| Eyeshield 21 | |
 First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Sena Kobayakawa (front) and the students of the Deimon Private High School | |
| アイシールド21 (Aishīrudo Nijūichi) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Riichiro Inagaki |
| Illustrated by | Yusuke Murata |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Jump Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | July 23, 2002 – June 15, 2009 |
| Volumes | 37 |
| Original video animation | |
| Eyeshield 21: The Phantom Golden Bowl | |
| Directed by | Tamaki Nakatsu |
| Studio | Production I.G |
| Released |
|
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by |
|
| Music by | Kō Ōtani |
| Studio | Gallop |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 6, 2005 – March 19, 2008 |
| Episodes | 145 |
| Original video animation | |
| Eyeshield 21: Christmas Bowl e no Michi | |
| Studio | Gallop |
| Released | 2005 |
| Runtime | 11 minutes |
Eyeshield 21 (Japanese: アイシールド21, Hepburn: Aishīrudo Nijūichi) is a Japanese manga series written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The series tells the story of Sena Kobayakawa, an introverted boy who joins an American football club as a secretary, but after being coerced by quarterback Yoichi Hiruma, becomes the team's running back, wearing jersey number 21 and an eyeshield to conceal his identity. Inagaki chose American football as a central subject of Eyeshield 21 after realizing that it fit perfectly with his idea for the series.
The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 2002 to June 2009. The series consists of 333 chapters collected in 37 tankōbon volumes. An anime adaptation consisting of 145 television episodes was co-produced by TV Tokyo, NAS, and Gallop. The television series first aired on Japan's TV Tokyo network from April 2005 to March 2008. The Eyeshield 21 franchise has spawned two original video animations (OVAs), audio albums, video games, and other merchandise.
In North America, the manga was released by Viz Media from April 2005 to October 2011. The anime series was later licensed in North America by Toonami Jetstream as a joint effort with Viz Media and aired in December 2007, on its site, but before its completion, the streaming service was shut down. The whole series was streamed in English by Crunchyroll, while Sentai Filmworks licensed the series, with distribution from Section23 Films on DVDs.
In Japan, the Eyeshield 21 manga has sold over 20 million volumes. The manga and anime have been featured at various times in weekly top ten lists of best-selling in their respective media. The anime has been watched by a large number of television viewers in Japan, helping to raise American football's popularity in the country. Publications for manga, anime, and others have commented on Eyeshield 21, which received praise for its artwork and characters, and criticism towards its non-football related plotlines.
- ^ a b "The Official Website for Eyeshield 21". Viz Media. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ a b "Eyeshield 21". Sentai Filmworks. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2020.