Today, I’m writing about my favorite research book for The Visions of Bezek. It’s called Boogiepop. For my novel, I read the first two omnibus collections of Boogiepop. These two books cover the first six light novels in the Boogiepop series. Unfortunately, these six are the only novels in the series that are translated into English.
I read the first light novel, Boogiepop and Others, because it told a story from multiple perspectives over a short period. It’s the only book I’ve seen, other than my novel, that tells the story like pieces of a puzzle. I’m sure there are others, but I haven’t found them. The first light novel for Boogiepop was released in 1998.
Here’s the blurb for it:
There is an urban legend that children tell about a shinigami that can release people from the pain they are suffering. This “Angel of Death” has a name--Boogiepop. And the legends are true. Boogiepop is real. When a rash of disappearances involving female students breaks out at Shinyo Academy, the police and faculty assume they just have a bunch of runaways on their hands. Yet Nagi Kirima knows better. Something mysterious and foul is afoot. Is it Boogiepop or something even more sinister...? Experience the story through several characters’ eyes as you piece together the true order of disturbing events.
I read the remaining five light novels in the omnibuses because the first one was so amazing. The other novels are:
Boogiepop Returns: Vs. Imaginator Part 1,
Boogiepop Returns: Vs. Imaginator Part 2,
Boogiepop in the Mirror: Pandora,
Boogiepop Overdrive: The King of Distortion, and
Boogiepop at Dawn.
These novels are all written by Kouhei Kadono, a Japanese author. He’s written over twenty light novels in the Boogiepop series, but only six have been translated. Maybe one day we’ll get to see the other novels translated.
“There’s nothing in this world that is ever truly decided. Birds sometimes fall out of the sky, and sometimes it snows in April. Everything is uncertain, nothing is ‘unnatural.”
If you enjoy science fiction with a splash of horror, delve into these novels. They provide unique stories with strong philosophical elements. I cannot give this serious enough praise, because it is unlike anything I’ve seen. Most of my research books have subsequently been offered for sale on eBay, but I won’t be letting go of this one. I’m looking forward to the next time I read through them.
In 2019, most of the first few novels were adapted into an 18 episode anime. They left out the Boogiepop in the Mirror novel, but they did a stunning job of capturing the others. It’s a great watch if you’re looking for something different falling between horror and science fiction. They even did a great job maintaining the nonlinear style from the first novel.
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