Belial

:For the Akuma-kun character, see Belial (Akuma-kun).
Belial (ベリアル Beriaru) is a Portuguese Akuma and antagonist of Kitarō.
==Appearance==
Belial is an Akuma that resembles an old man, he has shoulder-length light-colored hair and beard, his head is shaped somewhat bean-like. His mouth has a noticeable pair of bucktooth on his bottom jaw. He wears a long light cape, with a ruff around his neck, a dark long-sleeved suit with six buttons, gloves with ruffles, dark-colored pants, and dark shoes with pointy tips.
In the 1968 anime, Belial still appears as an old man where his skin is slightly darker, he has light-colored hair, his mustache is not connected to his beard, and a noticeable pair of bucktooth on his bottom jaw. He wears a ruff around his neck, his cape is now dark-colored and has a light underside, his dark long-sleeved suit has four buttons, he also wears a pair of gloves with ruffles, dark pants, and shoes.
Within the 1985 anime, Belial appears as a man with light blue skin and a fit physique. He has long orange hair that reaches his neck, connecting with his beard and eyes with yellow sclerae and black pupils. He wears a navy blue cape with a red underside, a purple long-sleeved suit with six matching buttons, white gloves with ruffles, a white band around his waist, baggy purple pants, and matching shoes with pointy tips.
In the 1996 anime, Belial still appears as an old man, however, he appears to have a more muscular build with dull skin, his hair is white with it reaching his neck and connecting to his beard. His eyes have white sclerae with gold irises and small black pupils. He wears a light yellow ruff around his neck, a black cape with a red underside, a purple long-sleeve suit with six gold buttons, a light yellow band tied around his waist, tight purple pants, and black boots with pointy tips. When his power was sealed away he appeared with a more frail build, his eyes were kept closed but his clothes stayed the same.
Within the 2018 anime, Belial resembles his appearance from the 1985 anime with several differences. He has cyan skin, orange hair that reaches his neck, connecting with his beard, and eyes that have light yellow sclerae with purple irises and black pupils. He has a rather portly build. He wears a white ruff around his neck, a black cape with a red underside, a purple long-sleeve suit with eight gold buttons, a cream band around his waist, a pair of gloves with ruffs, baggy purple pants, and a pair of black boots with pointy tips. When his power was sealed away, he had pale green skin and pale orange hair, while his eyes remained the same. He wore a dull brown trench coat and hat, a dirty towel around his neck, and a pair of tattered purple pants and black shoes.
==Personality==
Belial is consistently portrayed as a poor, weak old man whenever his powers are sealed. When he does have his full powers, Belial displays his true malignant self as a sadistic, ambitious, power hungry despot. Deep down he yearns for revenge, most recurrently against the Karasu-Tengu responsible for sealing his powers.
Belial is destructive, and self-centered and cares very little about the damage his rampage can do, even gloating on it.
In the 2018 Anime, upon being contacted by Backbeard, he shows the same devotion the Western Yōkai have for their commander: despite being in full control of his powers, he's shown groveling in front of Backbeard, pleading for a place in his army and willing to fight Kitarō and get the Ring of Arcana in exchange for a place at his side.
==History==
===Shonen Magazine===
Belial first appears in the Shonen Magazine story Akuma Belial. In the first year of the Meiji Period, Belial snuck into Japan, hidden among the merchants from Portugal. He soon used his black magic to create an endless amount of money and built a luxurious social life for himself. Soon, the Mt. Kurama Karasu-Tengu became aware of Belial's presence and sealed away his powers without his knowledge. No longer able to create money and pay for his lavish parties, Belial loses his friends and social standing and is reduced to living as a nomad, traveling across Japan and working as a magician, all the while searching for the person responsible for stealing his powers.Akuma Belial, Shonen Magazine, 1968
A century passes and while Belial performs tricks at a fair, Nezumi-Otoko happens across the crystal ball the Karasu-Tengu sealed Belial's powers inside. Nezumi-Otoko steals the ball, planning to sell it, but drops and breaks it as he walks away. With his powers returned, Belial now knows that the Karasu-Tengu was responsible and he heads for Mt. Kurama for revenge. As the Karasu-Tengu sleeps in his home, Belial draws a magic circle around the house and causes it to sink into the ground. He then heads for Nagoya for unknown reasons.
Kitarō, meanwhile, learns of Belial's activity and plans to stop him in Gifu, so Konaki-Jijii uses his hiccup spell to slow him down. Once Belial realizes he is being interfered with, he uses his powers to sense the location of the Yōkai Apartments and sends over a lightning storm. He then dissects and multiplies his body parts, creating numerous giant balls covered with his organs to attack the Kitarō Family. Kitarō eventually uses his finger bullets to dissolved the glue holding Belial's pieces together. The Kitarō Family then go through the piles of organs to find his true parts and destroy them once and for all.
===1968 Anime===
He appears in episode #30 of the 1968 anime, Akuma Belial. The story goes largely the same as the manga, except Belial meets and tricks Nezumi-Otoko into getting the crystal ball from the Karasu-Tengu. He also faces the Kitarō Family once before they retreat back to the Yōkai Apartments, when in the manga they had yet to leave when Belial attacked them.GeGeGe no Kitarō (1968): Episode30
===Shukan Jitsuwa===
He appears in the Shin GeGeGe no Kitarō stories Invisible Man and Akuma Professor.
