Rating: 
Summary: Review by your average Anime Fan
Review: I have read many reviews on this series before I decided watched it. Most of the reviews rave about how "intellectual" this series is, I agree with that somewhat. However, since I am not a hardcore Anime fan I do not find myself the urge to go back and watch this series. For those of you who think like me, read on.A good description of this series would be a cross between Pulp Fiction and X-Files. You see, this Anime is broken into 12 episodes, each is somewhat related to another like the way Pulp Fiction the movie told its story. At first you will think this is a horror anime since it is quite scary, however, by the middle of the series the scare factor gets considerably less, and the mystery/conspiracy factor start to kick in. There are many adult issues dealt in this anime, such as suicide, drugs use, sex, and outworldly conspiracies, so kids are definitely not recommended (although I am almost sure most kids will not like this series anyway). The biggest problem I have with this Anime is that the story is not told completely. This series actually is a sequal to a japanese Movie made before the Anime. In the live action movie the background of the BoogiePop is explained a little better.
No matter how everyone tells you that "the plot is complete" by the end of the series, it is not. If you actually tried to sort out the story you will end up with more questions by the time you finish watching this Anime. This series left many, many open ends. In Japan the novels has spanned some 7 volumes, this Anime series only covers the earlier stories. Now onto the Quality of this DVD. With the exception of the last episode, the rest of the episodes are done in an olive/brown shade, adding to the spookiness to the overall weird plot. The atmosphere of the anime creates an uneasy feeling for the viewers.
The sounds are VERY well done, adding significantly to the plot and the scare factor. The character design is ok, although this series is unlikely to impress any of your non-Anime fanatic friends. One thing which annoys me is the similarity between many of the female characters in the series; many of the female students just looked like each other! I understand that many other animes do the same, but at least in other animes the similar looking characters has different haircuts/colors, or dress differently. In this series many of the female characters look just same, which confuses the viewer even more. Overall I would recommend this series to anyone who is a sci-fi lover with a good attention to detail. Despite some flaws and pseudo-intellectual mumbo jumbo which this series throws at you, it is nontheless one of the biggest thrillers I have watched in a while.
Rating: 
Summary: Boogiepop wa warawanai; a masterpiece
Review: If you didn't like 'Serial Experiments Lain', I asume you'd back off reading I will compare these two. However, Boogiepop Phantom ("Boogiepop wa warawanai" in it's original japanese release) is so much more and in many ways also very different. The likeness to Lain inherits from the choice of subject which is pretty mature (even though Lain wasn't based on written short stories like BP) and the *tone* and feel of the series. Boogiepop makes you think. You _will_ watch the first four episodes over and over again. You simply have to till you get the connections between them. In short, all 12 eps take place at the same time, but you as the viewer take part of these events as seen from different angles. The subject is pretty 'adult' in ways and there are strong and uncomfortable scenes that can be pretty shocking. Even so, they are never out of place and the story would not benefit from their removal or alteration. The music and 'sound' of this series is a chapter of it's own. Since basically all dialogue is put through different filters, the sound setting adds a lot to the tension and suspense in each scene. The music there is (it's very much integrated in this 'sound setting') is basically drum'n bass and the opening/ending themes are great. I cannot recommend this series enough. Once you pick it up you will understand why, and I REALLY recommend you view the first four eps before deciding your opinion about this show. For the reader's reference I'd like to point out that I have based my review on the Japanese DVD-release.
Rating:
Summary: Affordable version of this dark and deep series
Review: If you're new to Boogiepop Phantom, take confortable a seat and watch THIS version. A confortable seat, as once it starts, there's no turning back. If you fall for it, you will want more (and the DVD box does gives us an easy time, no wait for the next disc). I know it as I have watched it on broadcast, so it was really hard to wait a week until the next episode. While not a show for everyone, Boogiepop Phantom main appeal is the relation between the supernatural and urban legends, and how those myths became facts on society. The major challenge on this series is not for the main characters, but for viewers, who are supposed to solve a puzzle of facts from both present and past, presented in random order, which makes the storyline intriguing. A mysterious light, followed by a short blackout starts a series of haunting events that Nagi Kirima, along with other secondary characters, will face during this 12 episodes series. Nagi and the infamous Boogiepop, who appears from time to time to settle unknown business, crossing path with Nagi from time to time. What is "it" or "she" is a question that will echoe all the way long, until the final episode, which ends this series in a unique way.
