Review of Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom

Phantom Requiem Review I don’t normally put spoiler warnings at the beginning of my reviews. I don’t normally believe what I am saying could have that detrimental of an effect on viewing, but for Phantom Requiem…it’s important you watch this show blindly. Anyway, spoilers ahead. I’d like to start out by saying that this show is an absolute masterpiece in its design, just a little flawed in its execution (thus why I gave it an 8/10). Each episode comes at you like a freight train of experiences. What’s even better is they all feel unique in their own way. Even though I’m not particularly fond ofdreary plots or conclusions that end with the death(s) of the main characters, Phantom for certain makes it work. More than anything, I appreciated the deeper meaning behind the scenes. It might be too simplistic to leave it at “Revenge begets Revenge” or “All debts must be paid”, yet it still works to describe it as such. I formed an opinion on all of the characters, and even grew an appreciation for some in particular. So much so, I had hoped for a happy ending. Whether you believe it ended happily is relative for certain, but it was nearly gut wrenching watching each of the 3 arcs endings (the arcs being the Ein/Swei, Swei/Cal, and Ein/Swei/Cal arcs). Sad events can either make or break a show for me, and in most cases break it for me due to the feeling the writers didn’t care about the character to begin with. You don’t get that type of feeling from Phantom though. Each of the main characters feel like they were perfectly crafted with intention, perhaps all for one climax that Master Scythe insists on foreshadowing throughout the series. Even though in most cases, I was annoyed with a particular characters choices, I inevitably began to understand them and their reasoning better. And if for some reason I couldn’t empathize with them, I still sympathized with their situation most of the time.

Before I give you my opinion on the specifics of characters, plot, ending, or anything else, one aspect of this show was truly worth celebrating above the others…which is the sound. Only with three other anime was I as satisfied with the sound design as I was with Phantom (Devils Line, Your Lie in April, and Reincarnated as a Slime were the others…if you were curious). Even though you can tell certain songs were reused frequently, they were used so expertly that it touched my soul every time I’d hear it easing in. It almost felt like I was at a live theatre listening to experts play any and every emotion the scene was trying to convey. What made each song more unique was its intention to match a characters personality, like a theme song of sorts. With every new environment came a new way to perceive the song that you probably heard 10 times before. The sweet melodies from a soft opera like voice or a beautiful violin made me feel so much emotion. One last thing on sound, I just wanted to give recognition to the designers ability to make every object feel real (weapons sounded like their real counterparts for example). Sound is without a doubt a 10 in my book

Now regarding the story. I can safely say, I had no idea how they planned on ending this show as I watched, nor did I even see the next episode coming. That’s not to say the plot or the ending was completely unpredictable, but they do a great job of subverting your expectations. This story starts out like any generic assassin movie, like Kill Bill. You assume it’s a tale of revenge, and you’d be partially right, but, with how much depth and character they provide, it’s too shallow to leave it at a revenge story. I can only describe Phantom as more of a Play/Opera in anime form.

Now with all the good being said, seeing our main characters Ein and Swei meet such a tragic fate truly broke my heart. From what I’ve heard from others, it seems Ein made the executive decision to kill both Swei and herself, Swei with a silence pistol, and herself with a poison flower. I personally was hoping for the happy ending route: Ein and Swei go back to Japan to live out the rest of their days in peace…after all, that’s what they deserve for being forced into such a miserable situation. Though I feel this way, the truth isn’t quite so lovely or factual. The fact is, both main characters are killers with a lot of blood on their hands. Even if they were forced into their situation to survive, they did ultimately pull the trigger, so to speak. It’s the dilemma of wanting to move on while maintaining an unbearable burden. You want to live a normal life, but scorched earth can never bear fruit. It’s unfortunate really, because it’s easy to feel sorry for Ein and Swei. Then again, I would not be so easy to forgive had they murdered a family member of mine.

