The ''

Zatch Bell! ''Zatch Bell!'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' between January 2001 and December 2007, ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

was written and illustrated by

Makoto Raiku , known by the pen name , is a mangaka, manga artist known for creating the ''Zatch Bell!'' franchise. Starting off an assistant manga artist, assistant for Kazuhiro Fujita on his manga ''Ushio & Tora'', he began creating several one-shots for th ...

. Formally titled , the story focuses on the title character Zatch Bell, who is one of a hundred Mamodo participating in an

elimination tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

on Earth for the crown of the Mamodo world. The series chronicles Zatch's strengthening bond with his human partner,

Kiyo Takamine Kiyo Takamine, known in the original version as and his ''Mamodo'' (known in Japanese as a ) partner Zatch Bell!, known in the original version as , are fictional characters in the anime and manga franchise ''Zatch Bell!'' by Makoto Raiku. Mamodo ...

, and his struggles through the tournament, culminating with his eventual win and subsequent departure from Earth. The series ran for 323 chapters in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

'' from January 10, 2001, to December 26, 2007. The chapters were collected in thirty-three ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes released from May 8, 2001, to June 18, 2008. In North America, the manga was published in English language by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

; twenty-five volumes were released from August 2, 2005, to June 9, 2009. The manga was also published in English by

Chuang Yi Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. ( zh, s=创艺出版社) was a publishing company based in Singapore that specialized in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distribute ...

in Singapore. For the series' tenth anniversary, Raiku launched a one-shot chapter titled , which depicts Zatch in the events after the tournament and preceding his

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

as king, and was published in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Kōdansha. The magazine was started in September 2009 as a spin-off of another Kōdansha magazine, '' Weekly Shōnen Magazine''. Currently running manga series Past series * '' ×××Hol ...

'' on March 9, 2011; the chapter was included as an extra chapter in the sixth volume of Raiku's ''

Animal Land is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. The series follows a human baby abandoned by his mother who ends up in a world inhabited solely by animals and is raised by a tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog). It was originall ...

'' series. Kodansha also reprinted the series in a sixteen-volume '' bunkoban'' edition between March 8, 2011, and June 7, 2012. Raiku

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

a sixteen-volume '' kanzenban'' edition, released digitally starting in July 2018, and physically in April 2019, in response to popular demand. A sequel series titled was released

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

starting March 14, 2022. __TOC__

Volumes

}

References

External links

Official ''Zatch Bell'' website
{{Zatch Bell!