Steel Ball Run

Steel Ball Run
The February 2, 2004 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, featuring the Steel Ball Run character Gyro Zeppeli
スティール・ボール・ラン (Sutīru Bōru Ran)
Manga
Written by	Hirohiko Araki
Published by	Shueisha
Demographic	Shōnen, seinen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump (2004) Ultra Jump (2005 – 2011)
Original run	February 2, 2004 – April 19, 2011
Volumes	24

Steel Ball Run (Japanese: スティール・ボール・ラン, Hepburn: Sutīru Bōru Ran) is the reboot and seventh story arc of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Set in 1890, it stars Gyro Zeppeli, a disgraced former executioner, and Johnny Joestar, a former hot-shot jockey who was shot and lost the use of his legs, as well as his fame and fortune. They, along with others, race across America for $50 million, reminiscent of the 1981 film The Cannonball Run.

Originally the first 23 chapters (4 volumes) were serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2004 simply under the title Steel Ball Run. Although the character's names are obviously related to the series, it was unclear if the story was a part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. However, when the series moved to Ultra Jump in 2004, it was officially announced as part 7 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but in an alternate universe, like the following and current arc, JoJolion.

The 95 chapters were combined into 24 tankōbon volumes (volumes 81 to 104 of the entire series), following the trend set by the previous part, Stone Ocean, of starting over the volume count. A couple of chapters were adapted into a "Vomic" series, which has voice actors act over the manga pages as they are shown on screen.

Plot

In the year 1890, racing jockeys from all over the world flock to the United States to take part in the Steel Ball Run— a cross-country horse race from San Diego to New York City with a prize of fifty million dollars. Johnny Joestar, a former racing jockey who fell from glory after a shooting paralyzed him from the waist down, decides to enter the race after meeting the mysterious Gyro Zeppeli. The steel balls that Gyro uses as his weapon of choice have a strange power that made Johnny’s legs twitch for the first time in years, so Johnny insists on following Gyro until he learns the secret of the spinning steel balls. The two men begin as rivals, but they grow closer to one another as they travel through the wilderness and face attacks from violent competitors in the race.

Although the race is organized by the eccentric oil tycoon Stephen Steel, it is later revealed that the Steel Ball Run is backed by the United States government. Unbeknownst to Stephen Steel, the president, Funny Valentine, masterminded the race as a means to collect the scattered pieces of a two-thousand-year-old saint’s corpse. It is said that whoever assembles the full corpse will be granted incredible power. Once Johnny and Gyro discover this, they must fend off assassins sent by the president as well as their highly competitive rivals as multiple factions struggle over control of the corpse parts.

Saint's Corpse

In the series, nine body parts - implied to be those of Jesus Christ - referred to as the Saint's Corpse (聖人の遺体, Seijin no Itai), are spread throughout the USA. When "fused" with someone they give the user Stand powers, similar to the Bow and Arrow introduced in Part 4 Diamond Is Unbreakable. However, Stands generated this way disappear as soon as the body parts defuse from the user, although it may fuse to such an extent that the Stand becomes a permanent part of the person. It also seems that each Corpse part reacts differently with each person.

The Saint's Corpse plays a major role in the storyline of the video game JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven.

Competition

The race begins on September 25, 1890 at 10am in San Diego. Divided into nine parts, it extends for a total of 6,000 km to New York City. After each checkpoint, points are awarded to each person, the one with the most points at the end is the winner.

Characters

Main characters

Gyro Zeppeli (ジャイロ・ツェペリ, Jairo Tseperi)

Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (All-Star Battle, Eyes of Heaven), Kenji Hamada (Vomic)

Gyro Zeppeli is a disgraced magistrate and executioner from the Kingdom of Naples (ネアポリス王国, Neaporisu Ōkoku), who participates in the Steel Ball Run to free someone who he believes has been wrongly imprisoned, racing on his horse Valkyrie (ヴァルキリー, Varukirī). Gyro is a master of a mystical art called the Spin (回転, Kaiten), which is channeled through Steel Balls (鉄球, Tekkyū) and is the art of imparting the knowledge of the Golden rectangle into throwing the Steel Ball, causing the Spin to be transferred from the ball to the target. It has both healing and offensive properties, as the Zeppeli family has used the Spin in both their medical practice and in their work as executioners for the church. Gyro later develops an ability called Scan (スキャン, Sukyan) when one of his Steel Balls is imparted with a piece of the Saint's Corpse, the object of desire of Funny Valentine. Scan gives Gyro the ability to look inside people, making his Spin's attacks even more deadly. With the power of the Super Spin, accessed by having Valkyrie run at a fast enough speed to make everything incorporate the Golden rectangle, he develops the Stand Ball Breaker (ボール・ブレイカー, Bōru Bureikā), which when a Steel Ball hits its mark the vast energies kept by the Spin accelerates the life of cells in the target, so much so that the cells die. He is ultimately killed by Funny Valentine.

