Boogiepop Phantom

6 reviews - 26.5 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (4.4)

6. Global Frequency

Boogiepop Phantom is an interesting piece of grungy urban horror that maintains its determined unpleasantness throughout and never allows the viewer to grow at all comfortable with its world or with the characters who inhabit it. Set against an unsettling metropolitan backdrop that only seems at all populous at night, Boogiepop concerns the bizarre aftermath of an incident during which several ordinary people were endowed with extraordinary powers and an unusual electromagnetic field was left hanging over the city, coinciding with the appearance of a species of other-dimensional man-eater. Now, five years later, students are disappearing. A mysterious force stalks the city, haunting those who have begun to realize their newfound powers. Someone or something has released a mind-controlling drug onto the streets and is reaping the rewards.

Then it all starts to go downhill. Boogiepop Phantom begins with a very interesting and innovative narrative structure in which one episode's incidental characters become the focus of the next. The series is at its best and creepiest when it's at its most episodic. It's good when it doesn't attempt to explain itself, because when it does it's nearly incoherent, particularly with regard to Boogiepop's role in the whole mess - not because of its depth or its complexity, but because it simply doesn't make much sense. This would have been fine with me, had the attempt to explain everything not been made at all. The series' situational scares are its most effective. A girl, terrified by recent events, runs down an alley and is ecstatic to find a policeman - only to have him violently murder her and toss her in the back of his car. That policeman, by the way, is one of the series' most memorable characters, explaining the series' entire underlying conflict to his naïve partner again and again, only to repeatedly erase his memory for no greater reason than boredom.

For some reason this series seems to inspire comparisons to Serial Experiments Lain, although Boogiepop is straight horror, its narrative style is vastly different and its character designs are far plainer even than Lain's - so plain, in fact, that it's difficult to distinguish the few characters who recur throughout. Boogiepop Phantom is not for the squeamish, and in its final episodes loses some of its initial appeal, but it's one to watch on a cold night with all the lights out. It'll scare the pants off ya.

5. Olmanek

This is the very clever rendition of existence and the justification of our present existent memories. It shows us the power of technology and the nature of ourselves, brilliantly weaving from the present to the past and linking everything together to create one final picture, an understanding, and a resolution, it's truly stunning and something which can really only be achieved in animation as symbolism is something rampant throughout the series but it never become self indulgent by making it all cryptic, a substitution for words is all it really is. A great light shoots up to the sky and quickly vanishes, odd occurrences begin to happen, death also known as Boogiepop is roaming the city, so whisper the school students. The actual story is very complex, with there being many lone people acting with their own goals all interconnected through mysterious events, secret organizations and the supernatural, the chronological time line is terribly important, through the use of this it adds a layer of mystery to itself which never really was, so this all makes it very hard to try and give a review of the storyline, I can say that it is brilliant though, and that everyone should watch it. Clever story, skillful techniques, intriguing characters, true mysteries and good animation style make this one of the best series out there, watch it.

4. Prep_Styles

This is a difficult recommendation to make as some people after completing this series will see total motivation as to what has happened, and others will see a mess of story threads with little connecting them. Frankly I don't think understanding of the story as a whole is vital for this title to be enjoyed because Boogiepop Phantom is highly effective on an episodic level. The bizarre and freakishly interesting stories are for a large part relatively self contained, and are enjoyable for what they are. As a viewer comes toward the end I think its reasonable to assume that most if not all people will begin to seriously question "what the hell it's all supposed to mean?" secret societies, narcotics that enslave the mind, old ladies that strangle there grandchildren, unexplained phenomenon that destroy electronics and drive emotionally unstable computer students mad, boys who eat giant insect manifestations of painful memories cause they find the juicy innards delicious, and everything else I can't remember off hand. My advice to any potential viewer is to forget finding the overall meaning in all this and enjoy each story arc for what it is and simply marvel in the fact that everything somehow fits together.

It is apparent that this title is placing priority on invoking an emotional response rather then understanding with regard to its audience. The overall plot is underdeveloped because it is only used as a means to put the characters in conflict, so that the emotions of these characters can be expressed. The story arcs do not fit together themselves, but rather the characters who are involved with these stories are related. For example: a character from a previous episode (story) has an encounter with a character from the current one, through the perception of the current character we see the previous character's story in a new perspective and because of this can formulate a better understanding then before. Sound confusing? Believe me it is.

