Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ Episode 26 Ending Explanation (By: OriginANIME)

Nov 12, 2014 3:25 PM

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Nov 2014

1

Ehmm.. sorry but geraniums are not poisonous and i know..Do you grow azaleas? rhododendrons? ivy? daffodils? daphne? they are all poisonous. Please recontact your source. Becouse just geraniums are not poisonous, Pelargonium spp. IS toxic to cats and dogs(not even deadly though) but not in any way for humans. No offense but geraniums do NOT kill. i doubt ur source even know what he/she is talking about. Also Geraniums (Pelargonium spp.) been officially listed as a non-toxic houseplant and geraniums were voted the herb of the year in 2006. They are utilized for teas cakes and more. Considering your post is from years ago i am very suprised no one else mentioned it.

Anyway.. that aside i really liked the anime it was just very sad ending :( somewhere i hoped it would be happy ending while knowing it wouldn't be :( they deserve better!!

TarikYildirimNov 13, 2014 8:39 AM

Nov 29, 2014 5:40 PM

#102

Ra

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Jul 2014

329

Excellent explanation. One of the greatest endings to a show ever~

Jan 24, 2015 3:29 PM

#103

ultramegapotato

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Jan 2015

1

Great explanation. This anime flew right to my top 10, good to see more people liking it. Even though it lacks at logic sometimes (the fights mostly and the slow animation , or the poisoning flower) but still awesome and deep anime. Especialy the symbols and hints in there

But imma voice my opinion about the ending too :D
I think they are both there at the same time, he gets shot, fall down, she turns around smiling and then the songs starts playing with her fading away. I think it means as he died, the picture of the Elen smiling was the last thing he saw, and the fading means both of them dying (his last look at Elen fading and Elen dying from the posion). I see it like that cuz they kept the time consistent up till the end so i dont tink they would simply start jumping around at the end, also Elen's only reason to live was Reiji and same for him, they wouldnt get separated, also they went there together, there was both of their stuff there and at the end it went from the bullet to the flower (2 things that killed them) right one after the other).

But i loved this, might seem wierd but it was like a happy ending. They would have to spend they lives running ,but like this they both died peacefully, both of them found what they wanted to and left together. Atleast this part was realistic, as they would have to spend their life on the run, they wouldnt be able to settle down, they didnt know anything besides killing and they already lost a lot and they were pretty much destroyed, the only thing holding them together was each other. Well great anime , is there anything similiar to this? A really deep,twisted and dark story? (except for darker then black :D )

Feb 11, 2015 8:16 PM

#104

inn0centdem0n

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Nov 2007

1766

I liked the explanation. Thankyouuu. ;)

But I would like to stick with the ending that I thought of. And that's what we saw. They died at the same time. Ughh. Tragic and Beautiful.

Eren said how many times that he cant live without reiji. Memories aside, she really cant. Gyaaaa. I dont want to think about it anymore.

Happy that they were able to free themselves from their dream though. 9/10 for me.
It could be 10/10 if they just showed romance even just the end. *sigh!*
Oh well. Still great it is. <3

Feb 16, 2015 10:58 PM

#105

Chikamtsu

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Jun 2014

111

Thanks for this explanation, though i wish that you could explain why you did not believe the theory of Elen killing Reiji.

ChikamtsuFeb 18, 2015 10:47 AM

[color=#1a2847]Anime List - [/color][color=#1a2847]Projects - [/color][color=#1a2847]SoundCloud - [/color]Youtube

Mar 24, 2015 2:25 PM

#106

DoctorWasabi

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Jan 2014

3665

He accepts his fate and dies, and she commits suicide, GOD DAMN IT WHY. EVERY ONE DIED IN THIS ANIME. EVERY ONE :( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sep 30, 2015 12:05 PM

#107

FalconAnime2

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Sep 2015

2

I've never heard of this anime first time watching. So far so good then all that has happened i cried from bits to pieces knowing this or this happened so unpredictable overall the will that drove both them were each other and with the sin weighing them down he was waiting for that moment kejini was then killed but he forfilled her wish and they died happily ever after

-Mike

Nov 20, 2015 7:20 AM

#108

RealExtinction

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Nov 2009

116

Epic explanation and theory, thank you for it.

Even though I personally thought the series went downhill after episode 15, it held its grown towards the end and I can see why so many people would love it. The ending wasn't all that satisfying, but it was kinda obvious at one point...and the best possible ending to this series, admittedly.

Sleep tight, Phantoms.

Feb 7, 2016 5:50 AM

#109

desertkona

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Sep 2013

427

Thanks for the amazing post, you got an another possibility ending too GGWP

Mar 2, 2016 10:22 AM

#110

Zelouch

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Dec 2010

25

Great job w/ this thread, just what I was looking for. I just finished this series and was blown away, but like many others had a hugeeee WTF moment at the end. Not neccasarily in a bad way but a wtf moment none the less.

Shame I don't see more love for Gen Urobuchi's first wkrm. Definitely started off with a bang.

Edit; Danny I just read your previous post and I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's hard to counter most of what you've said.

ZelouchMar 2, 2016 10:34 AM

Good night Haise.

Tokyo Goul Tumblr.

Main Tumblr.

Mar 5, 2016 5:42 PM

#111

animefan7

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Mar 2016

1

Really love the discussion and opinions out there about this. I think art that is truly moving inspires conversation and debate, so this is a testament to the strength of this story. Just finished the series myself and I really enjoyed it. Haven't' blasted through an anime that quickly in some time. As for the ending, I watched it a number of times and thought about it from many perspectives (including those on this site and others). I finally came to a conclusion of my own that I haven't seen elsewhere and it seems to fit for me. Ill try and detail it briefly:

I actually believe that both Reiji and Elen are alive at the end of the series after a long journey to find a new life. Mio herself wishes Reiji a "safe trip," which I thought was a strange translation but makes sense when considering that they are attempting to embark on a new life. However, as has been tried a few times throughout the series, they are unable to truly live a new life as they are haunted by the ghosts (phantoms) of their past. The illusion of happiness is referenced throughout the show. With Reiji and Elen as they pretend to be a couple, later with Reiji and Cal, and again with Reiji and Elen at school. It became clear to Reiji when he was with Cal that he would have to give up a piece of himself to truly be with her. He noted that he would "go to your side" in order to do this but was unable to fulfill this promise before her supposed death. As such, he continued living in conflict, unable to free himself from his phantom. Elen too spoke about having to give up a part of herself in order to exist as the phantom and stated that she had nothing else to move towards that would allow her to live free. Both Reiji and Elen seemed convinced that finding their way back to some normal life was impossible as they had become something else.

Yet, on the final scenes, Elen states that they do not have to journey anymore, they have reached the end of their travels as she has finally found peace. Her memories did not return, but she has finally found happiness in the memories she created with Reiji and their time together. As Reiji considers this, he find a new purpose for his life - continuing to cultivate Elen's happiness. At this point, at the height of his conviction and resolve, the horse and carriage arrive and we hear the shot. I think this was meant to be wholly symbolic. Even the imagery seems to suggest this as horse and carriage can be seen as a symbol; the journey of the spirit as it travels to the next world. Something has passed on at this point. The next scene, Reiji's face has transformed to a softer tone, free of conflict. Throughout the series there is talk of his face and his ability to fake his feelings. Also, the imagery of masks I think adds to this. This final scene of Reiji's face, I believe, is his true persona, free from the phantom, which was killed by the metaphorical gunshot. The conflict within him is resolved and he has found a purpose that will allow him to live an authentic life. We see Reiji's silhouette (his shadow, or phantom self) fall and all that remains is the light (I believe there was even a reference to light and darkness in the later episodes - maybe Mio's mom talking about her husband?). Again, I believe this is symbolic, referencing the death of the phantom and the darkness within. This is why I think Elen smiles when she turns. She is looking at a different Reiji. And she herself has found something as a result of their time together. She no longer needs her memories but has found contentment in the time they have spent together. I do not believe she would have killed herself as it would make no sense after just indicating that she had found a reason to live. Instead, the final scene, Elen lying in the fields, I believe is the remains of her own phantom that she is now free from.

In summary, my contention is that Reiji and Elen are alive and were able to free themselves from the phantoms that bound them. In a sense, there was a death at the end, but this was metaphorical or spiritual in nature rather than literal. The flower, missing a petal, similarly seems to suggest that a piece of the whole has been removed and yet the flower lives. The shell casing, all that's left behind from their previous lives. From this perspective, the ending is actually quite happy and hopeful in it's beauty.

Others may not agree with this but I would love to hear opinions.

animefan7Mar 6, 2016 7:55 AM

Apr 3, 2016 10:58 PM

#112

Hango-Man

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Jul 2015

117

I do think that if this is what really happened there, it should have been made more clear to the viewers. As it stands, we have no reason to believe that it was Inferno, or at least that Inferno ordered the attack, nor do I personally understand why whoever it was would kill Reiji and not Elen.

