Humanoid Monster Bem

Japanese anime television series and its adaptations

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Humanoid Monster Bem

Logo of the 2019 anime

妖怪人間ベム
(Yōkai Ningen Bemu)
Genre| Horror, adventure
Anime television series
Directed by| Hideo Wakabayashi
Written by| Akira Adachi
Studio| Dai'ichi Dōga
Licensed by|

* NA: Discotek Media

Original network| Fuji TV
Original run|  7 October 1968  –  31 March 1969
Episodes| 26
Anime television series
Directed by| Hiroshi Harada
Written by| Junki Takegami
Studio| Studio Comet
Original network| Animax, Tokyo MX
Original run|  1 April 2006  –  7 October 2006
Episodes| 26
Television drama
Directed by| Shunsuke Kariyama
Noriyoshi Sakuma
Written by| Masafumi Nishida
Studio| Nippon Television
Original network| NTV
Original run|  October 22, 2011  –  December 24, 2011
Episodes| 10
Live-action film
Directed by| Shunsuke Kariyama
Produced by| Hidehiro Kawano
Written by| Masafumi Nishida
Studio| Toho
Released| December 15, 2012 (2012-12-15)
Runtime| 124 minutes
Anime television series
BEM
Directed by| Yoshinori Odaka
Written by| Atsuhiro Tomioka
Music by| Soil & Pimp Sessions
Michiru
Studio| LandQ Studios
Licensed by| Funimation
Original network| TV Tokyo, TVA, TVO
Original run|  July 14, 2019  –  October 13, 2019
Episodes| 12 (List of episodes)
Live-action film
Yokai Ningen Bela
Directed by| Tsutomu Hanabusa
Written by| Daisuke Hozaka
Music by| Minami Nozaki
Studio| ADK Emotions
Released| September 11, 2020 (2020-09-11)
Anime film

* BEM: Become Human (2020)

Anime and manga portal

Humanoid Monster Bem[1] (Japanese: 妖怪人間ベム, Hepburn: Yōkai Ningen Bemu) is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series, which first aired on Fuji TV between October 7, 1968 and March 31, 1969, on its 19:30–20:00 timeslot.

The series was later remade into a second anime television series, which premiered in April 2006 in Japan on Animax, featuring a new cast, with a total of 26 episodes also produced.[2]

A live-action television drama adaptation premiered on NTV on October 22, 2011.[3] A film was released on December 15, 2012.[4]

For the series' 50th anniversary, a third anime television series adaptation titled BEM was confirmed to be in production. The third series aired from July 14 to October 13, 2019.[5][6][7] A new film titled BEM: Become Human, was released on October 2, 2020.[8][9][10] It streamed on Funimation's website on October 29, 2020.[10]

A spin-off live-action film Yokai Ningen Bela was released on September 11, 2020.[11]

## Plot

[edit]

The plot of the series revolves around three yokai (supernatural creatures), Bem, Bela and Belo, who arrive at a large coastal city and come across an evil atmosphere, which was brought about by immoral behavior by humans and mischief caused by monsters and yokai. They therefore decide to stay in the city, fighting against other monsters and yokai which attack humans, making a few friends along the way. Even though the three yokai are often abused and discriminated against by other human beings due to their appearance, they still strive in protecting the human populace of the city from other monsters, one day hoping to become human beings in return for their good actions.

## Characters

[edit]

Bem
Voiced by: Kiyoshi Kobayashi (1968 series), Kazuhiko Inoue (2006 series), Katsuyuki Konishi (2019 series) (Japanese); Gabe Kunda (2019 series) (English)[12]
Played by: Kazuya Kamenashi
The oldest looking of the trio is the leader and protagonist. He uses a walking stick as a weapon in human form.

Bela
Voiced by: Hiroko Mori (1968 series), Kaori Yamagata (2006 series), M.A.O (2019 series) (Japanese); Dani Chambers (2019 series) (English)[12]
Played by: Anne Watanabe
The only female in the group and the most bad-tempered of the trio. She uses a whip as a weapon in human form.

Belo
Voiced by: Mari Shimizu (1968 series), Ai Horanai (2006 series), Kensho Ono (2019 series) (Japanese); Aaron Dismuke (2019 series) (English) (English)[12]
Played by: Fuku Suzuki
The youngest looking and the most naive of the trio. He is the only one that does not use a weapon in human form.

