Zatch Bell!

Known in Japan as Konjiki no Gash!!, is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday. The series follows Kiyo Takamine and his Mamodo (demon) partner Zatch Bell as they try to win the tournament of Mamodo battles in order to make Zatch the king of the Mamodo world. The manga was later adapted into a 150 episode anime TV series titled Konjiki no Gash Bell!! by Toei Animation. The anime was directed by Tetsuji Nakamura. ''Konjiki no Gash Bell!! ''premiered on Fuji TV on April 6, 2003 and ran until March 23, 2006.

Viz Media obtained the foreign television, home video, and merchandising rights to the Zatch Bell! anime from Toei Studio on August 4, 2005. Subsequently, Viz Media contracted Studiopolis to create the English adaptation of the anime. The English adaptation of the Zatch Bell! anime premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on March 5, 2005 and ran until January 20, 2007, with only 77 of the 150 episodes aired.

Plot
One hundred Mamodo (demons) go to Earth every 1,000 years to battle to be the king of the Mamodo world. Each Mamodo needs a human partner in order to use his or her spell book, a book that seals the powers of the Mamodo. When read aloud, the spells are cast by the Mamodo producing many effects. If the spell book is burned, the Mamodo is forced to return to the Mamodo world, and they lose all claim to the position of the Mamodo king. While the spells in each book typically are different for each Mamodo, there are Mamodo that share spells, like Zatch Bell and his evil twin brother, Zeno Bell. The human and their Mamodo gain these spells through experience and hard work. The last Mamodo standing without their book burnt is the new Mamodo king.

The story follows Kiyo Takamine, a 14-year old boy in junior high school. His father, Seitaro Takamine, discovers an unconscious child named Zatch Bell while in a forest in England, and sends Zatch to live with Kiyo. Unlike the other Mamodo, Zatch lost his memory of the Mamodo world. Kiyo learns about the spell book when he reads a spell causing Zatch to fire lightning from his mouth (the spell is mentioned in the first episode). As Kiyo and Zatch begin to encounter different Mamodos and learn more about the Mamodo battles, they discover that there are those who do not wish to fight and there are those who fight for the wrong reasons. After meeting a Mamodo named Kolulu and seeing how this kind Mamodo was forced to fight due to the power of her spells, Zatch decides to become a kind king in order to stop the battle from ever happening again. As the story progresses, Zatch and Kiyo meet other Mamodos that share similar views to them and become allies.



Characters
Kiyo Takamine - Kiyo Takamine is a genius 14-year-old junior high school student with an IQ of over 180. His intelligence makes him a target for teasing and harassment causing him to develop an introverted and apathetic demeanor to the point where he skips school on a regular basis. However, his entire lifestyle changes when Zatch Bell arrives in his life. Due to Zatch's influence, Kiyo becomes more outgoing and eventually becomes popular in his class. Kiyo has a bad temper and is easily irritated, often venting his frustrations on Zatch or his ditzy classmate Suzy Mizuno.

Zatch Bell - Zatch is an overly cheerful boy who possesses a strong sense of justice, but is clueless about most of the world around him and often gets in trouble when not being supervised by someone. Kiyo makes Zatch a toy named Volcun 300 which he refers to as a friend. Zatch's favorite food is Yellowtail, which he prefers to eat whole. When Zatch arrived to the Human world, he lived in a forest until the day Zeno attacked him and removed his memory of the Mamodo world. Kiyo's father finds him and sends him to Kiyo. During the progress of the series, it is revealed Zatch is empowered with the power of Bao, a powerful dragon created by Zatch's father during the last Mamodo battle. Due to the danger of Bao and Zatch's father's declining health, he transferred Bao into Zatch in order to prevent it from escaping and wreaking havoc in the Mamodo world.