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Steel Ball Run #6
Steel Ball Run tome 6: Scary Monsters
La 2ème étape touche enfin à son terme ! Comme lors de la 1re étape, Sandman, Jayro et Johnny sont au coude à coude juste avant l’arrivée ! Qui sortira vainqueur de ce combat acharné ? En tout cas, celui-là ne savourera pas sa victoire car, sans plus attendre, les concurrents enchaînent aussitôt avec la 3ème étape, destination de Cannon City !
224 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2005
About the author
Hirohiko Araki
676 books2,249 followersHirohiko 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.
He is a recipient the Tezuka Award for manga.
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.
He is a recipient the Tezuka Award for manga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
April 21, 2024
i see dinosaurs i’m intrigued
May 15, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHalX... some mood music for this volume
Pretty much anything in this one taken out of context is amazing
Memes in this volume:
This man is the president of the United States
Diego tries to do a funny
This might be my favorite out of context moment in this volume. Truly iconic.
Diego got cake
Bold of you to say that as a Jojo character, Johnny. You are legally required to be gay if you're in Jojo (especially if it's your part, WHICH IT IS).
HE TRANSFORM
Gyro: "He easily dodged my steel ball, even from so close!"
Gyro: "My steel balls won't hit him!"
Literally two seconds ago you didn't know what a dinosaur was.
Young Diego looks like Girono :)
It's the Dio pose
Better than "Pizza Mozzarella," I must say
This one is also one of my favorite out of context moments
Verse 2
Gyro: "Grab onto the tree bark that I shaved off with my steel ball!"
Johnny: "NOOOOOOOOO! Dio took the eyes!"
Wow, that's a LOT of clownery. I loved this one :)
Pretty much anything in this one taken out of context is amazing
Memes in this volume:
This man is the president of the United States
Diego tries to do a funny
This might be my favorite out of context moment in this volume. Truly iconic.
Diego got cake
Bold of you to say that as a Jojo character, Johnny. You are legally required to be gay if you're in Jojo (especially if it's your part, WHICH IT IS).
HE TRANSFORM
Gyro: "He easily dodged my steel ball, even from so close!"
Gyro: "My steel balls won't hit him!"
Literally two seconds ago you didn't know what a dinosaur was.
Young Diego looks like Girono :)
It's the Dio pose
Better than "Pizza Mozzarella," I must say
This one is also one of my favorite out of context moments
Verse 2
Gyro: "Grab onto the tree bark that I shaved off with my steel ball!"
Johnny: "NOOOOOOOOO! Dio took the eyes!"
Wow, that's a LOT of clownery. I loved this one :)
May 18, 2020
This volume was a lot of fun. Seeing Dio turn into this absolute goofball before becoming a dinosaur was unexpected, but enjoyable. I wonder just how much of it was his personality shining through. The first chapter had a good mix of humor and intrigue, as we slowly build to the revelation that Dio is becoming a dinosaur. Again, Araki's horror sensibilities shine through. It was a nice surprise to get more time with this character relatively early on.
Scary monsters is a great ability. The slow reveal of the initial monster giving way to a series of bombastic escapes reminds me of the pacing you would see in a horror movie. This battle also seemed to have some visual throwbacks to Phantom Blood. Johnny, Dio, and Zepelli fighting early into the story on a moonlit cliff. The way the dinosaurs dug their feet in to walk vertically up a wall like Dio in the mansion.
In general, the art in this volume blew me away. The line work is so clean. Flipping between color and Monochrome, you can choose between gorgeous shading or expert use of black and white. The landscapes are absolutely stunning, with the final spread being stunning. The image of the glowing mountaintop looming in the background makes this whole encounter feel scenic, providing a fantastic backdrop for the action.
I don't know what it is about 2004-2006 or so, but it feels like this was a window of time where manga writing and art got really damn good.The Start of the Millenium Falcon arc in Berserk, Water 7/Enies Lobby in One Piece, Steel Ball run, most of Death Note's run. Other stuff, like the Sasuke retrieval arc or the slow early stages of Chimera Ant is nothing to sneeze at, but those 4 seem like the pinnacle to me. Just clean super clean linework from artists at the peak of their craft. Maybe it has to do with all 4 artists reaching their pinnacle. Where they entered that sweetspot of having a ton of experience and knowledge, while still being young and healthy, enough to apply it at a fast rate before burnout sets in and the mangaka lifestyle takes its toll. Maybe I'm seeing a pattern where there is none. It seems that the art in SBR only gets better as we enter into the "man's world" arc, and Berserk's keeps steadily improving until Miura achieves self actualization in volume 34. But I had a moment the other day where I was looking at what was happening in other manga around this time and it was wild. Water 7, Chimera Ant, Death Note, Sasuke Retrieval, Steel Ball Run, Falcon of the Millennium empire all happening at the same time. Unreal.
