Invitation to a Duel

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Invitation to a Duel
Titles
Kanji	バリーからの挑戦状
Rōmaji	Barī kara no Chōsenjō
Translation	A Challenge from Bari
VIZ Title	Invitation to a Duel
Information
Season	1
Episode #	44
Arc	Encounter Arc
Chapter(s)	89, 90
Releases
Japan	February 15, 2004
English	February 4, 2006
Episode Guide
◀ Previous	Praying Mantis Joe: The Hero of Justice
Next ▶	Zatch vs. Bari

A Challenge from Barry(バリーからの挑戦状, Barī kara no Chōsenjō) is the 44^th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on February 15, 2004.

Synopsis

A mamodo named Bari and his partner Gustav defeat a Mamodo. Bari feeling unsatisfied in his battles, decides to go to Japan where a strong Mamodo named Zatch resides. Bari finds Zatch and tells Zatch they shall battle in a factory three hours from now. Zatch and Kiyo arrive to the factory where they learn that there are still civilians in the factory. Zatch manages to save the civilian while Kiyo distracts Bari's attention. As Bari is about to strike Kiyo down, he hesitates due to Kiyo's eyes. Bari prepares to finish Kiyo off but Zatch manages to stop him in time. With no distractions, Kiyo and Zatch prepare to face Bari and Gustav.

Full Summary

In the middle of Russia, a battle takes place between Bari and Donpoccho. The battle does not last very long as their difference in power is evident through their first spells and Donpoccho attempts to surrender as he realizes he has no chance of winning. Bari refuses to let him get away easily and ends the battle using Gigano Zonisu to eliminate him and destroy his spell book. Sometime later, Bari expresses his frustration to his bookkeeper Gustav in having to deal with weak opponents during the battle to decide king. Gustav questions why he never seems to be satisfied even when he wins and assumes that there must be something he wants. Bari denies this and concludes that he may feel better about things if he had a chance to face a more powerful opponent. Gustav then tells Bari about rumors he had heard about Zatch where every demon who had faced him had never returned and this immediately piques Bari’s interest. Interested in this new challenge, the two of them head off to Japan where they would try and find Zatch.

As the two of them arrive in Mochinoki City, Bari tells Gustav he’s able to sense Zatch’s general location but will be able to properly identify him when they get close. Sensing he’s nearby, Bari and Gustav investigate the local park only to see Zatch being chased and pinned down by Naomi. Bari approaches them and mistakes Naomi to be Zatch due to her aggressive nature only to soon realize that he was wrong. After scaring Naomi away, Zatch tries to thank him for coming to rescue him from her. When Bari confirms Zatch’s identity, he grabs Zatch by the head and holds him up in the air to announce he had come to challenge him to a battle. In addition, Bari threatens that if Zatch doesn’t face him he would still track him and his bookkeeper down and mentions the possibility of harming anyone else that’s important to him too. Hearing this causes Zatch’s facial expression to change drastically, appearing more serious and Bari finds himself pleased to see this. He then tells Zatch that they are to meet again at 3PM that day at an abandoned factory just on the outskirts of town.

That afternoon, the school day ends for Kiyo and just as he leaves, Kane chases after him to ask if he would be interested in hunting for tsuchinoko that day. Just then, he notices Zatch standing off to the side appearing worried and he learns from him that they had just been challenged to a battle. The two of them would manage to sneak away from both Kane and Suzy, who had also been looking for Kiyo, to talk more in private. While waiting by some railroad tracks, Zatch starts talking about his first impression of Bari and mentions he had sensed a degree of strength he had never felt before. He concludes by sharing to Kiyo his concerns about how dangerous the battle will be for them. Kiyo would then ask if he’d prefer if they try to run away from the fight but Zatch adamantly refuses as it would put Kiyo and many others in great danger if they don’t fight. Kiyo then reminds Zatch to not forget that desire he has to protect others no matter what happens and to keep in mind the kind of king he’s aiming to be. Finally, he ends his sentiments by reassuring Zatch that he will be there with him all the way. Zatch soon begins to feel much more confident in himself after hearing Kiyo’s words.

Meanwhile, Bari and Gustav make their way to their battle location and encounter several gang members that were already there claiming that it was their turf. Bari decides to clear the area by having Zonisu cast in the general direction of these humans and warns he would attack them for real if they don’t leave. This successfully scares them off but Bari would then call out another person who had been hiding to order them to leave as well. A girl comes out from hiding but she doesn’t leave as she tries to tell Bari that there are others in the building too. Bari ignores her concerns and uses Zonisu once again to scare her away. Just then, Kiyo casts Rashield to protect the girl and it successfully defends against Bari’s spell. Zatch would also tell the girl to leave but then learns that two of her friends are upstairs and doesn’t want to leave without them. Zatch then reassures her that they’ll find a way to save them and the girl would eventually run off after being told this. Kiyo and Zatch then turn their attention to Bari and after exchanging some words, the two of them resolve that they’ll win the battle and rescue the girls upstairs.

