Spotlight: Unico’s Devilish Friend Akuma-kun

It’s been a while since I’ve written about a character from Unico, so why not give some love to another fan favorite? Most kids from the 80s remember Akuma-kun, and I’ll tell you why. When the 1981 film was released in Japan and then across the West in the 80s, everyone was introduced to this little devil. Of course, here in the United States and several other countries, Akuma-kun went by Beezle — or Beezil? Sometimes Beezel? Guess it depended on which VHS/Beta tape you had back then for the spelling. Either way, the Devil of Solitude became a great friend of Unico, but let’s learn more about him!

Akuma-kun’s Beginning

Our little devil friend first appeared in Sanrio’s January 1978 issue of Lyrica Magazine with the “Unico and Solitude”¹ (ひとりぼっちのユニコ) chapter. In this chapter, West Wind leaves Unico on a land at the ends of the Earth where all living things have disappeared. While searching, Unico sees a castle and goes there. The castle is in ruins, but there is an enormous statue of a demon as you enter. The statue speaks to Unico, revealing that it’s the devil called Solitude (孤独 kodoku). When Unico wishes to be friends, the devil’s angry yell sends Unico flying into a giant piece of metal resting against a large column. The column breaks and the top comes crashing down onto the statue, revealing a crying demon in the rubble. This little guy is now the new devil of solitude and Unico wastes no time in wanting to become friends because that’s what Unico does.

Despite inheriting his father’s title, Unico’s nickname for him in the chapter is how Akuma-kun got his name. Akuma (悪魔 akuma) is a devil or demon, and kun (くん -kun) is an honorific, usually referring to young males. Unico simply calls him Akuma-kun because his possible new friend is young like him. In many languages, Akuma-kun translates to either Mr. Demon or just Demon.

Anyway, Akuma-kun desires his own horn, insisting Unico trade him his for friendship. Unico is desperate for a friend and agrees to let the devil borrow his horn for a short period. The chapter continues on with Akuma-kun learning what friendship means, even though he lives in solitude.

In the 1981 theatrical film, the events are quite identical to the manga, but Akuma gets a different ending. While not ideal, the loneliness and frustration can still be felt from both sides.

Why is this devil popular?

While Akuma has several appealing qualities, I believe that his insecurities with making friends resonated with many children. Akuma-kun was born in isolation as a devil of solitude, but with Unico’s arrival, he was curious. He couldn’t help but think about Unico and what he might be doing. Those thoughts go against what a devil of solitude represents. Unico is possibly the first visitor on the dead land, so the little devil doesn’t know what to do. What’s a friend? Why does Unico want to be friends? What would Akuma get out of a friendship? Why would anyone want a friend? He doesn’t get it.

Describing what friendship is doesn’t quite work with this little guy. Akuma-kun awkwardly stumbles through it. His outward view is that of a solitary demon, so this is unfamiliar territory. He may appear selfish and mean, but with Unico’s compassion, he can overcome this. Unfortunately, Akuma’s time with Unico is short, but he learned more about his own loneliness and how important it is to have a friend.

Another reason many love Akuma is simply his design and personality. He’s cute even when being a bit of a bully to Unico. Nothing seems to faze him, and even though he’s rough around the edges, that makes his interactions with Unico fun and unique. He certainly has his own charm.

Akuma can teach children that sometimes we’re a little different from others or we struggle with socializing. Despite that, it’s okay because even characters like Akuma were alone and learned to make a friend. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right friend, but it will happen.

Is Akuma-kun blue or green?

Like so many kids who watched the films before reading the manga, I figured he was always blue with brown hair, but that’s not the case. Osamu Tezuka couldn’t color the original chapter in time for publication, so we don’t see a colored version of this chapter until 18 years later in 1996, when the last volume of the Scholar set was published. The Scholar set is the first collection to have all chapters printed in color. In this book, we see the little devil has black hair and a green body. I’m sure this surprised some readers, given that the manga was mainly printed in black and white with the Osamu Tezuka Complete Manga Collection. While I assume assistants colored the black and white chapters at Tezuka Productions after Osamu Tezuka’s passing, there must have been notes and directions on what colors Tezuka wanted to use. I haven’t been able to find more information about when they completed coloring the manga, but I know “Unico and Solitude” (ひとりぼっちのユニコ) went from being the fourth chapter to the last because of its lack of color.

Now, is Akuma-kun blue or green? It’s both. You have an anime and manga version to choose from, and both are correct. Fans familiar with the film tend to prefer the blue version, but many are happy with whatever color he is.

Why does Akuma-kun have storm abilities in the film but not in the manga?

I often wondered about this, especially after reading the manga, so maybe someone will answer it one day. The animated film adapted a lot of the source material, but there were a few changes, like giving Akuma-kun storm abilities. In the film, he conjures a cloud that shoots sparks and lightning. They might have added it for pizzazz, but it got me thinking about Japanese folklore, especially creatures who use lightning. You’re probably familiar with oni, Japanese ogre or troll-like yokai² that terrorize humans. They appear in plenty of media, such as comics, TV shows, video games, tabletop games, and more. These creatures often come in red, blue, or black skin tones, and sometimes with special abilities, too. Yes, oni and demons can be similar, but they’re also very different. Akuma’s tail obviously paints him as a devil, but let’s look at some of those oni qualities.

Given the prevalence of mythology and tales in Japanese culture, did they give similar characteristics to Akuma in the film? Raijin, the god of lightning, storms, and thunder, was often depicted as a demonic oni with muscular red skin and horns in plenty of different Japanese media. Children in Japan are also more familiar with oni from stories and holidays. But let’s face it, Akuma-kun’s abilities are a cute addition and don’t change his rambunctious personality. It also illustrates the juxtaposition between Akuma and the big demon regarding their magic at the end of the film.

Where is Akuma-kun today?

While he hasn’t appeared in any animations since the 80s, Akuma-kun can be seen in games, merchandise, and even music. He’s often included in Tezuka Character goods along with Unico, Chao, and Ragon, especially recently with the Tezuka Moderno line. Akuma sometimes appears in Osamu Tezuka calendars released every year with dozens of other Tezuka characters, too. While not being used, it’s great to see he’s still a part of the family of characters from Osamu Tezuka’s works. He’s also one of the few characters that were part of Sanrio in the 70s and 80s.

Akuma has his own fans that truly love him and his relationship with Unico was always fun to see growing up and even now. Many fans pay homage to this little devil by creating works of art, figures, and music like Mr Twin Sister’s 2021 song titled “Beezle.” The band’s singer Andrea Estella said that the song and video were “a reinterpretation of a story I love and identify with from the anime The Fantastic Adventures of Unico, original story by Osamu Tezuka.” The lyrics and music video illustrate Akuma’s feelings and struggle in dealing with others, and I adore the fact that this little demon is so well-liked that Estella created a song about him.

While he may not appear in the new series, Akuma-kun was included in one of the Unico: Awakening illustrations used to promote the book on Kickstarter. He was in a phone wallpaper and art prints released for the Kickstarter as well. Again, Akuma was really loved by fans of the original manga and anime films, so to see him pop up even in promotional illustrations for the newer series is fun to see.

Footnotes:

1. 1. “Unico and Solitude” is the English title for the chapter based on the translation from Digital Manga Publishing (DMP)’s Unico. ↩︎
2. 2. yokai: a term used for ghosts, monsters, demons, and other supernatural beings. ↩︎