JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run Reveals September Return Date and New 2nd STAGE Trailer
Warner Bros. Japan has confirmed that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run will return later this year, with the anime’s second stage set to begin streaming this September.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, created by Hirohiko Araki, is one of Japan’s longest-running and most influential manga franchises, with each story arc introducing a new generation of heroes while blending supernatural powers, distinctive visual style, and imaginative battles across different time periods and settings.
Steel Ball Run serves as the seventh major story arc in the series, taking place in a reimagined version of the United States where competitors race across the country in a dangerous cross-continent competition that gradually uncovers a much larger mystery.
The announcement was made during Warner Bros. Japan’s Anime Expo panel, where the company also debuted a new English-language trailer and confirmed that weekly episode releases will resume from September 25.
Following its debut at Anime Expo, the new trailer was publicly released later on Friday, June 3, 2026.
When the series resumes, new episodes will stream every Friday, with the combined second and third stages consisting of a total of 11 episodes.
Warner Bros. Japan also introduced three important new characters who will make their anime debut during the upcoming episodes: Mountain Tim, Funny Valentine and Hot Pants.
Netflix has confirmed that Steel Ball Run will follow a split-cour release schedule, meaning the series will air for one seasonal block before taking a break and later returning with its next batch of episodes.
The anime’s first stage premiered globally on Netflix on March 19 with an extended 47-minute opening episode, where it continues to stream exclusively worldwide.
The main voice cast includes 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, Masaaki Mizunaka as Sand Man and Kenichirō Matsuda as Pocoloco.
The adaptation is being produced by david production, with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind co-directors Yasuhiro Kimura and Hideya Takahashi leading the project, while Toshiyuki Kato serves as series director.
Returning franchise veterans include Yasuko Kobayashi on series composition, Daisuke Tsumagari as character designer, Yūgo Kanno as composer, and Yoshikazu Iwanami as sound director, with Yui Kinoshita, Grand Guerilla, Minoru Murao, and Chii contributing as sub-character designers.
The original Steel Ball Run manga began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2004 before transferring to Ultra Jump the following year, eventually concluding in 2011 across 24 collected volumes that correspond to volumes 81 through 104 of the overall JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga series.
English-language publisher Viz Media licensed the manga and released its first volume in both print and digital formats during May 2025, introducing the story of former jockey Johnny Joestar as he joins Gyro Zeppeli in the legendary Steel Ball Run race across the American frontier.
The television anime adaptation has previously covered Parts 1 through 6 of the manga, with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean concluding its three-part Netflix release during 2022.
Araki has continued expanding the franchise with The JOJOLands, the ninth major story arc, which began serialization in Ultra Jump during February 2023, while the wider JoJo universe has also grown through video games, stage productions and live-action adaptations of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run returns for its second stage on September 25, 2026, with new episodes streaming globally every Friday on Netflix.
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