But that aside, I would accept this if it is the ending, but it really could have been better if it was made more clear.

All hail Lelouch!

May 17, 2016 12:50 AM

#113

WordsofSyrup

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Feb 2013

19

I hadn't thought about her returning to that place and that her death and his death could have taken place at different times. That was a pretty good explanation. Also the observation about the flowers is interesting to think about. That little detail seems like something the writers could have added to open up that scene to different modes of interpretation.

May 31, 2016 4:45 PM

#114

WhyAnimeSoCringe

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Dec 2012

19

Really love the ending.

I wish they do more, I was amazed when they changing there op/ed and it had only 6 Eps left.

if this were 50 eps they can even go mastrapicez.

When you didn't get any attack on titan spoilers and watch SS2-EP6 ↓
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzwzpir1WJXeNU5iVy0tWkhHb0U/view
(Broken ass link.. Just check out junkputty SS2-EP6 reaction.)

Jun 25, 2016 1:53 PM

#115

EYM12

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Sep 2015

3

i would rate this 10 out of friking 10 XD i just freaking loved it; despite being rather deep if you think about it... this anime left me feeling empty and "WTF HE DIED NOOOOOOO WHYY OMG WTF ELEN DIED TOO WHYYY XI" just bliming loooved it.

Jul 11, 2016 12:41 PM

#116

parth4992

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Apr 2012

2

There are so many theories on the ending here, I was happy to read those.
Personally I feel the flowers symoblize the Elen and Reiji themselves how elen deeply cars about one flower that represents reiji

and the flower with missing petal represents Elen refering to the past memories that she never recovers but still has blossomed

Dec 8, 2016 9:17 AM

#117

TheAskald

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Aug 2015

318

Thanks for this great explanation.

It totally makes sense for me.
Even if this kind of flower isn't THAT toxic for humans from what I heard, I guess it was a mistake from the Studio.

Elen said several times that she couldn't live without Reiji, so she clearly commited suicide.

Maybe the flower was just a metaphor, and the bullet casing at the very last image of the anime shows that she shot herself.

Jan 4, 2017 8:20 PM

#118

ChibiWolf224

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May 2016

5

Thanks for clearing up that ending for me it was pretty confusing XD

Jan 6, 2017 10:30 AM

#119

Debasky

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Apr 2015

393

Just end the anime, ANd here I am. There's no way I can sleep tonight.

4th times getting signature banned wtf

Jan 22, 2017 7:18 AM

#120

shruGG_CSGO

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Dec 2016

1

Your theory is correct, go past the ending and you can see Elen lying down smiling, and it shows a missing pedal from the poisonous flower

May 4, 2017 7:15 PM

#121

Monkeyspunky

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Mar 2017

2

In the final episode, Eren and Reiji battle against the Scythe Master's assassins. Techniques shown from the first arc where Eren was training Reiji come into play when she fights against Scythe Master's phantoms and eventually defeats them. Reiji overcomes his enemies with the help of Cal's pocket watch. Eren finally gets the courage to kill Scythe Master and Eren and Reiji escape from Japan. McGwire gets the message that Scythe Master and Drei lost and with so much evidence left Inferno will eventually be finished but has one final task before that happens that is to kill Reiji. Reiji and Eren set out to find her past and end up in Mongolia as hinted in the travel brochure throughout the series. However, when they finally reach their destination in a field of Oxytropis flowers, an unidentified assassin kills Reiji with a silenced gun, and he collapses silently to the ground. Ein then appears to commit suicide by eating a leaf of the poisonous flower. It is hinted in the leadup to his death that Reiji saw his end coming, and accepted it, having considered his final task complete. 😏

May 4, 2017 7:17 PM

#122

Monkeyspunky

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Mar 2017

2

In the final episode, Eren and Reiji battle against the Scythe Master's assassins. Techniques shown from the first arc where Eren was training Reiji come into play when she fights against Scythe Master's phantoms and eventually defeats them. Reiji overcomes his enemies with the help of Cal's pocket watch. Eren finally gets the courage to kill Scythe Master and Eren and Reiji escape from Japan. McGwire gets the message that Scythe Master and Drei lost and with so much evidence left Inferno will eventually be finished but has one final task before that happens that is to kill Reiji. Reiji and Eren set out to find her past and end up in Mongolia as hinted in the travel brochure throughout the series. However, when they finally reach their destination in a field of Oxytropis flowers, an unidentified assassin kills Reiji with a silenced gun, and he collapses silently to the ground. Ein then appears to commit suicide by eating a leaf of the poisonous flower. It is hinted in the leadup to his death that Reiji saw his end coming, and accepted it, having considered his final task complete.

May 6, 2017 4:22 PM

#123

zefuro

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May 2017

1

so you are saying that they were in different timeline. Then where did reiji go when ein was staring at the sky, why were the wearing the clothes the whole time, why didn't eins hair grow and why the hell is the guy who shot reiji was in the background when ein was picking the flowers. plus reiji and ein were shot many times and they survived...so that could be an excuse for season 2 right? and we didnt even see the last of inferno yet, so there is no way it would end here :D

Jul 13, 2017 11:41 PM

#124

anaskye

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Jan 2016

1

This is a great explanation. The only problem with this is..... geraniums are not poisonous to humans. So what really happened seems to remain a mystery.

Jul 20, 2017 4:39 PM

#125

FinalSquall

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May 2017

23

I have mixed feelings about this ending

I thought at first Zwei shot himself, however it would make no sense for him to do so as he KNOWS that Ein basically lives for him (he is all she has) and therefore that his death would make struggle to live on, however the way he is speaking before the shot is fired makes you wonder, he sounded like he felt like he had done his job and was ready for his "requiem", but I concluded this was too stupid and that he must have been murdered.
Honestly the "nicest" conclusion I can draw from the evidence is that Ein and Zwei had agreed that this was their last day, and Ein shot Zwei before eating the plants to kill herself (yea, those plants probably wouldnt kill her, but lets face it you also dont get shot like Ein and Zwei did, fall in the ocean and survive, or dodge bullets either lol).

As an aside;

If I am honest I was not over keen on episode 20-26, I thought that, given Cal didnt get her memories erased etc, how she was acting was a bit ridiculous and would never happen, I get that she had a hard life and probably had her mind twisted a bit in those 2 years by Scythe, however I thought it was a bit ridiculous in the end.

Another gripe I had was that there was a good 3+ episodes worth of footage we had already seen (flashbacks), why not use that time to A. Explain how the heck Ein and Zwei survived getting shot in episode 10, and also giving us some details on what took place in some of the timeskips. Would have been a much better use of that time.

I really liked the anime, but those two things combined (plus a few other things) mean I give this anime a 7/10

Sep 14, 2017 4:07 AM

#126

Catsi_bee

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Oct 2016

2

I think the bullet shell that is shown in the end means that it was the place where Reiji was shot.Months or years after Ellen decides to commit suicide by eating the petals of the poisonous flower in the same place where Reiji was shot.

Oct 15, 2017 1:59 AM

#127

removed-user

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Jul 2018

564612

God I hate open endings. It's the author coping out, imo. Too lazy or unwilling to create an actual ending. But. I didn't think of anything, at the end. I only saw the obvious. They were both there; reiji died, then Eren turned around and smiled, and I was like w-t-f. I thought she was simply smiling because Inferno had caught up to them. Then she didn't die next, and I was more confused.

Those parelells are quite convincing. I wish the author would have made it a bit more obvious, though. Still. I like the ending you chose.

I know this is 5 years old, but, well, idrc.

Also, pretty sure it wasn't Atropa Belladona, Deadly Nightshade. And that plant is one of the most poisonous of them all. I drank a tea made from its roots when I was 21, and the effects won't have you smiling up at the sky; causes delierium and intense, intense trepedation, fear beyond fear. If it was Belladonna, she'd be running around screaming. And, amyway, the flowers of Belladonna aren't that poisonous. The berries are fairly poisonous, it would take a handful to kill a child. But the roots are especially poisonous. So, I don't buy the flower part. At least, not Belladonna. Wish the author had integrated something about a "deadly flower" into the story, so we'd have a better idea. But I like your ending, and it does make a certain sense. So I'll believe that.

It's kind of bad writing, imo. Too lazy to make an ending.

removed-userOct 15, 2017 2:11 AM

Nov 4, 2017 5:55 AM

#128

InoUchiha

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Jun 2016

97

@OriginANIME I think that you are right.. I just think that Reiji killed himself at the end, because of the bullet shell at the end.

