Bugîpoppu wa warawanai

Boogiepop and Others is a film that is probably hardly ever casually come by. It is the kind of film that is sought out by a particular niche. Boogiepop and Other is based off the popular Japanese novels by Kouji Ogata and serves as a prequel to the also popular anime series Boogiepop Phantom, which is also based off Ogata's novels. Dark and mysterious, Boogiepop and Others is twisting tale of action, suspense, gore, sci-fi, and drama.

The film covers Ogata's first novel and leads you right up to the anime. I am not one to denounce a film or argue the fact that you have had to seen or read something else to understand the film, but it seems to be the case here with BaO. If you have yet to see the anime series Boogiepop Phantom, it comes highly recommended: Fantastic writing and direction, excellent characters, an intense story line and a beautifully eerie soundtrack to boot. Now, you do not have to have seen BP to understand BaO or follow along with the happenings, just that BaO is a lot more satisfying and purposeful to those who have, as it clears up a lot that was left for the imagination in the series.

Boogiepop and Others spins the story of ten Japanese students whose lives are mysteriously linked to the disappearance of several classmates known as "runaways," who as urban legend have it, have been taken away by the shinigami (death god) known as Boogiepop. Who is Boogiepop? And who/what is that she is fighting? The plot is filled with a lot of major turns and twists and can sometimes be a handful to follow. In short, we have a boy, Takeda, whose girlfriend, Toka, has split personalities: one being his sweet girlfriend, the other being the shinigami Boogiepop. We also have an eccentric girl, Naoko, who finds a mysterious mute named Echoes, who is named so because he can only communicate with her telepathically, who is on the search for a manticore who is feeding off human souls. And then there is the dark Saotome who is controlling the manticore and using her body fluids to make a drug called "Slave." Lastly there is the tough Nagi, who seems to be the only student who has any idea on the relationship of events surrounding Boogiepop, Echoes, the manticore and the disappearances.

If that makes it seem that there is a lot going on, that's because there is, and in honesty, most of the questions raised, important or not, are still not clearly answered. BaO is littered with a lot of vague exposition that sometimes hit their mark and sometimes leaves you more baffled than if they were to explain it at all. If you can keep up with the fast moving plot, then there is a lot for you to draw your own conclusions from, but I don't really think that was the intention of amateur director Ryu Kaneda. In the end all we really have are "Kinda's." We "kinda" know who Boogiepop is and why she appears. We "kinda" get the whole manticore thing and why she bothers with Saotome. And we only "kinda" understand what Echoes is up to.

BaO is a film that cannot rise above a B rank thriller. That is not at all to say the film is bad in all matters, but that every aspect of the film waivers. The production level is that of the typical Asian cult films that the American fans have come to expect, and the acting is par for the course. While there isn't much to say good or bad about the acting for the most part, there a handful of scenes that will be sure to make you sneer.

The main plague of BaO is the incoherent direction. Understandingly, the films story is a challenge in the likes of Memento, but the intersections of the student's stories are rushed and rather uneventful. While each student's story is intriguing in his or her own regards, their conclusions are only semi-gratifying.

All in all, Boogiepop and Others is a film that isn't a complete waste of time, but nothing extraordinarily special. If you are a fan of the series than it is must see. If you are an avid fan of Asian cult cinema, than you will probably be able to see this film for what it has to offer. If you are just an ordinary movie watcher looking for your next movie, than BaO is probably something you will want to stay away from.

I'll admit my biases up front: I loved the animated series "Boogiepop Phantom." It's mix of time shifted story telling, characters over action, and weirdness won me over. When I saw the Live-Action Boogiepop movie on Ebay (with English subtitles!) I jumped at the chance.

For the most part, "Boogiepop and Others" takes place before the anime series. If you left BPP confused, there are a few more things we learn here: Boogiepop's origins (and her relationship with Toka), more about Saotome and the Manticore, Suema and Nagi's relationship, Echos' quest...and possibly the most intriguing questions: How Nagi knows what is going on, and what happened on the night the column of light appeared. A few more characters appear this time, including Takeda (Toka's boyfriend who is given a one line reference in the animated series), Kei, Naoko, and we learn more about Yurihara.

As the story goes, it is much like Boogiepop Phantom, but a little more easy to figure out. It is still told from the viewpoints of minor characters' interactions with the major characters, so we see some scenes a few times. Things slowly start to make sense and by the end, we have a good idea of what all is going on. The production values aren't Summer-Hollywood by any means, but for the most part they make due - although there is a scene of Boogiepop in the air that is a little laughable. The acting is a bit varies, with Echos, Toka and Nagi probably being the strongest and Saotome probably the weakest.

So, if you're a fan of BPP and want to learn more about the backstory, seek this out. Or, if you want a little Sci-Fi/horror film high on plot and story (if a little weak on production), go for it. I'd rate it a PG-13 leaning R...little language, no nudity and almost zero "mature themes," and a fair amount of blood, killing, and violence.

Getting used to the rhythm of the storytelling in the beginning of this movie may prove to be too much of an obstacle to enjoying it for non-Japanese audiences. The way characters are introduced, as if seemingly unrelated to each other, is something of a head scratcher. However, being left in the dark puts the viewer in the same position as several of the characters whose varying points of view about the same set of events are presented. As in the classic Kurosawa film, "Rashômon," the audience has no way of deciding which of several more or less plausible explanations of a gruesome crime is accurate, and, like "Rashômon," the least plausible turns out to be true. That said, this is no "Rashômon." However, it is stylish and entertaining as teen-oriented horror flicks go, and refreshingly not peopled with characters you want to yell at for being stupid. It's also a relief that most of the gore is off- camera and well enough represented by sound effects.

If Your a fan of the Anime Boogiepop Phantom and was left confused then You must get a hold of this movie since it covers the events leading up to the pillar of light and explains some of the unexplained elements in the Anime, actually a feeling I got from this movie is that the original idea was to release a series of movies but instead it continued in its Anime form.

Overall Boogiepop & Others (based on the original novel) is very similar to the Anime in which events are told out of order from different characters view points, the acting is strong and the plot is very well paced with a great cast of unique characters.

My only real complaints are that I think the relationship between Saotome and the Manticore is under developed and could have used some extra time spent on it and I think that Boogiepop and Echoes are both under used considering their importance, but overall this is a solid movie well worth checking out.

Having read some reviews prior to watching this, I was expecting a movie with horror elements, some people even said "gore". None of that here people, move along now.

Even though there wasn't any horror, I didn't mind a bit! I couldn't stop watching this movie once I started it. It takes place in a high school environment, which is always my favorite kind of environment for movies like this. The cast is young, I like that too. Not that I mind older people!

Apparently it's a live action film. Haven't watched the anime that goes with this movie, cause I'm not really into that, but I might check it out, since I heard good stuff about it.

What can I say? I just really enjoyed it. An exciting adventure. All the important characters were given just the right amount of screen time. Definitely gonna watch this again. Hope I can find some more movies like this! 8*