The Summary doesn't do it justice, but to reveal too much is to give away some important plot developments. Which is why this review may be a little sparse on the details.

Boogiepop as a series is kind of hard to categorize. Its not that Boogiepop is a separate entity--and thus its own identifiable being--but that Boogiepop exists only as a fragment of another. In this book its Miyashita Touka, an average 1st year HS student with little by way of 'extraordinary' talents. Its made unclear in the anime (at least the English Dub) whether Boogiepop is real or not. He is--its not a mental breakdown of Miyashita's due to trauma (as the English Dub suggests).

Boogiepop is also not magic, or a ghost, or an alien. Boogiepop just is. Throughout this book we see as lives intersect, crash into and separate from each other. Some of the events are repeated, but from the varied viewpoints of the participants so that its given a different spin. For instance a group date as viewed by Keiji is just that--a happy little group date that his underclassmen are having. Later, we see the group date through the eyes of one of the underclassmen--and hear his thoughts in regards to the people he's with, the reasons he's with them and Keiji whom they encounter.

The book can feel disjointed, since some of the storylines extend beyond others by quite a bit of time (some are short, existing only to clarify one or two moments of time, while others extend to 'before', 'during' and 'after' the incident) so you'll jump around in time a lot, and have the sense of de ja vu at times as well. The translation is really well done, so you have a feel of the tone that the original Japanese author was striving for, but for the western audience it might feel too foreign to the casual reader. At its core, the Boogiepop books and movie and anime are about human nature. What makes us human, what defines us and what can be called a human by those definitions.

The book moves slowly more often then not, bogging down in the minutiae of a day to day life of a school student, but frequently what is such a small thing to one narrator is a big deal to a later one. This doesn't make the book go by quicker, but it gives better insight. The action is very frenetic, wham-bam-thank you ma'am sort, but again we get it from several different viewpoints.

Unfortunately the book is out of print, but should be pretty easy to obtain a cheap used copy of. The style is probably something that will take most people a little while to get into and even then, if your attention wanders easily, or you want something with less character centric-ness, this isn't a book for you. Rent the movie.

Note about the Boogiepop Series in general: At the moment America only has 4 out of 15 of the novels (I think), both mangas, none of the short stories or side novel series, the movie and the anime (Boogiepop Phantom). Boogiepop and Others (both the movie and the novel) details the event that instigates the odd incidents seen in the anime, namely the weird light, and runs concurrently at points with the anime events. Boogiepop at Dawn (a novel) is a prequel to the series in general--explaining when Miyashita began acting oddly, and some more background information on Kirima Nagi. The publication order however has Boogiepop and Others before Boogiepop at Dawn. ( )

Boogiepop and Others is the first volume in a series of light novels written by Kouhei Kadono and illustrated by Kouji Ogata. The novel was originally released in Japan in 1998 after winning the Dengeki Game Novel Prize (now known simply as the Dengeki Novel Prize). Boogiepop and Others has been credited with igniting the light novel trend in Japan. Whether that is true or not, the novel has inspired more than a dozen other volumes in the Boogiepop novel series as well as other books, short stories, manga, music, a live-action film adaptation, an anime, and more. Out of the fairly large franchise, four of the light novels--including Boogiepop and Others--two short manga series, the anime, and the film have been released in English. The English-language edition of Boogiepop and Others, translated by Andrew Cunningham, was published by Seven Seas in 2006. Although I had been aware of the Boogiepop Phantom anime series for quite some time, Boogiepop and Others was actually my introduction to the franchise and is set before the events of the anime.

No one is entirely sure who or what Boogiepop is, but there are several rumors and theories among the students of Shinyo Academy. Stories are told about a spirit of death, an assassin who can kill instantly and painlessly. When a number of female students at Shinyo Academy go missing, many naturally assume that Boogiepop must have had something to do with their disappearances. Others believe Boogiepop to be nothing more than a myth or urban legend, but they can't deny that something very strange and very wrong is going on at their school. Most of the missing girls are written off as runaways by the police and their cases are quickly dropped. And so a few of their classmates take it upon themselves to investigate since they can't rely on the adults to pursue the matter. But it's already too late. Some of the girls who have disappeared have lost their lives and there will be even more deaths before those who are responsible can be stopped. If they can be stopped. Any survivors will be left struggling to comprehend everything that occurred at Shinyo Academy.

Boogiepop and Others isn't told from a single point of view, within a single time frame, or even through a single narrative. Instead, each chapter is seen from the perspective of a different student. Some of the characters are directly involved with the events unfolding at Shinyo Academy while others are only tangentially related. However, none of them know everything about what is going on, though they may have their suspicions. There's Takeda Keiji, who becomes one of the people closest to Boogiepop, Suema Kazuko, who once was almost the victim of a serial killer herself, Saotome Masami, a deceptively unassuming underclassman, Kimura Akio, one of several boyfriends of one of the missing students, and Niitoki Kei, the president of the discipline committee. They each have their own story to tell, and each version of the events is accurate, but the complete truth can only be understood when all of the individual accounts have been completely disclosed and are then considered and taken together as a whole.

The narrative structure of Boogiepop and Others is actually quite effective in creating and sustaining the mystery and mood of the novel. It's a slow build as little by little information is revealed and connections are made between characters and their stories. Piecing together everything is an incredibly engaging part of the novel. At times, Boogiepop and Others can be legitimately creepy and disconcerting. The elements of horror in the novel are just as strong as those of science fiction and mystery. Several of the characters are dealing with extreme mental and psychological disturbances and unfortunate family circumstances in addition to the apparent supernatural occurrences. Personally, I preferred Kadono's exploration of the more reality-based issues over the more outrageous ideas, but in combination even those could be oddly compelling in their strangeness. I thoroughly enjoyed Boogiepop and Others, perhaps even more than I initially anticipated. I definitely plan on reading more of the series.

Experiments in Manga ( )

I think that Boogie Pop is a very complex exciting book. It s so imaginative and creative and could catch almost anyone's eye. The book explores legends that people ignore but have to face and I find that compelling. I give this book so many thumbs up i need more hands. I recommend this book for almost anyone, even if you're not an avid reader, you'll get through this book pain free!!! ( )

The first novel in the Boogiepop franchise, this is a very readable series of intertwined stories about a group of teenagers and their involvement with a supernatural event at their school. As is typical with Boogiepop, the story focuses on the philosophies and perspectives of each student, and does an admirable job of giving each a distinct personality. I felt involved all the way through. ( )

An interesting light novel horror/sci-fi series, easily on par with Coda's Missing series.

I read this first volume two years ago and returned to it this week to see if a second reading changed anything for me. Rereading it opens up a lot in terms of cultural references I didn't understand before, a better knowledge of intercharacter relationships and keeping the odd timeline correct as I read along. I will be picking up and rereading the other two novels this week as well.

Seven Seas will be resuming their releases of the novels later on this year after a nearly two-year hiatus. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story progresses from beyond Volume Three. ( )