The Dark Mamodo

Article

Transcript

The Dark Mamodo
Titles
Kanji	黒い刺客ブラゴとシェリー
Rōmaji	Kuroi Shikaku Burago to Sherī
Translation	The Black Assassins Brago and Sherie
VIZ Title	The Dark Mamodo
Information
Season	01
Episode #	05
Arc	Encounter Arc
Chapter(s)	9, 10
Releases
Japan	May 4, 2003
English	April 2, 2005
EPISODE GUIDE
PREVIOUSThe Great Mamodo Battle NEXTThe Mystery Of The Missing Red Book

The Dark Mamodo (黒い刺客ブラゴとシェリー, Kuroi Shikaku Burago to Sherī, The Black Assassin Brago and Sherry) is the fifth episode of Zatch Bell! series of the anime adaptation based on the manga.

Synopsis

Zatch learns the hard truth about Gofure, who turns out to be another Mamodo competitor in the battle to decide the next king of the Mamodo World. Gofure, along with his partner, Renji, reveals their true intentions and seeks to destroy Zatch’s red spellbook. Kiyo soon comes to Zatch’s rescue and tries to encourage him to escape, only to be met with refusal. Brago and Sherry quickly put an end to their fight against Gofure and Renji, then set their sights on Zatch and Kiyo, determined to destroy their spellbook by any means necessary.

Full Summary

After hearing a familiar scream ring out from downstairs of his house, Kiyo bolts from his room to investigate the situation. Kiyo’s guests, Brago and Sherry, decide not to act hastily and instead simply watch the unfolding situation before coming to a decision on how to proceed. Downstairs, Zatch is cornered and fearful at the sight of Gofure, currently in his Doruku form, who stares down Zatch before attacking once more. Kiyo sees what’s going on and quietly moves down the stairs to get a better view. Just then, Gofure’s partner, Renji, casts Doruku once again. As Gofure lunges toward Zatch, Kiyo quickly jumps into action, pushing Zatch out of the way of the incoming attack.

Zatch immediately confronts Kiyo for what he had just done and tries to explain that Gofure is his friend and wouldn’t intentionally hurt him. Despite Zatch’s claims, Gofure still lunges toward Kiyo and begins attacking him unprovoked. As Kiyo becomes preoccupied speaking with Zatch, Gofure notices Zatch’s red spellbook tucked into Kiyo’s pants and signals to Renji his desire to burn it. Renji replies that it’s too soon and complains that their battle with Kiyo and Zatch hasn’t been as entertaining as he had hoped. He reveals that the reason he brought Gofure here in the first place was to seek out worthy opponents. Zatch becomes deeply hurt and saddened by hearing this, painfully realizing that Gofure was never truly his friend but had only been pretending in order to corner him.

Renji casts Doruku once more, and as Kiyo dodges the attack, he urges Zatch to follow him so he doesn’t get hurt. Zatch remains in place, overwhelmed with grief. As Gofure approaches him, Kiyo makes the decision to cast Zaker at Gofure in order to protect Zatch. Kiyo once again urges Zatch to escape with him, but Zatch adamantly refuses and tells Kiyo to leave him behind and forget about him. Shocked, Kiyo questions Zatch’s sudden change in attitude, recalling how proud he seemed when bragging about his lightning powers at the park. Tearfully, Zatch explains that there was nothing wrong with him doing that, since it’s already painful enough to accept that he’s otherwise a monster. Hearing this, Kiyo begins to feel ashamed for not realizing sooner how much anguish Zatch had been carrying all along.

Seeing an opportunity, Renji casts Dorusen at the two of them. Kiyo, realizing there’s no time to counter, shields Zatch with his own body and takes the direct hit of the stone projectiles. Severely injured and unable to stand, Kiyo collapses to the ground, left vulnerable with Zatch desperately trying to rouse him. Barely conscious, Kiyo reflects on how much Zatch had helped him in such a short time, while regretting that he hasn’t done enough to help Zatch in return.

