Steel Ball Run Stage 2: What to Know Before JoJo Returns September 25

STEEL BALL RUN JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure returns to Netflix on Friday, September 25, 2026. Netflix says the 2nd STAGE begins at 1 a.m. PDT / 5 p.m. JST, with new episodes planned for Fridays. Its 11-episode figure covers the 2nd and 3rd STAGES together, not Stage 2 alone. The first, 47-minute STAGE is already available if you want to catch up before the race continues.

When does Stage 2 start, and how does the schedule work?

Netflix describes a weekly Friday release from September 25 and calls the 2nd and 3rd STAGES a split-cour run. That tells us the overall episode count and cadence, but it does not give each stage a separate episode count or a complete dated episode list. The confirmed start time is Netflix’s own 1 a.m. PDT / 5 p.m. JST; check your local Netflix listing rather than assuming that every territory displays the same clock time.

The distinction matters if you saw “11 episodes” attached to the return: that is the combined 2nd/3rd STAGE total. It is not a promise that all 11 belong to the desert leg or that the run will have no break.

The 1st STAGE refresher, without manga spoilers

The setup is a cross-country horse race through 1890s America with a $50 million prize. Johnny Joestar, a former jockey who lost the use of his legs, joins forces with Gyro Zeppeli. Their shared journey is the thread to keep hold of as the race expands beyond a simple contest for first place. Other racers, including Diego Brando, Sandman and Pocoloco, are part of the field, but you do not need a chart of future rivalries to start the next episode.

If you have not seen the 1st STAGE, watch its 47-minute opening installment on Netflix first. This guide deliberately leaves out race results and later manga developments.

What is the Devil’s Palm leg?

Netflix’s preview places Johnny and Gyro on a roughly 750-mile desert crossing in the 2nd STAGE. It identifies a feared area called the Devil’s Palm and says ominous incidents make clear that the race involves more than the prize. That is the useful advance warning; the official synopsis does not spell out the area’s full significance or the outcomes of the crossing.

Who are the newly highlighted characters?

The new 2nd/3rd STAGE trailer spotlights Mountain Tim, Hot Pants and Funny Valentine. The official JoJo portal confirms their Japanese voice actors as Tomoaki Maeno, Yoko Hikasa and Tomokazu Sugita, respectively. Their appearance in promotional material tells us they matter to the coming run, but it does not establish their alliances, abilities or fates.

Mountain Tim and Tomoaki Maeno. Credit: JOJO The Animation Project / JoJo portal.

Hot Pants and Yoko Hikasa. Credit: JOJO The Animation Project / JoJo portal.

Funny Valentine and Tomokazu Sugita. Credit: JOJO The Animation Project / JoJo portal.

Netflix also lists the English dub’s returning race cast: Daman Mills as Johnny, Kaiji Tang as Gyro, Damien Haas as Diego, Frankie Kevich as Lucy Steel, Jamieson Price as Steven Steel, Alejandro Antonio Ruiz as Sandman and Cedric Williams as Pocoloco. Those credits identify voices, not who will appear in every episode.

The opening is “SPIN” by Kroi

The official opening theme is “SPIN” by Kroi. The JoJo portal announced that its non-credit opening video would premiere at midnight in Japan on September 24 and linked the official Warner Bros. Japan Anime upload. It is a mood-setter for the new run, not evidence that every image in the sequence will appear in the first Stage 2 episode.

What Netflix has not mapped out yet

Netflix has confirmed the September 25 return, Friday cadence and 11 episodes across the 2nd and 3rd STAGES. It has not published a complete episode-by-episode calendar or a separate count for each stage in the cited announcements. That is enough to plan a return to the series without guessing at future episode titles, runtimes or where a split-cour break falls.

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