Is Beelzebub good? A Review

The anime Beelzebub has captured the awe and admiration of many for its weird albeit unique plot, peculiar ensemble of characters, and good humor. It has won numerous accolades and awards for its entertaining premise and execution. 

Originally published as a one-shot manga on Weekly Shounen Jump, it won the fourth Gold Future Cup, after which it was decided to convert into a long-running manga. The anime is produced by the acclaimed animation studio Pierrot Plus.

Beelzebub Inception Trailer

Though the anime has been completed, it still continues to enjoy wide popularity. It is truly one of a kind; an anime like this is quite rare. 

1. Quick Review

The anime Beelzebub is a very entertaining and feel-good anime. It has extremely funny situations that are punctuated with the baby Beelzebub electrocuting his adopted “dad” when he gets too far away from him.

The anime is more about comedy and humor than it is about action and the supernatural. The supernatural is not portrayed as scary or malicious. Instead, it functions as a way to channel more humorous antics and events. 

2. Is it worth watching?

I. Plot

The plot focuses on the struggles and adventures of the notorious delinquent, Tatsumi Oga as he is forced to take on the responsibility of a baby boy. This baby boy is not an ordinary one; he turns out to be the son of the demon King. 

He finds the baby under very peculiar circumstances on a riverbank. After he finishes off some guys in a quick fight, he sees a bulky gigantic man floating in the river. As he brings him ashore, the guy splits in half, and the baby popped out. 

It turned out that he was chosen as the baby’s caretaker because of his ruthlessness and enormous strength. The only way he will be absolved of his responsibility is to find someone stronger than him. The anime is all about the adventures he undergoes to find that person, although unfortunately for him, he never succeeds.

The plot of the anime progresses in a linear logical pace. It mainly revolves around him trying to get rid of the baby, Olga, and the giant gay man, all from the demon world. The source of humor, comedy, and action in the entire plot is from his frustration and helplessness with parenting a demanding baby 24/7 and all the quirks that come with it as he tries to continue his delinquent life.

All the episodes are not boring; each has a very funny incident that will leave you wanting more and get you hooked to it. However, since the anime progresses like this, it does get quite repetitive and redundant. Even then, it does progress at its own peculiar pace. 

Beelzebub is also filled with fight scenes that do more to complement the comedy than the intensity of the fight scenes. Tatsumi Oga names his attacks and kicks in a very amusing way. For instance, he names his strong kick the “Oga Kick.” While the fight scenes aren’t bad, they are intense in their own way, but it is pretty obvious that the focus is not on the action.

II. Characters

Each of the main characters of the Beelzebub Universe helps in contributing to the total humor of the plot. All of them are weird, amusing, and have their own unique abilities. Oga, with his brute strength, the baby Beelzebub with his powers of electrification, Hildegarde “Hilda” with her parasol blade.

As Oga becomes more attached to the baby Beel, he starts getting some demon powers himself. Oga’s complexities and intricacies as a character are explored to a large extent and make him more likable. 

Even though he is insanely strong for a human, he doesn’t use his powers to bully someone; he does so only when he is provoked or has to protect his loved ones. Though some romance between him and Hilda is hinted at, that aspect is not developed well.

3. Final Thoughts

The anime Beelzebub promises to be one of the most exciting and humorous anime to date. Its usage of scary Biblical demons and subverting that scariness by making the demons seem so human and humorous, will make you fear Biblical demons less if that was ever a concern.

I’d definitely recommend this anime but don’t expect it to have the best fight scenes. The focal point of it is comedy. The romance bit is almost non-existent, although the creator occasionally “ships” certain characters to add comic relief.

4. Grade

5. Info Card