Zatch Bell!, known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday between January 2001 and December 2007, with its chapters collected in thirty-three volumes. The series follows the title character Zatch Bell, a mystical being called a Mamodo, who is partnered with a 14-year-old schoolboy Kiyo Takamine for a once-a-millennium tournament on Earth that determines the right to rule the Mamodo world as king. During their adventure, Zatch and Kiyo encounter and battle various Mamodo and their human partners, and meet allies who aid Zatch in his quest to become a kind king.
Zatch Bell! was later adapted into an anime television series produced by Toei Animation. The series aired for 150 episodes on Fuji TV and other FNS stations from April 2003 to March 2006. In addition to an array of licensed merchandise, the franchise also spawned a series of video games and two animated theatrical films. Viz Media licensed both the manga and anime series for English-language localization in North America in 2005; only twenty-five volumes of the manga were published until 2009. The anime series ran in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami and Miguzi programming blocks from 2005 to 2007 for seventy-seven episodes, and in Canada on YTV's Bionix programming block from 2005 to 2008; in all, 104 episodes were dubbed in English.
By March 2017, the Zatch Bell! manga had over 23.8 million copies in circulation, including digital versions, making it one of the best-selling manga series. In 2003, the series won the 48th Shogakukan Manga Award for the category. The manga has received generally positive reviews from critics. It was praised for its unique characters, humor, and overall concept. The television adaptation has a more mixed reception, with criticism largely focused on the visuals, graphic violence, and voice acting.
A sequel to the original manga, titled Konjiki no Gash!! 2, began digital distribution in March 2022. By August 2024, Konjiki no Gash!! 2 had over 900,000 copies in circulation.
Premise 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. The sole Mamodo to survive without their book destroyed becomes the new Mamodo king, and all collateral damages are remedied.
Spells given off by the Mamodo produce a variety of effects. These range from direct attacks to defenses, but other spells trigger a Mamodo's special ability that can temporarily enhance their finesse; as with Zatch's Rauzaruk; or impair enemies; such as the paralyzing efficacy of Purio's Poreido; among other effects. Spells in each book are typically different for each Mamodo, but there are others that produce identical spells—an example of this is Zatch and his brother Zeno Bell for their lightning-based powers. The human and their Mamodo usually start out with one spell, but may during the tournament unlock more spells as the emotional and relational bond between each other flourishes. The spellbook responds to the reader's Heart Power, a form of stamina attained from such bond. Because sending out a spell expends Heart Power, it must thus be replenished for spells to work properly. Additionally, a spell may be generated with greater fervor, the magnitude of which is governed by Heart Energy. A demonstration of this is when Zatch's strongest attack, Bao Zakeruga, dwarfs Faudo.
Synopsis Manga
The Mamodo of focus is Zatch Bell, who was discovered unconscious at a forest in England by Professor Seitaro Takamine. Seitaro sends Zatch over to his son Kiyo Takamine, an intelligent 14-year-old living with his mother in the fictional city of Mochinoki, Japan, in hopes of uncovering Zatch's past that he has no memory of. Kiyo becomes Zatch's preordained partner for the tournament. Over time, Zatch and Kiyo come across other Mamodo, especially Brago and his partner Sherry Belmont, who explain the ongoing Mamodo tournament. Zatch and Kiyo also discover that some Mamodo do not wish to fight or do so for the wrong reasons; namely Kolulu, who was forced to fight due to the nature of her spells. Seeing this, Zatch pledges to become a "kind king" and stop the battle from ever happening again. Zatch and Kiyo also find friendlier Mamodo and build up alliances with them and their human partners. Chief among them are Kanchomé with Italian movie star Parco Folgore, Tia with pop idol Megumi Oumi, Ponygon with German engineer Kafk Sunbeam (although the two do not find each other until later in the series), and Wonrei with teen Hongkonger girl .
Throughout the course of the tournament, Zatch, Kiyo, and their allies band together to combat several potent Mamodo with hostile intent. The first major adversary they face is Zofis, who commands a cadre of reanimated Mamodo that were sealed in stone tablets during the previous tournament one thousand years ago. Zofis has also bent the will of his own partner, Sherry's childhood friend Koko, into committing heinous acts such as burning down her own village. Another enemy to emerge is Rioh, who wields a Mamodo warfare titan named Faudo that imperils the globe. Kiyo is nearly killed in a harrowing mission to thwart Rioh and avert Faudo. However, Rioh is then overpowered by Zeno Bell, Zatch's twin brother. Zeno is deeply envious of his sibling for procuring the sacred power of Bao from their father King Dauwan Bell, and had removed Zatch's memories out of spite, but he soon comes around and apologizes upon seeing the error of his own ways. The last and perhaps most powerful Mamodo encountered is Clear Note, who intends to commit omnicide against the Mamodo race. 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. His next idea involved a middle school student who finds an old toy and, with the help of a noble knight, combats evil. While pitching this idea with his agent, he was advised to use a cuter character as a fighter, and so the titular character Zatch was created. After Raiku worked on the idea for a few months, it was published. Raiku said that he intended to create a "passionate story about a heartwarming friendship," and that he used the concept as a central theme while adding the Mamodo, book, and spell concepts. He cited a western magical story he read as a source of inspiration for creating Zatch's red spell book. Zatch's lightning spells allude to the fact that Raiku's name means "lightning" in Japanese. He also mentioned that he created Folgore with the words "Invincible Italian Man" as a base. 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,"News: Gash/Zatch Bell Manga Creator Raiku Sues Shogakukan (Updated) ." Anime News Network. June 6, 2008. Retrieved April 17, 2011. 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. He reached a settlement for later that year.