The paths of a multitude of characters are crossing, and many of them appear to be gunning for Boogiepop.
What They Say:
Episode #6: “VS Imaginator 3”
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
When we left off at the end of the last episode we discover that mystery girl Aya is, in fact, an agent of some sort for the shadowy Towa organization. She is acquainted with Spooky E, who arrives to question how her ‘mission’ is going. Masaki interrupts Spooky E as he lifts Aya by the throat, and a brief yet impressive bout of blows are exchanged before Masaki is shocked and left memory wiped by the meeting.
Adjacent to the strange happenings with Masaki and Aya, the woman we saw talking to Jin in the first episode of this arc is revealed to be his cousin. She goes to Suema to request help because she’s worried about his odd behavior. This is when Suema starts to play detective, thrilled at the chance to look into what has been happening. She ends up witnessing a strange exchange between Jin and two students, where he places his hands on their bare chests. Rather than being a case of sexual assault, it’s something far stranger. Suema isn’t quite sure what she saw, or how to deal with it.
The thread linking these two storylines appears to be Boogiepop themselves. Imaginator has already declared her antagonism for the hero, and Spooky E has Aya searching for information leading to Boogiepop. Meanwhile, Boogiepop remains incognito in Touka, watching and waiting.
The fact this adaptation is moving at such a quick pace elevates the trouble with the source material. We’re not given any time to relate to these characters beyond base reactionary feelings. We don’t like Spooky E because he’s gross and clearly evil, but we like Aya because she seems innocent and used. Masaki is a good kid who happens to be a decent martial artist, as we learn, and the brother to another protagonist so we root for him. Meanwhile, the story takes frequent breaks to have character wax philosophical, and suicide is always a driving theme. (I have to wonder how many kids have leaped to their deaths from school roofs in Japan, it shows up in anime frequently.)
Taking Boogiepop at face value as a supernatural thriller is difficult when so many elements are transparent in their inspiration. It’s fun when author’s want to pay homage to other’s works in their own, but when it results in characters being named after musicians the whole situation is suddenly grounded in fantasy. Granted, many of the music references in Boogiepop are obscure enough that many aren’t going to recognize them. However, since the references don’t appear to be linked to plot, character, or motivation in any logical way it just comes across as immature.
In Summary:
The lines between good and bad are obvious, but the major forces for both are being divided into clearly drawn lines. The bad forces are now targeting Boogiepop, and that could put even more students in peril. The straightforward adaptation presents plenty of information but leaves most of it without context, which is only going to cause confusion for the casual viewer. We might be getting more familiar with the reoccurring faces, but we don’t have much of a reason to care about them. The link between Imaginator, Towa, and Boogiepop is still undefined, and what this arc is leading towards is still a mystery.
Episode Grade: B –
Streamed by: Crunchyroll & Funimation
