Starting April 3rd theZatch Bell anime series will begin airing Monday through Friday on the Cartoon Network's after school Miguzi Block at 4:30 pm. This daily 'stripping' of the series will be in addition to its current spot on the Saturday evening Toonami Block.
Bandai Collectible Games is planning to take advantage of the much higher profile of theZatch Bell property by running a national commercial campaign for itsZatch Bell CCG: Gathering Storm expansion starting on March 27 and continuing through the middle of April. Bandai's initial wave of TV ads for theZatch Bell CCG in October of 2005 did drive sales. The latest issue of ICv2'sRetailers Guide to Games rated theZatch Bell CCG as the #7 collectible card game property; and the property is actually doing somewhat better in the mass-market thanks primarily to the exposure provided by the anime series, and that exposure is about to increase substantially in April.
Starting in April the Miguzi Block will consist ofCode Lyoko at 4 pm,Zatch Bell at 4:30 pm, followed by two episodes ofYu-Gi-Oh GX. In addition to helping theZatch Bell CCG, the increased prominence on the Cartoon Network should also benefit theZatch Bell manga and theZatch Bell anime DVDs (both from Viz) as well as theZatch Bell toys from Mattel.
