JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7--Steel Ball Run, Vol. 3

Steel Ball Run 2 in 1 #3

by Hirohiko Araki

Gyro and Johnny are heading up the front of the pack in the Steel Ball Run race! But just as they’re about to reach the finish line, they’re attacked yet again. And to make matters worse, when Gyro and Johnny finally uncover the reason behind these constant attacks, they start to realize that the true purpose of the Steel Ball Run is much more sinister than either of them could have ever imagined.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Seinen

Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2025

About the author

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.

He is a recipient the Tezuka Award for manga.

Reviews

[yags · Rating 5 out of 5]

so peak like literally THE peak

[Brigid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny Joestar sure has come a long way from his former life on top, back when he was going to a millionaire’s house and sleeping with two girls in Volume 1. “How did I get into this mess?” Johnny says while hiding underneath a huge rock from another Stand user. “Gyro, you’ve gotta help me out here. All I wanted was to win this race and learn the secrets behind those damned steel balls.”

Johnny has got some troubles in this volume—the biggest one, and probably peak gore for this series as a whole—is getting a hook caught in his cheek and dragged through the air. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has no shortage of gross-out scenes, but the image of Johnny trying and failing to pull the hook out while screaming just about takes the cake, and had me cringing for pages in the best way.

Similarly to the way Johnny and Gyro reasoned out the concept of Stands together, Johnny displays some impressive skills of deduction when it comes to figuring out the real story behind the Steel Ball Run race. It helps that Johnny is already incredibly suspicious when it comes to the unexpected battles he and Gyro have faced so far: “These terrorists…all this stuff about your country, Gyro…What exactly is going on here? No matter how big of an international victory winning this race might be…these attacks are way too intense!”

Johnny’s left arm opens up by itself, and a mummified corpse arm bursts out and then burrows back into his arm. This mummified arm is secretly a hot commodity for Steven Steel, President Funny Valentine, and the financial backers of the Steel Ball Run race. As Johnny puts it, “Whoever’s corpse this is, it was divided and scattered across North America. And now they’re trying to find all the parts and bring them back together. That’s what the terrorists are after! The Steel Ball Run is just a cover! The whole thing was set up as part of a secret plot to collect the corpse.”

Johnny and Gyro’s battle with Bamboo Hat Kid is thrilling, and Bamboo Hat Kid has some good taunts for Johnny: “Gimme the corpse inside your arm! Give it to me now! Unless you want to see how these rocks look when they’re painted with Gyro’s guts!”

Despite the obvious danger, Johnny is reluctant to give up the mummified arm, and it is easy to understand why when he haltingly tells Gyro, “I…I don’t wanna lose it…It’s inside my arm. I don’t want to give it up. Gyro…it moved my legs.”

There’s a lot more of Dio in this volume, and I was very amused by the similarities this Dio has with the Dio that I am used to in previous JoJo Parts. Dio rides up to Gyro and Johnny, unnerving them after they saw him lying on the ground the previous day. Dio is resplendent as he throws his arms wide and crows, “I’ve never been more invigorated! Maybe falling off my horse did me some good! I feel light as a feather! What a shame to lose this beautiful daylight so soon!” The effervescent Dio is soon caught eating rocks by Johnny, and he hardly skips a beat, taking time to explain gastroliths, then jauntily leans against the door and says, “But enough about me. That coffee’s fresh, yeah?”

This Dio is not a vampire—he’s more like a dinosaur werewolf—but I’m looking forward to the next volume to find out how to properly classify what exactly this Dio IS. On the run from dino Dio, Johnny exclaims,
“Dio killed and ate that bear! And then it just up and turns into another dinosaur?!” This volume also ends on a good cliffhanger, and I rate JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7—Steel Ball Run, Vol. 3 by Hirohiko Araki as four-out-of-five-stars and strongly recommend Part 7 as a whole.

[Dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

steel ball PEAK

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the race and story progress, we get sinister reveals, tragic backstories, blossoming friendship, and dinosaurs. It's everything that makes JoJo so unique, and such a fun read.

[Colin Vigneault]

There is an infection turning people into dinosaurs in the middle of a cross country horse race. This kicks ass.

[✧˖°Sarah⋆˙⟡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

a stone eating dinosaur in the middle of a horse race😍

[Riley Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jojo is so back ⭐️

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the one where Diego-called-Dio turns into a dinosaur!!! It took me 2 weeks to read Tusk cause I wasn't vibing with it, and 1 day to read Scary Monsters because omg I am locked tf back in. There are dinosaurs!! Gyro is turning into a dinosaur! I know many people consider SBR to be the best JJBA part, and I am understanding why. Scary Monsters is one of my all-time favorite JJBA arcs.

Melanie's favorite new character designs in this volume, in no order: Dinosaur Dio has markings on his whole body that say DIODIODIO and he’s so right to have a good fit even as a dino. I did read the part where human Dio tries to find the coffee 3 times. That’s how I, too, interact with the fellow humans. Also kind of obsessed with Gyro’s “turning into a dinosaur” look with the teeth in his cheeks (unsurprising because I’m always obsessed with Gyro’s character design). Best new character design does have to go to Johnny’s little Guy, who popped out of Johnny’s arm, whispered sweet nothings to Johnny’s feet in Latin causing his nails to shoot off his toes (as they do), and captured my heart. My very first reaction was “he’s SO ugly! 💖” but honestly he’s so ugly that he’s incredibly cute. The thing I miss most from older JJBA is that everybody's stand was a Big Guy. Nobody's got a Big Guy anymore, and that's sad. Is this part of Araki's JJBA revamp?