Ultimately, their ending was poetic and karmic in the truest sense. The burden Swei had on his soul from the purification of Cal, and the daunting hopelessness Ein could never get past, both could never truly be free from regret and misery. In Ein’s case, the only dream she had was fulfilled, so what’s the point in living if all your hopes rest on someone else’s dreams (Swei’s happiness). As for Swei, knowing the life he cultivated for Cal, then ultimately abandoned, only to end it swiftly…that’s a regret that can never be mended. Cal’s story might be the most tragic of all, and I believe that’s why the writers waited to tell it until the end. Cal knew true pain and suffering as a child. She grew up not knowing basic comforts. And as soon as something good came into her life, it was abruptly taken away. To me, it was unfair of her to put that painful burden on Swei, but he was a catalyst for much of her continued suffering. That being said, who knows where she would’ve been otherwise, and what kind of seedy caretaker she might have had… I suppose Scythe Master is as bad as they can get though. Either way, there’s always someone who has it worse, but your pain is uniquely yours. Honestly, there was only one way this series could’ve ended and it feel resolved in such a unique and poetic manner. Had one thing happened differently, there would be no meaning in it all. After all good cannot exist without evil.

The key plot point is the growth of Ein and Swei, and what they learn along their journey. You see multiple trial and errors to happiness, which end in misery every time. Swei attempts to take Ein from her life with Master, but it fails. Swei attempts to move on with Drei/Cal…but it fails. Ein attempts to live peacefully with Swei in her past, but, poetically, her scars refuse to let her forget and it fails. And finally, Ein and Swei attempt to finally live their life together, yet so quickly and seamlessly their trail of endless rotting corpses catches up with them…and it fails. Most heartbreaking of all the scenes was Swei’s vision of what could’ve been for him and Cal, just simply driving in a car… laughing and being with one another. Swei said it best, just one mistake changed, and ruined, everything.

I suppose, since this is an older anime, there shouldn’t be too many expectations on the design. That being said, the artists and designers were able to convey their message beautifully even if the appearance felt sub par…again that’s not their fault considering when it was made. We have the luxury of quality anime design, and it’s easy to take that for granted. That’s why I’m that much more impressed with the execution, figuratively speaking.

As good as this anime was, it doesn’t score a perfect 10 for me for a couple reasons. I suppose this is unfair, but the unfortunate truth is the art style doesn’t hold up as time goes on. There are other shows and movies with a vintage look that still look great to this day, Kite is a prime example. On top of this though, the story has a few plot holes and their are a few unresolved issues. One major one is with the innocent Mio, I hate to think about how long she’ll wait for Swei to return to Japan and I wish she could’ve had a hopeful ending at the very least. I’d also like to point out how much if a stretch it is for Cal to go from a sweet girl to a bloodthirsty killer, all because Swei thought she was dead. I’ve chosen to accept her actions and reasoning for story sake, but I feel her execution might have had more meaning if she had more of a purpose for killing. It all just felt abrupt. There had to be an end, but a lot of it just felt rushed. Some of the story could’ve been sacrificed to avoid this, but at least I enjoyed the story regardless of how we got there.

This show’s plot is a lesson disguised as a story. We the viewer see suffering and despair, and hope for the best, yet the characters ultimately have made their decisions and are forced to live with them. So much could’ve been avoided had one thing had just gone differently. Had Scythe Master not adopted Ein, she probably would have had a much better life. And had she not been adopted, Swei wouldn’t have seen her murder someone. Had he not seen that, he wouldn’t have become an assassin. Had none of these pieces not been in place, Cal could have continued living with her previous caretaker. Had Swei looked longer for Cal, maybe they all could’ve had a happy life together in Japan. The fact is karma exists in its own way, and the choices we make matter. This is a bloody action packed anime, with danger and uncertainty through every episode. It’s also a touching tale of tragedy and despair where every decision mattered and we see the consequences of those choices. The music, plot, and characters all culminate into such a beautiful and tragic tale that I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to witness. If there’s one thing I take away from this, it’s that things don’t, and won’t, go how we plan, but we can always rely on fate and justice to serve its purpose. With that comes a new appreciation for the things we take for granted and an appreciation for the power we hold in the little actions we take. Take no one for granted, live as if you don’t have much time left, try to see the good in things, avoid corrupting your soul with petty concepts like revenge, and, finally, keep going no matter what the circumstance. Fate is what fate is, and our ending will ultimately be the culmination of both our life experiences and choices…so take the best path you can and appreciate the journey for what it is.