That's a question I always had in my mind. One I had before reading it, one I really thought about while I was reading it, and one I'm still thinking about now. After binging all parts in about three weeks, I felt compelled to write a review about one of them; I picked Steel Ball Run because it's my favorite. I feel an urge to try and explain exactly what about Steel Ball Run, and maybe even Jojo in general, is so compelling. What about it that made me whip out a score of nine out of ten in a manga that has so many technical flaws - glaring ones, even. Now my personal reasoning aside, let's get into it.
Starting off with the plot, SBR is about a cross country race set in the 1800s. Our protagonist Johnny, a former horse racing star that became wheelchair bound after an incident, ends up joining the race after he spots Gyro - a mysterious man carrying with him steel balls he can rotate at will - and thinks that his technique might be able to make him walk again. But throughout the race, they end up involved in something bigger than what they initially signed up for.
It's quite simple: each Jojo part, for whatever unique plotline it has, is primarly about the power of stands, mysterious powers that manifest in some people that are a projection of their aura and soul. In this aspect you could call the Jojo series a battle shounen in a generalized way, but Steel Ball Run diverges from this notion a little; it feels more like an american comic, and it's more story driven. The scale of the mystery behind the stands gradually builds itself up until it becomes something bigger that goes far beyond Johnny and Gyro's control and intentions. Also Steel Ball Run can technically be read as a standalone, but I wouldn't recommend it; there is just too much buildup from the previous parts that, had you missed out on, would make it feel extremely incoherent and strange. And you'd even miss out on things such as all the callbacks to the previous parts, most notably part 2.
That said, there are several things I could criticize about the plot, or the flow, or the pacing of SBR. The climax is a little lacking, and there are many things, including character arcs, left without resolution (things like a major character being killed off without a completion to their arc). That would be my biggest complaint about it. The plot takes a couple of leaps and entangles itself, but nothing absurd. There are also a lot of inconsistencies that are borderline hilarious, most notably the main antagonist suddenly being drawn as a buff, handsome man when he was previously a greasy runt with no explanation given at all - although that's more of an art blunder than a plot one. These are all things I actively noticed and disapproved of as I read it. But I'll get into why they turned out to be irrelevant in the big picture for me later.
The cast of characters in SBR is big, but in the end it boils down to a couple of central characters we see a lot. You have Hot Pants, a mysterious rider who never makes his own intentions clear. Diego, a cheeky and egocentrical antagonist (or is he?), Johnny's sworn rival. Lucy Steel, a young teenage girl without the power of a stand who finds herself going to lengths she could never imagine to protect her husband. And our main villain - Funny Valentine, a terrifying man with little empathy, the personification of rotten patriotism. They are all very dynamic; Diego and Johnny's relationship in special has some sort of heat to it, and as they meet and unmeet throughout the race they all slowly reveal their true colors and backstories.
The backbone of it all, though, is definitely the protagonists Johnny and Gyro and their own relationship. Both of them are fleshed out through the entire story, and we get to know their ambitions, their intentions and their goals in a very honest and straightfoward way. Johnny is a boy driven by selfish determination, on the edge between adolescence and adulthood, with a huge need for approval. Under his guise of almost edgy coolness, he's a brash risktaker. Gyro is a fun-loving, kind-hearted italian man that joined the race to save the life of a child - knowledgeable but still harboring almost naive loyalty and gentleness underneath his personality. When both of them meet there is an instant sense of understanding that comes across as very natural, and it flows along the chapters, guiding you through the story, making you experience it from the perspective of the pair. Johnny and Gyro come from very different backgrounds, yet they overlap enough to make it possible that they recognize each other's struggles and bond deeply. The intimacy and love between them is so sincere and so innate, there isn't a single moment that makes you doubt it, and it's what breathes the most life into SBR. In a setting where you can never be too sure about anyone's intentions, you can find a strong trunk to hold onto in them, and that made the emotional payoff here greater than in parts 1-6.
Once again, that doesn't come at cheap: some of the characters - or most of the side characters not mentioned before - have an unclear role or very shallow motivation before getting killed off. Some look like they'll be relevant, then they are not; and among the main characters, there's problems with character arc conclusions and development, sometimes at the cost of their own characterization.
And then, the golden question: If it's so flawled, what about it is so special?
That's hard to explain, but I guess it's also part of the magic. I'm mostly talking about Jojo in general and not just SBR when I say this - there is something about the absolute confidence in which Araki writes that fully draws you in. Every single Jojo part has very clear faults, and plentiful. From inconsistent writing to wobbly characterization to pointless moments, even threading into things like a character's gender, appearance or personality literally being backpedaled into something entirely different, and even downright harmful tropes. But the way it's all written with the utmost certitude that it's doing only the right thing almost makes you believe so. You're thrown in a maze of creativity with no guide: you can't get enough of it, and you can't help but look foward to what other unbelievable stunt it'll pull on your next. Between all the insanity, music references, high fashion, exaggerated power-ups, caricatures of shounen tropes, incredibly entertaining battles, psychedelic delights, pop culture nods and whatever else is thrown in the mix, there is room for laughing, crying and having incredible fun.
Maybe Araki isn't concerned with who he's writing to, and thus he writes only for himself, changing things at his own will. This gives Jojo a sturdy sense of authority. It is what it is, it isn't interested in what pleases you, you either take it or leave it. But does it manage to draw you in and keep you there, with all things bizarre. Steel Ball Run is just a branch of this entire experience - one that pays homage to westerns and american comics. If you'd like, you could find yourself a part that is all about american pop culture, or the italian mafia, or shounen parodies in Egypt.
All in all, SBR is the best Jojo part in my eyes, with a coherent story and an endearing cast of characters that take us into the most emotionally charged journey of the series, carrying the spirit of its predecessors into a different kind of style. It's a beautiful addition to the universe that was constructed all the way from part 1. And yes, it is heavily flawled - but it makes itself worthy with the beaming confidence in which it honestly bares its missteps to us.