Renji mocks them for being such a disappointing challenge and casts Doruku again. At that moment, Sherry and Brago intervene, casting Reisu directly at Gofure. The blast sends Gofure flying into the front door, deactivating his battle form. Renji is stunned to see Gofure unable to continue fighting. Brago coldly commands Renji to leave his spellbook behind and go. Renji complies, abandoning both Gofure and his book. Sherry and Brago then turn their sights on Kiyo and Zatch, casting Gravirei to crush Kiyo under immense gravitational pressure, forcing him to surrender Zatch’s spellbook. Despite the pain, Kiyo refuses to give up the book. Zatch, confused why Kiyo is going to such lengths, pleads through tears for him to surrender it so he won’t have to suffer anymore. Even so, Kiyo struggles to his feet under Gravirei’s crushing weight and vows that it’s finally his turn to do right by Zatch, to repay him for everything he’s done to change his life.

Sherry, astonished by Kiyo’s determination, orders Brago to intensify their assault and casts another Gravirei on Zatch. Kiyo speaks to them directly, admitting he may not understand their motives, but confessing how Zatch has saved him and transformed his life. Now, more than ever, he wants to return the favor. Before he can move closer, Sherry reluctantly casts Reisu, blasting him back. Despite this, Kiyo forces himself up again, standing between Brago’s scornful words and Zatch. He encourages Zatch to fight, telling him that whether he’s human or a monster doesn’t matter—they’re friends to the end. Hearing this, Sherry is reminded of her own friend and her purpose in the battle for king. With renewed willpower, she decides to end the fight with Brago’s strongest spell.

Sherry and Brago unleash Gigano Reisu. At that moment, Zatch’s spellbook glows with golden light, and with renewed determination, he counters with an enormous Zaker. The two spells collide and cancel each other out in a massive explosion. Concealed in the smoke, Kiyo stumbles close to Sherry and grabs one of her curls of hair. Before collapsing, he declares that he’ll never hand over Zatch’s book and will defeat her again if he has to. Reflecting on this, Sherry takes Kiyo’s book into her hands but ultimately returns it to him. As Zatch rushes to Kiyo’s side, Sherry tells him that though they’ll part for now, she’s counting on them to keep the book safe until they meet again.

Outside, after Brago burns Gofure’s spellbook, he notices that Sherry’s demeanor has softened and even seems happy. Later that night at the Takamine residence, Kiyo, heavily bandaged, and Zatch work together to repair the damage to the house. When Kiyo’s mother, Hana, comes home to see the wreckage and her son covered in bandages, she demands answers from the two. Before he can explain, Kiyo collapses from exhaustion after enduring two grueling battles in a single day.

New content shown

Spells

• Dorsen
• Gravirei
• Gigano Reis

Gallery

Zatch's spellbook gets Golden

Manga & Anime Differences

• In the manga, when being cornered by Gofure, Kiyomaro and Gash are positioned more towards the front of the house just in front of the stairs. In the anime, Kiyomaro and Gash are positioned at the very end of the hallway.
• Flashbacks featuring Coco and Sherie are never seen in the manga chapters this anime episode was based on.
• In the anime, after Gigano Reisu and Zakeru collide, Kiyomaro manages to make his way close to Sherie in order to grab one of her hair curls. In the manga, Kiyomaro grabs Sherie by her dress collar instead.

Localization Differences

• At the start of the episode in the Japanese airing, the episode begins with a shot of Kiyomaro's house from outside and Gash's scream being heard then eventually transitions to showing Kiyomaro running out of his room. Interestingly in the VIZ localization of the episode, the scene featuring Gash's scream is played twice; Once at the start of the episode and once more after Kiyomaro notices.
• A scene that originally features Gofure biting Kiyomaro's face then attacking him was removed and censored over by a brief flashing screen sequence.
• In the Japanese airing of the series, as Gash thinks back on how Gofure had kept him company only to realize he had tricked him in order to burn his book, Gash begins to cry and think on how Gofure was never actually his friend at all. In the VIZ localization of the episode, the scene that would have shown Gash in tears thinking about this betrayal was not dubbed over and he can only be heard crying in silence the entire duration.
• Violent threats, actions, and other generally strong language are usually toned down from the original Japanese airing. Other details such as blood from injuries are cleaned up from characters but details such as scratches and clothing tears are otherwise kept in the VIZ localization of the series. All blood seen on Kiyomaro was removed.

Trivia

• In the original Japanese version, the insert song Kasabuta was used when Zatch fought against Brago toward the end of the episode.

Episode Guide