Gyro's real name is Julius Caesar Zeppeli (ユリウス・カエサル・ツェペリ, Yuriusu Kaesaru Tseperi, pronounced in English as Juriasu Shīzā Tseperi (ジュリアス・シーザー・ツェペリ)), sharing his name with Caesar Zeppeli of Battle Tendency.

Johnny Joestar (ジョニィ・ジョースター, Jonyi Jōsutā)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (All-Star Battle, Eyes of Heaven), Takahiro Mizushima (Vomic)

Johnny Joestar was an American horse racing prodigy (born in Kentucky but grew up for some time in the United Kingdom) until an altercation while in line for a play left him paralyzed from the waist down. He participates in the Steel Ball Run in order to follow Gyro and to learn how to use the Spin, as it is the only thing that has made him able to stand again. Johnny races on Slow Dancer (スロー・ダンサー, Surō Dansā) and eventually develops the Stand Tusk (タスク, Tasuku), at first allowing him to shoot his fingernails at people, but it soon evolves through a series of Acts. With Act 2 he imparts his fingernails with the Spin, allowing him to move the holes his fingernails produce. Act 3 allows Johnny to teleport parts of himself through the holes after he shoots himself with an Act 2 fingernail. The final form of Act 4 is the most powerful offensive Stand in the series, allowing Johnny to impart the Spin as a "Super Spin" on whoever his nail hits, allowing him to trap them in a constant loop during which they cannot leave where they were located at the time of the attack until the Spin is stopped by Johnny, and if left activated will begin to unravel the victim's body by spinning their cells; Act 4's physical form is also so strong that it can rend reality itself, ripping apart the barriers between dimensions to travel to alternate timelines or peeling the layers of his own dimension in order to move between areas that have physical barriers (such as between a street and the sewer beneath). In Part 8 JoJolion, it is eventually revealed that he did indeed relearn how to walk, and ended up marrying Rina Higashikata and having a son named George. However, Rina eventually came down with her family's disease and Johnny stole the Corpse to use Ticket to Ride to save her, only for the disease to be passed onto George instead. Horrified by what he had done and finally understanding what Ticket to Ride does, Johnny rode off with George and reactivated the Stand, infecting himself with the disease instead. Johnny then ultimately died after he fell from his horse and a large rock landed on his head, killing him instantly.

Johnny's full name is Jonathan Joestar, the same as the protagonist of Phantom Blood and the original titular JoJo. Also like the original, he had a pet named Danny, although in this universe it was a rat that lived a full life as opposed to a dog that was killed.

Lucy Steel (ルーシー・スティール, Rūshī Sutīru)

Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (All-Star Battle)

Lucy Steel is the 14-year-old wife of Steel Ball Run promoter Stephen Steel. She tries to help Johnny and Gyro win the race by going undercover as the wife of President Valentine. However, her cover is blown one night and she accidentally acquires all of the President's Corpse parts into her, becoming pregnant by their means. This ultimately bestows upon her a powerful Stand called Ticket to Ride (涙の乗車券（チケット・ゥ・ライド）, Chikettu Raido) that Valentine uses against the others. It grants her the ability to draw powerful blades from her eyes, part water as Moses did to the Red Sea, and protect her from any harm by causing a chain reaction to deflect harm from her. Its ultimate power manifests when it was combined with the powers of D4C to form D4C: Love Train, which deflects all misfortune that would approach Valentine. Her maiden name is Pendleton (ペンドルトン, Pendoruton), shared with the character Erina Joestar (née Pendleton) of Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency.

