fabelyn:

My favorite arc by a mile in Beelzebub is the Tissue arc. Why? Because, among other things, it got a character (Furuichi) that had been relegated to stupid comic relief that consisted of every other character in the manga bullying him and treating him badly…only to show us that he wasn’t just that cliche gag character, that he had depth and he felt deeply about the bullying he was suffering, to the point of suicide. He also felt useless and uncared for, both things turning out to be untrue by the end.

But of course, he’s not the main character and this is a gag manga, so the focus after that arc quickly shifted and his problems were pushed aside.

This made me ask myself: will Tamura remember to keep this development?  To remember to stop the strong bullying, keep Oga and Furuichi as really best friends, make Furuichi remember he does have his importance?

Well…this chapter answered it. Here’s why, with images:

Let’s see how he was in the tissue arc:

Huh, suicidal, feeling that noone liked him or apreciated him.

Now let’s look at how the Pillar Squad, specifically Hecatos, treated him:

Calling him brat, in the next page he’ll complain about being shackled to Furuichi etc Basically, no respect.

Now let’s look at the current chapter:

Furuichi now acknowledges his importance to the Oga group.

And what about Hecatos? Well…

Oh hey look, no more “brat”. Now he’s calling Furuichi by a respectful title, “Tactician”.

So thank you Tamura, for keeping consistent in your character development of Furuichi, this is awesome.

This! Furuichi has truly grown, and I can’t wait to see what this arc has in store for him next.  

a-cuppa-t:

Incidentally, (and this is not at all founded by anything other than my personal belief) I also don’t completely buy into Himekawa’s evident betrayal. I think there’s a part of him that got spooked because he realized he was becoming a part of something like Kanzaki mentioned, I think a part of…

Wow, this is awesome!  I have to admit I’m reluctant to see Himekawa as a double agent, but that’s a really good analysis.  And yeah, Himekawa has definitely shaped up to be really unique in his way of dealing with people.  Its unlike the other members of the TKKH.  If anything, he sounds more and more like a nicer version of Takamiya.

I hope its not too selfish of me to want to see him get punched for abducting Furuichi again, though.  I mean, he can still be deceiving everyone, but a little retribution would be nice too.

0blue-bird0:

how cool would it be if Furuichi had been able to pick Hecadoth on purpose?

like, he would definitely need someone Agiel’s level or higher to fight these guys, but Behemoth takes too much of a toll on his body (and i’m guessing that he wouldn’t appreciate being summoned like this again) so he’s able to settle on someone in the middle

since we’re in the middle of an arc that just kinda explains how all of these sorts of contracts work i think it would be pretty awesome if Furuichi managed to become good at forming contracts with stronger demons (preferably without the harmful affects of the tissues) and was able to pick the demon rather than get whichever one happened to appear.

I think he did chose Hecadoth on purpose.  Well, maybe not entirely, but it seems to suggest that way.  Also, Agiel said “call on me again!” When she left him.  So its very possible.

As much as I loved seeing Furuichi with Jabberwock, and Furuichi with Agiel, Hecadoth is kind of a safer option.  Both were once fodder!

So lets talk about details in this chapter.  You have been warned this is a long post!

1) There’s literally no set-up.  Tamura really excels at cramming a lot of information into his chapters, and this was no exception.  We’re thrown into the chapter from Furuichi’s perspective right from page one.  This is great because not only do we understand Furuichi getting caught off-guard, the readers are equally caught off guard.  It happened so soon, but that’s what makes Himekawa’s motives all the more ambiguous.  

2) It’s night time.   Night is a great mood changer.  Everything feels more serious, more desperate, more honest, more intimate.  Consider this: Oga fought Toujo and destroyed the school at night.  Hecadoth stabbed Hilda and almost killed Oga at night time too.  Later on, Oga storms Akumano Academy and rescues Hilda — all in the course of one night.  The climax of the Okinawa arc?  Happened at night.  When Oga fights at night, it’s usually a game changer.  What does this say about this arc? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon.

3) The ranks of friendship compared to the ranks of power.  I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but this arc is literally all about hierarchy.  And I love how especially with Takamiya, this is all the Angels ever talk about.  Why is Himekawa no. 3?  Does the number indicate how loyal you are, or how useful you are? Top Hat admits that even though he’s been with Takamiya the longest, he is still just an observer. Masky on the other hand is bitter about not being viewed as useful anymore.  Its a good contrast to Furuichi, who is not only Oga’s partner, but also Oga’s friend.

4) Takamiya is a plot-twist by literally existing.  Last chapter, right after we get a good look at him, Oga storms the Angels’ hangout in an attempt to get Himekawa back.  It’s seriously unexpect, but it provides Himekawa with the opportunity to suggest kidnapping Furuichi. In this chapter, Takamiya’s brief cameo quickly leads to Furuichi gaining a second wind and using the tissues in order to fight.  In fact, I’d say that if it weren’t for Takamiya, Furuichi might not have connected things together.  This enhances Takamiya’s personality a lot.

5) Last but not least, the cliffhanger.  The chapter throws a good curveball on what might happen next chapter.  Not only has Furuichi decided to use the poisonous tissues to fight Takamiya’s Angels, but Hecadoth wants information from them as well!  On top of that, Furuichi is already in poor shape.  And Is Himekawa aware of who he’s really dealing with?  Will Oga and Furuichi take out the entire Fallen Angels squad in one night, or does Takamiya have something else up his sleeve?  Damnit, I really can’t wait for next week now.

fabelyn:

Here are raw images

OMG OMG OMG

SPOILER BELLOW!

Haha! I knew Furuichi had kept some tissues for himself, yeeeeeeeeesss!!!

OMG YES.  Excellent, I can’t wait to read the English version!  This looks like exactly the way I pictured it to happpen.

0blue-bird0:

on one hand

I would love to see Furuichi being cool and maybe getting himself out of this situation himself- especially since he’s so recently jumped back up from butt monkey to main cast member

on the other hand

I really want to see Furuichi bruised and bleeding and maybe with a few broken bones- and Oga beating the shit out of whoever did it to him would be the fucking cherry on top

Why not both?  I’m sure Tamura can make both scenarios work. Something like, Oga and Furuichi being separated, and Oga assuming Furuichi got hurt really bad when in reality he managed to manuever out of the situation?  Yeah that would work.

blackthornhiei:

I ran each individual kanji of Furu’s full name in Google translate… and got…

The Ancient City of Takashi…

o_O? 

Yeah, that’s the very literal meaning of Furuichi’s name.  It’s also the name of a train station in Japan.  But the real meaning of his name is a lot simpler.

This is taken from the Q&A in volume 17 (Okinawa arc):

Q2 ：古市の誕生日が１１月１１日だから全部１（フル１）で名字が古市なんですか？ちがったらごめなさい！！

Q2: Furuichi’s birthday is on 11th November (11-11), which is full of “1”.  Is that where his surname comes up?

A2 ：その通りです！気づいてくれた嬉しい!

A2: That’s right! I’m happy that someone is aware about it!

In Japanese, “furu” is pronounced with the same katakana as the English would “full”.  ”Ichi” means “one”.  Its a pun that means Furuichi is “full of one”. This is why his birthday is on 11/11. Combine that with Furuichi’s first name Takayuki (which means preciousness) and you get something along the lines of “one filled with preciousness”.

Translation of the Q&A can be found here.