“What got you into anime Grandpa? Dragon Ball Z? Naruto?” “No child. Back when I was but a boy, a few Americans still cared about one anime… one shonen that aired on Toonami and was then swiftly forgotten. Until now.” Because just recently, the author of Zatch Bell announced that a sequel is in the works baybee!!! Author Raiku Makoto released a Twitter post on February 26th, showing a short teaser trailer that reveals almost nothing except the series logo saying “Konjiki no Gash 2” aka Zatch Bell 2 for us foreigners. The tweet garnished over 100k likes which honestly surprised me, though I suppose the franchise has more clout over there in Japan to work with. So at this point details are slim as far as the scope of the incoming manga and a release date. There’s much speculation that the release will be digital only as Raiku has had trouble with publishers in the past while working on Zatch Bell. Time will tell for sure though.
Nah this brings back the MEMORIES.
As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, Zatch Bell was the first anime that forced my dumb gaijin ass to read subtitles and basically opened the gateway to really becoming an anime fan. I would spend hours playing my Zatch Bell arena fighter that I thought was absolutely amazing at the time, but in hindsight was a VERY poor man’s Ultimate Ninja Storm. Hell I even collected some of the spellbooks and trading cards so that I could play pretend like I had my own mamodo partner and was traveling the world engaging in battles. Unfortunately, while I absolutely loved the anime, it never caught on over here like Bleach, Naruto, Death Note, etc. In fact, nobody I know in my life has ever cared about Zatch Bell other than me. And I’m not quite sure why that is. Unlike a lot of anime, the streets were difficult in Zatch Bell. Characters were constantly killed off, even ones that you’d known for a minute. The stakes were high and it wasn’t a typical shonen where friendship always saves the day and nobody is sacrificed ever because of teamwork. Nah the homies were being sent away back to Mamodoland, never to be seen again on the regular in the show.
Please Lord, may this new manga finally mean I get some Koko x Sherry yuri content, Amen.
Alas I probably sound like an old man yelling at the clouds. The worst part is… man I want an anime. These days I love animation, soundtracks, voice acting, and coloring WAY too much to read a manga. It’s cool that one of my OG series is receiving another installment but… I don’t really see myself reading through it. My memories lie with the anime, not the source material. BUT now if this new add-on resparks interest in the series and I get an anime remake, or better yet a continuation that picks up where the anime left off? Many of my nuts shall be busted on that day ladies and gentlemen. Many nuts. In the meantime I’ll just have to bide my time and cross my fingers. Have you ever watched Zatch Bell? Does a new installment come as a surprise? Team up with a partner, cast your spells, and burn the opponent’s book in the comments below!