Funny Valentine (ファニー・ヴァレンタイン, Fanī Varentain)

Voiced by: Yasuyuki Kase (All-Star Battle, Eyes of Heaven)

Funny Valentine is the 23rd President of the United States (replacing Benjamin Harrison in the fiction of Steel Ball Run), a disgraced soldier who was discharged from duty after having been tortured. He ultimately finds the heart of the Saint and seeks to obtain all the parts, as a prophecy is foretold that the holder of all of the parts of the Saint will rule the world. His ultimate plan is to assemble the Corpse to activate its Stand, which will protect America by sending all misfortune elsewhere and thus ensure its eternal global dominance. In obtaining the heart, he gains the Stand Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Dirty deeds done dirt cheap（いともたやすく行われるえげつない行為）, Dātī Dīzu Dan Dāto Chīpu (Itomo Tayasuku Okonawareru Egetsunai Kōi)), often shortened to just D4C (D4C（ディー･フォー･シー）, Dī Fō Shī), which allows him to travel between alternate dimensions by being pressed between two objects, and also allowing him to transfer his memories to an alternate version of himself to continue his mission even after dying from his wounds. He can also bring other people from these alternate realities into his own, and if they come in contact with that universe's iteration of themselves, they will annihilate each other in the form of Menger sponges. With Lucy's powers, he acquires the ability D4C -Love Train- (D4C-ラブトレイン-, Dī Fō Shī -Rabu Torein-), which makes a gap in space with Lucy's body to make President Valentine seemingly invincible from harm, as well as making any attack he makes ultimately more dangerous. Valentine is killed by Johnny, who uses his Super Spin to chase each Valentine across the multiverse and drag them back into the hole the original Valentine was in when he was shot, where they then suffocate. Eventually, the final Valentine engages Johnny in a duel after a failed attempt to negotiate with him to end the Spin, where he is finally killed for good by a shot to the head. Before he is killed, he brings a Diego Brando from an alternate reality into this one in order to prevent Johnny from obtaining the Corpse.

Diego Brando (ディエゴ・ブランドー, Diego Burandō)

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (All-Star Battle, Eyes of Heaven), Masayuki Katō (Vomic)

Diego Brando, nicknamed Dio (ディオ), is a British racer in the Steel Ball Run, riding the horse Silver Bullet (シルバーバレット, Shirubā Baretto). He is initially just a rival to Gyro and Johnny, but he soon grows to hate them enough that he joins forces with the President. After being subject to the Stand of Dr. Ferdinand, Diego acquires one of the Saint's eyes and obtains the Stand Scary Monster (恐竜（スケアリー・モンスター）, Sukearī Monsutā), allowing him to transform into a dinosaur at will, as well as transform other living beings into dinosaurs or fossilize them. After he turns on the President and dies, Valentine uses D4C to bring another Diego Brando into this iteration of reality, and this one has the Stand The World (THE WORLD（ザ・ワールド）, Za Wārudo), the same as his namesake Dio Brando. This Diego ultimately wins the Steel Ball Run, but is killed shortly thereafter thanks to Lucy Steel retrieving the original Diego's severed head, and is disqualified as he could not be located.

Other racers

Sandman (砂男（サンドマン）, Sandoman, alternatively "Soundman" (サウンドマン, Saundoman))

Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (Eyes of Heaven)

Sandman (although he goes by a name that loosely translates to "Soundman" amongst his people) is a Native American participant in the Steel Ball Run who has no horse and runs barefoot throughout the race as he has found a way to do so without needing any rest. He learned to speak English by reading books, but his people burned down his tepee when they discovered he was reading things written by the white men. He develops the Stand In a Silent Way (イン・ア・サイレント・ウェイ, In A Sairento Wei), which can produce sounds that become three-dimensional kana that are stored in objects. When the object comes in contact with someone, the kana come out of the object and attack based on the sound that produced them. He teams up with Dio and attacks Gyro and Johnny, but is ultimately killed, his last thoughts being of his older sister who raised him.

Mountain Tim (マウンテン・ティム, Maunten Timu)

Mountain Tim is a cowboy from Wyoming who participates in the Steel Ball Run on his horse Ghost Rider in the Sky (ゴースト・ライダー・イン・ザ・スカイ, Gōsuto Raidā In Za Sukai). In his youth, he accidentally came across a piece of land known as the Devil's Palm (悪魔の手のひら, Akuma no Tenohira), a piece of the United States that seems to move on its own accord, having been created after a terrible tragedy befell the Saint. As a result, he obtained his Stand Oh! Lonesome Me (オー！ロンサム・ミー, Ō! Ronsamu Mī), which enchanted his lasso into enabling him to move parts of his or other people's bodies along its length. He is brought into the race to investigate a series of murders perpetrated by the Boomboom family.

