Zatch Bell!

Mamodo are a species of mystical creatures with supernatural powers inhabiting the fantastical Mamodo world that exists in a parallel domain and is ruled by a king. Every 1,000 years, one hundred young Mamodo are selected to succeed the monarchy by engaging in an elimination tournament in which the winner would be eligible for the throne. These tournaments are held on Earth; the manga series chronicles the interim during the early 2000s. Although the competition is free-for-all, the Mamodo may collaborate with other combatants. As the Mamodo descend to Earth, they are each given a spellbook that has sealed away their powers and requires a human companion to read the words aloud in order to cast them in the form of spells. To participate in the action, the Mamodo does not simply choose a human to help cast their spells. Rather, they must first search for the matching human who can read from the book, whereupon he or she is that Mamodo's bookowner and partner. The Mamodo tournament involves eliminating opponents by burning their spellbook. This is achieved by striking the book with a spell or subjecting it to open flame, as when Kanchomé torches several spellbooks with a matchstick. Once the spellbook ignites, it cannot be extinguished, and when it has fully incinerated, the Mamodo that possessed it loses all claim to the position as king and immediately returns to the Mamodo world. Zatch and Kiyo call upon the spells of all the Mamodo they previously met to quash Clear Note and return him to the Mamodo world. In the aftermath, Zatch manages to pull through the tournament unscathed even though all of his allies fall and are brought back to the Mamodo world, leaving himself and Brago as the only remaining candidates on Earth. After Kiyo's graduation, the two ilk engage in a final showdown. Zatch ultimately prevails over Brago, thereby ending the tournament as the victor. As Zatch departs for the Mamodo world, Kiyo is rewarded a wish in exchange for all his painful memories of everything that had transpired and then given any fortune he desires, but he rejects the gift not wanting to forget Zatch. Three weeks after the tournament, the Mamodo send a letter to their human counterparts, with Zatch's letter stating that all is well in the Mamodo world. Anime The anime adaptation of Zatch Bell! is spread over three seasons, referred to as "levels", with distinct arcs. The first season takes place in the early stage of the Mamodo tournament and centers primarily on Zatch and Kiyo's character development. The second season follows Zatch and his allies battling Zofis and emphasizes Sherry's quest to rescue Koko from Zofis' throes. The third and final season revolves around Faudo which leads Zatch up to a climatic open conflict with Zeno. The anime observes changes from much of the manga. These include additional subplots and characters not featured in the original story. Certain scenes and key events are also altered or chronologically rearranged. For instance, Zatch and Kiyo first learn about Zeno from another Mamodo they encounter rather than directly from Tia as in the manga, although she and Megumi corroborate the sighting later on. Ponygon also appears earlier in the anime's timeline than in the manga's. Discrepancies in the plot are more pronounced during the third season. In particular, Kiyo's death does not occur, and Zeno never repents even when he returns to the Mamodo world. Because of the changes, some Mamodo who lose out in the manga survive up to this point. The anime skips the events involving Clear Note and leaves the demise of Zatch's main allies and any remaining Mamodo unresolved. Instead, the series closes with an epilogue showing Zatch and Brago preparing to battle each other as the last two Mamodo on Earth, with the winner not revealed. == Production ==

Following the ending of his previous series in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday Super magazine, Raiku revisited old drafts he created for new ideas for his next series. One of his first ideas was a mercenary who uses a giant sword to defeat enemies. He played with this idea for three months before deciding to abandon it and go for another idea. Raiku went on a research trip in England while writing volumes five and six, which both take place in said country. Zatch Bell! would be Raiku's last manga project published by Shogakukan. Once the series finished in December 2007, the company gave back his original artwork, a common practice for Japanese publishing companies. Of all the documents Raiku received, at least five drawings failed to turn up. Raiku accused Shogakukan of mishandling his artwork and, in 2007, filed a lawsuit seeking damages over the missing documents. Raiku sold the property in 2016. == Media ==

