Shella's World

Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato (天空戦記 シュラト, Tenkū Senki Shurato^?, lit. "Shurato of the Heaven Wars", occasionally spelled in the Siddhaṃ script on the logo and related merchandise as : Ten・ku・u・Sem・ki ・ Su・ra・to),^[2] is a Japanese manga created, written and illustrated by Hiroshi Kawamoto and later adapted to anime by Tatsunoko Production. It ran 38 episodes on TV Tokyo from April 6, 1989 to January 18, 1990 and also spawned a 6-episode OVA series named Shurato: Dark Genesis (シュラト 創世への暗闘 , Shurato Sōsei e no Antō^?, lit. "Shurato: The Secret Feud of Creation"), that ran from August 16, 1991 to March 16, 1992. It was one of the most popular shōnen anime series of 1989.^{[citation needed]}
Set in a parallel world called "Tenkūkai", which exists alongside Earth, evil forces known as the Asura Gods threaten to overcome the forces of good, causing the magical leader of this realm to transport warriors from Earth to their world. It was heavily based on Hindu and Buddhist mythology, and covered a range of topics, including brotherhood, reincarnation, camaraderie, inter-dimensional travel, destiny, and spirit magic.^{[citation needed]}

Plot

The plot revolves around two non-hereditary brothers, Shurato Hidaka and Gai Kuroki, lifelong best friends who are polar opposites of each other in appearance and personality. While fighting each other in a martial arts tournament, they are suddenly encased in a beam of light and transported to a parallel world, Tenkūkai, where modern technology does not exist and instead the people rely on Sohma, a form of spiritual energy.
Shurato discovers he is actually the reincarnation of an ancient king of the same name, who once ruled this world, and one of the "Hachibushu", a group of eight legendary warriors with large quantities of Sohma, and was brought here along with Gai to fight the Asura Gods, a legion of destructive warriors. However, for unknown reasons, Gai attempts to kill Shurato repeatedly, confusing Shurato as the real Gai is a pacifist and the most compassionate person he knows.
Things quickly go wrong when Shurato and another of the Hachibushu, Ten-ō Hyūga, are framed for the petrification of Lady Vishnu, a powerful divinity and the leader of the people of Tenkūkai. The actual culprit, Vishnu's highest advisor and Asura spy Indrah, and the corrupted Gai manage to convince the remainder of the Hachibushu, as well as all of Tenkūkai's warriors and soldiers, that Shurato and Hyūga are evil and must be killed.
Although at first reluctant to get involved, Shurato eventually resolves to aid Hyūga in uncovering the conspiracy and cure Vishnu. They are accompanied by the young Tenkūkai spirit priestess Lakshu, and two others of the Hachibushu, Ryū-ō Ryōma and Karura-ō Reiga. Along the way, they engage in battle with the other four of the Hachibushu, sinister Asura agents in league with Indrah, and the majority of Tenkūkai's population.

Characters

Shurato Hidaka (日高秋亜人, Hidaka Shurato^?)

(also Shura-Oh Shurato (修羅王シュラト, Shura-ō Shurato^?))

The main character and protagonist of the show, Shurato, is a hot-headed, reckless, and impatient 16-year old. He is depicted as having low tolerance and understanding of Tenkūkai's laws and inner workings, but is strong and pure-hearted. Like Gai, he is a martial arts master, and eventually becomes the most powerful of the Hachibushu and their de facto leader. His shakti and armor are both modeled after the lion, and his weapon is a vajra.

Gai Kuroki (黒木凱, Kuroki Gai^?)

(also Yasha-Oh Gai (夜叉王ガイ, Yasha-ō Gai^?))

A primary character and one of the main antagonists of the show, Gai was Shurato's best friend on Earth, but became his greatest enemy in Tenkūkai when he was put in a spell by Indrah. Unlike Shurato, he is cool, collected, and highly intelligent. He was a martial arts master, depicted as Shurato's equal, even though he was also a pacifist. His shakti and armor are both modeled after the wolf, and his weapon is a sword.

Lakshu of Hōraisan (蓬莱山のラクシュ, Hōraisan no Rakushu^?)

Based on the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, Lakshu is a young native of Tenkūkai and a fledgling spirit priestess. She is the first person to find Shurato after he is teleported to Tenkūkai, attempting to wake him up with a kiss. She then accompanies Shurato and Hyūga on their journey, and becomes a major asset to the team when her latent Sohma powers manifest.