Urmd Abdul (ウルムド・アブドゥル, Urumudo Abuduru)

Urmd Abdul is an Egyptian racer of the Steel Ball Run who rides his unnamed camel rather than a horse. He loses fairly early in the race.

Dot Han (ドット・ハーン, Dotto Hān)

Dot Han is a Mongolian participant in the Steel Ball Run, a child of Genghis Han, riding his horse #1. He loses fairly early in the race.

Pocoloco (ポコロコ, Pokoroko)

Voiced by: Yasuhiko Kawazu (All-Star Battle), Fumihiro Okabashi (Vomic)

An American racer from Georgia who rides the horse Hey! Ya! (ヘイ！ヤア！, Hei! Yaa!). Before joining the Steel Ball Run, he met a mysterious gypsy who told him that his luck will turn around for the next two months, leading to his decision to participate in the race. This coincides with the development of his Stand Hey Ya! (ヘイ・ヤー, Hei Yā), a sentient Stand which gives him positive encouragment. He joined the Steel Ball Run for the cash prize, which would allow him to both take care of his parents and avoid life as a share cropper. After tallying the points, Pocoloco comes in second place, but due to Diego's death he is ultimately named the winner of the Steel Ball Run, thus confirming the gypsy's prophecy.

Baron Roocatugo (ロッカチュゴ男爵, Rokkachugo Danshaku)

A German participant in the Steel Ball Run who drives a car rather than rides a horse. He is eliminated early due to its fuel consumption.

Mrs. Robinson (ミセス・ロビンスン, Misesu Robinsun)

A Mexican participant in the Steel Ball Run who rides the horse El Condor Pasa (エル・コンドル・パサ, Eru Kondoru Pasa). He is quick to attack Gyro to eliminate him from the run, using a cactus as well as a hive of insects kept in his eye, but is easily dispatched.

The Boomboom Family (ブンブーン一家, Bunbūn Ikka)

The Boombooms are a family of assassins hired to kill Gyro and Johnny to prevent them from winning the Steel Ball Run. Like Mountain Tim, each passed through the Devil's Palm and each has a unique aspect of a shared Stand called Tomb of the Boom (トゥーム・オブ・ザ・ブーム, Tūmu Obu Za Būmu). Mountain Tim is hired to catch them.

Benjamin Boomboom (ベンジャミン・ブンブーン, Benjamin Bunbūn)

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji (Eyes of Heaven)

Benjamin is the patriarch of the Boombooms and rides the horse Crosstown Traffic (クロスタウン・トラフィック, Kurosutaun Torafikku). His Stand Tomb of the Boom 1 (トゥーム・オブ・ザ・ブーム ワン, Tūmu Obu Za Būmu Wan) allows him to fuse metal to his body and transform his appearance into that of another person.

Andre Boomboom (アンドレ・ブンブーン, Andore Bunbūn)

Andre is the elder brother of the Boomboom family and rides the horse Foxy Lady (フォクシーレディ, Fokushī Redi). His Stand Tomb of the Boom 2 (トゥーム・オブ・ザ・ブーム ツー, Tūmu Obu Za Būmu Tsū) allows him to magnetize people through his touch, even if the target is only hit by a drop of his blood.

L.A. Boomboom (L.A.ブンブーン, Eru Ē Bunbūn)

L.A. is the younger brother of the Boomboom family and rides the horse Little Wing (リトル・ウイング, Ritoru Uingu). His Stand Tomb of the Boom 3 (トゥーム・オブ・ザ・ブーム スリー, Tūmu Obu Za Būmu Surī) allows him to manipulate iron sand by attracting it to his body, and even giving him the ability to attract the iron in others' blood.

Oyecomova (オエコモバ, Oekomoba)

Oyecomova is a Neapolitan anarchist, terrorist, and explosives expert. He plans to kill Gyro, as he is the only person alive who can stop him from killing their king, as well as to stop what he believes to be the inevitable pro-monarchist surge that would occur should Gyro (a direct servant of the king) actually win. He also finds the Devil's Palm, granting him a Stand called Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure (ボクのリズムを聴いてくれ, Boku no Rizumu o Kiitekure) that takes the form of a toucan-like creature that applies timed pins to whatever it touches. If these pins are not held down, they will pop off after three seconds and cause whatever they are attached to to explode.

