Preliminary Thoughts

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I first read Steel Ball Run two and a half years ago. I easily found it to be the worst part there is and the only things I can remember liking is Gyro and High Voltage. Let’s see if that changes.

Chapter Thoughts

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San Diego Beach

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Chapter 1

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I remember the beginning being very boring, even more than the rest of the part, so this was a pleasant surprise. Despite my opinion on SBR, I’ve always loved the concept of the race itself and that’s introduced here. Plus, Gyro and Diego!

Chapter 2

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Pocoloco is a character I think I liked? Anyway, I liked the little bit with him. I don’t remember much about Gyro’s spin but it looks more interesting than hamon. We also finally see the worst JoJo. Time to see if that changes

Chapter 3

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I liked Johnny’s backstory, besides him being a dick. Didn’t exactly deserve to get shot though. Then Gyro’s and Johnny’s encounter was fun to see play out, and Johnny filling with determination. I’m interested to see where this goes.

Chapter 4

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Gyro is looking to fufill my memory of being one of the best JoBros. He oozes personality. Sandman going on foot is badass, curious to see that play out. Johnny, well… he’s okay, I guess. That move to get on the horse was fucking sick though.

First Stage

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Chapter 5

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Pretty cool start to the race with Avdol already down, and Gyro showing off his steel ball. I have higher hopes than I did when I started reading

Chapter 6

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I know we’re only on C6 but I’m already growing tired of being in the backdrop setting phase. I’m ready to get on with the story and/or some fights.

Chapter 7

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Don’t have much to say on this chapter. We’ll see how Gyro’s risky move pays off in the next.

Chapter 8

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I’d like to take this chapter tweet to appreciate Gyro’s design. He looks so damn sexy and I love his outfit. Every panel he shows up in is a treat.

Chapter 9

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Pretty good! We get the first stand here. It’s design is lacking but it has an interesting ability. I also loved the bizarre parts of this chapter, mainly Poco with the corpse and Sandman straight outta nowhere. I’m excited to see where things go!

Chapter 10

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Sandman is on some crazy shit. Gyro is still sexy. Johnny is still lame.

Chapter 11

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My boy Gyro is getting that bread. Hoping that now the first checkpoint is cleared we’ll see some plot progression.

Chapter 12

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Are we finally going to have our first fight? I am more than ready…

Across the Arizona Desert

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Chapter 13

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Gyro is a madlad. And is that the boom boom family? Are we FINALLY getting the first fight? Please Araki-sensei

Chapter 14

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Was… that the whole fight? Talk about disappointing. Gyro just stomped the guy. Hopefully the next one isn’t too far off.

The Desert Born Outlaws

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Chapter 15

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Fight! The Tomb of the Boom (song) is hilarious. Anyway, did that guy actually kill himself? I can’t remember. I also remember not liking this fight, but I’m curious to see what the ability is and what it did to Gyro’s feet. Also, Gyro was sexy.

Chapter 16

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Tomb of the Boom is just Metallica’s lame younger brother… not to mention Hey Ya! is just Cheap Trick but it isn’t good. This fight is kinda and by kinda I mean totally lame and unoriginal on Araki’s part, but anyway, Gyro can see stands? Interesting.

Chapter 17

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Oh! Lonesome Me is just Stone Free but again, lamer… C’mon Araki, you’re better than this…

The Devil’s Palm

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Chapter 18

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Tim splitting himself up was actually pretty cool!

Chapter 19

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I read all of P6 in less than 30 hours. I’ve barely read 20 chapters of SBR in 2 days. SBR simply isn’t as attention-grabbing as the other parts of JoJo, which is a sore disappointment. I hope that is just a slow beginning issue. At least there’s Tusk now

Gyro Zeppeli’s Mission

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Chapter 20

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At least Gyro’s backstory is honorable, whereas Johnny was just being a fucking dick, and TO NOTE, he has shown no remorse for his actions. Of course, that doesn’t justify the shooting, but he was still a fucking dick. They both are. End rant. Next chap

Chapter 21

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So… Killer Queen? Not really a fan of the user’s design, but we’ll see where this goes.

The Terrorist from a Faraway Country

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Chapter 22

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Mostly interested in seeing what the fuck this zombie horse is. Also, I’m 95% sure that humans can’t sweat that much.

Chapter 23

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Oh hey, the fight is getting kinda interesting! Annnnnnnd it’s over… of course.

