Eyeshield 21

アイシールド21

Manga8.538401 votes37 volumes · 333 chaptersFinished

SportsTeam SportsShounen

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About this title

Synopsis

Timid, diminutive, and frequently the target of bullies, Sena Kobayakawa has just enrolled at Deimon Private High School. When he angers a group of delinquents by refusing to act as their errand boy, he makes an incredibly speedy getaway, an ability he has developed through years of running from his tormentors. Youichi Hiruma—the demonic captain of the Deimon Devil Bats football team—happens to be nearby, and seeing Sena's "golden legs" at work, forcibly recruits him as a running back despite Sena's desire to be team manager instead. Made to don the number 21 jersey and a special helmet to hide his identity as a player, Sena becomes "Eyeshield 21," the team's closely guarded secret weapon. Soon he realizes his love for the sport, and aims to help the Devil Bats reach the Christmas Bowl, the high school football championship. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Publication notes

Eyeshield 21 has sold more than 27 million copies in Japan as of July 2025. The series was published in English by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump Advanced imprint from April 5, 2005, to October 4, 2011.

Published

Jul 23, 2002 to Jun 15, 2009

Authors

External links

MyAnimeList page Wikipedia Wikipedia

MAL rank: #209
Members (MAL): 82,864
Favorites (MAL): 4,539

Related titles

Main characters

Youichi Hiruma4241 fan favorites
External profile
Position: Quarterback Jersey: 1 40 yard dash: 5.1 seconds Bench press: 75 kg Height: 176 cm Weight: 67 kg Birthday: February 7 Hair: Blond (Originally black but he bleached it) Eyes: Emerald Green Hiruma usually acts in a vulgar, bizarre, threatening manner so as to intimidate or disturb those around him into getting what he wants. He has a cunning, goal-oriented mind and does not seem to care what means he uses to accomplish those goals. His sense of morals is lax at best, but he is quick to find the moral flaws of others, which he keeps recorded in his "Book of Threats" or "Devil's Handbook," and uses this information to blackmail everyone from students to figures of authority into placing him in a position of power. He has little respect for authority and has in fact usurped authority over Deimon High School well before the series begins and know authority of a vice principal, using his power in the school to give himself beyond-perfect scores in all his classes and divert funds to the American football club as he desires. Besides blackmail, Hiruma can often intimidate others into taking the action he wants by waving around his vast arsenal of firearms. Even without having to take direct action, Hiruma's mere reputation is enough in some instances to make the majority of the student body fear him and bow to his authority. Despite his penchant for blackmail and breaking seemingly every school rule without consequence, Hiruma adheres to the rules of American football without exception while playing. Inagaki says that Hiruma "does everything else to win" and is "only concerned with winning." Instead, Hiruma attempts to throw opposing teams off guard through taunts and insults. Even when Hiruma expresses excitement or happiness, he does so in a violent manner, by firing his large guns into the air or kicking a teammate in the rear when they have executed well on a play. He addresses all members of the Deimon Devil Bats with a vulgar manner, beginning with "Fucking" and ending with a descriptive noun, such as "Shorty" for Sena or "Monkey" for Monta. Some characters, such as Kid, have observed that Hiruma's attitude and even aspects of his demonic appearance are an act to intimidate his opponents both on and off the field. Over time, the series has alluded to Hiruma's 'true' personality, which Sena and Mamori Anezaki have at times been shown to understand to some degree, as when one or the other correctly observes Hiruma to be worried, happy, or tired. In addition to these instances, Hiruma has shown compassion to others, though he continues to hide it with his demonic behavior —allowing Takami some privacy after a loss is one such instance. In addition, some of Hiruma's actions imply that he cares for the other members of the team more than he lets on. (Source: Wikipedia)
Sena Kobayakawa856 fan favorites
External profile
