There's An Underrated '00s Anime That Really Needs a Revival, And A New Milestone Shows Why
Zatch Bell! is, by far, one of the most tragically underrated anime franchises of the 2000s. Both the anime and the manga perfectly told an engaging action story with a fun and well-developed cast, but due to the anime not properly adapting the manga and the manga’s English translation getting canceled, it ultimately failed to leave a lasting impact in the West and quickly faded into obscurity.
Zatch Bell!’s status as a cult series at best is nothing but unfortunate, and there’s no reason for it to stay that way. Few stories have ever sold themselves as tightly and effectively as Zatch Bell!; even after over 20 years, the series holds up incredibly well, and with how many anime have been getting reboots and revivals in recent years, Zatch Bell!’s enduring charm and overall high quality makes it the perfect series for a modern-day revival. A recent milestone especially gives credence to the idea, and hopefully, someone will act on it sooner rather than later.
Zatch Bell!'s Latest Sales Milestone Proves It's As Popular As Ever
Zatch Bell's Major Manga Milestone Explained
While Zatch Bell! ended almost 20 years ago, series creator Makoto Raiku returned to the series in 2022 with an appropriately titled sequel called Zatch Bell! 2, which sees Zatch and Kiyomaro reunite and gather up their allies to fight a mysterious new threat to the demon realm. The announcement was met with incredible fanfare, with its critical and financial reception being overwhelmingly positive, and for the latter, Zatch Bell! 2, after five volumes and three years of serialization, has sold over 1.1 million books worldwide.
It cannot be overstated just how incredible Zatch Bell! 2’s sales figures are. It takes an incredible level of popularity for a manga to sell a million copies, with many stories often running for years without even coming close, so for Zatch Bell! 2 to reach that milestone in just three years is nothing but impressive, especially since it’s a sequel to an older manga that hasn’t been relevant in decades. It’s proof positive that there’s still plenty of love for Zatch Bell!, and as such, Zatch Bell! 2’s impressive sales figures show that it’s popular enough for a revival.
Why Zatch Bell! Deserves A Proper Revival
Why Zatch Bell! Is Such An Underrated Classic
Zatch Bell!’s continued financial success makes it primed for a revival, and it’s more than deserving of one. As good as the anime was, it doesn’t hold up too well thanks to its inconsistent visuals and its overabundance of filler, and the way the final season completely butchered the Faudo arc and never adapted the final arc only further emphasizes those shortcomings. Zatch Bell!’s anime deserves a modern anime reboot so it can better convey the strengths of the manga’s art and storytelling, and that’s something to look forward to, even after all these years.
Between its amazing artwork and fight choreography, and the perfect way in which the writing balances action, comedy, and drama, Zatch Bell! is a manga that checks off every box for what’s to be expected of a great shonen manga, and overall, the enduring quality of Zatch Bell!’s manga is the biggest reason why it deserves a revival, or at the very least, to be licensed in English again. The continuing success of the sequel promises great things for Zatch Bell!, and hopefully, it won’t take long for them to come to fruition.
Source: @TheFourthSpell on X.
Zatch Bell!
- Release Date
- 2003 - 2012
- Directors
- Tetsuharu Nakamura, Yukio Kaizawa
- Writers
- Akatsuki Yamatoya, Hiroshi Hashimoto
- Franchise(s)
- Zatch Bell!
Cast
Debi Derryberry
Jason Spisak
- Main Genre
- Action
- Creator(s)
- Makoto Raiku
- Seasons
- 1
Your comment has not been saved