Beelzebub

TV (60 eps)
2011 - 2012
Winter 2011
3.965 out of 5 from 20,451 votes
Rank #1,162

Ishiyama High is home to a whole host of delinquents, including Oga, a legendary badass who's downright devilish. One day Oga finds a man floating down a river, after which the man splits open to reveal a baby inside – but it’s no ordinary baby! The cute tot is actually Beelzebub, the future king of the demons! And as Oga is as mean as they come, Beelzebub latches on to its newfound 'father', much to the other demons' dismay. Now, in addition to battling rival gangs and becoming the strongest delinquent around, Oga must buy diapers, comfort and carry around an annoying baby who's more of a devil than he is!

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Reviews

ThatAnimeSnob
3

Beelzebub is a slapstick comedy around teenage delinquents and a baby which will become the demon lord when it grows up. The story is by far the weakest part as it is aimless. Nothing is going on in terms of on-going plot and all conflicts are solved easily and superficially. It gets even worse when you get a man like Takamoto Nobuhiro to direct it. His roster is nothing but a long line of pitiful titles (with the exception of Record of Lodoss War, which is rather watchable just for the kitch factor). Production values are average to good, albeit worse than the artwork in the manga version. As if the animators lack funds, lots of scenes are done very simplistic and you end up feeling half the excitement of the manga. The studio who made this is basically a branch of Pierrot Studio, where all their shonen shows have the same lazy feeling. The cast is the meat of the series and if you find them funny then nothing else matters in this review. Practically everyone is an idiot, doing idiotic things. I guess the quality of the stupidity is good if you like this sort of humor but a fatal flaw is again ruining it. You see, before the series they had made a single OVA episode that compacted the plot of all the initial missions, with far better production values. The expectations of most were too high and when the tv series began, they were disappointed with the far less amount of gags per episode, as well as the less fluent animation and the less detailed artwork. Another thing that annoyed many outside the fanbase is the baby protagonist itself. It is butt naked. Although there is not much of a problem to pass as pedophilic, at the same time the most basic question anyone would ask is “Why is it not wearing a diaper?” There is simply no excuse for that; it is naked just for us to ask the question. And no, the fact it is a demon is not an excuse because we clearly see its demonic father being fully dressed. Yet another thing that feels too weird to be funny for many is the fact that the baby is continually pissing, shitting and electrocuting people. Although that can count as a form of humor as well, scat jokes are only meant to last for a few minutes at best yet the entire series seems to be running on it. It grows easily tiresome, the plot is not going anywhere, and there is also not much context in the baby as a character. I mean, in the early Dragonball episodes, Son Goku was running around naked and doing somewhat similar jokes but there was still a story to follow and he was eventually given a backdrop. In the same manner, in the old Urusei Yatsura comedy from the 80’s Lum would constantly electrocute people but there was far more context for you to care about her, as well as the various adventures she had, which were all about some social criticism or a parody of some movie or event. Yet Beel, Oga and all the rest have no context at all. They are completely shallow and unoriginal stereotypes, doing retarded jokes that never seem to matter after the episode is over. This way you end up feeling bored fast, especially when there are many more comedies out there with far more developed casts and stories. Beelzebub is a shallow comedy, without a context in the plot or the cast for you to care. It doesn’t appear to be worthy of remembering it for anything else other than the baby’s nakedness. I highly doubt it will be remembered in a few years as a good comedy. As for the comedy part, I am not fond of scat and piss jokes at all. That is a very tasteless type of humor and nobody mature enough would stand it for more than a few episodes. So no, I don’t consider this to be a good anime, despite the few fanboys out there who find it hilarious for being retarded.

