is a seinen

Seinen

is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...

 manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series by Hirohiko Araki

Hirohiko Araki

is a Japanese manga artist. He left school before graduating from Miyagi University of Education.Araki is best known for his long running series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump starting in 1987. The story is full of references to Western music and Italy, both of which...

. Originally presented as an unrelated story, this series was officially declared a part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

is a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha, first ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before being transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004. The current story...

 storyline. The series stars Gyro Zeppeli

Gyro Zeppeli

, birth name , is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In Steel Ball Run's alternate universe version of the world, he most likely takes the place of Will A. Zeppeli, Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli or another previously unseen member of the Zeppeli family...

, who uses a set of steel balls that spin incredibly fast, and Johnny Joestar

Johnny Joestar

, birth name , is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In Steel Ball Run's alternate universe version of the world, he takes the place of Jonathan Joestar. He is a paraplegic, and is usually seen wearing a hat with a horse shoe decoration on the front...

, a former hot-shot jockey who was crippled by an ambusher and lost his fame and fortune. They race, along with others, in a mad-dash across America for 50 million dollars, reminiscent of The Cannonball Run

The Cannonball Run (film)

The Cannonball Run is a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Dom DeLuise and Farrah Fawcett, and was directed by Hal Needham. It was produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films. There was a sequel, 1984's Cannonball Run II.-Plot:...

.

Although unconnected to the story of the earlier JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Steel Ball Run features several allusions to them, mostly by characters bearing similar names or likenesses to characters from earlier series.

Steel Ball Run was serialized by Shueisha

Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...

 in Ultra Jump

Ultra Jump

is a Japanese monthly seinen manga magazine published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. Originally, the magazine was a special issue of Weekly Young Jump which first issued in 1995. On October 19 of 1999, the special issue became the new monthly publication Ultra Jump...

. The first 23 chapters (4 volumes) were serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump

Weekly Shonen Jump

is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...

.

Plot

Gyro Zeppeli, a disgraced former executioner, and Johnny Joestar, a former jockey who lost the use of his legs in a riding accident, meet by chance and decide to enter the Steel Ball Run, a race by horse across America. Orchestrated by the tycoon Steven Steel, the winner of the race will receive 50 million dollars. Unknowingly to Steel or the contestants, the current President of the United States, Funny Valentine, is using the race to locate the legendary corpse parts of Jesus Christ that are hidden across the country. Once found, these body parts can merge with a person and grant special powers. After finding some body parts, Gyro and Johnny must fend off vicious rivals and secret agents sent by the President, while still trying to win the race.

Outline of Each Stage

STAGE	SUBTITLE	ROUTE	TOTAL DISTANCE	DAYS TRAVEL	TOTAL PARTICIPANTS	RETIRES	DEATHS
1st.	15,000 Meter	San Diego Beach - Santa Maria Novella Church	15 km
3852	79	3
2nd.	Crossing the Arizona Desert
1,200 km	12-18 Days	3770	1219	82
3rd.	Rocky Mountain Breakdown
710 km （Mountain Route）	7 Days	2469	551	0
4th.	The Small Gravestone on the Wide, Wide Great Plains
Approx. 1,250 km	21 Days	1918	1476	1
5th.	Illinois Skyline
Approx. 780 km	Approx. 14 Days	441	65	2
6th.	Michigan Lakeline
Approx. 690 km
374	313	0
7th.	Philadelphia Triangle
Approx.1,300 km	Approx. 22 Days	61	9	0
8th.	Both Side Now
Approx. 140 km	2 Days	52	7
9th.	Manhattan Rhapsody
Approx. 15 km	30 Minutes	45

