Steel Ball Run, the seventh part of Hirohiko Araki’s famous Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure manga series, is getting an anime adaptation.
A teaser visual and a character visual that depicts Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli are the first look at the anime.
Araki’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure manga — published by Shueisha — follows the exploits of various members of the Joestar family and has been around since 1986. Steel Ball Run, which sets the action in America at the tail end of the 19th century, ran from 2004 to 2011.
Steel Ball Run was initially serialized in Shonen Jump before moving to the monthly, seinen magazine Ultra Jump. This Manga is Amazing! noted that the move allowed for longer-spanning stories (due to the increased page count) and the ability to have depictions that would’ve been difficult to include in a shonen magazine. Subsequent Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure installments are also Ultra Jump titles.
Viz Media set to publish Steel Ball Run in English this summer, and describes the manga as follows:
Paralyzed former jockey Johnny Joestar witnesses the mysterious power of Gyro Zeppeli before the famous Steel Ball Run race, launching his quest to regain mobility.
The current line of David Production Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure anime (the studio’s involvement with Steel Ball Run has not yet been confirmed) began in 2012, with the instalments including Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders – Battle in Egypt, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, and 2022’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. An OVA based on the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan spin-off ran from 2017 to 2020.
Stone Ocean‘s staff lineup included:
• Chief director: Kenichi Suzuki (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders series director)
• Director: Toshiyuki Kato (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable series director)
• Series composer: Yasuko Kobayashi (Attack on Titan Season 3 Season 3 Part 2)
• Character designer: Masanori Shino (No Guns Life)
• Sub-character designer: Keiichi Tsuchiya (Laidbackers character designer)
• Stand designer: Shunichi Ishimoto (Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan character designer)
• Background art director: Yoshito Watanabe (Healin Good Pretty Cure: GoGo! Big Transformation! The Town of Dreams!! and Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld co-background art director)
• Color designer: Yuuko Sato (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind)
• Compositing director: Kazuhiro Yamada (Akudama Drive)
The manga for Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s ninth part, The JOJOLands, debuted in February 2023.
Previously, there were an OVA series and a movie that were produced by the now-inactive Another Push Pin Planning.
Update: Added teaser visual and character visual.
Correction: The article originally stated that David Production was returning as the animation production studio. This statement has been removed as David Production’s involvement has not been confirmed. We regret the error.
Source: JOJODAY STAGE
