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Steel Ball Run

Steel Ball Run (Japanese: スティール・ボール・ラン, Hepburn: Sutīru Bōru Ran), stylized in all caps when romanized, is the seventh story arc of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Set in the United States in 1890, it stars Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey who desires to regain the use of his legs, and Gyro Zeppeli, a disgraced former executioner who seeks to win amnesty for a child on death row. They compete in the titular cross-country horse race for a $50 million grand prize, but find themselves targeted after discovering the hidden agenda of the race's sponsor.

The first 23 chapters were serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2004 under the title of Steel Ball Run, seemingly without any connection to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. However, when the series moved to seinen manga magazine Ultra Jump in 2005, Steel Ball Run was officially announced to be the seventh arc of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, albeit one set in a separate continuity from all the prior arcs. The new continuity that began in Steel Ball Run also serves as the setting for the following arcs of the series, JoJolion and The JoJoLands.

Steel Ball Run has been universally acclaimed for its art, characters, and story. Its 95 chapters were combined into 24 tankōbon volumes (volumes 81–104 of the entire series), following the trend set by the previous part, Stone Ocean, of starting over the volume count. Several chapters were adapted into a "vomic" series, which has voice actors act over the manga pages as they are shown on screen.

Plot

In September 1890,[a] racing jockeys from all over the world flock to the United States to take part in the Steel Ball Run, a cross-country horse race from San Diego to New York City with a fifty-million dollar grand prize. A paraplegic named Johnny Joestar enters the race to learn about the mysterious Spin ability of a former Neapolitan executioner named Gyro Zeppeli, who temporarily restored Johnny's mobility. Though they begin the race as rivals, Johnny and Gyro become friends as they travel through the wilderness while fending off various assassins, terrorists, outlaws, and other violent competitors. Although the Steel Ball Run is organized by the eccentric oil tycoon Steven Steel, United States President Funny Valentine has engineered the race to serve as a front for collecting the scattered pieces of a 1900-year-old corpse known as the Holy Corpse (heavily implied to be the body of Jesus Christ). Valentine intends to reassemble the Corpse and gain limitless power through it on behalf of his nation, having already obtained the Corpse's heart.

After Johnny and Gyro encounter another piece of the Holy Corpse, it is absorbed into Johnny's body and he develops the evolving Stand Tusk, allowing him to fend off one of Valentine's subordinates. Later, they meet the spiteful and ambitious racer Diego Brando who obtains one of the Corpse's two eyes, while Gyro gains the other. Johnny and Gyro continue the race, encountering other racers, gaining and losing Corpse parts, and enhancing their Spin techniques along the way. Eventually, Valentine succeeds in taking Johnny and Gyro's corpse parts, seizing Diego's eye soon afterward with the aid of his dimension-traversing Stand, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

Meanwhile, Steven's wife Lucy tries to uncover and foil Valentine's plan with later assistance from another racer, Hot Pants. However, Valentine discovers Lucy and takes her captive after she fuses with the Corpse and becomes pregnant with the Corpse's head. Diego and Hot Pants ally against and fight Valentine on a moving train, but are overpowered and killed by the president. Lucy begins to fully merge with the completed Corpse, enhancing Valentine's stand with a new misfortune-redirecting ability known as D4C Love Train. Johnny and Gyro arrive and attempt to battle the seemingly-invulnerable Valentine, only for Valentine to overpower them both and kill Gyro. Mourning his mentor and friend, Johnny realizes how to achieve the perfect form of the Spin technique, enhances his Stand, and overwhelms Valentine with his new power. Valentine attempts to fake his surrender, but Johnny kills him, avenging his companion but putting an end to any hope of his return.

The Holy Corpse separates from Lucy, only to be stolen by an unknown antagonist. Pursuing the thief into the final stage of the Steel Ball Run, Johnny is shocked to find that it is an alternate instance of Diego Brando taken from a parallel dimension by Valentine, wielding a time-stopping Stand known as The World. Johnny attempts to engage the alternate Diego, who defeats him with his own attack and easily takes first place in the race. The alternate Diego brings the Corpse to Trinity Church, only to run into Lucy, who annihilates him by forcing him to merge with the severed head of the original Diego.

As the race ends, first place is awarded to the carefree Pocoloco, who had slept through the start of the race and only caught up by sheer luck, while Steven Steel arrives to save Johnny. Valentine's death is covered up as retirement from public life, with concerns over the race placated by the donation of the prize money to charitable causes. Johnny, having regained his ability to walk through the power of his Stand and the Spin, leaves America to return Gyro's body to his family. On the boat, he meets the Japanese runner-up racer Norisuke Higashikata. Johnny later marries Norisuke's daughter Rina, leading to the events of Part 8, JoJolion.