Scary monsters is a great ability. The slow reveal of the initial monster giving way to a series of bombastic escapes reminds me of the pacing you would see in a horror movie. This battle also seemed to have some visual throwbacks to Phantom Blood. Johnny, Dio, and Zepelli fighting early into the story on a moonlit cliff. The way the dinosaurs dug their feet in to walk vertically up a wall like Dio in the mansion.
In general, the art in this volume blew me away. The line work is so clean. Flipping between color and Monochrome, you can choose between gorgeous shading or expert use of black and white. The landscapes are absolutely stunning, with the final spread being stunning. The image of the glowing mountaintop looming in the background makes this whole encounter feel scenic, providing a fantastic backdrop for the action.
I don't know what it is about 2004-2006 or so, but it feels like this was a window of time where manga writing and art got really damn good.The Start of the Millenium Falcon arc in Berserk, Water 7/Enies Lobby in One Piece, Steel Ball run, most of Death Note's run. Other stuff, like the Sasuke retrieval arc or the slow early stages of Chimera Ant is nothing to sneeze at, but those 4 seem like the pinnacle to me. Just clean super clean linework from artists at the peak of their craft. Maybe it has to do with all 4 artists reaching their pinnacle. Where they entered that sweetspot of having a ton of experience and knowledge, while still being young and healthy, enough to apply it at a fast rate before burnout sets in and the mangaka lifestyle takes its toll. Maybe I'm seeing a pattern where there is none. It seems that the art in SBR only gets better as we enter into the "man's world" arc, and Berserk's keeps steadily improving until Miura achieves self actualization in volume 34. But I had a moment the other day where I was looking at what was happening in other manga around this time and it was wild. Water 7, Chimera Ant, Death Note, Sasuke Retrieval, Steel Ball Run, Falcon of the Millennium empire all happening at the same time. Unreal.
February 20, 2024
Nic nie zapowiadało że zjawią się dinozaury xD
March 10, 2025
DINOSAURS
July 28, 2025
ofc he turns into a fucking dinosaur
December 15, 2024
I like this Dio rather a good deal more than the original. More sympathetic backstory, generally likeable, not a dickbag, and with a weird and interesting powerset.
January 19, 2022
i was not especially fond of the dinosaurs :/ sorry dio
November 4, 2023
Di(n)o
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2020
Gotta love Diego.
April 7, 2026
lesbians have entered the chat~
April 14, 2026
moi aussi je veux me transformer en dinosaure en fait
June 12, 2026
So far my least favorite Steel Ball Run volume, but there were some very notable and enjoyable parts.
The golden ratio was interesting…
Johnny gets desperate for Gyro to teach him the golden ratio spin. But before he can truly learn it, Gyro passes out, so Johnny takes the belt buckle himself and finds a glass square that helps him see the golden ratio in his surroundings. Right before being able to use the spun, Johnny sees a mouse that looks just like Danny! He even sees the golden ratio in Danny and uses his nail spin bullets with the golden ratio technique to defeat Sound Man/Sandman. That’s one less contestant to compete against now.the entire battle takes up half the book.
After that battle, Hot Pants finds Johnny and Gyro. Hot Pants heals them with her flesh spray, but then steals the corpse arm and most of the spine for herself (for unknown reasons).
Tin the next scene we get some comic relief in a flashback or dream memory of Gyro sleeping or fooling around with one of the patients while working in the hospital with his father. He hides this fact in a very clever and sneaky way!
When Gyro wakes up, he finds himself and Johnny in snow. Gyro then uses his gyro ball to check on the rider that was pursuing them earlier to see how close they are to them and oddly enough he senses 11 riders all taking the same gait and stride, but only 1 hoof beat which is very odd. This comes into play a little later.
The pair decide to press on to avoid the riders, and cone to a spring that Gyro accidentally drops his new steel ball into and then he sees an odd girl spying on them holding his steel ball. They chase after her and find the young girl in the hollow of a giant tree playing with stick dolls all alone.
