The JOJODay fan event held on 12 April certainly wasn’t horsing around, as studio David Production announced that an anime adaptation of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run is in production.
No release window was given, but an accompanying teaser gives a first look at protagonist Jonny Joestar and its 1890 setting, two years after the first series, Phantom Blood & Battle Tendency. New visuals for Jonny and Gyro Zeppeli were also unveiled for the project, which is based on the seventh main arc of Hirohiko Araki’s manga that ran from 2004 to 2011.
“Riders from around the world gather in the Wild West for the race of the century! Johnny Joestar, a former jockey paralysed from the waist down, comes to spectate, and momentarily regains the ability to walk while watching a duel fought by Gyro Zeppeli,” reads the description for the original work. “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!”
Coming after the 38-episode Stone Ocean, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball kicks off a brand-new continuity in the series that serves as the setting for the subsequent arcs, JoJolion and The JoJoLands — both taking place centuries later. The manga first launched in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 2004 but moved to Ultra Jump in 2005. It ended serialisation in 2011 with 24 volumes, with JoJoLands debuting in February 2023 on the same platform.
Touted to “connect the past and future of the franchise”, the event saw special guests like Kazuyuki Okitsu (Jonathan Joestar), Daisuke Ono (Jōtarō Kūjō), Junichi Suwabe (Leone Abbacchio), and Fairouz Ai (Jolyne Cujoh) in attendance. It was live-streamed in 16 countries outside Japan, marking the first major JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure festival in nearly six years.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run has no release date yet.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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