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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Beelzebub Bangai-hen

Japanese: べるぜバブ

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 28

Chapters: 250

Status: Finished

Published: Feb 23, 2009 to Mar 13, 2015

Genres: Action, Comedy, Supernatural

Themes: Childcare, Delinquents, Mythology, School

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Tamura, Ryuuhei (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.12¹ (scored by 63,724 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #551²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #119

Members: 117,912

Favorites: 4,973

Resources

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 29 / 29

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Apr 11, 2009

MagicWookie

Recommended

Preliminary (55/250 chp)

A powerful delinquent named Oga is reluctantly chosen to be the human father to the son of the devil. Tagging along with the child is his demon caretaker, Hildegard. She has moved into Oga's house in order to help raise the baby. This is a dark-comedy+fighting type manga and since it deals with the supernatural, the humor can get pretty ridiculous at times. The overall feel of the manga never stays too serious. There will always be a gag or two to lighten the mood. If you're looking for epic fight scenes, skip ahead to the boss battles. Most of fights are going be very ...

Dec 20, 2009

Arkuatic

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/250 chp)

Story:10
The plot of this series is unique from most of the published manga in the same genre. The story begins with Oga, the protagonist finding a baby and becomes forced to care for him. The baby, Beelzebub(Hebrew for devil) is the heir to become the next king of the underworld but to become a being worthy of the seat he must be raised by a powerful human-which is Oga. The story mixes comedy and action in a smooth flow where the comedy doesn't stray from the story. Despite the protagonist's lack of common sense he is often reliable(the end justifies the ... means) and more than just an ordinary delinquent. Overall the story is very enticing with a balance of comedy and action.

Art: 8
The art is pretty clean in most cases and if I might add probably one of the best artwork for stories revolving around a delinquent. The characters are well drawn, no real slackoffs, and facial expressions help improve the humor of the story/dialogues.

Character: 9
Oga- The anti-hero or just the carefree not your average delinquent type of protagonist you'll usually get. Oga is infamous in his school where delinquency is 130% if I recall correctly for being the most powerful. Many of the groups in the school detest and fear Oga because he stands in their way of dominating the school. Oga usually doesn't pick the fights but the fights come to him and he's usually one to avoid fights however in most situations he gets in involve comedic reasons and test of his strength. Oga unlike the other groups of delinquents in the school has no interest in power but due to his idiocy he gets involved in every struggle for power that happens in and outside of school.

Baby Beelzebub IV: Baby Bel as he's referred to in the manga often appears hanging off the back of Oga butt naked anywhere he goes. From time to time Baby Bel would not be latched onto Oga's back but usually proceeding in humorous activities. Baby Bel despite being the next King of Hell he is often portrayed physically weak but when his emotions get the best of him he is capable of massive destruction, that or when he is 20ft or more away from Oga.

Furuichi: Oga's best if not only friend in the series who gets dragged in every scenario despite if he does or does not have any relevance in it. He is at most times a failed womanizer and a coward when things get rough but he's usually there for Oga when he needs advice-though many of the advices are criticism and appeals to Oga's ignorance/stupidity.

Hildegarda: Baby Bel's eternal servant who she claims, "exist to serve Baby Bel" and often has no regards or interest in anything that does not involve Baby Bel. She is at most times cynical and cold towards anyone besides Bel and you would see her be portrayed as the mother bluejay defending her eggs from outsiders. She, like Baby Bel is a demon and possess supernatural powers that she rarely displays but does if the situation calls for it. Oga's family see her as the mother of Baby Bel...and Oga is the father.

Enjoyment: This manga was particularly entertaining and unique from other mangas. The story might start off a bit sketch but the overall series is entertaining and humorous.

Overall: 9-The story, characters, and art were spectacular all blending in to create a unique story. The chapters in the series are a bit short though-20 pages average, and usually leaves a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter(like most but it really leaves a cliff hang grand canyon high).

Mar 27, 2015

Elgargini

Recommended

Good comedy, funny characters, weird school life, great fight scenes… if you you're looking for these standards then Beelzebub is a good choice for you.

Beelzebub was really one of my favorite manga, they were many funny moments that made me laugh for good…the fight scenes were good and interesting , it follows the story of Oga Tatsumi… a junior delinquent student of Ishiyama high school, who (by chance and in a weird way) get to meet baby Beel (most people prefer to call him like that)…who's a son of the demon's lord, strangely baby beel liked Oga from the first meeting (thanks to his vicious ... appearance) and this is where everything begins.

Story: the beginning of the story is really interesting…Oga (the protagonist) finds himself obliged to carry the demons' lord baby on his back as he attend his school (hence the name of the "Badass rearing Baby")…since it's a school full of delinquents Oga finds himself in many troubles…later he finds himself dealing with the demons too…which makes the plot really exciting and laughable, sadly because this manga went axed I just had to hate the ending…the series ended quicker than expected so there were many question marks (easily put this way), it's not like it's a bad ending but it's really a disappointment.
My rate for the story 6 out of 10.

