Beelzlebub

Out of all the anime I have watched, only two have made me laugh. The first one was Great Teacher Onizuka. The second one is Beelzlebub. It's absolutely ridiculous, has almost no depth or plot, and throws slapstick at you every second. Yet I loved every second of it. If you're looking for something stupid and different, Beelzlebub is exactly what you need. Almost every anime principle is twisted and parodied, and while many of the jokes fall completely flat; they are fired so quickly some are bound to hit the mark.

The baby Beelzebub does some amazing stuff.

Beelzebub is about an unruly student at a school of delinquents. Oga Tatsumi is beating his way out of an ambush one day when he spots a gigantic man floating down the river. As the huge man bobs past, he suddenly opens up and deposits a baby next to Oga. The baby clings on to Oga's back and decides to follow him everywhere. The demon maid Hilda turns up soon after, and explains to him that the baby is actually Kaiser de Emperana Beelzebub IV. The child of the great demon lord, destined to wipe humanity from the face of the earth.

Oga quickly decides that he doesn't want to raise a child, especially one that explodes with electricity when it cries. So he tries to pass the baby on to someone else. For Beelzebub to attach himself to another human, they have to be stronger and more evil than Oga. Unfortunately, Oga is the demon Ogre. This anime is about Oga fighting his way through Ishiyama High School with a baby on his back.

The delinquents are characteristically stupid and prone to fight.

Although the anime seems pretty shallow at the beginning, it quickly changes into something more. The characters have great personalities, backed up by brilliant writing. The graphics and animations are nothing special, but up to date because it's a modern anime. Because it's all comedy, the few serious plot points actually have some weight behind them.

Beelzebub really surprised me. For the first 20 episodes there's barely a single step forward in the plot. Oga beats down countless opponents with ease, and he doesn't even break a sweat. Without a shred of development, Beelzebub still manages to be hilarious and captivating. So once the ball starts rolling and the plot moves forward, it goes from amusing to addictive.

Oga doesn't meet anyone to contest his strength until he's stomped almost everyone in his school.

I am particularly choosy when it comes to anime. I don't like shows that are focused on comedy, because I miss out on many jokes that only someone who lives in Japan would understand. Even more jokes are badly translated into English, making it very hard to watch a comedy anime and actually understand the jokes. Thus, I didn't expect much out of Beelzebub when I caught the first episode. I did not expect to find a show that could not only make me laugh, but keep me laughing throughout it.

There's so many reasons to smile while watching Beelzebub it's hard not to. Oga and the baby perform magical feats on a regular basis, such as exploding with electricity or punching someone into a wall. Despite this, everyone remains oblivious to the fact that the naked baby on Oga's back is actually a demon child.

Some of the episodes are basically filler, catching up on the side character. Normally I will skip these episodes, like a lot of people do. However, the writers did such a brilliant job even the filler is watchable. Even the fanservice is subtle, I couldn't notice it at all.

After a while the baby gets in sync with Oga. They make a great team.

My favorite part was the cast of characters. Hilda and Alaindelon are both demons, tasked with protecting the baby. They are both sadistic and hilarious in their own ways. Since the anime begins in a delinquent school, they are all evil bastards. Furuichi is Oga's best friend, instead of being evil he's horrendously perverted. After Oga defeats someone they tend to become his ally, and join his side from there onwards. As you can imagine, a bunch of delinquents from a bad school with a baby makes for countless humorous situations.

Beelzebub is a slapstick anime that doesn't take itself seriously, even during the most intense moments. The premise itself is ridiculous; a baby attaches itself to a students back, and the student decides to go around beating up anyone who can challenge him to get rid of the baby. It's basically all slapstick from the beginning until the end. Good thing I love slapstick comedy. If you're here and reading this, I strongly suggest you watch Beelzebub. I can't imagine anyone hating it.

Great Teacher Onizuka

Great Teacher Onizuka, or GTO is an amazing anime. I can't believe I haven't reviewed it yet. Comedy and Slice-of-life is not a combo I like. When it involves a crazy ass kicking ex-mobster however, I can dig it. I spent most of my time smiling whilst watching Onizuka and his antics. There isn't really an overlying arc, or even a particular lesson to be learnt aside from the usual- stay in school. What you will get watching GTO is plenty of amusement, and some really inspiring moments.

The facial expressions are just priceless.

Eikichi Onizuka was a delinquent, but not just any average ruffian. He used to be a biker gang leader- with a terribly fearsome reputation. His dream has always been to become a reputed teacher. Not only does he want to inspire students, he's also perverted and wants to meet some hot schoolgirls. You will find Onizuka a very hyperactive main character with surprising amounts of optimism.

The story begins with Onizuka applying for the teaching job at a private school. Although his initial application is shot down because of his attitude and lack of qualifications, eventually he is hired to teach the unteachable class. His superiors expect him to fail along with the previous attempts to break through to this particular classroom of insolent punks. However, Onizuka begins his own brand of education, and begins to almost literally beat the kids into submission one by one.

People always make the mistake of messing with Onizuka.

