Episode 44

**A Challenge from Barry**(バリーからの挑戦状, *Barī kara no Chōsenjō*) is the 44th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on February 15, 2004.

## Overview

Gash meets Barry, a new demon that seeks to challenge him after feeling unsatisfied with his numerous victories in previous battles. Unlike his past encounters with demons, Barry proves to be Gash's most formidable and menacing opponent he had run into up to this point. Gash and Kiyomaro are then forced into a battle against Barry that they cannot escape from.

## Plot

In the middle of Russia, a battle takes place place between Barry and Donpoccho. The battle does not last very long as their difference in power is evident through their first spells and Donpoccho attempts to surrender as he realizes he has no chance of winning. Barry refuses to let him get away easily and ends the battle using *Gigano Zonisu* to eliminate him and destroy his spell book. Sometime later, Barry expresses his frustration to his bookkeeper Gustav in having to deal with weak opponents during the battle to decide king. Gustav questions why he never seems to be satisfied even when he wins and assumes that there must be something he wants. Barry denies this and concludes that he may feel better about things if he had a chance to face a more powerful opponent. Gustav then tells Barry about rumors he had heard about Gash where every demon who had faced him had never returned and this immediately piques Barry's interest. Interested in this new challenge, the two of them head off to Japan where they would try and find Gash.

As the two of them arrive in Mochinoki City, Barry tells Gustav he's able to sense Gash's general location but will be able to properly identify him when they get close. Sensing he's nearby, Barry and Gustav investigate the local park only to see Gash being chased and pinned down by Naomi. Barry approaches them and mistakes Naomi to be Gash due to her aggressive nature only to soon realize that he was wrong. After scaring Naomi away, Gash tries to thank him for coming to rescue him from her. When Barry confirms Gash's identity, he grabs Gash by the head and holds him up in the air to announce he had come to challenge him to a battle. In addition, Barry threatens that if Gash doesn't face him he would still track him and his bookkeeper down and mentions the possibility of harming anyone else that's important to him too. Hearing this causes Gash's facial expression to change drastically, appearing more serious and Barry finds himself pleased to see this. He then tells Gash that they are to meet again at 3PM that day at an abandoned factory just on the outskirts of town.

That afternoon, the school day ends for Kiyomaro and just as he leaves, Kaneyama chases after him to ask if he would be interested in hunting for tsuchinoko that day. Just then, he notices Gash standing off to the side appearing worried and he learns from him that they had just been challenged to a battle. The two of them would manage to sneak away from both Kaneyama and Suzume, who had also been looking for Kiyomaro, to talk more in private. While waiting by some railroad tracks, Gash starts talking about his first impression of Barry and mentions he had sensed a degree of strength he had never felt before. He concludes by sharing to Kiyomaro his concerns about how dangerous the battle will be for them. Kiyomaro would then ask if he'd prefer if they try to run away from the fight but Gash adamantly refuses as it would put Kiyomaro and many others in great danger if they don't fight. Kiyomaro then reminds Gash to not forget that desire he has to protect others no matter what happens and to keep in mind the kind of king he's aiming to be. Finally, he ends his sentiments by reassuring Gash that he will be there with him all the way. Gash soon begins to feel much more confident in himself after hearing Kiyomaro's words.

Meanwhile, Barry and Gustav make their way to their battle location and encounter several gang members that were already there claiming that it was their turf. Barry decides to clear the area by having *Zonisu* cast in the general direction of these humans and warns he would attack them for real if they don't leave. This successfully scares them off but Barry would then call out another person who had been hiding to order them to leave as well. A girl comes out from hiding but she doesn't leave as she tries to tell Barry that there are others in the building too. Barry ignores her concerns and uses *Zonisu* once again to scare her away. Just then, Kiyomaro casts *Rashirudo* to protect the girl and it successfully defends against Barry's spell. Gash would also tell the girl to leave but then learns that two of her friends are upstairs and doesn't want to leave without them. Gash then reassures her that they'll find a way to save them and the girl would eventually run off after being told this. Kiyomaro and Gash then turn their attention to Barry and after exchanging some words, the two of them resolve that they'll win the battle and rescue the girls upstairs.