Art: the art was really fine since it's a comedy story, I liked the settings, the characters designs were good…well I can't find any flaws and in the same time I can't find anything special about the art, so simply my rate for the art 7 out of 10.

Character: the personalities of the most characters fit well with the background of the story; no matter how serious they seem most of them have a humor side, what strange is that many antagonists will have a twist and turn to be supporting characters throughout the story; I really didn't mind that at all (well same thing happen in a lot of anime&manga stories) since the Ishiyama gang are the ones that keeps this story lively… especially Oga and Baby beel with their random personalities and their main supporter...Furuichi Takayuki, and of course I don't forget the best two female characters...Hilda and Kunieda Aoi.
My rate for Characters 7 out of 10.

Enjoyment: I really loved Beelzebub, I didn't find any arc to be boring and I really enjoyed reading it… but this work went axed (don't know the reasons) so the author somehow was obliged to end the story in a way you must hate (but I guess it couldn’t be helped)… so the only thing I hated about this manga was the ending (and of course the most important things about a story is its beginning and ending).
My rate for Enjoyment 7 out of 10.

Overall I rate this manga with a 7 out of 10, I can't say I hated this manga just because of its ending, I really enjoyed and laughed a lot while reading this work so I guess this rating is fair.

Thanks for reading :)
Sorry for any linguistic mistakes.

Aug 4, 2012

LordessMeep

Recommended

I have read my fair share of fantasy fiction and anything involving the demons tends to be on the darker side of horror and it is not usually fit for mainstream consumption. The ones that are mainstream, unfortunately, tend to be a mere shadow of the original.

Yeah, Beelzebub is nothing like that.

I wasn’t quite sure if Beelzebub would live up to its hype – despite the acclaim it has received. But within a few pages, it had me in splits.

To start with, Oga Tatsumi is a terror to be reckoned with. He picks up a strange green haired baby who, he’s informed, happens to be ...

Jul 17, 2014

Heatherfall

Recommended

Preliminary (243/250 chp)

Story: 9
The story is filled with humour and has a plot with its great conflicts. I like a story that actually has a problem that takes time and effort to fix, and Beelzebub definitely gave me what I wanted. The arcs have a nice variety, and the story somehow weaves the violence and fights into it that makes it so hilarious, such as the Christmas arc. The manga artist has an amazing sense of timing when it comes to humor; most of the chapters are simply priceless.

However, I think the last arc was a little rushed and I didn't really understand it without ... reading back on it; I felt I was being jerked off my feet with the force of that one. It seemed it introduced a bunch of new characters at once that I keep track of who was who, and I ended up thinking "that guy" was like this, "this other guy" fought Oga. It also developed the concept of demons and how their world works which is good, but I think it was very overwhelming.

Character: 9
Beelzebub has its own weird assortment of characters which are totally different from the others, so there is no-one who is there without a purpose in the manga. In the delinquent school, everyone has to fight; naturally the girls are badasses in their way, with Queen Aoi Kunieda and the Red Tails.

Oga starts off by trying to get rid of Beelzebub, causing a number of misunderstandings which has its own butterfly effect. However, he grows to appreciate and like his new son, and matures as the series goes. His sadistic character combined with his supernatural strength make him a person to behold and fear. I personally really like his character because he's actually a nice person deep down, however much of an asshole he may be, and really cares for his friends in his own way. His natural fighting ability make him the "living legend, child-rearing badass" standing at the top of Ishiyama, his kingdom with baby Beel at his side.

The Ishiyama Tohoshinki are ferocious fighters in their own right; they are not to be underestimated just because Oga defeated them. Being the only girl leader, Aoi Kunieda was definitely going to be more developed than the other leaders, but that was expected and it really paid off. They stand behind their king and help him when the going gets tough, but all from their own will and their undying loyalty to him.

Personally I really liked Furuichi. Even as polar opposites he is still best (and only) friends with Oga, by his side no matter what happens; I really like that part of him. Though he is a perverted one, he is definitely the closest person to being "normal" in Ishiyama, and the one to provide comic relief and to point out the illogical circumstances, but his words usually fall on deaf ears. Doesn't matter though, it's Ishiyama High!

Enjoyment: 10
I swear there wasn't a single chapter where I was either grinning like a madman or just totally immersed in the story. The comedy is basically "people beating each other up" but it's actually a lot better than that. Beware, because the manga will find absolutely the most random places to put a comedic scene, and it'll throw you off course, but it's still going to be awesome

Overall: 10
Honestly this is the first manga I've read in a single day... I read it from 12 noon to 5 in the morning because I was so hooked on this and I simply couldn't wait until the next day to finish it. Technically it wasn't a single day but you get what I mean. 5 HOURS OF SLEEP BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT. I would definitely recommend this one. I had really hoped it would continue, but I guess it would have become worse if it did. After all, "you either die as Death Note, or live long enough to see yourself become Bleach."