The girl asks what they dropped in the river, by giving them a choice of a jewel or big rock and Gyro gets irritated because he just wants his steel ball back and feels the girl is messing with him, so he says he wants his steel ball back. Then she continues to ask them what they dropped in the river including which mushrooms, which meal and finally Gyro understands how answering the questions work. If he answers honestly he gets back plus the bonus items. Gyro starts getting greedy so he comes up with things to drop in the river like paper, a crappy watch and the rabbit they caught earlier. They get money, a expensive watch and their other items back. For the rabbit ears she offers those or the corpse ears! Johnny chooses the rabbit ears and the corpse ears go into his face. For each set of items, she says “since you’re being so honest, I’ll give you all three,” but there’s a catch to all this. They have to use or get rid of all the items by sunset. If they don’t, they become part of the tree and will have to be the guardian of the spring until they can leave like the girl. She pushes back the vines and shows them that there are people, including her parents that are a part of the tree.
The next several scenes are Gyro and Johnny trying to give away all the items they received from the girl. They first come across tan old farmer and offer expensive and rare items like the gold nugget and jewel, but the farmer keeps claiming they are fake and puts a rifle up to them instead. Then he ends up giving away the fancy watch instead because the old man was set on thinking that the money and jewel and gold was all fake. However, giving away items has consequences which is when the tree vines start growing out of the ground to get Gyro and end up growing up through his shoes, breaking up his foot and toes. Luckily Johnny catches on and tells Gyro to get the watch back and Johnny figures out you can’t give away the items for free. It has to be spent, or traded for goods and services.
Then Gyro remembers how the girl told them “Use it all up. Every last bit. You can’t give it away or let it be stolen from you.” She also mentions she now understands why they were guarding the tree, to protect the body parts until the right person came along and she truly believes they were meant to have the corpse parts and so the tree drops the right arm and it goes into Gyro’s arm. They found the next three corpse parts!
Johnny then realizes everything such as The Devil’s Palm and the spring has been a test to see if they are worthy of the corpse parts!
When Johnny and Gyro get to the city, they expect to get rid of all the gifts easily, but it’s harder than they thought it would be! They have a big fancy meal, decorate their horses, get their horses new horse shoes and still barely make a dent in the amount of money they have to give away. Gyro even tries to buy some girls some drinks, but can’t, because it’s like giving the money away and the roots start getting him again.
After that Gyro and Johnny have a jeweler examine the gold and jewel. The diamond ends up being worth 4.2 million dollars! So they try to take the cash for it, but it can’t be can’t be gathered quick enough, so they buy a building with the diamond and gold, but the plan backfires, only to come to find out that there is still money left over even after the building purchase, a total of $196,000. In addition, they get payment from the tenants of the building and money from the restaurant that is inside the building. Now they have to get rid of all that money too!
Johnny sees the 11 riders outside the bank through a window. Now they have them to deal with on top of getting rid of the $250,000 and all the deeds and time is running out!
Then all of a sudden Gyro gets a brilliant idea to go to a gambling house to use up the rest of the money. So they go and play Blackjack and play Roulette. Johnny is at first concerned that Gyro will lose all the chips he bet and it will be confiscated giving or throwing the money away, but Gyro ends up winning the first round and wins $1,000!
Thoughts:
I did NOT expect Sandman to be an adversary, but I get why he did it, because he just wanted to preserve his land for his people.
I suppose I should have figured it out though, because 1. I knew it was someone in the race because Dio mentioned seeing them at the water station.
2. I knew the stand user had a ponytail because when they showed the user who teamed up with Dio in a silhouette, it was of someone with a ponytail and I kept trying to think who had a ponytail out of the racers. I knew Sand Man had a ponytail, but I just thought maybe it was someone we hadn’t met yet.
I loved Sand Man/Sound Man’s stand. I liked its headdress. It had a very unique look to it. We also finally get to see Johnny’s Stand! I was wondering when we would be able to see it. Took them long enough to show it, considering Johnny has already had his powers for 2 previous volumes. It was a little annoying to have to wait that long, but whatever.
The entire battle takes up half the book, so there wasn’t a whole lot after that.
Interesting how the golden ratio is a real thing, sometimes the author slips on things about history on the Jojo books.
I know how Johnny used the his finger nail stand with the golden ratio technique, but I don’t understand why Gyro was so stubborn to make Johnny say he couldn’t do it 3 times before he could tell him about it. All that pain and a lot of that situation could have been avoided if Gyro would have told him sooner! I thought that was kind of dumb.
I kind of feel like Hot Pants betrayed Johnny and Gyro since they previously worked together, but they were never really friends anyway and are competitors after all. I’m curious to see how they get the corpse parts back from Hot Pants.I’m also curious to know why Hot Pants had the crest of Gyro’s country on her bag.
