sunset
27-12-04, 11:02 AM
Has anyone ever noticed how Boogiepop never smiles?
Hardly anyone ever smiles in this show, aside from Misuzu or Toka, but Boogiepop is downright desperating. And yet I automatically knew I was gonna love this series the moment I laid my eyes on the cover and saw her in that silly hat and that silly cape straight outta some Andersen tale.
Boogiepop Phantom is my latest anime acquisition and for all those who saw Lain and look forward to another title filled with out-of-this-world concepts thatīll blow your minds, I introduce this tile.
Points to bear in mind:
Where did I see that girl?
Storywise, Boogiepop Phantom is a NIGHTMARE.
The narrative jumps from character to character, most of the time back and forth in time, repeating events from another characterīs perspective.
I had to watch it two times (with a pen and paper by my side on the 2nd run) for the things to even begin to click.
And the truth is.... I STILL havenīt grasped everything.
Did you pay the electric bill?
What can I say about this.... the show is dark. Dark and sepia.
Which can add to the mood, but can also make quite hard to grasp everything that happens in the dark.
Which is not necessarilly a bad thing. ;)
They all look alike-
This is my main gripe.
The character designs donīt help much, as there were times in which I found myself longing for the green/blue/purple haired girls of other anime shows.
You look at Yoko and you look at Suema and you could almost swear theyīre the same girl (I know I did).
Rie (brace yourself, there are two of them) could very well be Moto and Manticore/Saotome looks like just about every other boy featured in the show.
This upset me when Boogiepop first appeared in all her glory; I found myself looking at the frozen screen, then looking at the cover of my DVD and back, going - is it her? No, it canīt be. is it her? No, it canīt be. But they look SO alike (aside from the smile)-.
I later found out it WAS indeed her, but the point is one shouldnīt have to endure this.
The story is already pretty much complicated to follow as it is without you having to question your perception of reality everytime a character changes her hairstyle or is shown as she was 5 years previously.
Multiply that by the extensive gallery of characters featured and you can understand why this show is not for the ADD stricken.
Tsubureta.
The sound is really great.
The series excels in this dept, from the sound SFX (I love that cavitating sound effect when we meet Manticore, Boogiepop or Boogiepop Phantom -yes, there are TWO of them too-) to the music (the opening theme in particular is quite catchy, I finished watching it last week and I STILL surprise myself sometimes singing tu-tu-tu-tsubureta). J
I recommend this anime to anyone willing to find a show that doesnīt throw things flat in the open, but rather invites you to think and to reach your own conclusions.
Wrong as they may be. B)
Hardly anyone ever smiles in this show, aside from Misuzu or Toka, but Boogiepop is downright desperating. And yet I automatically knew I was gonna love this series the moment I laid my eyes on the cover and saw her in that silly hat and that silly cape straight outta some Andersen tale.
Boogiepop Phantom is my latest anime acquisition and for all those who saw Lain and look forward to another title filled with out-of-this-world concepts thatīll blow your minds, I introduce this tile.
Points to bear in mind:
Where did I see that girl?
Storywise, Boogiepop Phantom is a NIGHTMARE.
The narrative jumps from character to character, most of the time back and forth in time, repeating events from another characterīs perspective.
I had to watch it two times (with a pen and paper by my side on the 2nd run) for the things to even begin to click.
And the truth is.... I STILL havenīt grasped everything.
Did you pay the electric bill?
What can I say about this.... the show is dark. Dark and sepia.
Which can add to the mood, but can also make quite hard to grasp everything that happens in the dark.
Which is not necessarilly a bad thing. ;)
They all look alike-
This is my main gripe.
The character designs donīt help much, as there were times in which I found myself longing for the green/blue/purple haired girls of other anime shows.
You look at Yoko and you look at Suema and you could almost swear theyīre the same girl (I know I did).
Rie (brace yourself, there are two of them) could very well be Moto and Manticore/Saotome looks like just about every other boy featured in the show.
This upset me when Boogiepop first appeared in all her glory; I found myself looking at the frozen screen, then looking at the cover of my DVD and back, going - is it her? No, it canīt be. is it her? No, it canīt be. But they look SO alike (aside from the smile)-.
I later found out it WAS indeed her, but the point is one shouldnīt have to endure this.
The story is already pretty much complicated to follow as it is without you having to question your perception of reality everytime a character changes her hairstyle or is shown as she was 5 years previously.
Multiply that by the extensive gallery of characters featured and you can understand why this show is not for the ADD stricken.
Tsubureta.
The sound is really great.
The series excels in this dept, from the sound SFX (I love that cavitating sound effect when we meet Manticore, Boogiepop or Boogiepop Phantom -yes, there are TWO of them too-) to the music (the opening theme in particular is quite catchy, I finished watching it last week and I STILL surprise myself sometimes singing tu-tu-tu-tsubureta). J
I recommend this anime to anyone willing to find a show that doesnīt throw things flat in the open, but rather invites you to think and to reach your own conclusions.
Wrong as they may be. B)