Netflix Just Saved JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure By Fixing The Blunder That Nearly Killed It

Few, if any, anime in Netflix‘s catalog have amassed as much controversy for the streaming giant as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, but the company seems ready to right past wrongs moving forward. The beautifully animated Steel Ball Run release date trailer for the adaptation’s second stage is only one of many reasons things are looking up for the anime.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run now sits confidently among the brand’s top anime—even outpacing massive contemporaries like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. However, things haven’t always looked up for the service’s treatment of one of anime’s most beloved franchises. From their controversial exclusive acquisition of the IP to their questionable treatment of the hotly anticipated adaptation of the series’ sixth part, Stone Ocean, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure under Netflix’s banner has become an anxiety-inducing arrangement.

However, a breath of fresh air came with Netflix’s confirmation that Steel Ball Run will run as a split-cour release with weekly episodes. It can now be confidently stated that Netflix won’t repeat their past mistakes when it comes to JoJo. That’s critical, since Steel Ball Run has the potential to become a masterpiece in the right hands.

Why Netflix Can’t Repeat Its Stone Ocean Blunder

To set the stage for Steel Ball Run‘s precarious position, it’s worth looking at Netflix’s acquisition of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and the anticipatory bubble that cropped up around Stone Ocean. JoJo‘s massive rise in Western popularity undoubtedly could be correlated to the COVID-19 pandemic around a year after the manga’s fifth part, Golden Wind, finished airing in Japan.

As people had extra time and motivation to invest themselves in anime generally, including long-running franchises like JoJo, a huge influx of new fans were drawn to the series. JoJo‘s already notoriously dedicated fanbase only grew, and people were hungry for the next installment.

Finally, in April 2021, Stone Ocean‘s anime adaptation was announced—with the catch that it would be exclusively streamed on Netflix and released in batches starting in December 2021. Unfortunately, long delays between announcements and sporadic batch releases would effectively destroy the hype around the show.

For years, JoJo thrived precisely because of its community’s enthusiasm, including coordinated watches and vibrant fan discussions; by the time of Stone Ocean‘s final batch release in December 2022, enthusiasm for the part had significantly fallen.

When Steel Ball Run‘s adaptation was first announced with little information about its release schedule, fans were less than enthused. Steel Ball Run centers around a narratively complex transnational horse race set in an entirely new universe, so a tight and consistent release experience is essential—especially one that leaves room for fans to synchronize and discuss episodes as they come.

How Steel Ball Run’s Model Secures JoJo’s Success

Anxiety was high that Steel Ball Run would follow Stone Ocean‘s example when the first of the race’s nine stages was adapted into a single double-length episode without information on the stages to come. However, it was confirmed that the remaining stages of Steel Ball Run will be adapted as split cours, effectively meaning that it will run in typical seasonal blocks with weekly episodes every Friday, marking the official return of “JoJo Fridays.” This will kick off with an adaptation of its second stage premiering on September 25, 2026.

While it’s difficult to project the time between cours, it at least means that one of the JoJo community’s most cherished traditions—huddling together to figure out what just happened and what might be coming—is back for the foreseeable future.

Split cours also work spectacularly well for Steel Ball Run, since the race is cleanly divided into stages as previously mentioned. In comparison to a part like Stone Ocean, Steel Ball Run‘s story develops methodically and sprawls out to become as vast as the terrain its riders traverse; its stages provide natural codas for a cour to start and end without impacting hype.

The thing is that Steel Ball Run‘s greatness isn’t restricted to its first episode. The part represents a peak in the storytelling of the entire manga, including the parts which followed it. However, Stone Ocean was also a phenomenal part, and its adaptation was severely hindered by Netflix’s release scheduling and promotion (or lack thereof).

With Steel Ball Run‘s adaptation angling for something even greater in terms of its depth and storytelling, Netflix’s course change for its release shows that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s best part is, finally, secure.

Release Date

October 6, 2012

Showrunner

Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu

Directors

Naokatsu Tsuda

• 

  Kazuyuki Okitsu

  Jonathan Joestar

• 

  Tomokazu Sugita

  Joseph Joestar