Summary
- Part 7 of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure breaks from previous parts with a new timeline and a trans-American race.
- The Steel Ball Run Race covers a vast distance, allows various vehicles, and has cash prizes for winners.
- Speculation suggests Part 7 anime announcement during the JOJODAY event on April 25, potentially involving Netflix.
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fans have reason to expect that a new season will be announced in April. The natural step for the anime would be to confirm the adaptation of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7, titled Steel Ball Run.
This part breaks away from the continuity of Parts 1 to 6, and establishes a new timeline for the series, although it contains many references to the previous parts — many characters are named after those from Part 1. A major event in Part 7 is the Steel Ball Run Race, from which the arc takes its name. But what exactly is this race?
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Can You Start Reading At Part 7?
Can you skip JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's earlier parts and start at Part 7?
JoJo's Steel Ball Run Race
This section contains spoilers for Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run.
The plot of Part 7 revolves around the Steel Ball Run Race, a trans-American race that starts in San Diego and ends in New York City. It was created by Steven Steel and Lucy Steel (born Lucy Pendleton), and it attracted many sponsors and gamblers.
Participants could use horses, camels and even automobiles (which were new and different from the incredibly fast cars we use today) in the race, and they could also carry weapons, but not use them in any criminal or illegal way. Medical, food, hotel and travel expenses were covered by the organization.
The race started on September 25, 1890, in San Diego, and ended on January 19, 1891, in NYC. Since it takes many days to complete the race, it is divided into stages — the winners of each stage are awarded cash prizes, and the first eight to complete each stage receive a cumulative hour bonus to be used in the final stage.
What's this fury I'm feeling all of a sudden? So such a thing was present during the race... Don't worry, feel at ease... I can't possibly win the race now.
— Mountain Tim in Steel Ball Run
Over 3,000 people entered the race, but only 30 of them finished it. About 90 participants died during the race, for different reasons. The first five finalists in the overall rank get a cash prize that varies from 1 million dollars (first place) to 120,000 dollars (fifth place). Pocoloco won the race, after Diego Brando was disqualified.
JoJo Part 7 And the New Timeline
While Part 6 takes place in the 2010s, Part 7 goes back to the 1890s. This is because Steel Ball Run is set in a different timeline, although many of the characters have the same names as those in the previous installments.
From Part 7 on, the series follows this alternate timeline, but as there are many references/homages to the "first saga", many fans might be confused. On the other hand, newcomers may enjoy this part, as it doesn't require any previous knowledge of the series.
JoJo's Steel Ball Run Anime Coming Soon?
JOJODAY, a "fan event", which, despite its name, is actually an official fan-focused event, will take place on April 25. This event is constantly being promoted by the Jojo anime account, leading fans to expect that Part 7 will be announced there.
Of course, this is only speculation so far, as any other anime (like a spin-off series, a new season of Rohan Kishibe, and so on) could be confirmed, or even nothing could be announced at all. That means that no anime covering Part 7 has been confirmed yet, but it seems like the natural course of the series.
If Part 7 is announced on April 25 or even at a later date, Netflix may once again be involved with the series.
When Will The Manga Come To An End?
The manga has currently been serializing Part 9, titled JOJOLands, since 2023. It follows Jodio Joestar, a distant descendant of Johnny Joestar (the main character in Part 7). While it is not officially confirmed, many fans speculate that this will be the last part of the series.
The "second saga" of the series seems to mix the events of the previous parts, and is considered a unique retelling of them in a different timeline. Part 7 mixes many elements from Parts 1 and 2, and Part 8 borrows elements from Parts 3 and 4.
So fans think that Part 9 is a reference to Parts 5 and 6, thus concluding the series — some claim that Jodio's name is a reference to Giorno and Jolyne, the main characters of Parts 5 and 6, but it also seems to reference Jonathan and Dio, the main character and the main antagonist of Part 1.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is available to stream on Netflix, subbed and dubbed. Some seasons are also on Crunchyroll and other services.
- Release Date
- October 6, 2012
- Showrunner
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu
- Directors
- Naokatsu Tsuda
- Writers
- Yasuko Kobayashi
- Franchise(s)
- Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Cast
-
Kazuyuki OkitsuJonathan Joestar -
Tomokazu SugitaJoseph Joestar
WHERE TO WATCH
An adaptation of Hirohiko Araki's long-running shonen manga, David Production's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure follows the Joestar family through multiple generations as they develop their familiarity with Stands and take on world-ending threats.
- Seasons
- 6
- Studio
- David Production
- Japanese Title
- JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Hirohiko Araki
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu
- MyAnimeList Score
- 7.87 (Season 1)
