JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run

By far the greatest Manga I have ever read. Steel Ball Run is an adventure through the eyes of two of the funniest, wittiest, and most eager protagonists I have seen. The story takes you through the race across America all the while an unknown threat is lurking behind the clear but much weaker stand users. This is Araki's greatest work and can be picked up by anyone as it is an alternate universe to the previous 6 parts. The art style is beautiful and the use of color reflects the emotions of characters perfectly. Each character is carefully planned out with a list of quirks and personality traits. Overall i enjoyed this Manga thoroughly reading it in a total of 2 days straight. I would recommend it to anyone, being a fond reader of Shonen Jump or not.

"In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" John 1:1

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run is truly a masterpiece and one of the greatest manga to have ever been written. Its quality far ouclasses the rest of the JoJo manga series. The combination of intense storyline, amazing characters, beautiful artstyle and Jesus Christ, the Son of God makes it from the pinnacle of masterpieces. In addition the relationship of the protagonist Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli together with the main antagonist Funny Valentine who is my personal favorite anime antagonist is the primary reason of why this manga is such a success and took so many awards. Funny Valentine's design specific is created in such a way to achieve character perfection, his beauty, personality and Stand abilities make him the best character in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

LuckyYounes proudly presents this modern manga review:

- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a long running manga written by the most popular influential manga artist (mangaka), Hirihiko Araki, the Japanese immortal man. He was born on June 7, 1960 in Sendai, Miyagi. He started publishing his magnum opus in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1987, and his deep love to the western culture made this franchise have a very unique and diverce plots and interface. Particularly, we will have the spot on its 7th part; Steel Ball Run. That was published from January 19, 2004 to April 19, 2011 in Ultra Jump.
- The story is about a horse race where the jockeys have to cross more than 10000 Kms from San Diego to New York in a weird shaped route with 9 stages and the prize is 50 Million Dollars. That time, it was a heavy number, with some calculations that prize in 1890 is equal to 1,3 Billion Dollars in our days. The main protagonist, Johnny Joestar, the crippled former jockey , his fans call him “Joe Kid” or “JoJo”. He wanted to watch the race start in San Diego. There he encounters his future ally, Gyro Zeppeli, a racer and former executioner with two steel balls instead of guns. JoJo witnesses Gyro use one of them in a duel to unleash some superpowers. In the midst of chaos, Johnny happens to touch the other steel ball in his waist and feel a power surging through his legs, allows him to stand up for the first time in 2 years, spoiler alert it’s called rotation. Joe Kid vows to find the secret behind all of this and decides to compete in the race so his bizarre adventure begins. For the narrator, he was simply defined as Johnny because right at the end of the first chapter, he said “ This is my story how I got back my ability to walk two years ago”. For the vocabulary, you don’t really need a dictionary because the hard word are bold and illustrated so you can comprehend it while reading the dialogue in the bubble text and that’s a cool thing. For the events’ order, you can say it’s well ordered but in a bizarre way because for a new reading who started from part 7 and it’s a frequent phenomena because part 7 takes place in an alternative universe so it’s like a reboot for the franchise and whatsoever. So they will find some difficulties with the main superpower “Stands”. For that, the author made a special chapter (27.5) to explain everything about “Stands” but that won’t hurt the order because on each fight they win, the closer they get to solve the mystery behind the Steel Ball Run race and beat the Antagonist as known as the 23rd USA president, Funny Valentine.
- In conclusion, the characters might seem realistic because most of their appearance and ideology are inspired from real life artists and western songs. Even their back-stories are a reference too; For exemple, Funny Valentine’s back-story is a reference to Putch’s from the 1994 American Film “Pulp Fiction”. And though, one of the most accurate reason why I can say Steel ball run is one of the best comics ever written is due to its creative and original story plot. Nonetheless, I recommend intellectual people to start reading it hopefully they like it.

Mild spoilers! it is difficult to talk about the story or characters without saying something...

"What is so hype about Steel Ball Run?" It is a question that people who do not read often wonder the answer.
The part basically gets rid of stands and focuses on stand abilities, so its more the user if fighting than the actual stand. Guns are actually a threat for the first time in the series in a while, and stands are so much weaker that Gyro doesn't even have a stand throughout the part. The fight against the main villain is also very well done, with both sides having interesting abilities. Gyro and Johnny's friendship is also very well done and both are likeable characters.

Andd "Why is Steel Ball Run so good?"
It's one of the most maturely written JoJo story in the entire saga. It's pretty dark, featuring what can be considered the least good JoJo in a moral stance. Unlike previous parts where it's either saving the world or stopping Dio and his minions, Johnny's motivation throughout the story mostly selfish. Some fans might argue that Valentine is more justified in his actions as the antagonist than Johnny is as the main protagonist.
Besides that, the setting really takes advantage the fact that its a race that spans all of the USA in the 19th century. You have various locales and a unique variation of enemies Johnny and Gyro face off against that came all over the world to participate in the Steel Ball Run. I could go on like how Valentine is written as a very likeable villain, how Diego is more than the "i'm evil because i can" guy his original incarnation was, how unique the story behind the stands and the spin are, and all other stuff.
The most important thing is that Araki done a very terrific job rebooting the JoJo universe with SBR. If anything, Part 7 is his magnum opus.

Yep, that's it. I've finished reading the adored and said best part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure...
What a journey ! I enjoyed every bit of it, from the story (the idea of a horse race through the late 1800s America and the twist of Jesus's corpse being the real objective), characters ( I particularly appreciated Hot Pants and her chemistry with Johnny, but also Sandman who is the absolute madlad, or even minor stand users such as Mr. Blackmore or Ringo) to the entertaining stand fights and the beautiful landscapes shown throughout the race.

I must say I really enjoyed the character of Lucy, a kind of "part 7 Hayato", who endured numerous traumatic experiences, but without giving up. Furthermore, her relationship with her husband was really moving and cute to my mind.

