The Great Mamodo Battle

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The Great Mamodo Battle
Titles
Kanji	100人の魔物の戦い
Rōmaji	Hyakunin no Mamono no Tatakai
Translation	The 100 Demon Battle
VIZ Title	The Great Mamodo Battle
Information
Season	1
Episode #	4
Arc	Encounter Arc
Chapter(s)	7, 8
Releases
Japan	April 27, 2003
English	March 26, 2005
EPISODE GUIDE
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The Great Mamodo Battle (１００人の魔物の戦い, Hyakunin no mamono no tatakai; lit. The Battle of the 100 Mamono) is the fourth episode of the Zatch Bell! anime. This episode is important since it explains the premise and exposition of the series. In the series overall, that's one of the most important episodes.

Synopsis

Brago and Sherry drive to Kiyo’s house with a plan, while Kiyo recalls the aftermath of his fight with Reycom and Hosokawa, when Zatch realized he was the one casting lightning and grew depressed, thinking he was a freak. In the present, Kiyo spots Zatch standing on a clock and fears he might jump, but Zatch is only trying to show his lightning powers to some kids, angering Naomi when nothing happens. Upset with Zatch for being reckless, Kiyo leaves him alone, and Zatch soon meets a dog named Gofure who helps him wander back home. Meanwhile, Sherry and Brago arrive at Kiyo’s house, and when Kiyo lets them in, Zatch and Gofure quietly eavesdrop as Sherry explains that Zatch is a mamodo from another world, where 100 mamodo children are sent to Earth to fight for the throne using spell books that, if burned, banish them back to the mamodo world. Sherry urges Kiyo to burn Zatch’s book, but Kiyo refuses, prompting Sherry to accuse him of abusing its power before casting Reis to knock him back, warning him of the danger of being involved in the mamodo battle. Zatch, in tears, walks away as Kiyo questions Sherry’s motives, enraging her, and at that moment a man named Renji appears at the door, revealing that Gofure is actually his mamodo.

Full Summary

On a gloomy, rainy day, Sherry and her demon partner Brago make their way through the city discussing their latest plan. As Brago tries to pry for more information about what Sherry plans to do when they finally meet Kiyo face to face, Sherry calmly states that her goal is to put an end to things as soon as possible.

Back at school, Suzy and Mariko are trying to carry a large, heavy box to the music room. As they slowly haul it along, Suzy spots Kiyo walking past on his way home. Watching him go, she notices he doesn’t seem like his usual self—silent and dejected—and wonders if something happened. As he walks, Kiyo thinks back to yesterday’s battle against Reycom and Hosokawa. In the aftermath, Zatch finally came to terms with not being an ordinary child.

When the battle against Reycom and Hosokawa ended, Kiyo told Zatch it was time to head home. Before leaving, Zatch stopped Kiyo to talk. He pointed out that Reycom had a similar book to his and that both boys could cast spells from their mouths. Zatch connected that the lightning at the school rooftop, the bank, and in their fight had all been created by him and not by some trick Kiyo was doing. He then asked Kiyo if he was the one who had the power to make lightning come out of Zatch’s mouth; Kiyo confirmed it was true. Zatch solemnly accepted this and concluded he was nothing but a monster.

After thinking about this, Kiyo also notes that since then Zatch hadn’t said a word to him—a stark contrast to his usual cheerful, outgoing demeanor. As Kiyo considers how to cheer him up, his thoughts are interrupted by commotion at the park. He looks over and sees Zatch standing on top of the playground’s clock structure. Kiyo rushes over, fearing Zatch is going to jump, only to hear Zatch shouting as he tries to summon his lightning. A group of kids confront Zatch, accusing him of lying about his ability. As Zatch decides he’ll try somewhere else in the park, Kiyo steps in and demands an explanation. Zatch says he’s having a hard time figuring out how to summon his lightning but, with Kiyo’s help, he can show the playground kids—who agreed to be his friends if he proves it.

Kiyo gets upset and tells Zatch how worried he’s been, only to find him doing something so reckless. Not fully understanding, Zatch says he’s proud of his abilities and doesn’t see anything wrong with showing off something ordinary people can’t do. Kiyo grows angrier, warning he could hurt someone and that it’s nothing to brag about. Zatch tells Kiyo to leave him alone and that he doesn’t want to see him. Hurt and angry, Kiyo leaves Zatch at the park and heads home, saying he regrets worrying about him. Zatch watches in silence as Kiyo walks away, standing alone as the rain begins to pour.

Zatch eventually leaves the park and wanders the city, stopping by a roadside railing to look at the rushing river below. A small dog, Gofure, approaches and inspects him. Zatch finds comfort talking to the dog, asking if he, too, is all alone. The brief companionship moves Zatch to tears as he thinks about his confrontation with Kiyo, telling himself that being known only as a monster is too depressing and that it wasn’t wrong to feel proud of his abilities as a way to cope.