KaipoKiko
9.2

When i watched the first episode, i thought it was a pretty funny anime, But after reading the Beelzebub Manga, i was very dissapointed. The manga was over Ten Times better than the Anime itself.   But my opinion is because the Anime just aired, and the Manga had allready alot of chapters, Thats why most likely, you can't really feel the Funny Fibes from the manga.     Combat; As for the combat/fighting in this anime, I'd rate it a 8/10 for now ( 6 Episodes ) I'm expecting alot for the future combat in this anime, which in the latest Manga chapter, will get more devolopment/training for the main character.     Character Opinion; The Characters in this anime, are pretty random, but also very funny. The main characters are most likely the best, As for a Delinquint trying to get rid of a baby, and the women thinking it is a confession.     Oga Tatsumi; Oga is first introduced as a strong fighter, beating up some fellow class mates and then making them bow down to him because they had attacked him in his sleep. It is revealed that he is relaying the story of a series of strange events which leads to him becoming the Earthly father of the son of the devil, Beelzebub IV. He was picked to become Beelzebub's father because, in the eyes of Alaindelon , who was carrying the baby, he appeared to possess the qualities of the ideal parent for the future Devil King: strong, arrogant, and thinking nothing of fellow man.   Oga and Beelzebub (nicknamed baby Beel) cannot be separated by more than 15 meters or else it may result in instant death for Oga, according to Hilda  (as of chapter 38, the distance has increased by 8 centimetres). A tattoo-like contract on Oga's right hand, which grows larger the more he fights, signifies the contract between Beelzebub and him. The contract allows Oga to access large amounts of demonic power. Thus, Oga tries to stop fighting to limit the powers which will ultimately be used to end the human race. However, he is unsuccessful, as his fame of invincibility keeps attracting the attention of other delinquents who seek to conquer the fame that would come along defeating him.     Kaiser de Emperana Beelzebub IV; Known as Beelzebub or Baby Beel. He is the youngest son of the Devil King. He is very attached to Oga, always clinging onto Oga's back or sitting on Oga's head. When he becomes agitated (and initially when he saw blood), he'll often throw a tantrum that will spontaneously electrocute anyone within his vicinity.     Hildegarde; Preferring to be called by a shorter name, Hilda is a demon maid who helps Oga take care of Baby Beel. She reveres the Devil, or Demon Lord, and feels that it is a great honor to be chosen as the child's "Mother", or caretaker, by the Demon Lord. Her most characteristic features include her Gothic Lolita appearance and (as pointed out by Oga's mother) "great big knockers." Hilda is also described as a bombshell, and her right eye - the left has not been shown so far and is always hidden behind her hair. She rides a flying, leathery creature known as an AK-Baba as transportation and owns an umbrella which conceals a sword in the handle. Oga's family is under the impression that Oga and Hilda had sex and that Beelzebub was the resulting consequence. After the fight with Toujou she seems to accepts Oga to raise baby Beel and is warmer towards him.   Takayuki Furuichi; Furuichi and Oga seem to be each other's only friend, and the former is often the one that Oga goes to for conversation. He is comically referred to as "idiot Furuichi" by Oga, and is often the victim of many jokes in the story, although he is shown to have a darker side to him as well: Furuichi is not above returning Oga some of the distress he is involved in because of him, and does not mind having Oga electrocuted as collateral damage in the pool. That being said, their mutual loyalty is very fierce: Oga becomes riled up when Himekawa kidnaps and manhandles his friend, and Furuichi does not refrain from standing on Oga's side on tight spots. Furuichi quickly (if reluctantly) forgives him for kidnapping him from his holiday resort. Like Oga, he is a fan of Dragon Quest.   He is very conscious of his own weakness and will not stand up to thugs, although he is quick to do an about-face when a pretty girl is involved. At these junctures, he shows considerable strategy and is even ruthless, for example using baby Beel to electrocute several enemies in a pool, suggesting a different but no less evil commonality with Oga.   Alaindelon; Full name Bathin de Emuna Alaindelon. A dimensional transfer demon working under Hildagarde, he is first seen floating down the river with an arrow on his chest. He sees Oga forcing other delinquents to kowtow to him and decides to deliver baby Beel to him as a potential parent. He is heavily built and is most often seen wearing a tank-top and briefs. After Oga becomes Beel's parent he moves in with Furuichi, against the boy's wishes. It is revealed in Chapter 42( Manga)  that he has a daughter. He is supposed to be a satirical representation of the singer Freddie Mercury and is named after French actor Alain Delon; his appearances are often used for comic effect.   Hajime Kanzaki; The first of the four to be introduced and the weakest among them, he was nevertheless the closest to dominating the school at the time. A sadistic and malignant third year, he was sought out by Oga to be a replacement father for Beel, Oga hoping Kanzaki's purportedly sinister and malicious character would be more appealing to the demon baby than his own. However, after Kanzaki viciously humiliates Shiroyama, his most loyal underling and until then his right-hand man, Oga becomes enraged and punches Kanzaki through a top-story window, sending him to the hospital and further solidifying Beel's attachment to him. After that, Kanzaki loses his retinue.   Shintarou Natsume A soft-spoken underling of Kanzaki, he shows exceptional interest in Oga and his exploits. Handsome and long-haired, he prefers to make light-hearted quips during frays to engaging in them personally. Though he rarely participates in fights himself, he is incredibly strong, taking out the MK5 by himself and even downing one of Toujou's underlings within seconds. From this it is implied that Natsume is significantly stronger than people thought, as not even Kanzaki or Himekawa were capable of such a feat. He shows these fighting skills again when he blocks Gou Hiromichi from attacking Oga head on, stating, "it's not really my style to go all out in a fight."   