The first episode of As Miss Beelzebub Likes premiered on Japanese television on 11 October 2018. A wave of cuteness swept over those who watched this episode and in the process stole the viewers’ hearts. Now all they want to do is eat sweet, sugary stuff and cuddle soft, fluffy things. Seeing how the cuteness swept everybody off their feet, I am here to try to write a review that will not only gush about how utterly cute Beelmama is and how her servant Mullin is even cuter with his blush and pure heart… I might fail in the en; in fact, I am pretty sure I already failed, but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum. Let’s go on this adventure together! This is the starting point, the review of Episode 1! If you want to watch the episode, please note that for this series I will not stay spoiler-free and recommend that you watch the episode before reading my reviews.

Japanese Title: ボーイ・ミーツ・モフみガール。/ 近侍の心、閣下知らず。 (Boi mītsu mofugāru. / Kinji no kokoro, kakka shirazu.)

Episode 1

A: Boy Meets Fluffy Girl

Mullin realizes in horror that Her Highness, Lady Beelzebub, is not on time for a meeting and races over to her quarters to wake her up and get her there in time. Not listening to the warnings of her maids, he storms in to see her naked in bed, surrounded by fluffy balls. He is shocked and shy but Beelzebub isn’t stressing over being seen by him too much. After some convincing, she starts her working day without problems. Mullin follows her through the day and reminisces about how different she is during work compared to in her own quarters and what her public image is compared to how she really is. The day ends with Mullin getting Her Highness a (very impractical but) fluffy pyjama made of alpaca wool and she rewards him with a head pat.

B: Her Highness Knows Not Her Assistant’s Heart

Mullin accompanies Her Highness on the streets of Hell Ginza and worries that three guards are not enough to protect Her Highness in case of an emergency. But the others convince him that she doesn’t need the extra help, since she is after all Satan’s right hand and the one managing the whole Pandemonium. She even fought in wars and helped win fights. She probably is the strongest among them all even if she lets a dog bite her head and pigeons pick her eyes. The whole incident results in Mullin asking himself what his job even is if Her Highness can take care of herself well enough. Even when she disappears, he thinks at first that she should be fine on her own but when he can’t stop worrying about her; he goes to search for her frantically. After finding her, he acts rash in his relief and scolds Her Highness. She starts to act cold to him even though it is only because she was nervous and now doesn’t know how to behave in front of him. In the meantime, he worries that he might have gone too far and will be fired soon…

Highlights

It has everything

This starts off so cute. I was really surprised that they managed to put in a naked girl within the first five minutes of the series… Apparently, that is just how Beelzebub’s character is and she is very right when she says ‘That’s how God made us, why should I be embarrassed’, but still, I would enjoy the same view from some of the male characters, too. I demand equality! Let the guys strip! I have high hopes that Azazel might give us some scenes, even though I don’t know his character at all and haven’t read the manga, but just based on his looks… We’ll see how it will work out in next week’s episode…

Aside from that, I think this story has it all. It has a good pace that sometimes might seem a bit fast but considering that we get to meet the characters a while after they met each other for the first time, it’s not too bad. Also, there is all this pink, fluffy cuteness and I love, love, love it. The sound of their voices is music to my ears, making me relax instantly and then there is this cute, blushing Mullin with his panic attacks and I love him already. Even during the stage event for this series (a report will follow soon!) his voice actor Rikuya Yasuda captured my attention immediately and I can see myself become a fan of this whole series and the voice actors. Just give me another episode, maybe two, and we’ll be settled.

Mullin

So his colleagues call him a tsundere. I think he is a soft tsundere if anything. His scenes are so so precious though. For one, he seems to be really pure because he doesn’t want to see Beelzebub naked. Then he also seems to adore the strong, powerful, and serious Beelzebub everybody knows but can’t seem to care too much about the fluffy version of Beelzebub until his heart is tested. He is so tall; he has to kneel to receive his praise-pats. (And just HOW CUTE IS IT THAT HE GETS A PAT AS REWARD, AAAARGH. Overkill.) I also wonder where he came from since Beelzebub clearly is a demon. So what is Mullin? As a servant where does he come from? Do demons have children and he is just the child of two random demons? Really curious here!

Beelzebub

For me, a series often lives or dies with the heroine, because there are some I simply can’t stand to watch. Beelzebub is one of the greatest heroines I have seen in a long time. I love that she has this weakness for fluffy, cute, pink, sweet stuff but at the same time is that badass warrior. It’s the gap that makes my heart beat a bit faster (together with Mullin’s, I hope) and as if that wasn’t enough, she has sass as well. I mean, she simply and randomly made fun of Mullin, when he was covering his face upon seeing her naked. Beelzebub is awesome.

Trivia

White Gossamer

White Gossamer are the little creatures that live in Beelzebub’s room. They are fluffy and soft and to be honest they remind me of Susuwatari from Spirited Away, just that they are white. Ironic. Even though Pandemonium is supposed to be something like Hell (I assume), these creatures could also be called Angel Hairs because they are so soft and dreamy to touch.

Hell Ginza

Ginza is the place where ‘rich people’ do their shopping in Tokyo, Japan. It is a street where all the brand shops are located, one fancier than the other. One time I went into one of the stores and there were half-naked guys waiting behind the entrance, waiting to take a picture with the customers. Shiny, sparkly abs. Then you rode an elevator to the top floor and could walk down every floor to the exit again while feeling as if you were in a club thanks to the dimmed lights and loud music. So like I said, really, really fancy. I assume this also goes for the Ginza in Hell.

Beelzebub

What’s really interesting in this series is the connection to the religious tales and beliefs behind it. While Beelzebub for sure is not a cute, pretty lady in the bible or other related stories, Beelzebub is indeed connected to Satan. Sometimes the name Beelzebub even refers to the devil/Lucifer directly. It depends on the beliefs, so I am looking forward to seeing what the series will refer to in the future as well, if there is anything. What people most connect with Beelzebub are the flies because he is the Lord of the Flies. Thankfully for this series, they don’t do that and have them substituted with fluffy balls of fur, the Angel Hairs. Another thing connected to religion is that all the demons working in Pandemonium are fallen angels, as they explained at the beginning of the series. I will keep an eye open for references like these and hope you are as interested as I am!

Gods Will

One of my favorite moments (aside from the very intense kabe-don at the end of the episode <3) was when Beelzebub explains what demons are in the big scheme of God. According to her, demons present people with trials and help God give people their final judgement. He made it like that and expects demons do to this kind of things. So that means the demons are not bad. Those in Pandemonium are simply working according to God’s Will. Yeah, she does kind of ruin the moment when she runs off and argues that if she leaves early to cuddle her fluffy things, it is also God’s Will, but in general, I appreciate the effort to explain that demons are not some ‘evil enemy’ or ‘out of character’ for not bringing hell over the world.

See You Next Week!

The first episode was amazing and I am already sitting on needles to see the next one. Mullin is just my kind of guy and I enjoy the soothing effect of such a cute anime, mixed with the soft romance. Also, I can’t wait to meet the other characters, even though I am sure I could just watch Mullin run around and trying to keep Beelzebub in check for 12 episodes, too. The first episode definitely was brilliant for me and I recommend those who like cute, fluffy things to watch it, if you haven’t yet! Though after this review, the first episode might be boring. Might as well simply join us for the next one on Thursday:

NEXT: Butter Tastes Like a Fairy Tale. / She’s Here, Vibration Girl

As Miss Beelzebub Likes

Fall 2018 | Anime Info | Simulcast