Once again David Production have pulled it out of the bag and created an AMAZING first episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run 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 follows the journey of Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey and Gyro Zeppeli, who has a mysterious Spin ability that can contort reality. 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. Things take a ‘bizarre’ turn as the racers encounter parts of the Holy Corpse (heavily implied to be the corpse of Jesus) which gives them special abilities. I would love to go into more detail about these ‘bizarre’ events, as this JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure arc is so cool and the craziest of all the arcs that I’ve read so far, but I don’t want to give away any spoilers… okay just one: one of the riders turns into a velociraptor at some point!
The ongoing animation by David Production keeps the fans happy and with Netflix holding the global distribution rights for both JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run and the rest of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series, it is now more widely available than ever before. David Production have been nurturing the progression since the first JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood and the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime series, as a whole, tends to stay true to the manga narrative as well as the visual look and energy. For this continuity to be maintained David Production have brought back key staff for the creation of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run. Thanks to the studio, the first episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run was a massive success, however fans were left outraged after only the first episode was released on Netflix.
Above: Gyro Zeppeli and Johnny Joestar
The highly anticipated anime premiered on March 19, 2026, with a special extended 47-minute JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run “1st STAGE” episode. Fans therefore thought that after a couple of weeks episode 2 would follow, however it did not. With no information from Netflix about the series’ continuation fans took to social media and demanded information about the release date of the second episode. Finally, after 3 weeks of waiting, Netflix announced that the second episode would air in the autumn of 2026. Whilst many fans were frustrated with this, a majority accepted the fact and voiced that they would rather wait for the next series of episodes so that the quality of animation remained the same as the first episode.
For me the first episode of has been a huge success. JoJo’s fans can be hard to please and would often criticise the designs and colours for the main characters, as they often have to be changed slightly from the manga for the anime adaptation. I am also pretty sure that I speak for all JoJo’s fans when I say that the animation was spot on in this first episode and that we are all thankful that a repeat of One Punch Man Season 3 (nicknamed the ‘slide show’ because it seemed to be made up of still images rather than actual animation) didn’t happen. I think the first episode more than pleased the fans. I was definitely impressed and can’t wait for the next instalment in the autumn, which will be released weekly! Exciting!!!
Lexémon’s star rating for Steel Ball Run: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Episode One
Things You Should Know:
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run, Episode One “1st STAGE” is age rated 15 in the UK.
This is because of the following content according to the IMDB:
Sex & Nudity: None
Violence & Gore: Moderate
Profanity: Mild
Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking: Mild
Frightening & Intense Scenes: Mild
Additional information
The information above will probably change as the series progresses, so please be aware that this information is only in reference to the first episode.
Published: 2026.07.06