List of Boogiepop Characters - Protagonists

Protagonists

Boogiepop (ブギーポップ, Bugīpoppu?)

• Voiced by: Kaori Shimizu (Japanese), Debora Rabbai, credited as Angora Deb (English) (Boogiepop Phantom)
• Japanese actor: Sayaka Yoshino (Boogiepop and Others)

While many female students at Shinyo Academy whisper of a shinigami, few people know that Boogiepop actually exists. He is the alter-ego of Touka Miyashita. Normally dormant, Boogiepop rises to the surface to fight the enemies of the world when they appear. Boogiepop's appearance and voice are ambiguous: they seem both masculine and feminine at the same time. However, hidden beneath his signature black cloak and black, pipe-shaped hat, little is ever seen of him. Straight-faced and to the point, Boogiepop acts as mechanical as he claims to be. Boogiepop speaks in an archaic manner and seems fond of whistling Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Boogiepop's name is explained in the series: "When I detect adversity approaching, I float to the surface. That's why I am Boogiepop – phantasmal, like bubbles."

The backstory, where Boogiepop first inhabits Miyashita as a child, is described in Boogiepop at Dawn. In Boogiepop and Others, Boogiepop holds vigil over Shinyo Academy. He establishes a meaningful friendship with Takeda Keiji, as they sat each day and spoke to each other, mainly about Boogiepop's nature, but also about personal topics from Takeda's life. After Manticore reveals itself and attacks Niitoki Kei, Boogiepop intervenes, using his microfilament wire so that Tanaka Shiro could finish it off. Manticore crosses Boogiepop's path again in Boogiepop Phantom in the form of his two residual aspects: Saotome Masami, who continues to be a direct threat, and Boogiepop Phantom, who seeks to protect highly evolved humans from the Towa Organisation. When strange incidents occur around Miyashita, Boogiepop tracks down Poom Poom and faces his creator, Kisaragi Manaka. Once Manaka loses her power, however, Boogiepop has no further interest in her death and protects her from Boogiepop Phantom. When Miyashita travels to Tokyo for her University entrance exam, Boogiepop arises and heads to Akihabara, where he corners and finally defeats Manticore. Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 1 sees Boogiepop investigating the possible return of Imaginator, another one of Boogiepop's recurring foes, while being the target of the Towa Organisation. Using Anou Shinjirou as bait, Boogiepop lures out Spooky E and attempts to kill him, but the synthetic human manages to escape.

Boogiepop keeps minimal contact with other people and as such there are few who know much about him. While the paths of Boogiepop and Nagi Kirima tend to cross, as they both seek to protect the world, they have had little interaction. Their relationship is not a close one either, with Kirima resenting the way Boogiepop comes and goes as it is convenient. In Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator, we learn about Boogiepop's previous battle with Imaginator. Boogiepop has little further interaction with other characters until he meets with Anou Shinjirou, his lead to Spooky E.

Touka Miyashita (宮下藤花, Miyashita Tōka?)

• Voiced by: Kaori Shimizu (Japanese), Debora Rabbai (English) (Boogiepop Phantom)
• Japanese actor: Sayaka Yoshino (Boogiepop and Others)

An ordinary, happy school girl at Shinyo Academy, Miyashita is in love with her boyfriend, Takeda Keiji, and close friends with Suema Kazuko. She finds it troublesome to deal with Niitoki Kei, partly because Niitoki has a crush on Takeda, but more so because Niitoki has met Boogiepop and as such knows both sides of the person. Not particularly good at school, she does not stand out in any way. Unknown to most, she was hospitalized as a child and this saw her life change, though even Miyashita herself does not seem to know the truth of what happened and was simply told that she had been possessed by a kitsune. Unknowingly, when the world is in trouble, she carries a Spalding sports bag containing the effects of Boogiepop, her alternate personality. She has no recollection of her time as Boogiepop and alters her memories to explain the blanks.

Nagi Kirima (霧間凪, Kirima Nagi?)

