| Steel Ball Run | |
 Steel Ball Run volume 1 cover, featuring Gyro Zeppeli and the depicted titular horse race on his hat. | |
| スティール・ボール・ラン (Sutīru Bōru Ran) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Western[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hirohiko Araki |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Jump Comics |
| Magazine |
|
| Demographic | Shōnen, seinen |
| Original run | January 19, 2004 – April 19, 2011 |
| Volumes | 24 |
| Chronology | |
|
Preceded by: Stone Ocean | |
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. Viz Media has licensed the manga for English release in North America, with the first volume set to be released in Q3 2025.[2]
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.
- ^ Dutta, Debopriyaa (August 15, 2022). "Without This Legendary Western Director, We Wouldn't Have JoJo's Bizarre Adventure". /Film. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Mateo, Alex (October 4, 2024). "Viz Media Licenses Steel Ball Run, Astro Royale, Tenmaku Cinema, More Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.