## Staff

[edit]

### Original series

[edit]

* Original Concept: Akira Adachi
* Screenplay: Akira Adachi
* Directors: Noburo Ishiguro, Tadao Wakabayashi
* Art: Shin Morikawa
* Production: Daiichi Doga (later incorporated into ADK)

#### Cast

[edit]

* Bem: Kiyoshi Kobayashi
* Bela: Hiroko Mori
* Belo: Mari Shimizu
* Opening Narration: Tatsuya Jo, Issei Futamata (Part 2)

#### Theme songs

[edit]

* Opening: "Humanoid Monster Bemu" (妖怪人間ベム) (lyrics: Daiichi Doga, composition and arrangement: Seishi Tanaka; performance: Honey Nights)
* Ending: "Barro wa Tomodachi" (ベロは友だち, Bero wa Tomodachi; lit. Bero is a Friend) (lyrics: Daiichi Doga Bungei-bu, composition and arrangement: Masahiro Uno, performance: Toshiko Yamada, Otowa Yurikago Kai, Gekidan Komadori)

### 2006 remake

[edit]

* Original Concept: Asatsu DK
* Director: Hiroshi Harada
* Series Composition: Junki Takegami
* Character Design: Kazuhiko Shibuya
* Chief Animation Director: Takeshi Yamazaki
* Yokai Design Creator: Naoki Ogiwara
* Art Directors: Shō Tensui, Tsutomu Nishikura, Shinji Kawai
* Primary Background Artist: Kazue Itō
* Color Settings: Miharu Sakai
* Director of Photography: Tomofumi Fujita
* Editing: Yumiko Nakaba, Hideaki Murai (Okayasu Promotion)
* Sound Director: Fusanobu Fujiyama
* Sound Supervision: Takanori Ebina
* Music: Takehiko Gokita
* Animation Production: Studio Comet
* Production: NAS
* Producers: NAS, Sony Pictures Entertainment, avex entertainment, Studio Comet

#### Cast

[edit]

* Bem: Kazuhiko Inoue
* Bela: Kaori Yamagata
* Belo: Ai Horanai
* Kira Hyuga: Yūna Inamura
* Sora Kaido: Naoya Iwahashi
* Mitsuki Kisaragi: Minori Chihara
* Genpaku Hyuga: Masami Iwasaki
* Urara Hyuga: Mie Sonozaki
* Riku Kaido: Ryō Naitō
* Umi Kaido: Miki Nagasawa
* Ryoko Kisaragi: Yuriko Fuchizaki
* Yuzo Mikami: Manabu Murashi
* Hitoshi Tamugenro: Hirofumi Nojima
* Imp: Mitsuo Iwata
* Dana O'Shee: Rokuro Naya
* Doppleganger: Hiroyuki Miyasako
* Narration: Mizuho Suzuki

#### Theme songs

[edit]

* Opening: "Justice of darkness ~theme of Humanoid Monster Bemu" (Justice of darkness ～妖怪人間ベムのテーマ, Justice of darkness ~ Humanoid Monster Bemu no tēma) (Performance: Hiroshi Kitadani (Bem = Kazuhiko Inoue))
* Ending: "Hachigatsu no Eien" (8月の永遠) (Performance: Minako Yoshida)

### 2019 anime

[edit]

* Original Story: ADK Emotions
* Director: Yoshinori Odaka
* Series Composition: Atsuhiro Tomioka
* Original Character Design: Range Murata
* Character Design: Masakazu Sunagawa
* Music Composer: Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, Michiru
* Music Producer: Flying Dog
* Animation Production: LandQ Studios
* Planning Production: NAS
* Project Collaborator: Production I.G
* Production: BEM Production Committee

#### Cast

[edit]

* Bem: Katsuyuki Konishi/Gabe Kunda
* Bela: M.A.O/Dani Chambers
* Belo: Kensho Ono/Aaron Dismuke
* Mysterious Lady: Maaya Sakamoto/Colleen Clinkenbeard
* Joel Woods: Kenji Nomura/Jason Douglas
* Sonia Summers: Maaya Uchida/Felecia Angelle
* Dr. Recycle: Junichi Suwabe/Daman Mills
* Daryl Bryson: Soma Saito/Dallas Reid
* Roddy Walker: Koutaro Nishiyama/Stephen Fu
* Helmut Felt: Daisuke Ono/Christopher Wehkamp
* Julia Bush: Sayaka Oohara/Jamie Marchi

#### Theme songs

[edit]

* Opening: "Uchū no Kioku" (Performance: Maaya Sakamoto)
* Ending: "Iruimi" (Performance: JUNNA)

### 2020 film

[edit]