Dec 21, 2009

Chenoan

Recommended

Preliminary (50/250 chp)

Ever had one of those days when a potential Freddy Mercury double washes up near you by the river? And then he splits in two revealing a naked green-haired baby? Then the baby attaches to you and you can't get him off so you have to keep him only to later discover that the babies the Demon King's son and will electrocute you and potentially kill you if you remove him by force? Then a strange gothic lolita woman, claiming to be the babies caretaker tells you that you are now the babies’ caretaker and that she'll be living with you from now on, fooling ... your parents into thinking that you’ve knocked her up and are trying to disown your "legitimate" child? No? Never had one of those days?

Oga had that day.

Oga Tatsumi, an infamous delinquent, is a first year attending the notorious Ishiyama High, the "school for delinquents." Ultimately the story consists of Oga trampling and beating powerful delinquent opponents the majority of which are from his school, however this is not where the true story lies. The true story begins as Oga, lazing near a river, notices a large man floating down it, he pulls him to shore only to witness him split open revealing a naked baby boy. As it would happen, this is the son of the Demon King and the future destroyer of mankind and Oga has been chosen by the baby (named Kaiser de Emperana Beelzebub IV or simply Baby-BL) as the one that would raise him. Oga is later joined by the demon maid Hilda who was sent to help care for the Demon King’s son, his rational best and only friend Furuichi and occasionally the strange man from the river, Alaindelon. The story follows Oga as he faces trials; some of his own making and others the product of fathering the future Demon King.

But why Oga, you ask? Oga grew infamous amongst his peers due to his formidable strength and sour attitude which emerged without warning from the woodwork. His journey to the top began recently as a freshman at one of the most dangerous schools around where everyone’s a delinquent and everyone’s looking for a fight (save for Oga's friend Furuichi Takayuki who has proven himself both a weakling and the only rational voice in the manga). It is this strength that was the founding basis of Baby-BL's attachment to Oga, the specific characteristics of the future Demon King's guardian later described as being strong, arrogant and thinking nothing of his fellow man, characteristics Oga possesses for the most part inspired by his violent nature.

The calibre of the battles in the manga can hardly be called battles, a more apt name being simply a fight, although this is what makes Beelzebub so interesting. Beelzebub can deliver an intense fight without powering up, magic or absurd weapons; just two men and their fists (though Baby-BL does lend Oga his power on some occasions, though few) giving the manga a refreshingly authentic taste in comparison to some of the more mainstream fighting anime; however it wouldn’t surprise me if the manga took this path further into the story. I can easily see Baby-BL’s power becoming a larger factor in fights later in the manga, especially as Baby-BL’s and Oga’s relationship develops.

Violence aside, one of the most attractive aspects of the story is the relationship between Oga and Baby-BL. Originally their relationship is that of the resolutely dependent baby and the reluctant father as is proven by the many attempts to pawn the young Demon King off onto other strong characters Baby-BL takes a liking to in a way won’t end in Oga receiving a potentially fatal electric attack from the 15 metre separation rule Baby-BL has developed. However, despite this there are many occasions where Oga attempts to teach the child his own moral values such as “men never leaving their friends behind” and helping Baby-BL to overcome his fear of half-dead cicadas; though his methods are crude, his heart is more often than not in the right place, making Oga seem to have a little more depth. Their relationship is strongly demonstrated in the Toujou arch where their separation makes them realise just how much they’re bonds have grown.

The supporting characters have all proven interesting as well, including necessary stereotypes present in most manga from this genre though each put in situations that make them stand out. To begin with there is Furuichi Takayuki, his best, and probably only, friend in the beginning who provides the necessary reality check in this otherwise wacky world; Furuichi has proven to be quite the ladies man, taking every chance to flirt with the Red Tails, though he’s never succeeded. The Red Tails are the collection of women at Ishiyama High, they are also delinquents and opt for weapons over fists in a fight unlike the male students; they were originally led by Kuneida Aoi (nicknamed the Queen as a result), a skilled swordswomen who first appears when she first meets Oga and Baby-BL in the park dressed in a disguise so that she might walk her baby brother without earning unnecessary attention from gossiping mothers mistaking her for a teenage mother. When she first appears at school, Oga doesn’t recognise her letting him think that the girl at the park and the formidable Queen of Ishiyama High are separate people. Aoi has a crippling crush on Oga and serves as his primary love interest. Another debatable love interest is the Demon Maid Hilda (full name Hildagarde) who has the appearance of a foreigner though dresses like a gothic Lolita and speaks Japanese fluently, she was sent to watch over Baby-BL by his father, the Demon King himself, she acts as a the primary link between the human world and the demon world.

