Eyeshield 21  The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's "Weekly Shōnen Jump" from July 2002 to June 2009. The series consists of 333 chapters collected in 37 "tankōbon" 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 6, 2005, to March 19, 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 as a joint effort with Viz Media and aired on December 17, 2007, on its site, but before its completion, the streaming service was shut down. The whole series was streamed in English by Crunchyroll, while Sentai Filmworks licensed the series, with distribution from Section23 Films on DVDs. In Japan, the "Eyeshield 21" manga has sold over 20 million volumes. The manga and anime have been featured at various times in weekly top ten lists of best-selling in their respective media. The anime has been watched by a large number of television viewers in Japan, helping to raise American football's popularity in the country. Publications for manga, anime, and others have commented on "Eyeshield 21", which received positive comments for its artwork and characters, and negative responses to its non-football scenes. In Tokyo, a weak, unassertive boy named Sena Kobayakawa enters the high school of his choiceDeimon Private Senior High School. Sena's only remarkable physical abilities are his running speed and agility, which are noted by the school's American football team captain Yoichi Hiruma. Hiruma forces Sena to join the Deimon Devil Bats football team as its running back. To protect his identity from other teams who want to recruit him, Sena is forced to publicly assume the role of the team secretary and enter the field under the pseudonym of "Eyeshield 21" wearing a helmet with an eyeshield to hide his features. The makeshift team initially takes part in the spring football tournament hoping to win through the strength of their new "secret weapon". However, the extremely weak team is eliminated early by the Ojo White Knights, one of the best football teams in Japan. After Deimon's defeat, the spring tournament is revealed as secondary in importance to the fall tournament, where the teams compete for the chance to play in the Christmas Bowlthe high school football league championship.