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REVIEW: Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom [Limited Edition] DVD 1




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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1327
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:02 am Reply with quote
The OP theme 'Karma' is hauntingly phenomenonal, but beyond that I don't think Phantom is so considerably different or even remarkable from Bee Train's past similar guns series, namely Noir and Madlax. The only change in pace is that this one has a man as the main protagonist. It was a fun show to watch once, though.
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Sanosuke_Inara



Joined: 23 Nov 2009
Posts: 1662
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:34 am Reply with quote
I heard this show was coming out on blu-ray sometime later on? I was gonna wait until then to get it, but only if it has a Limited Edition just like the DVD.
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iathomps



Joined: 08 Nov 2007
Posts: 68
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:19 am Reply with quote
Having played the game, the quote from wikipedia "the story can take either a dark action/drama path or can turn into a romantic drama depending on the choice of the player" is highly suspect.

The choices you make determine what girl you spend time with: Ein, Claudia, and later Cal. These then determine which plot-line the game follows, but no matter what you end up romantically with one of the girls.
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nightjuan



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 1473
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:50 pm Reply with quote
iathomps wrote:

The choices you make determine what girl you spend time with: Ein, Claudia, and later Cal. These then determine which plot-line the game follows, but no matter what you end up romantically with one of the girls.


Ironically enough, as someone who has also played the game I was about to make a slightly different point...in the sense that the dilemma presented by the review is at least partially false. The game is just about as dark as the show, for the most part, regardless of the greater or lesser presence of romance elements. After all, it's still a story about brainwashed assassins and their dealings with the criminal underworld. That isn't exactly a lighthearted subject to begin with. In fact, the anime's first story arc doesn't significantly diverge from what happens in the initial part of the game either.

As for what you've written above...the choices aren't quite so transparent though, since there are multiple endings -premature or otherwise- where the consequences of the protagonist's actions are definitely unintended or outright tragic. Some can show up before any sort of real romance has entered the picture. Even the "happiest" outcomes only come after a lot of death, pain and general suffering. Which is something that the anime doesn't exactly stray away from (one or two small but extremely important details aside...that don't apply to the episodes covered by this review).

All in all, the anime is a faithful adaptation of the game...with most additions or changes being for the better until we arrive at the later parts of the story.
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gwdone



Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 272
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:46 pm Reply with quote
I LOVED the series!!! There was one thing I couldn't figure out:
spoiler[The part about them coming back to life. ]
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Yuki_Kun45
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 26 May 2008
Posts: 725
Location: U.S.A.
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:53 pm Reply with quote
I've been told Noir was inspired by the original Phantom of Inferno game, so I guess it was fitting Bee Train was chosen for this series. I kind of hate to go and compare it to their GwG trilogy because they're pretty good packages on their own, but it's hard not too. This series was far higher in production values (a lot from me having enjoyed all three of the GwG installments, yeah I said I liked ALL THREE) but got to agree with the reviewer, uneven pacing and not one but TWO Recaps really hurt my overall score on this. Good series with two great themes (Being Karma and Transparent, the Ali Project songs, meh....) Hikaru Nanase's score is also fantastic.
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Prede



Joined: 17 Sep 2009
Posts: 388
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:33 pm Reply with quote
I loved this review. Pretty much agree with most of what you say Bamboo, only I liked it even more then you did. Yes the pacing is a little odd, I agree, but it makes things that happen even more unexpected. You think any big twists won't be coming for a few more episodes then they throw a curve like that. Completely putting anything and everything back on the table. Your not sure WHERE the show's going to go now.

Anyway it's a very suspenseful, dark, and addictive show. And yeah I too loved how they didn't feel the need to shoehorn comedy into the show. I love a show that can take it's self dead serious, and expect me to do the same. I'm so tied of the show tossing is some bad comedy relief just because it feels it has to. it ruins the mode.

I just loved nearly everything about Phantom. But I gotta hate on those two recap episodes. You can't even skip them, because they both have like 2 minutes of new content in them. Ugh.

Miss reading your reviews Bamboo.
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