I recognize that none of the physics or human anatomy of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure operate by the same conditions as my world, but I was so mad at the beginning of this volume about Gyro’s foot. It got blown up by a bomb (whose energy he transferred from his hand to his foot cause he needed the hand more, naturally) and then he just stitched it back together (complete inside of his pants and boot, because they are part of his human body) with Magic Thread and now he’s all better. This is by far the least unrealistic thing that’s ever happened in JJBA but I’m still mad about it. Cause I’m sure he’s eventually going to get killed by like one (1) normal bullet or something equally bullshit. Slightly unclear why that’s what I’m upset about when Johnny’s fingernails spin and he has a corpse mummy hand inside his arm. (??) Later Gyro cries while sewing his chin up after Pork Pie Hat Kid and I'm like oh? You didn't cry when you sewed your foot back on. >:( Anyway, in this volume Dio turns into a dinosaur, and while fighting Dio the Dinosaur, Gyro turns his thighs flat like a pancake. He used the spin from the ball to flatten his legs. Naturally. I don't have a problem with the logistics of any of that.

The worst part of reviewing the 2 in 1 version on Goodreads is that we're missing some of the best covers from the OG volumes, including everyone's favorite cover and my personal favorite cover. Look at that totally normal hand placement. I think American Flag Johnny is my favorite coloring.

3 stars for Tusk arc (5 stars for the Little Guy)
5 dinosaur stars for Scary Monsters!! including the last chapter which is in volume 4.

[Kristina Mlinarić · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may seem like a connection out of the blue, but as a fan of The House of Cards, I can't help but see Frank Underwood in Funny Valentine. They're both politically savvy, ruthless, strong-willed, and domineering (later even with women)... Imagining Frank as the final boss with a Stand ability is an amusing thought. 
That aside, this volume is packed with ingenious combat, poignant characters with memorable backstories, and plot complications. I've read it quickly, but I just can't help myself when it comes to Jojo.

What I'm listening to for Jojo:

The Chemical Brothers playlist

[Marla Hectic · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Cuatro y media, cinco porque el arte es de mis favoritos de los Jojos]
Siento a Jesucristo dentro de mí (literal edition)
Nos metemos en materia, descubrimos que no hay ni un solo competidor aquí que no rezume carisma y, lo que es más importante: entre duelo y duelo loquísimo donde todavía parece que nosotros (y Araki un tanto) estamos descubriendo cómo funcionan los stans en este nuevo universo, se va forzando una de las relaciones más bonitas de todo Jojo's (sí, hablo de Gyro y Johnny, OBVIAMENTE, que Hot Pants y Dio todavía no se conocen...)

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art: still gorgeous. Characters: still fun. Story: weird. The third volume really does not hit as hard as the first or even second, at least in the beginning. But it slowly finds its footing, and the later half of this volume is a blast of eclectic energy that reminds you why you like this series in the first place. GO, GO ZEPPELI!

[Rob Marney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how weird the feverish dream logic gets. (Is this the source for the secret message dagger in Star Wars IX?) I love how unpredictable but still tense the series is, and how it evokes the feeling of the American West despite being shonen manga wacky. I hate how the characters have astounding leaps in logic that they over explain to the reader.

[Nehemiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just love this manga so much, and re-reading it is so refreshing, araki truly peaked at putting his main character in the most bizarre circumstances, whilst also just providing a phenomenal layer of context. just impeccable, n I didn't even speak on the art 🤤🤤

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea why but I fear this Steel Ball Ran its way into my heart. Its so funny seeing Gyro and Johnny just figure their way out of everything. Its like dungeons and dragons trying to roll a nat 20 😂almost never happens, but its hilarious when it does

[joey · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

chapters:
24: interlude
25: tusk, part 1
26: tusk, part 2
27: tusk, part 3
28: frightening monsters, part 1
29: frightening monsters, part 2
30: frightening monsters, part 3
bonus story: the story of funny valentine

[lili ୨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

scary monsters arc on paper 🥹

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.5, very entertaining altho less normal suspense than previous parts

[Avidreader365 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[kazzie ݁ ˖๋ ࣭ ⭑]

open the door, get on the floor, everybody walk the dinosaur 🗣️🔥🔥

[Aidan Tumelty · Rating 4 out of 5]

HE DID THE POSE

[Robby · Rating 4 out of 5]

We get some truly bonkers reveals in this, from the true purpose behind the race to Dio's Stand. The artwork around the Dio stand battle in particular is pretty amazing.

[Jenny L · Rating 5 out of 5]

its giving di(n)o

[Rui · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love jesus

[Tyler Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

They should’ve made the localized name of Diego’s stand Scaly Monsters

[Paris · Rating 3 out of 5]

.....

[safa · Rating 5 out of 5]

everything starting in san diego makes me happy as a socal resident since birth. represent!

[Armando · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the craziest manga I've ever read.

[Maksim Nixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnny gets his stand, fat valentine is shown, and Diego is a dinosaur

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

diego brando they could never make me hate you

[Lina]

i can never really rate any sort of graphic novel but good story yes exciting