What's so good about it? Is it really that good to be #2 rated all time on Anilist? Will it fulfill my high expectations? Overrated?
Those are just some of the questions that popped up in my head before reading Steel ball Run, doubting the series before even starting it was one of the biggest mistakes made before reading this masterpiece. After reading the 95 chapters, my thoughts are listed below.
Steel Ball Run is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of fiction I have read to date. The importance of the journey, the bonds created along the way, the heavy challenges that must the faced along with the many sacrifices are just some of the ideas that Steel Ball Run portrays in a perfect manner. With its beautiful writing in damn near every single arc, it was able to attach the audience with its characters and themes in various ways. Each conclusion in every arc was just ended in a chef's kiss manner. The major plot twists that pulled me in made this so much better. Araki never fails with his outstanding art and especially with in the official colored version, some messages and moments felt more impactful and touching.
The focus of the Steelball Run race itself was a really different approach for the story and though different isn't always good, in this case it was a perfect presentation. The start of the race felt very vague and nothing special but as the story went on, the factors and scenes behind the race begun to unfold. The unfolding and revels of the race made it that much more interesting. The race informed the audience of many different techniques and even development between racer and horse. It created bonds and rivalries between characters which played bigger roles later on. The race felt like a perfect puzzle piece with an extremely shocking ended that the audience couldn't have predicted. Such plot twist and the idea of feeling shocked were only some of the factors the Steel Ball Run race brought to the table.
Moving onto the main characters, Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli. Their origin stories, introductions to conclusions and their character development were outstanding. Many different factors and dynamics between the two along with their chemistry build up shocked me. Being attached to this duo began from a very early point of the manga and by the end such incredulous feeling was left. The writing of those 2 were just beautiful and went really well with each other. Some factors of their character contracted each other while other moments were able to parallel and differ between the two. Gyro and Johnny were both able to demonstrate their strengths in numerous arcs and also showed a sense of caring, showing how one would always be there for the other. Emphasizing their strengths wasn't the only thing that Araki did well, he was able to show their weaknesses and flaws through out the story and used it to really built the character development. These developments were also shown through emotions shown by the two characters that really hit hard. Each of these characters had beautiful character designs that perfectly fit their character. They were able to show us what a dynamic duo really was and how a strict bond could be created with one another. Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli shared beautiful character conclusions and demonstrated how the roles of the main characters (and somewhat side character) should be played.
Side characters in Steel Ball Run also had a load of impact on the story and differed for one another, creating more variety and less repetition. Some of my favorite side characters had to be: Diego Brando, Lucy Steel, Hot Pants and Mountain Tim. Each of these characters had phenomenal development and that can really be seen from comparing and contrasting their first appearance to latest/last appearance. They all played roles in the story that felt very fitting and each had their own secret goals with many different approaches. The different parallels they had with others along with many similarities made them such likable characters as well. Each had backstories that were fairly dark and very depressing. They were written really well and the lack of repetition along with not being able to predict what they would do next made them that much better. The conclusion of all the side characters were perfectly fitting to the story some concluding with emotional factors while others concluded with moments contrasting their personality.
Stands and the rotation of the steel ball played as the power system of part 7 and Araki was able to introduce MANY different unique stands, each having their own powers. The rotation and the steel ball itself had a more in-depth meaning than expected and actually stayed as an important item from the beginning to the end of the story. Each explanation revealed more and more and really pulled me in with the different analysis' and reveals. Stands felt great as usual, some being extremely overpowered while some needing development through the story. Araki always does a great job with the use of stands and they have a components that interest the audience as the story flows. The "corpse" should also be mentioned ere as that adventure itself had moments that were very suspenseful and secretive.
The different antagonists and villains in Part 7 were also stunning. The main villain, Funny Valentine was an absolute stud and his work that was done behind the scenes of the race were just a work of art. His ability to manipulate and use people to his benefit made his character much more evil and better. His backstory was also extremely interesting and dark and added that piece of depth to his character. His implications of being the chosen one were mainly mentioned from the later chapters of the story an really determined the type of character he was. He presented dominance and superiority over others in the story and his actions were unpredictable. His awakened stand also was perfect for his character and extremely overpower. Conclusion of his character felt mesmerizing and something Araki has damn neared perfected through the different parts. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap...D4C.
Lastly, the climax and the ending of the manga itself were really heartbreaking but felt like perfect moments of the story. The climax itself had many ups and downs, turns and amazing fighting between characters. The fights themselves had major meanings and depth to them which made em a whole lot better. There were moments that put me in awe and moments that I couldn't even believe in. Each chapter of the story kept getting better and better and the peak of the series really came in to play from chapters 60-95. The final ending was just pleasant and heartbreaking at the same time. Moments of it nearly brought tears to the eyes but it was written extremely well, with some moments being left unexplained for the fans or explained later on. The ending left a feeling of disbelief as I couldn't really believe that the part was really over.
Steel ball run is a manga with a fantastic story written to perfection with a wide variety of characters and arcs through out. It portrays many themes in spectacular ways and has moments to pull in a variety of different audiences. The quality of the series is also beautiful as each chapter gets better and better throughout the story. The beautiful art complimenting the story makes it that much better and provides an experience to a reader like no other. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run is a masterpiece that goes beyond expectations and with flawless moments in just 95 chapters. No JoJo part will ever surpass it. One of the series that can actually be considered as "peak fiction". Thank you Steel Ball Run and Hirohiko Araki for a great read.
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If you made it to the end of the review, you have my thanks, it is a hefty amount of writing but I had to go all out to express my opinions and praise for such series. If you have not read Steel Ball Run or are planning to, it is a amazing manga totally worth all the hype. Thank you for checking out the review once again.
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