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The first thing that’ll probably grab your attention while watching “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” is those outfits. The main characters of any season of the anime, an adaptation of the long-running manga by Hirohiko Araki, hail from settings like late 19th-century England, 1989 Japan, and the American West of the 1800s, but they all mostly dress in the same style: bright colors, tight shirts, and borderline bondage-core accessories. In the newest season “Steel Ball Run,” which premiered on Netflix last week, the main character Johnny Jostar sports a tight crop-top white shirt, a beanie with a horshoe attached to it, and bright blue lipstick; his main ally, the mysterious Gyro Zeppelli, rocks a giant belt buckle with thumb down symbols on it that point directly to his crotch. The two of them fighting in the dusty desert town where the story begins, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers who are dressed more-or-less period appropriately, is a sight that veers on the comical — at no point in the show is it ever difficult to tell who’s a main character and who’s just a background prop.
A series that practically embodies the term “flamboyant,” “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” never fails to live up to its title: it’s a truly original work, one that has proved incredibly influential in the medium while never quite being replicated. Its length and complexity have also made it intimidating to newcomers; the manga has been running since 1987, while the anime that has been airing on-and-off since 2011 has reached well over 150 episodes. Luckily, the structure of “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” makes it much easier than you might expect to hop in on the beginning of a new story arc. And “Steel Ball Run,” which adapts one of the most popular and acclaimed stories in the manga’s history, is a perfect spot to begin.
When Araki first began “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” in 1987, publishing the series in the pages of the famous manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump, there was little about the series that could have prepared audiences for the odyssey the franchise would become. The first part, known as “Phantom Blood,” was a straightforward action-horror series about Jonathan “JoJo” Joestar, the scion of a wealthy English family, and his battles with his vampiric adopted brother Dio Brando. There were some idiosyncrasies, such as Araki’s fondness for naming his characters after American rock icons (take Jonathan’s best friend, Robert E.O. Speedwagon, for proof) and the parade of outrageously muscular men that made up the cast. But the characters dressed relatively conventionally, the power sets were a straightforward (and silly) sun-based martial art called Hamon, and the manga lacked the bombast and eccentricity that made it globally known and beloved.
Then, Araki continued the story past Jonathan’s death, following the adventures of his grandson Joseph Joestar, a New Yorker fighting a group of ancient supherhumans called the Pillar Men, in a second part called “Battle Tendency.” From there, the formula of “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” slowly came to be established. Each story arc, or part, would follow a different descendant of the extended Joestar clan, on their own heroic (and occasionally anti-heroic journey). To keep the name relevant, all of them are nicknamed (or at least theoretically could be nicknamed) JoJo. (My personal favorite writing concession to this is the Italian “Golden Wind” protagonist being named Giorno Giovanna.)
‘Steel Ball Run’
Particularly with the third part “Stardust Crusaders,” which exploded in popularity in Japan during its publication from 1989 to 1992, “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” began to evolve into the thrillingly strange work it’s known as today. That part dropped the Hamon for the much more inventive power system of “Stands,” essentially avatars of a character’s willpower and psychology, with a whole host of inventive usages that made the battle scenes much more interestin. Araki stepped up his fashion game with some iconic drip — “Stardust Crusaders” protagonist Jotaro’s signature hat and trench coat remain standard references in anime and manga. And his writing evolved along with the series, as the characters grew more morally complex, and the plots became more intricate and convoluted.
Part of what made the series complicated was that, from story arc to story arc, old characters were liable to still show up in cameos or even supporting roles, creating a web of continuity that made the stories richer but also slightly inaccessible to anyone who didn’t want to dive in with the slow, poorly aged “Phantom Blood.” Perhaps this is why, following Part 6, Araki decided to start over slightly; the next three parts, including the ongoing “Jojolands,” take place in a new continuity, one that retains elements of the old canon but can mostly be enjoyed without any knowledge of what happened before it.
This leads us to “Steel Ball Run,” the first part set in this new continuity, and thus a great starting place for any newcomer that also has the benefit of being arguably Araki’s crowning achievement. A Western-inspired story that has a bit of “Wacky Races” in its DNA, the arc tracks the titular Steel Ball Run, a transcontinental horse race from San Diego to New York offering a $50 million prize. Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey who’s already wealthy, joins not for the money, but to pursue Gyro, a strange man with two strange spinning electric balls that seemingly can give him the ability to walk again. The two-part pilot concisely lays out the foundation for the story and introduces the large supporting cast, which includes standouts like Sandman, a Native racer who insists on running the race with his own two feet as his steed; snooty British prodigy Dio (named after the iconic villain from the series past); and the supernaturally lucky Pocoloco. Then, it follows the exhilarating 10-mile first leg of the race, as the competitors vie for a leg up in their long journey.
‘Steel Ball Run’
What makes “Steel Ball Run” so good doesn’t quite become apparent until later on in the story, but from the beginning, it’s an immediately compelling premise with clear stakes. Johnny is the most complicated protagonist of all the JoJos, an unrepentantly selfish figure with no goals beyond his own self-interest; as the final few seconds of the premiere tease, it’s his journey with Gyro that sets him on a path of redemption.
“JoJo” is generally known for its surface-level elements, but at its best the series has plenty of thematic depth undergirding its eccentricity. “Steel Ball Run” in particular offers a curdled, skeptical look at the strain of American exceptionalism the race is promoting. The season opens with narration bluntly noting how the expansion of the country has meant the conquest of Native land, while Sandman faces racism and discrimination from his fellow riders. It’s a sour note that raises doubt about whether the dream the race’s organizer, Stephen Steel, is offering to his participants is truly worth it.
One of the joys of experiencing “JoJo” via animation is the exemplary job David Production does bringing the show to life. Rather than shy away from the franchise’s roots in manga and the somewhat stiff art style Araki is known for — the variety of colorful poses the characters contort themselves into have become a meme — the anime’s production embraces it, with a variety of still shots and stylistic choices from sound effect bubbles to split screens that makes the show feel like a manga come to life. The expanse of the American West lends a scope and majesty to the frame, while smooth transitions between 2D and 3D animation make the horse-racing scenes exhilarating. And the jazzy score by Yugo Kanno is utterly euphoric: a chorus chanting “Steel Ball Run” in the background of a scene hits like a shot of pure joy. It’s a strong start to a journey that will no doubt be very long — JoJo seasons generally run for around 38-40 episodes. But strap yourself onto your horse, because it’s a ride unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else.
