Review of Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom

Killers don't deserve a happy ending. I've come to discover I love media about hitmen. The psychology of those who take lives, and the context that led to that. This one's about what looks like an adult, but it's no more than a teenager. 16-year-old, brainwashed protagonist, Zwei (two) who knows nothing about anything. An underground man manages to place him with a previous victim, and trained hitmen, Ein (One), to train him so both become the greatest assassins on planet earth. It's a twisting story about what it means to search for meaning, when it's been snatched from you. I absolutely adore how thestory COMPLETELY deglamorizes killing as something cool, or badass. Every other story I've seen, even slightly, glamorizes how easy it is to kill people for these characters. Whether washed hitmen, comedic hitmen, reforming hitmen. Death was a tool, and for as tragic as it could be, killing is made to be action packed.

Killing here is simply a setup. Conditions are met, the shot is there, they take the shot. Done. No cool clothes, the characters scout for cameras, for a place to shoot from, and killing is basically a job at some point, but not one they enjoy. Not overly disgusting, not overly enjoyable, but a piece of the world they live in. Even the fight scenes are short, and not filled with cool moves. You deflect a knife, you kill with the knife, that's it.

The main character kills to live, and as his mental sanity slowly plummets, he finds purpose on each person who tries to love him, only to constantly lose everything. The story is all about that loss, about the constant sadness, and tragedy of not deserving a happy ending. Having a choice to stop, he always tried to do what's best for those he loved, and continued, perpetuating everything around him to continue. A chess piece that attempts to play the game as a third player, but he couldn't ever escape it.

There's another story that asked the same question here, “Barry”. Is our protagonist a good person?

Are killers capable of self-redemption? This show goes the LONG way. The first act being first class in maximum quality for character psychology, villains. The constant schemes of the underground world, and the development of how a hitman should be. Acting classes, the mental contradictions, confronting reality, confronting your crimes and the reasons you commit such crimes.

The ending felt incredibly realistic, and the characters were wrapped perfectly. I love the message, the platonic relationships, and how the series doesn't take the immature way out. Love isn't the answer to these things. Brotherhood, fatherhood, and the caring of the people you wish to see live. I adore seeing a series that doesn't just tell you “oh, they fell in love and this is why they deserve happiness”.

9/10. It's such a great series. Not perfect due to some terrible blocking in some scenes that were pretty important. I get the intent, but there's way better ways to communicate those moments. Otherwise, amazing.