Story - 8. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. Such a wonderful name. Just saying the name was quite exciting. And the setting? Muy Bien. To stage a story of a “phantom,” what could be better than the very underground of which we know nothing of? The underground, a shadow of the working class, a ghost to those close, yet unaware. Yes, I believe the dark, violent, and mysterious mafia and gang setting was a beautiful stage for this story. The plot was very good. While it really just has to do with the struggle for turf dominance and the fight to ascend in ranks, it’s really the characters that make this all worthwhile, because the characters, whom become phantoms of the lives they used to live, get to show off, just how phantomly they are when dominated the entire underworld. Later, the setting itself becomes the phantom which chases the characters, as they struggle to run from their own shadows. However, I found the last episode very lacking. The twist was interesting, and not expected, but the feel of the episode didn’t quite fit the canvas painted by the plot. This includes the twist, as it really had nothing to add to the plot which had been sewn so intricately. At best, the last episode was really a poorly wrapped box to signify that the contents inside were all you were getting. I’m quite use to the traditional “go out with a bang” and I feel as though that would have been a better way to leave an everlasting impression for this type of series. Thus, I give the story only an eight.
Art - 10. I will step away from my traditional sense of art when I write reviews, because this one requires a little deeper an understanding. I believe that in creating this series, more than just drawing and animation had to go into the art. The author was trying to create an entire painting with the series. He set the plot as the canvas, the music as the mood, and the character’s stories and backgrounds as the subject. He wanted not just the story to be of a phantom, but the entire ordeal to scream that of ghastly conscious. He wanted us to recognize that every detail that went into it was a feature of a phantom, the underground, the lost characters, even the scenery which most would consider ordinary, is phantomly in that it is something our characters can never grasp, and always wonder and muse over.
Sound - 10. This certainly played into the mood of each scene, as the author wanted you to know when someone was about to have their soul ripped from them, he wanted you to know when the main characters were going change the atmosphere, he wanted you to see the light being sucked out of each scene as the phantom like characteristics of arrived.
Character - 10. The thing I found most enjoyable about the character was the development (if you could call it that). Each main characters were phantoms of by having their souls ripped straight from them. Having a normal life taken away and dangled in their faces. Having them disappear from the world. It wasn’t just that they were feared assassins of the underworld, it was so much more, every single fiber and aura emitting from them was that of a phantom.
Enjoyment - 7. I truly did find it enjoyable, the fact that we can pick out every little bit that the writer chose to make phantomly, but not only was the ending lacking, overall, every transition was bad. As a new setting was reaffirmed, we had to be given an entire episode to readjust, only for it to be torn open again (the tearing was fine, as the action is what you come to want from this series). Right up to the very end, where we once again, are forced to readjust and figure out what they’re doing and what mood to faun over for the characters we follow.
Overall - 9. I do like this average. The author obviously put a lot of work into creating the perfect stage, and if you don’t pay attention to everything, you just might miss the phantom. I just wish the transitions weren’t so abrupt and the same for the ending as well. I would definitely recommend this as an animation for those fanatics who constantly like to dissect an animation, and determine the why’s of the author’s purpose for putting everything in.
