Eyeshield 21 (アイシールド21, Aishīrudo nijūichi?) is a manga about American football written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. It has been adapted into an anime movie in 2004 (shown at Jump Festa), an anime television series in 2005, several video games and a trading card game from Konami.
The manga is serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. The twenty five volumes have collectively sold over 16 million copies in Japan, and the number of children playing American football has almost doubled in the four years since it began.[1] The manga is published in English by VIZ Media.
The anime version, produced by NAS and animated by Artland, premiered across Japan on TV Tokyo from April 6, 2005, and ended March 19, 2008 with episode 145. The anime is sponsored by NFL Japan. The English dub "aired" on the free on-demand Toonami Jetstream as a joint effort with NFL Rush on December 17, 2007,[2] however it is unknown if any more episodes will be dubbed. It is also aired in Taiwan.
Story
The plot of Eyeshield 21 revolves around a physically unassuming and non-assertive boy named Sena Kobayakawa (小早川 瀬那, Kobayakawa Sena?) who enters the high school of his choice, Deimon Private Senior High School (泥門高等学校, Deimon Kōtōgakkō?), where his childhood friend Mamori Anezaki (姉崎 まもり, Anezaki Mamori?), one year older than Sena, already attends. His only remarkable physical abilities are his running speed, dodging techniques, and intense agility (perfect for football), the result of a school life spent complying with the demands of bullies (later on it is revealed that he also went through training with a classmate in elementary school for running). His abilities quickly catch the eye of the high school's American football team captain Yoichi Hiruma (蛭魔 妖一, Hiruma Yōichi?) who forces Sena to join the team (Deimon Devil Bats) as the running back.
To protect his identity (on the premise that other school sports teams will try to recruit Sena upon discovering his athletic skill) Sena is forced to publicly assume the role of team secretary, and enter the field wearing a helmet equipped with a green-tinted eyeshield in order to hide his features under the pseudonym of "Eyeshield 21." The makeshift team initially takes part in the Spring football tournament (at the beginning of the Japanese school year) hoping to win with through the strength of their new "secret weapon." However, the extremely weak team is eliminated early on by the Ojo White Knights, a powerhouse football team that focuses on defense. Others see the skill of the current White Knights as having declined from the previous "Golden Generation," but the team members are trying to prove that they have the ability to surpass their predecessors. It is in this game that Sena meets the man he will acknowledge as his ultimate rival, Seijuro Shin (進 清十郎, Shin Seijurō?), a talented linebacker.
After Deimon's defeat, the Spring tournament is revealed as a secondary in importance to the Fall tournament, where the teams compete for the chance to play in the "Christmas Bowl", the high school football league championship. Hiruma, Kurita and Sena regroup and slowly build a real team from other misfits and students looking to define themselves, such as Tarou Raimon (雷門 太郎, Raimon Tarou (aka Monta or Monkey)?), a baseball player who can only catch, the three Ha brothers (punks), and many others with the goal of reaching the championship. The series follows the building and growth of the Deimon Devil Bats and its members, as well as various rival teams encountered through their games and tournaments as they all strive to achieve their goal of playing in the Christmas Bowl.
Setting
Inagaki said that Eyeshield 21 is in Tokyo, specifically, "but perhaps not in the center of the city — more in the suburbs." He added that this is "not very significant" and that aspects of the hometowns of the two creators are reflected in the setting.[3]
Teams
Deimon Devil Bats (泥門デビルバッツ, Deimon Debiru Battsu?)
- Logo: Red Devil Bat, a nonexistent breed that bears a striking resemblance to Yoichi Hiruma.
- The protagonist team of the manga and anime series, this team represents the Deimon High School. At first, there were only three members in the Deimon American Football Club. However, after its inaugural year, there were only two members (Yoichi Hiruma and Ryokan Kurita) after Gen "Musashi" Takekura left. This remained so until Hiruma found Sena Kobayakawa and his amazing running ability. Their team's chant is "Crush 'em! YA-HA!"(in mangaブッ殺す! YA-HA!! Bukkorosu! YA-HA!!/in anime ブッつぶす!YA-HA!!Buttsubusu! YA-HA!!) It is often translated "Kill 'em!"
Characters
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Manga
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Anime
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Music
- Opening
- Break Through by Coming Century (Episodes 1-35)
- Innocence by 20th Century (Episodes 36-64)
- Dang Dang by ZZ (Episodes 65-103)
- BLAZE LINE... by Back-on (Episodes 104-126)
- Honou no Runningback by SHORT LEG SUMMER (Episodes 127-144)
- Ending
- Be Free by Rikkenzu (Episodes 1-13)
- Blaze Away by TRAX (Episodes 14-35)
- Goal by Beni Arashiro (Episodes 36-64)
- Run to Win by Sena, Mamori, Monta, Hiruma (Episodes 65-86, 88-100)
- Dang Dang by ZZ (Episode 87)
- A day dreaming... by Back-on (Episodes 101-116)
- flower by Back-on (Episodes 117-126)
- Song of Power by SHORT LEG SUMMER (Episodes 127-144)
- Innocence by 20th Century (Episode 145)
- Insert songs
- Be SURVIVOR by ZZ (First heard in Episode 15)
- Chain Of Power by V6
- MIDNIGHT SUNSHINE by Ojo White Knights (First heard in Episode 37)
- Chain of Power by Deimon Devil Bats (Sena, Monta, Hiruma and Mamori) (First heard in Episode 44)
- Light by Ma-Kiss
- Character songs
- Go! by Sena Kobayakawa (Miyu Irino)
- Thanks by Sena Kobayakawa
- Go For It! by Suzuna Taki (Shoko Nakagawa)
- MAX Wind! by Tarou Raimon/Monta (Yamaguchi Kappei)
- Futari No Imi by Mamori Anezaki (Aya Hirano)
- Make My Way by Haruto Sakuraba (Mamoru Miyano)
- Atarashi Kaze by Seijirou Shin (Naoya Gomoto)
Games
Konami appears to have the rights to produce Eyeshield 21 games for Sony video game systems. They have released Eyeshield 21: Portable Edition (アイシールド21 Portable Edition, Eyeshield 21: Portable Edition?) for the Playstation Portable in March 2, 2006 and Eyeshield 21: AmeFoot Yarou ze! Ya! Ha!! (アイシールド21 アメフトやろうぜ! YA-! HA-!!, Eyeshield 21: AmeFoot Yarou ze! Ya! Ha!!?) for the Playstation 2.
Nintendo secured the rights to the Eyeshield 21 video game license for their systems in December 2004. They have released Eyeshield 21: MAX Devil Power (アイシールド21 MAX DEVILPOWER!, Eyeshield 21: MAX Devil Power?) for the Nintendo DS in February 2, 2006 and Eyeshield 21: Devilbats Devildays (アイシールド21 DEVILBATS DEVILDAYS, Eyeshield 21: Devilbats Devildays?) for the Game Boy Advance in April 6, 2006. Another game was scheduled for release on the Nintendo GameCube, but it was later canceled.
Nintendo published an Eyeshield 21 game for the Wii, entitled Eyeshield 21: The Field's Greatest Warriors (アイシールド21 フィールド最強の戦士たち, Aishīrudo 21: Field Saikyō no Senshi Tachi?). It was released in Japan on March 8, 2007.[4]
Two non-football games have featured characters from the series, both on the Nintendo DS: Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars. The former featured Sena as a playable character and other characters, including various DevilBats and Shin from the White Knights, as support cameos; however the latter, the sequel, relegated Sena to a support role.
Cast
English Cast
See also
External links
References
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