If you thought the last collection of Boogiepop Phantom tales was creepy, wait until you sit down with this one. The gloves are off, my friend, and evolution three isn't even in the same area code as creepy. What we have here is the underside of the rug we've walked on in earlier episodes. Sure, there have been glimmerings of the crazy stuff happening since the flash of light, rumblings of events in present and past that coincide with not only a larger population of freaks but the B.P. herself. But now, isolated instances of strange are turned over to in-depth looks at some of the most tragic victims of the changes in the city. To offset the horrors, we have Nagi Kirima coming to the fore. Her strength, and the fact that she represents (read: stands in for) the familiar ass-kicking anime heroine/mech/ninja helps to reel in some of the bitter taste these episodes stir up, but she seems fairly powerless (and somewhat ineffectual, but there's a yet-to-be-disclosed reason for this) against the darkness. This isn't intended to be a 'wins the day' experience, so we watch dismayed and saddened as truly innocent victims fall in the path of whatever force was unleashed that night the bright light appeared.

until ure in my arms again is a terrible story of dependence and dangerous love. It forms the basis for an understanding of a key character later in this collection and the series, speaking to the loneliness and alienation children can feel and the twisted results of letting raw, destructive power fuel that emotional fire. she's so unusual finally spends an entire episode exploring Nagi Kirima. We find that unlike vapid anime heroines who can't decide whether to shoot or strip and usually end up doing both frequently, Nagi is full of substance and doesn't show off more than courage and intense conviction about the need to do something in the face of a situation gone wrong. She is strong but not superhuman (we think) and her father's poetic words may have inspired Nagi's strange sidekick, a freelance writer who wants to understand Nagi and her place in the mystery. Is there anything mysterious about Nagi, or is she just a counterweight in the balance of good and evil? you'll never be young twice carries through themes introduced in the first episode, taking the longing and desires of a child to more terrible conclusions. Could Boogiepop Phantom be about nothing more than the primal connection we have as children to something innocent and at the same time horrible? The double-edged sword of childhood is that we approach it as adults thinking it was a pure and clean state of being, but know we can't really go back without cutting off our current selves. What would happen if the child and adult could part ways? Would we be better off as adults without childish longings? Could we experience the innocence of childhood and return to adult life? Or, might we choose not to return?

These aren't just posed as open-ended questions in this, the third Boogiepop Phantom collection. Each idea is viscerally explored, the general narrative pitch being heavy and deliberate. We're smoldering toward some sort of conclusion, but plot lines are closed so subtly that it probably won't be clear until you've watched the entire series in one sitting. Whatever the outcome or explanation (I'm sure there are several) one thing is sure. Events seem to be winding down as disparate elements from previous episodes meet and join paths. Don't miss the finale.