“This is the story of me starting to walk. Not in the physical sense, but in an adolescence-to adulthood-sort of way.”
Part 7 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, subtitled Steel Ball Run, is preceded by Stone Ocean and followed by JoJolion. Johnny Joestar is the JoJo for this part, and Funny Valentine is the main antagonist. Valentine's Agents and the SBR racers are this part's villainous factions.
Steel Ball Run begins a new continuity different from Parts 1-6. It pays homage to earlier parts but is not influenced by any of them. This part also introduces the power system of Spin, which is used by the protagonists of this story along with Stands.
Part 7 was published in Weekly Shonen Jump under just the title Steel Ball Run in 2004, without the "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" supertitle, running for 23 chapters. In 2005 Part 7 moved from releasing in WSJ to monthly Ultra Jump, where it was officially designated as the seventh part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and ran until 2011.
In December of 2007, Part 7 was adapted into a VOMIC (a voiceover comic,) that gave an official voiceover dub to chapters 1, 5, 6, and 7. It was released in four episodes weekly and concluded at the end of SBR Chapter 7.
It was announced in April 2025 that Steel Ball Run would receive an anime adaptation as the sixth season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation. The season is titled Steel Ball Run: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, reversing the title and subtitle and removing the "Part 7". A release date has not yet been set.
Part 7 began officially in English in May 2025, continuing on a bimonthly release the same as the part before it.
Official Description[]
VIZ Media[]
Riders from around the world gather in the Wild West for the race of the century! Johnny Joestar, a former jockey paralyzed from the waist down, comes to spectate, and momentarily regains the ability to walk while watching a duel fought by Gyro Zeppeli. Desperate to learn more about this power, Johnny joins the race alongside Gyro and embarks on the most epic and bizarre race to ever cross the American frontier!
Summary[]
Steel Ball Run is the seventh part in the JJBA series, and the first set in a new continuity. The part is set in America in 1890 and follows paraplegic jockey Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli on a cross-country horse race from San Diego to New York for the prize money of $50,000,000. Johnny is taught the power of Spin through Gyro, and develops his own Stand ability as well. Johnny and Gyro eventually uncover the dark truth of the Steel Ball Run race, which is for US President Funny Valentine to uncover the pieces of the corpse of Jesus Christ, and put the United States at the forefront of the world. The part ultimately ends with Valentine's defeat, at the loss of Gyro and many of Johnny's other friends, and Johnny learning to walk again. Although he does not win the race, on his way to Italy to deliver Gyro's corpse to his family, Johnny meets Rina Higashikata, who will eventually become his wife.
Episodes[]
*Note: This is not the final episode list. It is based on speculation due to the part's length. The final episode count is not released.
Chapters not in Episode Format[]
*Note: This list uses a mix of official English release material where it applies, and therefore numberings may be inconsistent due to English hardcover volumes doubling up on Japanese tankoban volumes.
Story Arcs[]
| Steel Ball Run story arcs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cast[]
Characters[]
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
Stands[]
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| Tusk ACT1 | Tusk ACT2
Johnny Joestar |
Tusk ACT3
Johnny Joestar |
Tusk ACT4
Johnny Joestar |
Ball Breaker
Gyro Zeppeli |
  |
  |
  |
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| Oh! Lonesome Me
Mountain Tim |
Scary Monsters
Diego Brando |
Cream Starter
Hot Pants |
Ticket to Ride
Lucy Steel |
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap |
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  |
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| D4C: Love Train
Funny Valentine |
Hey Ya!
Pocoloco |
Tomb of the Boom
Boomboom Family |
Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure
Oyecomova |
Wired
Pork Pie Hat Kid |
  |
  |
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| Mandom
Ringo Roadagain |
Catch the Rainbow
Blackmore |
In a Silent Way
Sandman |
Sugar Mountain
Giant Tree |
Tattoo You!
Eleven Men |
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  |
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| Tubular Bells
Mike O. |
20th Century Boy
Magent Magent |
Civil War
Axl Ro |
Chocolate Disco
D.I.S.C.O. |
THE WORLD
Diego Brando variant |
Music[]
Original Soundtrack[]
TBA
Opening Songs[]
TBA
Media[]
Key Visuals[]
International Releases[]
Japanese
English
French
Italian
Spanish
Polish (Unreleased)
Indonesian (Unreleased)
Mexican / Brazilian
Chinese
Thai
Korean
TaiwaneseVariations[]
Bunkoban
Bonus Volume 1 cover released in Ultra Jump
Digital ColorIconography[]
Bunko logo
Steel Ball Run's icons are not as set in stone as are the previous two parts, and like most parts in the series, there are multiple pieces of imagery that are used to represent the part. One that is used prominently is a horseshoe, used as the identifying icon in All-Star Battle and Eyes of Heaven, representing the fact that the part's premise is that of a cross country horse race.
Besides horseshoes, horses themselves are also used to represent Part 7, for the same reasons stated above. A horse is used in the Bunkoban edition logo and all over volume covers and artwork depicting Part 7. Gyro riding a horse is also depicted on the official anime logo.
The other important icon used to represent Part 7 is the Steel Ball, for which the part is partly named after. It is Gyro's weapon of choice, and is featured on almost every single volume cover of the manga to display the volume number next to the logo.
Another common theme in Part 7 is America, due to the part being set in the wild west. The anime colors are red, white and blue, and Johnny's outfit is a similar scheme, decked out with stars.
