Steel Ball Run Volume 2: What A Ride This Volume Was

If you’re reading along with me, be prepared to get a playlist of the songs and references to artists Araki pulls in this series since some choices work so well while reading. For myself, I have been listening to “El Condor Pasa,” “Whole Lotta Love,” and “Ramblin’ Man,” among others that are referenced in this manga or not, but just work well with it.

I have no idea what art class Araki must’ve taken, but to draw horses this well has to have been the main purpose, as the horses here look like real horses, well, real enough but they are still in the realm of manga and not past the 4K-looking realism that Araki will later master.

There is certainly progression in Araki’s art style from volume one, and it shows. Before, where we saw only some horses, here, it feels like every panel Araki is trying to make more cooler than the last. I say cool to say these panels here feel still like more 2000s slick and fashionable, but the designs feel very different from what they will become later on. Which is awesome and reflects not just the journey we are on but also the one Araki is on both as a writer and brilliant artist and fashion designer.

We get more of this: (which is great still)

And less of this: (but wait for it)

One thing so fantastic about this part is the creative paneling. Araki is showing a horse race and is shockingly creative with how he frames each shot of the panels. For instance, most authors would likely have a landscape panel every second showing our characters at a wide distance fighting, as framing different shots and characters different emotions while capturing horses’ full bodies and also showing steel balls is quite a lot to manage while making fashion trends and unique designs every second that are likely in some meme somewhere and are iconic still today.

A progression I noticed is the characters faces. In the previous volume, we got fewer shots of characters faces as the face models so far have been more in Jojo style and less realistic, which the later volume will lean towards. Another fantastic thing is the horse fight scenes, which are just insanely fun. Seeing Diego go head-to-head with Gyro made me gasp, and the steel balls look even better than before, with a level of detail to their design that is out of this world!

These chapters are overall less character- and drama-driven and more horse racing fun, which works brilliantly once looking at this part as a whole. The transition from more fun horse racing to a race that represents freedom and finding yourself is something I quite like. This part is a presentation of Jojo and growing up. This age is the more childish and fun phase, with hints, just like in life, of what’s next. And, in looking at how Araki frames this part, I am excited to see what the next volume will deliver.