The Lightning Boy From Another World

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The Lightning Boy From Another World
Titles
Kanji	魔界から来た電撃少年
Rōmaji	Makai Kara Kita Dengeki Shōnen
Translation	The Lightning Boy From The Demon World
VIZ Title	The Lightning Boy From Another World
Information
Season	1
Episode #	1
Arc	Encounter Arc
Chapter(s)	1
Releases
Japan	April 6, 2003
English	March 5, 2005
EPISODE GUIDE
NEXTA Freezing Spell

The Lightning Boy From The Demon World (魔界から来た電撃少年, Makai Kara Kita Dengeki Shōnen) is the 1^st episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on April 6, 2003.

Synopsis

On a moonlit night, Zatch Bell arrives in Japan under mysterious circumstances and is soon placed in the care of Kiyo Takamine, a bitter but brilliant middle schooler who has withdrawn from others out of frustration and arrogance. Through a letter from Kiyo’s father, Seitaro, it is revealed that Zatch possesses a strange red book and lost memories tied to his past, and that Kiyo has been entrusted with uncovering its secrets. Despite Kiyo’s resistance, Zatch insists on helping him reconnect with others, even as a sudden burst of lightning from Zatch hints at the dangerous power hidden within the book. At school, Kiyo discovers he can read a spell within the book, “Zaker,” and is soon drawn into conflict when Zatch attempts to confront a rooftop bully to help Kiyo make friends. What begins as a misguided attempt at justice escalates when another demon-child pair, Hyde and Eita, reveal themselves and threaten Suzzy Mizuno. Realizing the book is the source of demonic power, Kiyo casts Zatch’s first spell, unleashing a devastating lightning attack that drives their enemies away. As other demon participants take notice of the battle’s beginning, Kiyo starts to accept Zatch’s presence in his life, sensing that both friendship and extraordinary trials await them in the days to come.

Full Summary

Zatch on his way to meet Kiyo

On a moonlit night, Zatch Bell is seen holding onto the talons of an eagle soaring in the sky. He picks up a scent in the air and tells the eagle, Owashi, that they’re getting close. A large yellowtail fish suddenly leaps from the water and in an instant, Zatch lets go of Owashi in order to claim the fish. The next morning, Kiyo Takamine lounges in his bedroom surrounded by numerous scholarly textbooks. His mother, Hana Takamine, pleads with Kiyo to go to school that day only to be met with Kiyo’s burst of anger telling her that he’s not interested in being surrounded by those he deems as intellectually inferior. Kiyo then finds himself suddenly reprimanded by Zatch, who appears right outside his window both naked and clinging onto Owashi. Zatch then bursts into Kiyo’s bedroom and hands him a letter from Seitaro Takamine, Kiyo’s father and a college professor in England.

Seitaro discovers Zatch unconscious and injured

In Seitaro’s letter, he wishes Kiyo a belated happy 14th birthday. The letter explains the circumstances in which Seitaro had met Zatch, revealing that he had been found in a forest unconscious and injured. Grateful for being saved, Zatch expressed that he wished to return the favor in some way. Seitaro explains Kiyo’s current situation with him being uninterested in school and asks for Zatch’s help in getting him back on track. Seitaro also mentions the mysterious red book that Zatch had with him, explaining that although he could not decipher it, he entrusted Kiyo with the task of figuring out the mystery behind the book in order to aid Zatch, who had seemingly lost his memories, in returning home. Irritated with Zatch’s insistence that he’ll be in charge of turning his life around, Kiyo yells at him while holding the red book. Suddenly, a large bolt of lightning shoots out of Zatch’s mouth, destroying Kiyo’s bedroom. Kiyo is left in disbelief while Zatch remains clueless. Downstairs, Hana tells Kiyo that if he isn’t going to school, then he must watch after Zatch instead. Kiyo tries to tell his mother about Zatch’s ability to shoot lightning, but fails to convince either Hana or Zatch, who both deny it. Annoyed, Kiyo declares he’ll go to school after all and takes Zatch’s book with him. Hana apologizes to Zatch for Kiyo’s behavior, and Zatch assures her he’ll help her son make a friend to cheer her up.

