Review of Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is a great, slow paced anime that really focuses on strong character development in a fascinating setting. The story focuses on its 2 main characters, Ein and Zwei, who both have their memories erased and are trained to become deadly assassins for an underground mafia group called Inferno. Although the premise and the first episode may make the viewer believe that this is an action packed show, its actually extremely slow paced (not in a bad way) and focuses more on the characters than the story. Story: 8 The best part of the story is how dynamic it is.It is split into 3 arcs which are all completely, different from each other. The characters, mood and settings are all drastically different in each three arcs, which is the main strength of the story. However, the story of Phantom is not perfect. For instance, certain points in the story can become a little far fetched. But most of these occurrence happen in the first arc (which is also the worst out of the 3 in my opinion) so once you get past that the story really shines.

Art and Sound: 10
The background art in the show is very detailed and the character designs are great, not too over the top but still interesting. When there are actions scenes, there are animated very fluidly and excitingly. The sound is even better than the art. The voice acting is some of the best and the music is truly amazing. There are so many different tracks that can be heard in this anime so that it never gets repetitive. The music also fits the mood of the story perfectly at all times. Honestly, even though Bee-Train is known for their excellent soundtracks, they really outdid themselves with this series

Characters: 10
And now we get to the true strength of the series: the Characters. It is hard to describe the strengths of these characters without delving into spoilers, but seriously this show has some of the best character development I have ever seen. Specifically Zwei and Cal have some amazing character development that all really comes together at the climax of the show. Furthermore, this show has very interesting and well developed side characters. The best is the interaction between all these characters is wonderfully thought out and presented perfectly.

Enjoyment: 10
To me this series was a complete pleasure to watch. It is not for everybody though. As previously said it is very slow paced, which some people do not want to bother with. Another one of the most enjoyable aspects of this show is the themes it deals with; mainly regret and the effects of ones decisions. It deals with these themes subtly and maturely. And as said before, the characters are just so easy to fall in love with and become completely attached to. Be warned this show does have an extremely notorious Love it or Hate it ending, which I personally loved

Overall: 10
The characters and music more than make up for the shortcomings of the logic in this anime's story. I was really torn between giving this show a 9 or a 10 overall, but the problems it does have are not glaring flaws and the character development that comes from the problems in the story is more than worth it.