The scene with Gyro and the girl in the hospital was very entertaining and enjoyable! It’s hilarious that he tricked his dad by making the pretty girl into an old lady using the gyro ball spinning on her back to gather back all her skin and make her look ancient. Gyro that cocky, sly, cheeky bastard I thought. Very very clever and sneaky. It was also pretty funny that the lady was mad at him and tried to hit him as an a scrawny wrinkly feeble thing and then he put her back to normal with “improvements” with a boob and butt job. Quality humor!
The Snow Mountain scenes were very creative and unique, but I found those parts to take away from the overall story and I didn’t really get the purpose of those scenes either except it kinda felt like filler to me. I know everything is purposeful with Araki’s work, but it just wasn’t clear to me.
I thought the scene with the farmer was kind of funny, it perpetuated the American stereotype of a hick farmer, being territorial over their land, pointing a shotgun directly at someone and not being too bright. In my personal life, my dad is a farmer and not like this at all! So it was funny to see a Japanese man’s stereotype of an American farmer.
Another funny part is when Gyro tries to buy these hot ladies drinks and then all of a sudden says “never mind!,” because the roots try to get him again. I get the feeling Gyro is a bit of a womanizer and he’s a little cocky too.
I thought it was pretty ironic to see Gyro keeps trying to get rid of all the money only to always get more and have to keep trying to use it all up!
The golden ratio was interesting…
Johnny gets desperate for Gyro to teach him the golden ratio spin. But before he can truly learn it, Gyro passes out, so Johnny takes the belt buckle himself and finds a glass square that helps him see the golden ratio in his surroundings. Right before being able to use the spun, Johnny sees a mouse that looks just like Danny! He even sees the golden ratio in Danny and uses his nail spin bullets with the golden ratio technique to defeat Sound Man/Sandman. That’s one less contestant to compete against now.the entire battle takes up half the book.
After that battle, Hot Pants finds Johnny and Gyro. Hot Pants heals them with her flesh spray, but then steals the corpse arm and most of the spine for herself (for unknown reasons).
Tin the next scene we get some comic relief in a flashback or dream memory of Gyro sleeping or fooling around with one of the patients while working in the hospital with his father. He hides this fact in a very clever and sneaky way!
When Gyro wakes up, he finds himself and Johnny in snow. Gyro then uses his gyro ball to check on the rider that was pursuing them earlier to see how close they are to them and oddly enough he senses 11 riders all taking the same gait and stride, but only 1 hoof beat which is very odd. This comes into play a little later.
The pair decide to press on to avoid the riders, and cone to a spring that Gyro accidentally drops his new steel ball into and then he sees an odd girl spying on them holding his steel ball. They chase after her and find the young girl in the hollow of a giant tree playing with stick dolls all alone.
The girl asks what they dropped in the river, by giving them a choice of a jewel or big rock and Gyro gets irritated because he just wants his steel ball back and feels the girl is messing with him, so he says he wants his steel ball back. Then she continues to ask them what they dropped in the river including which mushrooms, which meal and finally Gyro understands how answering the questions work. If he answers honestly he gets back plus the bonus items. Gyro starts getting greedy so he comes up with things to drop in the river like paper, a crappy watch and the rabbit they caught earlier. They get money, a expensive watch and their other items back. For the rabbit ears she offers those or the corpse ears! Johnny chooses the rabbit ears and the corpse ears go into his face. For each set of items, she says “since you’re being so honest, I’ll give you all three,” but there’s a catch to all this. They have to use or get rid of all the items by sunset. If they don’t, they become part of the tree and will have to be the guardian of the spring until they can leave like the girl. She pushes back the vines and shows them that there are people, including her parents that are a part of the tree.
The next several scenes are Gyro and Johnny trying to give away all the items they received from the girl. They first come across tan old farmer and offer expensive and rare items like the gold nugget and jewel, but the farmer keeps claiming they are fake and puts a rifle up to them instead. Then he ends up giving away the fancy watch instead because the old man was set on thinking that the money and jewel and gold was all fake. However, giving away items has consequences which is when the tree vines start growing out of the ground to get Gyro and end up growing up through his shoes, breaking up his foot and toes. Luckily Johnny catches on and tells Gyro to get the watch back and Johnny figures out you can’t give away the items for free. It has to be spent, or traded for goods and services.
