OLD SCHOOL ANIME REVIEW: ZATCH BELL

“Once every thousand years, one hundred Mamodo children come from the Mamodo world to do battle in order to become the Mamodo King.”

If this sounds familiar, then I’d say you had a fun childhood. Zatch Bell was an anime that ran on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block from 2005 to 2008. This series follows a Mamodo named – you guessed it – Zatch Bell and his human partner Kiyo as they work together to make Zatch the Mamodo King. Given the premise you’d think this series would be pretty serious; however, it contains overexaggerated facial expressions and slap-stick humor that just makes you shake your head and laugh. But ignoring that, the show has some great battles, interesting backstories, and the voice talents of Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron) and Jason Spisak (Kid Flash from Young Justice). It also begs the question: “What kind of king (person) will you be?” In Zatch’s case, he wants to be a benevolent king, the right king that the Mamodo need. If you wish to (re)watch the series, you can find both seasons one and two dubbed on Hulu. Season three can also be found through other various sites on the internet for free.

SCORE: 7/10

By: Eclipse Phantom