Boogiepop Phantom makes little attempt to explain itself, and the few attempts that it does make are so obscure that they are easily missed. I will not pretend to understand everything with regard to this title, but I will say that for the most part the individual episodes are entertaining themselves without the understanding of the "big picture". In other words this anime can be enjoyed one episode at a time without the need for the story as a whole. Of course if you come to a personal understating of how everything relates then the experience is that much more meaningful.

3. Iodine

This cheerfully disturbing series starts out as a high quality horror anthology, with gruesome stories that share common threads of plot and background. These gradually coalesce into a single tale about a set of most unusual monsters, and the strange entity who hunts them, known only as the Boogiepop Phantom. We watch the descent of each episode's protagonist into a nightmare of their own making, the well-earned chills drawn more from subtle psychological transformations than simple shocks. The central storyline is very complicated, involving multiple recurring and incidental characters, and it's difficult to catch everything the first time through. For those who like more cerebral anime, this is definitely a treat, but many of the individual stories still hold up perfectly well on their own for those who don't.

The characters are unflatteringly realistic in both design and personality, and most of their development is pushed to the side by the neccessities of the labyrinthine plot. The central schoolgirl observer is so unremarkable, it's hard to pick her out unless one is really looking. The writing and direction is absolutely top notch. Scenes echo each other from episode to episode as viewpoints and contexts shift, bringing out new pieces of the mystery with every new story. The real success here, however, is in the shockng effectiveness of the seemingly simple horror elements. A major contribution is the stark, cold atmosphere of the show, where a lack of any frills or eyecandy forces the viewer to really pay attention to the plots, and enhances the terrific payoffs. Boogiepop turns out to be quite a fun chiller that actually has a point to it and some refreshingly original twists.

2. Cross Scars

Although Yoshitoshi Abe had nothing to do with Boogiepop Phantom, one can't help but notice the parallels between this work and Abe's very own Serial Experiments Lain seeing as how the former takes such heavy inspiration from his most famous creation.

Boogiepop Phantom revolves around the mysterious goings-on in a particular city and it looks at certain people within the city who are affected by these events and whose paths always seem cross at some point. That's at least the rough framework within which Boogiepop operates, as the plot itself is much more complex and twisting.

Boogiepop is a difficult series to review given its complex plot and relative lack of what you might call a cast - characters tend to be focused in upon for one episode and are then in some cases never seen again. None the less Boogiepop certainly pulls you in. The examination of the characters is often intriguing to watch and the plot is a more understandable and rounded off one than compared to Lain which I found somewhat unsatisfying. Watching the mystery slowly unravel and the pieces of the puzzle slide together is a very fascinating experience and it actually makes you think, which is something few anime demand.

Major credit must go to Boogiepop's soundtrack, or perhaps what should be called sound effects. The bizarre and odd noises that frequently back up the on screen action are excellently produced and utilized. The constant jarring and disturbing sounds, together with the general darkness of the animation and settings, help to create a brilliant atmosphere within the series. The character designs, which are entirely Lain-esq, are very distinctive and a nice change from the usual sort of designs. This all helps make Boogiepop terrifically atmospheric and I have to say that it's the most freaky (rather than scary) anime series I've ever watched.

In short, Boogiepop has a very decent plot and equally interesting characters. Its extremely spooky atmosphere completes everything and makes it a great series to check out especially if you're looking for something different. Those who disliked Lain ought to be cautious of approaching this series but I personally liked it a lot more than Abe's work, and even to such people I'd recommend that they at least give the series a go as they may find it well worth it.

1. moskun

I've never really been scared by movies or TV shows. Scream was a joke. The Exorcist didn't phase me.

Boogiepop Phantom scares the shit out of me.

Boogiepop Phantom takes place in an unnamed city in Japan where students have been disappearing. Girls whisper to each other about Death coming and taking them away. Death is also known as Boogiepop. Boogiepop Phantom weaves an incredible story I haven't seen anything like before. The closest thing you can compare Boogiepop to is Serial Experiments Lain, but while Lain is centered around one main character, Boogiepop Phantom starts out almost episodic, with only small similarities to tie the episodes together. Slowly, the individual stories begin to come together and reveal the truth about Boogiepop and what exactly is going on. Throughout the show, we see some marvelous and eerie things happen that scare me more than any "horror" movie I've ever seen. I can't recommend this series enough for anyone who wants to do a lot of thinking and get a little creeped out at the same time.