Characters

Production

A 2013 photograph of Hirohiko Araki
The series was written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki.

Written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki, Steel Ball Run was originally serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 19 to October 16, 2004.[2][3] It was later moved to Shueisha's monthly seinen magazine Ultra Jump on March 19, 2005,[4][5][6] and ran until April 19, 2011.[7] Araki found that the new, monthly schedule with longer chapters suited him better, as he was not as restricted in what he could draw and no longer had to write stories with momentum building up excitement for the next week's chapter, and had more flexibility to draw at his own pace.[5] Araki described the manga's theme as "seeking for satisfaction".[8] Like with other parts of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Araki also used "an affirmation that humanity is wonderful" as a theme, which he explained as a description for humanity's ability to grow and overcome hardships through one's strength and spirit, portrayed through people succeeding in fights through their own actions, without relying on machines or gods.[5]

Because the series follows a race across America, Araki had to split his research into three trips: one from the West Coast to the deserts, one from the Great Plains to the Mississippi River and Chicago, and one to New York. He said that it would have been impossible to get an understanding for the vast scale without having gone there personally, describing the scenery of the Midwest as endless and unchanging. The feeling of distance made him think that if an enemy had approached, the open landscape would have meant that he could not have escaped due to a lack of places to hide, an experience he found useful when drawing the manga.[9]

Like other protagonists in the series, Johnny was designed to symbolize the part's story and setting, and to stand out among the previous protagonists in terms of appearance, clothing, and silhouette. He was not specifically planned to have a disability at the start of the production; rather, his disability was the result of the series' focus on protagonists growing through overcoming hardships, and Araki wanting to create a character who was forced to rely on people and horses during the race and had room to grow both mentally and physically.[5] Valentine was created as part of Araki noticing more and more that good and evil is not always easily distinguishable and taking a greater interest in the motivations for people who do bad things. He noted that Valentine's patriotism and goals seemed just and might line up with leaders in the real world, and that it is his sacrifice of powerless people to reach his goals that make him evil and completely unsuitable as a protagonist.[10] The concept of having the United States president fighting the main characters came from when Araki saw the film Independence Day, and liked the idea of a president who fights.[11]

Chapters

Original volumization

The first chapter title of each pair is the title that is used in the volumization of Steel Ball Run. The second title is the title used in the original serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump and Ultra Jump.

2017 release

Reception

Kono Manga ga Sugoi! recommended Steel Ball Run as a good place to start for people who have not read previous parts, due to how it effectively serves as a reboot of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, and appreciated how its move to the monthly seinen magazine Ultra Jump enabled Araki to write longer stories and depict things that would have been difficult to do in a shōnen manga magazine.[4] Erkael of Manga-News called the manga one of the best in the series, and said that it does not disappoint the reader at any point.[52] Anime News Network called Steel Ball Run an interesting take on the battle manga genre due to its positive portrayal of a hero with a disability, and found it, along with JoJolion, to represent a big shift in the evolution of Araki's art, following his earlier shift from muscle men to thinner characters and fashion.[5]

K. Thor Jensen of Geek.com called the portrayal of Johnny and Gyro's relationship one of the best platonic friendships in comics, citing their transition from rivals to close allies who make sacrifices for one another and help each other with their respective abilities.[53] Erkael liked the high speed and intensity of the story, saying that it was as if Araki wanted the reader to feel like they were part of the race themselves, and how the story eventually opens up to follow several different characters whose paths at times intersect, leading to a world that feels "rich and dense". They wrote that the lack of Stands early in the story, with Gyro instead using steel balls, was surprising but refreshing, and reminiscent of the Hamon abilities featured in the first part in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Phantom Blood; they still enjoyed the shift in focus to Stand abilities later in the story, calling them "original and surprising".[52] Kono Manga ga Sugoi! liked the depiction of the landscapes Johnny and Gyro travel through, calling them "beautiful".[4]