Then Valentine, the perfect villain : behind an evil and selfish goal hides in fact a strong feeling of patriotism, that couldn't nevertheless overcome the thirst for power and control. D4C was a reaaaally op Stand that was absolutely wonderfully used to create entertaining fights with the protagonists.

And finally, oh boy, oh Gyro, such a deep character. He showed us lots of aspects that a JoJo character was expected to embody (a difficult yet moving background, courage, wit, a noble objective, humour, sometimes sadness, and so on. But that was a lot deeper than that, and Gyro was the perfect match for Johnny.

Their relationship just works so well it becomes unreal. Two strangers, different nationalities, different backgrounds yet they are perfectly fit for each other. I fricking loved the jokes/songs moment where Gyro put his whole heart only to be in front of a cold yet amused Johnny, even sometimes adding more to the ridiculous situation.

Johnny was an interesting JoJo to follow. He started the adventure for himself, continued for himself too but couldn't hold back his feelings to intervene when dealing with other characters like Hot Pants or Sandman. Above all, his sincere friendship with Gyro is what made him strong enough to go on on his journey for the corpse's parts.

The protagonist is complex
The main allies are interesting
The villain is believable
Even the throwaway villains are fascinating, especially Ringo Roadagain
The artwork is exceptional (as per usual)
The Stand battles are brilliantly choreographed
And Pulp Fiction reference...

!Yep, like everyone who reads, we can agree to say it was a bizarre yet amazing adventure! A Cripple who likes balls, an Italian executioner, a cross dressing nun, and a Dinosaur man race across America, finding Jesus' Corpse Parts, and fighting the president with neat hair.

Thanks Araki.

In Steel Ball Run, Araki once again delivers a story arc full of clever battles, creative abilities, crazy plots and lovely characters. No, this is even better than the previous arcs, as the author continues to recycle his own style and improve without limits. This is a very rare example in which the author actually gets better with time, and Steel Ball Run provides very good evidence for that.

The story starts out pretty simple: our crippled Joestar hero, Johny, gangs up with Gyro Zeppeli and aims for the top in the intense Steel Ball Run race. Each competitor has his own unique motivations, abilities and means to win. Add the wackiness of the Stands to the mix and you've got yourself one hell of a ride, much like previous installments of the saga. But Steel Ball Run goes one step beyond and throws in characters/factions with their own agendas, a large conspiracy and personal quests.

That doesn't mean the story is complicated, but it definitely has interesting plot twists, intense conflicts and engaging character dynamics. Everything just flows so well that it's easy to get sucked in by the manga.

The art gets even more refined, making brilliant use of Araki's trademark style to highlight emotions, grant impact to a scene or simply serve as true feasts to the reader's eyes, specially with the rich character designs.

Gyro and Johny are likely the best JoJo protagonists to date, despite not topping Joseph from Part 2 in terms of badassery. They are far from perfect, but that's what makes them fascinating: they keep struggling with their inner demons, which are also their greatest enemies, in order to continue advancing, revealing more and more aspects of their personalities in the process. Their bond of friendship is quite powerful and authentic; even meaningless interactions are a lot of fun to watch. Oh, and Gyro's charisma is a huge plus.

The rest of the cast may not be as developed as Johny and Gyro, but they still shine. For starters, you've got Dio, who is again that bastard we all love to hate, manipulating everyone he can to achieve his personal goals. There is also the sympathetic cowboy Mountain Tim, the conflicted Hot Pants, the hilarious comedy relief Pocoloco and many other remarkable characters. The main antagonist is also great, using all of his experience acquired in combat, political power and honest, strong patriotism to pose a serious threat for the heroes.

As usual, battles are one of the biggest focus of the narrative and the main driving force behind the characters' growth, by putting them against desperate situations which demand a strong resolve and difficult choices to be made. While the Stands were becoming stronger and stronger in the previous arcs, Steel Ball Run brings most of them down dramatically. There are few overpowered abilities, making the battles very strategical and a lot demanding of the users. This is highlighted in battles such as the one against Axl Ro, which literally makes everyone involved face their sins, specially Johny and Hot Pants.

If you're up for some exciting, yet intelligent battles, a great cast of characters and one of the most bizarre races of the entire universe, then JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run is for you. And it doesn't matter whether you are an experienced reader of the JoJo saga or a total newcomer, because the Steel Ball Run excludes no one!

(Reviewed for the club "Reviews for the unreviewed")

This is my first review, please forgive any mistakes.

STORY
The story was better from all the jojo parts.The story line was best and chapters was submitted to right way.This story was really different from other parts.The characters and design was outstanding.The story didn't bored me at all it was fun while watching and reading it.Some chapters were having long pages.Individual elements of this story was done well.From genre it was some comedy, there was so much mystery, there was some ecchi scenes of torture really dangerous one.The action was really outstanding i wish they animate in series well.there was a lot of suspence in it after each chapter finish.The ending is really incredible althrough this story is finished till end no other story will come out from this.

ART
The art was really done beautifully by my favourite araki.The art lines is fitted to the story.None of the mistakes was done in the manga.The art was different from rest of the parts of jojo.The characters designs matched the characters personalities.Each characters designs was really different from each other.The plot was best.

CHARACTER
Most of the characters are strong and smart.As you guys know everyone has different stand ability.Whenever anything bizzare happen in manga thir reaction looks so realistic and funny.I was not related to any of the characters.There is a foil for the main character.There is a flashback of main character and main villian.There are so much of supporting characters which helps the main character johnny.There are enemies which i hate most in jojo history especially part 5 but the main villans i like them.i think so it was araki intension to make us hate them.i will surely remember the characters.

ENJOYMENT
You guys out there who are reading my review just go and watch this awesome part.It is also ranked 4 you guys will love it even haters too.I will not read manga again but if its animated in future i will watch it no matter what.I cant forget this awesome part everything i read is still in my mind.I loved this part 7.SALUTE TO ARAKI THE ORGINAL CREATER OF JOJO SERIES.

