JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is known for its sprawling continuity, with the story of the manga spanning several generations. Now, the newest part of the anime adaptations confirms a widespread theory about one section of the franchise.
An anime season adapting Steel Ball Run has finally been confirmed, with a teaser trailer building hype for this upcoming section. It notably flashes through the different time periods of interest for the story so far, with the latest corresponding with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. It’s what happens afterwards that proves what many had already assumed about the story of Steel Ball Run.
The Upcoming Steel Ball Run Anime Is a True Reboot of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
The new teaser trailer for the latest season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure briefly takes things back to the beginning, with the sneak peek starting off in 1888 with the Stone Mask worn by Dio. After this, it flashes forward to other years that correspond with major events and new characters in the franchise, with the last of these being 2011. This is when the Stone Ocean story arc and anime season take place, with Jolyne Cujoh briefly seen with her Stand. After this, the timeline jumps into the far-flung future before resetting entirely in 1890. This is where the anime’s newest season, Steel Ball Run, picks up, confirming a long-held belief about the story arc. There’s been a lot of debate among JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fans concerning the canonicity of Steel Ball Run, with this being brought to a head in the trailer for the anime adaptation.
After all, Stone Ocean ended with a new JoJo timeline that’s now dubbed the «Ireneverse» by fans, so many assumed that what came after was either in this continuity somehow or another separate world. The latter is now confirmed to be the case, with the timeline visualization showcasing that it’s a true reboot of the main continuity. This explains why the protagonist is the blond Johnny Joestar instead of the darker-haired Jonathan Joestar, with this setting and universe being the world in which sequel seasons (based on the JoJolion and The JoJoLands story arcs) will be set in. This canon status has long been assumed by some fans, but others have debated the exact nature of this universe. With the trailer for Steel Ball Run making it plain as day, it’s now confirmed that fans have already said goodbye to the animated version of the classic universe.
