JoJo: Steel Ball Run review — a clear starting point

Netflix’s Steel Ball Run two-part premiere condenses the manga’s first two volumes and celebrates Hiroiko Araki’s creative clean slate. It functions as a worthwhile JoJo entry point for newcomers, though its strengths are amplified by familiarity with Araki’s earlier six-part saga.

David Production reproduces Araki’s most intricate art to date, pairing detail-heavy backdrops with a competent blend of 2D and 3D animation and Spaghetti Western flourishes that evoke desolate wastelands and horseback violence. The adaptation alters the manga’s pacing—cutting Sandman’s cold open for the Steel Ball Conference—but maintains steady momentum throughout the premiere.

The race’s $50 million prize is announced, and the story quickly introduces paraplegic ex-jockey Johnny Joestar after he watches Gyro Zeppeli use two spinning Steel Balls to briefly move his legs; a brisk flashback shows Johnny’s fall from grace after being shot in the spine.

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