Sorry this was my first one so i follow all the guidelines.take care guys.

One of the best mangas I read in my life, thanks Araki

The stories are impressive, with a slow but necessary start, other manga artist make this a negative point in their stories because of their poor development of this, but not Araki.

The art of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always been evolving, from the standard bulky heroes of the 1980’s action manga to Araki’s own unique style present in this story and it’s follow up, JoJolion. The background and characters are very detailed, and the stylization of the characters are impressive. The characters are unique within the shonen/seinen genere at large and amongst each other. Being a monthly serialization, the time Araki uses allows for the development of some incredible set pieces and the visualization of Stand powers are always impressive and eye-catching, even if at times it can hard to follow visually. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has been running since the mid 1980’s, and reading from the beginning is a great way of following an individual artist’s evolution and establishment of his own personal style.


The characters, is another bright spot in this manga, and we are not only with the best protagonists in the history of Jojo's, Are the best you could meet in a work of fiction

And the final bow is by one of the most sublime moments in the history of Anime/manga


Steel Ball Run is probably the epitome, or at least the manga epitome, of the “weird west” genre. Underneath all of the graphic action, constantly twisting plot, insane concepts and over-the-top “fabulousness” of the visuals, there’s a surprising amount of humor and heart to it. If you can saddle up and find a decent translation, it’s well worth a peek. Just be prepared for a lot, and I mean a lot, of strangeness.

Steel Ball Run is the (at the moment this review is being published) last completed arc of the long running Jojo's Bizarre Adventure saga, a franchise that has lasted more than 2 decades. While each part of the series has always had its own contributions and spin on the formula, Steel Ball Run in particular stands out from the crowd for one big reason.

Sometime after concluding part 6 (stone ocean), Hirohiko Araki decided that he was through with the limitations of the weekly serialization format and the shounen demographic, of which he had worked in for several years. He figured that with a series that had gone on as long as Jojo, there was no point in continuing it if the series did not grow up with its audience and become a more ambitious and challenging manga. So to that end, while Steel Ball Run was initially serialized in Shounen Jump for some time, it was eventually moved to its sister magazine Ultra Jump, and announced as part 7 of the Jojo saga.

This turned out to be for the best, because Part 7 is almost certainly the best Jojo part to be completed at this time, and honestly the crowning achievement of Araki as a mangaka.

Inspired by ambitious western storylines, both from movies like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and serialized tv stuff like 24 and Lost, Araki created a sprawling epic that is by far the longest Jojo part at 24 volumes. The story functions as a wildly different retelling of part 1 (phantom blood) in a new universe, and when i say wildly different i mean that. there are no vampires, no ripple, the characters equivalents in the story are completely different and some characters don't exactly function as equivalents at all, the premise of the plot is not the same whatsoever, etc. It is more accurate to say that part 7 borrows various elements from the first four parts and repackages them in a completely new way, while still keeping a number of nods and shout-outs to the old Jojo universe.

Perhaps the best example of the differences between the two is between Jonathan, the main character of part 1, and his equivalent in SBR, Johnny. Jonathan was a enormous hulk of a man, a quintessential british gentleman who was the archetypal hero, pure, selfless, courageous, brave, and noble. Johnny Joestar is a young, scrawny, cynical, ruthless, and cunning paraplegic mostly out for himself. Indeed, while the Jojo's of each part almost always had some sort of flaw, they were all fundamentally heroic and selfless. Johnny, on the other hand, is the most flawed and morally ambiguous of them all, but this only serves to make him more interesting. It is very easy to say that he is the most psychologically complex and compelling main character in the series yet.

This more nuanced style of characterization extends to the rest of the cast as well, with Gyro Zepelli, Johnny's co-star, being immensely charismatic but also highly fleshed out and interesting, being much more than what his initial showy persona would have you believe. Other characters like Diego Brando, the newly reimagined and much more sympathetic counterpart to Dio, Hot Pants, the mysterious racer with a horrible secret, Lucy Steel, a young girl way out of her depth who shows extreme courage in dire situations, and Funny Valentine, the most well-intentioned Jojo villain and certainly one of its memorable and charismatic.

No longer shackled with the restraints of the shounen demographic, the story deals with adult subject matter much more openly and maturely than the previous parts of the series (keeping in mind that Stone Ocean is probably one of the most adult shounen stories ever), such as domestic abuse, sexual relations (both consensual and otherwise), homosexuality, etc. However Araki uses this newfound freedom carefully and responsibly for the most part, never indulging in the excesses that a lot of seinen manga, even ones that are overall pretty good, seem a bit too willing to dive into. The series still feels like Jojo with all its wonderful peculiarities, but simply more dense, adult, and without limits as to what subject matter can or cannot be depicted.

As good as a manga as it is however, there are a few things keeping it from being perfect.

Firstly, it is important to talk about Araki's art, which had been going through a process of continuous evolution that seemed to reach its zenith in SBR. Now with much more time to work on the pages, even with the increased page count, the art in SBR is far more lavish, detailed, and realistic than in previous parts, with some incredible craftsmanship in some pages. However, unlike some artists such as Makoto Yukimura and Takehiko Inoue who have unquestionably only gotten better with time, Araki's artistic evolution has come with its ups and downs. While the overall drawing and visual storytelling have overall improved quite a lot, the variation in character faces is much worse now, with many characters looking very similar to one another. This is honestly disappointing as Jojo was always a manga that had a lot of diversity in the character designs, and now not only do a lot of the characters look quite similar, their faces aren't even as expressive as they were before. This is an area Araki will probably improve in with time, but as good as the art in SBR is overall, it unfortunately is not an improvement in all areas.

