Hirohiko Araki ( 荒木飛呂彦) is a Japanese manga artist. He left school before graduation from Miyagi University of Education.
He enjoys the baseball manga Kyojin No Hoshii (Star of the Giants); the video games Mario Kart and Bomberman; and likes Prince and other African-American singers, as well as jazz, rock, and rap.
General thoughts on Steel Ball Run (JJBA Part 7) minor spoilers ahead
Without doubt, part 7 is visually the most superior jojo part I've consumed so far. In terms of fighting and stand variety SBR is the best, they are so creative and fun! The characters are compelling and lovable. I do believe there are some pacing issues and this part villain isn't as enchanting as DIO or Pucci or Kira, but he's solid at his villainy. I'm in love with Jojo's Bizarre Adventures. This series isn't flawless but it's a sheer force of talent and passion and it shows.
Thoughts on the characters
Gyro- A man, a legend!!!! I consider him the protagonist of the part 7. It is just the way it is. From the very beginning he was an instigator, later on I warmed up to Johnny but Gyro is The protagonist of SBR. He is funny, he has shitty sense of humor. He is complex and layered. Also Araki drew the most handsome man so far. Gyro is a looker, long blond hair and green lipstick do it for me.
Johnny. He grew on me. I appreciate his straightforwardness. He is good presence "on screen". I like his motivations to join the race. He didn't care about the winning, he needed to learn Gyro's secrets. Johnny was shot in the back and he lost his ability to walk. He is the first disabled main character in jjba, as far as I know. And his arc doesn't revolve around his disability. Johnny is a good, kind-hearted nineteen year old. He can be bratty and he can make selfish choices but he has strong morals. A true jojo.
Johnny and Gyro slowly growing friendship is an essential part of the SBR. I loved their dynamics, it felt realistic and in character for both of them, neither Johnny nor Gyro can easily open to other people, but over the trials and clashes they become really close.
Diego Brando. I adore him I love him he is my garbage fave and I will fight for my dino diego any day of the week. Don't get me wrong he's not a good person, he is power hungry, he is selfish and he's an ass to most people. But he is a very compelling and hot character. Yes, Diego is gorgeous and me liking him has 80% to do with his looks, I have no shame.
Lucy - she was so brave and courageous and smart. She got scared but she pushed through because she cared for her husband. It was her driving force. I tend to see a lot of reverse scenarios, where husband does everything to protect his wife. I love Lucy. She doesn't have a stand ability but she was the strongest character in the story.
Hot Pants - I stan a badass nun. I wish she had a stronger presence in the story. She doesn't have a great deal of development but she is strong well-rounded character. She has a goal and she pursues it till she succeeds.
Sandman - I liked his presence in the story, I lowkey rooted for him to win the race. He isn't over complex character but he has solid personality and realistic motivations.
Funny Valentine is exactly like I imagine USA presidents be like. Haughty, self-righteous and self-absorbed. He deems himself superior to the rest, the USA - superior than the rest of the world. However, he isn't my favorite antagonist/villain. I think he's second to last, moving just slightly before part 2 villains.
Fave stands & fights/action sequences
Scary Monsters!!! By far it's my favorite. Dino Diego is everything!!! Seeing dinosaurs in 1890s USA was fun! Seeing them in jjba when our two heroes fighting dinosaurs while on the quest to find body parts of Jesus Christ is the most jojo thing and I adore it. Lucy Steel stealing letter from president's headquarters. It was so perfectly intense and gripping. One of the best arcs in jojo ever. Gyro's backstory was very interesting. Same about Johnny. Johnny had very traumatic events happened to him, concerning his brother and his father. But it all dims comparing to Diego's. Oh man was it a heart-ache. Tragic, yet it explains so much about his motivations and personality. I like Diego Brando of part 7 the most among other Dios. A Man's World had this cool gambling vibe and I believe it's the first time we see Hot Pants in action. It was awesome! The Promised Land: Sugar Mountain was the most fun. I wouldn't classify it as a fight. More like a bargain, an intense and life-or-death bargain. I was at the edge of my seat reading those chapters. The visuals were especially spectacular!!! Chapters about Lucy being undercover at the president's house and then the confrontations between her and Valentine was so captivating. Have I mentioned I love Lucy? She almost singlehandedly took the victory from the at-the-time winner and it was majestic.
I like that most of the fights in SBR aren't multiple people punching each other with stands, it is not even always people against people. The variety of stand battle truly shines in SBR!
