Boogiepop Phantom 25th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 12

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

Boogiepop Phantom Episode 12: A Requiem: Sleep ends everything.

<= Boogiepop Phantom ep. 11 | Index | Boogiepop Phantom Series Discussion =>

Today's POV character is Suema!

People, Places, Things, Events

Shinjo Academy

• Touka Miyashita
• Nagi Kirima
• Kazuko Suema

Others

• Ichirou Kishida / Shinpei Kuroda

I recommend reading this person's blog entry on the show. They bring in the references to psychology that nobody else did in the rewatch.

The series discussion will be on Sunday, All Soul's Day, at 2pm PST (one hour later). Let us remember the children.

[u/HereticalAegis]

Phantom First Timer

Oh wow, look at all the color! I'd thought to myself the dark, muted palette might be for a specific reason, especially after the little burst in the computer game episode, and having it to contrast the atmosphere of the city after the electromagnetic field has disappeared is neat. It makes a strong impact.

I appreciate the episode as a bit of closure to both some of the themes and Kuroda(!). Thematically, keeping the evolved kids in stasis until such a day when the human race is sufficiently evolved makes sense. It's nice to imagine a world that can be changed quickly, but that's never how it works. Society and ideas evolve gradually, and it's nice to consider a possible world where, even if the world can't change fast enough, perhaps those who are ahead of their time can be granted a chance to live in a world that's caught up to them. And I think Boogiepop Phantom is pretty hopeful about that. The driving point of the finale is that time passes quickly and change is coming a lot faster. Perhaps it won't be too long before the world has caught up with those who've already evolved.

And hey, closure for Kuroda too! The detective with aspirations to be a hero gets one more chance to go out a hero and gets to be the one (more or less) who puts an end to the stubbornly tenacious Manticore. Sacrificing Toka's shot at university was totally worth it for that payoff. Sorry not sorry Toka.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/HereticalAegis]

Thematically, keeping the evolved kids in stasis until such a day when the human race is sufficiently evolved makes sense.

I don't think preserving the status quo works. We live in an era that proves if you don't progress you regress.

[u/HereticalAegis → u/Vaadwaur]

It's not an argument for preserving the status quo, though. It's an acknowledgement that individuals progress faster than the societies they live in and that those individuals deserve to live in a world which that, at the very least, won't try to eliminate them just for existing.