Steel Ball Run – what a glorious series. After the events of Stone Ocean, a giant shakeup of the series occurred, which resulted in this entry basically being a soft reboot. It’s not worth spoiling Stone Ocean, but that ends up being the result, and characters from Parts 1-6 end up being different people here yet undeniably similar. Part 7 has always been the one part that’s been hyped up the most, and deservedly so. This is entirely due to the brilliant backdrop and charisma of Gyro Zeppeli. Set in 1890, a 6000 km Northern American transcontinental race from San Diego to New York with thousands of participants (plus the prize money being 50 mil.), I mean, you already sold me on the premise, and then on top of that, the actual reason why the race exists in the first place. This is also when Araki shifts from Weekly Jump (not immediately) to monthly, and with his art and linework only improving, it’s a feast for the eyes. Diamond is Unbreakable has been my favourite for a long time, and I’m happy this has been overtaken.
Diamond is Unbreakable was really the first in the series where Araki hit his stride and understood what Jojo was about from a philosophical view. The Stand system that was introduced in Stardust Crusaders and then the legacy and building blocks that came from Battle Tendency & Phantom Blood. To that extent, Steel Ball Run feels like the next evolution. It mostly succeeds with the many character arcs featured here and plotlines with few exceptions. I won’t name it specifically, but certain arcs that felt like they were promised to be more prominent felt weirdly discarded abruptly. Even the ending itself felt like it was a couple pages too short and deserved a longer send-off.
Gyro Zeppeli's bromance with Johnny Joestar is just amazing. He is cocky and can be flamboyant, yet there’s an inherent righteousness to his actions and utter goofiness that makes him so charming to follow. The other two stars would be Johnny, as you can predict, and unexpectedly Lucy Steel, who both definitely grow so much throughout this 4-month race. The Stands are brilliantly unique, and unexpectedly, the ones featured in the previous parts are featured here in an interesting way. I can’t forget to mention the antagonists. One of the defining elements of the series is the fascinating antagonists, and here it delivers. From Ringo Roadagain to Funny Valentine, who is arguably the best antagonist in JoJo’s history, alongside Yoshikage Kira from Diamond is Unbreakable.
For a series that’s so hyped up from the fandom, it does deliver. While theoretically you could skip Parts 1-6, as Part 7 is disconnected from the continuity of the previous parts, yet I would advise against that action. Part of the fun of Part 7 is seeing how it differs from the main continuity, what is similar, what is different, etc. I did read the official scans for the first 4 omnibuses, then switched to the fan scans, and it was definitely a weaker experience and only makes me more excited to reread it with the official translation in the future. I guess I should talk about the colour vs. B/W version.
As a whole I think the B/W version is just frankly better and shows Araki's linework brilliantly, yet it’s unfortunate to say the fan scans just don’t do a good job at showing that. What is super clear and precise in the official scans can look a bit messy and blurry from the fan scans (and as it hasn’t been fully translated as I’m writing this… yeah). While the colour scans aren’t the highest quality, there’s a level of visibility and clarity that’s worth making the experience more pleasurable. So yeah, I used the colour scans once I ran out of the official scans, and it does make me want to reread it in the future.
Steel Ball Run is the best JoJo has to offer for good reasons, and reading it makes it understandable why it’s one of the best manga out there. Jojo is often about the journey, and the one feature here is utterly glorious.
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