Бугипоп Фантом: Эхо Прошлого и Тени Настоящего

Anime television series

is an anime television series animated by Madhouse, based on the Boogiepop light novel series by Kouhei Kadono. The series is directed by Takashi Watanabe, from a screenplay by Sadayuki Murai, with original character designs by the light novel's illustrator Kouji Ogata, and sound direction by Yota Tsuruoka. Chronologically, the story follows immediately after the events of the series's first volume, Boogiepop and Others, while also making references to the prequel sixth volume, Boogiepop at Dawn.

The story takes place in an unnamed Japanese city, a month after a pillar of light appeared in the night sky and five years after a string of serial killings. Boogiepop Phantom follows an ensemble cast of characters, mostly high school students, who are witnesses to the incident and its consequences. At the time of the series, high school students have started to disappear again and the blame is placed on Boogiepop, an urban legend who is said to be the personification of Death.

Each episode centers on different characters who sometimes have just a short involvement in the major events of the series. For this reason, many scenes are seen twice, from different perspectives, and some episodes are out of sequence, although there is a slow general time progression. An unusual visual style is employed wherein, for all but the last episode, a much reduced color palette is used in conjunction with a vignette effect. The sound design consists of synthesized avant garde music carried by a leitmotif in the form of an active sonar pulse. Through the non linear style of the series, the characters are used to develop the central themes of the series: Change, Escapism, Memory, and Relationships. Boogiepop Phantom aired on TV Tokyo from January 5 to March 22, 2000. The series is licensed and distributed in North America and Europe by Right Stuf International.

Five years before the events of Boogiepop Phantom, Nagi Kirima met and befriended Shinpei Kuroda, an undercover agent of the Towa organization, at the local prefecture's hospital. Nagi was hospitalized because she was dying as her body was evolving. Shinpei, upon learning the truth behind Nagi's sickness, betrayed the Towa organization and administered a stolen Towa drug to Nagi that saved her life. He was mortally wounded by Towa agents as he fled from the hospital, leaving the drug behind in the process. Touka Miyashita came across Shinpei (as the Towa Agent Scarecrow) and the psychological trauma from seeing the dying man (after being hit by More Murder) created her Boogiepop persona. The Boogiepop at Dawn light novel describes how Dr Kisugi witnessed Nagi's remarkable recovery and, through experimentation on rats, learned of the drug's powers to grant superhuman abilities, before administering it to herself. The drug changed the doctor into a composite human, granting her the vast increase in physical and mental attributes shared with all composite humans and allowing her to sense the hormones that produce fear and develop a craving for them. At first terrorizing her patients and sampling their blood, she then murdered a number of strong willed girls to consume the fear they produced at the moment of their death. Boogiepop Phantom shows how Dr Kisugi gave the drug to her patients, claiming it could heal them, and how it worsened their problems and resulted in their evolution. Kirima investigated the murders, and discovered Dr Kisugi was the serial killer. Nagi and Dr Kisugi confronted each other at the hospital, where The Fire Witch was initially overwhelmed by the doctor’s power, but managed to kill her with Boogiepop's help. The Boogiepop and Others novel tells of Manticore, an imperfect clone of the alien entity Echoes, created by the Towa Organization five years later. Escaping the laboratory, Manticore killed Minako Yurihara with the intention of assuming her form when it was found by Masami Saotome. Instead of killing Masami, Manticore struck a deal with him. Manticore (as Minako) and Masami experimented with production of Type S, a highly addictive drug that would enslave all its users to their will, while killing students for Manticore's consumption. Meanwhile, Echoes escaped from the Towa laboratory in chase of Manticore. The alien met up with Nagi Kirima, who was investigating the recent student disappearances. Learning they were being pursued, Masami and Manticore set a trap for Echoes and Nagi. Events culminated one evening at Shinyo Academy, when Masami crippled Echoes with poison and killed Nagi, who did not expect Manticore to have a human ally. Manticore chased Echoes as he attempted to escape with Nagi's body, and beat him to the verge of death. Manticore and Masami were attacked by Boogiepop, who held Manticore in place while Echoes turned himself into light. The light pierced the sky and destroyed Manticore, with Masami committing suicide by flying into the pillar. Nagi was revived by Echoes before he left the planet. Boogiepop Phantom is set one month later and revolves around the consequences of the pillar of light. Echoes' light inadvertently allowed the memories of that night to continue as holograms, giving rise to a mixed reality where past and present co exist, and forced the evolution of the citizens, including those who were administered the Towa drug by Dr Kisugi. The series is concerned with these evolved individuals, how evolution affected their lives, and their disappearance after meeting Boogiepop Phantom. The Phantom explains it hid them below the city to save them, and that although their bodies no longer function, their nerves extend across the city so they will keep dreaming until the day the rest of humanity catches up to them.