As i've already said, SBR is by far the longest Jojo part. While this is in large part because of the story's legitimate length and complexity, and mostly the result of a more dense and meticulous storytelling approach, the manga does drag a little bit in a few places. this is mostly evident in the final stretch of the manga, with the last confrontations being extremely decompressed and taking quite a long time to end. they are still fun to read but honestly could have been shorter than they were.

Overall however, even with these caveats and other nitpicks and flaws I could point out (such as the uncomfortable sexualization of Lucy Steel in promotional art and the story itself, which wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't only 14 years old), SBR still stands as the best Jojo part, and a display of how much Araki has grown as a storyteller and artist throughout the years. It is a complete success as an evolution of JJBA, keeping most things that were good about the previous parts but with much more sophisticated storytelling and mature storytelling sensibilities. Of course, not everyone is going to enjoy this new type of Jojo, but if you are a fan of the series you should at least give it a read.

On many forums I've seen recommendations of Steel Ball Run as an "Absolutely amazing manga", "easily the best Jojos and epitomising everything about that 'style' of comic", and "From the art to story 10/10. Best thing i've ever read". After finishing it, I honestly can't say I see its appeal. The characters were barely fleshed out and quite boring, the fighting frequently was decided on pure "luck", rather than fighting strength or strategy, and the story was painfully plain.

The story - Coming in, I wasn't expecting a narrative masterpiece, but I was expecting a compelling story. I was very disappointed. There really isn't any depth to it other than "I want to complete the race first", or "I want to assemble the corpse". The corpse could've been a very interesting part of the story - but besides it being an object that everybody wants, and some small abilities, it was hardly touched upon. There was almost non-stop fighting, and bc of that really wasn't much of a story. It was basically a stereotypical shounen way of handling stories.

Fighting - There were a couple - 3 or 4 fights that were decided by luck, which left a very bad taste in my mouth. Are real-life fights decided by luck? Sure. But the author makes a big point of "luck" being a main reason why the main character wins some fights, which I cannot fathom why. The bad guy does everything right - but because xxxxx happened just at the right time, the main character wins! Once would have been cute. when it happens more than a few times, it starts getting frustrating. I don't know why the author glorifies plot armor, but it made me lose a lot of emotional attachment to fights and characters.
Also frequently in fights, I would notice that powers are VERY inconsistent - while a random character that gets hit by ability X would instantly blow apart, when it hits the main character, they were given almost 10 seconds - to talk it out, figure out a strategy, and then execute it to get to safety. I noticed this happening in almost every single fight. The amount of plot armor in this manga was ridiculous.

Character - After 22 volumes, I had nearly no emotional attachment to a single one of the characters. I think this is due to the manga being absolutely dominated by fighting. When there is no flashback scene or racing going on, the characters are most definitely fighting, leading to close to no exploration of the character's personalities or character. I honestly think the manga absolutely dropped the ball in this regard, there were some painful and not-showing-at-all moments where one character would say a "gag", but besides that there really wasn't any interesting shows of personalities. Most of them felt like cookie cutter good guys that were just on different sides.
Each bad guy was given a brief exposition of why he wasn't really "bad", then was thrust toward the main characters to get beat.

Overall this manga felt like a mediocre shounen. No interesting characters, no emotional attachment, no interesting story, just tons of fighting with chunk of them being decided by plot armor. Wouldn't really recommend.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I will never understand the jojo fandom's constant and obsessive wanking of this part. They pretend it's the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel like hxh and one piece fans do, except they actually have fair reason sometimes (one piece selling most manga worldwide and hxh's chimera ant arc).Where do i start? The pacing is like any other jojo part, but because it's seinen it's 1.5 to twice as longer, leading to slow and long-dragging arcs that suck the enjoyment, investment, or interest out of you every fight. D4C was 15+ whole seinen chapters, imagine being a monthly reader during that time. That's 1.5 years for one fight.

The Stands? Honestly some of the most unoriginal stands in the series next to the ones in part 3. ToTB is metallica, but weaker and lacks all of the cool stuff metallica has. Wired is Beach Boy crossed with the hooks episode from spongebob (which predates this manga). OLM is literally rope that makes your arm extend a couple feet. CtR is Weather Report/Heavy weather but weaker. BnRwK is killer queen but weaker. Hey Ya is the first stand seen, and even araki admits it's a joke that can only give good advice. In a Silent way is Echoes, again. Mandom works like King Crimson but in reverse, as rewinding time 6 seconds is like skipping back 6 seconds when nobody can tell the difference but you. Oh and The World is used again, but that's fair since it's the same user.

As for the original stands: Ticket to Ride, Sugar Mountain Spring, and Tattoo You don't have forms. Tubular bells is a cool and unique stand, but it has no form and relies on physical objects. The stands either are their user or they're on them. Ball breaker is a cool design, but has no discernable ability at all, only punching really hard to break valentine's walls. Chocolate disco wasn't even made by araki, it was a fan-made stand requested by his daughter. So that leaves us with 2 good minor villain stands: Civil War and 20th Century Boy. Like every other jojo part the stands of the main cast (tusk, scary monsters, cream starter, d4c) are pretty good compared to the rest, so no surprise there. Overall these stands are average like 4 and 6. Part 3 stands being worst and 5 (maybe 8 if it goes well) being best.

When people talk about the worst fight in jojo, they'll say it's dragon's dream or janken boy. In my opinion, that title goes to Tomb of the Boom. As i said earlier, it's metallica and bits of bastet but worse. It's one of the first stands shared between multiple people, but it doesn't help when those people are boring hill billies whose faces I cannot even recall or differentiate. The rest of the arc is johnny and gyro getting bodied bc they don't have stands, and then au speedwagon saves the day with rope in the end. This would be mediocre or average if it were shonen, but this is seinen we're talking about here.