The art style used is common in most fight manga. The art is realistic, though remains animesque enough so that there is still room for comic relief, though still sensible that the fight scene remain intense. The manga utilises shading for the realistic effect though it isn’t strange to see panels in mostly white or black however many of the backgrounds are very well drawn and appear to have had much time invested in them, I largely enjoyed the style and the effort that was put into it.

The jokes were spectacular, the endless comedic possibilities the story line provided was done justice as many situations are seen through the eyes of the amusingly idiotic antagonist. If you’re looking for something serious, then you will find it here, but expect to be thoroughly amused by it as well.

If you’re eager for a violent shounen coated with laughter and wackiness then Beelzebub is the way to go.

Oct 24, 2021

OgaZoSo

Recommended

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 ...

Oct 2, 2011

eleventy12

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (46/250 chp)

This is my first review, so read at your own risk.

I first found this when the manga website I used listed this above Naruto in popularity. Something that might topple that behemoth in popularity I had to see, so I went ahead and tried it. And it was oh so very promising. I had laughed within the first couple of minutes, the facial expressions were very good. The main character seemed interesting enough, and the absurd circumstances seemed like a break from the typical shonen.

And it did follow through, for a short time. The manga set up that there were 4 student bosses ...

Jun 5, 2014

KatrinLouiseo24

Recommended

Preliminary (243/250 chp)

Synopsis:
The story follows the "strongest juvenile delinquent," Oga Tatsumi, a first year in "Ishiyama High"-- the school for delinquents. One day while beating people up next to a river, he sees a man floating down it. He pulls him to shore and the man splits in half revealing a baby boy. This boy is the son of the demon king who wants to destroy the human world and Oga has been chosen as the one to raise it. With the baby's demon maid, Hilda, the story follows his life with the child and at the delinquent school.

Story: 10
The plot was sooooo cool! You'll completely fall ... in love with the beginning. The humor so amazing and you'll almost die of laughter! If I were to compare it with another manga, I think the humor is one step lower than Gintama lol Every chapter was exciting and it'll keep you reading for more! Surely it is a page turner! Thumbs up! The author has brought delinquents into a whole new level. So interesting and attention-catching!

Art: 10
The manga was well drawn. Though at first the manga was shabby and rough, as time passes, the drawing improved. The details were superb! The characters' look suits them very well-- looking like delinquents and all. Aside from the drawing skills, I really liked it that it has less dialogue and more action.

Character: 10
I have nothing to complain about the characters. They all suit their attitude and qualities. Their qualities, being delinquents and all, make them who they are. My reaction would always be like "Oh yeahh! Kick that freakin' asses!!" lol Whenever they're in action mode or in a fight, I would always think of who's gonna kick who's asses lmao The manga has given enough highlights to every characters that is why there is not much of a mystery. Though the Demon Lord, Beelzebub III, was soo weird and at the same time so stupid, it is very much of who he is. There's nothing off about the characters. All was just perfect as it is.

Enjoyment: 10
200% for enjoyment!!! No jokes. I really enjoyed the humor and the plot. I love how the lead characters kick the villains and how every characters make their punchlines lol So much for entertainment~ I really recommend this manga. There would be no page that you'll get bored. Expect for so much humor and, of course, fighting.

Overall: 10
I really recommend this "Beelzebub" manga. And I am completely looking forward to the next one (and it's already out!). The 243 chapters are totally worth it~ You'll die of laughter and you're adrenaline will get pump up when they're battling (as for me, when I'm reading the manga, I can imagine sound effects when they're fighting lol). Though I feel like the last battle was kind of rushed, I still liked it. Even in the last chapters, so much for adventure and humor! My hopes are high for the continuation. If action and adventure is what you're looking for, make "Beelzebub" your top list. An action-comedy, school life with delinquents, and full of adventure you'll enjoy! Thumbs up!

Nov 9, 2009

nobody_knows

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/250 chp)

Have you guys ever baby sit your friends kids or maybe your relative kids just for a while? While for me i haven't baby sit anyone (yet), but after reading Beelzebub; i can say one thing about baby sit: IS LIKE HELL!!!!!! (and in a very crazy way!)

Beelzebub in my country are roughly translate as 'The Demon Baby-Sitter', and hell it really kick my leg with this craziness on this manga. The story start up with a so call 'nice and simple' start:

In the story, there is a nice kind young men (a Fxxxing bad ass, in which he want mention himself as a nice ...