===1985 Anime===
He appears in episode #54 of the 1985 anime, Akuma Belial. In this adaptation Belial arrived in Japan in the first year of the Ansei Period and went to battle with the Karasu-Tengu Tribe. Their battle was so destructive it caused the Great Earthquakes of Ansei. At the end of the battle, the Elder Karasu-Tengu seals Belial's powers in a crystal ball.GeGeGe no Kitarō (1985): Episode 54
Over a century later, Belial is performing at a fair when he overhears Nezumi-Otoko telling his story. Belial sees that Nezumi-Otoko has come across the crystal ball with his powers inside and is trying to hawk it. After an argument, Belial causes Nezumi-Otoko to drop the ball, causing his powers to return.
He then sets his sights on an old book at the Yōkai Library which contains information on his weakness. On route to the library, he fights and defeats Konaki-Jijii and Nurikabe, stealing their powers in the process. Kitarō is eventually able to learn his weakness and pierces his heart with the Yōkai Ocarina's blade.
===1996 Anime===
He appears in episode #44 of the 1996 anime, Western Akuma Belial. The story goes largely the same as the 1968 anime, with Belial once again tricking Nezumi-Otoko into stealing the crystal ball. In this adaptation, Belial is defeated when a nervous fart from Nezumi-Otoko gets into his true eye, allowing Kitarō to locate his true organs. After Kitarō's attack, Belial returns to his human form and Kitarō wraps him up with the chanchanko, compacting him into nothing.GeGeGe no Kitarō (1996): Episode 44
===2018 Anime===
He appears in episode #32 of the 2018 anime, Akuma Belial: The Hundred-Year Grudge. Belial attempted to conquer Japan during the restoration but the Karasu-Tengu elder sealed his powers in a moment of weakness.
Nearly 150 years later, he has lived as a poor homeless old-man. When Kojirō accidentally unsealed Belial's powers the mad western yokai vows revenge on the Karasu-Tengu clan and destroys the village before proceeding to torture Kojirō.
Belial is later summoned by Backbeard who orders Belial to find the Ring of Arcana promising a position of power for him. Belial accepts and engages Kitarō and his friends using his multiplication technique. He fails when Kojirō detects his weak point allowing the young Karasu-Tengu and Kitarō to defeat him.GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018): Episode 32
==Powers and Abilities==
Black Magic: Belial possesses an immense amount of black magic, the power of which has been likened to a hydrogen bomb.Akuma Belial, Drawn & Quarterly edition, Kitaro's Strange Adventures pg. 175, Konaki-Jijii describes his powers as "like unleashing a hydrogen bomb with his mind".
*Materialization: Belial can create any object he can think of. When he came to Japan, he would create enough money to pay for anything he wanted on the spot. After his powers returned to him, he tested them out by creating a pancake.
*Magic Circle: Belial knows how to use magic circles. He uses a magic circle to cause the Mt. Kurama Karasu-Tengu's house to sink into the ground.
*Hair Antenna: Similar to Kitarō's Yōkai Antenna, Belial can sense the presence of others from great distances using his hairs as an antenna. While Kitarō's antenna is one hair sticking up on his head, Belial's ability uses two hairs.
*Weather Manipulation: Belial was able to send a lighting storm to attack the Yōkai Apartments.
*Hundred-Fold Multiplication: Belial's most powerful technique. He can dissect and multiply his body parts, clumping them together giant balls of a glue-like substance. According to Kitarō, each ball is covered with 100 copies of a single body part (a ball of ears, a ball of lips, etc.).Akuma Belial, Drawn & Quarterly edition, Kitaro's Strange Adventures pg. 180 Each part may have abilities of its own, like eyes being able to shoot beams, or mouth being able to spew a toxic breath. Otherwise their sole body mass is enough of a threat as they can roll over enemies. While this is Belial's strongest attack it is also a double-edged sword as he usually hides weak point in these parts, which is normally difficult to detect due to the multitude of parts. However if his weak points are successfully attacked, Belial is rendered defenseless.
*Super Speed: In the Third Anime, Belial is capable of running great distances at high speeds.
*Power Stealing: In the 2018 Anime, Belial can steal the powers of yōkai he has defeated. He steals the powers of Konaki-Jijii and Nurikabe and is able to increase his size and turn to stone.
Red Lightning:
==Legend==
Belial is a demon listed as the sixty-eighth spirit in the Goetia, where he is a King of Hell and was created after Lucifer. Under his command are 50 legions of spirits. He has the power to distribute the preferment of senatorships, gives excellent familiars and to cause favor of friends or foes. gives excellent familiars. He must be presented with offerings, sacrifices and gifts, or else he will not give true answers to demands. He appears in the form of a beautiful angel sitting in a chariot of fire, speaking with a pleasant voice.
==References==
==Navigation==
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Category:Characters
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Category:Antagonist (1968)
Category:Antagonist (1985)
Category:Antagonist (1996)
Category:Antagonist (2007)
Category:Antagonist (2018)
Category:Abrahamic Mythology
Category:Goetia Demons