Chapter 24

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That was the zombie horse? I was hoping for a horse with a stand or something cool. Not just a string with mild healing properties… I guess I expect too much of SBR. It also looks like it’s True Man’s World time? Or maybe an intermediate fight? Oh man, I almost forgot because of how much happened, we see the corpse for the first time. I wonder what the hell it’s doing in Johnny’s body. I hope this means it’s picking up. As much as I want to see more of them, I’m glad it doesn’t linger on the past too much. We finally see Valentine. I don’t remember there being multiple from the very start, but that’s probably just a detail I forgot, but I do remember why.

Tusk

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Chapter 25

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Here is where I believe the series goes from weekly to monthly, and it shows. Lots happened. It’s pretty cool to see reincarnations of old characters we know and love again.

Chapter 26

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So here we got Beach Boy: The Sequel. Got an extra hook and some other ability I don’t understand. I have NO IDEA how Johnny figured out so much in so little time with so little information, and why the hell he’s decided to keep the corpse. Whatever.

Chapter 27

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Diego and Sandman eh? Here’s hoping they’re any good.

Scary Monsters

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Chapter 28

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Managed to procrastinate half-way through this chapter on reading the rest for like 5 days now. Well, I finally finished it. Scary Monsters time. Interesting enough so far, but from past fights, that doesn’t mean much.

Chapter 29

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I was reading wondering how the hell Diego becoming a dinosaur was much of a stand at all… and then the bear turned into one. I’m shook

Chapter 30

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30 chapters in, finally a fight that feels JoJo. I’m not getting my hopes high and that the ride continues after this fight, but this is pretty good.

Chapter 31

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Diego was just a pawn? He got an eye? Damn man, that was actually a pretty good fight. Nice twists and turns, and very tense.

Chapter 32

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Going through the lake was a total classic JoJo move and I didn’t expect it at all. Diego’s data skills are insane. And yet, Hot Pants is an hour ahead! I remember liking… him? her? it, so their introduction should be pleasant.

A Real Man’s World

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Chapter 33

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Hot Pants’s stand is pretty cool, even though I don’t understand it. I have no idea how Gyro knows binary shit off the top of his head. Hot Pants also eat like a fucking king, god damn. Skull hair man is interesting to say the least. Lasered that guy.

Chapter 34

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Withholding judgement until next chapter. The ending just fell flat for me. It’s mostly left me confused, as to where all the heavy praise comes from. But, a certain fight I liked even on my first go around is coming up, so I’m gonna keep going for today.

Chapter 35

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I feel like this would have been a much cooler fight if Ringo had rewinded time a few more times and they went through attacking each other with some slight variations.

The Green Tomb

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Chapter 36

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Catch the Rainbow’s design is amazing. Still one of my favorites of all of JoJo. Just so sexy. Lucy is also totally fucked.

Chapter 37

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I totally forgot about Mountain Tim. Perhaps the first time I’ve forgotten about a character Araki hasn’t. And why the fuck do these old men want Lucy? She’s like, 15! Christ! Also, listening to Catch the Rainbow during these chapters gives it a nice feel.

Catch the Rainbow (On a Stormy Night…)

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Chapter 39

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A short fight, but an enjoyable one. More that can be said for many of the fights so far. CTR’s design is still awesome. Here we go for the next part.

Silent Way

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Chapter 40

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Diego getting a sidekick, alright I suppose? But damn, he wants MANHATTEN? What a god.

Chapter 41

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A pair of stand users? The next Grateful Dead? Ah who am I kidding. He accidentally pushed his dad into some glass when he should’ve been paying more attention to where he was about to shove his dad, and then he’s pissed his dad is pissed that his son just cut open his neck? C’mon son. I was honestly starting to like him but this was just a reminder.

Chapter 42

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I’m getting the sense I’m supposed to have some sympathy for Johnny, but he’s just a plain dickwad. His father wasn’t right for trying to make him drown the poor thing, but Johnny did enter that promise with him.

Chapter 43

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Johnny took way too long to say it four times, christ.

Chapter 44

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Tusk Act 2’s design is just sad, while In a Silent Way looks cool. It’s interesting how all of the sudden Johnny is counting the nails he’s using when he just fires them off like nothing in every single other battle. And by interesting I mean stupid.

The Land of Promises: Sugar Mountain

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Chapter 45

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Interesting stand. Meanwhile, the gang is totally fucked.

Tubular Bells

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Chapter 48

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I did quite like the ending of the Sugar Mountain fight. Tubular Bells seems ridiculous, which is great.

