Gash Bell (Zatch Bell)
One hundred demon children, gifted with spell books that unlock their innate abilities, have ascended to the human world in search of the one human that can read from their spell book. After pairing with their human partner, the demons begin a quest to seek out and burn the books of their fellow competitors. The last demon standing, the one whose book isn’t burned, will become the next demon king.
Gash Bell started in a lively, upbeat way. The demon child Gash suddenly comes crashing into his human partner’s life; the introverted genius Kymimaro. After discovering that Gash is no ordinary child (by reading a spell and unleashing a bolt of lightning from Gash’s mouth that destroys half of his room), Kymimaro suddenly finds himself embroiled within the battle for the next demon king. As one can imagine, he was none too thrilled to have his life turned on its axis.
The action was definitely one of Gash Bell’s strong points. There was just something about the humans screaming out epic spells and their demons brawling it out that was just downright cool. Enough said.
The plot drew me in with some of its twists and turns. Sudden realizations and plot twists will keep you interested in the story as Gash and Kymimaro travel the world and battle demon after demon. With that being said, I was impressed with the character development. As the story progressed, Gash, Kymimaro, and other characters, transform both in strength and in character. Their growth is illustrated in Kymimaro's gradual mastery of battle tactics and Gash's explosive increase in physical strength. The duo really become a force to be reckoned with near the tail end of the series.
At the zenith of the series, Gash and Kymimaro build up an extensive coalition of friends and allies of like-minded individuals who decide to help one another through the hellish competition. Individually, each human/demon duo have likable personalities, unique abilities, and other traits that differentiate them as individuals. The issue lies, however, in when the coalition joins together to tackle some monumental task. Simply put, there were just too many heroes on screen at one time to focus on any one character. During these moments, characters tend to lose their individuality as they become silent background characters who chime in when the situation demands that they become relevant again. There were periods where there was an over-saturation of characters and I thought the series suffered because of it, but not significantly.
Speaking of an over saturation of characters, there were quite a few ridiculous characters in this anime that, for reasons that I am unable to fathom, have some rather silly theme songs that will make you groan while rolling your eyes, but will definitely make you laugh. The comedic aspect of this anime is just ridiculous. There a lot of scenes that will make you throw back your head in laughter, but in the back of your mind you'll probably be wondering why a naked kid riding a fish in the local river is just so funny. Also, some of the 'big bad' villains in the anime lost a lot of credibility when they came along huffing and puffing and looking awesome, but then bursting into song and dance. You just can't take a villain seriously when he's doing a pirouette whilst simultaneously trying to kill you. I'm just saying.
Now, don’t let the lighthearted comedy and artwork fool you. This anime isn't as kid friendly as it appears. Underneath all of the ridiculous theme songs, childish antics, and goofy villains, lies a dark story of painful battles, suffering, betrayal, and death. Don’t be surprised if you shed a tear or two.
In the grand scheme of things, Gash Bell was an entertaining watch and well worth the investment of time. I laughed, I cried, I rooted for my favorite characters, and I screamed in rage when I was pushed to the edge. This anime took me through the entire range of my emotions. Try to not let its childish facade fool you, Gash Bell is a serious anime. I give Gash Bell 9 out of 10. I recommend it to the action fans.