Position: Running back/Free Safety Jersey: 21 40 yard dash: 4.2 seconds, 4,1 seconds ( The Fall Tournament) Bench Press: 45 kg Birthday: December 21 Height: 155 cm (5' 1") Weight: 48 kg (106 lb) Blood type: A Graduated From: Deimon 2nd Middle School 1st Year Student (Grade 10) The main character of Eyeshield 21. Initially a bullied gopher, his speed was discovered by Hiruma as he was literally forced into joining the football team at Deimon. However, he soon grows to love the game he plays as he masters both the Speed of Light Pace and further techniques as he gains the confidence to become a successful player. At different times throughout the anime and the manga he will often, through emotions, tap into the "Speed of Light Pace", but the problem with this is every time he does that he will often overextend himself causing himself to faint. As time went on, he got to the point where he can run the "Speed of Light Pace" at will. After the Death March he develops the "Devil Bat Ghost" where he learns to cut without stopping, the "Devil Bat Hurricane" where he incorporates a spin to the "Devil Bat Ghost" and the "Devil Stungun" where he uses one arm to block. (Source: Wikipedia)
Ryokan Kurita72 fan favorites
External profile
Birthday: July 7 Position: Center / Defensive Tackle / Long snapper Jersey: 77 40 yard dash: 6.5 seconds Bench Press: 160 kg (352 lb) Height: 195 cm (6' 4") Weight: 145 kg (319 lb) Graduated From: Mao 13th Middle School 2nd Year Student (Grade 11) The largest and strongest player in the Deimon American Football club. Kurita lives in a temple with his father, who is the director of a Buddhist sect. His father believed that to grow up big and strong, a young boy had to eat a lot, but unfortunately it seems he has overfed his son. Kurita, as his name would suggest, has a head shaped like a chestnut. He is a very sweet, kind-hearted individual and the only thing bigger than his body is his heart. He became Sena's second friend after entering Deimon High School. When playing, Kurita shouts his kiai "Funnuraba!" when exerting extra effort. Before coming to Deimon, he attended the Shinryuji school, but was forced out because Kongo Agon was chosen over him for the special athletic scholarship, so he came to Deimon High along with Hiruma and Musashi. Like Hiruma. Kurita is crazy about American football and tries to encourage everyone to join though he does not go to the same extremes as his demonic compatriot. He can get so worked up that he's been known to begin morning practice as early as 2:00 AM. His "apprentice" is Komusubi, who practices with him whenever he can. His biggest dream is to compete in the Christmas Bowl. He is somewhat dim-witted (nearly giving away Sena's other identity) and is insanely strong (he accidentally destroyed a small truck by hugging it). Also, whenever fights ensue, between the Deimon members, he always stops them by flattening all of them. Though he normally looks rather comical, he's dangerous when he's actually fired up. When Musashi rejoins the team, Kurita's "alternate personality" is revealed during the games. Kurita's face changes as his eyes inflame and become bigger, his eyebrows thicken, and his face tightens up. He gains even more strength than usual in this "form" (although he can quickly change back when he gets happy, but change back again as the game resumes). (Source: Wikipedia)
Tarou Raimon69 fan favorites
External profile
Position: Wide Receiver Split end / Cornerback Jersey: 80 40 yard dash: 5.0 (as of the start of the Kantou tournament) Birthday: August 31 Monta is the wide receiver of the Deimon Devil Bats American football team. He resembles an ape, particularly a chimpanzee, in many ways; indeed, his simian similarity is the character's running joke throughout the manga. Although he is as short as Sena, his large hands, arms (that are noticeably longer than his legs), acrobatic moves, and leaping ability make him a very effective receiver; he can even catch Hiruma's bullet passes with one hand. He has a habit of posing every time he makes a spectacular catch for a touchdown, rolling after the jump, and breaking out of the roll by kneeling and pointing upwards with his index finger. He also has the habit of attaching 'Max' to nearly everything he does (suffixing his phrases with MAX! in the Japanese, and prefixing them with MAXI-! in the English), since he believes that one should give 100% effort in all endeavors. He was named Monta after Sena mistook his name as Rai Montarou. He begins to like being called 'Monta' after Hiruma tells him the nickname 'Monta' was supposedly derived from Joe Montana. Monta does not know that Joe Montana is a quarterback, not a wide receiver. Monta has a crush on Mamori. He's always trying to win her heart, often failing miserably, because she always gives more attention to Sena. Monta's throwing is incredibly horrible: he moves his arm in the right direction, but somehow, the ball goes in a completely different direction! Not only that, but his kicking is similar. His throws/kicks usually hit someone on the head, or break a window. Monta is also known for his bad grammar, as he once said that he will "restore his disgrace, but was corrected by Hiruma, and Hiruma even requested that someone "teach that monkey how to communicate with humans," which embarrassed him even further. At the same time, although he is considered an idiot, he gives wonderful motivational speeches, especially to Sena. Every time Sena felt like all was lost, Monta would give him a pep talk, leading Sena to start moving again. (Source: Wikipedia)
