“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 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 readers, 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.