Dec 15, 2011

Thatguy31

Recommended

Preliminary (133/250 chp)

I. LOVE. BEELZEBUB. the manga version anyway, I despise the anime from the deepest parts of my heart and soul but thats another review. Beelzebub is my favorite ongoing manga right now, and why? because I'm a comedy person if anything and Beelzebub always cracks me up while also displaying some awesome action. as much as I wanna be a fanboy and say its perfect, I can't I'm being a reviewer and I have to treat it as any other work.

Story: Its pretty odd but simple: a delinquent kid gets stcuk with the prince of hell and in his attempts to try and latch the ... child off to someone more vile and evil, they cause ALOT of stuff to go down. Ok so maybe there isn't any deep subliminal messeges nor does it stray that far from shounen tropes, but what keeps beelzebub intresting is its bizzare nature and humor, its so random that you really can't tell what will happen next. there might be a fight, but maybe some dude's gonna fall through the roof. there might be romance, but maybe baby beel will turn the room into a shock chamber. There might be a joke, but maybe someone's gonna get slammed into the wall before the punchline is reached. did any of that make sense? exactly. and thats what makes it so enjoyable. as far as structre goes its pretty well put together. It keeps a straight forward plot without too many subplots and if there are any they end soon. If beelzebub were to end at anytime there would be almost no plot holes left... well excpet for two, but I hope for it to go on and cover those. As the plot gains a tad more substance and more is divulged into the demon world and its fractions, the action gets toned up, however unlike reborn, it dosn't didtch what got it this far and remains funny even throughout the asskicking.

Art: This is Ryuhei Tamura's Very first manga, so in the begining it dosn't really look as good. However he makes great designs for the delinqents and early environment. There aren't any messy pannels were you can't tell whats going on and he has a goot dynamic for when the action kicks in.There are a few goofs with the psysics of someone when they are sent flying however, wether its intentional to show a characters strengh or not isn't sure though. The art gets better by the chapter as most mangas do, never really noticing once your up to chapter 136 but when you go back you can see the diffrence once you go back to chapter 15 or so. Another merit is that Ryuhei makes HILARIOUS faces for his characters when a WTF momment comes and it adds to the humor.

Character: Oga tatsumi is set off to be "a evil bastard" even without beel at the start of the story, and that hardly changes, though he isn't dislikable. Your able to laugh at his sheer stupidity, of which is only topped by Tojo, and are able to admire the badass that he is. He may follow some shounen tropes but its in such a twisted way it seperates him from the crowd. Baby beel is the prince of hell, a infant baby who may or may not even be a year old. Unlike other anime babies like Koenma or Reborn, He acts like an acctual baby and its hilarous. shifting from power to gag pack the only thing you can dislike is that he's constantly naked, but you kind of get used to it* no not in that way you sick bastards* Amongst the cast are a variety of characters that are either badass or hilarious in their own right, and your bound to get a few favorites.

Enjoyment: LONG LIVE THIS MANGA!! I always look forward to this eveyweek and everyweek I love the chapter and crave more. Its humor is so WTF bats**t insane that there will probably be at least ONE time where you tear up laughing, and when a character is out to kick ass, they kick it and send it flying into a wall *heck its Oga's signiture disaster mark!" I never have a dull momment with this manga.

Overall: It may not be perfect, but its pretty damn good and worth the read. I firstly reccomend this to anyone who likes a good comedy and reccomend action fans second. It started out as insane comedy action manga, and it still is an insane comedy manga. Even if you watch the anime I urge you to read the manga, you'll find some good enjoyment.

May 21, 2014

evaUNITroku12

Recommended

Preliminary (243/250 chp)

Oh man, I love Beelzebub! Admittedly, the story is not really deep, so don't expect too much from the plot (especially considering that it had a rushed ending). However, I didn't read this for weeks to see any uber-deep plot developments; NAH, I read it to laugh my ass off every week. THIS MANGA IS REALLY FUNNY!!

The art was kind of rough in the beginning, but it gets really clean and nice before you know it. Every chapter is pure silliness, and I loved every single panel of it. C'mon, who wouldn't love a green-haired baby Demon prince?(!) The action is pretty cool, too. ...

Oct 13, 2019

MilkyFluids

Recommended

The premise of this story was certainly unique, for me anyway. And while it had a few ups and downs I definitely enjoyed reading this.

Story 6/10
Art 9/10
Character 9/10
Enjoyment 8/10

Beelzebub honestly had really good character development, which is a big reason I found it as good as it is. The main & supporting casts were just really likable, funny, and unique. The story itself wasn't too gripping, and quite messy at times. I was never really engaged in the story nor taking it seriously, but I always enjoyed reading nonetheless because I liked the characters.

Don't expect anything amazing from the story though, as it pertains ...

Jul 7, 2021

Another_Badger

Recommended

“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.

