On March 19, Netflix released the long-awaited two-part premiere of Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run. This first double episode laid the foundation for the titular horse racing competition, helping build exciting momentum for the next batch of races to come. David Production, the animation studio that previously brought the first six parts of JoJo to life, has returned to inject kinetic visual flair into the stunning world of Steel Ball Run.

It’s only natural for such a successful premiere to be followed up by a weekly release schedule; instead, fans were left utterly dejected once a new episode of Steel Ball Run didn’t drop the following week. It soon became clear that, despite the success of the premiere, there were no new episodes of the show ready to air.

By mid-March, Netflix’s social accounts were flooded with comments and questions about the release schedule. Memes of protagonist Johnny Joestar sporting Sharingan eyes became inescapable, along with tongue-in-cheek demands for an official announcement. Even A24 joined in on the fun at one point, fanning the flames of an (understandably) aggravated fandom that sought to manage expectations with an estimated air date. This backlash got out of hand real quick, forcing Netflix to release a statement on X that is too vague for its own........

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