How would you rate episode 6 of
STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure ?
And with episode six of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure : Steel Ball Run , the last pillar of patriarchy is erected and now the two best bros in all of anime can begin tearing the oppressive structure down. Already established via other concepts socially entangled with masculinity like America/manifest destiny/patriotism, Christianity, and literal fathers, the introduction of President Funny Valentine as the overarching villain of Steel Ball Run makes the work's deeply personal and progressive themes impossible to ignore. These themes hit all the harder coming from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure , as the previous six installments are in many ways a celebration of culturally enshrined masculinity and the expectations fathers pass onto their sons, and I'm thrilled to see the work now cast a critical lens on some of those ideas.
Beginning with subtitle implication that Mormonism is the correct religion in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure , the episode reveals that the checkpoints along the Steel Ball Run race correlate to a map created by the biblical figure Joseph. With this information being established simultaneously a dehydrated arm fusing with Johnny Joestar's, and both Steven Steel and Pres. Valentine asking about mummified corpse parts along the track, the implication for non-manga readers is that Steel Ball Run is about to turn into a story where Gyro and Johnny race across the country on horseback to keep the actual body of Christ from falling into the hands of the nefarious U.S. government.
This is the coolest, most ridiculous, premise any story has ever had and I love it as much as I love being alive.
With the focus transitioning back to Gyro and Johnny, the two of them showcase the budding dynamic that makes them the fan-favorite JoBros across this long-running franchise . Traversing the desert on horseback after surviving two assassination attempts, the two start shit-talking opera like they're college roommates. There are so many weird little freaks in this show, and the way Gyro and Johnny match each other's freak is incredibly endearing. It's really cute how these two are already on their way to being fast friends despite being absolute strangers less than a week ago in-universe.
Things get extra freaky, though, when Pork Pie Hat Kid (I'm not using his lame localized name) attacks with the supernatural, wench-like stand that lives in his mouth. The sound direction for this stand, Wired, is amazing and the choice to use mechanical and industrial sounds for it really make it stand out in this wild west backdrop. Similarly, Greg Vinciguerra makes this villain of the week pop with a performance that sounds as if Boingo from Stardust Crusaders was raised by wolves. With Gyro incapacitated and Johnny forgetting the corpse's left arm to the assailant, the episode ends on a cliffhanger as the diminutive Tusk Act I images from the impossible seam in Johnny's arm.
While technically a set-up episode, this is everything I want from building narrative beats as they masterfully set up both the events and themes of future episodes. The secret sauce of the JoJo's anime has long been that the adaptation essentially does a round of editing on Hirohiko Araki 's original story, which means that the Steel Ball Run anime is set to shine even more brightly as the original work is largely grounded in Araki visiting past storylines. All of that is to say that the Steel Ball Run anime is already feeling like JoJo's at its most brilliant and I think I'll only like it more as it goes on.
With JoJo's Bizarre Adventure playing no small part in his bisexual awakening, Lucas DeRuyter is thrilled to be reviewing the latest anime adaptation of a work that is nothing short of foundational to he is in his adult life today. You can catch glimpses of his own bizarre adventures on his Bluesky account and read about how these exploits have informed taste in media and his broader worldview by checking out his portfolio. He and his JoBros catch up at least once a week in ANN's This Week in Anime column, where they have big, but appropriate, reactions to everything going on in this bizarre industry.
STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is currently streaming on Netflix.