Dec 22, 2017 5:26 PM

#129

SilverFever

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Mar 2017

107

i think when reiji moved away he kill himself with a silencer with his right hand. The reason I think this because reiji's smile and the reason he kill himself because reiji can not fulfill his promise

Feb 13, 2018 10:13 PM

#130

MrNTR

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Sep 2013

503

You know, now that I think about it, I am glad that Reiji died, he is a fucking douche, ESPECIALLY in the original visual novel. Ein deserves better, I hope she finds a nice Mongolian boy.

Apr 17, 2018 11:57 AM

#131

Ankylar

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Aug 2014

338

I am satisfied that Reiji and Elen died. If Cal had to die, then so did the two of them. Reiji dragged her into that hell so Reiji sure as hell did not deserve a happy ending. Of all the stupid things to do, rather than talk to Cal, or disarm her, he fucking shot her..and Elen who should understand her situation, since she was the same, encouraged Reiji to shoot her.

It's good that all of them died. Especially Reiji. Fuck that guy

6/10 series for killing off Lizzie who was probably the only sensible character in the series and for killing off Cal is such a stupid way.

May 1, 2019 2:18 PM

#132

ichiberry15

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May 2015

13

It was a nice explanation, imagination running a little wild, if you ask me. But still a well-thought theory, that is. Although there are several parts that I am on the same perspective as you, I don't really think Elen dies a long time after Reiji died nor were they on different sceneries at the last lines they improvised. Also, if the flowers really are poisonous, which I too think they are, I am pretty sure they are not geraniums as TarikYildirim has also mentioned above. Actually, I think they are agrostemma githagos, a.k.a. corncockles. Their appearence is very similar to that of the one in the anime, also very poisonous with each of its petal. Could be wrong, though, both the theory that Elen committed suicide with poisonous flower petals and my theory for the identity of the flower.

This is corncockle:

May 27, 2019 1:55 AM

#133

Zahev

Offline

Apr 2014

11

ichiberry15 said:
It was a nice explanation, imagination running a little wild, if you ask me. But still a well-thought theory, that is. Although there are several parts that I am on the same perspective as you, I don't really think Elen dies a long time after Reiji died nor were they on different sceneries at the last lines they improvised. Also, if the flowers really are poisonous, which I too think they are, I am pretty sure they are not geraniums as TarikYildirim has also mentioned above. Actually, I think they are agrostemma githagos, a.k.a. corncockles. Their appearence is very similar to that of the one in the anime, also very poisonous with each of its petal. Could be wrong, though, both the theory that Elen committed suicide with poisonous flower petals and my theory for the identity of the flower.

This is corncockle:

Just finished the series as well and I really enjoyed it, and I don't really mind if they are dead or alive, I'm just happy that they LIVED life and completed their journey.

But it seems that Corncockle are not that Toxic (but maybe the producers of the anime at the time thought that flower could really kill with one petal, who knows): https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2014/aug/26/corncockle-countryfile-bbc-packets-seeds-poisonous

Aug 28, 2019 5:17 PM

#134

DarknessReality

Offline

May 2015

1678

I really loved this series. Just finished re-watching it and after knowing all there is to know about the ending I'm much more accepting of it.

I noticed all the hints they placed throughout the series that I originally missed and it really was built up. I originally was really sad it ended this way since I loved the main two and shipped them but I guess it couldn't end any other way with them being assassins. Death was also a huge common theme with pratically everyone we knew in the series being dead by the end of it except that gang guy.

I'm glad that Elen poisoned herself instead of being killed.

Rest in peace, Elen, Reiji.

Yuritopia FTW!!!!!!!!! BANZAI TO YURI !!!!!!!!!!!!

Sep 20, 2019 3:43 PM

#135

rick1-2

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Jul 2017

46

DarknessReality said:
I really loved this series. Just finished re-watching it and after knowing all there is to know about the ending I'm much more accepting of it.

I noticed all the hints they placed throughout the series that I originally missed and it really was built up. I originally was really sad it ended this way since I loved the main two and shipped them but I guess it couldn't end any other way with them being assassins. Death was also a huge common theme with pratically everyone we knew in the series being dead by the end of it except that gang guy.

I'm glad that Elen poisoned herself instead of being killed.

Rest in peace, Elen, Reiji.

I also believe that both Reiji and Elen died at around the same time. Elen stated multiple times throughout the series that she can't live on without Reiji, so when he was killed by an unknown assassin (likely from Inferno), she committed suicide via poison shortly after, dying along with him. Sure, she states that she's happy with the memories she has made with Reiji, but I think she's even more happy with Reiji by her side, so when he was killed, she killed herself to follow him in death.

We know that at this point, Reiji and Elen would be hunted down by Inferno to silence them via death, so it was only a matter of time before the two are eventually killed. They can't run forever, as Scythe Master tells Elen right before she kills him. What do you think? They're happy that they made the journey to find Elen's homeland, and so they have no regrets dying together, first Reiji, then Eren shortly after.

Sep 20, 2019 4:42 PM

#136

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

funkotaku said:
Its up to you if you want to read it or not. I just made this for people who are having trouble understanding the ending. No one is right, and no one is wrong in my opinion. Its all speculation.

Here is a copy and paste of my blog entry explaining the ending. (my take on it with pictures, quotes, and evidence)

PART 1: What I thought about the ending

Alright so this is what I thought about Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ episode 26 ending. I put a lot of work into this because it bothered me for several hours after completing it. I had to re-watch the ending several times to finally interpret what I think actually happened. Now lets get started, fast forward to "20:55" of the last episode, notice from there on out both Reiji and Elen are never in the exact same scene anymore. Although they show what both Reiji and Elen are thinking at the exact same time, I don't think they actually are. Yes, they both went to Elen's homeland together and yes, Reiji got shot there by Inferno (perhaps), but months later, maybe years later, Elen went back to her homeland alone to reminiscence.

"There is no need to search for my memories anymore. Even if I can't find them, I already have the name you gave me."
"I have memories of me being with you." - Elen
Now can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? "Why did she smile?" Well she's not smiling because Reiji's dead (and she killed him like a lot of you are thinking), she's smiling because she was happy with all the memories she was able to make with him.

"These memories... These memories are enough for me to continue living. These memories are enough for me." - Elen
Again, can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? Also, I feel this quote said at the end by Reiji has been overlooked. (quote below)

"I want to fulfill a promise. That is to make you smile. To find your true smile. One day, I will..." - Reiji (episode 26 just before he got shot)

Smile. | Elen smiling thinking back at her times with Reiji.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 2: What did the ending symbolize/mean?

"What will come of killing me? Others will come and kill you. You won't find your memories."
[size=115]"You're just walking in a spiral with no end." - Scythe Master (episode 26 just before he got shot)[/size]

I think the ending was referring to that quote. Did you actually think they would be able to live happily together forever after all they have been through? Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out (explanation below) even though she wanted it to. Its just a never ending cycle of killing. (its unfortunate when you think about it)

This is what I was referring to by saying "Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out even though she wanted it to.". (the quote below)

"Please go to hell first. I still want to stay with him for a little longer." - Elen (episode 26 right after she shot Scythe Master)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 3: Overall thoughts on the anime

Overall, I enjoyed watching this anime, I found it fairly interesting. It would have been better if they explained a few things, such as how both Elen and Reiji survived after being shot and falling into the ocean. The ending was also unclear which is why I'm doing this. Everything is just speculation, there is no right answer.

Overall Score: 7/10

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 4: BONUS STUFF

What was with the flower at the end?
Elen probably poisoned herself with the flower knowing she will die someday anyway because Inferno is still after her and already got their hands on Reiji. How can a flower kill someone? Well apparently there are poisonous flowers called Geraniums, common in Mongolia, that looks identical to the ones Elen was looking at and it can actually kill you by just eating one pedal. Special thanks to LadyOrihime for this information.

I'm pretty sure she poisons herself several months, maybe even years after she mentioned she was willing to live on. (3 different scenes, 3 different times) She probably felt it was okay to live on at the moment, but as time passed by, it just wasn't worth it. She made enough memories with him so it doesn't even matter anymore. (plus Inferno is still after her and she rather kill herself than have Inferno kill her off on their own)

Timeline: (to sum up everything)

Both Reiji and Elen went to Elen's homeland together.
While they were there, Reiji got shot by Inferno (perhaps) and died.
Elen was able to survive and went on a retreat.
Months later, maybe even years later she went back to her homeland to reminiscence.
Elen lives a normal life now but one day she realizes its not the same. (months after she went to her homeland to reminiscence)
Elen made enough memories with Reiji so she decides to kill herself where Reiji was killed.
She poisons herself by eating a pedal of a Geranium.

Another possibility: What was with the bullet shell at the end?

