This Week in Anime

Coop and Lucas' Bizarre Anime Column

Coop
I hope you had a wonderful Easter, Lucas! Now that He has Risen, it looks like Hirohiko Araki and david production have decided to take us on wild goose chase across the country to find Him in the freshly announced adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run.

Before we saddle up, it might not be a bad idea to look back on our personal experiences with Araki's arresting adventures and the passionate community who pushed it through to the anime stratosphere.

After hearing this, I desperately want to believe there's a JoJo-loving convent out there who refers to themselves as the "Steel Ball Nuns."
When and where did you first encounter the series and its passionate fans?

Before I get into my twisty-turny road into the series, I am thrilled that you brought up the amazing community of JoJo cosplayers out there. When I think of the JoJo fans who've pushed the hardest for the series' success in North American spaces, it's them! Lady Bloof comes to mind right away as THE DIO cosplayer. Funny story: back at Otakon 2022, I saw Lady Bloof in the halls in between panels, and I was about to say hello because we had some Twitter mutuals, then this happened in my brain.

Needless to say, I kept on walking. That's just how powerful someone is when they're THE DIO, in my mind.
And while we're talking about JoJo cosplayers I respect, you can't leave out Diana Soreil! She has been a champion of the series in cosplay and fandom spaces for over 20 years, and deserves her flowers for it!
Not to mention that she traveled all the way to Italy in 2019 to meet Araki himself at the annual Lucca Comics festival. But she was not alone. Diana was joined by a crew of prominent American JoJo cosplayers, including Lady Bloof and Fabrickind.
I honestly can't think of a more passionate display of dedication to something you love.

Infamous indeed.

As far as my journey with JoJo, I first heard of the series at my public library when I was a fifth or sixth grader in the early aughts. While flipping through the solicitations at the end of each volume of manga I tore through, I found an ad for Stardust Crusaders' original run in the U.S. And I have to admit, my young brain was confused by the angular art and the bizarre name.

However, I didn't fully dip my toes into JoJo until college in 2012. At the time, I was watching the series as it aired and futzed around with the CAPCOM arcade game a few times at the fighting game club.

I also learned about some JoJo-lovin' Canadians, but we'll get to them in a bit. In the years that followed, although I wasn't quite interested in keeping up with the series, I was weirdly bothered by the name changes at times. So a decade went by, and I found myself in the middle of a cross-country move just as I'd gotten my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Depressed and burned out, I ended up flipping on the series again on a whim... I ended up watching through to the conclusion of Stardust Crusaders.

It was Jotaro, Joseph, Polnareff, Kakyoin, Avdol, and Iggy that got me through those days. Their globetrotting quest to vanquish DIO was a wild and thrilling adventure, remiscent of classic RPGs like Dragon Quest in which a party would gather to defeat the big bad demon lord. Since then, I've checked out the manga, watched a bit of Diamond is Unbreakable with an old friend, and was there for the first drop of Stone Ocean. However, I haven't gotten back around to the series. Yes, I am something of a dirty part skipper.

That reminded me of the "Flaccid Pancake" discussion, and now I'm chuckling so hard. If you do love yourself some Steel Ball Run, dear readers, please support the official English release when it drops later this year.
Speaking of that telephone game, I wanted to spotlight the Canadians I mentioned earlier because they have absolutely been part of it. Formerly of the Super Best Friends, the mighty Woolie Madden and Koichi-sized Pat Boivin have been have long been champions of the series in the modern era of streamers. Hell, I think would be fair to throw them and their former Best Friend compatriots, Matt McMuscles and Liam Allen-Miller, into the same category as the cosplayers—people who've been heralding the series long before you could find a shirt in a Hot Topic.

If they've talked about the series on the Friendcast or Castle Super Beast, it's made a wave or two in the community. Oh and they all have their own Stands too...and they actually work. Just ask Woolie about Bring Me To Life.

I know that I've sat in front of a computer with the Stone Ocean opening on repeat for multiple hours...

And while we're in the Stone Ocean, I want to quickly highlight the work of Kira Buckland—someone who went from being an OG fan to becoming directly involved in the series history! She once wrote in the halcyon days of Twitter that she'd worked her butt off in the pursuit of becoming the right actor to play Jolyne Cujoh in the series' English dub. Sometimes you've got 2B ambitious if you want to book the part!

Fairouz Ai rules, and I'm glad to hear she's feeling a little better after coming back from her hiatus! But now that we're mostly up to date with our JoJo experiences thus far, let's talk about the greatest Steel Ball Run fear for Woolies and casual fans alike—the horses. As Shirobako Episode 12 details, there aren't many animators with an equine animation specialty around. It can often be a struggle for studios to tackle.

That's the fear, though there is a glimmer of hope within me that david production has prepared for this. Given the success of their other JoJo projects, I'd like to think that the studio knew this hurdle would be coming their way and perhaps trained up a new stable of animators. With how fast-paced the industry is, I could see why some might think this form of talent development might be wishful thinking, but it could be good for the industry's health in the long run. Especially, as that would be a boon for those animators when resume time comes around. Regardless, we'll have to wait and see how the horse situation unfolds.

No spin, no Lucas!
I'm excited to check out the series when it airs, especially since Netflix has seemingly learned its lesson regarding the weekly anime watching experience when you look at super recent shows like Delicious in Dungeon and DAN DA DAN.
I admit, I am tempted by what will be the heavy, brick-dense hardcover release of Steel Ball Run in May. As a physical media enthusiast, you show me a product made with so much care (and worth its asking price) and I'm in. VIZ's recent runs of each part and Araki's Manga in Theory and Practice are so nicely put together.

It's nice to see your favorite mangaka's manga getting more of the love it deserves!

I agree! The wackiness is the special seasoning, not the full meal.
And I'll admit, there have been times I've been turned off by some of the louder fans who are a little more concerned with power scaling and how the series fits into the Shonen Hierarchy. Which doesn't exactly mesh with JoJo's distinct personality. Why even try to measure the Stands between each other when there's a specific storyline in which trying to do that will break your brain eventually?
Enthusiasm is great! But there are times when too much of it might repel some folks instead of bringing them into the fold on this amazing series you love.

And you know me, Lucas... I'm already ready to ball.

Wait, wrong critically acclaimed manga series...