Censorship Is Ruining Netflix's Most Anticipated Anime Of 2026: Here's How

Published Oct 6, 2026, 11:57 PM EDT

Kolt Day is a tenured freelancer who has brought invigorating and provocative takes to Screen Rant and ComicBook, alongside loads of writing experience in other realms. Outside of media journalism, Kolt loves music production and philosophy (particularly Nietzsche, Derrida, and Foucault). 

Netflix's ongoing adaptation of a beloved anime property is threatening to undermine many of its most important themes. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure's seventh part, Steel Ball Run, has been one of Netflix's most anticipated 2026 releases—which comes as no surprise, considering the part is often named as the long-running shōnen series' best.

The part focuses on a transcontinental horse race fittingly entitled the Steel Ball Run, divided into stages. Its blockbuster first episode, covering the short first stage of the race, premiered on March 19, 2026, and it demonstrated a great deal of promise for David Production's adaptation of mangaka Hirohiko Araki's source material. The long-awaited debut of Steel Ball Run's second and third stages, with episodes to be released weekly, then premiered on September 25, 2026.

Unfortunately, the second stage hasn't been received as warmly as the first, and the adaptation has already found itself mired in controversy for certain stylistic choices such as its soundtrack. Beneath the surface, though, there's a bigger problem with Steel Ball Run's adaptation that could threaten the integrity of the part if left unaddressed.

Steel Ball Run's Adaptation Is Undermining Its Themes

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has always been a transgressive series, with its flamboyant characters, blatant body horror, and its eclectic mishmash of pop culture and music with high-fashion sensibilities. JoJo's history with representing women is complicated, for example, but nonetheless demonstrates Araki's efforts to continually push the envelope and integrate women into his bold new vision of how battle shonen stories can be told.

The transgression by no means stopped with Steel Ball Run; the original manga run wore many political concerns on its sleeve. It directly addressed questions of nationalism (and nation-building), capitalism and industrialization, race, immigration, and colonization. These concerns aren't left abstract, either.

For example, the Black character Pocoloco's participation in the race is framed by a discussion with his grandfather, who directly addresses how slavery's end didn't spell true freedom and opportunity for Black people and how Pocoloco's desire for an "easy life" would be unattainable. Similarly, the character Sandman's participation is framed through histories of genocide and relocation of Native Americans. Both of these vital pieces of context are left out of David Production's adaptation.

Characterization, themes, and context are always intertwined, but in Steel Ball Run, their connection is especially important. Steel Ball Run is effectively a polemic on nationalism, society, and social struggle, but it brilliantly Trojan horses that commentary through rich characters and slow-burn storytelling. Mistakes in characterization so early into its adaptation will lessen the impact of major story beats later on at best, and could risk severely undermining key elements of its narrative at worst.

While missing out on the socially important context of minor characters like Pocoloco and Sandman is fairly egregious, David Production's adaptation is also strangely missing the mark with major characters in ways that feel particularly minor right now, but could snowball later. This even extends to the leading duo of Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli, both taken as a pair and as individuals. It extends to organizer Steven Steel, who comes to play a major role in the part, and when the part's major antagonist is eventually revealed, it's troubling to think the same might happen to them, too.

Even for major characters, this underworked characterization—and the explicit decision to cut dialogue that both defines those characters and lays the groundwork for later plot development—is hard to describe without spoiling later story beats for anime-only viewers. In lieu of that, it's best to just say that Steel Ball Run is working up a debt it might not be able to repay later.

Steel Ball Run's Censorship Can Be Turned Around

The role David Production and Netflix each might play in Steel Ball Run's apparent cut dialogue and characterization is fairly impossible to pinpoint, in part because the motivation is deeply confusing.

David Production up until now has largely been extremely faithful to the manga source material, but there have been moments where the studio has chosen to soften or cut things in the past. A notable example is the choice to refer to the second part's Nazis as "German soldiers" and remove Nazi imagery such as the swastika. Meanwhile, Stone Ocean's adaptation swapped the Ku Klux Klan for unspecified racists during a key flashback sequence.

On the other hand, Netflix has taken a public stance against censorship on its platform in the past. Nevertheless, this hasn't kept the service from facing accusations of softening or undermining themes in the works it produces. Adaptation, by virtue of being based on a source material, can render those sorts of executive changes to creative works readily apparent in a way that original series can't. A recent example can be found in Netflix's adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Steel Ball Run is rife with challenging material, politically and otherwise, so the decision by either party to remove some of that material would be unsurprising. However, JoJo's renowned gore is still present, while cuts have largely focused on material that might be perceived as offensive or which has a broader political implication.

Regardless of the processes and figures behind these cuts, what remains impressive is their sheer volume: enough that it would escape the scope of commentary and turn into a wiki article. That sheer volume is also upsetting for the loyal fans who hoped for a more faithful adaptation, and in the long run, it could hinder Steel Ball Run's adaptation from making its most important points, shocking twists, and innovative approach to the Western genre clear.

While some damage has already been done, it's still very possible to right the ship and produce a more faithful adaptation, and for Steel Ball Run's characterization and setting, that change is crucial. The part reads slowly on purpose, and any attempt to rush through it will do damage; fortunately, the anime is still early enough in its run that more care can be taken in the future. If it's not, though, Steel Ball Run might go from Netflix's most anticipated anime of 2026 to its most underwhelming.