JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run Will Stream Exclusively On Netflix

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is one of the longest-running and highest-selling manga of all time. It began in 1987 and is still ongoing with Part 9: The JoJoLands, and can be best described as an absurdist action series heavily inspired by high-fashion, western music, and Fist of the North Star. As for Part 7, it was serialized from 2004 to 2011 and was eventually compiled into 24 volumes. Viz Media offers the following story setup for Part 7:

“Riders from around the world gather in the Wild West for the race of the century! Johnny Joestar, a former jockey paralyzed from the waist down, comes to spectate, and momentarily regains the ability to walk while watching a duel fought by Gyro Zeppeli. 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!”

As for the anime, David Production began adapting the series in 2012 with the most recent season, Stone Ocean, releasing from December 1, 2021, to December 1, 2022. Netflix handled worldwide distribution and chose a diabolical release format that left many fans upset: they released it in three batches that, quite unusually, came out ahead of the weekly Japanese televised release.

While JoJo is the platonic ideal of a show that prompts weekly discussion about its latest weirdo enemy or odd story turn, as it did during its first five Parts, this batch release format largely quashed this type of discourse. While Netflix hasn’t announced how Part 7 will be rolled out, its release format is truly anyone’s guess, as the streamer seems to decide on a whim whether it will simulcast a show with its Japanese release, like every other streaming service does for anime, or devise some bizarre new way to torment hardcore anime fans. We’ll likely learn more during an upcoming September 23 livestream event about Part 7 that will run on Warner Bros. Japan’s YouTube channel.