Boogiepop Phantom

Summary: I’ve read the first couple of books and seen the live-action movie, but the anime is best of all! Brilliant art and sound, atmosphere consistently f***in’ grim. The only downside is it’s sometimes hard to tell the characters apart.

I want to start by commenting on a few things other people have said:

1. I don’t think you need to read the novels/see the movie/buy the mousepad to get satisfaction from watching this show. I watched this show cold, and enjoyed it straight off, though I’ll admit the jigsaw plotting and mysterious “beam of light” event had me a little confused. But I think this confusion adds to the viewing experience by making it more dreamlike.

2. If you watch this show sporadically, like say one episode per week, you’ll get nothing out of it because you won’t be able to remember the characters and story fragments, or sustain the dark mood of the show. Watch it in a couple of big chunks.

3. A few people have commented on the darkness of the screen image. Before watching, you should calibrate your monitor. Get a very dark image on screen, one in which you can’t tell what’s happening (there are scenes like this in almost every episode). Turn the monitor brightness up until you can see all the image detail, even if it looks washed out, then turn the brightness down until you can JUST see the detail. It’s best to do this in a darkened room, and watch the show in the dark as well.

4. For me the most confusing part of this show was that I had trouble telling the characters apart, particularly the schoolgirls (most of the characters are schoolgirls). So bear this issue in mind when you start watching, but don’t beat yourself up about it – as I said above, confusion is part of the experience.

5. This is a surprisingly gloomy show, which basically shows Japanese teenagers as all being extremely isolated, afraid, angry, and most of all hopeless. I can even imagine this show making a depressed young person feel suicidal. So this is something you should bear in mind before watching this show or recommending it.

6. I would recommend this show over most other “philosophical” animes: it’s less pretentious than Lain, less preachy than Paranoia Agent, and less hysterical than Neon Genesis. It’s also the least concerned with being “cool”, which in this case I think is a good thing.

7. Boogiepop Phantom is fragmentary in terms of time, place and story; it’s elliptical (in the sense of leaving things out), and supernatural without being mystical. You will be confused. But I admire this show for recreating the feel of a dream or nightmare. It has that kind of logic. It’s that kind of show.

8. Boogiepop is a great anime show, and a real work of art. But as you can see it’s not for everyone. I hope I have helped you judge whether it is for you.