Tatsuya Himekawa; He is the son of the "Himekawa Group", a financial zaibatsu, and the second member of the Tohoshinki. Using money to solve his problems, he bribes friends and enemies into his employment, often turning the tables on dissident challengers by turning the latter's own friends against them. This tactic proved completely useless on Oga, and he was the first victim of the Zebub Blast. Following his recovery, he groups himself together with Oga and Kanzaki in order to remove Toujou from power, but is caught up in the explosion with Kanzaki and most of the student body. He is shown to be quite handsome without his glasses and with his hair brushed down, which makes him look like a completely different person. Although a capable fighter, Himekawa uses underhand tactics to prevail, such as having his opponents break their fists by punching a ceramic tile shield hidden under his shirt, or electrocuting them with a shock-baton (both are shown to be useless against Oga). In his first appearance, he resorted to outright criminal acts to lure Oga, such as kidnapping Furuichi and threatening to kill him and Hilda. He behaved quite viciously towards her, shooting her garments multiple times with a water gun filled with acid in search of a mobile phone. After losing his gang, and later at St. Ishiyama, his character also evolves in a more positive fashion, and he starts, like Kanzaki, to show some loyalty to his colleagues, even stopping an attack of Sakaki Mitsuteru against an unarmed Kunieda. His strategic skills prove useful when he clinches a deal with St. Ishiyama's teachers to prevent his and his colleagues' expulsion. He is also the source of outside information regarding other gangs and always seems to be in the knowing of what is going on outside the classroom. Even for the standards of upper class families, Himekawa is granted extravagant means by his family: he rents two floors of an elite condominium building all for himself.   Aoi Kunieda; Aoi is 17 years old, a second-year student and the current leader of the "strongest ladies of Kantou", the Red Tails. She is first introduced in disguise at the park taking care of her baby brother, Kouta, who is constantly mistaken as being Aoi's own child by the mothers at the park. She is the daughter of a local temple keeper. Her nickname is Queen because she is the protector of all the girls at Ishiyama High from the men's "grubby hands". Because of Oga's dense personality, he has yet to realize that the girl he befriended at the park and Kunieda are one and the same. Despite her tough personality, she has a rather girlish crush on Oga but refuses to admit this fact to others. She is a skilled swordsman and martial artist, and possesses an immense amount of vitality and stamina, as well as impressive speed that is above Sakaki Mitsuteru's, who is known to be able to wield his sword at 250 km/h (however, she is not fast enough to hit Oga, who manages to evade even her best attacks with minor injuries). She can use any weapon she chooses in battle, and has even been shown to fight with nothing more than a ruler. She has shown the ability to assess opponents's strengths and weaknesses very quickly.   Aoi Kunieda's Followers;   Chiaki Tanimura; A leading member of the Red Tails. Chiaki rarely speaks and dispatches her enemies swiftly with a pair of modified air-guns hidden under her skirt. She is very loyal to Kunieda even after she leaves the gang, and is ready to shoot anyone other than Oga who makes advances on her. She is the first to recognise that Kunieda is in love with Oga and thinks it very cute, as opposed to Nene. She is an expert game player, often playing with her little brother.   Nene Oomori; Originally Kunieda Aoi's second-in-command, Nene is far more aggressive than her permissive leader. Though she often openly disagrees with and occasionally disobeys Kunieda, she is still her faithful wingman, balking vociferously when Kunieda opts to leave the Red Tails and relinquish the mantle of leadership to her. She takes it nevertheless and soon proves to be worthy of it, gaining the confidence and trust of the Red Tails. Her weapon of preference are chains, which she uses proficiently to gain an advantage against stronger men.   Yuka Hanazawa; is a talkative member of the Red Tails who often makes embarrassing statements. She has long hair that is always adorned with a flower-shaped hairpin that can be used as a dagger. As a member of the Red Tails, she is a very good fighter and is not afraid of facing men. Lately, she and Kanzaki have been getting along, beginning when both witnessed Toujou's fight with a demon. He nicknamed her "Paa-ko".   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hidetora Toujou; The fourth Touhoushinki member. He is by far the strongest male member of the Tōhōshinki (his strength in comparison to Kunieda is not confirmed, though it can be implied that he is stronger than she indirectly from their other fights). Toujou has an unexpected soft side towards smaller creatures and babies, though said creatures do not feel similarly towards him. He is mostly bored with weaklings and is always looking for a good fight, which subsequently leads to his interest towards Oga. He works multiple jobs and sometimes has to miss school because of them.   Others; MK5 ( Group of Delinquints ) Ikari : Short, snarky, and black-haired. The acting leader. Shimamura : Marked by a heart-shaped tattoo on his face. Uses a pistol. Chatou : Bald and scarred. Uses nunchuks. Nakata : Chapeaued and bespectacled. Carries a rifle. Buu : Immense, muscular, and has long hair.   "Good Night"Shimokawa A second-year thug who has a crush on Kunieda and is one of the first to be defeated by Oga. His nickname derives from his constant use of "Good night" to address people.   The Demon Lord;   The Devil King and Baby Beel's father. He is referred to as the third Beelzebub in chapter 48, so his full name may be Kaiser de Emperana Beelzebub III. He is a tall figure with long light-colored hair, wearing a helmet with two prominent, cartoonish horns and dressed in a long cape, who is always pictured from behind. His main characteristic, often alluded to in the course of the series, is being "extremely random" or as Oga and Furuichi call him; "A fruit cake" Aka idiot. He spends his time mostly playing karaoke or videogames, and has twice decided to destroy mankind out of pure whim: however, his schedule full of ceremonies and engagements prevents him from going on his own, and thus he whimsically decides to send his children: first Baby Beel, then Lord En.   Lord End "Son of The Demon lord"; Baby Beel's elder brother, sent by his father to help him destroy mankind. He is a very spoiled, pompous child and a videogame addict. However, he seems to be extremely powerful, on par with his brother: if he cries, he will destroy everything in a radius of 15 km in a sea of flames. He is also lazy and a crybaby, and is not as interested in destroying mankind as he is in clearing videogames.   Grandpa Kunieda; The master of the shingetsu style and Kunieda's instructor, he is a strong old man who sports long white hair and a moustache. He has a violent personality and, on meeting Oga for the first time, drags him to a brief spar, and is actually victorious. Seeing potential in Oga, he offers to train him if the latter wants to become stronger.When Oga decides to take his offer, he smiles mischievously and begins by ordering Oga to perform a number of household chores, to his great dismay. Later he takes up the Teimou's shadow group and leads them all into a training excursion, first ordering them to break stones with their bare hands. He is a very stern man with a hair-trigger temper, and adopts an attitude of fighting first, asking questions later. Not only does he know about demons and the demon world, but he also recognises Oga as a contractor and decides to train him to use demonic powers.