Chapter 49

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On this month’s chapter of Everyone Sexually Abuses Lucy… An intruder has been discovered! Seems like our story is chugging straight ahead. Hot Pants also has some crazy ass abilities.

Chapter 50

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I soiled your face with my ‘meat spray’.

Wrecking Ball

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Chapter 51

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Steel Ball vs. Steel Ball, and whatever’s happening to our dynamic duo seems interesting. Maybe this’ll be good.

Chapter 52

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Wrecking Ball seems a bit much for a spin ability. Seems more like a stand ability to me, but whatever.

Chapter 54

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Overall… another SBR fight. Nothing special here.

Civil War

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Chapter 56

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What the FUCK is happening to Hot Pants? I kinda like her!

Chapter 57

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Why the fuck did Hot Pants think that getting a motherfucking corpse would make her brother forgive her for murdering him???

Chapter 58

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First we had Jotaro stopping his heart, then Bruno slicing his heart in half, and now Johnny just fucking shoots his head? Talk about evolution.

Chapter 59

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Valentine’s introduction to the duo was underwhelming to say the least. Oh well…

Both Sides Now

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Chapter 60

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Man, Magenta Magenta is still kicking around? Time to give up my dude!

Chapter 61

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This chapter on Everyone Sexually Abuses Lucy, it’s the president himself! But this time, Lucy ain’t taking that shit. Thank god. Valentine is fucked in the head. Pucci killed people, but in his eyes, it was all for the greater good. Valentine is unjustifiable no matter which way you look at it.

Chapter 62

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Valentine didn’t know she was underage before when he tried to rape her. Now that he does, he likes her more. This man is clearly sick.

Chocolate Disco

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Chapter 63

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Imagine waiting a month for the next SBR chapter and getting this. Those poor, poor souls.

Chapter 64

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Whoa whoa whoa! I didn’t think we’d see D4C so soon again. Looks like things are finally ramping up. Here we go.

D4C

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Chapter 66

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And the D4C fight is already underway? Only 29 chapters left… I want to see this battle play out. Here’s to binging!

Chapter 68

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I swear Diego just kept the ability for himself to become a dinosaur, not to turn others into dinosaurs too… well, there’s probably an explanation for that. And WHO THE FUCK attacked Johnny???

Chapter 69

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What. The. Fuck.

Chapter 70

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That section of the fight was total chaos and I loved it. Please, keep this up.

???

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Chapter 78

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I think I understand D4C. Now, Love Train. What the FUCK is Valentine doing. Do not be mistaken. This is not because of the characters, the story, nor their motivations. It is solely the interesting scenario created by the stands that made this fight so good.

High Voltage

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Chapter 90

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I do not understand for a second how in any way Valentine is justified. He was a lame ass villain, especially following up Pucci. But that was a damn good fight. One of my favorites of all time, easy. This is not even getting into how shitty of a person he is… like how he tried to rape a 14 year old girl that one time. Well, that’s what I have to say about Valentine until my conclusion. Valentine redirects misfortune, he doesn’t eliminate it. All the misfortune that was going to go to America would’ve just gone to some other country. Ultimately, he only “cared” for a small subset of humanity. He did not want the best for humanity, he wanted the best for America. 7: Valentine believed he was right, but what was his end goal? To make America the greatest country on Earth? Pucci’s plan benefited (to him) all of humanity. Valentine is basically telling every other country to fuck themselves. Only America matters to him, not people. 6: Pucci was actually likable and was the most justified out of any JoVillain. He truly believed he was in the right throughout his actions. It was all necessary to achieve heaven. His heaven sounds like hell to a lot of us, but it isn’t so farfetched to see Pucci’s POV. 5: The opposite of 7’s fight. The characters were cool, hell King Crimson was cool too, but the fight itself ultimately became a total mess. Now, let’s compare. 3: DIO had been built up for 40 episodes prior, the crew was actually likable, and went through many adversaries. 4: You could feel Josuke and co.’s desire to protect Morioh. D4C vs. Tusk was an amazing fight. Johnny vs. Valentine was pathetic. High Voltage: This was my favorite fight the first time around. Now that the surprise element is gone, it’s honestly just another SBR fight.

Overall

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I’d like to simplify my thoughts. My opinion has not changed on SBR, except that Gyro isn’t nearly as cool as I remembered. It falls utterly flat and is easily the worst JoJo part. The characters, the stands, the fights, the story, I don’t know what else you could throw in there.