The Fall 2026 Anime Preview Guide

STEEL BALL RUN JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2nd Stage

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Set in America in the year 1890. A genius jockey, Johnny Joestar, was paralyzed from the waist down. He chases after outlaw Gyro Zeppeli in a tough cross-continent horse race, the Steel Ball Run.

STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 2nd Stage is based on the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run manga series by Hirohiko Araki. The anime series is streaming on Netflix on Fridays.

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Lucas DeRuyter
Episode 2 Rating:

I'd like to begin this review with the brief and enthusiastic acknowledgment that BULLYING WORKS! After Stone Ocean was subjected to Netflix's seasonal batch release model — whether this was due to the preference of the streaming platform or a consequence of David Productions' schedule and other commitments is unclear — it feels so good to have the psychic anchor and cultural institution that is JoJo Fridays back again! I'm going to start every Friday for the next three months with the new Steel Ball Run episode and carry the energy and anticipation these episodes impart into my weekends, and I could not be more excited to start living my best life again.

As for this first episode of Steel Ball Run's proper seasonal run of episodes, while it's less action-packed than the series' special premiere, it still effectively sets the stage for these next two…stages…of the race. With Gyro penalized and knocked out of first place for using a weapon, his steel balls, to disrupt Sandman's movements (or as my fiancé put it, “cheating with magic”), Gyro and Johnny are underdogs heading into the second stretch of the race. However, when dead bodies are found on the course, famed cowboy Mountain Tim is deputized to investigate, and this already strange cross-country competition becomes even more bizarre.

While this is definitely a setup episode, Steel Ball Run does a good job of creating intrigue and character writing, so I don't mind this episode mostly being table dressing. While other characters immediately start hyping up Mountain Tim, his managing to pull a button out of a bottle with his lasso without any explanation immediately sparked my intrigue. Especially in a series like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which can sometimes over-explain its power systems and characters' actions, having someone do something impossible with no explanation makes them feel intimidating.

Also, as much as this episode builds up the dangers of the Arizona desert, I appreciate how it starts planting the seeds of Gyro and Johnny's dynamic. While they definitely have a master-pupil relationship, it's so much fun to see the pragmatic Johnny push back on the actually-a-dumbass Gyro for his poor planning. But with what we've seen in this episode and the previous special, it's clear that Gyro's poor communication and strategizing stem from being so talented and hyper-competent in the moment that he never had to develop his planning or communication skills. I also really enjoy Kaiji Tang's take on Gyro in the English dub and the direction/localization the show gives him. Balancing his high-brow background with his juvenile attitude is a tricky juggling act, but the blend of “proper” speech and childish insults in the dub establishes this quirky and lovable character immediately.

As someone who's read the Steel Ball Run manga three times over, this anime is still everything I hoped it would be, and I have all the faith in the world that this hot streak will continue!

Episode 3 Rating:
It would be disingenuous of me to start this review without mentioning the controversy surrounding Steel Ball Run's ending animation and score. While I think that it's unlikely to change, as many online are petitioning for, I do agree that the song, “Shinu ka Ikiru ka” by Yūki Chiba, is disappointing compared to previous ending themes and that previous endings drawing from popular global music helped drive home the international influences at the heart of JoJo's. More than anything, though, I think it is morally repugnant that Warner Music Japan would work with noted scumbag Dr. Luke (Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald), and I will help the JoJo's fan community yell at them about this decision until the heat death of the universe.

To get to the episode proper, man, it feels good to be back in JoJo's “Stand User of the Week” formula! While this format all but defined the structure of parts three through six of the manga, original mangaka Hirohiko Araki refined, if not perfected, his own storytelling convention in Steel Ball Run. This is apparent immediately in this episode, with Johnny and Gyro's encounter with the villainous Boomboom family. Having a dude roll up to your camp, claim to be dying, and then autoerotic asphyxiate himself is the kind of (terminology intended) bizarre encounter that teeters just on the edge of plausible in the real world. From this grounded point of uncomfortability, Steel Ball Run then thrusts its audience into the fantastical with the first proper stand battle of the show, making the events that follow feel infinitely more plausible and relatable.

