Eyeshield 21 — BrandWiki

Eyeshield 21

type	manga
author	Riichiro Inagaki
illustrator	Yusuke Murata
publisher	Shueisha
imprint	Jump Comics
magazine	Weekly Shōnen Jump
first	July 23, 2002
last	June 15, 2009
volumes	37
volume list	List of Eyeshield 21 chapters

Eyeshield 21 (アイシールド21) is a Japanese manga series written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata. The series tells the story of Sena Kobayakawa, an introverted boy who joins an American football club as a secretary, but after being coerced by quarterback Yoichi Hiruma, becomes the team's running back, wearing jersey number 21 and an eyeshield to conceal his identity. Inagaki chose American football as a central subject of Eyeshield 21 after realizing that it fit perfectly with his idea for the series.

The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from July 2002 to June 2009. The series consists of 333 chapters collected in 37 volumes. An anime adaptation consisting of 145 television episodes was co-produced by TV Tokyo, NAS, and Gallop. The television series first aired on Japan's TV Tokyo network from April 2005 to March 2008. The Eyeshield 21 franchise has spawned two original video animations (OVAs), audio albums, video games, and other merchandise.

In North America, the manga was released by Viz Media from April 2005 to October 2011. The anime series was later licensed in North America by Toonami Jetstream

Plot

Sena Kobayakawa is a timid and physically unremarkable student at Deimon Private Senior High School in Tokyo. Despite his frail appearance, he possesses exceptional speed and agility. These unique talents are recognized by the school's American football team captain, Yoichi Hiruma, who forcibly recruits him as the Deimon Devil Bats' running back. To protect Sena from rival teams seeking to recruit him, he is concealed under the alias "Eyeshield 21", playing while wearing a helmet with an eyeshield and publicly serving as the team's manager.

The team's initial foray into the spring tournament ends in a decisive defeat against the dominant Ojo White Knights, highlighting their inexperience. The team's true focus becomes the fall tournament, a single-elimination tournament where Tokyo's top teams vie for a chance to advance to the Christmas Bowl, the championship game between the best high school teams from the Kantō and Kansai regions. Determined to build a competitive team, Hiruma, Sena, and head lineman Ryokan Kurita assemble a ragtag group of players. This includes former baseball player Tarō "Monta" Raimon, who becomes the team's star wide receiver, and several delinquents who fill out the offensive line. Their shared ambition is to reach the Christmas Bowl, a particularly urgent goal for the second-year students as a school rule prohibits third-year students from participating in club activities.

The team engages in rigorous training and exhibition matches, including a notable game against the visiting NASA Aliens from the United States. During this match, Sena befriends their running back, Patrick "Panther" Spencer, a former ball boy. The team then travels to the United States for intensive training under their former mentor, Doburoku Sakaki, enduring a grueling trek through the desert that forges stronger bonds and culminates in Sena revealing his true identity to his teammates.

Upon returning to Japan, the revitalized Devil Bats enter the fall tournament. As they advance, Sena learns the "Eyeshield 21" moniker originally belonged to a Japanese-American player from Notre Dame High School. After securing a place in the Kantō tournament, the team overcomes formidable opponents, including the Shinryuji Naga, led by the ruthless prodigy Agon Kongo, and a rematch against the Ojo White Knights. They ultimately win the Kantō championship, earning their place in the Christmas Bowl. There, they face the undefeated Teikoku Alexanders from Osaka, led by Takeru Yamato, the original Eyeshield 21. In a dramatic finish, the Devil Bats win the championship, and Yamato acknowledges Sena as the rightful successor to the Eyeshield 21 legacy.

Subsequently, Sena is invited to study at Notre Dame High School in America. Upon returning to Japan, he enrolls at Enma University, reuniting with former teammates and rivals who now play for various university and company teams. Together, they vow to compete for the Rice Bowl, Japan's national football championship.

In a later bonus chapter, the NFL's International Player Pathway Program offers a single spot with the San Antonio Armadillos to a Japanese player. Sena, now playing for the Enma Fires, and Hiruma, of the Saikyodai Wizards, compete against one another in the Koshien Bowl to determine the candidate. Although the Enma team is implied to be victorious, the final selection is not revealed.

Reception

Popularity

By July 2025, the manga had over 27 million copies in circulation (including digital copies);[125] individual volumes frequently appeared on top ten lists of best-selling manga there (see table). Individual volumes have appeared in Diamond Comic Distributors's lists of 300 best-selling graphic novels in North America several times.[126][127][128] The anime adaptation was also featured several times in Japanese television rankings,[129][130] with the first episode having a 7.5 percent television viewership rating.[131] In 2006, Japanese television network TV Asahi conducted a poll for the top hundred anime, and Eyeshield 21 was placed 47th.[132] Moreover, Eyeshield 21's series is credited with increasing the number of Japanese teenagers playing American football.[133][134] However, commenting on its genre's lack of popularity in the United States, Jason Thompson wrote in Anime News Network that "Even Eyeshield 21, a sports manga which is practically made for Americans, wasn't a big hit here".[135]

Reviews

Critics have generally given the Eyeshield 21 manga positive reviews. Deb Aoki from About.com wrote that tying with Bleach, Eyeshield 21 was the best continuing manga of 2007, because it "has well-written characters, dynamic artwork, nail-biting cliffhangers, plus a winning mix of comedy, action and drama".[136] On the 2008 list, Aoki listed Eyeshield 21 as the best continuing, as it was able to "[come] into its own" from other series.[137] In that same year, Pop Culture Shock's Sam Kusek elected it the best continuing manga series.[138] Chris Zimmerman of Comic Book Bin was positive on his review of the volumes 30–33; he affirmed it is "one of the best shonen titles out there" and described it as "a superb series, with well developed characters, intense action, and touching humor".[139] Scott Campbell of Active Anime commented it is an "action-filled" series with great artwork and humor, and that it "has managed to continually get more and more dynamic with each volume".[140]