BEM Season 2 is very likely if history is any judge. The new anime takes the path already trodden by not just one but two anime TV shows, but will the Humanoid Monster BEM (Yokai Ningen Bem) reboot follow in their footsteps by having a second season?
While BEM Season is still over the horizon, a 2020 BEM movie has been confirmed to be coming out in the fall of 2020. (See below for more details).
The new BEM anime projects are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original 1968 Yokai Ningen Bem anime.
A remake aired in 2006 and was rebroadcast in Japan in 2018. A comedic version of the anime was released in 2017 and 2018 under the name Ore-tacha Yokai Ningen.
The anime series even spawned a 2011 live-action series that lasted for 10 episodes. Then the same actors were brought back to do a live-action Humanoid Monster BEM movie in 2012.
The 2019 BEM anime has the same basic setup as the original, with three yokai (humanoid monsters) named Bem, Bela, and Belo fighting for justice by living among humans and protecting them from evil yokai. Humans are horrified by their true forms, but the trio continues the fight in hopes of becoming human.
The biggest difference with the 2019 reboot is a dramatic stylistic shift. Everything is designed to be dark and edgy with a grittier art style and music that relies on jazz themes. The character designs were also revised to be more modernized and Bela went from being an adult vampire to a teen girl with red hair.
The new BEM anime also introduced police detective Sonia Summers as a new character along with several other new characters with westernized names. Summers’ existence largely serves as a plot device for introducing thematic elements related to the corruption of true justice within the human world of Outside.
So, yes, the 2019 BEM anime is essentially an original story based on the prior series. But BEM Season 2 seems possible if the new anime follows the overall narrative.
After all, both the 1968 Humanoid Monster BEM and the newer 2006 remake were 26 episodes or two cours. (A “cour” is a three-month TV broadcasting unit based on the physical seasons and animes usually have between 10 to 13 episodes per cour.)
Right now, BEM Season 2 isn’t in the works since the 2019 BEM anime is only scheduled to be a single-cour anime with 12 episodes. The 2020 BEM movie is the only announced direct sequel.
The anime is being produced in a collaboration between animation studios Production I.G. and LandQ Studios. The latter studio is mostly known for providing support on anime productions like B: The Beginning, Fruits Basket 2019 (Fruits Basket Season 2 is confirmed!), Boarding School Juliet, Golden Kamuy (Golden Kamuy Season 3 is confirmed!), and Saga Of Tanya The Evil.
Director Yoshinori Odaka is helming the project from LandQ Studios. The anime story scripts are being written by Atsuhiro Tomioka of Trinity Blood and Pokemon XY fame. Character designer Range Murata is known for Last Exile and Blue Submarine No. 6.
The 2019 BEM cast:
- Bem: Katsuyuki Konishi
- Bela: M.A.O
- Belo: Kensho Ono
- Mysterious Lady: Maaya Sakamoto
- Joel Woods: Kenji Nomura
- Sonia Summers: Maaya Uchida
- Dr. Recycle: Junichi Suwabe
- Daryl Bryson: Soma Saito
- Roddy Walker: Kotaro Nishiyama
- Helmut Felt: Daisuke Ono
The BEM opening theme song is “Uchu no Kioku” as performed by Maaya Sakamoto. The ending theme song is “Iruimi” as performed by JUNNA.
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Updated August 20, 2020: Added BEM: Become Human release date and trailer/key visual.
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Updated June 1, 2020: Added BEM movie trailer and poster art.
This article provides everything that is known about BEM Season 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
BEM movie release date set for October 2020
Called BEM: Become Human, the movie will be produced by anime studio Production I.G. The BEM movie release date is scheduled for October 2, 2020. The film has a runtime of 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Some of the main staff have changed, with director Hiroshi Ikehata (Space Battleship Tiramisu) helming the project. Artist Mino Matsumoto (Attack on Titan: Junior High) is the new character designer for the film, replacing Range Murata.
The theme song for the BEM movie is “unforever” by Rib.
Toshiya Miyata of the boy band Kis-My-Ft2 will be featured in the voice cast as the character Burgess.
BEM Season 2 release date
As of the last update, Production I.G., LandQ Studios, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the BEM Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a Humanoid Monster BEM sequel been announced.
Once the news is officially confirmed this article will be updated with the relevant information. In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the BEM Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.
The good news is that BEM reviews have been kinder to the 2019 reboot in comparison to the 2006 remake. The bad news is that the MyAnimeList rating is lower than average since most decent anime rank at least a 7 out of 10.
The BEM anime also had the misfortune to air in the same season as Cop Craft, which has the same basic noir setup where a police officer partners up with a superhuman fight superpowered bad guys. Arguably, Cop Craft is better written and produced and as such the MyAnimeList scores are higher. Cop Craft Season 2 also seems more likely since that anime competitor is based on a light novel series.
As a 50th anniversary project, it’s possible BEM Season 2 was never intended. Similar to the much-better 2019 Dororo anime, it’s possible the new BEM anime was designed to be a standalone story from the outset. We’ll just have to wait and see whether BEM Episode 12 leaves any opening for a sequel. Stay tuned!