| “ | I prefer to use a traditional wolfman design with a modern twist: I'll enhance this costume with a computer generated special effects operated by remote control! |
„ |
| ~ Yoji explaining his design for the Beast costume |
Yoji Yokomura is a minor character in the Jem animated series. He is a techno artist in charge of designing the Beast costume as well as creating the special effects for Red Johnny Mac's rock opera, Beauty and the Beast.
History[]
Shortly after arriving to London and being welcomed by Red Johnny Mac to perform in his upcoming rock opera, Beauty and the Beast, Jem and The Holograms are introduced by the young producer to set designer, Zero Jones, and Yoji Yokomura, a techno artist "of the highest quality" who is in charge of designing the Beast's costume, as well as being in charge of all the special effects for the play. After this presentation, Yoji takes out a sketch with his design and proceeds to explain that he'll be using a traditional wolfman's design with a modern twist, by enhancing the costume with computer generated special effects operated remotely, with the result being a field of electricity surrounding the costume's head. Oddly enough, the design on paper he's holding actually has this special effect already working, producing bolts from it. After seeing his idea, Zero gets excited, and addressing him by "Yoj", he proposes to design a set for the play that goes accordingly to this costume, featuring a power plant castle with a giant turbine engine. Just as Yoji announced, the Beast costume is ready to be used during rehearsals and it works perfectly, generating the electricity bolts around it without any incidents.
We next see Yoji backstage sitting on a desk with a computer and several monitors controlling all the special effects of Zero's designed set. Unexpectedly, during the first day using this new set, the stage suddenly starts spinning out of control, throwing everyone around. The culprits are The Misfits, with Stormer and Roxy holding Yoji away from the computer while Pizzazz and Jetta tamper with it, trying to sabotage the play as to not let The Holograms get all the attention. Fortunately, they are quickly thrown out of the theater and the rehearsal continues without any further incidents.
Unfortunately, due to Jem working so hard on the play, she falls ill of exhaustion and the rest of The Holograms are forced to ask The Misfits to take their places. The preview night, very nervous and hoping for the best, Johnny asks Yoji to crank up the Beast's effects in order to save the production, although no matter the techno artist's efforts, the play is heading for a train wreck with The Misfits now leading it.
Luckily, after having a long and well deserved rest, Jem is able to retake her place in the play. Pizzazz tries to stand her ground, but she's quickly thrown out of the theater and, with Jem again in the lead, the play turns out to be a great success. After the show, Yoji confirms that the play was indeed a really big hit and that they're all going to be rich, much to everyone's enjoyment.