Manga Written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku, Zatch Bell! was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine from January 10, 2001, to December 26, 2007. The manga ran for a total of 323 chapters, collected in thirty-three volumes, released from May 18, 2001, and June 18, 2008. The series was licensed for the English-language release by Viz Media, which also provided the alternate title. The first two volumes of the series were released on August 2, 2005. Viz Media discontinued the series after twenty-five volumes, with the last released on June 9, 2009. The manga was also published in English by Chuang Yi in Singapore. In March 2011, Raiku released a one-shot chapter of Zatch Bell! to promote the repackaging of the manga in a new format under Kodansha. Sixteen volumes were published between March 8, 2011, and June 7, 2012. In July 2018, a digital sixteen-volume edition of Zatch Bell! was released through Birgdin Board Corp., Raiku's own publishing company. The re-releases feature newly drawn cover art, color pages from the original Weekly Shōnen Sunday serialization, and a special bonus chapter in each volume called Zatch Café, which stars characters from that volume's cover. After successful sales and demand from fans, the edition was released in physical format in 2019. In February 2022, Raiku announced a sequel to the manga, titled , which began its digital publication on various digital book services on March 14 of the same year. The first volume was released on September 16, 2022. As of January 15, 2026, six volumes have been released. Anime A 150-episode anime television adaptation, titled in Japan as , was produced by Toei Animation, and directed by Tetsuharu Nakamura and Yukio Kaizawa, with Akatsuki Yamatoya and Hiroshi Hashimoto as the lead scriptwriters. It began airing on Fuji Television on April 6, 2003, and ran for 50 episodes per season, concluding after three seasons on March 26, 2006. The episodes were collected and distributed by Pony Canyon into three DVD series, labeled as "levels", consisting of seventeen DVDs each, totaling fifty-one sets: the first level was released from November 19, 2003, to April 20, 2005; the second level was released from May 18, 2005, to June 21, 2006; the third level was released from July 5, 2006, to March 7, 2007. ShoPro Entertainment (then Viz LLC's sister company, later merged to form Viz Media) acquired the license to the anime series, under the title Zatch Bell! in 2004, and announced its home video release in August 2005. The English dubbed of the series (produced at Studiopolis) premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network's Saturday night programming block Toonami on March 5, 2005. The series was also broadcast on the network's daily programming block Miguzi starting on April 3, 2006. Seventy-seven episodes were broadcast on Cartoon Network until January 20, 2007. and finished with the 104th and last English-dubbed episode on December 6, 2008. Thirteen DVDs, collecting the first fifty-two episodes, were released by Viz Media between November 8, 2005, and December 4, 2007. New Video Group released a DVD box set, Zatch Bell!: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2, on December 3, 2013, which included the first hundred episodes of the English dub. All 104 episodes of the English dub began streaming on Crunchyroll in 2015. In June 2017, Starz announced that it would be offering episodes of the series for its video on demand service starting on July 1, 2017. Films Toei Animation produced two animated films based on the TV series, both which serve as spin-offs. The first film, Zatch Bell!: 101st Devil, was released to Japanese theaters on August 7, 2004, and to DVD on December 15, 2004. Here, a vengeful Mamodo named Wiseman seeks to illicitly enter the tournament by stealing a coveted white spell book, then baiting Zatch into the Mamodo world as a means of displacing him from the battle for king. The film also explores Zatch's home world in finer detail and how a human partner is selected for each Mamodo, with Wiseman deemed incompatible for one. The second film, Zatch Bell! Movie 2: Attack of Mechavulcan, premiered in Japanese theaters on August 6, 2005, before coming out on DVD on January 2, 2006. This movie tells of a conceited Mamodo scientist, Dr. M2, from the future who invades Earth with an army of oversized robots resembling a toy that Kiyo made for Zatch in the main series. Discotek Media licensed both films for distribution in North America. They were released on Blu-ray and DVD with the original Japanese audio and English subtitles on March 27 and May 21, 2018, respectively. Video games A number of video games have been created featuring characters of the Zatch Bell! series, with all but one being action or fighting games. Three games were imported and localized in North America. Zatch Bell! Electric Arena, initially released on December 12, 2003, for the Game Boy Advance, was the very first video game for the series. The second game titled Zatch Bell! Mamodo Battles, which debuted on March 25, 2004, for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube, became the first console game