Forum - View topicThis Week in Anime - Boogiepop and Others is a Spooky Mind-Bending Thriller
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Aresef
Posts: 909 Location: MD |
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Good to know Saotome is still a scumbag.
If Boogiepop Phantom happens to be close to my heart, is this good enough to get a CR subscription for, good enough to wait for the DVD/BR, meh or skip? |
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Suxinn
 Posts: 243 |
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Personally, as someone who absolutely LOVED Boogiepop Phantom, I found this Boogiepop reboot/prequel/whatever-it-is terribly underwhelming. I don't think it really understands what makes the source material so good, and any interesting moments are happy accidents rather than actually deliberate on the part of the creators. For reference... spoiler[The show adapts the first novel into three episodes and cut out ALL of the stuff about Kimura (and incidentally, most of the character building for Kamikishiro), a lot of Keiji's backstory (his not going to college and his friction with his classmates/Touka over it, etc.), and most of Suema's backstory. It's also criminal in not incorporating any of the internal monologues from the novel in any fashion, and so folks like Keiji, Kei, Suema, and even Saotome who were fairly transparent in the LN/manga end up really opaque here. (I remember someone commenting that they weren't even sure if Keiji and Touka were actually dating from episode 1!)] The animation is also just... not good, so there's not even any real style to make up for the lack of substance. I honestly just find this adaptation kind of boring to watch. So it's an easy skip imo, especially if you've read/are reading the LNs already. |
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Aresef
Posts: 909 Location: MD |
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I'm not reading the LN's, but thank you for filling me in.
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Nom De Plume De Fanboy
 SubscriberExempt from Grammar Rules Posts: 612 Location: inland US west, pretty rural |
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For anybody who likes light novels, RightStuf has two omnibus editions of Boogiepop, 1-3 now and 4-6 for pre-order on sale this week for less than $13 US each. About 600 pages each, which is a pretty good price per page for light novels.
I don't know if these have them, but the original volumes had "roll calls" listing the characters and who they were, translation notes, and the second one had a timeline of what happened where. Appreciate it if someone could check the newer editions for that stuff. There's more info in Theron's ANN reviews of these from back around 2006-2008. https://animenewsnetwork.com/review/boogiepop-novel-2 I'm not a big LN fan, but I'm tempted here, partly 'cause these have a good rep as LNs, and partly 'cause I'd like to understand this story better. I watched the 2000 TV version and was lost until I re-watched with the commentary running, esp. the commentary for the last two eps. It's not a simple story. Did finally like it though, and I am liking the current show. It still creates a particular disjointed feel that most horror stuff doesn't. |
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Suxinn
Posts: 243 |
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I don't own the 4-6 omnibus, so I can't speak for that, but the 1-3 omnibus unfortunately doesn't have a character list, translation notes, or timeline. It includes color pages and an afterword from each volume and that's it.
Honestly, for Boogiepop, I would recommend reading the manga adaptation for the first novel (a two-volume affair also licensed by Seven Seas) before watching the 2000 anime, and then finally reading the other novels if you like both enough. I find Boogiepop Phantom to be the best iteration of Boogiepop, the manga to be pretty great too, and the LNs to be fairly engaging but sometimes a bit too self-indulgent in creating mystique over actual clarity. I enjoy them, sure, but I'm not sure it'll turn anyone who isn't into LNs into a believer unless they're already invested in the story world from other mediums. |
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AiddonValentine
Posts: 2204 |
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I can definitely see why this is one of Dengeki Bunko's premiere series. Smug Aoi Yuuki also helps (I barely recognized her when she was Boogiepop). But yeah, Madhouse really piles on the atmosphere and does some interesting narrative tricks to emphasize that. It was also immensely satisfying to see the whiny misanthrope get vaporized. Gonna keep on top with this series
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Luke's Yu-Gi-Oh! Channel
 Posts: 159 Location: Australia |
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I am really enjoying this show.
I find it very mysterious and always interesting as to what is going on. The drama and suspense make it a pretty good anime and I am looking forward to watching more. |
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AyanamiRei
 Posts: 87 |
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All this (new) series succeeds to is making me regret to have not bought the super expensive single disc releases back when they were published (in France).
Wasn't Slayers one of the first hit light novels in Japan, 10 years earlier? |
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AiddonValentine
Posts: 2204 |
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It's complicated. Light novels had been around for quite a bit even before that like with Vampire Hunter D and Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but it was really only during the turn of the millennium did the light novel craze begin |
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Cardcaptor Takato
 Posts: 4820 |
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I've never seen the original anime or read the novels but I've been enjoying this anime a lot. The complexity of the mysteries and the non-linear narrative is part of the appeal of the show for me. It makes me think a lot of Serial Experiments Lain and similar twisted late 90s/early 2000s sci-fi anime. This is definitely one of my favorites of the winter season.
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