The battle between Zatch and Bari commences as Zatch first attacks using Zakelga while Bari uses Garuzonis. The two spells collide with each other and initially appear to be equal in power. Zakelga eventually overpowers Bari and he ends up being blasted back towards a wall. He nevertheless gets back up and appears only to be barely scratched from the attack. Back at home, Suzy comes over to Kiyo’s house to ask his mother about his whereabouts only to find out she hadn’t seen Zatch and Kiyo since that morning. Suzy then decides that she’ll try and look for him with Ponygon’s help and the two of them quickly head off to start their search. At the same time, after seeing how Zakelga barely affected Bari, Kiyo struggles to think of another way that they can save the girls upstairs. The battle continues regardless as Bari uses Zonisu once more and Zatch blocks the spell again using Rashield. Annoyed by the shield, Bari uses Doruzonis to destroy it and then begins to corner Kiyo. Zatch jumps in Bari’s way which gives Kiyo an opportunity to run towards the stairs. Bari notices this and throws Zatch in Kiyo’s direction. Kiyo would then grab Zatch and kick him upstairs so that he can help rescue the girls.

Bari sees how determined both Zatch and Kiyo appear to be to save the girls upstairs but considers this a show of weakness. Still looking for a fight, Bari makes his way to the upstairs room by flying upwards using Zonisu and crashes right through the wall of the room. Just before he’s able to do anything, Kiyo casts Zaker to push him out of there then breaks open a window as an escape route for Zatch and the girls. Bari gets into the room again but just before he’s able to stop Zatch, Kiyo stands between him and Zatch and refuses to let Bari go any further. Just before Bari would eventually attack him, Kiyo orders Zatch to leave and Zatch jumps out of the window while carrying both of the girls. They make it safely to the ground where they would then regroup with their friend and leave the area. When Zatch calls out to Kiyo to tell them that they’re safe, he receives no response back from him.

In the room, Kiyo is seen on the ground after being struck by Bari who would go on to insult him for being so weak. Despite being injured, Kiyo insults him back which angers Bari enough to want to hit him again. Before he’s able to do so, Zatch scales the wall outside and tackles Bari which causes him to be pushed out of the room again. When Zatch comes back to Kiyo’s side, Kiyo asks about the wellbeing of the girls and is relieved when he hears that they managed to get away safely. Despite how wounded he is, he praises Zatch for a job well done and tries to get back on his feet. The two of them get fired up with their desire to win and the goal of making Zatch a kind ruler as they remember they cannot allow anyone as dangerous as Bari to defeat them otherwise. On the ground, Bari and Gustav see that Zatch and Kiyo are still determined to fight and Bari expresses his excitement in continuing their fight.

New content shown

Characters

• Bari and Gustav

Spells

• Zonis
• Garazonis
• Doruzonis
• Gigano Zonis

Manga & Anime Differences

• All appearances Kaneyama, Suzy, Wife, Hana, and Ponygon have in this episode is entirely filler and they have no involvement during these events in the manga.
• In the manga, Goman is seen right by Donpoccho's side during his battle against Barry and their spell book would be seen catching fire as they try and run from Barry's Gigano Zonisu. In the anime, Goman is seen much farther away from Donpoccho away from the battle but as Donpoccho is hit by Gigano Zonisu, his spell book would spontaneously catch on fire despite not making any contact with the spell.
• In the anime, Barry and Gustav are seen speaking with each other in a forest after their battle against Donpoccho. In the manga, they talk just by the building where their battle had taken place.
• Mentions of "tsuchinoko" in the original Japanese episode was changed to "dinosaur" in the VIZ localization.
• In the manga, Barry kicks Naomi after having been insulted by her. In the anime, he only strikes the ground just in front of her with his hand.
• In the anime, Zatch waits for Kiyo outside of school in order to tell him about the battle they had been challenged to. In the manga, Kiyo had no school that day so Zatch told him the news at home in his room.
• Given this, Kiyo's attire between the anime and manga is also different. In the anime, since he had come straight from school, he is seen in his regular school attire. In the manga, he's seen wearing a sweater vest and long sleeved shirt.
• In the manga, when Kiyo first speaks with Barry, he brings up the fact that there are only around 40 demons left at the time. Because of how out of order the anime shows different events in the manga, the discovery that there are 40 demons left has yet to happen and is not shown in this episode.

Localization Differences

• Scenes showing Gustav lighting his cigarette and the smoke emitting from it was edited in the VIZ localization of the episode.
• Details such as blood from injuries are cleaned up from characters in the VIZ localization but other things such as scratches and clothing tears are usually left alone. All blood seen on Kiyo would be cleaned up in the VIZ localization.

Trivia

• N/A

Episode Guide