Shonen Beam

[scanlation by CXC Scans]

Furuichi’s uncharacteristic seriousness is immediately tempered with some expected perversion, which leads to one of the best punchlines in weeks.

No one's stopping you from getting in the bed

There isn’t much to glean from En or his wet nurses. Behemoth is even tough to deal with for En, and it’s possible to summon a car.

What better way to break the tension between Oga and these ladies than by forcing Baby Beel to sing? Every awkward social situation should come with a baby, preferably of the demonic variety.

The horror of Eiffel 65 all over again

Does every lady in every series now solely exist to be kidnapped, taken hostage, or otherwise used as a pawn? Kunieda has been proven as a strong, independent, enjoyable character, and yet even she succumbs to being captured. Whether or not her captor, Hecatos, is an interesting character, it’s insulting that Kunieda has to lose dignity merely to introduce a new enemy.

Hecatos introduces the idea of human contractors, which paves the way not only for Kunieda to become involved more directly in the main plot, but also to reveal that characters we’ve already met have already had demonic association. Of course, this segues nicely back into the fight between Toujou, who is noticeably tired, and Izuma, who ends the chapter by unveiling his own demonic ability. This resolves the previously unanswered plot thread regarding the “demon lurking within the school” that Hilda had noticed, and it also puts Izuma in line for an extended stay in the story. Looking back, then, I find it unfortunate that the entire Oga vs. Miki arc, complete with several chapters of build-up to no payoff fight, served only as a precursor to Izuma. He can still be a good character, but the manner in which we were introduced to him was displeasing.

Final Flash: With the clearly superior comedy concentrated within a few pages, the drama of this chapter was a bit draining.

[scanlation by CXC Scans]

This casual relationship between Toujou and Shizuka deserves a little explanation. It makes sense that strong characters would know each other, but we have yet to receive any backstory. That said, I’m certainly not asking for a flashback here, but hopefully this storyline will be explored later.

Izuma vs. Toujou? This is unusual timing. Granted, they have unfinished business, but there are far more pressing matters in the story that deserve the attention.

Great comedy as Oga tries to shirk his responsibility. Beelzebub always follows through with small running gags to maximum effect.

As if to prove my point, Baby Beel imitating Oga’s action from earlier in the chapter is hilarious.

Slow down there, Kitamura

En has an old-school Game Boy! That’s pretty unusual for someone of royal descent, but amusing nonetheless.

Since the announcement of the anime, the scene of En failing miserably at the Resident Evil spoof for PS2 is the first scene that I’ve strongly felt that I want to see animated. The entire scene is hilarious, from Sachura calling Furuichi a douche bag, through En boasting about his SNES and Genesis, to the mandatory trademark parodies, and finally to the ludicrous resolution.

For a kid, he sure has his priorities straight

The decision to convert En from potential enemy to background amusement, while introducing Behemoth as the new antagonist, is a great one. It is a bit jarring to suddenly be presented with another new enemy, right as we were beginning to understand En, but En isn’t nearly menacing enough to be the enemy to carry a demon world storyline. Just from the silhouette given of Behemoth, his suitability is obvious.

Oga is left in near-panic by En’s warning, and the chapter ends with Zenjuurou implementing one of the old badass standbys: Lounging around, perched high atop scaffolding. Training time?

Final Flash: Great comedy and a necessary villain switch. The gears are in motion.

[scanlation by Keishou Scans]

Right from the start, fanservice. I wonder who came up with the term “fanservice,” anyway. Given that shallow and unnecessary flaunting of sex appeal does nothing for me, I take exception to the term “fanservice.” I’m not being serviced. Give me some narrative and serious characters, and get these wet nurses out of here.

Less this, more Furuichi, please

Baby Beel’s older brother looks oddly reminiscent of someone from Medaka Box, but I don’t feel like depressing myself by looking up character names for that series. Regardless, the introduction of someone literally closely related to Beel is an exciting development. I’ve been longing for a return to demon-related plot, and even more than Zenjuurou, this obviously signals the full transition into such a storyline.

Izabella’s ability to summon a throne raises interesting possibilities for the future of Hilda. Clearly, comparison to the wet nurses serving En reveals that she is in dire need of improvement, and the rivalry between these camps (and specifically between Hilda and Yolda, at least) provides the necessary incentive for Hilda to power up. She deserves to remain a support character, and summoning abilities would suit her well.

There’s nothing more mature than Sprite on the rocks, after all.

Shaken, not-- wait, no, don't shake Sprite

Oga’s nonchalant explanation of the situation to Kunieda is fantastic deadpan comedy the way only Beelzebub can do it.

Oga going along with En wanting potato chips would be funny enough to stand out if it weren’t for the hilarious scenario immediately following it, with everyone involved taking the confrontation over to Furuichi’s house.

Oga understands the straight man role quite clearly

The last line of the chapter is exactly right; the king of Hell is extremely random. Zenjuurou’s earlier warning that Oga and Beel need to strengthen quickly seems to be proving correct far earlier than anticipated, and the scenario proving is right is much more direct than expected, as well. I hope this doesn’t turn the series into pure battle shonen, but more fighting is welcome, especially after the volleyball arc.

Final Flash: Excellent comedy and interesting developments, hampered slightly by an uncertain future.