• Voiced by: Yu Asakawa (Japanese), Rachael Lillis (English) (Boogiepop Phantom)
• Japanese actor: Maya Kurosu (Boogiepop and Others)

Known as the Fire Witch to many, Kirima has few friends due the way she distances herself from others: she knows that she is too dangerous for "normal" people to associate with. She lives with her stepbrother, Taniguchi Masaki, though he is unaware of her actions or lifestyle. She has a messiah complex and seeks to save the world from whatever may threaten it. Having lost her father, the famous writer Seiichi Kirima, and her first love when she was quite young, she seemingly lives both their lives in place of her own. Gifted both physically and intellectually, she has the tools she needs to carry out her self-appointed mission. The Towa Organization has given her the code name "Walpurgis" Varupurugizu (ヴァルプルギス?).

Her backstory, where Kirima becomes a self-styled "hero of justice", is described in full detail in Boogiepop at Dawn. In Boogiepop and Others, Kirima's friend Naoko Kamikashiro requests her assistance with helping Echoes find Manticore and keep it from killing students at Shinyo Academy. Kirima agrees; she intentionally gets herself suspended from school, to gain the freedom to investigate. Following the trail of the drug, Type-S, Kirima comes to suspect that Manticore has taken the form of either Niitoki Kei, Saotome Masami or Tanaka Shiro. As Manticore attacks Echoes, Saotome slashes Kirima's throat, killing her. However, when Echoes turns into light to kill Manticore, he uses some of his power to resurrect Kirima. Kazuko Suema also attempts to draw close to Kirima during this time, despite her attempts to distance herself from everyone, which develops into an awkward friendship. In Boogiepop Phantom, she is investigating the aftermath of the "pillar of light" incident and the nature of the electromagnetic field around the city, seeking to stop the events that it causes. Her investigations reveal that Manticore is still alive, so she attempts to end matters with electromagnetic pulse blasts; Boogiepop Phantom intervenes to stop this plan. Her investigations ultimately lead her to Paisley Park, where Poom Poom and Manaka attempt to bring her to their side, but prove hostile when she resists. In the end, Boogiepop's intervention saves her. Even though they are both fighting for the same goals, Kirima dislikes Boogiepop.

Throughout her story, the main theme is how a childhood trauma can influence the growth of an individual. Nagi means "calm" or "lull". "After a storm comes a calm" is a Japanese proverb, which can also be translated as, "after a storm comes Nagi", referring to how she tends to resolve certain situations. The "kiri" in Kirima means "mist" and the "ma" means "space", "time" or "pause".

Kazuko Suema (末間和子, Suema Kazuko?)

• Voiced by: Kyo Nagasawa (Japanese), Anne Benkovitz (English) (Boogiepop Phantom)
• Japanese actor: Mami Shimizu (Boogiepop and Others)

Having once been marked as the next target of a serial killer, Suema develops an unusual interest and knowledge in criminal and abnormal psychology, as well as the desire to not let anything occur around her without her knowing. Suema struggles to find acceptance among her peers at Shinyo Academy. They look upon her as weird and exclude her, as a result of her unusual interests, though she is friends with Kinoshita Kyoko. In Boogiepop and Others, Suema first hears the rumours about Boogiepop, but dismisses them as fantasy, although she investigates a possible sighting of the shinigami. After seeing Nagi Kirima interrogate Kinoshita, Suema searches for Kirima's house and tries to learn what she can from her. She comes to learn that Kirima was involved with stopping the serial killer who had been stalking her, but was surprised to hear the claim that it was Boogiepop who saved her. Their relationship remains distant, despite Suema's efforts to change this. In Boogiepop Phantom, Suema meets Touka Miyashita for the first time and they quickly become close friends. She is relatively unaware of events as they unfold, and is entirely focused on studying for her University entrance exams with Miyashita. Suema appreciates how she is so unconditionally accepting of her and looks out for her friend. In Boogiepop Returns: VS Imaginator Part 1, we learn that Suema and Niitoki Kei are on friendly terms. Suema is approached by Kotoe Kinukawa, who seeks her help in regard to her relative, Jin Asukai. Suema investigates him and realises that something unusual is happening. After seeing a sketch of Suiko Minahoshi in Asukai's office, she goes to the place where Minahoshi had died, only to meet Aya Orihata for the first time and encourage her to take pleasure in life and fulfill her goals. Suema repeatedly just misses learning about what is really going on in the city. Throughout her story, the major theme is how a childhood trauma can influence the growth of an individual. Her backstory, where Suema was stalked by the serial killer, is described in full detail in Boogiepop at Dawn.