English Dub Review: Boogiepop and Others “Boogiepop and Others 1”

Shadows are here.

Overview:

A mysterious doppelganger appears, and someone is murdering girls in the neighborhood.

Our Take:

Boogiepop is… well, it’s definitely weird.

It starts out with Takeda, who is stood up by his date, Miyashita. While waiting for her, he sees a duplicate of her help a distraught man. After that, while Miyashita is absent from school, he starts communicating with her double, Boogiepop.

The first episode leaves us with a lot of questions. What is the monster that Boogiepop is chasing? She mentions that the monster she’s been observing has been vanquished, but we have no concept of what the monster is, or what its purpose is.

Also, what is Boogiepop herself? She claims that she’s Miyashita’s split personality, but that’s just to an extent. She uses the idea of a split personality to compare herself to, but that’s just it, a comparison. That means that she isn’t actually Miyashita’s other side, but something that’s close enough to it. She and Miyashita may be deeply connected somehow, but it’s unclear what exactly that connection entails. At the same time, Boogiepop seems to have gained a reputation as an urban legend. The general public seems to be undecided on what her physical form is, but whatever she is has become attributed to death. Is she a reaper figure or just something that has gained that reputation?

Then there is, of course, the serial murders. A schoolgirl is shown mutilated and strung up on thin wires, nearly decapitated. Even before the murders become public, strange disappearances have become common among the girls of the school. It’s almost like someone, or something is taking them somewhere. So far, there doesn’t seem to be a clear pattern of who is chosen or why they’re dying, but everyone is filled with some apprehension. With only rumors and no information, this feels pretty believable.

So far, it’s hard to really say what Boogiepop, the show, is actually like. It seems very confusing, but also kind of mundane. The action that’s present in the opening credits hasn’t happened yet, but it seems to be setting up for something large. At the same time, it hasn’t gotten there yet, and I can’t really say I’m hooked. I’m no doubt curious, but I’m not dying to see what will happen next.

The opening song is fantastic though, you really have to give it to Myth & Roid.