Anime recommendation: Boogiepop Phantom

I don't normally go out of my way to recommend stuff, but this was such a low key release that I should encourage people to at least try it.

Boogiepop Phantom. It sounds weird, but the title's probably the most normal thing about the series. People liken in to Lain, which works for me on some levels, but it's really a whole different Sci-Fi beast entirely. Definately less "out there" than Lain was. Problem is, however I try to explain the story, I'll spoil it. Guess that means you have to try it.

Every episode is told from a different character's viewpoint, which makes things confusing as all hell at first, but I grew to appreciate it as the series went on. It's definately a series you need to watch twice to catch everything, so you can thank Right Stuf (company that localized it) for including a full commentary track to make the 2nd viewing even more revealing.

Animation is good, and the series is filmed differently to give it a dark, grainy look. The opening song is awesome, and the rest of the techo/electronica stuff fits perfectly.

So... uh... yeah. Try it. Sorry I can't explain more, but any spoiler-free description I give you would be pretty worthless...

Boogiepop Phantom is a great one. I have the VHS Boxed Set. I think it has some of the best character designs I've seen in an anime series, Toka Miyashita and Nagi Kirima being good examples. It's got a good creepy factor, too, and in some respects it's easier to understand than Lain (which is also great).