Notes

  1. ^ The universe in which Steel Ball Run and onward take place is not related to the first six parts in any way beyond references to the names of its characters and a scant few returning Stands.
  2. ^ Johnny Joestar (ジョニィ・ジョースター, Jonī Jōsutā)
  3. ^ Tusk (タスク, Tasuku)
  4. ^ Gyro Zeppeli (ジャイロ・ツェペリ, Jairo Tseperi)
  5. ^ Julius Caesar Zeppeli (ユーリウス・カイザー・ツェペリ, Yūriusu Kaizā Tseperi)
  6. ^ Ball Breaker (ボール・ブレイカー, Bōru Bureikā)
  7. ^ Lucy Steel (ルーシー・スティール, Rūshī Sutīru)
  8. ^ Steven Steel (スティーブン・スティール, Sutībun Sutīru)
  9. ^ Ticket to Ride (涙の乗車券チケット・ゥ・ライド, Chikettu Raido)
  10. ^ Diego Brando (ディエゴ・ブランドー, Diego Burandō)
  11. ^ Dio (Dioディオ, Dio)
  12. ^ Scary Monsters (スケアリー・モンスターズ, Sukearī Monsutāzu, "Frightening Monsters" in English versions)
  13. ^ Hot Pants (ホット・パンツ, Hotto Pantsu)
  14. ^ Cream Starter (クリーム・スターター, Kurīmu Sutātā)
  15. ^ Wekapipo (ウェカピポ, Wekapipo)
  16. ^ Wrecking Ball (レッキング・ボール (壊れゆく鉄球), Rekkingu Bōru (Kowareyuku Tekkyū))
  17. ^ Mountain Tim (マウンテン・ティム, Maunten Timu)
  18. ^ Oh! Lonesome Me (オー!ロンサム・ミー, Ō! Ronsamu Mī)
  19. ^ Pocoloco (ポコロコ, Pokoroko)
  20. ^ Hey Ya! (ヘイ・ヤー, Hei Yā)
  21. ^ Sandman (サンドマン, Sandoman)
  22. ^ Soundman (サウンドマン, Saundoman)
  23. ^ In a Silent Way (イン・ア・サイレント・ウェイ, In A Sairento Wei)
  24. ^ Funny Valentine (ファニー・ヴァレンタイン, Fanī Varentain)
  25. ^ Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Dirty deeds done dirt cheapダーティー・ディーズ・ダン・ダート・チープ(いともたやすく行われるえげつない行為), Dātī Dīzu Dan Dāto Chīpu (Itomo Tayasuku Okonawareru Egetsunai Kōi)), commonly shortened to D4C (D4Cディー・フォー・シー, Dī Fō Shī)
  26. ^ D4C Love Train (D4Cディー・フォー・シー -ラブトレイン-, Dī Fō Shī -Rabu Torein-)
  27. ^ Tomb of the Boom (トゥーム・オブ・ザ・ブーム, Tūmu Obu Za Būmu)
  28. ^ Benjamin Boomboom (ベンジャミン・ブンブーン, Benjamin Bunbūn)
  29. ^ Andre Boomboom (アンドレ・ブンブーン, Andore Bunbūn)
  30. ^ L.A. Boomboom (L.A. ブンブーン, Eru Ē Bunbūn)
  31. ^ Oyecomova (オエコモバ, Oekomoba)
  32. ^ Listen to My Rhythm (ボクのリズムを聴いてくれ, Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure)
  33. ^ Pork Pie Hat Kid (ポーク・パイ・ハット小僧, Pōku Pai Hatto Kozō)
  34. ^ Wired (ワイアード, Waiādo)
  35. ^ Dr. Ferdinand (フェルディナンド博士, Ferudinando-hakase)
  36. ^ Ringo Roadagain (リンゴォ・ロードアゲイン, Ringō Rōdoagein)
  37. ^ Mandom (マンダム, Mandamu)
  38. ^ Blackmore (ブラックモア, Burakkomoa)
  39. ^ Catch the Rainbow (キャッチ・ザ・レインボー, Kyatchi Za Reinbō)
  40. ^ Eleven Men (11人の男たち, Jūichi-nin no Otoko-tachi)
  41. ^ Tatoo You! (TATOOタトゥー YOUユー, Tatū Yū!)
  42. ^ Mike O. (マイク・オー, Maiku Ō)
  43. ^ Tubular Bells (チューブラー・ベルズ, Chūburā Beruzu)
  44. ^ Magent Magent (マジェント・マジェント, Majento Majento)
  45. ^ 20th Century Boy (20th Century BOYトウェンティース・センチュリー・ボーイ, Towentīsu Senchurī Bōi)
  46. ^ Axl RO (アクセル・RO, Akuseru Rō)
  47. ^ Civil War (シビル・ウォー, Shibiru Wō)
  48. ^ D-I-S-C-O (ディ・ス・コ, Di-Su-Ko)
  49. ^ Chocolate Disco (チョコレート・ディスコ, Chokorēto Disuko)
  50. ^ The World (THE WORLDザ・ワールド, Za Wārudo)
  51. ^ Sugar Mountain (シュガー・マウンテンの泉, Shugā Maunten no Izumi, lit. "Sugar Mountain's Spring")
  52. ^ a b c Steel Ball Run: How the Race Got Started, The Story of F. Valentine, and chapter 63 were only released in the volumization of Steel Ball Run.

References

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External links