Boogiepop Phantom
Boogiepop Phantom is a dark tale and perhaps one of the most unsettling anime series currently available in the UK market. The mix of supernatural horror, macabre visuals and a gritty portrayal of real life issues give it a very unique feel and this twelve episode TV series crams in a great deal of plot for its relatively short length, the story focusing on the strange events in a Japanese city and the lives of various high-school students there.
The first thing you notice about Boogiepop Phantom is the truly bizarre visuals throughout. The edges of the picture slightly darkened to create a strange almost circle effect in the centre of the screen, almost like a camera lens. This can be a little difficult to get used to at first, but I didn’t notice it anywhere near as much as the series progressed, and it does add to the overall dark feel of the series. The anime also uses a very bleak and faded colour palette to purposefully create a gloomy atmosphere, but also creating a wonderful contrast at moments when bright effects do occur. The sound also is very noticeable from the start, used to great effect throughout. Everything from the obscure unsettling sound effects to the booming bass that triggers when the action heats up are perfect.
Boogiepop Phantom is a confusing anime to follow, the majority of the episodes working as a singular story, but the individual stories fitting together like a jigsaw to put together a larger one. I really enjoyed the way episodes linked in with one another, often a scene from one story being shown from a different perspective in another.
The stories tend to focus on various characters in the city (mostly high-school students) and the rather bizarre events that enter their lives around the same time a strange white light envelops the city. Some of the characters in these episodes also develop strange powers when the white light envelops them, but the powers prove to be anything but a blessing in most cases.
Boogiepop Phantom also deals with many real life issues from drug abuse, physical abuse to the loss of a loved one (in a very gritty manner that is certainly not for everyone). But frequently placing a supernatural spin on things to make the situation seem all the more mysterious and bleak. One problem that could occur with this episodic style is that many of the characters that appear in just a single episode could feel undeveloped. I was pleasantly surprised to find that often you are given a lot of information about the characters lives and their history; fleshing them out and making you find them interesting to watch, even just for the episode they are in. The main cast to begin with don’t take a prominent role, but their importance slots into place as the main plot becomes more apparent.
The main plot is incredibly intricate, focusing on a girl named Nagi Kirima as she attempts to put a stop to the supernatural events plaguing the city. An escaped monster called the Manticore (that can take on its victims forms) is the first problem she attempts to remove. Secondly in the latter part of the plot she investigates the disappearances of various high-school students around the city too. Both these events tie in with each other cleverly, and there are many revelations as to what the white light (which triggered these events) was, what the Manticore itself really is and why people are disappearing.
Also present in the main plot is an oddly clothed girl with supernatural powers who is rumoured among students to be the ‘Boogiepop Phantom’. She appears at various key moments in the anime although whom she actually is, and her full role in the story, isn’t revealed untill the final few episodes.
It’s also worth mentioning that the series has its gory moments too. People (and in one case an animal) are ripped to bloody pieces in disturbing ways, and there is a rather gory suicide scene too. While the blood doesn’t flow frequently or in a very over the top way, the few times it does are quite unsettling. Personally I felt this was used to great effect but it may be off-putting for some viewers.
While I personally find the plot to be gripping and wonderfully done, it could also be considered the series biggest downfall. Many people will be put off by its complexity, with the tendency the episodes have to leap back and forth in time. Also the anime does not run chronologically, some episodes later in the series occurring earlier in the story than its previous episode did. This can be quite a headache to follow even if you are enjoying what’s going on, and it’s certainly a series that demands a second viewing because of this.
In Summary
Boogiepop Phantom is a show that people will love or hate. The fact is- perhaps it is just too dark for some. While I found the ending wonderfully uplifting, some people will find the depressive nature of the story before that a bit too much to sit through. The plot is perhaps too complex for its own good at times too, with some elements proving very confusing upon your first or even second viewing. However at its best Boogiepop Phantom is a very clever and dark psychological horror that has been combined with unique visuals, sound and story.
