Deimon Devil Bats

“We're gonna kill 'em! YEAH!!

The ragtag underdog team of Sena Kobayakawa, better known as "Eyeshield 21." Since the Deimon Devil Bats have a limited number of players, they play as a one-platoon system, meaning that nearly each player has an offensive and a defensive position.

Before the events of the series, the Devil Bats were a fledgling team that its founders—Youichi Hiruma, Ryoukan Kurita, and Gen "Musashi" Takakura—struggled to get off the ground. Once Musashi dropped out of school under private circumstances, Hiruma and Kurita were left to play and recruit on their own. With the lofty goal of reaching the national Christmas Bowl, they both tirelessly tried to find and keep new players, but were often met with indifference from the rest of Deimon High School's student body. Hiruma regularly blackmailed athletes from other sports clubs to act as fill-ins, but this didn't make up for for a lack of well-trained, dedicated players. Thus, the Devil Bats floundered constantly during games and were easily defeated by better teams, especially those with superior numbers. Hiruma’s discovery and forcible recruitment of the quick-footed Sena as the team's main running back, however, changed the course of the Devil Bats’ history.

After Sena, more players begin to join and are added to the roster; some by force or under false pretenses, but others willingly as well. Many of them are misfits and social outcasts, rejected or treated poorly by their parents or peers. The Devil Bats' players undergo strenuous, hellish training under Hiruma, but in the long run, each of them prove to be resilient and dedicated to their team. Even after they're hit with several setbacks and losses, this team can still be counted on to bounce back and keep trying their hardest. As the Devil Bats grow stronger collectively and individually, the Christmas Bowl slowly stops being a pipe dream and starts becoming a somewhat realistic goal.

Most of the Devil Bats have their own personal and athletic weaknesses, but possess one or two outstanding talents that make them valuable when working together. Under Hiruma’s shrewd—and often trigger-happy—guidance, they can enact clever trick plays and carefully planned formations that make the best of each player's strengths. As the team slowly comes together, the Deimon Devil Bats soon form a cohesive group that are formidable opponents to any team that faces them.



 MEET THE TEAM 

To read about one of these characters, click on their thumbnail!

 MAIN PLAYERS 

Sena Kobayakawa
Youichi Hiruma
Ryoukan Kurita
A thumbnail image of Tarou 'Monta' Raimon as he scratches the back of his head and smiles toothily while blushing.
A thumbnail image of Manabu Yukimitsu, a skinny teenager with a large forehead and receding hairline, smiling excitedly as he watches his teammates play.
A thumbnail image of Natsuhiko Taki, a handsome teenager with long blond hair and a goatee, smiling and winking to his audience.
Tarou Raimon
Manabu Yukimitsu
Natsuhiko Taki
Gen Takekura
Daikichi Komusubi
Shouzou Toganou, Kouji Kuroki, and Kazuki Juumonji
"The Hah Brothers"

 FILL-IN PLAYERS 

Tetsuo Ishimaru
Kenta Yamaoka
Youhei Satake
Futoshi Omosadake

 SUPPORT 

A thumbnail image of Mamori Anezaki, a teenage girl with a light-colored bob haircut, smiling and cheering.
Mamori Anezaki
Suzuna Taki
Sakaki Doburoku

 MASCOTS 

Devil Bat
Li'l DB
Cerberus
Piggyberus

 INFO 

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A small, transparent image of Devil Bat flying and grinning. A photo of a Southwestern myotis bat in flight.

Bats are the only mammals capable of sustained flight, and can maneuver their wings and bodies more flexibly than birds. Over 1,400 species exist in the wild, the smaller of which can fly at speeds as high as over 100mph. Bats also communicate from afar through an array of vocalizations, which they also for echolocating and hunting prey at night. To execute their plays, the Deimon Devil Bats rely both on each other's unique talents—especially tiny Sena's superspeed—and on stealthy communication. The most notable example of the latter are Hiruma and Mamori's special sign language, which they use communicate to each other at a long distance. Hiruma also uses a mix of signals, body language, and doublespeak to avoid rousing the suspicions of their opponents.

Cultural perceptions about bats vary, but many characterize bats as supernatual beings. Western cultures view bats as unclean pests and as frightening "creatures of the night," often associating them with darkness, death, and the demonic. Like bats themselves, the Devil Bats are mostly social outcasts, misunderstood or maligned for one reason or another. Everything about Hiruma's appearance, personality, and behavior are best described as demonic or devilish. The team mascots, Devil Bat and his sibling Li'l DB, are sentient, otherworldly creatures and not characters that Hiruma created.

On the positive side, bats can also symbolize rebirth and transformation, and the Devil Bats each undergo both on a personal and physical level. The folklore of numerous indigenous tribes in North America heavily feature bats; the Navajo view them as liminal beings that deliver messages to the gods, and they appear as clever tricksters in Apache, Cree, and Cherokee fables. The latter suits Hiruma's love for outsmarting and unsettling his opponents with trick plays and taunts. In Chinese culture, bats are closely associated with good luck, prosperity, and familial bonds, as the written characters for "bat" (蝠) and "happiness" (福) look similar and have the same pronunciation, . All of these suit this tight-knit underdog team well. Luck and risk-taking are also a consistent theme during their games, emphasized further by the recurring appearance of gambling and playing cards.

Eyeshield 21 and its characters belong to Riichiro Inagaki and Yuusuke Murata, copyrighted under Shueisha Inc. Licensed in the United States by Viz Media, LLC. Credit for layout and tile background go to SadGrl.Online. CC0 Public Domain, 2022.