 

Saint Seiya Omega (聖闘士星矢Ω（セイントセイヤオメガ）, Seinto Seiya Omega^?, stylized as Saint Seiya Ω) is an anime series produced by Toei Animation. It is a spin-off based on the Saint Seiya manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, produced in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the franchise.^[1] The series began broadcasting in Japan on TV Asahi on April 1, 2012. It is being directed by Morio Hatano (his debut as series director), with animation character designs by illustrator and animator Yoshihiko Umakoshi, known for performing the same duties on Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, HeartCatch PreCure! and Casshern Sins.^[1]
Toei Animation describes it as an "original anime story", separate from the continuity of Kurumada's manga.^[1] Original Saint Seiya author Kurumada is not involved in the creative process of Omega, thus he is credited as the original creator of the series' concept.^[2]

Case Closed, known as Meitantei Conan (名探偵コナン^?, lit. Great Detective Conan, officially translated as Detective Conan) in Japan, is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. The series is serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since January 19, 1994, and has been collected in 78 tankōbon volumes as of December 2012. Due to legal considerations with the name Detective Conan, the English language release was renamed Case Closed.^[1] The story follows the adventures of Jimmy Kudo, a prodigious young detective who was inadvertently transformed into a child after being poisoned.

B-Daman (ビーダマン, Bīdaman^?) is a marble shooting toy produced in Japan by Takara. In 2005, Hasbro licensed the "Battle B-Daman" configuration of the toy. In 2004, Hasbro joined forces with Takara and Fox Entertainment Group to bring it to the Japan and USA. In 2005, Takara licensed the show to Fox Entertainment Group.^{[citation needed]}
The blaster's design is a humanoid figure at the centre, from which a specially made marble, is launched (not just any marbles can be used). Different attachments are used to change a B-Daman's accuracy, power, balance, control, and rapid fire. They are customizable and each have a special gimmick.
In the English language Battle B-Daman toys, the marbles are referred to as "B-Daballs". In all cases they are simply called "marbles" (Japanese: ビー玉; biidama, hence the name "B-Daman") in Japan.

Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!! (爆走兄弟レッツ&ゴー!!, Bakusō Kyōdai Rettsu Endo Gō!!^?) is a manga by Tetsuhiro Koshita that appeared in CoroCoro Comic centered around Mini 4WD racing. It was later adapted into three TV anime series, each of which consisting of three 51-episode series, and was also made into several games. The series also released various merchandise, including CDs, trading cards, and stickers. Due to its early premiere date, the MAX series was the first anime to use TV Tokyo's current logo.

Sugarbunnies (シュガーバニーズ, Shugābanīzu^?) is a character duo created by Sanrio in 2004.^[1] The duo are composed of twin bunnies called Shirousa and Kurousa (Both born on May 26, 2004), who specialize on making sweets and pastries. After the success of the franchise, Sanrio created more bunny twins who each specialize on their own jobs. They all live in the magical world of Bunniesfield.
The series gained a Japanese anime series in 2007. The series is directed by Hiroshi Kugimiya, the key animator of Death Note and produced by Asahi Production. The original series premiered on TV Tokyo and Kids Station as a segment of the program Kitty Paradise Plus on April 3, 2007 and ended later that year

Jewelpet (ジュエルペット, Juerupetto^?) is a Japanese media franchise and toy line created in 2008 as a joint venture between Sanrio and Sega Sammy Holdings, illustrated by the third character designer of Hello Kitty, Yuko Yamaguchi.^[1] The character series was originally released on January 15, 2008, focusing on animals named after jewels, birthstones and minerals, who can use magic using their eyes.^[2]
Due to the success of the franchise, Sanrio and Sega Sammy Holdings expanded the Jewelpet franchise overseas, but it is unknown if the expansion plan will ever include the United States. The franchise is currently been licensed by Giochi Preziosi for its European release.

