Re: Beelzebub Hangout Thread Part 3
I can understand why. Furuichi is probably the best sidekick I've ever seen in manga. He does not fall prey to most tropes that plague this kind of character: he is not pure comic relief, he is not a bumbling fool, he does not wallow in self-pity, he is not a pervert…
But he is still the underdog, and I think the reason this endears him to several audiences is that he is only physically weak: he has a powerful brain (but not ridiculously so to the point that people wouldn't be able to relate to him if he were some sort of genius), and most importantly, he is just as brave as Oga.
I think people often ask themselves about this kind of character, "Why does this fellow even hang out with the main character?". The authors explain it away as debts of gratitude, a need for protection or some sort of promise in the past, or a common goal. Often these reasons sound contrived. Not so with Furuichi: because he had no reason to begin with to befriend Oga (he seemed to be social and other kids even sought him out to play in middle school), that he did so only proves that the two are more in sync than appearances let one guess. They are friends because, deep down, they have similar mindsets: Furuichi doesn't back away from danger and can be even chivalrous, and his uninterested friendship offers Oga someone on whom he can rely.
Also, Furuichi and Oga are similar in that both are perfectly happy with who they are. Furuichi knows he is weak, but he is not interested in becoming strong or a delinquent, and has lots of self-confidence, even to try to hit on Nene, of all people.
So I guess people relate to him because he is very balanced. On first sight, he is the average Joe thrown into a maelstrom of supernatural events, but on closer inspection, he is quite heroic. It is easy to relate to him and at the same time to root for him.
Finally, he is also quite mundane in his feelings: he can be sly (as against Takashima), or disengaged (as when he was sleeping through the beginning of Oga's rampage to meet Toujou), or cunning (as against the Chief Bandit in the demon world arc), or willing to bask on undeserved fame (as when he claimed victories to which he did not contribute in the Christmas arc), or inclined to use rough methods to earn respect (the Tissues arc). He is not some tragic noble figure or model character, and he is not a foil to Oga: he has his own existence.
Furuichi, to sum it up, is a prototypical example of Tamura-sensei's chief talent: characterisation. Beelzebub's characters are quite tridimensional: most of them don't fit easy stereotypes. That's why I like the whole bunch a lot: they are very human. I wouldn't be surprised if, when the next popularity poll comes out (the last was in chapter 114, so we are probably not that far off), Furuichi remains on 5th place or even dislodges Kunieda from 4th.
Maybe Iris is the Queen. I have a feeling we are overdue with how the demon's version of royalty actually works.