The battle between Gash and Barry commences as Gash first attacks using *Zakeruga* while Barry uses *Garuzonisu*. The two spells collide with each other and initially appear to be equal in power. *Zakeruga* eventually overpowers Barry and he ends up being blasted back towards a wall. He nevertheless gets back up and appears only to be barely scratched from the attack. Back at home, Suzume comes over to Kiyomaro's house to ask his mother about his whereabouts only to find out she hadn't seen Gash and Kiyomaro since that morning. Suzume then decides that she'll try and look for him with Umagon's help and the two of them quickly head off to start their search. At the same time, after seeing how *Zakeruga* barely affected Barry, Kiyomaro struggles to think of another way that they can save the girls upstairs. The battle continues regardless as Barry uses *Zonisu* once more and Gash blocks the spell again using *Rashirudo*. Annoyed by the shield, Barry uses *Doruzonisu* to destroy it and then begins to corner Kiyomaro. Gash jumps in Barry's way which gives Kiyomaro an opportunity to run towards the stairs. Barry notices this and throws Gash in Kiyomaro's direction. Kiyomaro would then grab Gash and kick him upstairs so that he can help rescue the girls.

Barry sees how determined both Gash and Kiyomaro appear to be to save the girls upstairs but considers this a show of weakness. Still looking for a fight, Barry makes his way to the upstairs room by flying upwards using *Zonisu* and crashes right through the wall of the room. Just before he's able to do anything, Kiyomaro casts *Zakeru* to push him out of there then breaks open a window as an escape route for Gash and the girls. Barry gets into the room again but just before he's able to stop Gash, Kiyomaro stands between him and Gash and refuses to let Barry go any further. Just before Barry would eventually attack him, Kiyomaro orders Gash to leave and Gash jumps out of the window while carrying both of the girls. They make it safely to the ground where they would then regroup with their friend and leave the area. When Gash calls out to Kiyomaro to tell them that they're safe, he receives no response back from him.

    In the room, Kiyomaro is seen on the ground after being struck by Barry who would go on to insult him for being so weak. Despite being injured, Kiyomaro insults him back which angers Barry enough to want to hit him again. Before he's able to do so, Gash scales the wall outside and tackles Barry which causes him to be pushed out of the room again. When Gash comes back to Kiyomaro's side, Kiyomaro asks about the wellbeing of the girls and is relieved when he hears that they managed to get away safely. Despite how wounded he is, he praises Gash for a job well done and tries to get back on his feet. The two of them get fired up with their desire to win and the goal of making Gash a kind ruler as they remember they cannot allow anyone as dangerous as Barry to defeat them otherwise. On the ground, Barry and Gustav see that Gash and Kiyomaro are still determined to fight and Barry expresses his excitement in continuing their fight.

## Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Donpoccho
* Vincent Barry
* Goman
* Gustav
* Naomi
* Gash Bell
* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Takeshi Kaneyama
* Suzume Mizuno
* Wife
* Umagon
* Hana Takamine

### Locations

* Russia
* Japan
	+ Mochinoki City
		- Mochinoki Middle School
		- Takamine Residence

### Spells by Appearance

* Gireido (Debut)
* Zonisu (Debut)
* Gigano Zonisu (Debut)
* Rashirudo
* Zakeruga
* Garuzonisu (Debut)
* Doruzonisu (Debut)

## Manga & Anime Differences

* All appearances Kaneyama, Suzume, Wife, Hana, and Umagon have in this episode is entirely filler and they have no involvement during these events in the manga.
* In the manga, Goman is seen right by Donpoccho's side during his battle against Barry and their spell book would be seen catching fire as they try and run from Barry's *Gigano Zonisu*. In the anime, Goman is seen much farther away from Donpoccho away from the battle but as Donpoccho is hit by *Gigano Zonisu*, his spell book would spontaneously catch on fire despite not making any contact with the spell.
* In the anime, Barry and Gustav are seen speaking with each other in a forest after their battle against Donpoccho. In the manga, they talk just by the building where their battle had taken place.
* Mentions of "tsuchinoko" in the original Japanese episode was changed to "dinosaur" in the VIZ localization.
* In the manga, Barry kicks Naomi after having been insulted by her. In the anime, he only strikes the ground just in front of her with his hand.
* In the anime, Gash waits for Kiyomaro outside of school in order to tell him about the battle they had been challenged to. In the manga, Kiyomaro had no school that day so Gash told him the news at home in his room.
	+ Given this, Kiyomaro's attire between the anime and manga is also different. In the anime, since he had come straight from school, he is seen in his regular school attire. In the manga, he's seen wearing a sweater vest and long sleeved shirt.
* In the manga, when Kiyomaro first speaks with Barry, he brings up the fact that there are only around 40 demons left at the time. Because of how out of order the anime shows different events in the manga, the discovery that there are 40 demons left has yet to happen and is not shown in this episode.

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* Scenes showing Gustav lighting his cigarette and the smoke emitting from it was edited in the VIZ localization of the episode.
* Details such as blood from injuries are cleaned up from characters in the VIZ localization but other things such as scratches and clothing tears are usually left alone. All blood seen on Kiyomaro would be cleaned up in the VIZ localization.