At school, Kiyo spends most of his time trying to decipher the book until he discovers a small section of lines in a different color that he can read: “The first spell, Zaker.” While he looks at this, Zatch remains by his desk disguised as a duffel bag, unnoticed by anyone. Kiyo is called on by his teacher to solve a problem on the board. After answering correctly, he sits back down and overhears classmates whispering negative comments about him.

After class, Kiyo packs up and decides to leave. Zatch chases after him and sees that he has been stopped by Suzzy Mizuno, who begs Kiyo to stay. In a burst of anger, Kiyo tells her to be quiet and leave him alone, only to then be scolded by Zatch, who blows his cover. Kiyo chases Zatch around the school until the two end up outside alone. Zatch proposes his “Ally of Justice Plan” to help Kiyo make friends by defending his classmates from bullies. Humoring him, Kiyo tells him about a notorious bully, Kane, who hangs out on the rooftop after school, and says they can defeat him by beating him up. Zatch believes this and immediately heads to the rooftop while Kiyo goes his separate way.

On the rooftop, Zatch finds Suzzy there until Kane shows up. From a distance, Hyde and Eita spy on the situation. Eita decides he’ll rescue Suzzy to win her over, using Hyde’s spell, Jikiru, to ride his skateboard on the wind. Distracted by a billboard model, he crashes into a water tower, delaying them. Meanwhile, as Kiyo prepares to leave school, he overhears classmates mentioning Kane stealing their money. He dismisses it, saying he doesn’t care what happens to Zatch and that if necessary, Zatch can shoot lightning. When his bag spills, revealing the red book, Kiyo begins thinking about Zatch again.

Back on the rooftop, Zatch insists Kiyo will arrive, but Kane beats him up, calling Kiyo worthless. Hiding behind the door, Kiyo listens, telling himself Kane is right, and hopes Zatch realizes he’s been lied to. Yet Zatch defends Kiyo, saying it wasn’t his fault he was a genius and that his classmates treated him poorly out of jealousy. Zatch scolds Kane, saying he shouldn’t come to school if he’s going to talk badly about Kiyo. Kane demands to know where Kiyo is, and Zatch says he’s late because he was in the bathroom. Embarrassed, Kiyo finally joins them, but Kane effortlessly beats him as well. Zatch and Suzzy cheer him on, but Kiyo admits he wants to give up. Zatch insists the plan is already a success because Kiyo showed up and looked more alive than ever. Suzzy thanks Kiyo for saving her, which only makes Kane angrier. Zatch then declares a new plan, “Praying to the Heavens,” and says they should hope for a miracle.

Just then, Eita crashes down on his skateboard, landing on Kane, and breezes past Suzzy with a comment that embarrasses her. Kane tries to attack him, but Eita blows him away using Jikiru, making it seem like he has wind powers. Eita skates to Suzzy, grabs her wrist, and declares she will be his girlfriend. She tries to escape, but he holds her tight. Kiyo and Zatch attempt to rescue her but are blown away by Jikiru. Zatch tries again, and Kiyo rushes in to protect him, noticing Hyde appear behind Eita. Kiyo realizes Eita also carries a book like Zatch’s and that Hyde has similar eyes. He figures out that the book is what allows Hyde to use his powers. Holding Zatch’s book, Kiyo sees it glow brightly as he casts Zatch’s first spell.

A massive bolt of lightning bursts from Zatch’s mouth, blowing up the rooftop and forcing Hyde and Eita to retreat. Kiyo, Suzzy, and Zatch are bewildered at what just happened, though Zatch remains unaware that he was the one who did it. Later, Eita and Hyde ride away on a truck, confused and irritated by what occurred and surprised that Zatch and Kiyo had the same kind of book. Hyde decides it’s best to retreat for now, though he thinks to himself how unbelievable it is for Zatch to be so powerful despite remembering him as weak. At the same time, from inside a nearby building overlooking the city, Brago notices the smoke and remarks that the explosion was caused by a demon’s spell, while Sherry, sipping tea, calmly notes that the battle has finally begun. That evening at home, Kiyo gives Zatch a bath and is amazed at how quickly he healed from his injuries. Zatch then tells Kiyo that tomorrow he plans to continue helping him make friends at school. The night ends with Kiyo writing a letter back to his father, thanking him for the unusual birthday gift and noting that unbelievable times seem to lie ahead thanks to Zatch Bell.