Boogiepop Phantom is a story that primarily deals with change and how perceptions change as people grow older. The theme of change is represented not only by the ongoing struggle between the Towa organization and the evolved humans, but also by the way the look of the city is changing and through the growth of children into adults. However, the series' view on change is presented ambiguously, as while the Towa organization seeks to prevent change in the world, it has world domination as its agenda. Boogiepop parallels this dualism as he encourages people to move forward with their lives while hunting down evolved humans thus preventing the possible transformation of society. For the characters Misuzu and Yoji, their retreat from reality has devastating consequences: Misuzu enters a despairing insanity after being forced to realize the truth of her reality, while Yoji goes through a mental breakdown as his reality is no longer the fantasy he believed it to be. However, the question as to how people should live their lives goes unanswered by the series. Later on in the series, retreat from reality is revisited in the form of Poom Poom, who represents the ultimate escape from reality into childhood. The relationships that the characters Mamoru, Manaka, and Shizue have with their parents highlights the lack of support that children receive from parents who are otherwise busy, and the resulting disconnection between parents and children. The message the show leaves the viewer however is positive, as both Manaka and Shizue reconcile with their mothers, and so the parent child relationship can be saved by open communication and understanding. Boogiepop Phantom is also a series that is about memory and how memories help define who we are. The character designer and key animator Shigeyuki Suga had been a key animator for Serial Experiments Lain, a series with which Boogiepop Phantom is often compared. Mythology also plays a large part in Boogiepop Phantom. Two of the main protagonists are said to be Shinigami, death deities of Japanese folklore who can take on many forms. Kitsune are fox spirits of Japanese folklore, they possess magical powers that increase with age and are capable of assuming human form, with Boogiepop being described as a kitsune by Touka Miyashita's parents. The Manticore is named after the man eater of Persian mythology.

Yota Tsuruoka was the sound and music director for Boogiepop Phantom. The soundtrack for the series featured many artists and various styles, ranging from Gregorian to electronic. The songs "Evening Shower" and "Future Century Secret Club" were not included on the OST with the rest of the soundtrack, but were instead released separately by the artists. "Evening Shower" was published on 8 September 1999, prior to the initial airing of the series, on Shikao Suga’s album Sweet, while Kyoko’s "Future Century Secret Club" was initially released as a single of the same name on 9 February 2000, and later as part of an album titled Under The Silk Tree on 8 November 2000.

Originally broadcast on TV Tokyo from 5 January to 22 March 2000, The Right Stuf International confirmed on 6 January 2001 that they had licensed the property for release in North America and Europe while ADV Films would handle distribution. The English dub was recorded at Headline Sound Studios and received a 15 rating from the British Board of Film Classification. The Right Stuf International first showed Boogiepop Phantom at various conventions and festivals such as Anime Expo and Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival, before being released in the United States as four bilingual DVDs containing 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Stereo English and 2.0 Japanese with English subtitle soundtracks from 9 October 2001 until 12 February 2002. A boxed set containing all four "Evolution" DVDs was also released alongside "Evolution" 4. Extras on the discs included ADV previews, original Japanese promotions, producer and character notes, music videos for both the opening and ending songs, a special edit ending sequence, and English language commentaries for each episode. Boogiepop Phantom was later released as a thinpak collection in 2006 that also came with the live action Boogiepop and Others. The rights to broadcast the series were acquired by Anime Network, the first time a non ADV title had been broadcast on that network, with broadcasting beginning from 1 July onwards. TechTV later announced that they would also broadcast the series with the premiere on 28 July 2003. Since then, the rights to broadcast the series have been acquired by Funimation Channel, and the series aired in early 2007.

Boogiepop Phantom was a hit. The "spooky sepia puzzle" juggles an ensemble cast of characters, each with unique point of view, while revealing tidbits about the larger plot in a nonlinear fashion. Christopher Macdonald of Anime News Network gives special mention to Sadayuki Murai's skill as a screenwriter, for being able to keep the viewer engrossed as well as tying all elements and plot threads by the final episode. But the series' intricate nature is counterproductive. The reduced color palette was applauded for highlighting the sense of "mental disease" and "emotional malaise" that affected most of the characters, Reviews also recognized that "astute viewers may notice some rather interesting, although not very blatant, differences between the various characters", and that the "realistic" character designs created a degree of "normalcy" that was important to the story while also helping to draw in the viewer. The audio of the series has been described as "unique" and "incredible", going beyond what is expected of normal sound design and enhancing the "creepy" atmosphere of the show. Also noted was that the opening and ending songs don't appear to fit in well with the mood of the series. The English language track was not as well received as its Japanese counterpart, but still reviewed favorably. In particular, the performance of Jessica Calvello in the English dub was singled out and praised as being her best performance to date.