The attacks and abilities of the Boomboom family also evoke previous antagonists in the franchise, with Andrew's (Andre in the manga) magnetism powers echoing Mariah from Stardust Crusaders' Bastet and Benjamin's shapeshifting to sabotage his enemies echoing Oingo's Khnum. While part three of the franchise certainly had its own charms, these ideas were clearly cooking in the intervening decades, and the way these powers are expressed here feels much more intentional and immediately threatening.

With cockiness and hyper-competence as Gyro's defining traits in the previous episode and special, it's genuinely thrilling to see him put on the back foot — or whatever's left of his foot after Andrew magnetized it into a pincushion. Even though I know exactly how this story is going to play out as a dedicated manga reader, this episode still made the opening of this early-season scuffle gripping, and that's maybe the best compliment I can give any adapted work.

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Kennedy
Episode 2 Rating:
Much like JoJo Fridays, we are, in fact, so back.

After that excellent—albeit short—first stage, it's hard to not get your hopes up about this second stage of Steel Ball Run (SBR). Doubly so if, like me, you've read the manga and have a pretty good idea of what's in store. But even outside of that inescapable excitement, on its own merits, this is still a great episode, and a really fun way to kick off the next 11 episodes.

Over-dramatic, nonsensical, wonderfully animated, and lusciously colored as always, this episode checks every box I've come to love and expect in JJBA. Still, one of the things I love most about SBR is how true it stays to all things JJBA, while also breaking from tradition in some unique ways—especially with regard to how dark it gets. We got a taste of that in this episode, in fact. JJBA is certainly no stranger to the occasional moments of gore and body horror (which we're going to get plenty of as the series goes on, rest assured), but even then, it's not every day we see it get quite so graphic as we did this week, when we saw a human's entrails draped across the desert sands.

Still, I want to highlight the nonsense aspect I mentioned earlier for this episode, with particular regard to the cactus. Johnny doesn't even have an ability yet—we're nowhere near the Stand-user-of-the-week zone that Araki inevitably brings into every JJBA part. But that hasn't stopped him from saying, “Screw it. Uh, this guy uses bugs that he controls to set off cactus needles.” That's exactly the kind of over-the-top, overcomplicated nonsense that I love, and no one does it quite like Araki—who's made an art form out of this.

And speaking of Gyro's now thoroughly mangled ear, I have but one complaint about this episode. Although by now, I'm sure you already know what it is: The ending theme. What on Haruhi's green earth is Dr. Luke doing in SBR's credits? Get him out; he's garbage, and no one wants him. Doubly so when the opening theme is as excellent as it is, and JJBA's use of pre-existing songs for an ending theme is pretty unique, works wonderfully thematically considering all the characters/Stands with music-related names, and fans generally seem to enjoy this. It's sad enough they stopped doing this, but to do it AND rub salt in the wound by giving us something from, of all people, Dr. Luke? I guess I shouldn't be too shocked—this isn't the first time Netflix has done something along these lines—but it's disappointing all the same.

Anyways, “Pink Pony Club” would've been perfect as an ending song. Stage 3 should consider using that instead.

Episode 3 Rating:

And the word of the episode is: BODY HORROR! And there's plenty more where that came from! Up until now, we haven't really had a good and proper fight—some scuffles, sure, but that's about it. And to be fair, at this stage, even “fight” doesn't feel like it totally encapsulates what's going on, but still. Point is, stands are involved, and murderous intent lingers in the dry desert air. The point I'm getting at here is that SBR wastes no time in letting the audience know exactly what they're in for, in terms of gore levels. That is, plenty of skin-crawling scenes—literally and figuratively. Stone Ocean, of course, (in)famously has more than its fair share of body horror as well, but I think it's more than fair to say that while Stone Ocean has plenty, there's even more in SBR.

Of course, this scene looked way more luscious and brutal in the manga, which, in my opinion, is the best JJBA has ever looked. And body horror, naturally, lives or dies by its visuals. Still, even if scenes like all the metal in Gyro's foot and everything moving under the skin of elder Boomboom's face don't quite hit with the same stomach-churning intensity as they do in the manga, I wouldn't go so far as to say they don't hit. The face, especially, looks pretty great, thanks largely to the sound design. Personally, I think david production could—and should—go even further with all the body horror, making it as grotesque as possible, but I'm not dissatisfied with what we got. And trust me, there's going to be plenty more where that came from as we go on.

