If you are a fan of anything nerdy, you know that March 2026 has been full of new releases for fans of any kind of content. From movies to shows to books to music, March has brought everyone their fill of new content. Netflix has been at the center of these great releases, bringing back many of it’s most loved dramas.
The second season of the live-action One Piece dropped on March 10th, and the sequel movie to the original British drama, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 20th. But the most anticipated show began its release March 19th with a 47-minute special episode. The animated version of Hirohiko Araki’s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run.
Steel Ball Run, or SBR, has been heralded by fans as the best part of the massive Jojo’s franchise. The full Jojo’s series has
- Five animated seasons,
- Dozens of spin-offs,
- And a main manga with over 130 books that is still in progress to this day.
This part follows Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic ex-jockey who joins forces with an Italian outlaw to win the Steel Ball Run, a cross-continental American race. Netflix announced its adaptation of SBR on April 12th, 2025, so fans have been left waiting for almost a full year. So far the first episode has not disappointed.
Steel Ball Run’s first episode, ironically named Steel Ball Run, sits at a 9.7/10 on IMDb, with the full series sitting at a 9.8 within less than a week of its debut. This rating surpasses almost all of IMDb’s rated anime first episodes, with only one other series (Takopi’s Original Sin) sitting at 9.8/10. The anime also rests at number one on MyAnimeList.net with a 9.34. This also breaks the former record of 9.28 set by Sousou No Frienen.
As much as these ratings are amazing and make fans extremely excited for upcoming episodes, they are quickly becoming controversial. Though MyAnimeList is considered an official ranking by many fans, the rankings come from the fans. Lots of fans are concerned that people are overrating this first episode and not considering the potential downfall of the series when it is fully released. Some are even accusing Jojo fans of purposefully over-inflating the ratings without even properly watching the episode.
Even with this controversial start, people are still raving over SBR and can’t wait for new episodes to be released. Netflix has just recently provided a schedule for upcoming episodes, it will be a weekly release. But fans will have to till October 2026 for the next episode. So Steel Ball Run’s ratings may continue to soar, or they may drop into the pits of average-rated anime before the next episode is even out.