Speaking of the fights, the vast majority of them are resolved by gyro throwing his steel balls at the enemy's face. BnRwK, CtR, Chocolate disco, Scary Monsters Prof Ferdinand, Wekapipo, and mandom were all solved this way. The 4-5 Johnny fights are very beneficial and actually make him grow from his original weak self. Gyro is one of the best characters of this part for having everything that makes a character great. Backstory, Motives, Personality, Likeableness, etc. He is easily in the top 3 with bucciarati and jolyne for me. Diego is only good bc he's a hot asshole, unlike DIO who was just an asshole. Hot pants was a cool character, unfortunately her death was so insignificant nobody even knew she died until they looked it up. Johnny is an interesting jojo, but certainly not the best character in the series like people make him out to be. Like giorno he is outcharisma'd by his friend/mentor. But unlike giorno he actually takes a proactive role, speaks, and disagrees with gyro from time to time. Much like pucci and dio's friend-mentor relationship. Continuing with the characters, people wank em bc it's one of the few jojo parts where they get redemption arcs which people feel males them "unique" and "special" bc a good 1 to 2/3rds of jojo fans have never watched another anime. When in reality, you can find character redemption arcs in literally anything from steven universe to game of thrones. It doesn't make a series unique, it's a basic goddamn principle.

Story:

The story is like part 3 (since it's a remake) but slightly better. The protag goes on a journey across X distance with his friend(s). This time he goes on the journey bc he wants to learn from the man he just met. However his motives soon change for the corpse parts in the next 15-20 chapters. Then it becomes a battle royale for the mcguffin and each character has their own reasons. It's lime the third act of part 5, but it spans an entire jojo part (which just so happens to be the longest in the series).

The Art:

Great art, possibly the best of the series due to monthly deadlines. However the pacing is weakened for the art.

The Setting:

An American Western. Literally. Araki is such a westaboo (and most jojo fans are) it's no wonder why this is their favorite setting (even tho italy in part 5 was more accurate, researched, and fleshed out). I have a working theory that only the americans like part 7 because it's so familiar to what they know in the same way the japs love part 4.

The Villain:

I liked Valentine bc jojo fans told me to like him. Then I took a step-back and realized, wow he was such a dick. It baffles me how anybody can think he's the hero. His motive was to fuck over the rest of the world for the sake of America (something americans sympathize with bc they were raised that way) like every American president that's ever been in office. The only difference is you don't see the vast majority of people in real life wanking presidents like Andrew Jackson and Richard Nixon as heroes like the jojo fandom does. What makes it worse is that he raped a 14-year-old girl. This man is not a hero to america people. Get it in your thick skulls already. Like DIO in part 3, valentine sends his stand-user assassins 1 by 1 until they're all wiped out. Then he says "fuck it, i'll do it myself".

Anyways, i'm getting tired of this review so...

Part 7 is an average shonen that people wank bc their friends told them it was perfect. It should not be #2 on MML, it should be in the 20s/30s. And i hope the high expectations set in-place by the fandom leads to it's downfall when the anime comes out and new watchers are inevitably disappointed. Oh and btw everytime you say part 7 best X a cgi horse will be added to the questionaly "confirmed" anime. It probably might not happen since there were no part 7 or 8 manga panels in sono chi no sadame, suggesting DP would only animate the original universe. But who knows what the future holds.

I am writing this review simply because there was only one review which means that no matter how bad this review is it will still end up being the second most helpful.

Set in an alternate universe from previous parts as a result of the events at the end of Stone Ocean, Steal Ball Run is probably the apex of the massive Jojo's Bizzare Adventure franchise, which is no small statement. Araki has once again recycled and improved upon his formula for making terrifically bizarre adventures.

The premise for Steel Ball Run like many of the other parts of the JJBA series is fairly simple and straightforward yet manages to go so far beyond the limits in depth and development of such a simple story. Essentially the story is about a cross-continental horse race across America with a prize of $50 million. There are many wacky and wonderful characters who enter this race ranging from a native american trying to save his village to a man who entered the race because he got a good fortune from a creepy fortune teller.

Moving onto the two main characters of Steel Ball Run. We have Johnny Joestar the titular Jojo of the series and Gyro Zeppeli. In his youth Johnny was a promising horse jockey until he was shot and paralyzed which resulted in him being unable to compete, he also lost all his fame and his father's love as well. It's at this point Johnny encounters the flamboyant Gyro Zeppeli who Johnny believes holds the ability to restore his ability to walk, with nothing to lose Johnny pursues Gyro. Gyro whilst reluctant at first allows Johnny to race alongside him in the Steel Ball Run. Araki decided only to have two central characters in this part as opposed to previous parts such as Stardust Crusaders and Vento Aureo which results in both characters receiving brilliant development over the course of the series, this is hands down the best bromance in anime and manga. There are still many notable side characters present and they still play an important role in the plot, we have a magnificent cameo performance from previous villain Dio Brando in the form of the suave ladies man Diego Brando who is willing to do anything to achieve his ambitions. As well as the mysterious Hot Pants who provided one of the most shocking twists in the entire series.

We then have the antagonist of the story Funny Valentine (named after the song 'My funny valentine' by Chet Baker) who happens to be the President of the United States and is the one secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes of the Steel Ball Run for his own nefarious means. Valentine manages to set himself apart from the other villains in the series and even manages to surpass his counterparts which is very impressive considering JJBA arguably has some of the best villains in any series. He manages to combine his strong philosophical and political views with perhaps the coolest ability of all time to become a truly great villain.

Once more Araki's artistic style has evolved further, his eccentric character designs have been brushed up to the point of perfection. Since the series moved from Weekly Shounen Jump to Ultra Jump which has monthly release the length of the chapters has lengthened, as well as the quality of the backgrounds and landscapes which vary greatly across the massive continent of America from vast desserts to frozen wastelands which are all captured beautifully.

The Stand fighting system is back once more, but has been refined further. Araki once again provides the reader with a banquet of fabulous powers and intelligent fights that other fighting series could only wish for. A special mention to Diego Brando's 'Scary Monsters' because well it is awesome.