Then Gyro remembers how the girl told them “Use it all up. Every last bit. You can’t give it away or let it be stolen from you.” She also mentions she now understands why they were guarding the tree, to protect the body parts until the right person came along and she truly believes they were meant to have the corpse parts and so the tree drops the right arm and it goes into Gyro’s arm. They found the next three corpse parts!
Johnny then realizes everything such as The Devil’s Palm and the spring has been a test to see if they are worthy of the corpse parts!
When Johnny and Gyro get to the city, they expect to get rid of all the gifts easily, but it’s harder than they thought it would be! They have a big fancy meal, decorate their horses, get their horses new horse shoes and still barely make a dent in the amount of money they have to give away. Gyro even tries to buy some girls some drinks, but can’t, because it’s like giving the money away and the roots start getting him again.
After that Gyro and Johnny have a jeweler examine the gold and jewel. The diamond ends up being worth 4.2 million dollars! So they try to take the cash for it, but it can’t be can’t be gathered quick enough, so they buy a building with the diamond and gold, but the plan backfires, only to come to find out that there is still money left over even after the building purchase, a total of $196,000. In addition, they get payment from the tenants of the building and money from the restaurant that is inside the building. Now they have to get rid of all that money too!
Johnny sees the 11 riders outside the bank through a window. Now they have them to deal with on top of getting rid of the $250,000 and all the deeds and time is running out!
Then all of a sudden Gyro gets a brilliant idea to go to a gambling house to use up the rest of the money. So they go and play Blackjack and play Roulette. Johnny is at first concerned that Gyro will lose all the chips he bet and it will be confiscated giving or throwing the money away, but Gyro ends up winning the first round and wins $1,000!
Thoughts:
I did NOT expect Sandman to be an adversary, but I get why he did it, because he just wanted to preserve his land for his people.
I suppose I should have figured it out though, because 1. I knew it was someone in the race because Dio mentioned seeing them at the water station.
2. I knew the stand user had a ponytail because when they showed the user who teamed up with Dio in a silhouette, it was of someone with a ponytail and I kept trying to think who had a ponytail out of the racers. I knew Sand Man had a ponytail, but I just thought maybe it was someone we hadn’t met yet.
I loved Sand Man/Sound Man’s stand. I liked its headdress. It had a very unique look to it. We also finally get to see Johnny’s Stand! I was wondering when we would be able to see it. Took them long enough to show it, considering Johnny has already had his powers for 2 previous volumes. It was a little annoying to have to wait that long, but whatever.
The entire battle takes up half the book, so there wasn’t a whole lot after that.
Interesting how the golden ratio is a real thing, sometimes the author slips on things about history on the Jojo books.
I know how Johnny used the his finger nail stand with the golden ratio technique, but I don’t understand why Gyro was so stubborn to make Johnny say he couldn’t do it 3 times before he could tell him about it. All that pain and a lot of that situation could have been avoided if Gyro would have told him sooner! I thought that was kind of dumb.
I kind of feel like Hot Pants betrayed Johnny and Gyro since they previously worked together, but they were never really friends anyway and are competitors after all. I’m curious to see how they get the corpse parts back from Hot Pants.I’m also curious to know why Hot Pants had the crest of Gyro’s country on her bag.
The scene with Gyro and the girl in the hospital was very entertaining and enjoyable! It’s hilarious that he tricked his dad by making the pretty girl into an old lady using the gyro ball spinning on her back to gather back all her skin and make her look ancient. Gyro that cocky, sly, cheeky bastard I thought. Very very clever and sneaky. It was also pretty funny that the lady was mad at him and tried to hit him as an a scrawny wrinkly feeble thing and then he put her back to normal with “improvements” with a boob and butt job. Quality humor!
The Snow Mountain scenes were very creative and unique, but I found those parts to take away from the overall story and I didn’t really get the purpose of those scenes either except it kinda felt like filler to me. I know everything is purposeful with Araki’s work, but it just wasn’t clear to me.
I thought the scene with the farmer was kind of funny, it perpetuated the American stereotype of a hick farmer, being territorial over their land, pointing a shotgun directly at someone and not being too bright. In my personal life, my dad is a farmer and not like this at all! So it was funny to see a Japanese man’s stereotype of an American farmer.
Another funny part is when Gyro tries to buy these hot ladies drinks and then all of a sudden says “never mind!,” because the roots try to get him again. I get the feeling Gyro is a bit of a womanizer and he’s a little cocky too.
I thought it was pretty ironic to see Gyro keeps trying to get rid of all the money only to always get more and have to keep trying to use it all up!
