Boogiepop and Others

Publisher
Right Stuff (US)/ADV (UK)
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
105 minutes
Year
2000

Boogiepop and Others: Boogiepop Dosen't Smile

By Joseph (Joe) Wood
1st Feb 06

Boogiepop Phantom left me wanting more so quickly searching for some more Boogiepop goodness to feed on. Unfortunately very little of what appeared to be a huge title in Japan had actually made it to English speaking shores (although it did look like their were plans to bring more).

In 1997 “Boogiepop Doesn’t Smile” a novel written by Kouhei Kadono and with illustrations by Kouji Ogata won the first prize in the Dengeki Game Novel Contest, the following year the book was published in Japan. It gained a large following from young adults, and spawned several sequels, as well as manga, anime (Boogiepop Phantom) and this live action incarnation.

The novels followed several characters; there were a number of different perspectives from various characters who would interact with each other and often see the same event from alternative angels. To anyone who has seen the anime Boogiepop Phantom can understand this as each episode of the series came from a different character’s perspective. The movie is the same, separated into various sections for each character with many others reappearing in each story (such as Boogiepop herself).

The film is set before the anime so that those who haven’t seen the latter can still enjoy this. Many students have begun to go missing from Shinyo Academy, theirs a new drug on the streets and the mysterious rumours of a sprit of death named Boogiepop stalking the area. Nagi Kirima a rebellious student stands alone against the evils that threaten the world, trying to uncover the truth.

The anime at its conclusion still left a number of questions unanswered, the film does manage to answer more than a few of these. In fact the film itself is pretty much self-contained. There are few if any loose ends at the films conclusion. However those who still are looking for answers from the anime will not find everything here, and will have to wait until more of the Boogiepop franchise is released in English (a move that seems inevitable at least in the US).

The live-action film does suffer from a number of problems. It seems the film was produced on a fairly low budget and this shows, not just in the special effects (which are rather poor and do look almost a decade old but are fortunately kept to a minimum) used the films climax but in terms of the costumes, locations used and especially the music. The music is rather poor and at times sounds like the soundtrack for a cheap-ass porno flick, the fact the film opens on what appears to be two schoolgirls making out (and one sticking a tongue in the others eye) set to this music did in fact make me wonder if perhaps there’d been some mistake made somewhere.

Still despite these problems the film is a great watch. As the film is separated into clear sections it makes it easy to watch in a number of sittings or just the one. The film also brings up a number of philosophical points about the relationships people form and is bound to bring a good number of comparisons on behalf of the viewer between themselves (or others) and the characters presented on screen.

Boogiepop and Others certainly offers a lot more than it appears on the first viewing and is likely to be watched a few times over so that it can be fully absorbed. On its own Boogiepop stands tall above other titles, in conjunction with Boogiepop Phantom the anime (which I hasten to add is soon to be released in one box set by ADV) its reaches even higher. Boogiepop and Others will soon be available in the UK, but this is still well worth importing.

R1 DVD Notes

Features: "Making of" Documentary, "Boogiepop in Yuubari" Documentary, Trailers, Cast/Staff Biographies, Storyboards.

Release information: Publisher: Right Stuff Entertainment Limited (US) Running Time: Aprox. 105 min Relase Date: 01/03/2005 Classification: 13+

Notes: The large amount of extras certainly add a lot of wieght to this title. The documentarys are well made and offer some good insights by the cast and crew. Also included are numerous peices of text on the history of Boogiepop and anyone who wants to learn more about this franchise will certainly get a mouthful.

-- Joseph (Joe) Wood 1st Feb 06

Boogiepop and Others Images