PurplePeopleEater
8

I thought it was rather stupid at first but it turned out to be really good all things considered. The last ten episodes were like filler episodes and were a bit annoying though. I was expecting more. Anyway, the fights are enjoyable, and there are a lot of fights. It's a school full of crazy delinquents which is oddly enjoyable. Well, you know they say every girl likes a bad boy or something like that. It's funny too. I got some good laughs out of it. I prefered the episodes before the school got destroyed though.  The fights and the idiotic delinquents are probably the best part of the show. It has a nice feel to it, not necessarily mature, but something like that I guess. The characters are mostly simple and don't develop much, but in this case, that's part of what makes them enjoyable.  There is some unnecessary stuff like things involving the demon world and stuff that never really gets resolved etc and there are too many "filler" episodes in my opinion. Towards the end there is like seven or eight of them, the a weak last fight and an episode of random twists. Overall, it's ending was weak, although it did conclude itself well, it could have been more exciting. The last battle was hardly a battle and after all the filler junk just wasn't as enjoyable. I wish they had actually progressed the story but I feel like the writers just got tired and did a sloppy job towards the end.  Still, I would watch it again...without the useless episodes, and I enjoyed it. At least for the first 20 or 30 episodes I was rather excited to continue watching it. I give it an eight due to the last ten episodes though. Although the categories to grade it on don't really work for me this time so they don't match the overall score.

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