As of stands, Valentine had a very powerful stand but it took me many chapters to put two and two together and figure out what his abilities were. It pains me to say it, but Gyro and Johnny have very boring stand. I'm sorry but it's the truth. The whole perfect spinning spiral thing?? Flying nail bullets??? Green balls??? Golden rectangle?? Confusing Diego Brando has THE BEST STAND ABILITY. He can turn anything into a dinosaur and turn himself into dinosaur!!! Hot Pants has a very cool and very useful stand. It can mess up with your body and also it's as helpful in case of injuries as Josuke's and Giorno's stands.
Plot wise, let's just have a moment to appreciate the brilliance and ridiculousness of SBR plot because it's a story about CROSS COUNTRY HORSE RACE which is just a pretext to find and collect all of the BODY PARTS OF JESUS CHRIST. Only Araki could write it. And write it so well.
Negative aspects aka me neat-peaking on the thing that I love Queer rep wasn't good. If my memory doesn't fail me, there is only one queer character and it's sapphic Scarlet, wife of the president. She is killed off pretty soon. Female character were under used and some things that happened to them were out of nowhere and didn't impact the story overall. General lack of female characters among contestants and/or antagonists was frustrating. It's especially disappointing, when the rules of Steel Ball Run race is all-inclusive, it could've been a great opportunity, but nope. The faux pregnancy of Lucy after having the corpse merge into her, which ultimately led to nothing. I am still so confused Pacing was jumbled and unsteady. I have the most complains towards the final fight with Valentine, it was too damn long. And then the final volume was too quick and the ending so abrupt. I have a lot of issues having a fourteen year Lucy be married to a forty-something year old Steel. It was totally unnecessary for the plot. It was just creepy, way later we learn about the reasons for Steel marrying Lucy, but at that point I just didn't care. If you try justifying it as "historical accuracy" may I remind you we are talking about story with flying nails, dinosaurs in USA of 19th century and universe travel abilities? It was a choice to make Lucy fourteen, let her have lots of fanservice-y sexual panels, let her be almost raped by two villain characters and seduce an older woman in order to get info. Lucy is badass and she survived and she flourished because she's smart and brave but it is iffy that she's a teen here.
Other thing I didn't like is the pacing of the final volumes. Vol 24 felt rushed but the previous three were too long.
Overall, I liked SBR a lot!!! As I've mentioned it a million time already.
Final thoughts Do I love Part 7? - Y E S Am I excited to continue on with the series? - Y E S Do I have issues with Part 7? - Of course, nothing is perfect, I wish some things were different, but overall I had an excellent reading experience. Stone Ocean still remains my fave JJBA part but SBR is coming close second. Am I worshiping Araki's art? - Y E S
IT'S TIME! It's been a long road, but I'm finally here. It's been a 16 month journey. (Even if 8 or so of those months have been spent on Steel Ball Run). I've changed so much in this time, done so much. I'd say it's time to bring it home, but you can't go home again. Not even necessarily because "home" has changed, but because my definition of home has evolved. The me that's finishing this 99th Jojo review is a very different person from the one who was rambling about volume one.
As corny as it is, it's been nice to have a character like Johnny to relate to as I was going through the greatest changes of this past year. I have a real affinity for this character. In the same way he was trying to find himself and learning to walk again, I was learning how to walk as a woman after coming out. It's silly to put it this way, I know. But we need stories to give us hope, to help us make sense of our own experiences. And I'm glad that I could read about Johnny while I was growing and learning in the same way he was. As I've said before, this is a story about characters trying to find peace within themselves- a peace that few people will come to know in their lifetimes. And I can say that I'm well on the road to finding that sort of peace.
With that in mind, it's so nice to see things turn out okay for these characters. Steel Ball Run is such a tragic story. There's been so much struggle and pain and death. So many people fighting hard to find their path, only to die before they can finish walking it. Even the minor racers failed. 3 of the top 5 finishers in the race don't even have a face. So many unfulfilled hopes, so many broken dreams.
So for Johnny to genuinely find his inner peace and for Lucy to come out of this whole ordeal intact- it's cathartic. Lucy saves the day and in all likelihood walks away with the corpse. And Steven rescues Johnny in the nick of time. Johnny's moment messing with the boat staff mirrors Gyro's introduction so well. So many didn't make it, but they at least did.
