Our hero Boogiepop is back in action to stop folks from continually trying to immanentize the eschaton; to create a transcendent utopia on earth. Despite the various incoherent metaphors and vague monologues in the show’s dialogue, the conflicts between Boogiepop and her antagonists can essentially be boiled down to that again and again. Episode 11 gives Boogiepop one of the better monologues of the show; she speaks of every human being having the potential to become an “enemy of the world.” She explains that everyone who is too “normal” lacks “resistance” when confronted with a “unique” person or idea. Translated from obscure-Boogiepop-speak, this basically means the world is full of impressionable moral relativists who can easily be set on an evil path despite good intentions. A very timely theme, given the popular political and cultural movements of our day.
Simply writing arcs based around the theme above, we could have a great story on our hands that tells all it needs to tell. Unfortunately we can’t have simple plots in Japanese media when we're faced with the duties of writing in the "psychological" genre. Although this anime actively makes the plot seem more convoluted than it is, Kadono deserves some blame as well. The so-called Towa Organization is an irritating leech weighing down every arc of the show. They’re a secret society searching the world for mutants and just causing a whole lot of destruction for no coherent purpose. Apparently they’re trying to make sure humans don’t get beaten out by “evolved” types and yet in the process create a multitude of synthetic humans to do their dirty work. Seems to me it’s a little counterproductive to exterminate mutants while creating a population of fully sentient androids who cannot be told apart from real humans. That said, I’m not entirely sure that mutant extermination was even their end goal; the exposition is that vague.
The overall production is legitimately good and lacks any of the unpleasant CG that’s been inserted into every other anime reboot I’ve watched in the past year. The action scenes are few and far between but always put a smile on my face—the combat animation is heavily stylized and always catches the viewer off guard, juxtaposed against the monotonous scenes that make up the rest of the show. The score is groovy as hell, including the opening and ending tracks. Keep in mind this comes from an individual with absolutely no taste for J-Pop or anything of the sort, yet it’s somehow endearing here. Some background tracks often sound like something you’d find in a “lofi hiphop” playlist; simple computer-generated noises that somehow work to set an atmosphere. I can’t comment much on the Japanese voice-acting given that I don’t understand the language, but Aoi Yuuki is a definite standout as the protagonist. Her soft but jolting voice gives Boogiepop an alien quality that easily separates her from her host: Miyashita Touka.
I hope I’ve redeemed myself slightly for my jumbled mess of a review for the Boogiepop light novels back in 2014. It’s worth noting that my first introduction to Boogiepop was Boogiepop Phantom, and not the novels. The source material is worlds different from Phantom in tone, and so is this new show. So if you’ve come to this series as a fan of Phantom, be prepared for a far less absurdly twisted and vile show. The morbidity of Boogiepop is always there to be sure, but Phantom was on another level of horror. Enjoy 2019’s Boogiepop Never Laughs as an often ridiculously convoluted adventure through twisted personalities, but always appreciate the underlying philosophy: mortal man cannot create paradise on earth, and any attempts to do so often result in crimes against humanity. The Tower of Babel is always short-lived.
