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The “2nd STAGE” and “3rd STAGE” of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run anime began streaming September 25, 2026, as a Netflix worldwide exclusive early release. New episodes land every Friday from here, with 11 episodes planned in total.
The wait is over. And what a wait it was. Episode 1 of the 1st STAGE dropped on March 19, 2026 — and then roughly six months passed, summer came and went, and episode 2 never showed up. I stopped counting how many times that gap got memed on social.
Now it’s back, and this isn’t just “more episodes.” It’s a weekly run packaged as the 2nd STAGE and 3rd STAGE. The setting: a desert crossing that runs roughly 750 miles, and the stretch known as the Devil’s Palm.
As source material, Steel Ball Run is structurally odd even by JoJo standards. A race provides the horizontal axis, while Stand battles and the president’s ideology run vertically through it. The desert is the first real gate you have to get through.
When does Steel Ball Run’s 2nd STAGE start streaming?
Streaming began September 25, 2026, as a Netflix worldwide exclusive early release. From there it’s one new episode every Friday, with 11 episodes planned.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Streaming start | September 25, 2026 |
| Format | Netflix worldwide exclusive early release |
| New episodes | Every Friday |
| Episode count | 11 episodes planned |
| Arc labels | 2nd STAGE / 3rd STAGE |
| 1st STAGE (episode 1) | Streamed March 19, 2026 |
The detail that matters most here is “every Friday.” The 1st STAGE put out a single episode in March and then went quiet for half a year. During that stretch, nobody watching had any idea whether the next one was months away or years away.
This time a weekly cadence is stated outright. Which means JoJo shows up once a week for the better part of three months. The scheduling fog was the most frustrating part of this whole situation, so this announcement is genuinely good news.
What happens in the 2nd STAGE? The desert and the Devil’s Palm
The 2nd STAGE takes place across a desert crossing covering roughly 750 miles. Somewhere along that route sits the region called the Devil’s Palm.
Steel Ball Run borrows the shape of a racing manga, but stage by stage the land itself functions as the antagonist. The desert is a physical obstacle of distance and dehydration, and simultaneously a perfect hunting ground for Stand users to set traps in.
It’s also the stretch where Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli finally start clicking as actual partners. If all you saw was episode 1 back in March, those two were still basically strangers to each other. That changes here.
Anyone who’s read the manga knows what waits on the far side of the desert. So the moment “750 miles” turned up in the synopsis, it became possible to guess roughly which episode this run reaches. I’ll keep that to myself.
Who are the new cast members? Three names revealed
Three additional cast members have been announced for the 2nd STAGE onward. All three play figures who steer the story from the middle of the race forward.
| Character | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Mountain Tim | Tomoaki Maeno |
| Hot Pants | Yoko Hikasa |
| Funny Valentine | Tomokazu Sugita |
Tomokazu Sugita as Funny Valentine is the headline of this announcement. The president is the story’s biggest antagonist, and he is not a simple villain. He’s a man of total conviction who will crush anyone underfoot if the national interest calls for it. Sugita is exactly the kind of voice that can make that peculiar brand of “righteousness” hold together.
Tomoaki Maeno as Mountain Tim and Yoko Hikasa as Hot Pants are easy to nod along with, too. Tim guides the story through the early and middle stretches of the race, while Hot Pants keeps shifting allegiance all the way to the endgame. Neither role can be played on a single note.
…Back when I worked at a manga cafe in Kabukicho, the rate at which customers walked off with SBR volumes was suspiciously high. A series people used to dismiss as “the plain one in the JoJo lineup” is now streaming worldwide on Netflix. Stick around long enough and you see everything. Not that a guy with two divorces behind him should be dispensing life lessons.
Who sings the theme songs? The OP and ED lineup
The opening theme is “SPIN” by Kroi, and the ending theme is “Shinu ka Ikiru ka” by Yuki Chiba. For Chiba, this marks his first anime tie-up.
Kroi’s title, “SPIN,” points straight at the rotation of the Steel Balls. The band’s sticky groove — funk and hip-hop mashed together — ought to sit well against the repetitive motion of horses pushing through sand.
Then Yuki Chiba on the ending. Choosing SBR as the place to make your first anime tie-up is an interesting move. And that title, “Shinu ka Ikiru ka,” states the essence of this race outright, no metaphor required. SBR is a race where people die, and the story neither glamorizes that nor dodges it.
Across its history, JoJo’s anime has used theme song choices to set each season’s temperature. Both of these acts sit a little outside the received image of “the JoJo sound.” Whether that offset works against a setting as unusual as a transcontinental race across the Americas is something you should listen to and judge for yourself.
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The bottom line: JoJo, every Friday
Here are the essentials one more time. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run 2nd STAGE and 3rd STAGE began streaming September 25, 2026, as a Netflix worldwide exclusive early release. New episodes arrive every Friday, with 11 planned in total.
The 2nd STAGE is set across a desert crossing of roughly 750 miles and the Devil’s Palm. The new cast additions are Tomoaki Maeno as Mountain Tim, Yoko Hikasa as Hot Pants, and Tomokazu Sugita as Funny Valentine. The opening theme is “SPIN” by Kroi; the ending theme is “Shinu ka Ikiru ka” by Yuki Chiba.
All of this is based on official announcements as of September 2026. The streaming schedule is subject to change.
The single most valuable thing in this announcement is, believe it or not, the phrase “every Friday.” By dropping one episode in March and then going silent for six months, the SBR anime saddled itself with a reputation as a show that might never continue. Now there’s a concrete frame: weekly updates, 11 episodes. That’s enough to build a viewing habit around. On the casting side, Tomokazu Sugita as Funny Valentine is the pick to watch. The president isn’t a “bad guy” so much as a man who completely believes in a different justice, and this casting can carry that weight vocally. Kroi and Yuki Chiba also step deliberately outside the usual JoJo theme-song mold. The desert arc is one of the manga’s best-reviewed stretches. There isn’t much reason for this to stall out here.
Six months of waiting. From here it’s weekly. Keep your Fridays open.
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