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Zatch Bell! creator and author Makoto Raiku earlier today announced a sequel to the series, entitled Zatch Bell!! 2. Raiku’s original Zatch Bell! manga ran from January 2001 to December 2007, spanning 323 total chapters at its conclusion.
A rough release window for the series was also announced alongside the reveal, with a specific date to be decided. Exactly where the series can be read has not been announced yet, with only the promise of the series launching on various digital book services.
Zatch Bell!! 2, sequel to Zatch Bell!, announced, Twitter excited over news
Zatch Bell! synopsis
The original, Zatch Bell! series is set on a contemporary Earth, with an alternate world known as the Mamodo world parallel to Earth’s. Every 1,000 years, 100 Mamodo are sent to Earth to compete for the title of King of their world.
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The Mamodo have their plethora of various powers sealed in books, which must be read by humans who then become their partners.
The series follows 14-year-old Kiyo Takamine, a high-school student living with his mother in the fictional Mochinoki, Japan. His distant father discovers an unconscious child with a strange book and decides to send him and the book to Kiyo for assistance. The child is the eponymous Mamodo, Zatch Bell.
Kiyo quickly discovers Zatch’s nature of being, as well as how to use his spellbook. Eventually, after learning of the tournament from other Mamodo’s and their partners, the two come to realize how cruel the tournament can be.
Thus, Zatch vows to win and become a kind king, never again allowing the tournament to happen.
Zatch Bell!! 2 announcement information
Over 15 years after Zatch and Kiyo’s original journey came to a close, mangaka Makoto Raiku announced a sequel through Twitter earlier today. No official publisher information has been released yet, but the series is confirmed to be debuting sometime in March. An exact date is still to be decided.
As for where the sequel series can be read, Raiku has only announced that it will be available on various digital book services. The manga will presumably have a weekly serialization magazine release as well, whether with original series publisher Shogakukan or elsewhere.
Fanbase reaction and controversy with previous publisher
Overall, the franchise's fanbase is reacting positively to the news of the sequel. Many anime-only viewers of the series are excited to learn how the ambiguous final battle of the anime finished.
In fact, it seems the early 2000s anime seems to constitute a majority of the series’ fanbase. Several fans are emphasizing their interaction with the anime over the manga as children, especially those from where the anime was officially imported.
Something these fans seem to be unaware of, however, is Raiku’s previous problems with the publisher of the original series, Shogakukan. When the series concluded, the publisher returned Raiku’s original manga artwork, unfortunately with five pieces having disappeared.
Months later, in May 2008, Raiku announced he would no longer work with Shogakukan as a result of the missing artwork. Despite having reached a settlement with the company in later years, the sentiment remained, and his future works were published in Kodansha serializations.
As a result, fans can expect the weekly serialization of Zatch Bell!! 2 to primarily take place in Kodansha magazines. While unfortunate for the legacy of the franchise, hopefully, this switch in publisher doesn’t impact the quality the original series was known for under Shogakukan.
In summation
With Makoto Raiku’s announcement of Zatch Bell 2!!, the franchise’s fanbase has reawoken overwhelmingly. Community reaction to the news is overwhelmingly positive, with fans praising multiple aspects of the original series.
While the controversy with original series publisher Shogakukan is unfortunate, fans can hopefully expect the same quality the original series had. Raiku’s working relationship with Kodansha would imply the new series launching in one of their weekly or monthly serializations.
Be sure to follow along for more Zatch Bell!! 2 news as 2022 progresses.
