boogiepop – Anime QandA

Everyone Is Hated – ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 6 Review

Everyone Is Hated – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 6

What’s the show? Boogiepop and Others, Episode 6.

So how’s this episode? Boogiepop (the anime) continues to impress–against all odds–by being completely batshit insane while simultaneously making complete sense to me.

You’re not exactly selling this to me, you know… And I’m not trying to do so either! By now, you’re either all aboard for the ride or left behind at the station.

Right, so what happens in this episode? I’m oversimplifying slightly but this episode is basically just two concurrent conversations happening at different points in a narrative but still concerning ~vaguely~ the same thing. And it’s compelling as heck while still being a sort of slow-burn series of exchanges. And there’s something admirable in this show’s confidence in being able to deliver an episode like this where action-wise very little happens but still it feels like a lot has transpired.

You’re being vague again… It’s hard not to be in this environment–suicide finds itself as a recurrent theme as Orihata contemplates taking the leap off the school building only to be talked down by Kazuko who has all manner of contemplative and deep psychological things to say about the nature of mankind and the normality in being hated by people and how it’s unreasonable to live a life in which you please everyone. Suffice to say Kazuko is probably my new best girl–I say “probably” because there’s so much going on and so many characters coming and going that that could very well change next week.

I don’t know what’s going on but I like it.

Anything else happen? Oh yes. Jin–the guidance counsellor introduced at the start of the ‘VS Imaginator’ arc–has started taking female students into a dark room, getting them to take their shirts off and touching their bare chests. But don’t worry it’s nothing seedy (probably) he’s just getting the ‘flower’ that he sees inside them all to grow so all their fear is removed. Also, after (presumably) her conversation on the roof with Kazuko, Orihata wants her boyfriend Masaki to become a “reaper” like Boogiepop.

I’m confused. Trust me, it makes sense when you watch it. Or maybe it doesn’t, I don’t care, either way I’m just enjoying the heck out of the show!

Previous ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Reviews:

The Evil In Plain Sight – Episode 1 & 2 Review
Puzzling It Out – Episode 3 Review
Seeking Counsel – Episode 4 Review
Terminal Velocity – Episode 5 Review

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Terminal Velocity – ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 5 Review

Terminal Velocity – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 5

What’s the show? Boogiepop and Others, Episode 5.

So how’s this episode? So this is probably the most cohesive, linear and sequential an episode of ‘Boogiepop and Others’ has been so far. And you know what, as much as I extolled the virtues of the show in previous episodes–comparing its confusing overall experience favourably to the works of David Lynch among others–this show works best when its straightforward with its narrative. Only obfuscating when it makes the most impact rather than for the sake of it.

And in layman terms that means…? It’s a good episode because it’s not as confusing as others but it’s still a little confusing but only when it needs to be.

Right. So what happens in this episode then? So first of all we’re introduced (or rather re-introduced) to a duo we probably presumed were merely extras in the previous episode. Misaki Taniguchi is a ~nice guy~ and he comes to the “rescue” of Aya Orahito a strange girl who can’t say no to anything asked of her for an innate fear of being “hated”. The two form a sort of bittersweet relationship throughout the first half of the episode until we’re introduced to Shinjirou Anou a bully by any other name, but also a boy infatuated with Misaki. Though it’s not long before his observation of Misaki and Aya draws the ire of a ‘Synthetic Human’ who erases all his desires and passions and turns him into a “terminal”–a servant of the mysterious ‘Towa Organisation’.

As much as the whole “I don’t know why I’m crying” thing is a pretty stale trope, they pulled it off here because it was so unexpected.

Wait I thought you said this wasn’t confusing, I’m confused. Silence, I’m not done yet. So ~things~ happen, Shinjirou comes into contact (not for the first time) with our previous episode’s protagonist Jin. The “Snow In April” motif recurs, Shinjirou is broken from his status as a “terminal” and goes to meet a girl who left a love letter in his locker–except it was a faked letter written by Boogiepop in order to drawn out the ‘Synthetic Human’. They fight a bit, some vague truths are revealed and Shinjirou goes about his life. And all the while this has been happening Misaki and Aya have been dating and getting closer and it’s all very sweet and endearing–if slightly ominous. And then at the end of the episode we get the reason why for this ominous feeling–turns out Aya’s real name is ‘Camille’ and she’s (probably) a terminal for the ‘Towa Organisation’ too.

Yeah, I don’t even know at this point… Come on, you expect a synopsis written by a drunk to make any more sense the events themselves?! Listen, I know its not exactly a) to b) storytelling but surely you can keep up, right?

