Forum - View topicNow Streaming: Phantom - Requiem for the Phantom 1-26 (s)
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Otaking09
 Posts: 637 |
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I... couldn't agree more.
This ranks among one of my favorites of '09, with some of the best character byplay, depressed characters can muster. Aside from Ein and Zwei, my favorite character of the series(and probably a new addition to one of my favorite anime characters) is Cal. spoiler[While I loved her role as being a potential savior to Zwei, but as a normal person instead of being a likeminded assassin. Sure it got a little weird at times, but her doting, affection, and her caring was so moving I couldn't help but nod my head in appreciation. ...And that made it all the more painful when she transformed into Drei... I swear, I found myself hating this side of her so badly. Of course, I kinda figured that she still knew the circumstances, but wanted to live his life, if only for awhile, to be with him during her own end. Her whole story ranks among one of my favorite character developments in anime.] But Zwei's and Ein's bond was very well done too. The ending could've been subtly altered, but I overall give the series a 9/10 It reminds me of Elfen Lied, Texhnolyze, a little of Now and Then, Here and There, and, IMO, much much better than Black Lagoon's methods. Anyone who asks, I'll back this series up! But... I do have some misgivings too. Three things: 1.spoiler[What the heck is up with Cal's age??? How old was she before in order for her appearance to be that it was later on? It really bothered me, and kinda irked me over how she though of him before and after.] and 2. spoiler[How they hardly ever fleshed out Scythe Master's origins. I mean, half of the story's events were because of him!] and 3. spoiler[How the show was haphazardly divided into three(The 2nd OP didn't really do it for me...). It made the pacing uneven for a bit, and made it difficult to see where it would all go.]. Still, those are just minor nitpicks in the long run. The unique reasons behind the slow start, and Cal's story are enough to overshadow any weakness. Hopefully Carl or someone will review the other half soon(and do a much better job then this poor excuse of a review ). I do hope so... |
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Rime of the Ancient Otaku
 Posts: 124 |
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This show gets no respect.
At least it dodged the even better name of the earlier OVA series: Phantom -Phantom the Animation. Not to mention the name of the visual novel that started it all: Phantom -Phantom of Inferno... |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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Really? You consider spoiler[Cal miraculously growing twice her height and D-cup boobs in apparently two years] to be a "minor nitpick"? Or that somehow the idea that two assassins who have to be approaching twenty decided that spoiler[the best way to hide would be to enter high school in Japan]??? In these two plot elements the series shows its H-game roots, in that they serve no purpose other than to have another busty female character and put Erin in a schoolgirl uniform. Seriously, the second time skip at episode 19 just killed this series for me, in one fell swoop. It was so mind-bogglingly stupid after such a dark and brilliant run before that so far as I'm concerned it just ended with spoiler[Erin and Reiji] running off together. I spent the next episode or two banging my head against my desk from all the nonsense and idiocy, and gave up at that point. Quit before any of that happens, though, and it's a very good series. |
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eaglesdome810
 Posts: 60 |
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Good series gone bad...(Or maybe weird?) The Last 10 episodes or so was downhill compared to the previous episodes. - -"
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DragoZERO
 Posts: 4 |
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Oh man did I love this series. And the ending...oh the ending. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Where's the best place for a tree to hide? Not to mention that Zwei is Japanese it's not like the location of Japan is chosen at random. Going there was obviously a better choice than staying in the USA where Inferno's influence is at its maximum. |
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Hentai_JP
 Posts: 605 Location: Toronto, ON |
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@vashfanatic, man I can feel your pain. The spoiler[highschool] idea was retarded. Characters were way too old for it and the entire thing just felt random, like a pandering to high schoolers or fetishists. It dampens all the brilliance the series reached in second arc. Although it didn't kill the series for me it certainly left a bad aftertaste.