Araki has really outdone himself this time. He has truly created one of the most exciting and memorable manga series of all time with Steel Ball Run, I have no idea how he plans to top himself with Jojolion but he has set the bar pretty damn high for himself and every other shounen author out there.

I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a fantastic series filled with intelligent and innovative fights, brilliantly developed characters who are genuinely relatable and for anyone who wants to read a series with horse races in it. If you are interested in reading Steel Ball Run you can probably get away with not reading the entire series from parts 1-6 but I would strongly advise you to check out the entire series as you would be missing out on a lot of greatness, at any rate you should at the very least watch the 2012 series as there are a few overlapping themes and characters which you should be aware of.

Story=8.7
Art=9.1
Characters=9.5
Enjoyment=10
Overall=9.4

Huh, this manga has me confused. All the high ratings and hype, I figured this was going to be a masterpiece along the lines of Berserk or FMA, with engrossing and emotional character development, mind blowing powers and abilities, a captivating story, yadda yadda yadda. Sadly I found myself incredibly bored by the halfway point, disappointed around the 3/4 mark, and I really only finished it because I had no other bathroom material to read at the time. There are no characters I'm really attached to, the characters I'm supposed to like I don't much care for, but on the flip side the characters I'm supposed to hate, I do hate, which leads to me just not liking any of the characters, and comes off as imbalanced character design. The premise had me salivating with a race across the west, but then they introduce the powers, and while the race continues it feels like the importance of it was left behind in the dust. While the art is amazing, the same face issue detracts from it slightly.

Overall I'm left feeling pretty disappointed. The ending was not satisfying, nor did it leave me feeling like I was a better person after reaching the end of the journey. The only takeaway for me was to pray to RNJesus for good luck, but that you'll probably just get screwed anyways.

Again, I'm confused on this one. I wouldn't say this manga is bad, but for it to be at the #2 spot on MAL frankly baffles me.

Serving as a soft reset for Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Steel Ball Run takes the story in original and daring directions. But does it work? Oh who am I kidding? I'm going to be straight up.
I consider Steel Ball Run to be one of the greatest written works I've ever read.

STORY: 9/10
I will admit Steel Ball Run has a very, very slow start. In fact, Stands aren't even introduced until like 20 chapters in. That's another thing: Steel Ball Run is seinen instead of shounen. That means each chapter ranges from 35 to 60 pages long in comparison to the 20 page long chapters of the Jojo Parts before. This may seem daunting at first, but once you get invested in Steel Ball Run it feels like the story was too short, despite being the longest Jojo Part to date. Steel Ball Run also changes the Jojo formula in its fights. Stands are no longer humanoid for the most part, and they function more as superpowers than spirits who fight for you. Each fight is engaging and unique, dealing with psychological warfare more than throwing blind punches. This makes the fights in Steel Ball Run among the best in the series.

Steel Ball Run is also magnificently written with very great story arcs throughout. However, there is a controversial near the very end direction which I won't spoil that will surely throw some people off and make them consider it unnecessary. Eh, I didn't mind it too much, though it does undermine what made a previous Part so good to a degree. Despite that, it still contains one of the greatest and most emotional endings I've ever read.

ART: 10/10
Part 4 may have been the pinnacle of Araki's style, but Steel Ball Run is his pinnacle in his talent. Truly perfect art in all fields. The detail is much more in depth than previous Parts and character designs are on point.

CHARACTERS: 10/10
Steel Ball Run, though its primary cast is a fraction of other Parts, contains some of the best characters in Jojo, and in my opinion some of the best characters of all time. Gyro Zeppeli qualifies for the latter. He's hilarious but he also has a tragic backstory that offers him plenty of motivation while keeping him in mystery. Diego Brando is an interesting spin on Dio Brando from The Phantom Blood and his Stand Scary Monsters is awesome. Lucy and Steven Steel are a great duo. Steven is barely in the story but he's a well written and unique supporting character and while Lucy doesn't really come into play until the finale she is still compelling. Wekapipo is one of the best side protagonists and works well as a foil to Gyro. Steel Ball Run also contains my favorite side villain, Ringo Roadaggin, and though his time spent in the story is brief it is arguably he pinnacle of Jojo.

As for the Jojo and main villain, they're simply the best. Johnny Joestar is a tragic lightning rod of Shakespearean proportions. It's not only impossible to not root for him, it is immoral. He has one of the greatest and most significant character arcs I've ever experienced, and his Stand Tusk is awesome to boot. He is my favorite Jojo bar none, despite being one of the most depraved ones. Johnny is immoral and sinful and honestly can be considered the villain of Steel Ball Run, but he is still a compelling force of nature.

The villain, President Funny Valentine, in contrast, can be considered the hero to an extent, and is one of the most sympathetic villains to grace manga. In fact, it's no secret Funny Valentine is my favorite antagonist ever. He's like a better version of Ozymandias from Watchmen who takes pride in his actions rather than cry in secret. A true patriot, Funny Valentine will stop at nothing to make America great again. As said by the man himself, his "heart and actions are utterly unclouded. They are those of JUSTICE.". His Stand, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (D4C), has one of the most insane and unique powers of any Stand and makes for a more than satisfying final fight.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
Steel Ball Run blew me away in every way. It is a literal epic, a poetic work of great magnitude following flawed heroes on a large scale journey that tests their spiritual and emotional strength as well as their physical. It is compelling and powerful and the fights are pretty damn great. Absolutely mind blowing and awe inspiring yet will leave you in an emotional wreck, despite the story still being filled with trademark Araki humor (Thanks mostly to Gyro and his obsession with making up gags). Johnny and Gyro are a perfect tag team; their relationship is strong and real and their chemistry is on point. They are part of what makes the story so damn compelling.