 

The Battle Spirits Trading Card Game is a two-player collectible card game (CCG) jointly developed by Bandai and Sunrise, Inc. The card game is part of the Battle Spirits franchise which also includes several anime series, manga serializations and other merchandise like toys and video games.
The game was released in Japan in September 2008 where it quickly became one of the top selling trading card games of the year.^[1] Due to this popularity, it was released in the United States by Bandai of America on August 14, 2009.
NEEDS UPDATE: Bandai provides massive organized play support for the game in both the US and Japan. In the United States and Canada hobby retailers can sign up to receive bi-monthly kits to support weekly tournaments with prizes ranging from promotional cards to deck boxes and highly coveted play mats. A new
booster set is typically released once every three months.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (遊☆戯☆王, Yūgiō^?, lit. Game King) is a Japanese manga series about games created by Kazuki Takahashi (Studio Dice). It was serialised in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine between December 1996 and June 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, who solves the ancient Millennium Puzzle, and awakens a gambling alter-ego within his body that solves his conflicts using various games.
Two anime adaptations were produced; one by Toei Animation which aired in 1998 and another produced by Nihon Ad Systems which aired between April 2000 and September 2004. The manga series has spawned a franchise that includes multiple spinoff manga and anime series, a trading card game and numerous video games. Most of the incarnations of the franchise involve the fictional trading card game called Duel Monsters (originally known as Magic & Wizards), where each player uses cards to "duel" each other in a mock battle of fantasy "monsters". The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is the real world counterpart to this fictional game on which it is loosely based.

Sgt. Frog, known in Japan as Keroro Gunso (ケロロ軍曹, Keroro Gunsō^?, Sergeant Keroro), is a manga series by Mine Yoshizaki. It was later serialized into an anime TV series directed by Junichi Sato. Both the anime and manga are comedies that follow the attempts of a platoon of frog-like alien invaders to conquer Earth. Sergeant Keroro, the titular character, is the leader of the platoon, but is at the mercy of a human family of three after he is captured while trying to hide in one of the family member's bedrooms. In both the manga and anime, Keroro is forced to do meaningless chores and errands for the family after his army abandons his platoon on Earth. The platoon has many failed attempts at taking over Earth.
The series takes its comedy from a combination of wordplay (particularly puns and homophones), physical humor, situational irony, breaking of the fourth wall, and numerous pop culture references (especially to Gundam, Kamen Rider, Space Battleship Yamato, Dragon Ball, Neon Genesis Evangelion and many others, although when broadcast and published in the United States, they make references that American audiences would be familiar with like Ghostbusters and Men in Black).^[2] Various anime, games, manga, and other aspects of pop culture are parodied/referenced throughout the series as a bonus to older viewers. Both the manga and the anime are laden with pop-culture references, and even in the same story the references often vary wildly. The anime does not explicitly refer to Evangelion or other animations to which Bandai does not hold the copyrights, but only recreates the "feel" of famous scenes from these anime. The anime is much more detailed and direct in its Gundam references, however, since it's animation studio, Sunrise, is a subsidiary of Bandai who does hold the rights to the Gundam franchise.

Origami Warriors (Taiwanese translation: Origami Fighters, Chinese: 摺紙戰士) is a Taiwanese comic book created by Jhou Sian Zong and published by the Ching Win Company. The comic was published in a series of 22 books and followed in 2003 by Origami Fighter Generation.

The Gundam Series (ガンダムシリーズ, Gandamu Shirīzu^?) is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots (or "mecha") called "Mobile Suits" (MS); usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam.
The metaseries started on April 7, 1979, as a serial TV show called Mobile Suit Gundam. That first TV series has since spawned a franchise that has come to include works released in numerous media. Titles have appeared in the form of multiple television series and OVAs, movies, manga, novels and video games, among other modes. The story from the original 1979 series has been considerably extended with sequels, prequels, side stories and alternate timelines. As a result, the title Gundam has become a collective term for the seven distinct but related timelines that can be pieced together from the stories that appear in the Gundam franchise. Generally speaking, the timelines do not intersect, but they do contain a few common elements such as the titular war machines called Gundam. However, all Gundam timelines and worlds, long after their own anime series, do eventually intersect and combine in the series Turn A Gundam.^[1][2]
The original timeline for the Gundam series was the Universal Century (UC) series, which included Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985). Since the 1990s, alternative timelines have been produced and developed, including the Future Century, After Colony, After War, Correct Century, Cosmic Era, Anno Domini and Advanced Generation timelines.
As of January 21, 2008, the Gundam franchise is a 50 billion yen trademark.^[3] A year 2000 press release stated that retail sales of Gundam items had totaled $5 billion.^[4] In the 2008 ranking of average sales figures for anime copies sold in Japan (1970-2008 total sales figures averaged by episode), Gundam series were in four of the top five places: Mobile Suit Gundam ranked second, with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny third, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED fourth, and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam fifth. Also, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing ranked 18th and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ ranked 20th.^[5] Gunpla's (Gundam Plastic model) holds 90% of the Japan character plastic model market.^[6]
Academics in Japan have also viewed the series as inspiration, with the International Gundam Society being the first academic institution based on an animated TV series.^[7]

Daigunder (爆闘宣言ダイガンダー, Bakutō Sengen Daigandā^?) is an anime series about humans using robots in tournaments. Created by Aeon and Takara and animated by Animation Studio Brains Base, the series aired in TV Tokyo from April 2002 to December 2002.