Apr 8, 2009

Skorching

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/250 chp)

Beelzebub is a story about a delinquent,Oga Tatsumi who is finds a man floating down the river and the man suddenly splits in two and grants Oga Tatsumi a baby, a baby which is the child of the Demon King and is the baby who is supposed to bring destruction to the human world, after finding this out Oga along with Hidegarde (demon made) must now raise the baby in a good manner, the fate of Mankind rests on Oga's hand.

Mar 19, 2019

Degenerate12

Recommended

Note:This is not going to be a super in depth review

Beelzebub is a manga that I think deserves more recognition since it's basically forgotten in jumps history but was very entertaining and funny with some good fights

Story: 9 I thought the story was fun and all the major arcs were done pretty well (except for the last arc that felt pretty rushed)

Art: 8 Art was good and you can see it get better as the series goes on.

Character: 8 For character development it was good in that regard. There were some characters that felt important in the first arcs (natsume) but did not get ...

Apr 19, 2011

FullMetalTroopa

Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/250 chp)

Beelzebub at first, looked like just another anime/manga that comes every season, nothing interesting about it or anything enjoyable about it in any sense of the word.
This was a very wrong first impression.
I will say this, i did not like the anime anyway as much as the manga, the anime is new so it only has about 13 episodes right now, and it looks like it could be filler riddled.
The story was not like it seemed at first. Its about a bunch of kids that are trouble riddled, not in the emo sense, but as in "I'll kick your ass if you look at ...

Nov 3, 2024

Saternates

Recommended

HAHA you won't believe that i LITERALLY FINISHED HALF OF THE VOLUME in ONE STAND. Imagine that what compels me is not the battle manga, but the ridiculously in-depth world building and how the gag was still in there. I was totally laughing my ass off then the next panel i was reading it with full concern. Especially the last volume of the manga, the gag was out of there, and the battle was ooh, interesting. Sadly, the volume 25-27 was a little bit of letdown for me and they left us with spooky schieße of cliffhanger, followed with rushed character development.

Then what happened ...

Feb 16, 2025

bboy_OatsnRice

Recommended

Ahh Beelzebub, where to even begin with this masterpiece? Can you name a series that perfectly combines delinquents, gag comedy, demons, and battle shounen? Maybe you can, but I sure can't, and especially not the way Beelzebub executes it. It's a series that manages to always keep you on your toes with its unpredictability, keep you laughing with its unique brand of humor, keep you in awe of the godtier battle art, and keep you engaged with its intriguing story! But if it's truly as great as I'm making it sound, why don't more people know about it and yet how does it manage to ... be one of my all time favorite manga?

Why yes, it's true that many are aware of its existence, it's not typically known as well as its contemporaries at the time aside from the obvious big titles. Series such as Reborn, D.Grayman, and Sket Dance will be remembered more fondly by most familiar with that era of Shounen Jump than poor Beelzebub. But with such a wacky premise, I find this hard to believe. Since there's already a synopsis you can read, I'll keep this part brief. We follow a delinquent named Oga, who is the most feared yankee at his school, and one day stumbles upon a baby. Little did Oga know that the baby in question is the son of the king of the underworld, who is sent to Earth to destroy it. But baby Beel quickly gets attached to Oga. From here Oga is on a journey to raise Beel while running into tons of mischief along the way.

Although I kept the synopsis brief, I bring it up not only for the sake of a thorough review but also to shed light on a less brought up accolade that's unique to Beelzebub. And that's to have a baby character, who's integral to the story and shows up in just about every chapter, to be both NOT annoying in the slightest and actually hilarious and a character I loved from start to end! It's not just in animanga where I'm not typically a fan of baby/adolescent characters, it's in most media (hell maybe even irl too). Typically this archetype does nothing but cry, whine, bring in some forced "cute" factor, and 9 times out of 10 will be involved in a scenario where they either cry or shit themselves and thus give away the characters sneaking around in some scenario where they're trying to hide from someone. Strangely specific example aside, this is NOT the case with Beelzebub at all!

In fact, the baby in question is perhaps the most charismatic character in the story, next to Furichi, where his love for Oga is naturally conveyed through their teamwork improving in each passing scenario, the lengths they both go through to protect one another, the multitude of expressions, sounds, and spells Beel utilizes throughout the story, makes him so likable! He's one of the rare instances of a pure baby character through and through that you root for, feel pity for, and tear up for as you witness him truly become the king of the Underworld. Perhaps quite literally in a couple scenarios where he has to kick some ass as a giant! And that in my opinion is Beelzebub's biggest strength, and biggest weakness, its characters.

