Yokai Ningen Bem (1968 TV Series)

Aired: 1968 - 1969

A TV anime produced by Dai-ichi Doga. The animation was produced jointly by Dai-ichi Doga - the animation division of advertising agency Dai-ichi Kikaku (now ADK Marketing Solutions) - and the animation production department of Tongyang Broadcasting in South Korea. Broadcast in 26 episodes on the Fuji TV network from October 7, 1968 to March 31, 1969. The series follows three otherworldly beings - Bem (voiced by Kiyoshi Kobayashi), Bera (voiced by Hiroko Mori), and Bero (voiced by Mari Shimizu) - who travel from place to place defeating malevolent yokai while chanting the refrain 'I want to become human.' The poignant worldview, in which beings persecuted by humans for not being human themselves continue to seek their own humanity, left a strong impression on children of the era. Through repeated reruns, its singular presence won over new generations, and it became a long-lived franchise with an original story in 2006, a Nippon TV live-action drama in 2011, and another anime remake in 2019. (C)Dai-ichi Doga / ADK Marketing Solutions