Characters

Character name	Stand name	Horse name	Relation
Johnny Joestar Johnny Joestar , birth name , is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In Steel Ball Run's alternate universe version of the world, he takes the place of Jonathan Joestar. He is a paraplegic, and is usually seen wearing a hat with a horse shoe decoration on the front...	Tusk Tusk (album) Tusk is the 12th album by the British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Released in 1979, it is considered experimental, primarily due to Lindsey Buckingham's sparser songwriting arrangements and the influence of punk rock and New Wave on his production techniques...	Slow Dancer Slow Dancer Slow Dancer is the sixth album by Boz Scaggs, originally released by Columbia in 1974.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Boz Scaggs; except where indicated# "You Make It So Hard "# "Slow Dancer" - 3:10...	Protagonist
Gyro Zeppeli Gyro Zeppeli , birth name , is a fictional character from the Japanese manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. In Steel Ball Run's alternate universe version of the world, he most likely takes the place of Will A. Zeppeli, Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli or another previously unseen member of the Zeppeli family...	Scan (Eye loaded in Steel Ball) Ball Breaker (Energy from Spin)	Valkyrie	Protagonist
Steven Steel Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...	-	(race promoter)	Neutral
Mrs. Lucy Steel Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...	-	-	Ally
Mountain Tim	Oh! Lonesome Me Don Gibson Donald Eugene "Don" Gibson was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.-Biography:Don Gibson was...	Ghost Riders in the Sky	Ally
Pocoloco Un Poco Loco "Un Poco Loco" is a composition by American jazz pianist and composer Bud Powell. The piece was first recorded during a Blue Note session on May 1, 1951, with Powell on piano, Curly Russell on bass, and Max Roach on drums...	Buckethead Buckethead Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...	Hey Ya	Neutral
Hot Pants James Brown discography This is a discography for the "Godfather of Soul", James Brown.- Federal releases :Listed below are the charting singles James Brown released on the Federal record label between 1956 and 1960...	Cream Starter Firestarter (song) "Firestarter" is a song by the English band The Prodigy, released on 18 March 1996. It was the first single from their third album The Fat of the Land, and their tenth single. It was also the group's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks...	Gets Up Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine "Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown in 1970 and released as a two-part single on King Records....	Neutral
Sugar Mountain Neil Young Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...	Unknown	-	Neutral
Wekapipo SOUL'd OUT Soul'd Out is a Japanese hip-hop band that consists of three members: Diggy-MO' , Bro.Hi , and Shinnosuke . Their name is a pun of "soul " and "sold out"...	Wrecking Ball Wrecking Ball (Emmylou Harris album) Wrecking Ball is a 1995 album by Emmylou Harris in which she moves away from the traditional acoustic sound for which she had become known, to team up with rock producer Daniel Lanois and engineer Mark Howard...	-	Neutral
Sandman Sandman (album) Sandman is the twelfth album by Harry Nilsson.-Track listing:All music and lyrics by Harry Nilsson, except where noted.#"I'll Take a Tango" – 2:58#"Something True" – 2:54...	In a Silent Way In a Silent Way In a Silent Way is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released July 30, 1969 on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969 at CBS 30th Street Studio B in New York City. Incorporating elements of classical sonata form,...	(on foot)	Rival
Diego "Dio" Brando Dio Brando is a fictional character from the manga and anime series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He is the primary antagonist of Parts 1 and 3, although he is also considered to be the main villain of the entire series, as his actions affect the JoJo universe long after his death...	Scary Monster Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) Scary Monsters is an album by David Bowie, released in September 1980 by RCA Records. It was Bowie's final studio album for the label and his first following the so-called Berlin Trilogy of Low, "Heroes" and Lodger . Though considered significant in artistic terms, the trilogy had proved less...  , The World	Silver Bullet	Rival
Mrs. Robinson Mrs. Robinson "Mrs. Robinson" is a song written by Paul Simon and first performed by Simon & Garfunkel. When released as a single in 1968, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, for their second chart-topping hit after "The Sound of Silence"...	-	El Cóndor Pasa	Rival
Benjamin Bunboon André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin , better known by his stage name André 3000 is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, best known for being part of American hip-hop duo OutKast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi...	Unknown	Crosstown Traffic Crosstown Traffic (song) "Crosstown Traffic" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was the second single released from the album Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience...	Rival