No no no, don't think that I'm saying its characters are bad or anything! In fact it's the complete opposite! Every SINGLE character introduced in this story is incredibly compelling to follow and learn about. From best girl Aoi going from her 'nice girl' alter-ego to her yankee mode, Beel's narcissistic brother En, rich boy Himekawa, demon doctor Lamia, the list goes on and on with its incredible diverse cast where they all somehow manage to gel so well together that I actively looked forward to the more characters were crammed into a chapter or arc. Not only is this not usually the case with even my all-time favorite piece of media ever Gintama, but this manages to achieve this accolade while still balancing all sides of what makes Beelzebub, well Beelzebub! The yankee, demon, sol, battle shounen, and gag comedy elements are present throughout the story from start to end, while managing to never let its large cast get out of character! But like I mentioned, this is also its one and only blunder.

It has a large cast, and for every new character that gets introduced (especially towards the end of the series) you'll just be DYING to see more of them to get their character expanded on. But nope, at least for those outside the main cast we follow from early on in the story. And their unique character designs only exacerbate this problem because of just how awesome they look, and how they usually fight! Oh my god, how could I forget, THE FIGHTS!!!!

Now we're onto another huge strength of this manga, er more like a two for one deal. And that's the fight, action, and ART of this manga as a whole. Incredibly stylized art style by Tamura Ryyuhei. Not only is the art itself insanely crisp, smooth, and gorgeous to look at, but the paneling is bare bones and cut and dry which adds more emphasis to the amazing art within the panels. I'd compare to One Piece's paneling, but with slightly more diverse panel geometry. But back to the art at hand, the characters all have mostly proportional facial features, with more of the buff dudes getting increasingly wider, and the demons getting even more hell-ish and wicked the further along this manga you get, and the girls (especially En's Maids) are all a CUTE!!!!

Each archetype is drawn with a rare type of finesse that doesn't poke fun or parody the origins of the character, (well save maybe for Himekawa, but even then he's so stylish! And as a child he still had drip, he was what I like to call, a drip dragon) but respects it and uses its exaggerated, cartoonish design to enhance a character trait about them. Let's take the main character Oga for example, attire is that of a casual delinquent, but with teeth like that of a shark, and a grimace that scares just about everyone in his path save for Beel. However, as a reader, and perhaps I can only speak for myself, but I found his design to be overall endearing! Which I think characterizes his personality to a tee! Oga is a guy, whom most shit their pants when being confronted by, however even when he's out for blood, his demeanor is usually that for the greater good even if he doesn't want to admit it. Grinning in the face of opposition, a desire to beat his opponent even if he doesn't get much out of it, other than to get stronger, and if that's not badass and inspiring to always max out your own potential (albeit in a somewhat twisted way), then I don't know what is.

And the last part I'd like to touch up on in the visual department are the spreads usually showcasing the battles, or some crazy shit going on because god dammit you will get some damn fine art that will have you left aghast! Whether that's some obscene, weird scene going on with other worldly entities, people fighting demons with everything from their swords, to magic, bare fists, summons, and energy blasts that will leave you baffled how chaotically well these different types of violence mesh so well in this story! But that's when you remember, "oh yeah, this is Beelzebub.".

And that's why it's one of the few series to blend so many different subgenres, yet still manage to maintain a sense of cohesion throughout its entire run. This is where I feel many may disagree with me on, as a lot of people seem to like one or two aspects of Beelzebub, and dislike the other. Whether that's them preferring the SOL moments, over the violence, or maybe preferring the gag arcs over the delinquent heavy ones. But for me, I found it transitioning from arc to arc very smooth throughout. The only bit I found somewhat jarring, was towards the end when Oga, Beel, Toujou and Co. are one shotting baddies we barely get to learn about before moving to the next one at a machine gun's pace. But even here, I found the fast paced momentum to be exhilarating! It's like, "Who the fuck are you?" "DEMON BISHOP THE 4TH" "BAM BLAST, EPIC FIGHT ENSUES, WITH A TSUKKOMI FROM FURICHI" "OKAY WHO'S NEXT?!". It has that type of energy which I'm all for in final acts of animanga personally.

Welp that's Beelzebub, where to even begin with this masterpiece? Can you name a series that perfectly combines delinquents, gag comedy, demons, and battle shounen? Maybe you can, but I sure can't, and especially not the way Beelzebub executes it. It's a series that manages to always keep you on your toes with its unpredictability, keep you laughing with its unique brand of humor, keep you in awe of the godtier battle art, and keep you engaged with its intriguing story! The characters are lovable, it never completely disregards any of its components that make it unique at any point (eg; it will still have comedy in the battle bits, or drama in the SOL arcs), the art is just beautiful and exciting to admire, and its vast plot will leave you in anticipation dying to know what's going to transpire next! As for why more people don't know about it, well like I always say when it comes to comedy, it's perhaps the most subjective form of entertainment out there, combine that with the amalgamation of various genres that makes Beelzebub, Beelzebub makes it a varied experience that's right up my alley personally, even though many others may find all the variety tiring or confusing. But personally, it just makes the journey that is this manga incredible, unpredictable, and fun! So hopefully, if you're someone who hasn't read this series yet, I cannot implore you to do so sooner!

