Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom [Complete Series] – Review

The series follows a Japanese student who wakes up in America with no memory, he is immediately confronted by a masked girl who forces him to fight, he wins but does not kill her. She says that she is called Ein and from henceforth he is known as Zwei, she proceeds to train him as an assassin and he is eventually given missions along side her by a sinister character known as Scythe Master who works for a criminal organisation called Inferno. At first there targets are members of the local Mafia but it becomes clear just how far Inferno will go when Zwei is sent to kill the wife and child of a Mafia boss. Over the course of the series we learn that Inferno is full of internal rivalries that will lead to factional in fighting and pit Ein and Zwei against each other. Later in the series Zwei learns who he really is and ends up acting as big brother to Cal, a little girl who’s sister was killed in the crossfire.

This anime series covers 26 episodes and presents itself through three main arcs with some lapses of time occurring between the arcs. If you’re expecting some kind of fan service treat like with series Sekirei and Ikki Toussen than you will be disappointed, also on that note this series is pretty hardcore nothing to gory but definitely not for young kids. This first mission consists of the dynamic duo breaking into a drug lord’s mansion, which heavily references the final battle in Scarface. There’s even the globe above the fountain (“the world is yours”), albeit a hologram instead of a physical sculpture. Twists and turns in a world where the main character is on a quest of identity, self, love, strength, and just about a dozen other things. All the characters feel real and it was just a series that I really enjoyed.

The voice cast for both the English and Japanese actors/actresses did great in their character roles bringing out the emotional scenes very well. The ending, as anime sometimes does, isn’t FULLY a true ending which leaves it open for a possible continuation. I tend to refer to this anime as the modern setting of the anime Claymore. There is not connection between those two anime but I feel like the are on par quality wise but this series isn’t as mystical and is better off in the area of plot.

Now that I have explained what the plot is like, if you are still wondering if this anime series is for you, ultimately Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is worth renting if you’re interested in the concept. There’s an astonishing amount of plot in Requiem; I’ve barely described half the story in the above synopsis, and I’m still leaving out a lot of details, most of them interchangeable things about how Inferno takes over the underworld by shooting everyone who doesn’t toe the line. While the animation is generally good there are a few occasions where things seem to slip resulting in characters looking very rough and over simplified. The series has a lot of potential but it seems to squander it in odd places, and the entire arc with Cal ending in a big explosion isn’t a surprise either, but it leads to one of the more confusing elements of Phantom, which is the final arc of it all. Ending flops aside, I would say this would be a worthy addition to your collection.

• Picture Dramas (HD; 1:17:33) recounts some of the same material as the series covers, as well as new stories featuring the characters, in minimally animated shorts. Most of these feature still panels that the camera pans across, with occasional added elements like blinking stars and the like. There are twelve of these shorts included in this section.
• Original Commercials (1080i; 4:08)
• Textless Opening Song – Karma (HD; 1:32)
• Textless Opening Song – Senritsu No Kodomotachi (HD; 1:32)
• Textless Closing Song – Jigoku No Mon (HD; 1:32)
• Textless Closing Song – Transparent (HD; 1:32)
• Trailers for other FUNimation Releases