quarterback, who is known as the the cornerback and an action movie star in Hollywood, and the Native American linebacker, who is known as the as he is the tallest player within the tournament. Eyeshield 21 is the title of the best runner of a generation. At the start of the series, Hiruma assigns this name to Sena to frighten his adversaries by claiming he is the running back who came from Notre Dame to Japan. "Eyeshield 21" is in fact not a person but a tradition of the college affiliated to the University of Notre Dame to distinguish the best player of the team. Shun Kakei, however, reveals he had already met "the real Eyeshield 21" when he was in the United States, and he returned to Japan to search him. During the match between Deimon Devil Bats and Bando Spiders, Akaba Hayato claims for himself the title; after being defeated by Sena, he admits that Sena can be the title holder. But, the "real" Eyeshield 21 is Takeru Yamato, who was the person Kakei met in the United States. When he meets Sena, Yamato declares that whoever wins the confrontation between them is the one who deserves such title. Reception The characters of Eyeshield 21 have been well received from publications dedicated to anime, manga, and other media. Deb Aoki from About.com said that one of the best things about Eyeshield 21 are "the well-written, distinctive and loveable characters", while Zac Bertschy from Anime News Network (ANN) stated the characters are "perhaps the strongest element [of the series]". Carlo Santos from ANN praised the "appealing characters" and the "well-defined cast of characters". Christina Koh of The Star asserted "Each character is drawn with a distinct look", while Santos commended their distinguishable physical characteristics, and their design, which, "of course, are a feat of imagination." Santos affirmed the series has "hilarious characters", while Scott Campbell from Active Anime said the characters "also possess a lot of ability to make the reader laugh". Scott Green of Ain't It Cool News described the characters "recognizable as people" and praised Eyeshield 21, for "taking the personal relationships a little less serious, but going a bit overboard with the motion and personalities". Mania.com's Jarred Pine classified the characters as "very likeable", and said that because they have "their own personalities" they "are instantly memorable". Chris Zimmerman from Comic Book Bin praised the development