The world of Shonen Jump has been a major springboard for manga that are looking to find their way into the anime world. While not every story printed under the Shueisha umbrella finds its way to the screen, said stories have a much better chance of doing so, should they be printed in the publication. Oftentimes, manga that arrive as a part of Shonen Jump manage to return to the public eye thanks to a sequel furthering the story of its characters, which is the case involving this milestone. One of Shonen Jump’s biggest series has hit new heights with its sequel as fans wait for said comeback to hit the screen.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Zatch Bell! first appeared in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 2001, garnering around thirty-three volumes of its manga until it ended in 2007. Thanks to its popularity, the series scored an anime adaptation from Toei Animation, netting one hundred and fifty episodes and two films before ending its story. Zatch Bell! recently made a return to Shueisha’s manga publication with its sequel series from creator Makoto Raiku, picking up years after the original series finale. As of the writing of this article, Zatch Bell! 2 has 1.3 million copies in circulation, which is quite the feat considering it only has six manga volumes to its name so far.
Will Zatch Bell! Return to The Screen?
Since arriving in 2022, the Zatch Bell sequel has been expanding on the world of the Mamodo in some surprising ways. While the titular character and his human partner, Kiyo Takamine, have returned to their starring roles in part two, they look fairly different this time around. Kiyo is now 27, and Zatch is effectively an adult at age 19, and while plenty has changed, the battles for the future of the Mamodo World remain quite the same. For those who might want more of a look into this sequel, the story focuses on the arrival of Beliel, the main antagonist, who seeks to dominate the supernatural locale with his “Card Army.”
It’s somewhat surprising that the Zatch Bell sequel hasn’t been confirmed for an anime adaptation as of yet, considering the shonen franchise had its fair share of popularity worldwide. Like many other anime franchises that hit it big in the West, the shonen series arrived on Cartoon Network’s Toonami in 2005. While it would continue on the cable network until 2007, many episodes of Zatch Bell never arrived on the programming block. Originally, seventy-seven episodes aired of the one-hundred and fifty installments on Toonami, and unfortunately, there’s more bad news regarding this shonen series. Watching the original anime in its entirety is difficult, as Zatch Bell isn’t available to watch on the likes of Crunchyroll, Hulu, and other streaming services. Hopefully, should the sequel receive an anime adaptation, Zatch might arrive on streaming services as a result.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Crunchyroll -
images courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
