In celebration of the Yokai Ningen Bem box set release, Bem, Bela and Bero were featured pounding rice cakes on the cover of the January 8th edition of TV Bros.
Also included inside the magazine was a short interview with series head writer Akira Adachi (who also worked on Testujin 28!). Among the topics discussed are how he got the idea for the show after watching the kamishibai performance of Akame no Gu, the origin of Bem's name (Bug Eyed Monster), how in hindsight he wishes he would have named the show after Bero instead and that he originally intended for the show to have a happy ending.
Nice Cover. I like the artwork. I've know about Bem for awhile now. The show has a pretty catchy opening theme song. Now the Dororon Enma-kun by Go Nagai is the one I discovered recently and the manga is good too. It's getting popular again and they are making a new anime for it. - Different Anonymous
ReplyDeleteBut that great downbeat ending is what makes this series so amazing and endlessly rewatchable! Now I can throw out those old vhs bootlegs and upgrade-- yay! Thanks for posting about this.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: When I first came here to study in 2003 I caught the show on cable tv and have been waiting for this box set ever since. The theme song was among the first Japanese songs I ever sang at karaoke and I still sing it every time I go! The international versions are also very cool...
ReplyDeleteIn Italian(Bem il mostro umano):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf6L4uvGv5w&feature=related
The Spanish version is also great, but it looks like it was removed from youtube.
DVD set and limited set are going for something approaching a reasonable price on Amazon! Maybe we won't even have to wait for Mandarake to get them?
ReplyDeleteThe Italian version is very good. I dig the vocals. I would like to get the Bem box set too. I'd watch anime even if it wasn't in english or subbed. Speaking of music I noticed you put up a lot of nice Japanese 80's music. I remembered this place on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/user/80sMuzic#g/u
ReplyDelete-Different Anonymous
Velocitron: User reviews say that the new DVD set butchered the title cards and cut/bleeped out all of the non PC expressions (probably stuff like 気違い and めくら?) so the old sets might be a safer bet, if you're a completist.
ReplyDeleteNice! Speaking of which, I've been wondering. Where do you two work in Japan?
ReplyDeleteI don't want to do away with too much of the strange haze shrouding us is mystery, so let's just say that Dr. Senbei is a cryptologist with a penchant for anime and I am a raving mad scientist...
ReplyDeleteWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! I just browsed the first couple of reviews for the deluxe one ("The cover is ugly and its too expensive" seemed to be the gist I got) but if they actually went back and edited out parts of the show it would be basically useless, wouldn't it? Why even bother with that? I mean, its not like Bemu is going to be tearing up the sales charts and causing a ruckus nationwide...
ReplyDelete