Subject: Manga Reviews: BoogiePop doesn't laugh | Author | Messages | Billy Aguiar
Posts: 84
 | Posted: 7/29/2006 1:26:48 PM | BoogiePop doesn’t laugh, vol. 1 & 2
Seven Seas
$10.99, b/w, 200 & 256, Both available now in Borders/Waldenbooks, Vol 1 everywhere Oct. 2006, Vol. 2 everywhere Jan 2007,
Story by Kouhei Kadono and Art by Kouji Ogata
Rated for Older Teens, 16+
Reviewed by Billy Aguiar
Three and half stars
Let me get this out of the way, BoogiePop doesn’t laugh is for adults. It has a couple scenes of violence and implied sexual violence, so it is intended for older teens. It is also one of the best examples of psychological horror that is out there. Sure, there are the elements of slasher killers and their inherent unstoppability, but a lot of the attention is focused on how the various characters/victims react to the situations, both currently and in the past. BoogiePop doesn’t laugh features multiple characters that take turns as the lead in various chapters, so nothing is guaranteed for any one of them. Some may live, some may die, some may learn and grow from the experience while others will stubbornly resist changing. Each individual story and character that tells that story have a specific viewpoint, and sometimes you see the same scene or set of events from the viewpoint of multiple characters, each time revealing more of the event. The various chapters build on each other, each one intersecting with their numbers, interacting non-linearly to create a three dimensional representation of the story event across story-telling time and space, going 5 years into the past and two years into the future. The story practically demands close reading to recognize the connections and build up the mental map you need in order to get a full view of the story.
It is more than just than slasher horror story, with emotional resonances and characters more flawed and more real than what is found in most manga. It is hard to read at times, and some retail stores, depending on their location, may want to, or already have, moved it out of reach of children.
Read it. I mean it. Sometimes manga seems overly philosophical and feels dense because of it. In this case, it is dense because of writing that encourages committing to the title and closely reading it. You will be rewarded for doing so.
As an aside, the book is slight wider than the normal manga book, to give it a little more of a landscape view of the pages.
This is a weekly manga review here on the CBG site, but don’t forgot to check out my other review site, Prospero’s Manga for more manga reviews.
www.gomanga.com
Vol 1. ISBN: 1-933164-18-2
Vol. 2 ISBN: 1-933164-21-2
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