The Steel ball barrel has taken an unexpected hiatus, with the second episode still missing weeks after a highly anticipated debut.
The Netflix original anime premiered on March 19, 2026, with an extended 47-minute opening episode, which attracted a large number of viewers.
Fans had expected a weekly rollout, with episode two dropping around March 26, but no release date has been confirmed and the series was not on the platform’s official schedule.
Director Yasuhiro Kimura addressed the delay in recent interviews, admitting that even the production team doesn’t have a clear timeline.
“I want to see it soon too! When will it be? I don’t know. It takes a lot of time to make just one episode, but production is going smoothly,” Kimura shared. AniTrendz in an interview.
The director also elaborated on the pacing and structure of the episodes, revealing that the first phase was kept tight and free of traditional cliffhanger endings. He revealed that the team deliberately avoided cliffhangers during the premiere to reduce viewer stress.
This decision could mean the series adopts a batch release strategy instead of a weekly schedule, similar to the approach used for other JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure episodes.
Set in 19th century America, Steel ball barrel introduces new technical requirements for David Production, especially when animating detailed horse racing. The workload requires thousands of animations per episode and leads to slower turnaround times.
No official update has been issued by Netflix or the studio regarding the release plan.
