Hell is about to break loose in the criminal world. An organisation called
‘Inferno’ is behind the happenings. The great success of Inferno can be
attributed to one assassin: the innocent looking Phantom.
Our protagonist wakes up in a rundown, filthy room, having no recollection of
his past, save for one flashback in which he is running for his life. At this
point he does not suspect yet that he is about to fight for his life a second
time. Shortly Phantom makes her appearance, forcing him to face her if it is
his wish to live.
Having been chased through a number of corridors, he has no other choice but
to fight Phantom, in which fight his instinctive will to live gives him the
edge. Our hero, having defeated -and spared- Phantom, then goes on the
find out where he is located, only to discover that it is a desolate desert
warehouse.
He awakens for a second time, after he is shot with a tranquilising shot by
Phantom, only to be faced with the bitter truth: his life has been spared
because he demonstrated brilliant talent… at murder. He learns that he will
soon share Phantom’s fate, in that he will soon be subjected to brainwashing
through drugging and hypnosis. He is given two options: to die or to serve as
a pawn, a marionette doll.
Premise & Theme: Requiem for the Phantom
The premise of the story is decent. While it is true that anime or manga
revolving around assassins is not uncommon, successful and serious shows tend
to be. It is a good choice, and as it is obvious from the show, a good story
can be built upon this frame.
The reader could content that drugging and brainwashing is not an uncommon
theme either in entertainment, and without a doubt, this is the proper view.
It must not go unmentioned, however, that it can nevertheless be interesting.
The idea of brainwashing engages our sense of justice, and generally, the
anime is centred around a ‘life struggle’ theme, so it is easy to associate
with the characters’ hardships.
There is some noteworthy imagery and symbolism. The moment when Phantom shows
up, she is in a grotesque position, with her elbows raised and hands lowered,
undeniably a stance a marionette doll would take. To complement this
symbolism, she is wearing a mask, a white mask which makes her look like a
doll even more. Additional reference is made to dolls in verbal form.
Characters seem to have differing views as to whether our hero, recently
christened Zwei is a pawn or not? And similarly whether Phantom or Ein is a
pawn or not? This, I think, will be a most important fact for the message the
story carries. There is currently one thing I cannot seem to figure out: the
symbolism in the names. Ein and Zwei are still a mystery to me
Graphics and Animation: Requiem for the Phantom
The animation quality is decent. There are some moments when it looks a bit
odd, but it is unnoticeable unless paying attention deliberately. One example
would be when Zwei infiltrated the mansion. Still outside, but about to enter.
His figure in that moment looked somewhat unusual, and his movements as well.
Such examples are rare though.
The graphics are rather smooth, and the style employed is very likable too. I
have here one contention however: that the CGI used when the camera zooms out,
showing the surroundings of the warehouse where Zwei awakened, is unpleasant
and feels entirely out of place.
The characters are well designed too, both in terms of graphics and in terms
of ‘character’ in the abstract sense. But! Some of them are built using major
clichés. The very refined evil boss or the seemingly obedient but
simultaneously treacherous snake.
The characters are pretty western. An obvious exception is Zwei, who himself
notes after awakening that he is Japanese. The character design is very
pleasant, most characters wear interesting apparel that immediately identifies
them as very worldly persons, and a deduction can be made even before they say
anything, that they are related to the criminal world.
Audio: Requiem for the Phantom
The music is not so bad. Considering the often less than satisfactory quality
of lyrics and music in some anime openings, endings and themes, and the severe
deficit of originality, it can be said that Phantom has not much to worry
about in terms of music. But it must be said that the music is not
breathtaking either.
I personally listened to both the opening and ending one time, and that is the
number of time I will have listened to them when I finish watch Requiem for the Phantom.
Conclusion: Requiem for the Phantom
To sum things up, I think it is worth watching Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. It is an interesting show. The existence struggle that is the story,
is sufficiently obvious to engage most viewers. The show does not lack
violence and murder either.
The characters have the typical ‘cool’ criminal aura. Good animation and
acceptable music are present too. The characters, even though a bit too
obvious at times, are sufficiently complex. Nowhere near as complex as those
in Eden: It’s and endless world! for example, but sufficiently complex to
enable the plot not to advance too linearly (hopefully).
At the end of the day, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ seems to be a good
assassin themed show, but I failed to notice anything astonishing, overall
good yeah, but not astonishing. However I would like to refrain from passing
judgment too hastily, so this is only a preliminary rating, you never know,
the show may deliver an ending as unexpected as that of Saikano. I know, it is
unlikely, but hey!
If you have the time, I suggest you add Phantom to your watching list. So far
it has offered some very interesting scenes, and the show seems to have great
potential too. Go for it!
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom | |
| Genre | Action, Drama, Suspense |
|---|---|
| Episodes | 26 |
| Status | Finished Airing |
| Aired | Apr 3, 2009 to Sep 25, 2009 |
| Producers | Genco |
| Studio | Bee Train |
| Rating | R+ |
| Themes | Organized Crime |
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