Do I even want to at this point? You know what, you’re absolutely right. If your (for some reason) reading these reviews and not watching the show there is no point to continue to do so. This show (and by extension, these reviews) are exclusively for those watching the show as its almost impossible to offer an adequate recap without sounding like an absolute madman.

And so your review then? Yeah, great episode! Lots of weirdness but likewise lots of heart and character development. Boogiepop in her brief appearance was unexpectedly badass and the rest of the show was perplexing but entertaining. At this point–regardless of authorial intent or execution–I’m just along for the ride. Thank you, more please!

Previous ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Reviews:

The Evil In Plain Sight – Episode 1 & 2 Review
Puzzling It Out – Episode 3 Review
Seeking Counsel – Episode 4 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Seeking Counsel – ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 4 Review

Seeking Counsel – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 4

What’s the show? Boogiepop and Others, Episode 4.

So how’s this episode? So last week I made a bit of a proverbial song and dance about how “confusing” this show is–which is a very surface level reading of the series, heck it’s not even a reading it’s just an observation. And as pointed out by some commenters that episode wasn’t in fact as confusing as I made out–which given a moment of reflection was entirely true. That’s not to say that things were straightforward by any means but I was simplistic in my review for the sake of not having to over-explain things and for that laziness I apologise.

Wow, an apology right of the bat, what a tone to set for this review. So how’s this episode? We’re given some answers but too we’re given more questions–we’re introduced to some new characters and re-introduced to some old–and there’s also a lot of repeated phrases especially to do with the one “Love is like snow that falls in April, unexpected but not unforeseen.” It’s a gorgeous quote and speaks a lot to the overall sentimentality of this episode. This episode also fits into the formula I spoke about last week and it being similar to ‘Twin Peaks’ and other David Lynch projects (don’t worry this is the last time I’ll bring it up) with soft speaking mysterious figures visiting otherwise normal people and giving them powerful information not to mention the sudden bursts of bloody violence.

This was *such* a ‘Twin Peaks’ line! (Okay I swear no more mentions of it… this review)

Okay back up a bit. What’s this about new and old characters? Well we’ve got Suiko Minahoshi, the girl people thought committed suicide but it turns out she’s something called an ‘Imaginator’ she has an ability that allows her to see into the future due to something about the brain processing things faster than reality. She appears to the high school guidance counsellor Jin Asukai, who’s an otherwise normal guy aside from the ability to see what’s “missing” inside people which he visualises as a rose. She shows him a vision of the future where he’s violently using his power but he rejects this reality and goes about his business. Later he comes across Imazaki Shizuko, another of the girls who disappeared and she holds a knife to his throat demanding money for her drug habit. Suddenly possessed by Suiko the ‘Imaginator’ the drugged up girl slits her own throat instead. After being released by the police after questioning he sees some bad guys trying to get at a girl and so decides to test his newly developed abilities on them.

Jin’s got a bit of a David Tennant ‘Doctor’ vibe in this screencap, no?

Right. So by the sounds of it this is a new arc with a lot of differences? On paper it may seem like that but this very much still feels like the same Boogiepop we’ve got to know over the last 3 episodes–everything feels connected even as disjointed it may seem on the surface and I appreciate the show for having this overall feeling. Maybe I made a more concerted effort to pay attention, maybe I’m just understanding the rhythm of this show or maybe this was a genuinely more easy to follow episode but I wasn’t left a sense of confusion about this episode. Certainly we have unanswered questions but that’s what the rest of the series is for–to answer them. More than any of the previous episodes this episode felt like it had a promise of something genuinely interesting to come and that’s exciting!

And I don’t think I need to say who he looks like in this screencap, everyone on Twitter already made that comparison!

Previous ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Reviews:

The Evil In Plain Sight – Episode 1 & 2 Review
Puzzling It Out – Episode 3 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Puzzling It Out – ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 3 Review

Puzzling It Out – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 3

What’s the show? Boogiepop and Others, Episode 3.

So how’s this episode? So, uh… this show huh… uh-huh *wipes sweat off brow* umm… does anyone have a clue what’s going on here because I could use a cheat sheet or something… no? Err, well okay then, I’ll try my best with what I know then!

What happens in this episode? This series is absolutely committed to making the least amount of sense of ~any~ anime this season… and yet… and yet I can’t resist its inexorable allure. I think that says more about me as a viewer than it does about the show itself.

Okay then, tell me what it says about yourself then, since that’s something you can talk about in length and detail! Right, so first of all I love the films of David Lynch, the only (media related) thing I love more is anime so imagine my burgeoning increased affection for something that at least has a passing resemblance to one. Fractured narratives, cryptic observations, repeated conversations, characters appearing and disappearing, characters being different people entirely. a mystical entity that talks deliberately and only intervenes when absolutely necessary, bursts of graphic violence in mundane situations. I just described both this episode of Boogiepop and ~many~ things (namely the US TV series ‘Twin Peaks’ but also ‘Lost Highway’ and ‘Mulholland Dr.’) written and directed by David Lynch. That’s not to say ‘Boogiepop’ is derivative, certainly it’s appropriating an ~atmosphere~ less than copying the blatant “weirdness” that Lynch’s works is often described as.

