Category: Everyday Life

Still more about ‘Humanoid Monster BEM’

I’m always going on about this, but the 5th BEM DVD arrived!

It includes the last two stories of the first series and two stories that were made in 1982 but never broadcast.
In the last original story, the good people Bem, Bela, and Belo were treated coldly and were afraid, then finally were burned as monsters in a house where real evil monsters lived: it tells us how humans are inconsiderate and also stupid. It’s a great story to educate people. (Well, I actually don’t think the heroes would die that easily.)

Anyway, I must say the part two that was never broadcast is completely different from the first series.
They lost the opening that I really like (and that made me want to watch all twenty-six stories again), and the later version is not attractive for me at all. The sticky atmosphere completely disappeared. (The previous one is here.)

The stories and the setting in unnamed countries (maybe in Europe?) are similar; however: strangely cute looking Belo, beautiful sister Bela, and nice looking Bem – they are weird. The original series soundtrack had jazzy music that matched the story, but the later version changed to something like Lupin III. (Although the music would have been all right for Lupin III.) Aargh!

We haven’t watched the actual second series that was broadcast in 2006: I heard they live in Tokyo in the new story. All the characters became modern and clean-looking, but we feel something is different. Maybe it’s better for us not to watch it…

– YS, 4 October 2007

4 October 2007