Main article: BEM: Become Human

* Original story: ADK Emotions
* Director: Hiroshi Ikehata
* Series Composition: Atsuhiro Tomioka
* Original Character Design: Range Murata
* Character Design: Mino Matsumoto
* Animation Production: Production I.G

#### Cast

[edit]

* Bem: Katsuyuki Konishi/Gabe Kunda
* Bela: M.A.O/Dani Chambers
* Belo: Kensho Ono/Aaron Dismuke
* Burgess: Toshiya Miyata/Ryan Colt Levy
* Manstoll: Kōichi Yamadera/Jason Liebrecht
* Emma: Nana Mizuki/Bryn Apprill
* Draco: Wataru Takagi/Michael Schwalbe
* Greta: Shizuka Itō/Elizabeth Maxwell

## Anime

[edit]

Funimation has licensed the 2019 series for a simuldub.[13] Due to the Kyoto Animation arson attack on July 18, 2019, Episode 4, which was originally scheduled to air on August 4, 2019, was postponed to August 18, 2019.[14]

No. | Title  | Original air date

|
|

1| "Water"| July 14, 2019 (2019-07-14)
2| "Liar"| July 21, 2019 (2019-07-21)
3| "Shadow"| July 28, 2019 (2019-07-28)
4| "Lightning"| August 18, 2019 (2019-08-18)[14]
5| "Sweeper"| August 25, 2019 (2019-08-25)
6| "Gravity"| September 1, 2019 (2019-09-01)
7| "Chimera"| September 8, 2019 (2019-09-08)
8| "Noise"| September 15, 2019 (2019-09-15)
9| "Falling"| September 22, 2019 (2019-09-22)
10| "Betrayal"| September 29, 2019 (2019-09-29)
11| "Judgement"| October 6, 2019 (2019-10-06)
12| "Wishing to become human someday"| October 13, 2019 (2019-10-13)

## Reception

[edit]

The live-action film grossed US$11.5 million in Japan.[15]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Humanoid Monster Bem Franchise Gets New Anime in 2019". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
2. ^ "Synopsis for HUMANOID MONSTER BEM - Animax Asia". Animax Asia. Archived from the original on December 25, 2007. Retrieved October 12, 2007.
3. ^ Shiso (October 11, 2011). "Kamenashi Kazuya, Anne, and Suzuki Fuku to sing the opening theme for 'Yokai Ningen Bem'". Tokyohive. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
4. ^ Deljhp (October 18, 2012). "HUMANOID MONSTER BEM goes feature length". 24framespersecond.net. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
5. ^ "Humanoid Monster Bem Franchise Gets New TV Anime in 2019". Anime News Network. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
6. ^ "New Bem Monster Anime's 2nd Teaser Reveals More Cast, Musicians, Summer Premiere". Anime News Network. March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
7. ^ "'BEM' Anime Reveals More Cast Members, Theme Song Artists, Promo Vdeo, July 7 Premiere". Anime News Network. May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
8. ^ "BEM Reboot Anime Gets Movie This Fall". Anime News Network. June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
9. ^ "BEM: Become Human Film's Trailer Reveals Theme Song, October 2 Opening". Anime News Network. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
10. ^ a b "Funimation Streams BEM: Become Human Film". July 30, 2023.
11. ^ "Humanoid Monster Bem's Bela Character Gets Live-Action Film in September". July 30, 2023.
12. ^ a b c Funimation. "[Master Thread] BEM (Dubbed)". www.funimation.com. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
13. ^ Funimation (June 14, 2019). "Funimation Turns Up the Heat with Their Summer 2019 Lineup!". www.funimation.com. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
14. ^ a b 妖怪人間ベム新作アニメ「BEM」公式サイト. "妖怪人間ベム新作アニメ「BEM」公式サイト NEWS". newbem.jp/. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
15. ^ Staff Reporter (May 16, 2014). "The Asian films driving global box office". Film Business Asia. Retrieved May 17, 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* (in Japanese) Official site of the remake
* Official site of the TV drama (in Japanese)
* Animax East Asia's official website for Humanoid Monster Bem
* Humanoid Monster Bem at IMDb
* Humanoid Monster Bem (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
* Humanoid Monster Bem (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia (2006 series)
* Humanoid Monster Bem (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia (2019 series)

* v
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Animax

Networks|

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Former networks|

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Website: animax.co.jp

* v
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Works of Studio Comet

Television series|

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* School Rumble: 2nd Semester (2006)
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* Onegai My Melody Sukkiri (2007)
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* Cute High Earth Defense Club Love! Love! Love! (2017)

Films|

* High School! Kimengumi (1986)
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* Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (1994)
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Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix Best Drama

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