New content shown

Characters

• Zatch Bell and Kiyo Takamine
• Hyde and Eido
• Suzy Mizuno
• Brago and Sherry Belmont
• Kane
• Seitaro Takamine (flashback)
• Hana Takamine

Spells

• Zakeru
• Jikiru

Manga & Anime Differences

• In the manga, Kiyo originally monologues to himself how bored he has been with life recently. The anime does not feature this moment.
• In the manga, when being confronted by Suzy, Kiyo tells her that she shouldn't be hanging around him because this would cause her to be shunned by other fellow classmates. This was never mentioned in the anime.
• Suzume does not formally introduce herself to Zatch until chapter 4 of the manga.
• In the manga, Kiyomaro overhears two students having a conversation as he prepares to leave school. The two students wonder where Suzume had gone to since she originally had left to collect money for choir concert tickets and had been missing ever since. This makes Kiyomaro come to the conclusion that Suzume must have been another target for Kaneyama but figures Zatch would be able to protect her. In the anime, the background conversation between the two students was simply about them losing their money to Kaneyama with no mention of Suzume at all.
• After Zatch heads to the rooftop of the school, he immediately finds Kaneyama holding Suzume in the air by her shirt threatening her to hand over any money she had. In the anime, Suzume was never handled in such a way and Zatch instead initially finds Suzume alone on the rooftop.
• Eita and Hyde were anime exclusive characters that were never involved or introduced in the original manga chapters that this particular episode was based on. Kiyomaro manages to figure out the red book's function on his own in the manga.
• A 'Praying to the Heavens' plan was never introduced in the manga and is an anime exclusive backup plan Zatch had made in the event that Kaneyama had not been defeated yet by Kiyomaro.
• The anime introduces Sherie and Brago much earlier than in the original manga.
• In Kiyomaro's letter to his father in the manga, Kiyomaro mentions that truthfully, although Zatch is a nice boy, he's afraid of whatever may happen next with him around and wonders just who he really is. This was never mentioned in Kiyomaro's letter in the anime.

Localization Differences

• In the original Japanese episode Zatch is fully naked when he first appears in Kiyomaro's bedroom. In the VIZ localization, all scenes that originally have Zatch naked have been edited over to have a crude pair of white boxer shorts drawn onto Zatch. This is a very prominent censorship that can be seen many times throughout the airing of the anime.
• In the original Japanese airing, Kiyomaro says the phrase, "ふざけるな?! (Fuzakeruna)" as an expression —essentially meaning 'you're kidding me'— that causes Zatch's first spell, Zakeru, to be cast on accident. In the VIZ dub, Kiyomaro casts the first spell by uttering Gash's dub name, Zatch, incorrectly in the phrase, "Zack-er, whatever your name is!"
• Any banners and surfaces Zatch wrote on originally had his Japanese writing appear to be a naturally messy writing style. In the VIZ localization, Zatch's Japanese writing is replaced by English text in a Comic Sans font.
• Due to censorship purposes, 2 out of 3 scenes of Suzy's skirt flying up and revealing her white panties as a result of Eido's perversion are cut from the English version. Interestingly, one scene is kept intact in the English version during Zatch's first use of the Spell "Zaker" at Kiyo's school but is mostly obscured by her shadow from the blast.
• In the original Japanese episode as Suzume struggles to escape Eita's grip, Suzume exclaims that the choir club is meeting soon whereas in the VIZ localization, she claims that it is the fruit lovers club that's meeting soon.

Gallery

Title Card

Zatch's lightning destroys Kiyo's room

Kiyo discovers a readable passage in Zatch's red book

Zatch's "Ally of Justice" plan

Zatch stands up to Kaneyama on the school rooftop

Eita and Hyde spy on the rooftop situation from a distance

Kiyo the hero

"Eita" using Jikiru on Kaneyama

Kiyo casts the first spell, Zakeru

Trivia

• In the original Japanese version, the first opening theme Kasabuta was used as an insert song when Zatch fought against Hyde toward the end of the episode.
• Hyde and Eido are the first mamodo Zatch and Kiyo meet in the anime but not in the manga as they never appeared in the manga until chapter 319 as a cameo.
• The homeroom teacher introduced in this episode, presumably Hidetoshi Nakata, undergoes a notable character design change when they are seen again in episode 3.
• This episode is the first and only one in which the dub intro theme is entirely instrumental.

Episode Guide