Boogiepop

Boogiepop is a breakthrough light novel series first released in the late 1990s. It is also considered as one of the best light novels for adults. Its widespread appeal launched the entire genre. Today, there wouldn't be a light novel market in North America without Boogiepop. The easiest way to describe Boogiepop is as young adult literature.

Born on December 12, 1968, Kadono attended Hosei University and earned a degree. His light novel Boogiepop and Others, which was later turned into a manga with illustrations by Kouji Ogata, was the Fourth Dengeki Novel Prize winner in 1998. Japanese mangaka, character designer, and artist Kouji Ogata is most renowned for his work on Gin-iro no Kami no Agito and the Boogiepop series.

The series, narrated nonlinearly, centers on Boogiepop, a shinigami, a supernatural ghost that appears when the world is in danger. The shinigami Boogiepop rises to the surface automatically to battle the "enemies of the world." In Boogiepop's universe, an alien entity had assumed the shape of a highly developed human.

The people in the Boogiepop series are central to the story—their relationships, histories, and memories. This is particularly true regarding how their pasts shaped who they are now. It is also evident in how many characters' perspectives are used to convey scenes and how each character contributes a unique "feel" to the proceedings.

How the world evolves and how we interpret it differently, mainly how one's perspective changes as one ages. Boogiepop Phantom is likewise rife with metaphors, with a figure or image denoting far more than meets the eye.

Boogiepop and Others was published in the Dengeki Book Collection in 1998 and became well-known after winning the Fourth Dengeki Novel Prize in 1997. In addition to changing the definition of young adult fiction in Japan, it is credited with popularizing light novels. Later, Ryu Kaneda turned it into a live-action movie, and Yuki Kajiura used it to inspire the soundtrack.

With a strong readership among men in high school and college, Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 1 received an overwhelming reception upon its publication. With over two million copies in circulation, the Boogiepop series was already a bestseller when the Boogiepop and Others movie was published.

Authors: Kouhei Kadono, Kouji Ogata
Year of publication: 1998
Status: Finished