly Shounen Jump to Ultra Jump which has monthly release the length of the chapters has lengthened, as well as the quality of the backgrounds and landscapes which vary greatly across the massive continent of America from vast desserts to frozen wastelands which are all captured beautifully. The Stand fighting system is back once more, but has been refined further. Araki once again provides the reader with a banquet of fabulous powers and intelligent fights that other fighting series could only wish for. A special mention to Diego Brando's 'Scary Monsters' because well it is awesome. Araki has really outdone himself this time. He has truly created one of the most exciting and memorable manga series of all time with Steel Ball Run, I have no idea how he plans to top himself with Jojolion but he has set the bar pretty damn high for himself and every other shounen author out there. I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a fantastic series filled with intelligent and innovative fights, brilliantly developed characters who are genuinely relatable and for anyone who wants to read a series with horse races in it. If you are interested in reading Steel Ball Run you can probably get away with not reading the entire series from parts 1-6 but I would strongly advise you to check out the entire series as you would be missing out on a lot of greatness, at any rate you should at the very least watch the 2012 series as there are a few overlapping themes and characters which you should be aware of. Story=8.7 Art=9.1 Characters=9.5 Enjoyment=10 Overall=9.4

In Steel Ball Run, Araki once again delivers a story arc full of clever battles, creative abilities, crazy plots and lovely characters. No, this is even better than the previous arcs, as the author continues to recycle his own style and improve without limits. This is a very rare example in which the author actually gets better with time, and Steel Ball Run provides very good evidence for that. The story starts out pretty simple: our crippled Joestar hero, Johny, gangs up with Gyro Zeppeli and aims for the top in the intense Steel Ball Run race. Each competitor has his own unique motivations, abilities andmeans to win. Add the wackiness of the Stands to the mix and you've got yourself one hell of a ride, much like previous installments of the saga. But Steel Ball Run goes one step beyond and throws in characters/factions with their own agendas, a large conspiracy and personal quests. That doesn't mean the story is complicated, but it definitely has interesting plot twists, intense conflicts and engaging character dynamics. Everything just flows so well that it's easy to get sucked in by the manga. The art gets even more refined, making brilliant use of Araki's trademark style to highlight emotions, grant impact to a scene or simply serve as true feasts to the reader's eyes, specially with the rich character designs. Gyro and Johny are likely the best JoJo protagonists to date, despite not topping Joseph from Part 2 in terms of badassery. They are far from perfect, but that's what makes them fascinating: they keep struggling with their inner demons, which are also their greatest enemies, in order to continue advancing, revealing more and more aspects of their personalities in the process. Their bond of friendship is quite powerful and authentic; even meaningless interactions are a lot of fun to watch. Oh, and Gyro's charisma is a huge plus. The rest of the cast may not be as developed as Johny and Gyro, but they still shine. For starters, you've got Dio, who is again that bastard we all love to hate, manipulating everyone he can to achieve his personal goals. There is also the sympathetic cowboy Mountain Tim, the conflicted Hot Pants, the hilarious comedy relief Pocoloco and many other remarkable characters. The main antagonist is also great, using all of his experience acquired in combat, political power and honest, strong patriotism to pose a serious threat for the heroes. As usual, battles are one of the biggest focus of the narrative and the main driving force behind the characters' growth, by putting them against desperate situations which demand a strong resolve and difficult choices to be made. While the Stands were becoming stronger and stronger in the previous arcs, Steel Ball Run brings most of them down dramatically. There are few overpowered abilities, making the battles very strategical and a lot demanding of the users. This is highlighted in battles such as the one against Axl Ro, which literally makes everyone involved face their sins, specially Johny and Hot Pants. If you're up for some exciting, yet intelligent battles, a great cast of characters and one of the most bizarre races of the entire universe, then JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run is for you. And it doesn't matter whether you are an experienced reader of the JoJo saga or a total newcomer, because the Steel Ball Run excludes no one! (Reviewed for the club "Reviews for the unreviewed")

Since the classic second installment of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Battle Tendency, JoJo has always been a great manga. Each individual part features a plethora of great characters, compelling plot points, amusing comedic scenes, and heartbreaking tragedy. As the final panel of Part 6 comes into full view, no one can deny that JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one of the greatest manga of all time. Yet I'm not writing this review to tell you why JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is great; I'm here to tell you why it's a masterpiece and my second favorite series of all time. And to understand why JoJo's Bizarre Adventure isa masterpiece, one must first analyze the almost undisputed greatest story arc: Steel Ball Run. With this seventh story arc of the JJBA franchise, Araki joins the likes of Miura and Urasawa in the highest echelon of the manga industry. Story: 10 Steel Ball Run is a narrative that follows the adventures