Common colors used to represent Steel Ball Run in media are green, brown, and silver. Green is used as the main logo in the first volume of the part, likely due to the color of Gyro's main Steel Ball. Brown and silver are used by this wiki due to the color connections to horse's fur and the most common color of "steel" being silver. The official anime logo uses the colors blue and magenta.
Logos[]
| Steel Ball Run logos | |
|---|---|
 WSJ logo  Official logo  Logo with the added supertitle in Ultra Jump  Bunkoban logo  Official English logo  Official Anime logo |
Trivia[]
- When Part 7 first came out in Shonen Jump, it wasn't originally called "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure." When the series moved to monthly Ultra Jump, the supertitle "JJBA" was added. Thus the chapter count reset, and Chapter 25 was referred to as Chapter 1, and so on.
- Chapters in this part are usually around twice as long as those from the past six parts, due to the jump from Shonen to Ultra Jump.
- This part incorporates many references from across the past six parts. The most prominent trend is that each main villain is represented somehow in this new continuity, and appears in the original order they are introduced.
- Diego Brando is a direct reference to Dio Brando, and he matches his appearance in Part 1, as they were both born Standless.
- Magenta Magenta is a reference to Kars, as they both die in the very same way- becoming immobile and eventually stopping to think.
- Diego Brando from an alternate universe is a direct reference to DIO from Part 3, as they both share the same stand, The World.
- Noriko Narumi is the name of the graphic designer who created all the volume art for Steel Ball Run. She is also credited with designing the logos for Parts 8 and 9, although she did not create the logo for this part.[1]
- The form DIO takes at the end of Part 3 after drinking Joestar blood was previously known as DIO's "Greatest High," Empowered DIO, or Awakened DIO, was officially given a name in an update for the JoJo's BIzarre Adventure: Last Survivor arcade game known as DIO High-Voltage.
- This shares a name with the final arc in Steel Ball Run, where the alternate version of Diego Brando appears with the Stand, THE WORLD.
- It is unknown if this form of DIO always had this name internally or if the game is referencing SBR's final arc.
- This shares a name with the final arc in Steel Ball Run, where the alternate version of Diego Brando appears with the Stand, THE WORLD.
- The official logo that VIZ Media uses on their English release of Part 7 is identical to the English logo found within the original Tankoban release of Part 7. This marks the first time that an original logo from Shueisha got used in an official English product by VIZ, instead of them making up their own font.
Continuity[]
- This is the first part that is set in a totally different continuity from the other parts, meaning it has absolutely no connection to the previous parts.
- A common misconception is that the universe reset that occurs at the end of Part 6 creates the universe that this part takes place in, but those events are unrelated and this universe is not connected to the original.
- Another misconception is that Funny Valentine may be able to travel from the base world in SBR to the Parts 1-6 continuity, however his ability is confined to worlds "based" around the one he is currently in.
- Johnny Joestar, the main protagonist of this part, is a part of the Joestar family, similar to the previous JoJo's in the original continuity, however once again unrelated.
- Like in the original continuity, every member of the Joestar family is shown to have the Joestar birthmark, however Johnny is never shown with it in any media whatsoever. It is implied in Part 8 that he did in fact have it, as Lucy remembers Johnny while looking at the birthmark of one of his descendants 50 years later.
- Many other characters are introduced in this part, including Gyro Zeppeli, who are a reference to characters from the previous continuity, however once again they are completely unrelated.
- The character Norisuke Higashikata appears in this part, a distant relative of the Higashikata family that is prominently featured in Part 8.
- The corpse of Jesus Christ, also known as the Saint's Corpse, is a prominent item that is sought after in this part. It becomes integral to the plot surrounding all the parts in this new continuity.
- When parts of the Saint's Corpse come in contact with a human, they gain a Stand. A similar phenomenon happens when the corpse parts touch a part of the ground in the United States, creating a spot of the earth where, when passed through, grants individuals Stand powers.
- While the Stand Arrow likely does not exist in this continuity, it is noted that a meteorite falls into one of these "Devil's Palms," which may be a reference to the original Stand Arrows coming from space.
Gallery[]
"Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart for the completion of Steel Ball Run. I'll see you in Part 8: JoJolion."
References[]
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| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Series | |
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Phantom Blood ∙ Battle Tendency ∙ Stardust Crusaders ∙ Diamond is Unbreakable ∙ Golden Wind ∙ Stone Ocean ∙ Steel Ball Run ∙ JoJolion ∙ The JOJOLands |
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Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan ∙ Deadman's Questions ∙ Crazy Heartbreakers |
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Jonathan Joestar ∙ Joseph Joestar ∙ Jotaro Kujo ∙ Josuke Higashikata ∙ Giorno Giovanna ∙ Jolyne Cujoh ∙ Johnny Joestar ∙ Josuke Higashikata (Part 8) ∙ Jodio Joestar | |
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The Passion ∙ Hermit Purple ∙ Star Platinum ∙ Crazy Diamond ∙ Gold Experience ∙ Stone Free ∙ Tusk ∙ Soft & Wet ∙ November Rain |
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Dio Brando ∙ Kars ∙ Yoshikage Kira ∙ Diavolo ∙ Enrico Pucci ∙ Funny Valentine ∙ Toru ∙ Acca Howler |
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The World ∙ Killer Queen ∙ King Crimson ∙ Whitesnake (C-Moon, Made in Heaven) ∙ Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap ∙ Wonder of U ∙ Acca Howler's Stand |
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