Fritz von Stroheim (フリッツ・フォン・シュトロハイム, Furittsu Fon Shutorohaimu)

Stroheim is a German terrorist sent to assassinate Gyro, participating in the Steel Ball Run by riding the horse Europe Express (ヨーロッパ・エクスプレス, Yōroppa Ekusupuresu). He has been converted into a cyborg, much like his namesake Rudol von Stroheim from Battle Tendency.

Hot Pants (ホット・パンツ, Hotto Pantsu)

Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Eyes of Heaven)

Hot Pants is an American participant in the Steel Ball Run, riding the horse Gets Up (ゲッツ・アップ, Gettsu Appu). She participates dressed as a man, having actually spent the past several years as a nun, and seeks to obtain the Corpse parts. Her Stand Cream Starter (クリーム・スターター, Kurīmu Sutātā) takes the form of a "meat spray" that can turn other people's flesh into a foamy substance, both as a defensive measure to prevent them from properly attacking as well as healing wounds by fusing the foamy flesh together.

Gaucho (ガウチョ, Gaucho)

Gaucho is a Spanish racer in the Steel Ball Run, riding Peg (ペグ, Pegu). He dies while trapped by Ringo Roadagain.

Norisuke Higashikata (ノリスケ・ヒガシカタ)

Norisuke Higashikata is a Japanese racer in the Steel Ball Run, riding his horse Honō (ホノオ, lit. "Flame). He shows that he possesses two navels. Due to Dio's death, Higashikata ultimately finishes the race in second place, and his winnings allow him to start a fruit import company in his hometown of Morioh. His descendents run the company, and by the time of JoJolion, the fourth man to have the name "Norisuke Higashikata" (東方 憲助, Higashikata Norisuke) is in charge.

Other racers and their horses are as follows:

• Mark Becker (マーク・ベッカー, Māku Bekkā) and unknown horse
• David Hagen (デビット・ヘイゲン, Debitto Heigen) and unknown horse
• Paul Lukather (ポール・ルカサー, Pōru Rukasā) and unknown horse
• Mister. (ミスター・, Misutā) and unknown horse
• Tarukus (タルカス, Tarukasu) and unknown horse
• Rotters Club (ロッターズ・クラブ, Rottāzu Kurabu) and unknown horse
• Billy White (ビリー・ホワイト, Birī Howaito) and Love Unlimited (ラヴ・アンリミテッド, Ravu Anrimiteddo)
• Shigechi (シゲチー, Shigechī) and unknown horse
• Mack the Knife (マック・ザ・ナイフ, Makku Za Naifu) and unknown horse
• Kanye (カニエ, Kanie) and unknown horse
• Iglesias (イグレシアス, Igureshiasu) and Nathalie (ナタリー, Natarī)
• Nightfly (ナイトフライ, Naitofurai) and unknown horse
• Dixie Chicken (デキシー・チキン, Dikishī Chikin) and Ramblin' Man (ランブリン・マン, Ranburin Man)
• Caravan Serai (キャラバン・サライ, Kyaraban Sarai) and Moon Flower (ムーン・フラワー, Mūn Furawā)
• Zenyatta Mondatta (ゼニヤッタ・モンダッタ, Zeniyatta Mondatta) and Roxanne (ロクサーヌ, Rokusānu)
• Nellyville (ネリビル, Neribiru) and Country Grammar (カントリーグラマー, Kantorī Guramā)
• Georgy Porgy (ジョージー・ポージー, Jōjī Pōjī) and unknown horse
• Sloop John B (スループ・ジョン・B, Surūpu Jon Bī) and Catch a Wave (キャッチ・ア・ウェイヴ, Kyatchi A Weivu)
• Baba Yaga (バーバ・ヤーガ, Bāba Yāga) and Night Rocker (ナイトロッカー, Naito Rokkā)

Valentine's assassins

Pork Pie Hat Kid (ポーク・パイ・ハット小僧, Pōku Pai Hatto Kozō)

Pork Pie Hat Kid is sent by President Valentine to kill Gyro and retrieve the Corpse parts. His Stand Wired (ワイアード, Waiādo) takes the form of a winch on his tongue and the hooks from the winch can travel through any object, so long as Pork Pie Hat has put a similar object in a pan of water that his hooks have gone through.