May 25, 2019

YourAvgOtaku

Recommended

Name: Beelzebub – SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Type: Manga
Volumes: 28
Chapters: 250
Status: Finished
Published: Feb 23, 2009 to Mar 13, 2015
Genres: Action, Comedy, Demons, School, Shounen, Supernatural
Authors: Tamura, Ryuuhei (Story & Art)
Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

... “Hey Punk you wanna die?” basically your comedic High School story with a delinquent twist except it’s a High School for delinquents and they’re all delinquents and there are demons as well – stay with me now.

The story starts up with our main protagonist Oga Tatsumi who is a delinquent among delinquents with an IQ of a potato (might be lower) with his solution to every problem being punching it in the face, kicking it and if that fails punching it even harder and a junior attending Ishiyama High School for delinquents and called a demon for his brutal personality, I found him to be a refreshing lead in this scenario, a change from some same-old types of characters. The scene starts with him finishing off a gang foolish enough to attack him and then coming across a baby boy who popped out of some old dude – because who needs biology, BTW the baby’s naked even through the entire course of reading it. Ok… where was I? Yeah, Oga having no clue on how to deal with the situation takes the baby to his best friend’s house; enter Creepichi- I mean Furuichi the only sane and non-delinquent character and highly relatable in the entire read IMO with some of the best comedic moments as he’s teased all through the story, sad actually and a favourite of mine. He stood out like a sore thumb because he was the only one out of the bunch to react accordingly to the outrageous situations and had expressions one would expect if it were a normal story but this story is anything but normal, far from it actually. Well turns out that the baby is the son of “THE” Demon King, named Beelzebub IV, Kaiser de Emperana, surprising cute with him only ever uttering “Dabuu” well he is a baby after all. And has chosen Oga to be his parent, to raise him into a demon lord fit to destroy all of humanity. This might sound all serious but trust me it isn’t in the slightest.

Now comedy is one of my very very preferred genres and it’s liked in general because it’s just there for the sake of entertainment no extra added stuff like deep plot or thought provoking dialogues… just fun. And Beelzebub’s take on this genre impressed me a lot. Beelzebub takes full advantage of that “comedy” tag by taking each and every situation and adding as much exaggeration as possible but not in a bad way. I would like to call this genius actually. Much like how “Konosuba” plays around with the isekai genre or how “Daily Lives of High School Boys” plays with the comedy genre Beelzebub plays around with it as well, you’ll understand this once you read it or have watched/read the series I mentioned. That being said, this has got to be among the best comedy manga I have read in a while, it just doesn’t disappoint or tries too hard to be funny. I guess I could say the story’s flow is naturally comedic, props to the mangaka on that. Though at times the story revolving around demons DOES get very serious (major plot unfolds or boss fights) and emotional (character pasts/interactions) but it always adds a touch of humor afterwards to lighten up the mood. Though one thing I was very disappointed in was that the story feels rushed in the later part of the manga, short fights, shorter character introductions which is generally the only complain I have about this. Though if this had taken its sweet time to explain and plot out everything near the end like from the start this would’ve been a 9 or possibly even a 10.

Onto the characters, this is where Beelzebub was great and somewhat bad at the same time. Great that it had some unique, interesting characters which had good character development, back stories and remained relevant to the plot till the end. I like it when a story keeps along all the characters it has managed to introduce in new ways but on the other hand, bad that it left some of the characters totally unexplained they just felt relevant for a relatively short time and introduced some characters out of the blue. And I guess I kinda explained the lead characters in the start, other characters you’ll have to see for yourselves such as the demon… wait for it MAID, yup demon maid Hildegard. Sounds cute doesn’t it? She’s more brutal than Oga and that’s saiyan something. Has sworn undying loyalty to Beelzebub and loves him like a mother, she’s here to act as a helper and to see whether all his needs are being fulfilled by the human host parent for little demon lord Beelzebub and for than often ends up beating the snot out of Oga for when he steps out of line, that’s comical in its own way.

Now the art style, nothing I’d look at and say “Whoa, that’s detailed”. Just fine but not something that would get in the way of your reading. Character designs were OK but being an action comedy the things that were handled really well IMO were the expressions like Oga’s demon expressions stating I’m going to beat you into submission or Lolichi- I mean Furuichi’s expressions for when he sees women or gets into some weird escalated situations.

Enjoyment factor was a max 10/10 for me in this read.
I’ll grant it a RATING of 8.5/10

Could’ve done better if it wasn’t rushed like I mentioned but hey all in all this was a good and very enjoyable read nonetheless. So if you’re looking for your next read with action or comedy this is a pretty good choice especially for comedy.