Andre Bunboon André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin , better known by his stage name André 3000 is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, best known for being part of American hip-hop duo OutKast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi...	Unknown	Foxy Lady Foxy Lady "Foxy Lady" is a song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience from their 1967 album Are You Experienced. It can also be found on a number of Hendrix's greatest hits compilations, including Smash Hits and Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix...	Rival
L. A. Bunboon André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin , better known by his stage name André 3000 is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, best known for being part of American hip-hop duo OutKast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi...	Unknown	Little Wing Little Wing "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix. It was first recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience on their 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love...	Rival
Oyecomova Oye Como Va "Oye Como Va" is a song written by Latin jazz and mambo musician Tito Puente in 1963 and popularized by Santana's rendition of the song in 1970 on their album Abraxas, helping to catapult Santana into stardom with the song reaching #13 on the Billboard Top 100. The song also reached #11 on...	Unknown	Unknown	Rival
F.V. Stroheim	-	Trans-Europe Express Trans-Europe Express (album) Trans-Europe Express is the sixth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. Recorded in mid-1976 in Düsseldorf, Germany, the album was released in March 1977 on Kling Klang Records. The album's themes were influenced by friends who suggested writing songs about the Trans-Europ...	Rival
Pork Pie Hat Boy Mingus Ah Um Mingus Ah Um is a jazz album by Charles Mingus, recorded and released on Columbia Records in 1959. It was his first album recorded for Columbia. The cover features a painting by S...	Wired	-	Rival
Dr. Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand (band) Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...	Scary Monsters Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) Scary Monsters is an album by David Bowie, released in September 1980 by RCA Records. It was Bowie's final studio album for the label and his first following the so-called Berlin Trilogy of Low, "Heroes" and Lodger . Though considered significant in artistic terms, the trilogy had proved less...	-	Rival
Ringo Roadagain Ringo Starr Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...	Mandom Jerry Wallace Jerry Wallace was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the #8 "Primrose Lane." He made his debut on the country music charts in 1965, entering it thirty-five times between then and 1980. In that timespan, Wallace...	-	Rival
Blackmore Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...	Catch the Rainbow Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology Catch the Rainbow: The Anthology is a compilation album by Rainbow, released in 2003.-Disc one:#"Man on the Silver Mountain"#"Sixteenth Century Greensleeves"#"Catch the Rainbow"#"Tarot Woman"#"Starstruck"#"Stargazer"#"Light in the Black"...	-	Rival
Mike O. Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...	Tubular Bells Tubular Bells Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...	-	Rival
Magenta Magenta SOUL'd OUT Soul'd Out is a Japanese hip-hop band that consists of three members: Diggy-MO' , Bro.Hi , and Shinnosuke . Their name is a pun of "soul " and "sold out"...	20th Century Boy 20th Century Boy "20th Century Boy" is a song by T. Rex, written by Marc Bolan. It was released as a single in 1973 and reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song did not feature on an original studio album but was included as a bonus track on a reissue of 1973 album Tanx.It later returned to the UK Top 20 in...	-	Rival
Axl RO Axl Rose W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...	Civil War Civil War (song) "Civil War" is a song by the rock band Guns N' Roses, which originally appeared on the 1990 compilation Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal and later on the 1991 album Use Your Illusion II...	-	Rival
Disco	Chocolate Disco Fan Service (sweet) is Perfume's ninth single. Single released from Perfume produced by capsule member Yasutaka Nakata. Includes bonus DVD with music videos for the A and B-sides plus deluxe pamphlet.- DVD track listing :# Video Clip#Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow Video Clip...	-	Rival
Funny Valentine My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green...	Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is the third studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in 1976. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott....	-	Main Antagonist

Chapters