JJBA: Steel Ball Run anime to premiere with 47-minute special in March 2026
The “first stage” of the anime adaptation of Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 7: Steel Ball Run is scheduled to debut globally on March 19.
Netflix made the announcement on Saturday, releasing a new video and visual to confirm that the premiere will consist of a single 47-minute special episode.
Alongside the scheduling news, the production revealed two new voice actors joining the race.
Masaaki Mizunaka will voice Sand Man, a young man entering the race to reclaim his tribe’s land, while Kenichirō Matsuda plays Pocoloco, a farmer counting on his immense luck to win the prize money.
They join the previously announced main cast, which features:
- Shōgo Sakata as Johnny Joestar
- Yōhei Azakami as Gyro Zeppeli
- Kaito Ishikawa as Diego Brando
- Rie Takahashi as Lucy Steel
- Kenta Miyake as Steven Steel
Animation production remains at David Production, the studio responsible for the previous entries in the franchise.
The series is helmed by directors Yasuhiro Kimura and Hideya Takahashi, known for their work on Golden Wind, with Toshiyuki Kato serving as series director.
The core staff also includes series scriptwriter Yasuko Kobayashi, character designer Daisuke Tsumagari, and composer Yūgo Kanno, all returning to the franchise.
Steel Ball Run is the seventh arc of Araki’s long-running saga.
Set in the American Old West, the story follows Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey who enters a cross-country horse race after witnessing the mysterious power of Gyro Zeppeli’s steel balls.
Netflix continues its exclusive global distribution of the franchise, following its release of the sixth part, Stone Ocean, which concluded in December 2022.
This announcement is part of a huge range of announcements from Jump Festa ’26.
The event has provided a clear roadmap for anime fans, confirming that Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 premieres in January, One Piece enters the Elbaph Arc in April 2026, and Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War concludes in July 2026.
Other major updates included release windows for Black Clover (2026), Blue Box Season 2 (Fall 2026), DAN DA DAN Season 3 (2027), Mashle Season 3 (2027), Sakamoto Days Season 2, a My Hero Academia 10th Anniversary episode, and the first look at a new World Trigger reboot.
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