People are always saying how it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Reiji, but have you ever asked yourself, what if it wasn't? What if it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Elen, by her own gun? Notice the bullet shell being around the area with the Geranium flowers are. Bullet shells are the pieces that come out of your gun when you shoot so if the guy passing by was the person who shot the bullet then the bullet shell wouldn't have been there, but on the street where the dude was passing by. Therefore the gun was shot where the Geranium's were and the only person there, was Elen. (I don't actually believe this theory at all)

Why was she fading away at the end? What did it represent?

This scene also makes me feel she did in fact die at the end. The lyrics "transparent" being read while she was fading away implying she has died.

This is all speculation, we will never know what ACTUALLY happened, but this is as close as you can get in my opinion.

[size=125]Opinions may differ[/size]

Yeah, we may never know what actually happened in the ending. Opinions may differ, and it's up to us to interpret it as best as we can. I believe that Reiji was killed by Inferno, and Eren, having lived for several months after surviving and retreating after Reiji was killed, committed suicide at the place where Reiji died when she saw that it wasn't worth it anymore to live on without Reiji, so she killed herself rather than let Inferno kill her. Do you still remember it? Hope to hear from you soon.

Sep 21, 2019 3:04 AM

#137

DarknessReality

Offline

May 2015

1678

rick1-2 said:

DarknessReality said:
I really loved this series. Just finished re-watching it and after knowing all there is to know about the ending I'm much more accepting of it.

I noticed all the hints they placed throughout the series that I originally missed and it really was built up. I originally was really sad it ended this way since I loved the main two and shipped them but I guess it couldn't end any other way with them being assassins. Death was also a huge common theme with pratically everyone we knew in the series being dead by the end of it except that gang guy.

I'm glad that Elen poisoned herself instead of being killed.

Rest in peace, Elen, Reiji.

I also believe that both Reiji and Elen died at around the same time. Elen stated multiple times throughout the series that she can't live on without Reiji, so when he was killed by an unknown assassin (likely from Inferno), she committed suicide via poison shortly after, dying along with him. Sure, she states that she's happy with the memories she has made with Reiji, but I think she's even more happy with Reiji by her side, so when he was killed, she killed herself to follow him in death.

We know that at this point, Reiji and Elen would be hunted down by Inferno to silence them via death, so it was only a matter of time before the two are eventually killed. They can't run forever, as Scythe Master tells Elen right before she kills him. What do you think? They're happy that they made the journey to find Elen's homeland, and so they have no regrets dying together, first Reiji, then Eren shortly after.

I'm glad they're together now. I prefer this over one surviving and one dying. Also it doesn't ignore the fact that the entire series was great so its still very re-watchable.

Yuritopia FTW!!!!!!!!! BANZAI TO YURI !!!!!!!!!!!!

Sep 21, 2019 10:49 AM

#138

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

DarknessReality said:

rick1-2 said:

I also believe that both Reiji and Elen died at around the same time. Elen stated multiple times throughout the series that she can't live on without Reiji, so when he was killed by an unknown assassin (likely from Inferno), she committed suicide via poison shortly after, dying along with him. Sure, she states that she's happy with the memories she has made with Reiji, but I think she's even more happy with Reiji by her side, so when he was killed, she killed herself to follow him in death.

We know that at this point, Reiji and Elen would be hunted down by Inferno to silence them via death, so it was only a matter of time before the two are eventually killed. They can't run forever, as Scythe Master tells Elen right before she kills him. What do you think? They're happy that they made the journey to find Elen's homeland, and so they have no regrets dying together, first Reiji, then Eren shortly after.

I'm glad they're together now. I prefer this over one surviving and one dying. Also it doesn't ignore the fact that the entire series was great so its still very re-watchable.

Hah, that's true. Even if Eren were to live a normal life in her homeland after Reiji is killed by Inferno (and after she finds out that he's killed) for his sake (and that Inferno leaves her alone after killing Reiji or she goes into hiding after seeing his dead body), I think she'll only live said normal life for a few months before the pain of losing Reiji gets to her and she finds out it's not worth living without Reiji by her side alive. She's happy to make memories with him and tried to live for his sake, but now, she's resolved to die to meet him in death.

That's why she comes back to where Reiji was killed in her homeland a few months later, where she promptly commits suicide to join him in death. She's happy to find her homeland and make memories with him, but she's now happier that she'll now join him in death once she kills herself. Either way, Eren will kill herself sooner or later after Reiji's death to be with him, satisfied of her life at this point and now, she just wants to be with him in death, thus her killing herself with the poisonous flower. Both Reiji and Eren realize that they will die sooner or later by Inferno's hands, and they accepted it once they found Eren's homeland, the former killed by Inferno and the latter committed suicide to join him in death (after living for a few months for his sake and the sake of their memories together before resolving to kill herself to join him in death, unable to continue on living without him by her side alive).

Sad that Cal is dead as well, but she died peacefully in Reiji's arms. Mio is also alive as well, where she wishes Reiji and Eren good luck on their escape and journey from Japan. That's my opinion. There's no true interpretation, but we can still make them. What about you? Thoughts?

rick1-2Sep 21, 2019 11:01 AM

Sep 21, 2019 11:15 AM

#139

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

Ankylar said:
I am satisfied that Reiji and Elen died. If Cal had to die, then so did the two of them. Reiji dragged her into that hell so Reiji sure as hell did not deserve a happy ending. Of all the stupid things to do, rather than talk to Cal, or disarm her, he fucking shot her..and Elen who should understand her situation, since she was the same, encouraged Reiji to shoot her.

It's good that all of them died. Especially Reiji. Fuck that guy

6/10 series for killing off Lizzie who was probably the only sensible character in the series and for killing off Cal is such a stupid way.

Reiji should have tried to clear the misunderstandings to Cal and explain himself to her why he abandoned her. She even gave a chance to do so, but he didn't. It was that easy, but he blew it. Then, Reiji killed Cal in what he thought was the right thing to do for her. At least Cal died peacefully in his arms while back to her normal self. Still, they could have reconciled without one killing the other. Right?

Sep 21, 2019 11:38 AM

#140

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

funkotaku said:

qazwsx159 said:
Very good, well thought out explanation man...really appreciate u posting this. Teared up several times reading thru it, this anime truly is an extremely heart breaking story. Had quite a few "flaws", but overall i really enjoyed it...Tbh this was sadder than clannad AS, at least for me it was...In particular, the story of Cal and how everything turned out for her was extremely heart breaking in itself. Although the way she acted and the things she did were however not justified, i still cant help but sympathize for the kind hearted little girl that she once was. And the story of Ein and Reiji was unbelievably sad as well, especially when u consider this explanation of the ending.

Glad you liked it.

It was pretty sad if you think about it.

At least Reiji and Cal were able to reconcile, even though the latter died in his arms. Cal understands that what she was doing was wrong, but her hatred was all she has left. It's great to see the two of them reconciling, with Cal forgiving Reiji and Reiji showing remorse for doing this to her right before she dies. Do you think they could have reconciled in a different way that doesn't have them try to kill each other? Do you prefer the VN for Elen's Route Ending?

Sep 21, 2019 11:49 AM

#141

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

Defective_Minus said:

OriginANIME said:

Defective_Minus said:

OriginANIME said:
Its up to you if you want to read it or not. I just made this for people who are having trouble understanding the ending. No one is right, and no one is wrong in my opinion. Its all speculation.

Here is a copy and paste of my blog entry explaining the ending. (my take on it with pictures, quotes, and evidence)

PART 1: What I thought about the ending

Alright so this is what I thought about Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ episode 26 ending. I put a lot of work into this because it bothered me for several hours after completing it. I had to re-watch the ending several times to finally interpret what I think actually happened. Now lets get started, fast forward to "20:55" of the last episode, notice from there on out both Reiji and Elen are never in the exact same scene anymore. Although they show what both Reiji and Elen are thinking at the exact same time, I don't think they actually are. Yes, they both went to Elen's homeland together and yes, Reiji got shot there by Inferno (perhaps), but months later, maybe years later, Elen went back to her homeland alone to reminiscence.

"There is no need to search for my memories anymore. Even if I can't find them, I already have the name you gave me."
"I have memories of me being with you." - Elen
Now can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? "Why did she smile?" Well she's not smiling because Reiji's dead (and she killed him like a lot of you are thinking), she's smiling because she was happy with all the memories she was able to make with him.

"These memories... These memories are enough for me to continue living. These memories are enough for me." - Elen
Again, can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? Also, I feel this quote said at the end by Reiji has been overlooked. (quote below)

"I want to fulfill a promise. That is to make you smile. To find your true smile. One day, I will..." - Reiji (episode 26 just before he got shot)

Smile. | Elen smiling thinking back at her times with Reiji.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 2: What did the ending symbolize/mean?

