In the
panel dedicated to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure during the Anime
Expo, the main staff that will work on the animated adaptation of the
manga Steel Ball Run, the seventh part of Hirohiko Araki's work,
was announced. In addition, a new illustration was presented by Daisuke
Tsumagari, who will also be in charge of character design for this
production.
Directors
and creative team
The anime
will be directed at David Production by Golden Wind co-directors Yasuhiro
Kimura and Hideya Takahashi. In turn, Toshiyuki
Kato, director of Stone Ocean and a veteran of the
franchise, will serve as director of the series.
The script
will be overseen by the experienced Yasuko Kobayashi, who returns
after working on other seasons of JoJo. The music will be provided by Yūgo
Kanno, while the sound direction will be the responsibility of Yoshikazu
Iwanami.
Global
Event & Manga
A live
global event has been scheduled for September 23 (Spain time,
UTC+2), where more details about the animated series will be offered.
For its
part, the Steel Ball Run manga is licensed in English by Viz
Media, which released the first volume in digital and physical format on
May 27. The story follows Johnny Joestar, a paralyzed former rider
who, after witnessing a strange battle, temporarily regains the ability to walk
and decides to join the epic race through the Wild West alongside Gyro
Zeppeli.
Manga
and franchise trajectory
Araki began publication of Steel
Ball Run in 2004 in Weekly Shonen Jump, but the following
year the series moved to Ultra Jump, where it remained until its
conclusion in 2011 with a total of 24 volumes. This part corresponds to volumes
81 to 104 of the complete JoJo saga.
The
animated adaptation, also made by david production, has so far
covered part 6, Stone Ocean, whose episodes were released entirely
on Netflix between 2021 and 2022.
Araki is
currently publishing the ninth part of the series, The JOJOLands,
since February 2023 on Ultra Jump. In addition, the franchise
continues to expand with video games, musicals, and live-action adaptations of
the spin-off Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.
