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Humanoid Monster Bem Drama's Debut Earns 18.9 Rating
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The live-action adaptation of the classic supernatural adventure anime Humanoid Monster Bem (Yōkai Ningen Bem) premiered on Japanese television on Saturday with an 18.9% average rating in Tokyo's Kanto area, according to the survey firm Video Research. The drama's peak rating for its first episode was 22.9%. The recent live-action drama Don Quixote, which aired from July to September starring actor Shota Matsuda, received a lesser average rating of 11.7% for its first episode.
In the original 1968 anime, Bem, Bera, and Berro are ugly humanoid monsters (yōkai) who fight for justice. The monsters live among humans and protect them from evil yōkai. The three find themselves ostracized from both humans and other yōkai, but the three continue to fight in hopes of one day becoming humans themselves. In the live-action series' first episode, Bem saves a human and meets a detective who could become the trio's friend. However, Bem's secret could risk his relationship with the human before it gets a chance to develop.
Kazuya Kamenashi (Gokusen, The Wallflower, Kami no Shizuku) of the musical group KAT-TUN is staring as the title character, while model/actress Anne plays Bem's teammate Bera and child actor Fuku Suzuki (2011 Hana-Kimi) plays the young monster Berro. Masafumi Nishida (Tiger & Bunny) is writing the live-action Humanoid Monster Bem series, just as he did for another recent live-action adaptation about supernatural creatures caught between the human and monster worlds (Kaibutsu-kun).
The 1968 anime inspired a remake in 2006.
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