"What will come of killing me? Others will come and kill you. You won't find your memories."
[size=115]"You're just walking in a spiral with no end." - Scythe Master (episode 26 just before he got shot)[/size]

I think the ending was referring to that quote. Did you actually think they would be able to live happily together forever after all they have been through? Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out (explanation below) even though she wanted it to. Its just a never ending cycle of killing. (its unfortunate when you think about it)

This is what I was referring to by saying "Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out even though she wanted it to.". (the quote below)

"Please go to hell first. I still want to stay with him for a little longer." - Elen (episode 26 right after she shot Scythe Master)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 3: Overall thoughts on the anime

Overall, I enjoyed watching this anime, I found it fairly interesting. It would have been better if they explained a few things, such as how both Elen and Reiji survived after being shot and falling into the ocean. The ending was also unclear which is why I'm doing this. Everything is just speculation, there is no right answer.

Overall Score: 7/10

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 4: BONUS STUFF

What was with the flower at the end?
Elen probably poisoned herself with the flower knowing she will die someday anyway because Inferno is still after her and already got their hands on Reiji. How can a flower kill someone? Well apparently there are poisonous flowers called Geraniums, common in Mongolia, that looks identical to the ones Elen was looking at and it can actually kill you by just eating one pedal. Special thanks to LadyOrihime for this information.

I'm pretty sure she poisons herself several months, maybe even years after she mentioned she was willing to live on. (3 different scenes, 3 different times) She probably felt it was okay to live on at the moment, but as time passed by, it just wasn't worth it. She made enough memories with him so it doesn't even matter anymore. (plus Inferno is still after her and she rather kill herself than have Inferno kill her off on their own)

Timeline: (to sum up everything)

Both Reiji and Elen went to Elen's homeland together.
While they were there, Reiji got shot by Inferno (perhaps) and died.
Elen was able to survive and went on a retreat.
Months later, maybe even years later she went back to her homeland to reminiscence.
Elen lives a normal life now but one day she realizes its not the same. (months after she went to her homeland to reminiscence)
Elen made enough memories with Reiji so she decides to kill herself where Reiji was killed.
She poisons herself by eating a pedal of a Geranium.

Another possibility: What was with the bullet shell at the end?

People are always saying how it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Reiji, but have you ever asked yourself, what if it wasn't? What if it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Elen, by her own gun? Notice the bullet shell being around the area with the Geranium flowers are. Bullet shells are the pieces that come out of your gun when you shoot so if the guy passing by was the person who shot the bullet then the bullet shell wouldn't have been there, but on the street where the dude was passing by. Therefore the gun was shot where the Geranium's were and the only person there, was Elen. (I don't actually believe this theory at all)

Why was she fading away at the end? What did it represent?

This scene also makes me feel she did in fact die at the end. The lyrics "transparent" being read while she was fading away implying she has died.

This is all speculation, we will never know what ACTUALLY happened, but this is as close as you can get in my opinion.

[size=125]Opinions may differ[/size]

I know that this is a very old thread but I have a question for you.

You say you dont think Erin killed Reiji. Well bullet casings tend to end up where the bullet was shot from. The casing was in the grass right by the leaves where Erin was, suggesting that she killed him as they both wanted. Which brings me to another point, if this was the case, wouldnt it make more sense for erin to kill herself right after killing reiji. They both wanted to die after all.

Care to explain those 2 points? (Im just trying to understand the ending a little better.

I believe the guy passing by Reiji on the carriage symbolized a future event of someone from Inferno killing him. None of these events actually happened as they showed. I noticed this anime used a lot of foreshadowing and symbolizing, so it would make sense. (there would also be no reason for the creator to add the carriage dude passing by if he had no real role)

To add onto what you're asking, I don't believe Erin was the one who killed Reiji because, as it would make a little sense, it would have gave no purpose for the guy passing by on the carriage. I feel the safest outcome is to use all evidence in front of us, which would be:

1. Inferno killed Reiji. (the guy passing by shoots Reiji therefore leaving a bullet shell on the grass where he was standing)
2. Eren says shes made enough memories. In episode 26 she mentioned how she believed great things wont last forever and that she just wants to live for " a little longer".
3. She killed herself.

I noticed the ending tried emphasizing 3 main things (meaning they must have played a huge role):
1. the missing flower pedal

2. the bullet shell

3. "transparent" (Eren disappearing in the credits symbolizing she is no longer a live)

Again, just my 2 cents.

OriginANIME said:

Defective_Minus said:

OriginANIME said:
Its up to you if you want to read it or not. I just made this for people who are having trouble understanding the ending. No one is right, and no one is wrong in my opinion. Its all speculation.

Here is a copy and paste of my blog entry explaining the ending. (my take on it with pictures, quotes, and evidence)

PART 1: What I thought about the ending

Alright so this is what I thought about Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ episode 26 ending. I put a lot of work into this because it bothered me for several hours after completing it. I had to re-watch the ending several times to finally interpret what I think actually happened. Now lets get started, fast forward to "20:55" of the last episode, notice from there on out both Reiji and Elen are never in the exact same scene anymore. Although they show what both Reiji and Elen are thinking at the exact same time, I don't think they actually are. Yes, they both went to Elen's homeland together and yes, Reiji got shot there by Inferno (perhaps), but months later, maybe years later, Elen went back to her homeland alone to reminiscence.

"There is no need to search for my memories anymore. Even if I can't find them, I already have the name you gave me."
"I have memories of me being with you." - Elen
Now can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? "Why did she smile?" Well she's not smiling because Reiji's dead (and she killed him like a lot of you are thinking), she's smiling because she was happy with all the memories she was able to make with him.

"These memories... These memories are enough for me to continue living. These memories are enough for me." - Elen
Again, can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? Also, I feel this quote said at the end by Reiji has been overlooked. (quote below)

"I want to fulfill a promise. That is to make you smile. To find your true smile. One day, I will..." - Reiji (episode 26 just before he got shot)

Smile. | Elen smiling thinking back at her times with Reiji.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 2: What did the ending symbolize/mean?

"What will come of killing me? Others will come and kill you. You won't find your memories."
[size=115]"You're just walking in a spiral with no end." - Scythe Master (episode 26 just before he got shot)[/size]

I think the ending was referring to that quote. Did you actually think they would be able to live happily together forever after all they have been through? Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out (explanation below) even though she wanted it to. Its just a never ending cycle of killing. (its unfortunate when you think about it)

This is what I was referring to by saying "Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out even though she wanted it to.". (the quote below)

"Please go to hell first. I still want to stay with him for a little longer." - Elen (episode 26 right after she shot Scythe Master)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 3: Overall thoughts on the anime

Overall, I enjoyed watching this anime, I found it fairly interesting. It would have been better if they explained a few things, such as how both Elen and Reiji survived after being shot and falling into the ocean. The ending was also unclear which is why I'm doing this. Everything is just speculation, there is no right answer.

Overall Score: 7/10

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 4: BONUS STUFF

What was with the flower at the end?
Elen probably poisoned herself with the flower knowing she will die someday anyway because Inferno is still after her and already got their hands on Reiji. How can a flower kill someone? Well apparently there are poisonous flowers called Geraniums, common in Mongolia, that looks identical to the ones Elen was looking at and it can actually kill you by just eating one pedal. Special thanks to LadyOrihime for this information.

I'm pretty sure she poisons herself several months, maybe even years after she mentioned she was willing to live on. (3 different scenes, 3 different times) She probably felt it was okay to live on at the moment, but as time passed by, it just wasn't worth it. She made enough memories with him so it doesn't even matter anymore. (plus Inferno is still after her and she rather kill herself than have Inferno kill her off on their own)

Timeline: (to sum up everything)

Both Reiji and Elen went to Elen's homeland together.
While they were there, Reiji got shot by Inferno (perhaps) and died.
Elen was able to survive and went on a retreat.
Months later, maybe even years later she went back to her homeland to reminiscence.
Elen lives a normal life now but one day she realizes its not the same. (months after she went to her homeland to reminiscence)
Elen made enough memories with Reiji so she decides to kill herself where Reiji was killed.
She poisons herself by eating a pedal of a Geranium.

Another possibility: What was with the bullet shell at the end?

People are always saying how it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Reiji, but have you ever asked yourself, what if it wasn't? What if it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Elen, by her own gun? Notice the bullet shell being around the area with the Geranium flowers are. Bullet shells are the pieces that come out of your gun when you shoot so if the guy passing by was the person who shot the bullet then the bullet shell wouldn't have been there, but on the street where the dude was passing by. Therefore the gun was shot where the Geranium's were and the only person there, was Elen. (I don't actually believe this theory at all)

Why was she fading away at the end? What did it represent?

This scene also makes me feel she did in fact die at the end. The lyrics "transparent" being read while she was fading away implying she has died.

This is all speculation, we will never know what ACTUALLY happened, but this is as close as you can get in my opinion.