installment based on the series. Lastly, Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury was released on December 2, 2004, for PlayStation 2 and is the only North American release for the GameCube. A video card game based on the series' CCG is the only installment not featuring in-combat form of gameplay. Eighting, Banpresto, and Bandai oversaw the development and publication of the Zatch Bell! games; since the merging of Bandai and Namco in 2004, GameCube versions are published under Namco Bandai Games. A smartphone RPG game, titled , developed by Neowiz, is set to be released in 2023, with a closed beta test taking place in mid-September. The game was released on January 17, 2024. It ended service on January 31, 2025. Other media A toy line made by Mattel and a collectible card game, titled Zatch Bell!: The Card Battle, were released by Bandai in the United States and Japan. == Reception ==

Manga Zatch Bell! won the Shogakukan Manga Award for best title of the year in 2003. It ranked 33rd of the top 100 manga series on TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo poll in 2021, in which 150,000 people responded. By June 2008, the manga had over 22 million copies in circulation; by March 2017, it had 23.8 million copies in circulation, including digital versions. By August 2024, the Konjiki no Gash!! 2 manga had over 900,000 copies in circulation. Jason Thompson from Anime News Network describes the series as "Zatch Bell! was one of hundreds of manga competing to be Number Two in the newly established genre of "heroes who fight using cute-but-violent monster/animal/pet companions." But Zatch is an extreme case because it's SO cute and SO violent, both at the same time, mixing squash-and-stretch body distortions, heta-uma ugliness, smiling faces and gushing blood". Mania.com's Jarred Pine's review of the first volume said that "The characters can look lopsided and out of proportions at times, with Kiyo experiencing Popeye arms on occasion. When the artwork gets more serious, it looks quite good, even though the added effect lines tend to make some panels feel a bit overdramatic, especially when Zatch is crying. The action work can feel quite explosive, with all the lightning bolts and flying icicles and all, which makes the Mamodo battle scenes a lot of fun. He added "The book really started off on the wrong foot with me with the introduction of Kiyo, one of the most irritating and arrogant lead characters in a manga. His attitude is not a result of any sort of disposition or a hard life, he's just a know-it-all that looks down on others. Luckily, Zatch's quirky and upbeat personality helps balance the scales and quickly goes to work on fixing Kiyo's bad attitude". Anime In 2005, the series ranked 20th on Animages anime popularity poll, and 64th in the top 100 anime shows in a web poll conducted by TV Asahi. Although the show's English dub fared poorly in reviews, it became notable for its voiceover cast. Debi Derryberry, the voice for Zatch, was nominated twice for "Best Actress in a Comedy" at the American Anime Awards for her role as the titular character, while Jason Spisak placed fifth in the category "best English voice actor" in the SPJA Industry Award for his role as Kiyo. Dave Wittenberg was also nominated "Best Male Actor in a Comedy" for his portrayal of Parco Folgore. Philece Sampler was also accredited for her performance as the minor character Lori. Anime News Networks Zac Bertschy review of the anime adaptation described it as "...mind-numbingly over-the-top, so enthusiastically bizarre, that it's difficult to not get sucked into its strange little world" but criticized how it was like a "battle your way to the top while learning important lessons about teamwork and courage" anime. He commented how the "sheer exuberance and energy" saves the show from being a bland anime and how it would be the perfect show for kids. IGN's review of the series was mostly negative. IGN's Jason Van Horn criticized the animation, plot, and dubbed voice acting. IGN's JKB stated the books are more interesting than the animation. Common Sense Media describes the story as "isn't just about violence". They also say that there are always challenges, adversities, and questions of identity that the characters face especially Zatch and Kiyo. They compliment how the characters often think aloud when talking about their painful experiences or flashbacks. They applaud on how each of the characters problems in the series are not far off on what kids deal with today. They criticized how the battles uses visuals, languages, sound effects, and dramatic effects that often get drawn out and sometimes become hard to watch. Overall, they said with the graphic violence and the internal struggles that the different characters face throughout the series some parents may not find Zatch Bell! appropriate for their children under ten years old. Other media Bandai's The Card Battle game had sold over units by May 2004. == Notes ==