Red-Haired Ash Reads

The Steel Ball Run race continues and Gyro and Johnny are determined to make it to the next checkpoint before the others. Unfortunately, assassins keep attacking and slowing them down. Also these assassins all seem to have weird abilities.

This volume covers Gyro’s backstory, continuation of the second leg of the race, a battle against a stand user called Bamboo Hat Kid, the origins of Stands, and the backstory and battle against Diego Brando. Gyro’s backstory and reasons for joining the Steel Ball Run race was pretty altruistic. I like that we are learning about what is pushing him to win so hard and why he acts the way he does. His father is a real piece of work. 

The second leg of the race continues with Gyro and Johnny having to fight another stand user named Bamboo Hat Kid. This was a very interesting battle because Johnny ends up trying to take the stand user down most on his own. Bamboo Hat Kid was an interesting villain and his stand ability really made it easy for him to swoop people up. I did like how they finally won this battle though. 

This volume also finally explains how Stands are created and that they can be transferred to other people if they hold a specific item. This is different from other Jojo’s series and I actually like it a lot. It makes the whole idea of Stands more competitive because they can be stolen from their users, which we see happening in this. The people who keep attacking Johnny and Gyro are after the Stand that one of them ends up with. 

The end of this volume focuses on Diego Brando. We learn about his tragic history and why he is so determined to be a successful horse rider and his murderous attitude. Diego’s story was heartbreaking but like with Gyro, it’s great we finally get to know these characters a bit more and their motivations for entering the race. Diego also ends up finding his own Stand and it is such a fascinating and dangerous one. I really love how unique all the Stands have been so far in this. 

Overall, this was another great volume for this series. I have been enjoying Johnny and Gyro’s story and this unique take on Stands and alternative US history. I look forward to reading the next volume to find out how the next leg of the journey goes, especially now that there are multiple Stand users on the field. 

TW: fat joke; abandonment and attempted murder of a child; rape; 

*ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.*

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Previous books and reviews for the series:

1. Steel Ball Run, Vol. 1
2. Steel Ball Run, Vol. 2