Thanks to Viz Media and NetGalley for the ARC.

Volume 2 of “Steel Ball Run” was just as engaging and exciting as the first, but fully reintroduces the idea of stand abilities.

While I could attempt to describe what I love about this story, in terms of pacing, suspense, and characterization, I feel that I could add very little unique thoughts to the discourse.

That being said, with stands coming back into play, I do have some (hopefully) semi-original thoughts on the ones we are first introduced to.

As most who would take the time to read this review will already know, “Steel Ball Run” is set in a different universe from the stories that came before it. This series being a fresh start gave Araki so much creativity that didn’t have to be constrained by the previous canon. I think one place that we see this is in these early stands. While in the past, stand abilities were diverse and creative, the main characters often utilized sheer strength, as other action manga protagonists will. While there is nothing wrong with that, it did feel like a waste when many side characters have such interesting powers while Jotaro’s stand can punch really hard. (A quick aside: yes, I know characters like Giorno and Jolyne had major differences, but while there were creative uses for their powers, punching was still a solid option most of the time).

In “Steel Ball Run,” as of now, no fight has devolved into punching matches. I appreciate that the combat must be strategic and does not rely on hand-to-hand fights. I hope to see this trend continue, as it has made every moment exciting.

It is an expected, permanent, and capital delight that I can say Araki's especial seventh attempt continues to be of the sublime. To speak in introductions, it offers first-class colorized panels in the first couple pages. While incomparable to the continual stupefaction supplied by the sumptuously digitally colorized volumes in Japan, it suffices. Aside from this petite eternal sunshine, the sophomore outing accomplishes what every second set should: making the reader more galvanized to finish this gem. This may be beside all points or a sum of them, but I find it particularly engaging that SBR reads not hitherto. Once you catch the gratified, gratuitous music references and nostalgia, it's laborious to disparate it from the XXI century or, to be more explicit, Y2K (2000s).

The belated release of this translation only adds to the invigoration of these pages for oneself and posterity. If I was to read SBR while it was being serialized, I fear I would've fallen victim to unreserved detachment. Unequal, overripe, picaresque, bildungsroman sentimentality is not my forte, nor my l'habitat. While I am one to gawk at the grotesque and scatological predicaments, I draw a fine line when it regards spiritual and religious didacticism. Araki intends to informally teach the admirable and un-retirable spirit of mankind, my confusion is using the strange to achieve that. Exempli gratia, I fit into the Charlotte approach than the Emily, meaning more formal prose and less reckless endeavors. If your story becomes so unorthodox, so bizarre, you can misapply logic, and loose what confines and confides your present story. Essentially, the writer must keep a burning realism at the forefront to avoid a bewildering, drained insight. Thankfully, Araki, a conscious maestro, does but, as with all marvelous reads, you must first let the story be your compass. And restrained expectations often repels that. So, for the atoned and common-place reader, I recommend escapist thinking. Expectations be damned.

But for the enviable bibliophile, slowly turn the page. Each is a treasure that, if you approach less hastily, you'll find great power indeed. Regardless if you don't, there is nothing pathetic to be spotted in this remarkable tale. Aut salvo errore et omissione, a modern fairy tale.