Well that was very int— Another way I could describe this series that’s in line with David Lynch’s cinematic sensibilities is ~dreamlike~ things kind of float together, scenes and characters passing by one another then occasionally colliding in a frenzy before settling down again.

That’s enough! Geez, I wouldn’t have figured you’d have so much to talk about and say so little. Ouch. Mean much?

Sorry I just mean I don’t see how this helps in a review of Episode 3 of a TV show you’re not imparting a lot of useful information you know. I know and neither does the show—or rather it’s hard to know what’s useful information and what’s just ~things happening~. Put simply unless I’m theorizing or speculating there’s not a lot to talk about. I know that might make me reviewing this week to week seem kind of pointless but I’m enjoying being able to talk about it at all.

Right so overall th— I’m also reminded of Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 ~magnum opus~ ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’, starring David Bowie as the titular character. In Boogiepop we have a sort of similar character with Echoes literally being a man who fell to earth from space and who in this episode seemingly returns to space too. Even their initial mannerisms draw compa—

—Guys I don’t think he’s going to stop, so I’m going to cut this review off now. Thank you for reading and I promise to never mention ‘David Lynch’ or anything vaguely arthouse cinema again…

Previous ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Reviews:

The Evil In Plain Sight – Episode 1 & 2 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

The Evil In Plain Sight – ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 1 & 2 Review

The Evil In Plain Sight – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Boogiepop and Others’ Episode 1 & 2

What’s the show? Boogiepop and Others, Episode 1 & 2.

So how’s this episode(s)? One thing’s important and I’ll mention it first, they deliberately released two episodes at once. I don’t think the tone of the show can be properly conveyed in the first episode and so to get an idea what this show’s like two episodes at minimum are necessary.

So do you feel like you’ve got a handle on what this show is about then? Oh no clue, I felt stupid watching this show because things were presented out of chronological order and I wasn’t sure if people were their real selves or cloned, and it doesn’t help when a bunch of characters look similar–or maybe they were the same character. Anyway my head hurts.

Some disturbingly interesting imagery in this show. I like it.

Okay~ so what can you tell me about the plot of the show? It’s mysterious, it’s kind of creepy, there’s bursts of violence amidst an otherwise ‘normal’ surface, and there’s the titular ‘Boogiepop’ who may or may not be a split personality of the main character’s girlfriend. Except she’s not his girlfriend and he’s not the main character and ah~ my head hurts again!

Slow down… surely it can’t be that hard to articulate what’s going on? The first episode is a slow-paced, meditative experience that involves a white-haired man shambling along the streets of Tokyo in some degree of distress. Boogiepop ~appears~ and admonishes the crowd for ignoring someone in obvious distress. There’s some obvious social commentary about how society is callous towards a fellow man’s suffering, nothing that’s too uncommon in these kind of darker anime stories. In the second episode we learn (from an unreliable second-hand source) that this white haired man is named ‘Echoes’ and he’s apparently an alien from space sent to learn about the “true nature” of mankind–except he’s not because a manticore says that he’s an experimental being from whom the manticore was cloned from and he’s tracking her down in order to right the “mistake” of her existence. Also she’s a man-eater, like she literally eats people.

My money is on *not* an alien, just sayin…

I don’t know how but you’ve somehow made it make less sense than before. I know I’m totally overthinking it and there’s probably a bunch of my readers out there going “come on, it wasn’t that confusing.” But for me, as a writer, the writing part of my brain always likes to be 10 steps ahead of the author, thinking about all the possibilities for the narrative to go in and honestly, this whole show had me baffled.

That kinda sounds like a bad thing. Ordinarily it might be but I’m kind of intrigued at how convoluted it felt and how lost it made me feel. Sometimes it’s nice going into a show and knowing nothing, expecting something and getting something else entirely.

I like this girl, I can’t remember her name but I like her!

Right. So then your overall thoughts on the first two episode? Would you recommend it? Something like this is pointless to recommend because everybody’s experience with it is going to be different, even for people who may ordinarily *like* this kind of mystery, horror, whatever, this show is might be turned off by it’s fractured narrative or slow pace or confusing story beats. But for what it’s worth I enjoyed myself throughout, it’s dark and mysterious and dramatic… even if it did make my brain hurt for a couple of hours afterwards.

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!