OVERALL: 9.75/10
Steel Ball Run is one of the most intense and pleasing emotional rollorcoasters I've ever experienced. It contains some of my favorite characters in fiction history and is a fantastic new take on the Jojo universe that, dare I say, is utterly superior to all that's come before it. Featuring my favorite fights, my favorite Jojo, my favorite villain, my favorite story, and one of the most emotional endings I've read, it's no secret that I consider Steel Ball Run to be the greatest Jojo Part, and one of the greatest manga ever created, period.

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 7: Steel Ball Run Review


Story (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.80/10) Great+

The story for the critically acclaimed Part 7 of JoJo's did indeed live up to the hype as the best JoJo's Part from a story standpoint. It's not perfect just like any other series and it's the best Araki has ever written. Now my personal issues with the story is the climax of this Part which also hindered my enjoyment so I'll put those in that section. But that's not the only thing that urked me as we know JoJo's has never made 100% sense and as a reader of JoJo's one must admit that and accept that accordingly. Araki tries his best (or at least I hope he does) to explain the supernatural or scientific situations that occur in his series and some times it makes sense and some times it doesn't which is forgivable depending on the individual reader and the situation at hand. One thing that didn't sit well with me for this entire part was the power of the spin. Now ripple made some what sense and so did stands they were some sort simple and easy forms of powers araki made up in the past that you could wrap your head around but the power of the spin made little sense at the start of the series but then just started to make less and less to me and damn near lost me at the part where Gyro needs to see a perfect rectangle to activate his true potential, I can't let araki ride out with that one. Other than that the story plot of the actual Steel Ball Run Race was amazingly unique and the biggest flip from JoJo's we've seen since Part 4's slice of life spin (and it's even more than that). You get the same sensation of watching or reading a really good sports manga with JoJo's flavor on top of it and majority of it was done great and I can cosign it as the best story Araki has written thus far.


Art (10/10) Outstanding

The art in JoJo's Part 7 is Araki's best work he's ever done in my opinion. Of the time of me writing this review I've already read Part 8 and I am caught up with it. Part 7's art is superior to Part 8's. I don't know what happen after he was done with Part 7 but that was his pinnacle he has never drawn anything that has looked as good as it did in any other Part of JoJo's or any other manga he drawn before JoJo's.


Characters (10/10) Outstanding (Spoilers)

What made the characters outstanding to me in Part 7 were not how likeable they were but because of the backstories they have. Johnny's, Gyro's, Diego's and Funny are some of the best backstories for characters Araki has ever written. The only character's backstory to be honest that rival's the back stories of these characters I mention and aren't apart of Part 7 were Part 6's Weather Report and Enrico Pucci's. Likeable is subjective and I indeed enjoyable the company of how main characters Johnny and Gyro their chemistry as duos outshines any duo we've seen in previous parts Joseph and Ceaser? Nope, Josuke and Okuyasu? Nah, no duo is touching Johnny and Gyro. Now Diego Brando as a character does indeed outshine the orginal Dio from a character standpoint. Although i like the og Dio more as a character Diego shows that he's more deep and interesting than OG Dio. Although Dio got more characterization in Part 6 during Enrico's flashback that made Dio seem more than just some 1 Dimensional villain that hates the Joestar bloodline and I appreciated it, I still think Diego is a better character from the ground up. My only gripes about Diego is the way he got his dinosaur abilities, it still doesn't make sense to me and when the 2nd Diego got pulled into the picture which is basically a completely different character and I felt it wasn't really needed and felt more like a lazy attempt to bring The World back into the picture, although the idea I think was cool i think getting completely rid of the original Diego so earlier wasn't too much of a good move. Diego Brando is a great antagonist and I don't feel he was a villain which is why I feel since I don't consider him a flat out villain like Dio Brando I feel he was a better character by default. Funny Valentine on the other hand can be looked at as both villain and antagonist. His complex mind and way of thinking was outstanding I do feel he is a better villain than Dio but I do like Dio more. With all that being said even though I am giving this section a 10/10 it's because like I say time and time again all a 10/10 means to me is that it has reached my pinnacle of satisfaction I was looking for when it came to this section doesn't necessarily mean it's perfect.


Enjoyment (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.60/10) Great+

My enjoyment for Part 7 was great I enjoyed majority of it. I do feel the start of Part 7 took a minute to get going but once it did it was smooth sailing from there on out. Enjoyment is a 100% subjective category so it's different for everyone. So for me I felt when it came to the conclusion on how the final opposing villain was handled, it was good but the whole Diego Brando from an alternate universe with the Stand power of The World? When that came into the picture I my enjoyed kind of hit a wall, because I just felt it was quite an ass pull even by JoJo's standards. Honestly this was more of an ass pull than Part 3's Jotaro getting the power of time stop right at the end of the series yeah it's that much of an ass pull to me. Apart of Diego getting The World was spoiled for me before I got to it in the manga and I thought that the original Diego was going to get the that ability somehow and I was interested to figure out how he gets it. But when I figured out it's not even him it's another Diego from a parallel universe it kind of disappointed me and hindered my overall enjoyment for a conclusion to the critically acclaimed SBR, I guess I felt it could have been handled better, example could you imagine if the original Diego wasn't dead and the new Diego teamed up with him and that had some sort of 2v2 fight with Johnny and Gyro? That would have been far better to me. Another issue that hindered my enjoyment was the fact that just like the previous Joestar (which would be Jolyne) Johnny couldn't finish the job. Sure one could say Johnny defeated Funny who was the true main antagonist of Part 7 but the fact that it's because of Funny that this 2nd Diego is here still makes me uncomfortable in the same way that I did when Jolyne couldn't finish the job against Enrico Pucci back in Part 6. It doesn't sit well with me that Lucy Steel (just like Emporio) is the one to lay the final blow on the final opposing threat of Part 7. Nonetheless it didn't completely destroy my enjoyment as you can tell because it still ended up getting a 9.60 it's far more forgivable than the big issues of previous Parts of JoJo's (Part 4,5 and 6 in particular which all had that one big thing that is unforgivable in each of them). Nonetheless points (just like i did for Part 6 when this happened) had to be deducted from my score but not as much.