May 14, 2023
1. The president of the United States shotguns a beer
2. They make Dio an extremely compelling and sympathetic character in Steel Ball Run's greatest flashback scene yet
3. The best stand battle in the entire series so far happens here (Dio's dinosaurs vs Johnny and Gyro)
4. Jesus has eye-tattoos that say Turbo on them?
2. They make Dio an extremely compelling and sympathetic character in Steel Ball Run's greatest flashback scene yet
3. The best stand battle in the entire series so far happens here (Dio's dinosaurs vs Johnny and Gyro)
4. Jesus has eye-tattoos that say Turbo on them?
January 14, 2019
Diego Brando? Dinosaurs? Diego's backstory and lots of dinosaurs?
10/10 the best volume
10/10 the best volume
July 17, 2021
Dio ate some rocks is a dinosaur and has obtained the corpses eyes!
August 25, 2025
Thanks to Viz Media and NetGalley for the ARC. (NOTE: This review is for Vol. 3 of the new Viz Media rerelease. This rerelease doesn’t not seem to have a page on Goodreads, so I have listed the review under the volume that shared a cover with the rerelease. Hopefully, this allows more people to see this review who are seeking it out.)
The third compilation of “Steel Ball Run” and it continues to impress. As the larger conspiracies, that Gyro and Johnny find themselves in the middle of, unfolds before them, we see more unique stand abilities, and likely the two best fights thus far.
By this point in the story, so many hooks have been given to keep the reader interested, which is a testament to Araki’s capability as a writer.
For a reader who had picked up the series and wasn’t interested or enjoying it, up to this point, I do believe that this would be an appropriate stopping place. If Scary Monsters and information about the corpse was not enough to keep a reader turning page after page, then this series would clearly not be for them.
Finally, while I have been provided a digital ARC to read, I have been buying the physical volumes when they release. So, while I haven’t held this book in my hands, I believe that this praise will apply to Vol.3, as it did 1 and 2: The cover designs have been gorgeous. I have loved seeing the full cover images, allowing the artwork to stand for itself. Walking by these volumes in a store catches the eye so much more than the rereleases of past arcs, with the matte black palette.
The third compilation of “Steel Ball Run” and it continues to impress. As the larger conspiracies, that Gyro and Johnny find themselves in the middle of, unfolds before them, we see more unique stand abilities, and likely the two best fights thus far.
By this point in the story, so many hooks have been given to keep the reader interested, which is a testament to Araki’s capability as a writer.
For a reader who had picked up the series and wasn’t interested or enjoying it, up to this point, I do believe that this would be an appropriate stopping place. If Scary Monsters and information about the corpse was not enough to keep a reader turning page after page, then this series would clearly not be for them.
Finally, while I have been provided a digital ARC to read, I have been buying the physical volumes when they release. So, while I haven’t held this book in my hands, I believe that this praise will apply to Vol.3, as it did 1 and 2: The cover designs have been gorgeous. I have loved seeing the full cover images, allowing the artwork to stand for itself. Walking by these volumes in a store catches the eye so much more than the rereleases of past arcs, with the matte black palette.
April 19, 2026
Dio will be Dio in any Jojo timeline or universe; he will always be a hater seeking some form of self-justifying revenge. However, his backstory in this arc adds some empathy points because he didn't, at least, straight-up kill his parent.
His current ability is so odd and overpowered, but I'm not sure if that is his stand ability... at least I hope it is, but doubt.
It was a really good volume, and I can't wait to see how Gyro manages not to turn into a dinosaur, and they recover the corpse piece, which is such an amazing plot line, by the way, because they are literally looking for what is definitely Jesus's corpse.
Will Dio remain evil this whole part, even though I sense his early antagonising plays a longer role into the story? Because he is Dio at the end of the day and I can't wait to see what purpose his character serves.
I will give this volume a 5/5 ⭐️
His current ability is so odd and overpowered, but I'm not sure if that is his stand ability... at least I hope it is, but doubt.
It was a really good volume, and I can't wait to see how Gyro manages not to turn into a dinosaur, and they recover the corpse piece, which is such an amazing plot line, by the way, because they are literally looking for what is definitely Jesus's corpse.
Will Dio remain evil this whole part, even though I sense his early antagonising plays a longer role into the story? Because he is Dio at the end of the day and I can't wait to see what purpose his character serves.
I will give this volume a 5/5 ⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2026
NOTE: I am reading the English hardcover deluxe editions, which are two volumes in one. However, Goodreads does not have these editions up as an option! Therefore, I will be posting a review for this volume and its predecessor, #5, in the same review to not mess with my reading stats too much.