of two protagonists, Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zepelli, as they both strive to obtain first place in the Steel Ball Run Race; a voyage across the United States of America on horseback for the chance to win $50,000,000. Ever since Part 4, Araki has utilized the narrative concept of an epiphany masterfully. Within the first three parts, the goals of the respective JoJos ultimately remained stagnant and undynamic. Each protagonist, more or less, understands the gravity of their conflict from the opening acts until the very end. However, since the mystery surrounding Yoshikage Kira and the murder of young Morioh women in Diamond is Unbreakable, Araki has ensured that each individual interprets the world around them differently and comes to multiple realizations throughout the course of the plot. Not everything is as it seems. Within Steel Ball Run, Johnny and Gyro's epiphany fuels the story forward, as they begin to ascertain that the significance of this race holds worldwide implications. Whereas originally the reader is of the notion that Steel Ball Run is all about its namesake race, we soon discern that this is not the case. The narrative of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run is beautifully woven. Each arc feels as if it belongs and holds merit. A sense of progression pervades each action taken by the characters. The story is full of complex thematics, psychological battles, and cleverly written dialogue. By far, Steel Ball Run is the most expertly written segment of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. JJBA is famous for its battles, so It wouldn't be just to refrain from mentioning them. Steel Ball Run has the greatest battles within JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Each Stand is unique and interesting, and each action has a psychological element to it. The final two conflicts are extraordinary, both serving to wrap up the two significant plots of the story; attempting to become the victor of the Steel Ball Run race, and preventing the actualization of the purpose the race was constructed for. Similar to the part before it, Steel Ball Run has potentially the greatest ending I've ever witnessed within fiction. It is seriously perfect, yet I wouldn't dare spoil its riches. At its heart, much like A Tale of Two Cities, Steel Ball Run is a story of revival. Art: 10 Steel Ball Run possesses the second best artwork Araki has ever drawn, only being beaten out by its successor JoJolion. Every single character is aesthetically pleasing, and their appearance reveals a multitude of information about their personality. Araki has definitely had some issues in the past attempting to draw feminine faces, yet he really nailed the character of Lucy Steel, who is one of the most beautifully designed female characters in all of manga. Character: 10 Steel Ball Run possesses one of the best cast of characters I've ever seen. There are five major characters within the narrative: Johnny Joestar, Gyro Zepelli, Diego Brando, Funny Valentine, and Lucy Steel. Every single one of them are contenders for the greatest fictional characters ever conceived. Every single one of them possesses their own heartbreaking backstory and distinct motives/ideologies. Because it would take a century to analyze them all, I'll take a closer look at the most compelling and complex character of the manga: Johnny Joestar. Johnny Joestar is the primary protagonist of Steel Ball Run, as well as the seventh JoJo. Previously, he was a world renown jockey, enjoying opulent environments and luxurious living. However, this caused Johnny to spiral down a dark path. He was conceited and extremely brash, treating those around him like garbage, believing everyone to be a waste of space. Until one day, when cutting in front of the line to watch a play, Johnny was shot in the spinal cord by the enraged person that he wronged. While in rehabilitation, the world forgot about Johnny Joestar. Although humbled, he became a shell of his former self, suffering constant abuse at the hands of his caretakers. He becomes a paraplegic, even finding himself unable to mount his horse again. After years of looking down upon those who couldn't achieve fame like he did, Johnny Joestar is diminished to a state where he's less than those he ridiculed. He joins the Steel Ball Run race to build himself back upwards to "zero", or the basic point of humanity devoid of any disability or privilege, detestation or praise, isolation or fame. In other words, Johnny Joestar wants to start again. Each of the main characters is filled with as much depth as Johnny Joestar. That's how profoundly masterful this vibrant cast of characters is. As we follow Johnny throughout his adventures, we are tormented with philosophical questions, such as whether or not the hero of this narrative is actually the villain. Enjoyment: 10 I love consuming fictional stories. From any sort of medium. Yet there's only a certain sort of story that can light a spark inside my very soul. A story that attributes me with a certain fluttering feeling within the stomach, as I carnivorously crave for more content. The first time I experienced this feeling was after watching the first four seasons of Game of Thrones. The second time I experienced this feeling was when reading the Golden Age arc of Berserk. The third, and final, time I experienced this feeling was when reading the masterpiece that is Steel Ball Run. What more can I say? I absolutely love it. In fact, it is the only story I've ever read that I wouldn't change a thing about. Overall: 10 Steel Ball Run is a masterpiece, and the greatest story ever told from beginning to end. It is hard to put into words how this manga makes me feel. I recommend it with all my heart, and could give no series higher praise than JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. "This story is the tale of me starting to walk. Not in the physical sense...but in an adolescence to adulthood sort of way."