NarutoandOne Piecewere the two biggest anime to take off in the 2000s, and for good reason, but another anime that drew notable attention during that time was the cult seriesZatch Bell!The series premiered near the end of Toonami’s original run, and as the block started falling off in prominence, it quickly became one of their biggest programs afterNarutoandOne Piece.
Zatch Bell!doesn’t get brought up much when talking about anime from the 2000s, and that grossly downplays how good an anime it was. Between the great writing and animation that make an otherwise simplistic premise feel as strong and engaging as possible,Zatch Bell!was one of the best anime running in the 2000s and can be seen as being just as good asNarutoandOne Piece, if not better. It’s fallen well into obscurity over the years, but it’s still an anime that anyone looking for a goodshonenanime should check out.
Zatch Bell Is The Criminally Underrated Masterpiece You Didn’t Know You Needed
Why You Should Watch Zatch Bell!
A big part of whyZatch Bell!can be seen as an underrated masterpiece stems, of course, from its stellar action. Befitting its nature as a story about demons and magic,every battle inZatch Bell!has an incredible variety of magical abilities for the characters, with there even being a definitive nomenclature to add an extra layer of rules to the magic that’s rarely directly acknowledged, but still made easy enough to figure out. The action is always equal parts creative and developed, and because of that, it’s always fun to watch.
Shonen Jump’s New Groundbreaking Fantasy Manga Surpasses Expectactions: Here Is What You Need to Know About It
Ichi the Witch is a new fantasy manga that debuted in Shonen Jump, and it’s already a groundbreaking story that’s proving to be plenty worth reading.
Further emphasizing the great action is the art and animation that often accompanies it. WhileZatch Bell!didn’t always have the best visuals, as was common with many longrunninganime of the 2000s, whenever there was time for the staff to fully put their talents toward an episode,Zatch Bell!would have plenty of great line work and animation to help make the bombastic spells and overall action stand out as much as possible. WheneverZatch Bell!looked good, it was one of the best-looking anime around, and that still hasn’t changed 20 years after the fact.
Zatch Bell’s Fresh Plot & Characters Helped It Stand Out In A Time When Shonen Was Bigger Than Ever
Zatch Bell! Has One Of The Best Casts In Anime & Manga
The biggest selling points ofZatch Bell!, however, were its characters and overall plot. While the plot of characters fighting each other in a world-spanning conflict for a grand prize of some sort is fairly standard, thanks to how much the story commits to changing up the countries people travel to and the nationalities of both the heroes and the villains,Zatch Bell!’s plot is always executed in a way that gets the most out of its somewhat standard premise. Those aspects always keep the plot from feeling too dull, and every new development is great to see.
The characters ofZatch Bell!are also a big part of why the series is so good. In addition to always having great character designs for the humans and demons,Zatch Bell!always succeeds at making its characters work in both serious and comedic scenarios, especially with how masterfully both tend to come out in largely serious battles without ever feeling too out of place. That balance of comedy and drama always makes the characters shine, and it perfectly encapsulates why the writing inZatch Bell!is so good.
Zatch Bell!has always been great at selling the emotional weight of its story, and sure enough, it’s still great to watch, because of it
What best sellsZatch Bell!’s characters is the genuine heart surrounding their writing.Zatch Bell!’s magic system is one based around strength of heart and the bond between the humans and demons, and because of that,Zatch Bell!’s characters are always written to be emotional and dynamic characters who add a far stronger emotional core to the story, something that’s especially true of the relationship between Zatch and Kiyomaro.Zatch Bell!has always been great at selling the emotional weight of its story, and sure enough, it’s still great to watch, because of it.
Zatch Bell Was An Incredible Show… Which Makes Its Untimely Ending All The More Tragic
How Zatch Bell Came To An End
With its great action, excellent plotting, and strong writing that effortlessly balanced comedy and heart,Zatch Bell!was easily one of the best anime to come out of the 2000s, which makes the way it ended both in English and Japanese all the more tragic. Despite having a largely good run in Japan,Zatch Bell!’s anime was canceled in 2006after three seasons, which not only left the final arc unadapted, but forced the penultimate Faudo arc to change its story halfway through into a far inferior version of the manga’s.
Things were even worse for English fans of the series. Not only did the anime abruptly stop running on Toonami during season 2 to air exclusively in Canada, but when Shogakukan,Viz Media’s parent company, lost the rights toZatch Bell!after series creator Makoto Raiku filed a lawsuit over some lost illustrations, season 3’s dub was canceled after just four episodes. The manga also never finished in English because of that same lawsuit, soEnglish fans ofZatch Bell!have no legal means of finishing the series, making it even harder for people to experience such a standout series.
Will Zatch Bell! Ever Get The Respect It Deserves?
How Zatch Bell! Might Find A Place In Modern Day
The wayZatch Bell!’s history has played out is unfortunate, but things can still turn around. The most recent rerelease of the manga by Kraken Comics, in addition to the recent sequel series,Zatch Bell! 2, have been major successes in Japan and other parts of the world, withZatch Bell! 2selling over 900 thousand copies worldwide at the time of writing.The most recent success of theZatch Bell!manga could lead to a new English publisher licensing it for rerelease, and while that’s purely hypothetical, it would still be great to see.
There’s also a chance for the anime to come back, as well. Birgdin Board Corp., Makoto Raiku’s publishing company, has opened it up to be licensed by a new studio, meaningZatch Bell!’s animecould be rebootedby a new anime studio and gain a foothold in modern anime culturethrough streaming and a hopefully more consistent adaptation. Something like that would do wonders to helpZatch Bell!get far more respect, and in doing so, more people would understand why it’s an anime that stands its ground withNaruto,One Piece, and many other great 2000s anime.
Zatch Bell!
Cast
Zatch Bell! is an anime series that follows Kiyo Takamine, a high school student, who becomes the caretaker of Zatch Bell, an amnesiac but powerful Mamodo. Partnered by a spellbook that endows Zatch with special abilities, Kiyo must compete against other Mamodos vying to become the Mamodo King. The series intricately blends themes of friendship, responsibility, and battle-driven strategy within a fantastical narrative framework.