Another thing this episode shows is how much darker SBR is than its predecessors. In many ways, this is the most adult JJBA has ever been, too. Not only are our protagonists adults (a series first, unless you count Jonathan at the end of part one—but personally, I don't because he's still a child/teenager for longer), but there's a grit—and certainly, a higher level of gore—to the stand battles that, while they aren't non-existent in previous parts, are certainly fewer and far between. Meanwhile, SBR wastes no time looking squarely at the audience and saying, “Hey, hope you didn't just eat lunch, cause we're about to slowly shove chunks of metal further and further into a guy's leg, and also, this guy's fingers are going to turn into rope.”

If there's a shortcoming in this episode, it's that the Boombooms just don't seem as threatening as they probably should. And to be clear, this isn't a problem exclusive to the anime—it's like this in the manga as well. They're so obviously bumbling buffoons who just got a bit lucky in stand roulette. Combine that with the fact that we still don't really have the ball rolling on the proper story—let alone villain—yet, and there's just not the air of menace one comes to know and love from JJBA by now. Still, they're certainly putting Gyro and Johnny in a tight spot, so they're not 100% underwhelming and forgettable.

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Caitlin Moore
Episode 2 Rating:

Ask an anime-only fan of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure what the best part is, and you'll get a variety of answers: all six parts have their own adherents. (My answer, for what it's worth, is Diamond is Unbreakable, but Jolyne is the best JoJo.) Ask a longtime fan of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga which part is best, and there's a good chance they'll tell you it's Steel Ball Run. Spring's single-episode release of the first part of the race was a warm-up, and with the start of the second stage, it feels like we're finally at the starting line.

While spring's one-shot was mostly about setting up the scenario and the cast, this new premiere starts the real rising action that makes JoJo's Bizarre Adventure such a classic: developing character dynamics and introducing the season-long mystery, while also introducing and dispatching a one-off villain of the week. Johnny and Gyro Zeppelli set up an alliance, immediately falling into their roles as the impulsive hot-head and the cooler-tempered thinker. What's interesting is that as things stand now, Gyro is by far the more powerful of the two: not only does he have the ability to walk without the assistance of his horse, but his balls open up a wide variety of strategies, as displayed in this week's fight against Robinson and the cholla cacti. The two have easy chemistry that will carry the show between takes, and Johnny being paraplegic creates some friction: if he falls off his horse, he's more or less helpless for now.

Steel Ball Run is the best JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has looked in years, if not ever: gone is the stiffness and limited animation that hampered Stone Ocean, and darned if I'm not a little bitter my girl Jolyne got done so dirty in comparison. It's bright, fluid, and well-acted, with a surprising number of microexpressions and gestures coming across from the characters. My friends and I have a game when watching anime: whenever there's a horse, we say, “CG horse spotted,” or “Hand-drawn horse spotted,” whichever the occasion calls for, because animators have historically struggled to bring the commonplace beasts of burden to life. Whether they're hand-drawn or CG, the horses look fantastic, crucial to a show centered around an Old West race.

It was almost perfect… right up to the end. Then the moment every Jojo's fan looks forward to came: the ending theme song reveal. What unexpected, but surprisingly fitting song would play? To my horror, an original song. A terrible, terrible rap with slow, stilted flow and a formulaic beat. And then the credits revealed an even worse twist: that it was produced by Dr. Luke, the disgraced sexual predator. It was so bad, I felt I had no choice but to dock it a half star. What a letdown at the end of an incredible episode.

Episode 3 Rating:

…And there's the body horror. Last week's episode had a bit of ickiness, especially if you're grossed out by bugs and/or eye stuff, but that was honestly baby stuff compared to this week's. A fellow racer stumbles on Jojo and Gyro's campsite in the dead of night, begging to use their campfire to cauterize a bite from a venomous salamander. Turns out shenanigans are afoot, and before you know it, Gyro's balls are shaved, and he has Johnny's gun sliding under his skin.

No, I mean literally. If you want that, but euphemistically, you'll have to go to AO3.

This episode gets so gross, but if you've been watching or reading JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for a while, you know the score. A weirdo shows up, the colors shift, and our Jojo du jour and his posse start yelling in a panic because strange things are happening. Unlike Robinson, who was just a weirdo who let bugs live in his eye socket, there's no natural explanation for what the Boomboom family of a horrible dad and his two horrible sons have inflicted on Gyro and Johnny. Could this be the work of an enemy Stand?

