Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 7, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Yokai Monsters Collection.

Louis Malle's 1958 film The Lovers has nary a spirit or monster in it, and yet it provides a kind of interesting entrée into the world (or at least the term) of yōkai. In one of the more contentious and perhaps even weirdly amusing decisions ever handed down by the Supreme Court, in a 1964 case known as Jacobellis v. Ohio the Court famously (some might say infamously) reversed some lower court decisions in Ohio which had held a theater owner liable for exhibiting "pornography" when he screened the sexually provocative Malle opus. While the vote was a relatively lopsided six to three in favor of reversing the theater owner's conviction, there was absolutely no agreement among the justices as to why the film wasn't obscene, or tangentially why the state could or could not regulate what kinds of "pornography" could be shown. In a phrase which has since entered the public vernacular, Justice Potter Stewart, in trying to explain his rationale for deeming The Lovers as not being pornography, perhaps hemmed and hawed just a bit, before announcing that while there may not be an all encompassing or agreed upon definition of what or what not constitutes so-called hard core pornography, "I know it when I see it" (which of course may beg the question as to what kind of material Potter was watching in his spare time, and, yes, that's a joke). In somewhat the same way, there seem to be about as many definitions of yōkai as there are people offering those definitions, and in fact both the insert booklet and a number of supplements included on the discs in this set offer various interpretations of what exactly yōkai are. While there may indeed be no ultimate agreement on the term, the often whimsically entrancing films included in Arrow's set may help viewers to "know it (and/or them) when they see it (and/or them)".

One of the kind of interesting things that may occur to some viewers as they wend their way through this collection and attempt to "define" what a yōkai is, is whether or not yōkai as an aggregate are "good" or "evil", to which some wise shinnichi may somewhat snarkily answer, "Yes". In fact in this first film in the set the yōkai are generally helpful, if they are more or less out for revenge, but understandably so. Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters follows a somewhat familiar Daiei trope of having a nefarious "outside" villain attempt to enforce his will on an insular community, in this case what might be thought of as the Edo era version of an unscrupulous land developer, who wants to desecrate a local shrine by tearing it down and building a brothel.

Part of the film includes what might be thought of as the ancient Japanese analog to a "campfire ghost story", which allows for some initial conceptual and character introductions, but the actual upshot of the plot is that the proposed construction site is not treated with appropriate respect and ceremonial requirements, with various yōkai springing into action to teach the mendacious humans a lesson. The film is kind of deliberately whimsical (it was evidently marketed mostly toward children), though it does have a darker strain bubbling just beneath the surface. Even a seemingly "friendly" if patently bizarre yōkai like the kasa-obake, which is like a dancing, hyperkinetic umbrella, can have a slightly threatening mien at times. You might not think such a weird and wacky character could be much of a menace until the admittedly spooky climax of 100 Ghosts .

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet aggregates all of the films in this set together on its page devoted to information on the transfers:

100 Monsters, Spook Warfare, and Along with Ghosts are presented in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratios with their original mono soundtracks.

The Great Yokai War is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with its original 5.1 Japanese soundtrack as well as a 5.1 English dub track.

The High Definition masters for 100 Monsters, Along with Ghosts, and The Great Yokai War were supplied to Arrow Films by Kadokawa Pictures; Spook Warfare was restored in 4K resolution by Kadokawa Pictures and supplied to Arrow Films.

Additional optimization on all four films was completed at R3Store Studios, London.

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters struck me as the "middle child" in terms of quality of video presentation of the three original Yokai Monster films. It doesn't quite have the pop and nuance of Spook Warfare, but it also doesn't have the same kind of mottled, clumpy grain and damage that afflict Along with Ghosts. The film's moody lighting is very well represented, and cooler blue and green tones predominate and pop very well. Detail levels are generally quite good, though some of the special effects sequences show some degradation that I assume is part and parcel of whatever compositing process was utilized. The hazy orange tinted climax doesn't offer the same levels of detail as the bulk of the presentation due at least in part to some of the stylistic quirks on display.

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters features an LPCM Mono track in the original Japanese. While dynamic range is somewhat limited in this presentation, this track doesn't have the same (admittedly relatively minor) issues with crackle, pop and slight distortion that can intrude at more boisterous moments of the tracks on the two other sixties era films included in this set. Dialogue, sound effects and score are all presented without any major issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Hiding in Plain Sight: A Brief History of Yokai (HD; 41:11) is a really well done introduction to the concept(s) of yōkai , and would be my recommended starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the, well, whatever they are.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:16)


• US Re-release Trailer (HD; 1:08)


• Image Gallery (HD)

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters is a fun way to kick off this set, though some may quibble that the actual yōkai are shunted a bit too much into the background. The film's subtext of disrespecting ancient traditions and religious practice may not have the same power as is displayed in Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts, but this film makes a salient point that is somewhat similar to the old ad campaign that warned American consumers that "it's not nice to fool Mother Nature". Technical merits are generally solid, with a few passing caveats, and the main documentary on this disc is outstanding. Recommended.