Rating:
Summary: A mind-melting experience
Review: It took me at least three viewings of this whole series, one of which was with the director's commentary, to fully appreciate the skill with which this series is woven. It is completely non-linear, told (but for the final episode) entirely in flashback. The narrative forces you to assemble the puzzle that is the Boogiepop world one seemingly random piece at a time, but once that's done, you will discover an unbelievable picture. The various narrative threads create an incredible tapestry, and it's all the more amazing considering that you are only shown the threads one at a time, completely out of chronological order.
This series requires an investment of time and dedicated viewing, and it's not for the hard of thinking. If your experience with anime is Yugi-oh and Sailor Moon...well, you're in for a surprise. A very big, possibly wet and squishy, and certainly very unnerving, surprise. However, if you're up for a truly lysergic experience, you will not be disappointed.
One final note: this series should be regarded as having set the gold standard for English dubbing. The English version is aesthetically equivalent to the Japanese in every way; a different, but artistically equally valid experience. And, if you're lucky enough to watch the 5.1 version, you're in for a REAL treat.
Rating:
Summary: So Now That You've Seen Lain...
Review: Obviously the first thing that comes to mind when watching this series is Serial Experiments: Lain. Once you've made one great dark eerie series about [messing] with the heads of the people watching the show, you want to do it again, right? Boogiepop follows a different format than Lain in the way the plot unfolds. You certainly don't need to watch most of the episodes in order. Each episode of BP is sort of self-contained. Each follows one specific character, and at the end of the episode, unlike the reluctant-to-give-information style of Lain, you have a wrap-up of the story that occurred in that episode. The next episode doesn't have much to do with the one you just saw. They all tie together in the end, but not as strongly as Lain. This also makes for a bit of an anticlimactic ending at the end of the series. The final episodes end in a similar way to the other episodes; The final scenes are not intensely dramatic. SE:Lain definetly had a more interesting ending. Despite having whole episodes devoted to each, the characters seemed a bit flat to me. They were developed, but they didn't seem to have much emotion. Although that could just be a side effect of the dark, stern nature of the show. But it makes up for it in creativity. The episode about the guy obsessed with hentai games was definetly my favorite. Then the woman with daily amnesia, that freaky girl with the butterflies, the self-fashioned superheroine Nagi, the enigmatic monsters Snake Eyes and Manticore, and the mysterious Boogiepop herself. You could say Lain's plot was "a little" like something else; BP is definetly a show all its own. Despite a few flaws, I have to give Boogiepop 5 stars. BP is all about suspense, about giving you the hints about what's going on but not quite telling you. I love that moment when it suddenly dawns on you, "That's who that guy in episode 3 was!" There's little second guessing in this series. Something interesting is happening, but you cannot explain it. CANNOT. Until it is explained to you. And even then, you may not understand, which gives the show even more meaning when you get to sit around and talk about what it meant with the others who saw it with you. There are so few good shows that really make you think; Boogiepop does it. Maybe not as well as Lain, IMHO, but... apples and oranges. Watch them both. Then watch your brain ooze out of your head in a pudding form.
Rating:
Summary: It's so confusing! But I love it!
Review: Okay, I really didn't understand the point for most of the show, honestly. I enjoyed it, but didn't understand it till the end then it concentrates on two characters who never appeared till the end, I was like..huh? But I love it because it's so damn confusing! Like Lain, one of my top fav shows! I've seen Lain about 7 times and now think I understand at least most. I have to start watching boogiepop again as well now. A definitely good buy, one I do not regret. If you enjoy confusing, yet somehow entertaining animes, pick it up!