Well… yeah, and it's not like the show is being shy about it. I expected Gyro's balls to be Stand-related, but it turns out the Spin is this universe's equivalent to Hamon. Robinson was just a freak. The Boombooms are different. They don't use the term “Stand” yet, and we only get a brief glimpse of a blue dude riding on a horse behind Benjamin Boomboom, but the episode uses the show's longtime visual language to communicate what's happening in ways that made my heart thrum, along with its distinctive sound design.

The Boomboom boys work to strike the balance between goofy and threatening that tends to characterize one-off JoJo's Bizarre Adventure villains. It works in flashes – Andrew showing Lawrence elementary school party tricks and then refusing to tell him how to do them is very accurate to sibling relationships. But there's nothing charismatic or interesting about them; they're just a family of superpowered murderers who constantly pick on the whiny younger brother. That's fine, because one-off jobbers don't need to be memorable, but it does make the episode a bit less fun.

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Richard Eisenbeis
Episode 2 Rating:

I don't know if this is a common opinion, but I was somewhat let down by the first episode of Steel Ball Run back when it aired. This had nothing to do with the story, however—I am 100% all in for a race across America populated by an insane cast of heroes and villains.

The issue was one of animation quality. Previous JoJo's Bizarre Adventure seasons have had some amazing scenes—and not just in combat. My favorites include everything from reality-bending scene transitions to dance numbers. However, Steel Ball Run just looked cheap. There was an over-reliance on still frames in a setting that thrives on movement (a literal race). But the biggest issue is one that has plagued countless anime: animating a horse is famously difficult. This is a big problem when your show's plot is built around a race across America in the 1800s.

So how did this episode do? It was a massive step up. There were still more static frames than I would like, but the animation looked much better. And the horses? They actually moved like horses. I am legitimately impressed.

As for the episode's story, a guy uses bugs that live in his eye socket to control cacti and make them shoot thorns at other riders at bullet speed? In any other anime, this would be the craziest thing in the show. But, of course, this being JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, it doesn't even break the top 50.

Oddly, what I found myself focusing on most was the squares on Zeppeli's face. Are those supposed to be facial hair? Like, has Zeppeli really trimmed his beard into tiny little squares? Does he wake up each day and carefully take off the stubble—using his straight-blade razor to keep the shapes clean? Or does he use the Spin in some crazy way to shave each day? These are the questions that need answering! But I'll likely just have to settle for more of the non-stop chain of insanity that we've come to expect from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Episode 3 Rating:

Up until this point, Steel Ball Run has been rather grounded—well, as far as these things go in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. While people have been crazy skilled or lucky, the only thing that felt truly supernatural was “The Spin”—and even that could be learned with practice (as we see with Johnny). But in this episode, we jump past weird bugs, luck, and superior running skills and go straight to magical superpowers.

Let's be frank here. While The Spin is likely this reality's version of Ripple Energy (or maybe just a specific form of it), the Boomboom family have a Stand—pure and simple. They found something in a Native American burial ground (not an arrow, but the “Devil's Palm”), and it granted them a Stand that lets them control iron.

Of course, it's not that simple. One of the best things about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is that each power has a set of concrete rules—and it's by understanding them that our heroes grasp seemingly impossible victories again and again. In the case of the Boombooms, their powers only work on iron—not lead (or stone). However, they also have the secondary ability to make others attract iron (and each other) by getting their blood on them—and it's this power that Johnny and Zeppeli will have to overcome next episode.

Other than the lore implications, my favorite thing about this episode is the use of color in the nighttime scenes by the campfire. Most other anime would simply use muted colors and orange highlights. But Jojo makes night as vibrant as day. The clouds are pink, the sky is light blue, and the ground is a gradient running from orange to red as it fades into the distance. In fact, being close to the fire makes colors brighter than in daytime—Johnny's blond hair appears white in the firelight. All this adds not only a visual style that sets the anime apart but also makes it easy to see what is going on—which is important in a visual medium like anime.

All in all, this episode dashed any trepidation I had about the season after watching the first episode. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is back in full swing, and we're in for a crazy ride.