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Otaking09
Posts: 637 |
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I already mentioned that her "maturity"spoiler[drinking beer? WTF?] was somewhat iffy. But after some thinking it kinda came off asspoiler[being a symbol that, no matter how little or how good his intentions were, his time spent with Cal created what she became. Proof that a killer, who only knows how to kill, will create nothing but sorrow in their wake. I mean Cal's said in that abandoned tavern: "I destroy... I kill... I don't ever want to experience the opposite again." And broke down in tears....] Her final moments in the series revealed that spoiler[She never really wanted to kill as brutally as she did. All she wanted was to go into the same realm as her most important person, and share her doom with him. Something both know very well: Doom. It's the only way she could've found him as a kid, and the only way she'd be happy in the end...] Her rapid maturing was a reflection on how different a person one can get after killing. Not the best way to show it, but it had the most shock value! The "school-life" vibe was killed off pretty quickly. And, if anything, they just wanted to show how well they're fake lives have paid off. Again, it could've been modified, but the overall series was extremely well done. |
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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Get a job in Japan and live off the radar? Anything other than hanging out with people a lot younger than you at a government-administered institution? It's the high school part that is absurd, not the Japan part (though how Erin learned Japanese so quickly is another question altogether...). |
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Megiddo
Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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I'm not sure how you missed this, but Zwei is 15 when the story starts, and is 18 during that period.
Not sure about you, but my high school had 18 year old seniors. |
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3489 Location: Back stateside |
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How did I miss it? Because it's never stated, that's why. Unless you count character logs online, which shouldn't count in a narrative sense. I mean, charitably you always assume that anime characters are 15 (boy does that trope get tiresome), but still. And yes, I had 18-year old seniors, but not ones raised in another country speaking another language somehow acting convincingly 8 hours every day that they were not in fact assassins and had somehow always lived in our country and spoken our language and known our customs. And of course attending an institution under a national government ministry where one has to provide paperwork to prove identity etc. is a great way to hide from people who want to kill you! Way better than living quietly working full-time in an out-of-the-way town. It. Was. Stupid. |
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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Pretty good show. Phantom's final arc could have been better but I was rather pleased with the overall production.
In the end, I'd say at least it was still a massive improvement over the earlier OVA adaptation. Admittedly, I probably would have more objections to the issues mentioned if I hadn't played the game first (the official English translation which, if it makes any difference, is largely clean), so you could say I had a different set of expectations in mind and not those of the average viewer. |
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Ian K
 Posts: 250 |
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I found it too contrived, myself. The various plot twists didn't feel like natural reactions that real people would make in extreme circumstances, but poor attempts to justify whatever emotional response the creators wanted to evoke in the viewer. Or, in other words, they depended on the main characters acting like idiots.
spoiler[First we're supposed to believe that the main characters have no choice but to kill for their captors. They never even contemplate running away, even though they have plenty of chances (and we all know they're going to in the end anyway). Then after Ein 'dies', whe continues to work for Scythe Master, and is forced to kill him in the end after she runs away with Zwei, instead of doing what any reasonable person would do: kill the S.O.B. first, then find Zwei and run away, saving everyone a whole lot of grief. And lets not forget how Cal turns on Zwei in a jealous rage because he never checked the bomb site to make sure she was actually dead. Frankly, I can't tell you which of them is more cretinous.] And the surgery/sex scene was just disturbing. But on the other hand, there are a few nice fights, a really good soundtrack (that even if it's poorly implemented), and they rip off the Clint Eastwood film A Few Dollars More. So if you haven't seen it and have more tolerance for contrivance than I do, give it a shot. |
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nightjuan
Posts: 1473 |
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I can't entirely disagree, but I'd argue that brainwashing is a pretty big contributing factor there. Added to the fact that yes, sometimes people -let alone teenagers- can in fact be rather stupid. Curiously enough though, in some specific situations the anime actually improved upon the game and in others it was the other way around. |
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Ian K
Posts: 250 |
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Sure, and I tried to quell my thoughts of "What Would Jason Bourne Do?" and accept the show for what it was. However, every time I was beginning to connect with the characters the plot would take some belief-busting twist. In the end it broke me, and I only finished the series for completeness' sake. |
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