In a way, you could argue Gyro made it too. The child he fought to protect is spared from execution, only to fall ill and die shortly afterwards. This reads like a cruel joke, as if Gyro's efforts were for nothing. All of that, just so junior could die offscreen? But remember, the shortest route is the detour. And you could say that Gyro's success wasn't just saving the kid, but being able to defy his prescribed role in life. To walk his own path for the sake of saving a child. And that, in and of itself, is the success, regardless of the outcome.
Plus, Pocoloco wins! Through sheer luck, he wins and gets to have his happy ending. Some people theorize that his stand doesn't actually control luck, but just encourages him. Which is a sweet thought. I was disappointed Pocoloco didn't play a bigger role in the story, but this reading of his stand gives it a wholesome message. Pocoloco's story becomes one about not meddling in the lives of other people. Don't worry about what the competition is doing. Don't try to sabotage them. Just be the best version of yourself that you can. Believe in yourself and good things will naturally follow. It makes sense that Pocoloco wouldn't show up much in the story with this interpretation. He was too busy working on himself!
The leadup to all of this is pretty solid too. The fight with Johnny and Dio isn't a blowout or anything. It was well done and had some fun moments. It's nice to get one last bit of horseback action to close the part out. It's not meant to be the climax of the story. That was the fight with Valentine. This was a chance for some wild fanservice and for Johnny to show that he can walk on his own now. The peak of the action already happened. And the peak of the emotions follows shortly after.
I can't think of a better note for the story to close out on. The final few pages fill me with emotion. Maybe because I was doing my own similar sort of reflection after graduating back in May. But that little montage puts the whole thing into perspective. Johnny's really been on a journey here. Great moment after great moment. So many lovable, well rounded, memorable characters. I can't remember the last time the ending of a story has really felt like the culmination of a journey, which has only been magnified by the feelings of completeness and closure I've recently experienced.
This ending, oh god made me feel so many things. Grief, pain, love, struggle, and the end of an amazing race. I can see why SBR is regarded as the best part, even though it's not my most favourite part. Also I really recommend reading the jojo manga just to get to this part.
The slump is over and we're right back to good stuff!
Steel Ball Run offers some of the most likeable and sympathetic main characters in the series, with their goals and personality quirks that really clash resoundingly against one another, and has a mostly coherent but still delightfully bizarre plot and some pretty great desert landscape... although the character art is worse than ever, but hey, you can't have everything. I'm not so sure about the new Stand powers either: they're more subtle here, don't get so overpowered and world-changing as in the previous arc, but they seem less psychic awakenings of your soul, and more like temporary miracles brought up by carrying the piece of a saint, which never really hit me.
But the main hero's been through some shit and is down in the dumps, and what he wants from life is therefore all too clear and makes him easily relatable. The main antagonist seems like a pretty cool guy, as well - I usually like them more unambiguously evil, but he's a nice change of pace after such total shitheels as Dio. Plus, his evil(ish) plan makes about as much sense as such a nonsensical story would allow. And everyone grows in this story, becomes a better person, except for that one asshole Pocoloco with all the luck. Fuck that guy.
Plus it had my favourite depiction of the old Honest Axe fable, an asshole or two coming around in a way that made me tear up for them, and one final twist at the end that had me screaming. So on the whole it's pretty great, and the few quibbles I have with the art style or the Stand powers really don't hold up for the greater whole.
Probably now my favorite Jojo's part, maybe tied with Vento Aureo (which I have only watched the Anime for.) By far has some of the best character development in all of Jojo's, the Stands are a bit more interesting than other parts, and the plot is engaging. This does take place in a completely different universe from Parts 1-6, which perhaps allows a bit more freedom, though Araki does make some characters references to his characters in that universe (Like Diego Brando whose nickname is Dio.)
This does fall to some of the same pitfalls as other Jojo's parts, mainly the fact that because Araki writes in the 'now' and doesn't plan to get anywhere the story seems to start off building up to something before veering off in a completely different direction. I think to enjoy JJBA as a series at all you just kind of have to be willing to allow this to happen and sit back and enjoy the story. Obviously if you're someone who prefers a flawlessly constructed narrative this isn't going to be for you.
I do like the cast of this more than other Jojo's parts, except (again) maybe Part 5/Vento Aureo but Johnny Joestar from Steel Ball Run may now be my favorite Joestar of the series (With Josuke of Part 4 and Jolyne of Part 6 tied for second.) The supporting cast also gets a bit more development than some of the other parts. It is the characters that make me keep coming back to Jojo's, whether on screen on in manga form, as well as it's refusal to take itself too seriously which can be refreshing after reading a lot of dark shonen manga that can also be good but have little room for making light of things.
