Zatch Bell!

Zatch Bell!
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Zatch Bell riding Owashi and Kiyo Takamine
金色のガッシュ!!
(Konjiki no Gasshu!!)
Genre
Manga
Written byMakoto Raiku
Published byShogakukan
English publisher
ImprintShōnen Sunday Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Sunday
DemographicShōnen
Original runJanuary 10, 2001December 26, 2007
Volumes33 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by
  • Tetsuharu Nakamura
  • Yukio Kaizawa
Produced by
  • Atsuya Takase
  • Hiroyuki Sakurada
  • Shinichi Ikeda
  • Takatoshi Hamano
Written by
  • Akatsuki Yamatoya
  • Hiroshi Hashimoto
Music byKow Otani
StudioToei Animation
Licensed by
  • NA: Viz Media
Original networkFNS (Fuji TV)
English network
Original run April 6, 2003 March 26, 2006
Episodes150 (List of episodes)
Anime film
Zatch Bell! Movie 1: 101st Devil
Directed byJunji Shimizu
Written byHiroshi Hashimoto
Music byKow Otani
StudioToei Animation
Licensed by
ReleasedAugust 7, 2004
Runtime84 minutes
Anime film
Zatch Bell! Movie 2: Attack of Mechavulcan
Directed byTakuya Igarashi
Written byAya Matsui
Music byKow Otani
StudioToei Animation
Licensed by
  • NA: Discotek Media
ReleasedAugust 6, 2005
Runtime85 minutes
Manga
Konjiki no Gash!! 2
Written byMakoto Raiku
Published byBirgdin Board Corp.
Original runMarch 14, 2022 – present
Volumes4
Related media

Zatch Bell!, known in Japan as Konjiki no Gash!! (Japanese: 金色のガッシュ!!, Hepburn: Konjiki no Gasshu!!, "Golden Gash!!"), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday between January 2001 and December 2007, with its chapters collected in thirty-three tankōbon 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 shōnen 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, graphical 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.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference End was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Thompson, Jason (July 3, 2012). Manga: The Complete Guide (Kindle). Del Rey Books. pp. 1350–1352. ISBN 978-0-345-53944-1.
  3. ^ "Cartoon Network gears up for 2005 with new acquisitions". Indian Television. April 12, 2005. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2023.