Plot

Set in the future where talking robots are common, there is a tournament where robot teams pit off against each other in. The Battle Robots look like humans and transforming animals.
A boy named Akira Akebono plans to win the Titan Belt with his robots Bulion, Eaglearrow, Drimog, Bonerex, Despector, Trihorn, Ryugu and also Daigu who form the mighty Daigunder. The Daigunder unit was a creation of Akira's grandfather, Professor Hajime Akebono. Managed by a girl named Haruka Hoshi (later spelled "Haruka" in the closed captioning of the dub), Team Akira enters many tournaments for Akira to reach his goal. However, there are many occasions when a Battle Robot named Ginsan is out to destroy Daigunder. Ginsan does this under the orders of the evil and mysterious Professor Maelstrom and he is later joined by digamal & logmal. Akira and his friends soon find a new ally in DragonBurst, and new comrades in his assistants, DragonFlame & DragonFreezer.

Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー, Kamen Raidā^?, Masked Rider), is a weekly science fiction story created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV (now TV Asahi). A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine around the same period. The series has spawned many sequels and evolved into a franchise. The cultural impact of the series in Japan resulted in Akimasa Nakamura naming two minor planets in honor of the series: 12408 Fujioka, after actor Hiroshi Fujioka, known for his portrayal of Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider #1,^[1][2] and 12796 Kamenrider, after the series itself.^[1][3]

Ultraman (ウルトラマン, Urutoraman^?) is a Japanese Tokusatsu television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman is a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q, though not technically a sequel or spin-off. The show was produced by the Tokyo Broadcasting System and Tsuburaya Productions, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) from July 17, 1966 to April 9, 1967, with a total of 39 episodes (40, counting the pre-premiere special that aired on July 10, 1966).
Although Ultraman is the first series to feature an Ultra-Crusader, it is actually the second show in the Ultra Series. Ultra Q was the first. In fact, Ultraman opens with the Ultra Q logo exploding into the Ultraman logo. Ultraman ultimately became a major pop culture phenomenon in Japan. The show's success spawned dozens of sequels, spin-offs, imitators, parodies and remakes.
To distinguish him from subsequent Ultra-Crusaders, Ultraman is referred to as the Original Ultraman (初代ウルトラマン, Shodai Urutoraman^?), The First Ultraman, or Ultraman Hayata; this last is a reference to his host's surname.

Crayon Shin-chan (クレヨンしんちゃん, Kureyon Shin-chan^?, also known as Shin-chan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. It follows the adventures of the five-year-old Shinnosuke "Shin" Nohara and his parents, baby sister, dog, neighbors, and friends and is set in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture. An anime adaptation of the series began airing on TV Asahi in 1992, and continues to this day. On April 12, 1996 (The day Special 11 aired) The show aired on Fridays instead of Mondays. On April 20, 2002 (The day Special 32 aired) The show aired on Saturdays instead of Fridays. On October 22, 2004 (The day Episode 509 aired) The show aired on Fridays instead of Saturdays.
Due to the death of author Usui, the manga in its current form ended on September 11, 2009, as announced in a broadcast of the anime on October 16, 2009. Although the series formally ended on February 5, 2010, it was announced on December 1, 2009 that a new manga would begin in the summer of 2010 by members of Usui's team.^[1]