This volume just keeps the excitement going! The concept of a transcontinental race was already good, but then Araki adds the element of why this race is being held in the first place! Diego gets to properly be an antagonist starting here too, which is nice as he just kinda felt like a prick before. I don’t think he’ll end up as the ultimate antagonist in the end, but I think his ‘ability’ or whatever he has going on is very cool!
Really, there isn’t much I can say in this review without spoiling things, so I’m just gonna tell you that the story of Steel Ball Run just keeps getting better!
5/5
This volume just keeps the excitement going! The concept of a transcontinental race was already good, but then Araki adds the element of why this race is being held in the first place! Diego gets to properly be an antagonist starting here too, which is nice as he just kinda felt like a prick before. I don’t think he’ll end up as the ultimate antagonist in the end, but I think his ‘ability’ or whatever he has going on is very cool!
Really, there isn’t much I can say in this review without spoiling things, so I’m just gonna tell you that the story of Steel Ball Run just keeps getting better!
5/5
April 23, 2024
**Will contain spoilers**
SBR Volume 6: I read the colored version of Part 7, and the colors are so vibrant at the beginning of this volume. Here, we get some shocking revelations regarding the President, creating a lot of intrigue around the part he plays in this story.
Johnny and Gyro come across an injured Diego, and Johnny is so ruthless - I love it. Gyro tries to show compassion, and Dio tells him where to shove it. Here is where we see Dio's arm - and it truthfully thought he was turning into a lizard. (Not that I was too far off...)
The very second the panel with Dio curled up in the skeleton of a dinosaur appeared, I knew where it was heading. I still couldn't predict how good it was going to be though.
We also get what may be one of the funniest interactions of all time when Johnny catches Dio eating rocks at the inn.
Diego's backstory is revealed in this chapter, and boy is it effed all the way up. His poor mother. The panel where she holds her hands out lives rent free in my head. I have a lot more empathy for this version of Dio than the OG, although this one has some major issues.
This volume propelled me right into the next.
SBR Volume 6: I read the colored version of Part 7, and the colors are so vibrant at the beginning of this volume. Here, we get some shocking revelations regarding the President, creating a lot of intrigue around the part he plays in this story.
Johnny and Gyro come across an injured Diego, and Johnny is so ruthless - I love it. Gyro tries to show compassion, and Dio tells him where to shove it. Here is where we see Dio's arm - and it truthfully thought he was turning into a lizard. (Not that I was too far off...)
The very second the panel with Dio curled up in the skeleton of a dinosaur appeared, I knew where it was heading. I still couldn't predict how good it was going to be though.
We also get what may be one of the funniest interactions of all time when Johnny catches Dio eating rocks at the inn.
Diego's backstory is revealed in this chapter, and boy is it effed all the way up. His poor mother. The panel where she holds her hands out lives rent free in my head. I have a lot more empathy for this version of Dio than the OG, although this one has some major issues.
This volume propelled me right into the next.
June 12, 2024
Diego Brandon “Dio” se roba el protagonismo, porque no solo es transformarse en un dinosaurio, si no la reinterpretación de su pasado, la cual sinceramente no es tan alejada de la original. Vive en condiciones deplorables, se esfuerza lo que más puede para salir adelante, pero la vida le quita todo. Su madre, su infancia, su familia, solamente termina siendo un recuerdo fugaz para adentrarse en su camino de codicia y autodestrucción. Lo digo de esta manera porque realmente Dio es alguien que sufrido mucho en la vida, pero si las cosas fueran distintas quizá podríamos estar hablando de otra historia. Todo ha sido condicionado por su esclavitud, por la injusticia social, y él lo sabía, solo está tratando de sobrevivir en un mundo tan cruel. ¿Qué tiene malo eso?
August 2, 2022
can easily say this was my favorite volume so far. dio’s backstory was the best flashback of this series yet, and i’m really excited to finally be getting into some of the deeper parts of the story and not just the stand of the week. after seeing tons of hype around diego and scary monsters online i’ve been really looking forward to this volume and it did not disappoint.
the growth of gyro and johnny’s friendship is so heartwarming. i’ve loved watching their relationship throughout this journey and seeing them become so connected and dependent on one another to survive. i’m excited for what’s to come.
the growth of gyro and johnny’s friendship is so heartwarming. i’ve loved watching their relationship throughout this journey and seeing them become so connected and dependent on one another to survive. i’m excited for what’s to come.