[size=125]Opinions may differ[/size]

I know that this is a very old thread but I have a question for you.

You say you dont think Erin killed Reiji. Well bullet casings tend to end up where the bullet was shot from. The casing was in the grass right by the leaves where Erin was, suggesting that she killed him as they both wanted. Which brings me to another point, if this was the case, wouldnt it make more sense for erin to kill herself right after killing reiji. They both wanted to die after all.

Care to explain those 2 points? (Im just trying to understand the ending a little better.

I believe the guy passing by Reiji on the carriage symbolized a future event of someone from Inferno killing him. None of these events actually happened as they showed. I noticed this anime used a lot of foreshadowing and symbolizing, so it would make sense. (there would also be no reason for the creator to add the carriage dude passing by if he had no real role)

To add onto what you're asking, I don't believe Erin was the one who killed Reiji because, as it would make a little sense, it would have gave no purpose for the guy passing by on the carriage. I feel the safest outcome is to use all evidence in front of us, which would be:

1. Inferno killed Reiji. (the guy passing by shoots Reiji therefore leaving a bullet shell on the grass where he was standing)
2. Eren says shes made enough memories. In episode 26 she mentioned how she believed great things wont last forever and that she just wants to live for " a little longer".
3. She killed herself.

I noticed the ending tried emphasizing 3 main things (meaning they must have played a huge role):
1. the missing flower pedal

2. the bullet shell

3. "transparent" (Eren disappearing in the credits symbolizing she is no longer a live)

Again, just my 2 cents.

Yea I get what your saying. The only things that got me were
1. The bullet casing was actually in the field, by where erin was.
2. Erin smiled at reiji as he died, despite her saying numerous times that She lives only for Reiji. I dont think Erin would smile upon finding Reiji's dead body.
3. The carriage could have just been a way for the director to keep us from guessing the truth by covering up where the bullet came from.
4. This is the biggest one and the main reason I am skeptical of erin killing him. If the guy in the carriage truely did kill Raiji, then why did he just not kill erin also? That hasnt made since to me.
5. Also why do you think Erin waited a while before killing herself, instead of killing herself on the spot?
6. I agree with Erin killing herself, but there is something else that bothers me. She says "my memories of reiji are enough for me to live on". When you think about her saying that, then suicide doesnt make sense anymore.
Some people also say Reiji offed himself but I think that is a little far fetched.

iKnow this is all opinion and all but I hate when writers do this, this is like Code Geass ending but 10x more open. All we know is that Reiji most likely died. We dont truely know who killed him, how they found him, etc. It was the most anticlimatic death in the whole series.

Should kinda expect it though considering this is an "Original Ending". The game had 3 different main endings. Non of these involved Reiji dying. 1. Cal dies (This is the one the anime is based off of but this one doesnt have reiji and eren dying in mongol, they just go to mongol and live together), Eren dies and Reiji and Cal live together, nobody dies and Reiji decides to help Mio out.
They just added this ending for more drama which explains why there wasnt much build up or "epicness" to it.

This is by far the darkest anime I have ever seen. Simply because it wasnt trying to be a dark anime like attack on titan, gantz, school days, etc. All it tried to do was be sort of realistic, and showed how dark the world is. i actually have to watch some light hearted stuff after watching and thinking about this anime a lot. I would give it a 10/10 but the whole last 3 minutes of it and then the thing with Cal and her emotional and physical growth dissapointed me, so I give it an 8 or 9.

Also do you know where I could find the Visual Novels to buy? in english

Yeah, Eren's ending in the VN was way differnt in that both Reiji and Eren just go to Mongolia, find Eren's homeland, and live happily together there. They don't die in her ending in the VN. Do you think that Reiji and Cal could have reconciled in a different way that doesn't have one killing the other?

Sep 21, 2019 11:54 AM

#142

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

kingsheep812 said:
This series was freakin absolutely awesome until the very end. So i am going to forget how Cal died. Forget what happened to Reiji and forget the four petaled flower. Because WTF. Like for real. WTF. The last 2 episodes literally disappeared from my memory due to immense trauma.

I will do you justice. Who needs interpretations when you can have a good ending? This is how it ended in my head (this is all my imagination and it is original, feel free to imagine the scenes that of how i imagined it to end):

Cal and Reiji duels. Reiji slowly walks towards Cal while the music is playing while Cal shouts to him "What are you doing?" Reiji then picks up the pace as the song is almost over and as Cal draws out her gun on the last note of the song, Reiji full body embraces her and holds her there while her hand is holding the gun up high. Tears streaming down Cal's face as Reiji hugs her tightly repeating "Sorry, I am so so sorry." He grits his teeth with tears streaming down his face, "If you have to, then please kill me. I deserve it. I really thought you were killed in the explosion. If I had known... I would have looked to the ends of the Earth. I'm the worst, because of me, you have killed and killed. I am truly sorry that I abandoned you. I'd never have left if I hadn't thought you were dead." Cal, still with tears streaming down her face buries her face into Reiji's shoulder as she says "I love you Reiji, I have always wanted to be with you and will be your partner, we promised remember? Please don't leave me again." Reiji with his eyes closed whispers to her "Never, I promise will I ever leave you again."

Suddenly Elen bursts through the church doors, "Hurry! Scythe Master is here with 6 of his new creations, new Phantoms, with no emotion and without a will of their own." Cal and Reiji each picks up a gun.

[Normal Route]
They kill off all the 6 Phantoms that Scythe Master brought with him ending with Elen and Reiji along with Cal shooting the Scythe Master multiple times as his last phantom puppet is shot down, "This can't be... my perfect creations can't lose to these emotional pieces of trash!!!" *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* Scythe Master falls back with 3 holes in his head while a feather slowly lands onto his palm. Elen and Reiji then start living together happily. Later scene reveals that Lizzie whom was thought to be killed by Cal actually survived that shot and she later forgives Cal when Cal breaks down in tears begging for her forgiveness. Then they live together happily reminding Cal of the good old days when she lived with Judy. =The End=

[Harem Route]
They kill off all the 6 Phantoms that Scythe Master brought with him ending with Elen and Reiji along with Cal shooting the Scythe Master multiple times as his last phantom puppet is shot down, "This can't be... my perfect creations can't lose to these emotional pieces of trash!!!" *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* Scythe Master falls back with 3 holes in his head while a feather slowly lands onto his palm. Elen and Reiji then start living together happily with Cal while Mio comes over everyday to hang out with Reiji. Cal makes up with Mio and they both fight everyday over who should cook for Reiji and who gets to feed him while Reiji sighs with Elen giggling watching those two both shoving their spoons into Reiji's mouth. The ending scene shows Reiji sleeping on his bed with Cal and Mio on either sides of him each getting an arm while Elen lies on top of him with her face resting on his chest, slowly fading out with all three of them smiling in their sleep. =The End=

[Yuri Route]
After defeating the 6 phantoms, Reiji is injured by several bullets, and Elen has a knife wound and Cal lies infront of the Scythe Master hands over a bullet wound to her shoulder. Scythe Master slowly pulls out two of his special pistols and points one at Cal while the other one aimed at Elen. Scythe Master throws back his head and laughs into the sky, "HAHAHAHAHA!!! You fools! You think you can win? You're nothing but my creations, my failed lab rats. DIE!!!" As the Scythe Master pulls the trigger for the pistol pointing at Cal first, Reiji musters all the strength that is left in his body and uses his own body to intercept the bullet that would've killed Cal then continues to also intecept the bullet fired from Scythe Master's 2nd gun that is directed at Elen. As Reiji's lifeless body thuds to the ground, both of the girls scream out his name, "REIJII!!!!" Their faces furious with tears, each grabbing the nearest pistol to them and both shooting the Scythe Master in the head at the same time. *BANG* *BANG* -- 3 Months Later -- Cal and Elen have started living together. They swore to always be with each other forever and will protect each other until their last breath. Cal cooks while Elen does the laundry. They both loved Reiji as well as the most precious things to him, and since they both are the most precious things to him, they love each other more than anything. It ends with Cal sleeping in the same bed as Elen in an tight embrace with chests pressed together, both smiling sweetly into their dreams. =The End=

Any of those 3 works for me and they all allow me to sleep in peace at night. Please feel free to use this as your personal ending if you want. Remember, everything is my own opinion so please do not detest me for my imagination.

Wow, these would make good endings. Have you ever thought about making them?

Sep 21, 2019 11:58 AM

#143

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

Laraso said:
I originally started watching this anime because it's categorized under the "thriller" genre, which I happen to be a big fan of. However, it never really felt like a thriller to me. Although I felt like it was a disappointment as a thriller, I ended up watching it to the very end for Reiji and Elen. This is the first time I actually cared about a relationship between two characters in a very, very long time.

This gets a solid 9 from me.