Doraemon (Japanese: ドラえもん, Hepburn: Doraemon^?) is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise. The series is about an intelligent robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy, Nobita Nobi (野比 のび太, Nobi Nobita^?).
The series first appeared in December 1969, when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. In total, 1,344 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan under the Tentōmushi (てんとう虫^?) manga brand, extending to forty-five volumes. The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan, where Fujiko Fujio were born. American media mogul Ted Turner bought the rights to the Doraemon anime series in the mid-1980s for an English-language release,^[1] but canceled it without explanation before any episodes were aired. However, Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (the 26th film in the franchise) got a private screening in Washington, D.C. in November 2008.
A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with lessons regarding values such as honesty, perseverance, courage, family and respect for elders. Various environmental issues are often visited, including homeless animals, global warming, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. Miscellaneous educational topics such as dinosaurs, the flat Earth theory, wormhole traveling, Gulliver's Travels, and the history of Japan are often covered.
Doraemon was awarded the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for excellence in 1973. Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982,^[2] and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997. In March 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation's first "anime ambassador."^[3] Ministry spokesman explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries to understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture."^[4] The Foreign Ministry action confirms that Doraemon has come to be considered a Japanese cultural icon. In 2002, the anime character was acclaimed as an Asian Hero in a special feature survey conducted by Time Asia magazine.^[5]

Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi^?, literally "Alchemist of Steel") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.
The manga was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine (starting August 2001 and ending June 2010) and was collected in 27 tankōbon volumes. It was loosely adapted into an animated television series of 51 episodes by Bones from October 4, 2003, to October 2, 2004, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the story of the anime. Fullmetal Alchemist would later spawn a second series called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which directly adapted the manga. Brotherhood first premiered in Japan on April 5, 2009, spanning 64 episodes, and ending on July 4, 2010. A multitude of spin-off novels, original video animations (OVAs), drama CDs, soundtracks, and video games have been adapted from the series. A collectible card game, multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.
The manga has been licensed by Viz Media for publication in the United States, with 27 bound volumes released currently. Although there are no major differences with the Japanese version, some pages have been edited to avoid minor references to western theology. Funimation Entertainment has dubbed the anime episodes in the United States and Canada, and has also released them in all English-speaking DVD regions. The English version of the film premiered in a limited number of U.S. theaters on August 25, 2006, and was later released on DVD. Funimation and Destineer have also been releasing the video games from the series.
In Japan, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga has enjoyed exceptional sales of 50 million volumes sold as of 2010. The English release of the manga's first volume was the top-selling graphic novel during the year 2005. In two TV Asahi web polls, the anime was voted #1 most popular anime of all time in Japan. It was nominated in six of the eight categories for which it was eligible at the American Anime Awards in February 2007, winning awards in five of them. Reviewers from several media generally had positive comments on the series.

Baka and Test (バカとテストと召喚獣, Baka to Tesuto to Shōkanjū^?, lit. Idiots, Tests, and Summoned Beasts) also known as Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts is a Japanese light novel series created by Kenji Inoue and illustrations by Yui Haga. The first novel in the series was released on January 29, 2007, and as of November 23, 2012, a total of fifteen volumes, including volume 3.5, volume 6.5, volume 7.5, volume 9.5, and volume 10.5, have been published by Enterbrain under their Famitsu Bunko publishing imprint. A manga adaptation by Mosuke Mattaku started serialization in the manga magazine Shōnen Ace on April 25, 2009. Another manga adaptation by namo started serialization in the male oriented web comic magazine Famitsu Comic Clear on October 30, 2009. An anime adaptation by Media Factory was announced the same month. A promotional trailer was released for streaming in August 2009.^[1] An anime series adaption began airing on January 7, 2010. Funimation has licensed the anime for release in the United States under the title Baka and Test – Summon the Beasts.^[2] A board game/adventure game for PlayStation Portable titled Baka to Test to Shōkanjū Portable was released in December 13, 2012

Eyeshield 21 (アイシールド21, Aishīrudo Nijūichi^?) is a Japanese manga series written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The series tells the story of Sena Kobayakawa, a introvert boy who joined the American football club. He initially joined the club as secretary, but after being coerced by Hiruma, turns out to play wearing an eyeshield and the number 21, under the pseudonym of "Eyeshield 21". Riichiro Inagaki chose American football as a central theme for Eyeshield 21 after realizing that it fit perfectly with the idea he had in mind for the series.
The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 2002 to June 2009. The series consists of 333 chapters collected in 37 tankōbon volumes. In North America, the manga was released for Viz Media from April 2005 to October 2011. An anime adaptation consisting of 145 television episodes was directed by Masayoshi Nishida and Shin Katagai, and co-produced by TV Tokyo, NAS, and Gallop. The television series originally aired on Japan's TV Tokyo network from April 6, 2005 to March 19, 2008. It was later licensed in North America by Toonami Jetstream as a joint effort with NFL Rush and aired on December 17, 2007, but no more episodes was dubbed, as the Toonami Jetstream video-streaming service shut down. The anime series was streamed in English by Crunchyroll. The Eyeshield 21 franchise has spawned two original video animations (OVAs), audio albums, video games, and other merchandise.
In Japan, the Eyeshield 21 manga has been popular, selling over 20 million volumes as of June 2009. The manga and anime have been featured, at various time, in Top Ten of their respective media. The Eyeshield 21 anime has been watched by a large number of television viewers in Japan. Publications for manga, anime and others have commented on Eyeshield 21 manga. Positive response have focused on the artwork and characters from the series, while negative responses concern the non-football scenes.

