Reviewed by: dj_xero

Boogiepop Phantom Vol.2

Directed by: Takashi Watanabe

Released by: RightStuff Episodes 4,5,6

Genre: Thriller

Extras: 100sec promo, promo for vol.3, Fruits Video, "Directors commentary"

Dub: try to never watch'em

I'm going to assume taht you've already watched the first DVD, because you have to. Not since Serial Experiments Lain, have I seen such a mind trip of a series. Just as in the previous episodes in Vol.1, the episodes are agin divided into "scenes", it would flash the title of the scene onto the screen, along with the location and time of the scene. I thank them for at least giving us this because the times for each scene jump back and forth and so on. This not sets everything up for a "surprise ending" of each episode, but adds to the creepy unsettling ambiance. That's enough of my perspective on things, I'm gonna get started into the episode synopsis, as best as I can anyways.

Episode 4, my fair lady: This episode is insane. I could just stop there, because that's all I can think of right now. Oh wait, there's this kid, a older teenaged boy, a really smart kid, computer programmer, but not doing to well in school. Academically , or socially. In fact, he has a really hard time meeting women, mostly because of his high standards, and how we just wants to control every aspect of the female counterapart of the relationship. This is realized by the viewer through watching him play this insane "dating simualtor game", and how it begins to affect his interaction with one of his new fellow female coworkers. Okay, starting to sound like a teen drama, but this is where it gets interesting. There is a new drug being sold on the street, "Type S". So "mr.i'm-so-smart-but-cant-get-laid" begins to take this drug, in the hopes of it making him more popular. However the drugmakes him a bit halucinegenic, and obsessive, he must control this girl just like the computer. The level of creepiness keeps on truckin, and I don't want to give away the great ending to this one. Let's just say the boogiepops have started using this drug to lure and enslave these kids. Oh, and more continuity relating to an earlier episode makes this one really worth while, mmmm, continuity.

Episode 5, interlude: "Morita, haven't we had this conversation before?" The title to this episode is fittign: a good interlude into what I think mgiht atually be going on. We start with two cops in a police office, having they're break. One cop(the cop from Ep.3) is speaking to the other(poor fucking sap) about a secret government cospiracy, then stops, the other says: "Morita, haven't we had this conversation before?" The rest of the episode follows a mysterious death of an old lady, somehow revolving around the incident with the big fucking light thing. Inbetween the scenes of the investigation and so forth, we return to the two cops, having the same converstaion from the beginning. Every... INTERLUDE(heh, doh!), to the two cops on their breaks however gives more and more information about the conspiracy in the city, how the government wants it covered up. So you can see how happy I was with this episode, after 4 episodes of just wierd stories, starting to(but not really) relating to eachother, we finally get a little bit of explanation.

Episode 6, mother's day: To be honest with you, I'm still trying to figure this one out. It has to do with a daughter, straying away from her mother. What happened in her diary? What is the mother hiding? Why does the opening credits seem to have NOTHING to do with the series? Well, because I can't think of any good synopsis or explanation for this episode, I will reiterate what the back of the DVD case says. Hey, even Shad had a bit of a hard time with this one... cut me some slack!

"Shizue and her mother didn't really know each other: the death of her father saw to that. Driven apart by a mutual lack of understanding, Shizues death and the discovery of her diaries sends her mom through Shizues short life. Her few joys. Her many disappointments. A crystalizing event. And at last, a moment of clarity for each."

This is another DVD on my "Requierd Viewing" list, I get the feeling that this entire series is gonna tie up really nice, and end on a strange enough note to make the viewer continue to feel uneasy. Definitely check out the extras, the promos are again, incomprehendible. The Directors Commentary is again, not by the director, but by the peeps from "The Right Stuff Intl." The music video is enough to make me want more of the soundtrack though, it's screwed up CG with a mixture of some of the more electronic oriented songs in the series. Check out the screenshot at the top of the page to see what I mean.

Rating: 9/10 (me likes continuity, but continued disturbed goodness)