I think it could have ended earlier than it did, tbh.
Also, while I love Lucy Steel and Hot Pants and appreciate that Araki does put in effort to make his female characters strong. Some of what happens to Lucy (who is canonically 14) was incredibly uncomfortable to read, and there were too many panty-shot panels (and one completely topless cover??) of her for my liking. Obviously, I'm applying the lens of a westerner in 2022 to this, but uh... I don't know... it was just a little odd. There's a clear reason that she's 14. but her plotline could have been as impactful without putting a weird male gaze on her and making so many adult characters in the series want to sleep with her? And, with respect to those panels, it does feel as if they're meant to titillate the audience, which doesn't really feel like the case for when he draws Giorno in that purple outfit, so to me those aren't comparable. I don't know, it just felt like the shonen mangaka writes seinen now equivalent of an author who normally writes YA writing adult for the first time and making things ridiculously shocking and explicit just because they can?
But to be honest, as much as it sucks, I often expect worse for female characters in manga and anime targeted at a male audience by a male creator than even what happens to Lucy Steel here. I just think Araki has subverted those expectations enough, particularly with Part 6/Stone Ocean, that I hold him to a completely different standard than other male mangakas for the shounen and seinen categories, which may be unfair considering cultural differences and what have you.
Despite those small technical gripes that I have, I do really enjoy the story. I think Johnny is a really interesting main protagonist, Gyro is just as interesting, and even all the other characters each have motivations that make sense for how they act that drive them to participate in the race. This story does end up heavily influenced by filled with religious symbolism, particularly Catholicism, which I wasn't really expecting going into it, all I knew was this was "the cowboy Jojo's." But I do think it's perhaps the most complex and interesting story at least of JJBA and I quite enjoyed it.
not giving this a full 5 stars because the pacing was a bit off at parts and i have some problems with the treatment of female characters.
i did enjoy SBR despite the problems i have with it. after reading, it’s def not my favorite jojo part (part 4 has my heart) but it’s up there for sure. i really love most of the characters and a lot of the themes in the story which is why i enjoyed it so much. gyro and johnny’s dynamic is so silly and heartfelt and wonderful. i also relate so much to johnny’s character so seeing his growth throughout the story was really cool. funny valentine was an interesting villain (anti-hero?) but i can’t help feeling like there are dudes out there that unironically kin him which is a little frightening. also hot pants pls marry me and have my children.
spoilers below**** i have a lot to say about the way the female characters are treated in this part. i don’t know if this is a problem solely with jojos / SBR or if it is just a problem with a lot of manga in general (because i’ve seen it so much before), but whenever there are female characters they are usually either victimized or underutilized in the story. lucy being 14 YEARS OLD makes me SO MAD because NEARLY EVERY GROWN ASS PERSON SHE INTERACTS WITH TRIES TO ASSAULT HER…. regardless of her age, as a character she deserves so much better because she was going through the most vile and inhumane BS nonstop. i need this girl to be on the monkey bars right now PLEASE. that is a CHILD. i appreciate that she is a strong character without having a stand or being physically strong (and she carries the entire plot) but the amount of shit she has to go through on the way makes me so uncomfortable and i felt like a lot of it was just unnecessary. on that note scarlet being the one canonically queer character in this part and being a PREDATOR did not sit right with me at awllll. like cmon i thought we were better than this. also hot pants (who was one of my fav characters) was totally nerfed and deserved to play a bigger role in the story / more development as a character. these are the main problems i have with the female characters, they’re definitely not the WORST rep i’ve seen in anime/manga (unfortunately) but they are far from perfect. i feel like i’ve become desensitized to poor female characters in manga which is why it hasn’t brought my rating down more.
and that is the end 🥹 Johnny’s character development is my favorite thing about this part. Seeing a glimpse of his childhood brought a lot of things into perspective and you get to understand that joining the race wasn’t just about winning for him. Gyro is my fave jobro ! How else would Johnny have learned about the rotation 🥲 this was a great part with very unique characters and I always admire how araki can make any setting interesting. If he can make a whole part based in prison I knew them being on horses majority of the time would be make it a banger !
A whimsical mix of Wacky Races, body horror films made in the early 80s, Jurassic Park, spaghetti westerns and some fashion designer's fever dream.
