JOJO NO KIMYOU NA BOUKEN: STEEL BALL RUN

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

MANGA ActionJoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Stone Ocean
MANGA ActionJoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: JoJolion
NOVEL ActionJORGE JOESTAR

REVIEWS

• 

  Chizuo

  90/100
  With Araki as a more matured artist, we reach the top of the artistic style of the series, with magnificent drawings.

  With a race as a backdrop, the seventh of the long-running manga series "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure", written by "Hirohiko Araki", soon caught my attention as the average manga reader. This is said because, when reading a narrative based on a competition, there's a bet on the ability of the author to surprise with the final result. After all, there is a certain expectation that the main character will come out as the winner. However, deep down, there is also the doubt (which, honestly, I always hope for it to materialize) that another character comes out victorious. But let's not rush to the end, right?

     In the same sense, the United States of the late nineteenth century, the setting of this story, proves to be an excellent choice for the journey, much to the extensive and deep knowledge the author possesses of the country, both in matters of physical geography, like relief, vegetation and climate of the various places of the nation, as well as in the stylization and design of cities and their locations. In view of this, one can perceive the determined effort invested in this trustworthy construction of the places, which is only emphasized in the beautiful art present in the work, with extremely detailed and diverse backgrounds in its composition, reflecting each part of that knowledge. The art here is therefore enchanting, especially in the color version.

    The protagonists of "Steel Ball Run" are "Johnny Joestar" and "Gyro Zeppeli", who develop during their odyssey by the North American continent the best pair that the cast of a "JoJo" part ever had. Certainly, at first, this time's "JoJo" did not appear very interesting in his personality and "Stand", but meanwhile the series manages to hold firmly when introducing the "Spin" technique used by Gyro, which is explained gradually and in an interesting form, because of how it is always surprising to see the next way that it will be used. Both of them experience a growth in their personal skills and values, so to speak, provided by the events they witness together and past experiences shared with each other.. In addition, the whole roadtrip vibe, emanating from the duo, allows the creation of more scenes and conflicts that put the relationship of the two to the test.

   In order to explain more about the structuring of the story, some small
  SPOILERS may be ahead. Proceed with caution.

    As far as the previous parts, the seventh one is also filled with the famous "villain of the day" encounters, in which a new enemy, with its respective "Stand" is shown, and it is up to our heroes to save the day. In short, it's the classic formula applied in the series for so many years, and here it is done with mastery: "Hirohiko Araki" can still surprise with his creativity to invent absurd powers, so if the reader's preference is for the unique fights traditionally provided by the author, "Steel Ball Run" is chock-full of them, both for simple ideas that will bring questions like: "How did he not use that power before?"; As well as more complex skills, which require more explanation for comprehension in its fullness. Likewise, the sections in which other cast members receive the focus also demonstrate a clear evolution, passing the concrete image that the script does not advance only with the main pair - on the contrary, the collaborators here receive much of the spotlight , playing key roles in the unfolding of the plot, such as Lucy and Stephen Steel's on Funny Valentine's plans .

     In addition, what disappointed me the most was the final outcome. Although there's an excellent final battle with the new villain, the writing stumbles at the moment in which "Dio" is rescued with its signature "Stand" from the other series, "The World". To a certain extent, it supports the old dichotomy of the "Joestars" and "Dio", which, even in an alternate world to those of previous sagas, remain inherent in the existence of both lineages. However, on the other hand, if what is expected is a totally original conflict for the finalization of the series, Part 7 does not deliver such content.

   Certainly, the seventh part of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" is quite a work. With Araki as a more matured artist, we reach the top of the artistic style of the series, with magnificent drawings, reserved only for admiration during your reading time. Undeniably, "Steel Ball Run" is an excellent journey through Hirohiko Araki's America, and, if you're a fan of his past works or not, your presence surely is welcome.

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• 

  geovannyboss

  100/100
  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.

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• 

  ryderstheory

  100/100
  The perfected JoJo part

  Steel ball run is the the perfect JoJo part and the part where Araki truly perfects his classic format of meeting stand users throughout parts of their journey. He perfects this through my favorite JoJo plot by far, the steel ball run race which is an amazing setting for this format and the adventure genre that takes the best features of every other part and puts it into one masterpiece. Along with the amazing plot and format, this part easily has the most depth when it comes to character designs and had me in love with everyone from Johnny to Lucy Steel etc.
  You can tell Araki really wanted the main characters to have has much depth as possible and did this by giving some great backstories and amazing development. I really loved this because I feel that one thing that many parts lacked was depth and well thought out backstories that drove the plot and in this part he really changed that. Regarding the depth and backstories you cannot overlook in my opinion the best antagonist in all of JoJo and one of my favorites in all of manga and that is Funny Valentine. Funny Valentine is a truly unique character in the universe with his amazing analogy of "picking the napkin up first" and the incredible way this drives his motives of true patriotism and protecting his country.
  Next there's Johnny who is arguably the best written main protagonist in the series who I feel is up there in readability along with characters like Josuke where we can really see his weakness and the struggle he faces in the beginning that he's forced to overcome and drives his development. This is one thing I thought was lacking in other parts like two and three where I felt like the main JoJo's had little development throughout their parts but I was glad to see Araki execute this is well in Johnny. Following Johnny lest talk about Gyro Zeppeli who is one of the most enjoyable and well written Jo-bros. As we meet Gyro from the beginning its clear that he will be one of the driving forces in the series and contributed to Johnny's development more than anyone else. Finally it wouldn't be a proper review of the manga without going over its art which is a true display of Araki's amazing talent and how much he's improved his art style with every single part. Araki manages to change and improve his art style so much and still have such recognizable and incredible art. While I don't consider it the best art in manga, Araki's style in this part is one of my personal favorites and really adds to the charm of the series. Overall Steel Ball Run is a masterpiece of a manga which excels in its art, themes, characters and plot making it my personal favorite manga of all time and a contender for best manga of all time. I highly suggest to both JoJo fans and non JoJo fans alike.

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