Dr. Ferdinand (フェルディナンド博士, Ferudinando-hakase)

Dr. Ferdinand is a geologist and paleontologist who has been studying the Devil's Palm since it granted him his Stand Scary Monsters (スケアリーモンスターズ, Sukearī Monsutāzu), enabling him to infect people with a virus that transforms them into dinosaurs under his thrall. He is devoted to President Valentine, wanting him to succeed in his plan to rule the world with the parts of the Saint.

Ringo Roadagain (リンゴォ・ロードアゲイン, Ringō Rōdoagein)

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (All-Star Battle)

Ringo Roadagain is a gunman who lives on an orchard in the Steel Ball Run's path. Anyone who enters the orchard enters the thrall of his Stand Mandom (マンダム, Mandamu), which allows him to turn back time exactly 6 seconds. He is hired by the President to take Johnny and Gyro's Saint Corpse parts.

Blackmore (ブラックモア, Burakkmoa)

Blackmore is another of the President's assassins who is sent to take the Corpse parts from Gyro and Johnny. His Stand Catch the Rainbow (キャッチ・ザ・レインボー, Kyatchi Za Reinbō) allows Blackmore to manipulate the flow of rain, stopping it, walking on it, and moving through it invisibly, he can also turn parts of himself (usually his mouth) into water and move them through the rain to attack people. Blackmore is initially successful in his attempt to take the Corpse parts and Lucy Steel back to the President, but he is distracted by a vision of the Saint himself (Jesus Christ) and Lucy helps Gyro and Johnny to kill him.

The Eleven Men (11人の男たち, Jūichi-nin no Otoko-tachi)

The Eleven Men are the next assassins sent by the President to face off against Gyro and Johnny in a bar, all experienced gunmen who use their shared Stand Tatoo You! (TATOO YOU!（タトゥーユー！）, Tatū Yū!), a tattoo on each of their backs that they can travel through. All seem to have writing in their hair. All die, except for the last who acquires the last of Johnny and Gyro's Corpse parts while they are under the thrall of the mysterious Stand-using tree.

Mike O (マイク・O, Maiku Ō)

Mike O is one of President Valentine's bodyguards and assassins, sent to find the intruder and traitor amongst the President's assassins. While initially calm and composed, he becomes enraged when he accidentally kills the First Lady. He kills himself after Hot Pants closes off his airway with her Cream Starter, causing him to stab his own throat out in a desperate attempt to clear it. His Stand Tubular Bells (チューブラー・ベルズ, Chūburā Beruzu) allows him to turn metal objects into balloon animals that have the same properties as the animal they depict. Once they reach their target, they enter the target in their original form, such as an iron nail or a metal window blind.

Wekapipo (ウェカピポ, Uekapipo)

Voiced by: Ken Narita (All-Star Battle)

Wekapipo is a former member of the Neapolitan royal guard who is hired alongside Magenta Magenta to protect President Valentine and kill Gyro and Johnny. Also skilled in using Spin, Wekapipo uses a special Steel Ball known as Wrecking Ball (レッキング・ボール（壊れゆく鉄球）, Rekkingu Bōru (Kowareyuku Tekkyū)) that releases a series of satellite balls that can blind or damage the target should the main ball be blocked or miss, this increased focus on damage comes from the fact that it is used primarily in duels rather than executions. He was cast out of Naples after he killed his sister's husband for supposedly killing her, eventually causing him to fall in with Valentine, who promised to give him a different version of his sister should he kill Johnny and Gyro. He soon sides with Gyro and Johnny after discovering that his sister, claimed by the President to have died, is alive and well. He is killed by Diego, who uses D4C's dimension hopping ability to drag Wekapipo into an alternate universe with him, causing him to meet another version of himself and thus be obliterated.

Magenta Magenta (マジェント・マジェント, Majento Majento)

Magenta Magenta is sent alongside Wekapipo to kill Gyro and Johnny. His Stand 20th Century Boy (20th Century BOY（トウェンティース・センチュリー・ボーイ）, Towentīsu Senchurī Bōi), a vest-like apparatus, makes him impervious to damage and even death so long as he is crouching down with his palms touching the ground. This is his undoing when he eventually is thrown into a river, using 20th Century Boy's power to keep him alive so long as he does not move. He hopes for rescue at the hands of Diego Brando, but he eventually stops waiting and stops thinking, much like Kars's ultimate fate in Battle Tendency.