Mamori Anezaki52 fan favorites
External profile
Position: Club Manager Bench Press: 20 kg Height: 162 cm (5' 4") Weight: 48 kg (106 lb) Birthday: November 24 Hair color: Brown Eyes: Blue (anime), Green (manga) Graduated From: Sakura Girls' Middle School 2nd Year Student (Grade 11) Sena's overprotective and motherly childhood friend. Mamori's mother met Sena's mother in a cooking class, and Mamori and Sena have been friends ever since. Her mother is half-Japanese, half-American which makes Mamori 25% American and 75% Japanese. Mamori has been protecting Sena from bullies since primary school, to the point that Sena has grown up never having to stand up for himself. Mamori joined the American Football club to watch over Sena and prevent any bullying by the other members (particularly Hiruma). Despite her joining the American Football club just to protect Sena's claim, she eventually becomes an excellent manager who knows the rules inside and out and makes up strategies for the team (since she has trouble with computers, she does it all on paper—super-analog). She memorized all of american football rules in just 1 night and is able to answer Hiruma's question to the smallest detail. A lovely girl, Mamori excels in all her studies except art, which she is horrible at, and helped Sena with his high school entrance exam. She is also a member of the school's disciplinary committee. Though she is constantly butting heads with Hiruma, she eventually sees a softer side to the Devil Bats' quarterback. Her favorite food is Italian food and creampuffs. She is kind of a "creampuff-maniac" since her personality drastically changes when the topic is about creampuffs (as seen in the anime and in manga chapter 206). (Source: Wikipedia)
Gen Takekura26 fan favorites
External profile
Position: Kicker/Linebacker Jersey: 11 40 yard dash: 5.6 seconds Bench Press: 90 kgs Height: 177 cm (5' 9") Weight: 77 kg (169 lb) Blood Type: A Birthday: April 2 Graduated From: Maou 13th Middle School 2nd year student The place kicker for the Devil Bats and one of the original three members of the team (along with Hiruma and Kurita). He is often mistaken for an older person (even though he is only 17), since he initially has a bit of stubble and has a buzz-cut. He leaves the team during the spring season of his freshman year, due to the fact that his father had become seriously ill. As a result, he was forced to drop out of school and take over as the construction foreman of Deimon High. Though he desperately wants to get back into playing, he refused to rejoin the Devil Bats. However, after meeting with Sena and Monta and seeing how determined they are to get him back on the team, he agrees, but only if they become a strong team. In the manga, Musashi makes his comeback during the game against Seibu, when his father hit him for abandoning his team. In the anime, however, he does not rejoin the team until the game with the Bando Spiders. He has a running rivalry with the kicker of the Spiders Sasaki Koutaro who, according to Hiruma, has never missed. Musashi has an incredibly strong right leg which helps the Devil Bats on kickoffs, often pinning their opponents deep or forcing them to down the ball deep in their own territory, or in their end zone for a touchback. The title of the 60-yard Magnum was actually a lie fabricated by Hiruma, in order to make Musashi seem invincible, and Musashi keeps telling people that it is a lie. The kanji in Musashi's last name, Takekura, can also be read as Musashi, thus his nickname. The name is derived from Miyamoto Musashi, a famous samurai, who was famous for his skills with two swords, which relates to the fact that Musashi must put up two kicks for every successful possession (extra point kick or field goal and the kick off). Gen's rivalry with the Bando Spiders kicker Sasaki Koutaro is also a play on Miyamoto's rivalry with the legendary swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. (Source: Wikipedia)