OriginANIME said:
Its up to you if you want to read it or not. I just made this for people who are having trouble understanding the ending. No one is right, and no one is wrong in my opinion. Its all speculation.

Here is a copy and paste of my blog entry explaining the ending. (my take on it with pictures, quotes, and evidence)

PART 1: What I thought about the ending

Alright so this is what I thought about Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ episode 26 ending. I put a lot of work into this because it bothered me for several hours after completing it. I had to re-watch the ending several times to finally interpret what I think actually happened. Now lets get started, fast forward to "20:55" of the last episode, notice from there on out both Reiji and Elen are never in the exact same scene anymore. Although they show what both Reiji and Elen are thinking at the exact same time, I don't think they actually are. Yes, they both went to Elen's homeland together and yes, Reiji got shot there by Inferno (perhaps), but months later, maybe years later, Elen went back to her homeland alone to reminiscence.

"There is no need to search for my memories anymore. Even if I can't find them, I already have the name you gave me."
"I have memories of me being with you." - Elen
Now can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? "Why did she smile?" Well she's not smiling because Reiji's dead (and she killed him like a lot of you are thinking), she's smiling because she was happy with all the memories she was able to make with him.

"These memories... These memories are enough for me to continue living. These memories are enough for me." - Elen
Again, can't you imagine her saying that with Reiji already being dead? Also, I feel this quote said at the end by Reiji has been overlooked. (quote below)

"I want to fulfill a promise. That is to make you smile. To find your true smile. One day, I will..." - Reiji (episode 26 just before he got shot)

Smile. | Elen smiling thinking back at her times with Reiji.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 2: What did the ending symbolize/mean?

"What will come of killing me? Others will come and kill you. You won't find your memories."
[size=115]"You're just walking in a spiral with no end." - Scythe Master (episode 26 just before he got shot)[/size]

I think the ending was referring to that quote. Did you actually think they would be able to live happily together forever after all they have been through? Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out (explanation below) even though she wanted it to. Its just a never ending cycle of killing. (its unfortunate when you think about it)

This is what I was referring to by saying "Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out even though she wanted it to.". (the quote below)

"Please go to hell first. I still want to stay with him for a little longer." - Elen (episode 26 right after she shot Scythe Master)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 3: Overall thoughts on the anime

Overall, I enjoyed watching this anime, I found it fairly interesting. It would have been better if they explained a few things, such as how both Elen and Reiji survived after being shot and falling into the ocean. The ending was also unclear which is why I'm doing this. Everything is just speculation, there is no right answer.

Overall Score: 7/10

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PART 4: BONUS STUFF

What was with the flower at the end?
Elen probably poisoned herself with the flower knowing she will die someday anyway because Inferno is still after her and already got their hands on Reiji. How can a flower kill someone? Well apparently there are poisonous flowers called Geraniums, common in Mongolia, that looks identical to the ones Elen was looking at and it can actually kill you by just eating one pedal. Special thanks to LadyOrihime for this information.

I'm pretty sure she poisons herself several months, maybe even years after she mentioned she was willing to live on. (3 different scenes, 3 different times) She probably felt it was okay to live on at the moment, but as time passed by, it just wasn't worth it. She made enough memories with him so it doesn't even matter anymore. (plus Inferno is still after her and she rather kill herself than have Inferno kill her off on their own)

Timeline: (to sum up everything)

Both Reiji and Elen went to Elen's homeland together.
While they were there, Reiji got shot by Inferno (perhaps) and died.
Elen was able to survive and went on a retreat.
Months later, maybe even years later she went back to her homeland to reminiscence.
Elen lives a normal life now but one day she realizes its not the same. (months after she went to her homeland to reminiscence)
Elen made enough memories with Reiji so she decides to kill herself where Reiji was killed.
She poisons herself by eating a pedal of a Geranium.

Another possibility: What was with the bullet shell at the end?

People are always saying how it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Reiji, but have you ever asked yourself, what if it wasn't? What if it was the bullet shell of the bullet that shot Elen, by her own gun? Notice the bullet shell being around the area with the Geranium flowers are. Bullet shells are the pieces that come out of your gun when you shoot so if the guy passing by was the person who shot the bullet then the bullet shell wouldn't have been there, but on the street where the dude was passing by. Therefore the gun was shot where the Geranium's were and the only person there, was Elen. (I don't actually believe this theory at all)

Why was she fading away at the end? What did it represent?

This scene also makes me feel she did in fact die at the end. The lyrics "transparent" being read while she was fading away implying she has died.

This is all speculation, we will never know what ACTUALLY happened, but this is as close as you can get in my opinion.

[size=125]Opinions may differ[/size]

I agree with nearly everything you said. The ending really confused me, but you made a whole lot of sense out of it with your post. Pretty much everything you said made sense, and I really believe that's what happened myself as well. I didn't even know those flowers contained a deadly poison until you said that!

However, there's just one thing I must disagree with you on:

OriginANIME said:
This is what I was referring to by saying "Even Elen knew it wouldn't work out even though she wanted it to.". (the quote below)

"Please go to hell first. I still want to stay with him for a little longer." - Elen (episode 26 right after she shot Scythe Master)

I interpreted that in a completely different way.

Elen said "Please go to hell first. I still want to stay with him for a little longer," however, the part that you should be focusing on is not "a little longer", but "go to hell first".

She told Scythe Master to go to hell "first", followed by her saying she wants to stay with Reiji "a little longer". I don't see this as an implication that she felt she couldn't continue living a happy life with Reiji, rather, it implies that she believes she will go to hell too. That's why she tells him to go to hell "first", because she wasn't ready to die and did not want to throw away a future spent with Reiji.

If you recall near the beginning of this arc, she was shown in the chapel praying, where she explicitly stated she was trying to atone for her sins. Reiji asked her who she was trying to seek forgiveness from, and she told him "To God directly, because I'll meet with him one day." I interpreted that as her feeling guilty of the countless murders she had committed, so she turned to religion in hopes that it would help her wash away all of her unwanted memories of serving Scythe Master, to help her enjoy living her new life with only good memories of her time spent with Reiji.

After Cal showed up, their "dream" ended, and they were forced to give up the peaceful life that they worked so hard to obtain. After that series of events, she once again found herself killing people in order to protect Reiji, which revived and added to the old memories she was trying to forget. This culminated with her showdown against Scythe Master. She began the arc by saying she wanted to atone for her sins and seek forgiveness from God, but after the firefight, she said "go to to hell first", which implies that she believes she will go to hell. The reason she said that is because she realized that she would never truly be able to escape her past. This is the reason she said "go to hell first".

drakere said:
This is just a stupid addition and distasteful addition to the anime just to add a "shock" factor to the ending of the anime

This never happens in the VN. Rest assured, they both live happily live ever after. Seriously, Zwei, an infamous assassin and survived impossible life and death situations and who can dodge bullets like dodging rain in a storm, is somehow found in the middle of who knows, Mongolia and caught off guard? Yeah right. Just a extremely bad way to shock viewers. Nothing more, nothing less.

Oh man... if that's true, I have to read the VN.

Wow, that's pretty deep. So, Eren knows that she'll go to hell, unable to escape her life as an assassin? Of course, she's not going to die yet. She wants to spend her future together with Reiji alive. That's what you're saying?

For Cal, at least she and Reiji were able to reconcile before she dies in his arms, don't you think?

Sep 21, 2019 12:03 PM

#144

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

Rexine said:
I just finished the series, and had to search for a meaning to the end leading me here. Reading all the theories put it into perspective, so kudos for the theories. I've formed my own, based on logic and not much regard to what I would like to believe.

I think they were both there at the same time. The man in the cart was from Inferno and shot Reiji, otherwise McGuire's line 'Even if it's just a fleeting dream, we have things we must do.' would be pointless. And I don't think Reiji expected it. He was vulnerable because of his desire to see Elen smile, the one thing that was more important to him than living. He did welcome death after seeing her smile.

This is where I think the creators made 1 of 2 mistakes, leading to confusion. What makes the most sense is that Elen turned around and smiled at Reiji before he fell. That wasn't very clear with the order of the scenes. When she witnessed his death, the picture of her smiling fades, which I believe represents her smile fading. Since she had stated numerous times that she couldn't live without him, his death causes her to commit suicide, which is where the second mistake from the creators was made.

They probably didn't know that the Geranium flower was not highly poisonous, or felt that the semi-common misconception of it was enough to go on. Like a lot of people here said, the creators wouldn't have shown the missing petal were it not significant. Another way to look at it is the causes of their deaths were shown side by side, the petal and the shell.

And to note, Elen's comment 'These memories are enough for me to continue living' was made before she saw him die.

This is what makes the most sense to me. It's a very poetic ending, following all the plot points that ran throughout the show.

