Anime’s “first stage” debuted on March 19
A stage event at AnimeJapan 2026 revealed on Saturday the “second stage” of the STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime will debut on Netflix this year. The stage event also revealed a teaser video.
The “first stage” of the anime of Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run manga debuted on Netflix on March 19 with a total of one 47-minute episode. Netflix is exclusively streaming the anime globally.Image via Netflix Anime’s X/Twitter account
© Hirohiko Araki&LUCKY LAND COMMUNICATIONS/SHUEISHA,JOJO The Animation Project
The anime stars:
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind co-directors Yasuhiro Kimura and Hideya Takahashi are directing the anime at david production. Toshiyuki Kato (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean director who has also worked as a storyboarder and more on the other series in the franchise) is the series director. Yasuko Kobayashi is returning from the other series in the franchise to oversee the series scripts, and Daisuke Tsumagari (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind animation director) is designing the characters. Yūgo Kanno is again composing the music, and Yoshikazu Iwanami is returning as the sound director. Sub-character designers include: Yui Kinoshita, Grand Guerilla, Minoru Murao, and Chii.
Viz Media has licensed the manga in English, and released the first volume digitally and in print in May 2025. Viz Media describes the first volume:
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!
Araki launched the manga in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 2004, but the manga moved to Ultra Jump in 2005. The manga ended serialization in 2011, and had 24 volumes (consisting of volumes 81-104 of the overall JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga).
david production’s anime adaptation that started by adapting Part 1 of the manga has covered the manga through Part 6, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. Netflix debuted the first 12 episodes of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean globally in December 2021. The second part of the anime consisting of episodes 13-24 debuted in September 2022 on Netflix. Netflix then debuted the third and final part, consisting of episodes 25-38, in December 2022.
Araki launched The JOJOLands manga, the ninth and latest part of his JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga series, in Ultra Jump in February 2023.
Other recent entries in the franchise include video games, a stage musical, and live-action adaptations of Araki’s spinoff manga Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai).
Source: AnimeJapan 2026 stage event