PLOT

The plot of Eyeshield 21 revolves around a weak and non-assertive boy named Sena Kobayakawa who enters the high school of his choice, Deimon Private Senior High School, where his childhood friend Mamori Anezaki attended school the year before. His only remarkable physical abilities are his running speed and intense agility, the result of a school life spent complying with the demands of bullies. It was revealed later that a friend, Riku, taught him how to run fast to help him against bullies. His abilities quickly catch the eye of the high school's American football team captain Yoichi Hiruma, who forces Sena to join the Deimon Devil Bats as its running back.
To protect his identity from other teams who want to recruit him, 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 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.
After Deimon's defeat, the spring tournament is revealed as 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 Tarō "Monta" Raimon, a baseball player who can only catch, and the Ha-Ha Brothers. Other characters slowly join the team, and the series follows the building and growth of the Deimon Devil Bats and its members as well as various rival teams as they all strive to achieve their goal of playing in the Christmas Bowl.
Following the Christmas Bowl, Japan begins to gather the best football players to form a team that will represent Japan at the American Football Youth World Championship, where an MVP will be rewarded an NFL contract and $3 million. Team Japan manages to make it to the final against Team America. The result is that a final touchdown by Sena at the buzzer ties the score, and both teams are declared winners, since no one expected anyone to win against America; however, the two teams are unsatisfied with this and tear straight back onto the field for their own improvised "overtime," causing chaos with officials. It is unclear which teams won the unofficial extra period but Panther of Team America won the MVP trophy aloft, winning the pro contract with the San Antonio Armadillos.
The series concludes with Sena becoming the captain of the Devil Bats when Hiruma and Kurita go off to college. In his final year of high school, Sena is invited to Notre Dame High School by Clifford, therefore fulfilling Hiruma's proclamation at the beginning of the series: the famous Eyeshield 21 of Notre Dame High has been born. All of the main characters are shown in the final chapter to be in college or playing amateur-league football while maintaining a job.

Production

Before the series starts to be published regularly in the Weekly Shōnen Jump, Inagaki and Murata published two one-shots, called Eyeshield Part 1 (前編, Zenpen^?) and Part 2 (後編, Kōhen^?) for 14th and 15th issue of the magazine.^[1] Despite having never played American football, Riichiro Inagaki chose this theme after deciding that he wanted to create "a protagonist that was wimpy at the beginning, yet could perform outstandingly in a sports game" and with this premise in mind he decided that American football would be "a very suitable material."^[2] When originally creating Eyeshield 21 he said he was wary because he didn't want that his manga becoming "a simulator of football".^[3] Inagaki said that Eyeshield 21 is set 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.^[4]
During the Eyeshield 21's original run in the Weekly Shōnen Jump, Inagaki went several times to the United States. He went to see college football matches;^[5] he went to a space center for some reference materials that would serve as the basis for creating the Nasa Aliens.^[6] He went also too a military base as he needed to draw one when the Hiruma's background is revelead^[7] and watching a NFL game he noted that the players "passed an intimidating and powerful sensation" and said that they "were facing dinosaurs", and created Rikiya Gao.^[8]
Before being asked to work in Eyeshield 21 manga, Yusuke Murata had read some Inagaki's manga and noted that "had many cool design concepts of uniforms and equipment" and he stated "it could be turned into a great manga story", and he will "be happy to take the challenge"; eventually he was chosen.^[2] While illustrated chapters, Murata was used to make a lot of mistakes and his pollen allergy used to hurt him because whenever he made a mistake he inhaled dust from eraser.^[9][10] To drawn the characters' sketchs before sending them to the publisher, he used a mechanical pencil, which he considered special because it was given to him by Masanori Morita.^[11]