December 6, 2022
I'm iffy on Scary Monsters pt. 2 but I liked the body horror elements that were used here to make a freaky atmosphere leading up to a twist. I also like this take on Dio and think that they gave us just enough back story to work with and understand his character motivation.
The art is still phenomenal, and I love that there are more detailed full page shots and landscapes since JoJo switched to the monthly format. So far pt. 7 may top pt. 4 for my favorite if it keeps up with the character development and non-combat moments!
The art is still phenomenal, and I love that there are more detailed full page shots and landscapes since JoJo switched to the monthly format. So far pt. 7 may top pt. 4 for my favorite if it keeps up with the character development and non-combat moments!
April 4, 2023
4 estrellas.
Steel Ball Run, una de las partes que para mi se está volviendo más que divertida e interesante.
Admiro mucho el arte de Araki y ver como el mismo se está retando al dibujar caballos, y en esta ocasión dinosaurios, me parece espectacular.
La historia de este Dio me parece muy humana, y sin duda pude llegar a sentirme más que identificado, hasta el punto en el que pienso que Diego Brando tiene muchisima más humanidad de que Dio, aunque obviamente el Dio anterior no era humano ya.
Steel Ball Run, una de las partes que para mi se está volviendo más que divertida e interesante.
Admiro mucho el arte de Araki y ver como el mismo se está retando al dibujar caballos, y en esta ocasión dinosaurios, me parece espectacular.
La historia de este Dio me parece muy humana, y sin duda pude llegar a sentirme más que identificado, hasta el punto en el que pienso que Diego Brando tiene muchisima más humanidad de que Dio, aunque obviamente el Dio anterior no era humano ya.
September 30, 2023
Series: Steel Ball Run #6
Rating: 3.5 stars
This was a very surprising volume focusing mostly on Dio Brando. Dio has a sad backstory and a very interesting stand ability. It was very unexpected and not a stand I ever expected to see. I find this version of Dio to be my favorite out of all the series, especially now that I have seen his stand.
This search for mummy parts so far has been interesting. It will be interesting to see how the other parts are found and who ends up finding them.
Rating: 3.5 stars
This was a very surprising volume focusing mostly on Dio Brando. Dio has a sad backstory and a very interesting stand ability. It was very unexpected and not a stand I ever expected to see. I find this version of Dio to be my favorite out of all the series, especially now that I have seen his stand.
This search for mummy parts so far has been interesting. It will be interesting to see how the other parts are found and who ends up finding them.
November 20, 2019
This part is so inherently readable that I read 6 volumes pretty much in one go, which says a lot about the quality so far. I adore the protagonists, especially Gyro, and want to see more.
On the downside, since this part is more diverse, there's the ye olde manga racism, which is fun. It's not even like, "historically accurate" racism, if that makes sense? It's just jarring.
Alas, I do really enjoy this part apart from these issues, so yeehaw pardners, let's continue with the race!
On the downside, since this part is more diverse, there's the ye olde manga racism, which is fun. It's not even like, "historically accurate" racism, if that makes sense? It's just jarring.
Alas, I do really enjoy this part apart from these issues, so yeehaw pardners, let's continue with the race!
May 20, 2025
now THIS was amazing
i absolutely love dinosaurs so i might be a bit biased but i loved these chapters !! scary monsters is such a unique stand and i loved the inclusion of different dinosaur specifies too. diego is such a cool and intriguing character i love him. i also think the artwork in these chapters (including the landscape, dinosaurs, characters, atmosphere) were so so visually stunning
🦖🦕
i absolutely love dinosaurs so i might be a bit biased but i loved these chapters !! scary monsters is such a unique stand and i loved the inclusion of different dinosaur specifies too. diego is such a cool and intriguing character i love him. i also think the artwork in these chapters (including the landscape, dinosaurs, characters, atmosphere) were so so visually stunning
🦖🦕
June 2, 2026
Superb, exhilarating and fun to read. Especially the dangerous and mysterious powers every villain of the series have.
One major downfall for the series is that not much happens in terms of story but I'm starting to make peace with that and see it as a shonen manga first and a great story second.
Love the art too
One major downfall for the series is that not much happens in terms of story but I'm starting to make peace with that and see it as a shonen manga first and a great story second.
Love the art too
November 23, 2020
ngl im liking this much less than parts 1-6 but maybe its cuz im less interested in horses. however, the last chapter really cleared things up so i hope the series will pick up (in terms of interesting content)
the pace is lovely though, but it may just be because im binge reading the series
the pace is lovely though, but it may just be because im binge reading the series
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