As the new year comes, I’d like to talk about my absolute favorite anime of all time, which I watched in its entirety twenty times before I lost count.
It is no one else’s favorite anime, and I understand that, but you’re all wrong.
Boogiepop Phantom is most noteable to the average viewer for making them suddenly understand on a whole new level why anime characters have ridiculous hair. Did you know most Japanese people have ordinary hair and wear ordinary clothes (they even change outfits at times!) and also their eyes aren’t massive orbs able to keep a small moon in orbit? Because you will have that drilled into your head by the end of this.
But when you look more closely, you’ll find that characters here are identifiable by their actual faces. You know, like people. And it’s important that you be paying attention to actual faces due to a major plot point relying on you being able to recognize a character solely based on their face. (But you should be doing that anyway because without attention to their expressions, you won’t be able to follow half the conversations.)
This major plot point comes as the aftermath of the first novel, which this is set immediately after and which is never directly referred to, let alone explained. Also, everything else that happens is also the fallout of those events! While it’s hard to say any particular anime is the weirdest ever, the marketing decisions behind this one are pretty baffling.
And yet again, this works. You’re not given the full picture but as you’re reminded each and every episode, no one gets the full picture. (It’s like Serial Experiments Lain, only a full picture actually exists.) Even the framing of the anime itself is made up of shots that are too far away, too close up, or just badly off-center. The haze that’s sometimes used with flashbacks is omnipresent here, with actual flashbacks further blurred and then flashbacks within flashbacks that leave only the bright, blurry core of faded memory.
Characters lie to one another and they lie to themselves.
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| Here’s one doing both at once. |
In conclusion, I love this unreservedly. I love the blur and muted colors, I love the jarring and perfect soundtrack. I love the flashes of gore – when I watched it, it hurt to look at, like it should. I love the fact this is taking place in the middle of a story while focusing on characters who are just as confused and doesn’t feel the need to actually explain things like that, yes, that character who’s already dead was the one behind that important point there and there and there, or yes, that bit about taste was absolutely 100% literal why wouldn’t it be, but everything’s already there if you pay obsessive attention until the pieces finally click and you suddenly understand what’s going on when no one else does. Five years ago, a month ago, now…
I love love love this anime. If you didn’t love it, watch it again. And again.
Do you suggest reading any of the novels first?
Depends on how much you like mindfuck. The anime definitely makes much more sense if you’re familiar with the first novel, but it’s possible to derive meaning from anime alone, and it certainly makes for a… unique experience.
The noves are actually massively more straightforward than the anime and actually explain stuff in plain text, which makes them more coherent but also, I think, less atmospheric.
They’re not bad, though, so I’d suggest checking them out at some point, just not necessary before watching the anime.
It depends on how much effort you want to put it. I suspect reading the novel and actually knowing what’s going on would take a lot of fun out of trying to put things together, and it is possible to reconstruct events with only what the anime gives you – I did, eventually, get a handle on the timeline and who was showing up when with what face, though as I said, I honestly did watch the whole series dozens of times. Possibly the best bet would be to watch the anime, be confused, then read the novel.
What’re your general thoughts on the novels, by the way?
News!
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-03-09/boogiepop-and-others-light-novel-gets-2018-tv-anime-by-madhouse/.128808
http://www.sevenseasentertainment.com/2018/03/16/boogiepop-is-back-with-seven-seas-license-of-additional-light-novels/
Those are good news.
I’m not too keen on anime because, frankly, the first novel was closer to OK rather than good, but I am pleased at the prospect of getting new novels in a language I can read.
Honestly, even with a weaker story if the anime’s done in a similarly weird style I’ll be happy.
Hm, well, style can make up for a lot, though it depends on whether the creators would try to imitate Phantom or the novel more. I guess we’ll see.
In any case, I hope it’ll be popular enough to allow for adaptation of the second and third novels, which I thought were more inspired.
For those interested, a new novel is out. It’s fun in a pulpy way, though I think the second/third novels were better.
Also, I must say, with each novel I read I’m less and less impressed with the Towa Organization. For an international secret organization they’re kinda ridiculously incompetent. Whenever their agents shows up, they either die without accomplishing much of anything or go rogue at a drop of a hat. Their experiments routinely escape as well.
Honestly, I’m pretty sure they only accomplish anything of note in flashbacks.
There’s also a hardcover release of the first couple of novels in English in the next few months. It’s by Seven Seas, I think? So if you’ve ever wanted a really nice edition, now’s the time.
Finally got around to reading the fifth book. It’s more interesting than the previous one. Surreal imagery, the theme of half-forgotten trauma that continues to define us, weird phenomena set in a weirder building. While not exactly high literature, it’s worth a read.
Towa Organization continues to be hilariously incompetent, however. Honestly, it’s a running gag by this point.