Axl RO (アクセル・RO, Akuseru Rō)

Voiced by: Taku Yashiro (Eyes of Heaven)

Axl RO is one of Valentine's bodyguards and a former soldier who let an entire town and his fellow infantrymen get massacred because of his disillusion with the war. The guilt he felt after this event manifests as his Stand Civil War (シビル・ウォー, Shibiru Wō), which can attack people through the guilt of things they have left behind through a membrane that suffocates them, but the membrane can be dissolved with water. Civil War also can resurrect Axl RO should he be killed and someone feel guilty for doing so. Then Axl RO's guilt is transferred to the assailant, compounding his powers. However, should Axl RO feel guilty for killing his target, Civil War's powers reverse onto him.

D-I-S-C-O (ディ・ス・コ, Di Su Ko)

D-I-S-C-O is another one of Valentine's assassins sent to kill Johnny and Gyro to retrieve the last of the Corpse parts. He does nothing other than activate his Stand, Chocolate Disco (チョコレート・ディスコ, Chokorēto Disuko), and attack Gyro, as he sees no point in talking to a man he was simply paid to kill. Chocolate Disco takes the form of a grid-like arm band through which D-I-S-C-O can manipulate the position of objects by switching their positions on the grid, while keeping the momentum and vertical position they had when they were swapped.

Other characters

Stephen Steel (スティーブン・スティール, Sutībun Sutīru)

Voiced by: Mitsuru Ogata (Vomic, All-Star Battle)

Stephen Steel is the promoter of the Steel Ball Run and the elderly husband of Lucy Steel. Their marriage is one of love rather than passion.

Gregorio Zeppeli (グレゴリオ・ツェペリ, Guregorio Tseperi)

Gregorio is Gyro's father, and the teacher of the Steel Ball and Spin techniques.

Marco (マルコ, Maruko)

Marco is a young boy from the Kingdom of Naples who was arrested and sentenced to death for a crime he could not have possibly committed. Gyro, upon learning of this travesty, argued for the boy's freedom, and was ordered by the King of Naples to participate in the Steel Ball Run. If he won, Marco would be freed. He is saved at the end of the series, but ultimately takes ill and dies soon after. He shares his name with the Battle Tendency character Mark, a friend of Caesar Zeppeli who dies at the hands of the Pillar Men, spurring Caesar to fight against them.

George Joestar I (ジョージ・ジョースターI世, Jōji Jōsutā Issei)

George is the father of Johnny and Nicholas, the former with whom he maintains a difficult relationship. He's a horse breeder by trade and a acclaimed horse trainer who won the Triple Crown seven times. He was originally strict and severe with his sons. He shamelessly however favored his elder son Nicholas over his younger son, Johnny.

Nicholas Joestar (ニコラス・ジョースター, Nikorasu Jōsutā)

Nicholas is Johnny's older brother and a skilled jockey who died in a freak accident when Johnny was only five, apparently because of Johnny's pet rat Danny. Johnny tried to follow in his footsteps, but his father favored Nicholas more.

Sugar Mountain (シュガー・マウンテン, Shugā Maunten)

Sugar Mountain is a young girl who has become trapped by a Stand-using tree's power, becoming its guardian. The tree's Stand takes the form of a spring at its base and has powers akin to Aesop's fable "The Honest Woodman". If someone drops something into the spring, it comes out as a much better form than when it entered. The tree then offers it back to its original owner via Sugar Mountain but the owner must acknowledge the original state of the item. If they lie, the tree kills them. If they tell the truth, they are given both but must use the items up or relinquish ownership through a transaction, or else they will replace Sugar Mountain as the tree's guardian.

Scarlet Valentine (スカーレット・ヴァレンタイン, Sukāretto Varentain)

Scarlet Valentine is the First Lady of the United States, wife to President Funny Valentine. She is bisexual and slightly masochistic, and comes onto Lucy Steel. However, this is all a plan by Hot Pants and Lucy to kill Scarlet so Lucy can take her place and steal the President's Corpse parts, which succeeds when Mike O accidentally kills her with his Tubular Bells.

Chapters

The first chapter title of each pair is the title that is used in the volumization of Steel Ball Run. The second title is the title used in the original serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump and starting with volume 5, Ultra Jump.

Notes

• Steel Ball Run: How the Race Got Started and Chapter 63 were only released in the volumization of Steel Ball Run.

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Vomic page
• Steel Ball Run (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia