Steel Ball Run Episode 2 Release Date: September 25 on Netflix

Steel Ball Run is finally returning. After the 47-minute 1st Stage premiered on Netflix on March 19, 2026, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7 will continue with its 2nd Stage on September 25, 2026. Netflix has now confirmed that the new run will release weekly on Fridays and contain 11 episodes.

That confirmation resolves the biggest question surrounding the adaptation. Instead of another long batch or an undefined fall window, Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli's race resumes on a fixed weekly schedule, beginning with the Devil's Palm portion of the journey.

Here is the latest confirmed Steel Ball Run release schedule, the new characters joining the 2nd Stage, what the trailer shows, and what remains unconfirmed about the full adaptation.

When does Steel Ball Run episode 2 come out? Steel Ball Run Episode 2, which begins the anime's 2nd Stage, streams on Netflix on September 25, 2026. New episodes will then release weekly on Fridays. Netflix says the 2nd Stage contains 11 episodes.

Steel Ball Run Opening Theme: Kroi Performs “SPIN”

One day before the 2nd Stage begins, the official JoJo portal confirmed another major piece of the return: Japanese band Kroi performs Steel Ball Run's opening theme, “SPIN.” The song was released digitally on September 24, 2026, alongside the creditless opening video.

Kroi says the track was built around the atmosphere of Steel Ball Run's transcontinental horse race. The band drew on Western-style sounds associated with Ennio Morricone and The Ventures, then mixed them with funk, soul and hip-hop influences. That makes the opening a deliberate match for Part 7's American frontier setting rather than a song simply attached to the anime.

The timing is especially useful for viewers catching up now: “SPIN” and its creditless sequence are available before Johnny and Gyro resume the race on Netflix on September 25. The confirmed weekly release schedule itself has not changed.

What's Been Released So Far

The 1st Stage — a single extended episode running 47 minutes — dropped worldwide on Netflix on March 19, 2026. It adapted roughly the first 11 chapters of the manga, covering Johnny Joestar's backstory, his fateful encounter with Gyro Zeppeli, and the chaotic beginning of the Steel Ball Run race.

David Production handled animation, and the premiere received near-universal praise for its visual quality. The art direction captures the Western Americana setting beautifully. The character designs stay faithful to Hirohiko Araki's distinctive later style. And the pacing gives the story room to breathe in a way that's rare for anime premieres.

The episode quickly shot to the top of MyAnimeList rankings, briefly surpassing Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. For a single episode to generate that kind of response, the quality had to be exceptional. And by all accounts, it was.

Steel Ball Run 2nd Stage Release Schedule

Netflix has confirmed that Steel Ball Run's 2nd Stage starts September 25, 2026. It will run for 11 episodes, with one new episode arriving each Friday. The 1st Stage remains available as the 47-minute premiere released on March 19.

Fans flooded social media with memes, protest images, and a viral "anti-piracy screen" Johnny Joestar image that became the go-to response under every Netflix post. Brands like AXE, KFC, and Clash of Clans jumped on the meme. Manga translators weighed in publicly. The backlash was loud enough that Netflix couldn't ignore it.

The weekly format is especially important for JoJo after Stone Ocean's batch-release model disrupted the usual week-to-week discussion. Netflix describes Steel Ball Run as a split-cour release, but the company has not yet announced the schedule or episode count for stages beyond this 11-episode block.

The latest trailer also confirms that the next stretch of the race brings Mountain Tim, Hot Pants and Funny Valentine into the anime. Their arrival marks a major expansion of the cast as the story moves beyond the opening race setup and deeper into Steel Ball Run's supernatural conflict.

The key confirmed details are now clear: the 2nd Stage begins September 25, streams weekly on Fridays, and consists of 11 episodes. Netflix has not announced how many episodes the complete Steel Ball Run adaptation will ultimately contain.more Steel Ball Run is coming in 2026, weekly, on Netflix.

What Is Steel Ball Run About?

For newcomers: Steel Ball Run is Part 7 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and it takes place in a completely separate alternate universe from Parts 1-6. You do not need to have watched any previous JoJo to enjoy it. This is a clean starting point.

The setting is 1890 America. The Steel Ball Run is a transcontinental horse race from San Diego to New York City — 3,700 miles across the country for a $50 million prize. Thousands of riders enter. The stakes are life and death.

Johnny Joestar is a former child prodigy jockey, now paralyzed from the waist down after a tragic incident. His life is purposeless until he encounters Gyro Zeppeli, a mysterious Neapolitan outlaw who uses a technique called the "Spin" — a rotational energy that briefly restores movement to Johnny's legs. Desperate to walk again, Johnny enters the race to learn Gyro's secret.

