Boogiepop and Others Episode 12 Review: Boogiepop at Dawn 3

We get to see Kirima Seiichi’s story in all this, a very important figure in the Boogiepop universe whose point of view seems to have affected many of the characters. Now many things have come together for our understanding. Also, Suiko was so cute when she was a kid. Who would have thought that she would grow up to be the Imaginator?

Plot

Kirima Seiichi, Nagi’s father and a renowned author, receives a fan letter. The person writing it claims that he will soon be dead and that he has some sort of special powers. After investigating his case and finding out that he was indeed dead by the time Seiichi received the letter, he realizes that he is soon going to be killed as well, since his books seem to be affecting all these kids that claim to have unique powers. While sitting in the park, Seiichi talks with young Suiko (Imaginator) and after a long conversation about life, birds, and other profound messages, she tells him that he is going to die soon. Seiichi is killed by Sasaki, the same man that the Towa Organization sent to kill the Scarecrow and is later instructed by Pigeon to investigate the obscene murders that have been happening lately. During his investigation he meets Nagi, who suggests that they work together in this. After questioning one of the victim’s friend, Nagi realizes that the killer is Dr. Kisugi, who on the other hand has been leaving hints for Nagi so she can find her and hoping that she can devour her as the rest of her victims.

Episode Highlights

Kirima Seiichi was an unintentional leader: Seiichi is quoted and referenced in the series since Εpisode 1 and it was pretty apparent that he played a big role in the story. The true reason for his death though, was the fact that his books were influencing greatly the people that had developing or evolving powers, and the Towa Organization didn’t like that of course. I don’t know if I got this right or not, but from my understanding most of his fans that were writing him letters had some sort of power or were found dead soon after they sent out their letter, which made Seiichi get suspicious and trying to get to the bottom of this, which ultimately lead him to his death. Also, his conversation with the young Suiko, who can see people’s deaths, felt like the fuel for many of her obsessions when she becomes the Imaginator, which really makes me think if Seiichi was not as harmless as he seemed to be. His words had great power.

You are a kind person: Poor Nagi. She is such a self-assured girl but honestly this sentence broke my heart a little bit, especially when we know that Sasaki killed her father. She might have said ‘You wouldn’t kill out of your own volition’ but again, I don’t think she suspected that he was the murderer of her father.

She is just waiting to be caught at this point: I think that Dr. Kisugi is just craving to get arrested or killed since he openly teased Nagi and let her know that she is the killer. The fact that she is fearless now, makes her do many mistakes that will eventually bring her down, which is kind of ironic if you think about it. She wants to eat Nagi’s brain and because she has no second thoughts about her actions she will probably meet her demise in the next episode. Is Boogiepop going to kill her or will Nagi help the authorities get her?

Themes & Trivia

In case you don’t know: This arc adapts the Boogiepop at Dawn novel (the sixth novel in the series) in the anime’s 10th to 13th episodes, which have all been broadcasted together as a two-hour special. The anime is also said to adapt Boogiepop Overdrive: The Piper (the fifth novel in the series), which I think will be the next arc.

Comments

Sasaki is an interesting character. Actually, all the synthetic humans are very intriguing. He acts as an assassin for Towa Organization but every time he kills his targets his heart seems to be swayed by their words and circumstances a little bit, which makes him less impassive as the episodes go by. I think that he will help Nagi get Dr. Kisugi and I feel like his death flag is clearly out in the open now.

Another interesting thing is that the words that effected Sasaki more than anything else were the dying words of a kid who could unlock the potential in others with only a few words.