3 Reasons Why You Should Watch Bem Anime

Hello everyone, and welcome to our shelter! 🙂 The 2019 Anime Summer Season has been average, and most of the Animes coming out end up lacking in some way. Unfortunately, Bem is not different, but I still feel that it deserves more love than it’s getting, especially when you can clearly see that it’s sitting on a tight budget.

Bem Synopsis

Let’s start with what Bem actually is and what is the story about! Bem’s plot develops in a city that is divided by a bridge. At one side lives the wealthiest part of society, while on the other, you can find the castaways where the crime rate is alarming, and nobody is safe. Moreover, there are also demons lurking in the shadows, whose only objective is to kill the majority of people possible.

The story follows four characters, three of them are youkai who believe that if they save a certain amount of humans will regain their humanity and a police girl who was dispatched to the “evil” side of the bridge after stepping on some important people’s toes.

Of course, the path of this policewoman – Sonia Summers – crosses the way of the youkai group right on episode one and they end up working together to diminish the crime rate on the streets.

First Reason – Plot Idea and Delivery

I love Animes that explore the subject of dystopia. Better yet, Ethiopias that end up to be dystopias – Psycho Pass is a good example. So, of course, I was excited to find what Bem had to offer and I was happy to see it does an excellent job setting the plot by using Sonia Summers as the tool to introduce the environment of the suburbs.

Right at the beginning of the episode, we can see Sonia being deceived into thinking a girl is being robbed. Moments later after she starts running after the robber, the same girl steals Sonia’s car. In other words, everything was a scheme to take the car. Although simple, it’s a perfect way to show the difference between Sonia’s world and the new place where she is going to live from now on. Moreover, the environment is further settled on the next day while Sonia is making a city trip with one of her colleagues. During the scene, we can observe the city through her eyes and understand all the rottenness that comes with it.

However, it’s not only the environment ‘showcase’ that is important. It’s crucial to set the plot at a good pace as well. Something that Bem can do in a very smooth way. The plot setting and environment presentation are done so connected that we don’t even notice the change. Everything is done with such excellent conduction that things fall into place without anything feeling strange or forced.

Second Reason – Character Development

Another thing I enjoyed while watching the first episodes of Bem was how the creators took their time to introduce both Bela and Belo by centering one episode on each one of these characters. Although the episodes were a little slower than the first one, they were perfect for me to create a connection with them, especially when it comes to Belo’s story since I teared up a little bit at the end of the last scene.

I believe that character introduction is one of the essential parts to make a good Anime and it’s nice to see lower budgeted Animes like Bem focusing on that. I mean, that’s where they can shine, right? Nevertheless, although I didn’t love the characters at their face value, this construction made me fall for them and see them as a little more complex than just demons who want to be humans.

Of course, I’ve only seen three episodes, and things can change throughout the story. However, for now, things are looking good and compelling enough for me to want to continue following these characters’ paths.

Third Reason – Music and, Yes, Animation

It’s indeed on the animation movement where we can see how tight the budget is, especially when it comes to the fighting scenes. I’m not a fan of the transformation scenes made in 3D, and although Bem creators use all the tricks they know to make the scenes more fluid, there is no way around the fact that the fightings end up being too static.

However, at the same time, the characterization of both the characters and the environment is well made. While the characters’ design is pretty clean and modern, the animation is also able to catch how dark that side town is. However, it’s important to say that the animation is more mature than your average Anime. Something that, for me, is great, but I know that some people don’t enjoy it as much. Nevertheless, while showing psychological and gore scenes, it’s impactful and distressful enough.

Last, but not least, the music. I know that I’ll probably be in the minority with this opinion, but I love how diverse the soundtrack is throughout the episodes. Usually, Anime follows a music style throughout the season, which is not the case with Bem. It’s true that, for the most part, you get some sweet jazzy music. However, there is also music that resembles Nier:Automata, Persona 5, urban music, among others.

Final Thoughts

In the end, it’s true that Bem is not the best Anime ever made. However, I feel it deserves way more love than it’s getting. Yeah, you can see it’s low-budget at some parts. However, it compensates by doing a magnificent story building, character introduction, and, of course, excellent music! So, if you are grasping for something new and you love this type of stories, then you should try this one out.

What about you? Have you watched Bem? What are your thoughts? Tell me everything in the comments down below! ^^