What begins as a survival race quickly spirals into something much larger. Conspiracies emerge. Stands appear — the supernatural combat system JoJo is famous for. And the race itself becomes a cover for a conflict involving presidential power, ancient relics, and forces that transcend human understanding.

Manga readers consider Steel Ball Run the best JoJo part by a significant margin. The Johnny-Gyro dynamic is widely praised as the franchise's strongest character relationship. The Stands are creative and deadly. And the themes — faith, purpose, the will to move forward despite being broken — give the action genuine emotional weight. That kind of character writing where growth comes through suffering rather than power-ups is what separates Steel Ball Run from standard battle manga.

Cast and Production Details

David Production returns as the animation studio, continuing their tenure with the franchise that began with Phantom Blood in 2012. The production team includes:

Directors: Yasuhiro Kimura and Hideya Takahashi (both returning from Golden Wind), alongside series director Toshiyuki Kato. Series Composition: Yasuko Kobayashi. Character Design: Daisuke Tsumagari. Music: Yugo Kanno. Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami.

The Japanese voice cast features Shogo Sakata as Johnny Joestar, Yohei Azakami as Gyro Zeppeli, and Kaito Ishikawa as Diego Brando. The English dub — which premiered simultaneously — stars Daman Mills as Johnny, Kaiji Tang as Gyro, and Damien Haas as Diego, with Patrick Seitz as voice director.

Yugo Kanno's return as composer is particularly exciting. His work on Golden Wind produced some of the franchise's most iconic tracks, and the 1st Stage already showcased a score that blends Western Americana with JoJo's signature dramatic flair.

Why Steel Ball Run Matters for the Franchise

Steel Ball Run isn't just another JoJo part. It's the one fans have been waiting for since the anime started in 2012.

In manga discussions, Part 7 consistently tops popularity polls. It's the part that converted readers who had dropped off earlier arcs. It's the part that gets recommended to people who say they don't like JoJo. The combination of a fresh alternate universe, a more grounded protagonist, and themes that go deeper than previous parts make it the entry most fans consider Araki's masterpiece.

The anime adaptation carrying that same energy could permanently elevate JoJo's position in the mainstream anime conversation. Parts 1-5 built a cult following. Stone Ocean struggled with Netflix's batch release format. Steel Ball Run has the quality and the cultural momentum to make JoJo a top-tier global franchise — if the release schedule doesn't sabotage it.

That's the tension at the heart of this adaptation. The material is extraordinary. The studio is proven. The cast is strong. The only variable is whether Netflix's distribution strategy supports the storytelling or undermines it — a lesson the industry is still learning in real time.

What Will the 2nd Stage Cover?

The new episodes move the race into the Devil's Palm, the dangerous desert region where Steel Ball Run's supernatural side becomes much more important. For a spoiler-light explanation of why this location matters, AnimeSparks has a dedicated Devil's Palm guide.

The 2nd Stage trailer shows Johnny and Gyro continuing across the American frontier while introducing Mountain Tim, Hot Pants and Funny Valentine. It also makes clear that the Spin remains central to Johnny's development. Our separate Spin explainer breaks down the technique Gyro uses and why Johnny becomes determined to understand it.

Key manga moments fans are anticipating include Johnny's first Stand awakening, Gyro's deeper backstory and motivation, and the introduction of several fan-favorite antagonists. Without spoiling specifics, the encounters ahead are some of the most creative and strategically complex Stand battles in JoJo history — fights where intelligence matters more than raw power.

Should You Start Watching Now?

If you've never watched JoJo before, Steel Ball Run is genuinely a viable entry point. The alternate universe setting means no prior knowledge is needed. Johnny's story starts from zero. The tone is more mature and grounded than earlier parts, making it accessible to viewers who might bounce off JoJo's campier earlier seasons.

This is also a much easier time to start than it was after the March premiere. The long gap is almost over, and viewers who begin with the 47-minute 1st Stage can continue directly into weekly episodes from September 25. Previous JoJo parts are also available on Netflix in many regions.

For existing JoJo fans, the premiere already proved that David Production understood the assignment. The visual quality, the music, the pacing — it's all there. The wait is annoying. The end product appears worth it.

And for anime fans in general watching how major franchises navigate the tension between streaming platforms and traditional release models, Steel Ball Run is the most high-profile case study of 2026. How Netflix handles this adaptation could shape how anime is distributed for years to come.

September 25, 2026. Eleven weekly episodes. The race is finally moving again.