Back home, Kiyo returns to his room still upset about the argument and how Zatch doesn’t realize how worried he was. As Kiyo vents, he notices the Vulcan 300 by one of his bags and picks it up, reminded of Zatch. The doorbell rings. Kiyo goes downstairs and opens the door, immediately startled by the sight of a black spell book. Its reader, Sherry, and her partner, Brago, arrive and reassure Kiyo they’re only here to talk.

Meanwhile outside, Zatch continues walking in the rain until he notices the same dog still following him. Happy to see him, they eventually run toward Kiyo’s house. When they arrive, Zatch decides Gofure will be his new friend and that they’ll both claim Kiyo’s room as their own. As Zatch quietly enters, he notices two extra pairs of shoes in the entryway and suspects Kiyo has guests. Upstairs, Kiyo has told Sherry about Zatch’s lack of memory. Seeing how knowledgeable Sherry is, Kiyo asks what she knows about Zatch. Listening in from the hall, Zatch hears Sherry reveal that Zatch is a demon child from another world known simply as the Demon World. Its society is ruled by a monarch, and every thousand years a new ruler is chosen in a battle that takes place in the Human World. One hundred demon children are sent to the Human World with their spell books and must find human partners who can read and recite the spells to help them win. The battle’s nature is simple: the human partners help their demon grow stronger by any means necessary. The spell books are fueled by human emotion, converting it into power to cast spells. If a demon child’s book is burned, they lose all qualification to become the next ruler and are forcibly returned to their world. The chosen children fight, destroying each other’s books, until only one remains—the new ruler of the Demon World.

As Sherry finishes, she tries to convince Kiyo to hand over Zatch’s red book, saying he was thrown into the king battle without consent and would be better off without it. Kiyo remains reluctant to trust everything Sherry said and hesitates to hand over the book, remembering that once Zatch’s red book is destroyed, he will disappear with it. Met with refusal, Sherry takes matters into her own hands and casts the attack spell Reisu directly at Kiyo. Zatch sees this and initially considers intervening but overhears Sherry warning that the king battle is dangerous and that Zatch will only invite disaster if he stays. After hearing enough, Zatch quietly leaves with Gofure and heads downstairs.

Meanwhile, Kiyo questions Sherry’s motives for keeping her own spell book, asking why, if she doesn’t want anyone involved, she burns others’ books instead of her own. Saddened and angry, Sherry—thinking back on tragic events—tells Kiyo he wouldn’t understand. Her goal is to crown Brago king of the Demon World, and she won’t hesitate to destroy Kiyo’s book by force.

Downstairs, as Zatch approaches the front door, he sees Renji, concealed in a dark cloak, standing there. Gofure looks troubled seeing Renji; Zatch reassures him he’ll ask the stranger to leave. Before he can, Renji pulls a light-brown spell book from his cloak, and it begins to glow. He casts the spell Doruku, and in an instant the once small, friendly dog shape-shifts into a terrifying, vicious battle form—much larger and more aggressive than before. Cowering in fear as the transformation completes, Zatch realizes the dog was actually another demon all along.

New content shown

Characters

• Gofure and Renji
• Brago and Sherry

Spells

• Reis
• Doruk

Manga & Anime Differences

• A scene featuring a brief interaction between Sherry and Brago seen at the very beginning of the episode was not originally featured in the manga series.
• Zatch never formally introduces Kiyo to the various kids he met at the playground who he was trying to impress with his lightning powers in the manga.
• In the anime, after being left at the park by Kiyo, Zatch wanders around town for some time before he meets Gofure by the side of the road as he looks over onto the river flowing below him. In the manga, Zatch continues to stay at the park for some time until Gofure eventually comes over to him there.
• Coco and Zofis were introduced earlier in the anime than in the manga in a brief flashback.

Localization Differences

• As a flashback sequence to various parts of Kiyo and Zatch's battle against Hosokawa and Reycom plays, Kiyo thinks to himself about the events that had transpired during this flashback. In the VIZ localization of the episode, there are no lines of dialogue from any characters within the flashback and no commentary from Kiyo. The only audio that remains in the flashback is various sound effects from spells and background music.
• All instances of Kiyo hitting Zatch in the head were removed in the VIZ localization. All scenes that would have originally depicted the very moment of impact where Kiyo hits Zatch are censored over by a brief flashing screen sequence.
• In the original Japanese airing of the episode, as Zatch and Kiyo have a heated argument with each other at the park, Kiyo eventually leaves Zatch there after Zatch tells him to go away. In the VIZ localization of the episode, Kiyo instead tells Zatch that he's on his own and how it will be a relief to not worry about him anymore which implies that, in contrast to the original narrative, Kiyo officially kicks Zatch out from living with him

Gallery

Ending image

Trivia

• In the original Japanese version, the insert song Anata ga soba ni iru dake (As Long As You're Here) was used when Zatch was by himself walking outside in the rain after him and Kiyo got in argument.

Episode Guide