It's rare to see such a great premise behind a show, even if it is a little generic. A teacher trying to break through to unruly students using life lessons is something we've all seen before and a very common concept. But an ex-gangster with a short temper, prone to violence and a dirty mind trying to school teenagers? Well, I haven't seen that before. Furthermore, Onizuka actually manages to do a pretty good job at helping the pupils learn practical knowledge in the real world. I'd want him as my teacher, I wish my education had taught me some of Onizuka's lessons instead of me figuring them out the hard way.

The only thing most people have an issue with is the art style. It is a little outdated. It even put me off watching the anime for a week or two. But a little outdated imagery should never stop you watching a good anime. Besides, with facial expressions like this who the hell wouldn't watch it?

This image alone is enough to make me watch GTO.

I spent the majority of the time watching this anime smiling. Onizuka steals the show, in a fantastic way. When one of the little shits does something to try and make him quit or get him fired, you will always wonder what he's going to do. He never lets you down.  And if you think he'll go easy on his class because he's a teacher; you thought wrong.

GTO is a stellar anime. Aside from the graphics, I found the only problem to be that it got a little repetitive towards the very end. Regardless, both of these drawbacks are no reason to avoid watching Great Teacher Onizuka. If you want a good laugh, check it out.

He's also a ninja.

Gintama

I initially found myself avoiding Gintama like the plague, despite it having stellar scores and brilliant reviews everywhere I came across it. The cheesy slapstick comedy in the small clips I had seen mostly appeared a little too childish for my taste.

This is Gin, and probably his most common expression.

Foolishly looking back on that time, I can happily say the phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover' is still something nobody should screw with. There's a damn good reason people are handing out ultimatums on forums and preaching about the wonderful Gintama. It's funny, and churns out jokes at such a fast pace you will eventually smile which undoubtedly leads on to a chuckle and so forth.

The story is very simple. Gin and his friends work as freelancers, solving problems that are probably beneath anyone else. Catching cats, dealing with questionably dangerous criminals and such. The amanto are aliens that captured Japan during the Edo period. As a result, a ban on swords is in place- putting a lot of samurai out of jobs.

Yes, there's a lot of references to other media.

Japanese humour is something nobody should ever underestimate. From the downright creepy to straightforward slapstick, it's something that you might struggle to appreciate. However, most people I find will just burst out laughing at how ridiculous it can be; and from there on they enjoy it.

The story is about a samurai living in a futuristic era a long time past samurai is a valid profession. Not only are samurai not needed, I'm surprised people even know what they are. Humans co-exist with aliens, and space travel is common.

A lot of references.

I do suggest reading the manga first or you might have to soldier through the first couple of episodes in the anime, which may demotivate you (I could barely hold interest) because it's mostly introductions and doesn't really capture your attention. However, once it gets into full swing, you may find it hard to stop watching Gin and his escapades with Shinpachi and Kagura.

I wouldn't suggest Gintama to somebody not already comfortable with Anime in general. It's really a hit or miss for anybody outside Japan. So if you really don't like it I can't imagine you getting into it.

Although I'm not one for anything too episodic, I still thoroughly enjoyed watching Gintama. Overall it didn't really suit my tastes; however the quality of the show is undeniable, it has earned all the praise and fanboys that it has accumulated.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Our protagonist and sensei.

I've recently been watching this school comedy anime at my girlfriends insistence. It's actually not bad. The premise is based around a depressed teacher and his innocent class of often eccentric yet lovably optimistic girls.

I haven't finished the anime yet, but it's fairly predictable and episodic in nature. Itoshiki Nozomu, our protagonist and sensei, spends his time living in 'despair'. He carries a noose wherever he goes, just in case the need for suicide arises. He rants a lot about the injustices of the world to his young and optimistic class- explaining the futility of life and encouraging them to give up. This always has the opposite result, the girls find a way to take his speech to heart and find a way to see it as inspirational.

The main girls in Itoshiki's class.

Each episode typically introduces you to a new student in his class, showing us their personality and flaws. As you progress through the show, you learn new things about them and they often give the suicidal sensei a new outlook on life.

As you come to understand more of his students and they establish a rapport together, it's easier to appreciate the show. Their interactions are often amusing or cute. I got annoyed that this anime plays into so many stereotypes, but it does it intentionally and usually makes light of it by making fun of the standard genus. 

There is a lot of hidden meaning and often subtle writings in the background of every episode. This aspect provides a certain amount of depth to the program, giving you the option to watch it again and pick up on parts that you missed.

The best thing about this anime is anyone can enjoy it. For me it acts as a buffer between watching anime, because I don't think it quite stands out from the rest. However, I can see plenty of people loving it. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei represents a fair amount of different genre stereotypes, such as a small harem factor; and the common school element. The most prominent category would be slice of life, backed up with comedy.

The black overly is frequently there to indicate his pessimism.

Although I somewhat enjoyed it so far, it didn't pull me into the fray, forcing me to empathise with the characters and feel involved. I can see how some people would relate to it on many levels; just not me. It's not got that cocaine pull that I've experienced from so many anime.

The anecdotes that are often brought up from the students antics are very natural, and it's entertaining enough to inspire a laugh or two from anyone.

If anything, give the sensei a try because there are only 12 episodes, without counting the second season. If you like pessimistic yet charming protagonists, with an obsession with conspiracies (Welcome to the N.H.K. anyone?)- This anime should certainly be on your list.