Yeah, I'm also a bit confused, but we do know that Reiji was killed by Inferno, and once Eren discovers his dead body (him falling dead), she would definitely commit suicide to join him in death. Thus, the both of them died together. Do you think it could have ended any other way?

Sep 21, 2019 12:11 PM

#145

rick1-2

Offline

Jul 2017

46

Sickly_Grin said:

vexium said:
WOW! I'm shocked by the responses you guys have to this ending.

Let me clear some things up: regardless if Ein lives or dies (seems pretty clear she's alive and Zwei is dead at the end, just going off what we see in the animation), Zwei DESERVED to die.

It's surprising to see so many of you befuddled over the fact that Zwei died so promptly.

I cannot be more concise: Zwei DESERVED to die. Hell, he even said repeatedly he wanted to die to atone for his sins.

Listen, listen: Zwei did the following:
- Shot and nearly killed Ein
- Massacred countless people (including Stone's mother and child) in the name of Inferno, which he secretly hated
- Massacred countless people in the name of Claudia, who he later ends up hating just as much as Inferno
- Abandons Claudia, the person who grants him freedom and a chance at life away from Inferno (however deceptively), leaving her to die at the hands of Inferno
- Abandons Lizzie, the person who keeps him sane during his time in Inferno and away from Ein
- Abandons Cal (this is the big one, folks), who then becomes just like him, successfully fulfilling his worst nightmare
- KILLS CAL BECAUSE HE CANT ESCAPE HIS LIFE OF KILLING TO SURVIVE
- Slaughters the remaining wannabe Phantoms, who he knows are also innocent people that were tormented just like him

------------

As for a quick logical explanation as to why Zwei dies and Ein doesn't, it was clear ever since McGuire personally called upon Zwei to be Cal's mentor that Zwei was far more intertwined in the internal affairs of Inferno that Ein ever was.

I would go so far as to make the claim that Ein was never revealed by Scythe Master as being alive to Inferno, and to that end, wise as he was, Scythe Master kept her a secret from everyone in Inferno after his return. Yes, Drei is a loudmouth, but she's also under Scythe's careful watch. Yes, Lizzie sees Ein, but she's also the only person from Inferno to see Ein again on-screen before immediately dying. It's clear from her conversation with Zwei towards the end that she doesn't plan on revealing all her reconnaissance to Inferno and that that has been the case for some time.

So again, it makes perfect sense why McGuire would be looking to kill Zwei after Scythe fails to execute him and knows very well that someone killed Scythe. Zwei was a major traitor in McGuire's eyes to Inferno as the right-hand man of Claudia, whereas Ein was merely Scythe's puppet (and Scythe, again, was reintroduced to Inferno with praise).

--------------

So go ahead and tell me Zwei didn't deserve to die, that Inferno didn't have every reason to find and kill him, that this ending wasn't entirely appropriate.

Damn, to think I was thoroughly dissatisfied with the genre switch that took place in Part 3 and was only relieved by this apropos ending episode. Meanwhile, you folks are busy ranting about it! Ha!

While I'm here chatting, I might as well mention that that transition to the high school setting was just pathetic. The switch-ups in the intro and ending sequences were devastatingly girlish and lost the beautifully haunting touch the original intro-outro bits had.

Really, the only thing that made up for Part 3's pitiful high school melodramatic squabbling was the bitter finale and utter realization that Zwei simply DIDN'T DESERVE TO LIVE. HE NEEDED TO DIE. HE FUCKED UP BIG TIME - HE LET CAL BECOME THE MONSTER HE NEVER WANTED TO BE, AND HE DID IT BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID OF HIMSELF, EIN, AND HIS OWN ACTIONS.

This ending could not have been better. Again, I just wish Part 3 had been a touch more graceful, mafia-oriented, and action-adventure-styled (I mean, come on, what happened to following Ein and Zwei through their daring escape through Inferno?)

Overall, I give Phantom ~ Requiem of the Phantom the following score:
8/10 for pt. 1 (up until Ein/Zwei nearly die), 9/10 for pt. 2 (up until Cal is taken), and 6.5/10 for pt. 3, rounding up to an 8/10 overall.

I really want to see this series remade into a live-action movie or TV series. It has a great plot, incredible characters, and exceptional thematic elements. The tragedy is that the animation here wasn't too unique and nor was the atmosphere or focus of Part 3, leaving a bland, high school immaturity that is eradicated by a properly poetic mafioso finish.

I don't know, man... Even though you bring up some very valid points, a big part of me still wanted for Zwei and Ein to "live happily ever after". I actually didn't like Zwei in the first part of the series, but then his relationship with Cal in the second part made me really appreciate his character (he didn't want her to walk the same path as him, and he didn't know she had survived the explosion, otherwise he would have never abandoned her).

Yes, he did kill a lot of people, but with the exception of Stone's wife and little kid (which I never forgave him for), they were all mafiosos and gangsters.

And even though in your view Inferno had their reasons for wanting him dead, when did they actually act on moral and principles? Zwei was a traitor, but he was out of the picture and had all intentions to stay out. He held no importance to Inferno, so I really don't see any reason for them to bother so much in order to find and kill him.

So, yeah, the ending did make sense, but even if it had ended the other way around, I think it would have been a fine and adequate conclusion to the series.

That's true. I can only think why Inferno would be after him is because he knew the leader of Inferno, so they're after him to silence him. I just don't know. What do you think about this?

Feb 11, 2020 1:09 AM

#146

Tykesha

Offline

Sep 2018

1

Just got done watching this. I was totally dumbfounded by the ending and the story before coming to this page. A lot of what funkotaku's post said definitely feels accurate. I'm not buying the whole bullet casing being form her gun. The casing is in a completely different field of grass with no Granium flowers in sight besides MAYBE the very foreground which looks like buds of flowers that have yet to sprout, if anything. If Eren was given a different outfit at the end to show time had passed to a different day, that would've helped explain saying time had gone on since before the "transparent" part of the song to after where she is shown having committed suicide in the field. But she is still wearing the same outfit so either she has very little selection of clothing, it's the same day, or the director didn't want to make it that easy to figure out.

It's good to know this stuff never happens in the VN though (looking at comment #5 from ItaDrakere)

Feb 19, 2021 7:55 PM

#147

MaskedEconomist

Offline

Feb 2021

1

Hey guys I like all the comments but I disagree for those who say she came back later. Here is why. She is wearing the exact same clothes and looks the same . Yes it starts out at the Day time but it ends the same day in the evening, meaning Reiji and Eren were there in that spot for many hours before anyone shot him. I think once she got up and turned around after touching the flower, which is a poisonous one, she saw Reiji on the floor dead. He did walk away for a short distance before that but he was at a tree just a few feet away from where she was. I think they were diagonal to each other, maybe 20 feet away max. So the story in the anime did in fact end that day with them both presumably being dead unless we get a season 2 with some off screen plot we didn’t know about. If you look closely at Eren’s hands when she touches that flower, and then later right after she sits down, one petal is missing implying she ate it , which makes sense because she is lying down on the ground peacefully with a straight face seemingly waiting for death to take her because , as she herself has stated many times , she can’t live in a world without Reiji.

Keep in mind she told Reiji to kill her when they were duking it out in the warehouse so he can spare her the pain of being in a world without him. Most import for her this whole time after her injury is that at least he was alive.

At the end when she looks up and fades away when the song Transparent comes on, I think that’s to show that she’s transitioning from smiling when looking at Reiji to realizing he’s not lying down because he wants to, but because he was shot. thus right after that we get the missing petal and her lying down scene. So for those of you who think these scenes are in different days, I disagree. I think based on their previous statements in the show and the evidence I’ve presented , these scenes all took place on the same day. Reiji walks a few feet away in the distance while still observing her, and this is during the evening time so they got a chance to at least spend a full day together in pure peace for once .

For those quoting Eren saying “this is enough for me to keep living, “, it means that she is now not feeling useless and empty like before because she knows they don’t have to search anymore for her past and that they found her place of memories; I.e she feels like a person now not a mindless puppet. But this was before she turned around to look at him. This dialogue was said when he was behind her and he asked her if she was sure this is the place. So they spent a few hours taking in the scenery after that and then we have the tragic ending of both of them dying .

Hope what I said makes sense because I typed it out in an unstructured manner so things aren’t very organized in my thoughts here hahah.

Nov 20, 2021 9:59 PM

#148

hacker09

Offline

Dec 2019

3353

The first post and last one in the second page just confirmed to me that this anime is pure bullshit and crap

Click here to see My Tampermonkey Scripts For MAL

If you like my work, please consider supporting it!
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Mar 10, 2022 12:05 PM

#149

LasagnaEnjoyer

Offline

Nov 2021

1

If anyone is even reading this post here then I can add that Elen definitely ate the flower because in one of the scenes you can see that one of the leaves are are missing.

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