Overall (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.85/10) Great+

So the hype was indeed real, I can see why this is considered the best Part of JoJo's. And as of me writing this review and also being caught up with JoJo's Part 8. I would say my ranking for my personal favorites would be 4,2,3,7,5,1,8,6. I do feel this is superior than it's counter Part which is Phantom Blood, but everyone feels that way. All and all Part 7 was a great Part and I can cosign it as one of the if not the best from a critical standpoint.

Update*
After sitting down and thinking about it hard an long my new ranking as far as favorite parts rank as the following now. 7, 4, 2, 3, 5, 1, 8, 6. So yeah Part 7 is like wine although the issues that I have with have not gone anywhere, comparing it to the issues I've had with my previous #1 favorite i felt bothered me far more than the issues I've had with Part 7. The anime for Part 4 that aired, made me realize how many issues I have with Part 4 that bother me to the point where it made me do a deep comparison on everything Part 4 and Part 7 has done in every category and Part 7 came out on top. So yeah Part 7 is my new favorite.

Wow, it really is as good as everyone says.
Kinda hate to be a conformist but yes, it's simply amazing.

One for the ages. Even if JoJo parts 1-6 were utter trash (they arn't, they're really good as well) it would be worth reading all of them just to read this one.

You might be out here looking a the top rated manga of all time on MAL and wondering why part 7 of a series is #2 but I assure you, it deserves its placement.

Easily the most interesting story in JoJo with an incredible setting and art. The action very well drawn with the best panel work of the author yet. Each scenario that plays out feels like the characters are dripping with intrigue and motivations that make every conflict read like it's own self contained manga. You get all this for the low low price of 96 very good length chapters.

It's JoJo. 10/10. First I tought this was weird. I tought: Who is this guy? Who are Johnny's parents? But then I realised this was an alternate dimension and was out of the best 6 parts we had, PB, BT, SC, DiU, VA, SO.
I like Johnny and the story, it has a good vibe to it that I don't know how to explain it. Our legendary creator Araki Hirohiko did another G R E A T job creating a new JoJo. Thoughts on Johnny: I think he's gay, but not so gay as Giorno, gayer than Josuke? Of course. I like Johnny's clothes. He is the first Joestar in the Steel Ball Run universe, except his father,and really is my favourite JoJo manga. i give JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Steel Ball Run a 10/10.

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

Pizza mozzarella, pizza mozzarella, rella rella rella

Pizza gorgonzola, pizza gorgonzola, zola zola zola

, but on a serious note holy fuck was this an amazing story. I love the characters settings and don't get me started with the art, Araki went all out this I absolutely LOVED steel ball run, it made me happy, angry, and sad, I wish I could experience this again. Go read it, please, it's just too good to ignore.

PK

So Jojo's Bizzare Adventure Part 7 : Steel Ball Run
tHIS mANGA this amazing Manga Is by far the best manga ever in my opinion its so well crafted Araki Is on a diffrent Level when he wrote this Manga
Story 10/10 : one of the greatest and most orginal jojo story
its set in 1800's In america a horse Race a cross america and the winner Gets 60 mILLion dollars pretty generic Right Wrong
Minor Spoilers Ahead :
STANDS arent intreduced untile after a whole volueme 3 wich means this manga takes its time, what i love about it so much its that it gets rid of its Worst Arcs right away, and then Boom amazing arcs start flying left and right Mandom Fight - Catch the rainbow and more and more
Art 11/10 : Araki's Best Yet No nore Said cuz we all know that Man is THE ARTIST
CHARCTERS 11/10 : it doesnt have your typical Jojo story of 5 people Trying to catch A main Villain
Instead we get Gyro And Johonny wich Is the Best DUO EVER
the comidic Moments Thier serios Moments and more and more
They Have one of the best chimistry i have ever seen
vILLAins :Funny Vallentine Is probbly my Fav JoJo Vellain After DIO He is Practicly a hero or thats what he bealive and His Abbility D4C is Just So amazing
Dio(Part 7) Dio We Love As a dinosaur What is More To Say
The Side villains in here aren't The Best but they Have such Creative and Cool Stands
WICH MAKES THE BATTLES ALL THAT GREAT
Enjoyment 9/10 :i will admit at first i was so not into it cuz its such a change from your typical Jojo Story and it had the Slowest start Yet
BUT
man does it grow on you evrything gets so much better it unbealiveble that when i finished it i was jumping and sying this is the best manga EVER
Overall : My Fav Part IS always Part 5
but if you ask me what is the best Part I will always Answer Part 7 its So Good iam honstly WRITING my first review becaues of my love for this Manga
11/10

Jojo's Bizzare Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run is not only one of the best Jojo parts, but one of the best manga I have ever read, without a doubt. This part shows just how far Jojo has come, having perfected the formula that we saw used in previous parts. It has everything you could want in a Jojo part: an interesting but bizzare story, amazingly well-written characters, spectacular fights, great humour and of course, stands. The stands are not the focus of this part, in fact I can't even remember half of their names, but this doesn't really matter as they are still used very well within the story. All of this, plus the beautiful artwork, and you have yourself what I would consider to be the peak of Jojo.

Bible two Looking good. Very good original characters like Jesus. OutSTANDing artstyle
Amazing soundtrack my favorite is the Pizza mozzarella composed by Gyro Zeppeli.
I think this is one of if not the best romcoms that I have read. This might be a little spoiler but the show starts of with our protagonist Pocoloco getting the most OP STAND
which can beat even dio in a heartbeat and he beats everbody in the whole part. Our other main protagonst Sandman is so OP that he goes full barefoot and demolishes the whole lobby. By the way it's about a race in 'merica for money also Jesus stuff
-Gyro Zeppeli out