Rating:
Summary: It's so confusing! But I love it!
Review: Okay, I really didn't understand the point for most of the show, honestly. I enjoyed it, but didn't understand it till the end then it concentrates on two characters who never appeared till the end, I was like..huh? But I love it because it's so damn confusing! Like Lain, one of my top fav shows! I've seen Lain about 7 times and now think I understand at least most. I have to start watching boogiepop again as well now. A definitely good buy, one I do not regret. If you enjoy confusing, yet somehow entertaining animes, pick it up!
Rating:
Summary: The Echoes of A Silent City
Review: Sometimes, within reality, we draw lines in the sands of thought and imagine that they will always remain intact. We build legends in the mist and pretend that they don't exist, and that death doesn't come on swift wings for those that it wishes. Still, this reaction to the physical, this denial that something may indeed be looming and preying on the human wombs birthing thoughts without suspect, is sometimes wrong. It has only been a few nights since the bright light shined through the sky and people began acting differently, that the serial killer began stalking the depths of the city, and that "the angel of death" began taking away the children. They, special in their own rights, seem to call out to it and it comes, sending shockwaves through the minds of those that find the life they once believed in was nothing but a dream. BoogiePop Phantom is a series that I found highly addictive, with its ups and downs tempered by the fact that it was atmospherically charged by the transitions taking place and that the characters in it were fleshed out so well. Each episode focuses on the life of one person as the events begin transpiring, and the people they run across and the things that they cause, no matter how mundane the interaction is or how horrible, can sometimes be an intricate portion of someone else's tale. Sometimes this leads to oddities with a sea of strange scenes, distorting pieces that seem confusing at first until you see them later and then understand exactly what went on in that certain someone's life. Then again, it sometimes does quite the opposite, making it all the more strange. The pulse of the show is enigmatic because of the way its told and the way the music is incorporated into it, with fragmentations of completion being fed to the watcher slowly and the mood being set like a tablepiece to accent the motions. Within it there are depths of shocking darkness, mysterious revelation, and sadness mingling beneath an electric sky, digging deeper and deeper into everything until its finally revealed exactly who the manitcore and BoogiePop are and why the world has become so perplexed. By then, however, the picture painted will have sent ripples through a microcosm of society that will be changed forever. For anyone who enjoys a series that meticulously feeds you little pieces of a broadening horizon, letting you see things that accent the way people think and feel, then this would be a work for you. It is a darkened sky, though, complete with the fleeting images of demise and dying dreams, but that only adds to the aspects of what is taking place herein. Be warned that it does have moments in its pace that seem pointless in one episode to another and that sometimes frightens newer seekers, but this is because the series is actually one picture being painted on twelve individual canvases. Watch them all and ingest them in order, knowing that the concept will be a shadowy affair, and you'll find yourself addicted.
Rating:
Summary: Great Show, Rotton Media
Review: The anime itself leaves nothing to be desired. The animation is top-notch. The audio is what really sets this series apart. It keeps your attention and complements the bizarre storyline. The addition of a music CD was a very nice touch. The plot keeps you guessing and scratching your head. It's a confusing show.
The main flaw with this particular recording is the DVDs themselves. The disks came slightly scratched. My DVD player was reluctant to play them at all and then when they did play, frequent glitches in the sound and video became an irritating, if infrequent interruption. What's more, the default language for these shows is Japanese, which seems an odd choice for a region 1 DVD.
The show is fabulous and a real steal for the price, but I would have rather paid more for a higher quality recording.
Rating:
Summary: Warning! might actually make you think
Review: this anime is one comparable to evangelion and lain, you will get involved in the plot and you will be forced to think. the characters are pretty threedimentional, you get to relate to them. the art is amazing, the sound technique that the creators used is just right for this kinda anime (you'll jump from your seat)
in short, this is a must have, and boogie pop , ooh. gotta love the voice!
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