Initially thought to be a new manga by Hirohiko Araki, Steel Ball Run turned out to be the seventh part of the popular JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, but only nominally. Steel Ball Run is more of a spin-off set in an alternate universe where things work very differently to the main-line story arcs: stands are rarely visible, hamon is replaced by what the main characters call The Spin and the writing takes a turn for the better, keeping both the cheese factor and the shoe-horned plot twists to a minimum.
I'm relatively new to the series, but this is my favorite part so far. Not only did it have a more intricate storyline than the first 3, but the pacing was just right and the characters were charismatic enough for me to care about them and make me feel worried when they were in danger —which is most of the time.
Wow. That certainly was an epic tale. It had its flaws, but SBR is probably among my favorite parts. Gyro and Johnny are my favorite JoJo and JoBro combination, and I'll really miss their antics.
Memes in this volume:
Now we have three JoJos who have been burned alive and had knives thrown at them (Jotaro, Jolyne, and Johnny).
و بله بالاخر�� تموم شد بی شک بهترین پارت سری جوجو بود که بین این هشت پارتی که اومده از همه لحاظ بهترین بود از لحاظ شخصیت پردازی بی نهایت عالی بود مخصوصا شخصیت هایی مثل جایرو زپلی و جانی جوستار و فانی ولنتاین و..همچنین از نظر ارت استایل هم بهترین بود تک تک شخصیت هایی که ما میدیدیم به نحوه ای جدید و بسیار جذاب طراحی شده بودند و قدرت استند اونها هم داخل این جلد به طور قابل توجهی متفاوت بود و ما در این پارت از نظر من دو استند برتر داشتیم: 1-D4C (بی شک بهترین استند در سری جوجو) 2-tusk:act 4 در این سری ارت مانگا هم به شدت پیشرفت داشت و مخصوصا نسخه رنگیش رو که من میخوندم فوق العا��ه جذاب بود و بهترین فایت ها رو به نمایش میزاشت و کیفیت ارت در کل طول سری حفظ شده بود و بهترین فایت سری جوجو در این پارت بود یعنی فایت ولنتاین در برابر جانی و جایرو که بسیار درام و لذت بخش و البته ناراحت کننده بود در کل من با تک تک پنل ها حس میکردم که خودم هم جزئی از ماجراجویی جانی و جایرو هستم و در لحظه های اکشن هیجان رده میشدم در لحظه های غمگین ناراحت میشدم و کل وایب مانگا رو حس میکردم و حالا که به پایان رسیده حس پوچی میکنم امیدوارم پارت هشت هم خوب باشه -بریم واسه استارت زدنش-) _Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheeps_ _D4C_
muito bom, agora que estou no computador vou escrever algo normal e como deve de ser steel ball run foi muito boa adorei os personagens as stands e gostei muito do antagonista porque ele na realidade nem era mau esta parte é só um enorme conflito de interesses e isso diferencia imenso das outras partes, não existe certo e errado porque todos os lados de todos os personagens têm a sua vida individual e os seus objetivos e é muito fixe.
Beautiful story, beautiful art. wish I could’ve seen more of Soundman before he died in the race and especially more about his character in general. Story was great and the long chapters were enjoyable because of the amount of content in them. Maybe made me cry an embarrassing amount of times but still loved reading it. I’ll miss my blond haired king Gyro 💔💔💔
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I hate when I enter a cross country horse race to learn about some guy’s balls only to find out that the race was ACTUALLY orchestrated by the President of the United States in order to recover the corpse of Jesus Christ :/
Final Thoughts: I put off reading this for soooo long because I was sure I wouldn’t be able to enjoy Part 7 after Part 6 emotionally destroyed me. This part ALSO destroyed me but in a new, fun way!!
Gyro is the best Jobro by far, but he unfortunately fell victim to the Jobro curse (death). I knew it was coming but it still hurt :((( The fact that he was such a noble and good person made it even worse. Johnny’s reaction to his death also was A. LOT.
I feel like if this part ever gets animated it would blow all of the other parts out of the water. The scenery, the dialogue, the side characters, the FIGHT SCENES. I would KILL to see some of these fight scenes animated (D4C final battle, Ringo Roadagain, AU DIEGO!!!!) I was kind of sad that some of the side characters didn’t accomplish their goals/get any sort of resolution (Sandman, Wekapipo, Hot Pants), but alas,,,that is life I suppose. Someone smarter than me can talk about the themes of this part (redemption, friendship, morality).
MVPs of Part 7: Gyro and Lucy Loser of Part 7: that train engineer making poverty wages that Gyro and Johnny forgot about
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.