Beelzebub

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

Beelzebub is one of my favorite manga (you can tell it by my nickname from years ago lol) and it has the funniest comedy I've seen in one; granted, I don't have a very wide repertoire of completed manga, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But, let's get to the juicy stuff:

The story of Beelzebub is very simple and nothing to right home about, except when it is. Like any shonen, there are various arcs, and while I wouldn't call any of them bad, there are definetely golden ones that are just a delight to read. Beelzebub doesn't take itself very ... seriously, and that's what I love about it; it leaves room for comedy, and the comedy is always there, making me laugh my lungs out.

The characters, while great, in my opinion, sometimes are left behind and are seldom underdeveloped (I'm looking at you Toujou), which is fine, seeing this only happens with supporting charactes, but I really wish Tamura utilized some of the characters in a better way, story and comedic wise. And, since I'm talking characters, I'll mention the romance, which is there less as a truly romantic plot, but as a gag. It ended up with nothing set in stone, which I liked, leaving the rest to the reader's imagination and staying true to its roots.

Now, talking about the ending: without spoiling, it was a satisfactory conclusion. It did felt rushed through some of the last few chapters, but that's just how business is for a mangaka. Nonetheless, it was still a very funny conclusion that made me laugh and ever tear up a little with the thought of "so this journey has come to an end, huh?".

I love Tamura's art; it's simplistic, yet detailed, with an empashis on drawing jokes from it. I've always had trouble understanding action scenes in manga, because let's face it, drawing movement is hard, but I've had very little of this problem with Beelzebub; the battle scenes are easy to understand, for the most part, while still being detailed.

I recomend Beelzebub to any fan of comedy, dumb and surreal experiences, and good ol' classic shonen. Altough I, personally, feel that Beelzebub is at its best when being a comedy, even though I do like the action in it. I may have given it a 9, but my enjoyment is 9000, ADABUH!

“You don’t need to do something this grand and ridiculous. Just come over to where I am and play. I’ll be your opponent in a game. Hell, I’ll take you on as much as you’d like.”

- Oga, Chapter 138

Episodic-style comedy can be a difficult thing to get right. Short plots focusing on a core concept are at risk of quickly becoming bland repetitive; especially when a series runs for a long time. This is especially true when the concept is as specific as it can get. Beelzebub manages to navigate its peculiar premise in which a delinquent becomes the unwilling parent of a future ... demon lord, evolving consistently to keep the series fun and engaging.

Tamura creates a number of situations that bring the best out of Beelzebub’s premise while not relying on too many overused tropes, although a couple can become a little bit repetitive. This is especially true of the earlier chapters which focuses almost exclusively on comedy. The fights are also enjoyable, with the variety in characters' fight styles really aiding to the action moments; especially fights that don’t involve the main character. For some, the chopping and changing of tone might be a little jarring, but most of the time the comedy and action mix well together.

The more emotional moments also hold up well, working with the overall themes of Beelzebub, most notably surrounding the idea of family and the relationship between Beel and Oga. While definitely not the focal element of Beelzebub by a long shot, these moments offer a nice reflection on how far the characters have come.

The biggest problem with Beelzebub’s story is that, towards the end, Tamura begins to lose grip on its pacing. This is a shame because there are some interesting ideas floating around, but they get steamrolled by the number of fights and new antagonists being introduced. Beelzebub slowly falls into the trap of constantly needing bigger antagonists to fight against and it means that they begin to lack any meaningful characterisation. Fortunately, most of Beelzebub doesn’t suffer from this problem and the later chapters are still enjoyable, but it is clear that there was a struggle to wrap up the narrative.

Tamura’s art style is really strong; capturing the more emotional moments well and having a couple of really intense splash pages. It doesn’t become too focused on intricate detailing which works well for the action and comedy moments; making scenes easy to read and avoiding them becoming too cluttered. The changes in art between the comedy and action scenes are also handled well since it doesn’t become too distracting. Most of the action scenes are also well-paced on the page, with the stylistic choices often emphasising the more physical elements of Beelzebub.

Where Beelzebub really shines is with its characters; especially those introduced during the first half of its run. As mentioned earlier, a couple of the later antagonists fall through the cracks but this definitely doesn’t reflect the rest of the series. Each character is unique and can carry their own weight. This is especially true of the main characters and the characters from Ishiyama High School. Their interactions with each other, as well as their reactions to strange events happening around them, is varied enough that there is always something new.

Comedy series tend to live and die by their casts, and Beelzebub definitely has a group of characters that can carry it through all the crazy shenanigans. The delinquents manage to each feel like their own entities and while a couple fall into singular gags; they are used sparingly enough that it doesn’t become annoying. It is easy to become invested in these characters as they develop over the course of the series.

Overall, Beelzebub starts off as a strong episodic-style comedy that develops into an interesting plot. While its final quarter begins to lose sight of its core, falling into the pitfall that many battle shōnen face, the rest of the series is definitely enjoyable for people who like comedy series. By the time you reach the weaker plot elements, the investment in the characters will keep you reading.

My issue with this series is that it could never truly decide if it wanted to be a comedy or a battle manga. Multiple times it felt like the author was about to ditch the main focus on comedy and settle for a battle manga as the world building for that kind of set up was quite good. However, the author always ended up taking it back to ridiculous comedy outcomes, which is fine when done properly. I feel as if this series could never really create a good balance between these two ideas and instead just awkwardly went left and right on the spectrum ... as opposed to creating a good balance between the two.

An example of a series that does this well would be Mob Psycho 100, and if you haven't read that then I highly recommend you check it out before bothering with this awkward/mediocre time sink.