Boogiepop wa Warawanai

Spoiler-free Review!

Released on the turn of the century, Boogiepop wa Warawanai is nowadays an often forgotten part of the Madhouse catalogue, in favor of its more recent remake. Nonetheless, its characters, story, art direction and world building make for an interesting watch, despite some more average elements and awkward sound design decisions.

Characters: 8
The characters in Boogiepop wa Warawanai feel incredibly real and distinct, making them arguably its strongest suit. Rather than using the flashy age-old trope of multicolored hair to distinguish them, it instead uses careful and subtle characterization to give them clear ideals and to make the viewer sympathize with all of them, even ... those which would usually be pictured as ''the root of all evil'' due to their actions. The two leads of episode 4 are perhaps the best example of this, with both sides potentially feeling painfully relatable to a chunk of the audience. The only way that this could realistically be improved is through a bit more bravado in the character designs, as they do have an unfortunate tendency to look same-y as the show progresses.

Story: 7
Boogiepop wa Warawanai makes the interesting narrative choice of using an hybrid of episodic and continuous storytelling. Indeed, while each episode presents a different standalone case, which always link to the paranormal in one way or another, some subtle elements link them into a somewhat cohesive storyline, with an order that differs from the airing order. Overall, the storytelling is definitely one of this show's most interesting aspects, but it unfortunately suffers from the same problem as many other episodic anime, where some episodes build tension and interest in the viewer but a few are a complete snoozefest.

Art Direction: 7
As is pretty much synonymous to the Avant-Garde genre at this point, Boogiepop wa Warawanai uses extensive visual symbolism to vehiculate its themes. Some of it does tend to be quite generic, hence the rating not being a 10 for this, but it shines in its creative use of insects to illustrate crimes and illnesses, being both tactful and resourceful when referencing such trigger-inducing subjects as victim blaming. Finally for this section, some might be quick to point out the rather dull color palette that is used throughout the show, but it is actually a reasonable choice to contribute to the general atmosphere the staff behind this work was hoping for.

World Building: 7
Boogiepop wa Warawanai walks on a tightrope the whole way through when it comes to its world building, constantly introducing new supernatural elements through individuals that seemingly have nothing to do with each other. Luckily, aside from a few hiccups that can be easily brushed over, it sticks the landing pretty seemlessly, if only with the caveat that it overuses the same character to justify it a bit too often.

Animation: 5
Soundtrack: 5
Voice Acting: 5
These aspects of the show are average and fall in line with most anime out there. As such, there is very little of interest to say here.

Sound Design: 3
The only true downside of the show. The use of strident and metallic sounds to introduce new scenes, while it was daring to say the least, serves no real purpose and is simply an annoyance when trying to watch this show. This, alongside an overall laziness when it comes to auditive symbolism, leads to a very unfortunate listening (as in relating to the ears, not watching) experience.


Enjoyment: 6
Overall, while enjoyment is obviously subjective, this reviewer had fun with the anime, rating it a 6/10.

Overall score: 61/100
Score without factoring in enjoyment: 49/80

I really enjoyed this as a light novel reader. The series is mostly a set of one-off episodes which culminate in the plotlines joining together. However, if you haven't read the light novels, things can be a bit confusing as to why you should care about characters. Events from the first novel serve as the starting point for all of the weird incidents in the story. This is because Boogiepop Phantom basically serves as a sequel to the live action adaptation for the first novel. Main character backstories from the 6th novel are also briefly referenced but in a way that will be confusing to ... most viewers. Volumes 1-6 are translated officially, while volumes 7 and 8 are fan translated/being translated. I went in with knowledge from Volumes 1-6, which are quite easily and cheaply available through the two "Boogiepop Omnibus" releases that are available as overstock from Amazon. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, story, characters, and other aspects of the show, but I can understand entirely why someone would be confused beyond what is normally expected for a viewer of this type of show (i.e. Twin Peaks). It's sort of like a "Tales from the World of Boogiepop" more than anything.

The outro slaps!
The Anime doesnt.
BUT THE THE OUTRO, DAMN!



Its just an incoherent jumble of characters and Drama. Very boring, a chore to sit through and doesnt evoke any strong emotions beside that. (Exept for the outro.)

Typical case of same face syndrome.
Half the plotlines dont get resolved at all.
... Not scary.
Ive said everything but it wont let me post with such a short review.
So here are the ending lyrics:

kono seki no rojiura wo magatta kage ga
sasotte 'ru yonde iru himitsu no KURABU

genshoku no SHOO UINDOU kaseki ga warau
zetsumetsu no nazo wo toku otoko to onna

roku sen go hyaku man nen no kanata inochi wa nani wo mita 'n da

aijou ga kono koro chotto SUNE te iru
mama naranai KISS datte
dakarete yurete kanjinai
tanjun na KOTO nano ni yarikirenai yoru

kono hoshi no hashikko de miageru taiyou
shizumanai owareranai rakujitsu no yume

chisou ni wa nemutte iru rekishi no emaki
zukan ni mo nottenai fushigi na FORUMU

mirai seiki ga chikadzuite iru futari wa doko e yukun da

saibou ga kanarazu kitto oboete 'ru
tokimeki no MEKANIZUMU
futari no kyori wo chidjimetai
matsu dake no teitaraku tobikoetai yoru

mirai seiki ga chikadzuite iru futari wa doko e yukun da

aijou ga kono koro chotto SUNE te iru
mama naranai KISS datte
dakarete yurete kanjinai
tanjun na KOTO nano ni yarikirenai yoru

saibou ga kanarazu kitto oboete 'ru
tokimeki no MEKANIZUMU
futari no kyori wo chidjimetai
matsu dake no teitaraku tobikoetai yoru