During an Anime Expo panel on July 3, more details about the anime adaptation of the manga “Steel Ball Run,” “Steel Ball Run: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure,” were revealed by various show contributors in an hour-and-a-half presentation.
“Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” is an anime and manga series created by Hirohiko Araki. The series is split into multiple parts, each following a different protagonist from the Joestar family as they face foes with supernatural abilities.
“Steel Ball Run” is the seventh part of the series and what many in the fandom consider to be the best part. Taking place in the 1800s, “Steel Ball Run” revolves around Johnny Joestar, a paralyzed former jockey, and Gyro Zeppeli, a mysterious outlaw, as they participate in the first cross-continental horse race across North America.
On March 19, 2026, the long-awaited first episode of “Steel Ball Run” was released on Netflix. Doubling the usual 20-minute duration of an anime, the episode garnered much praise not only for its animation but also for its music.
The special panel, hosted by Warner Bros. Japan featured the show’s composer, Yugo Kanno. Since Part 3 of the anime series, Kanno has composed the official soundtrack for “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” by blending orchestral, jazz, rock, and EDM elements, resulting in themes that perfectly capture the series’ flamboyant energy.
At the panel, Kanno performed these themes live in a medley, including the main theme for Part 7: “Dance with STEEL BALL RUN.” In front of a giant screen that showcased climactic moments from each part of the anime, Kanno skillfully played his keyboards and sound sequencers, resulting in cheers erupting throughout Crypto Arena.
“While writing the music, I felt the pressure to surpass the theme for Part 5, and I think the main theme for ‘Steel Ball Run’ did just that,” revealed Kanno during the panel.
The hype didn’t end there. The English voice actors for the show’s main characters, Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli, Daman Mills and Kaiji Tang, also appeared, providing their thoughts on their respective characters and the experience of recording behind the scenes.
To add to the exciting atmosphere of the panel, an exclusive trailer for stages two and three of “Steel Ball Run” was released. At the end of the trailer, it was confirmed that Steel Ball Run would return on Sept. 25, 2026, and follow a weekly release schedule.
Every Friday, an episode would be released on Netflix, totalling eleven episodes. Additionally, new character appearances were revealed, such as the Mountain Tim, Hot Pants and Funny Valentine. The endless screams and applause proved that the audience was satisfied with these reveals.
“It was the best panel I’ve attended in Anime Expo,” said panel attendee Bryan Velasquez, “I’m really looking forward to weekly Jojo episodes, and it’s coming sooner than I thought.”
The decision to return to a weekly release schedule is a departure from Steel Ball Run’s predecessor, Stone Ocean, which was released in batches on Netflix.
“The negotiations took quite a while to decide on weekly releases, so I’m very glad to hear that fans are happy,” revealed Warner Bros. Japan producer Noriko Dohi in an interview with Annenberg Media.
Also in the interview, Kanno and Dohi established that different approaches to creating the music were taken for “Steel Ball Run.”
“So Steel Ball Run’s main theme, [Dance with STEEL BALL RUN], has two very important melodies which represent Johnny and Gyro,” said Kanno. “The difference of this main theme is that it was not written as something that expresses this moment where [Jojo] defeats an enemy, but it is music for this race, and so until now the music always used to come back when [Jojo] would defeat an enemy, but now they’re in a race, so the structure is totally different musically.”
This attention to detail was also present in the animation.
“The thing we made sure to make really great is the scale of the backgrounds, the shots with the masses of horses,” said Dohi, referring to the first episode. “So please watch this episode again, and you’ll see that we paid a lot of attention to the layout, which is like in a regular film, would be different camera angles, and Kanno’s music really made this 46-minute episode something that you just run straight through, and that is definitely something that has changed from all the other parts.”
These elements work together in service of the show’s themes and narrative, leaving the fandom to wait eagerly for September to come.
“At its core, Steel Ball Run is a growth story,” said Kanno. “Jojo expresses human nature; it’s ugliness, it’s foolishness, kindness, and courage. It’s like a mirror and through it, we get to see both sides of humanity, and I think the most important thing as a composer is to grab the core that is this element.”