In addition to an array of licensed merchandise, the franchise also spawned a series of video games and two animated theatrical films.

The television adaptation has a more mixed reception, with criticism largely focused on the visuals, graphical violence, and voice acting.

Every 1,000 years, one hundred young Mamodo are selected to succeed the monarchy by engaging in an elimination tournament in which the winner would be eligible for the throne.[ch.

68] As the Mamodo descend to Earth, they are each given a spellbook[c] that has sealed away their powers and requires a human companion to read the words aloud in order to cast them in the form of spells.

This is achieved by striking the book with a spell or subjecting it to open flame, as when Kanchomé torches several spellbooks with a matchstick.[ch.

These range from direct attacks to defenses, but other spells trigger a Mamodo's special ability that can temporarily enhance their finesse; as with Zatch's Rauzaruk;[ch.

Spells in each book are typically different for each Mamodo, but there are others that produce identical spells—an example of this is Zatch and his brother Zeno Bell for their lightning-based powers.

Seitaro sends Zatch over to his son Kiyo Takamine, an intelligent 14-year-old living with his mother in the fictional city of Mochinoki, Japan,[ch.

The first major adversary they face is Zofis, who commands a cadre of reanimated Mamodo that were sealed in stone tablets during the previous tournament one thousand years ago.

Zofis has also bent the will of his own partner, Sherry's childhood friend Koko, into committing heinous acts such as burning down her own village.[ch.

259] Zeno is deeply envious of his sibling for procuring the sacred power of Bao from their father King Dauwan Bell,[ch.

319] In the aftermath, Zatch manages to pull through the tournament unscathed even though all of his allies fall and are brought back to the Mamodo world, leaving himself and Brago as the only remaining candidates on Earth.

The first season takes place in the early stage of the Mamodo tournament and centers primarily on Zatch and Kiyo's character development.

The anime skips the events involving Clear Note and leaves the demise of Zatch's main allies and any remaining Mamodo unresolved.

Instead, the series closes with an epilogue showing Zatch and Brago preparing to battle each other as the last two Mamodo on Earth, with the winner not revealed.

[8] His next idea involved a middle school student who finds an old toy and, with the help of a noble knight, combats evil.

He cited a western magical story he read as a source of inspiration for creating Zatch's red spell book.

"), was produced by Toei Animation, and directed by Tetsuharu Nakamura and Yukio Kaizawa, with Akatsuki Yamatoya and Hiroshi Hashimoto as the lead scriptwriters.

[38] ShoPro Entertainment (then VIZ LLC's sister company, later merged to form Viz Media)[39] acquired the license to the anime series, under the title Zatch Bell!

[41] The English dubbed of the series (produced at Studiopolis)[42] premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network's Saturday night programming block Toonami on March 5, 2005.

[46][27] The series also premiered on YTV's programming block Bionix in Canada on September 9, 2005,[47] and finished with the 104th and last English-dubbed episode on December 6, 2008.

The film also explores Zatch's home world in finer detail and how a human partner is selected for each Mamodo, with Wiseman deemed incompatible for one.

[56] This movie tells of a conceited Mamodo scientist, Dr. M2, from the future who invades Earth with an army of oversized robots resembling a toy that Kiyo made for Zatch in the main series.

Friends are an Eternal Bond"), developed by Neowiz, is set to be released in 2023, with a closed beta test taking place in mid-September.

But Zatch is an extreme case because it's SO cute and SO violent, both at the same time, mixing squash-and-stretch body distortions, heta-uma ugliness, smiling faces and gushing blood".

[70] Mania.com's Jarred Pine's review of the first volume said that "The characters can look lopsided and out of proportions at times, with Kiyo experiencing Popeye arms on occasion.

When the artwork gets more serious, it looks quite good, even though the added effect lines tend to make some panels feel a bit overdramatic, especially when Zatch is crying.

The action work can feel quite explosive, with all the lightning bolts and flying icicles and all, which makes the Mamodo battle scenes a lot of fun.

He added "The book really started off on the wrong foot with me with the introduction of Kiyo, one of the most irritating and arrogant lead characters in a shōnen manga.

Luckily, Zatch’s quirky and upbeat personality helps balance the scales and quickly goes to work on fixing Kiyo’s bad attitude".