Musaigen no Phantom World

Over the past few years, I have been a witness to the rapid decline of KyoAni. First came Chuu2, a middling but otherwise inoffensive rom-com. Then came Kyoukai no Kanata, an absolute disaster of writing, and the creaking of KyoAni's creative efforts could start to be heard. And now, several more mediocre series later, we have Musaigen no Phantom World, a title so vapid and effortless that I believe KyoAni has finally reached the point of being irredeemable. KyoAni is over. It is over, and it's not coming back.

If not for the KyoAni name—now worthless— nobody would have cared about what Phantom World has to ... offer. It is your typical, uninspired rom-com that we get in the dozens every single year. There is nothing you have not seen here before, and nothing to inspire a viewing aside from the fact that it 'looks and sounds nice'. They stayed KyoAni on the outside, but on the inside they are merely a shallow, rotting husk of what they used to be.

It is not even worth the time to discuss the art of Phantom World. Anyone who has seen even a single KyoAni anime knows exactly what they're getting here. Their art no longer impresses me. I am also getting tired of forgiving their shows' terrible plots and characters just because they happen to look pretty. If all they are now capable of is drawing cute characters and flashy OPs and EDs, then perhaps they should leave anime and go work on manga and TV commercials instead?

KyoAni seems to have forgotten what made previous titles like K-ON and Haruhi so successful: characters. There is not a character within the show who is developed in any meaningful way, and only one—Kurumi— is even worth a damn, and that's not just because I love twintails and wish to be surrounded by twintailed beauties for the rest of my days. Kurumi is the only one who actually feels like a person and not just an assortment of tropes slapped together ('cool', 'big boobs', 'tsundere'). She acts remarkably her age; her seiyuu even goes as far as to stutter and poorly enunciate her words, as a girl in primary school would. Minase? I had to look through the character listing to even remember her name.

Phantom World has another one of those 'dumb male friend' characters, similar to Ishiki from Chuu2, but manages to do so little with him that you forget he even exists. Not only is he a waste of space like just about every character in this show, but it is real tiring seeing all these pseudo-harem anime incapable of making a second male character who is actually a competent person and not just background fodder or some dumb, running gag.

Ruru, the show's mascot character, clearly exists only to sell merchandise and figures. Unlike, say, Tamako Market's Dera-chan, who was actually a unique and amusing character, the little fairy here is nothing but an annoyance. Her small size is quite fitting, being little more than a fly buzzing around in the protagonist's and the viewer's faces. It is also quite pathetic how the show attempts to make us care for her suddenly, the protagonist stretching his hand out towards the sky and screaming! Tears! Drama! Give me a break.

Phantom World regularly treats its audience like it is a mass of buffoons who have never been to school. It uses—you guessed it— Schrodinger's Cat in a vain attempt to seem more philosophical and meaningful than it actually is. Yes, we know what Schrodinger's Cat is. We are not idiots. It does not need to be explained to us for the umpteenth time in anime. The show even goes as far as to explain what a trojan horse is, as if we know absolutely nothing about the world and have been sitting on our mommy's lap sucking our thumb since the day we were born.

Not only does Phantom World pull the awful transfer student trope, but the character is literally accepted into the school within hours of attaining their 'human form', and they do so without any form of identification or previous educational experience that would, you know, be necessary in a school transfer? It is true that the series is not attempting to be perfectly realistic, but if it wants to use the high school setting then at the very least it should actually try to have its high school resemble a high school.

Nothing interesting is done with the premise, aside from, say, creating excuses for nonsense like all the characters suddenly turning into cats. I'm sorry, but giving the girls cat ears and tail and making them end all their sentences with "nyan" does not do anything to improve the quality of the show. I enjoy cuteness in anime quite a bit, but the least KyoAni could do is try to make it more natural and less artificial, less like they are writing and structuring the anime by checking off boxes for everything that has ever been considered 'cute'. I half-expected there to be an episode where everyone starts calling the protagonist "onii-chan".

There are regular doses of fanservice, in scenes such as the main heroine, Mai, doing the limbo dance, her boobs jiggling and bouncing all over the place for the viewer's apparent satisfaction. Fanservice as a whole really needs to go away from anime, at least as far as its sexual incarnation is concerned. There exist hentai, doujins, eroge and other forms of pornography for a reason. If I wanted to feel aroused, I would watch or read one of the above-mentioned media—they do it far better. I do not come to anime to see butts and panties and girls being licked by slimy monster tongues as if I am a child who does not know what porn or sex actually is. I love sexy things about as much as I love the story-driven stuff, but the two really need to not mix unless it is absolutely necessary. I can count on one hand the times an anime has been able to pull that off successfully.

At least Kyoukai no Kanata, as poorly-written as it was, could be given the slightest bit of credit for trying. Phantom World doesn't even do that much. It is as if KyoAni has accepted that their best days are forever behind them, and have now resigned themselves solely to producing lifeless, mediocre rubbish that will be forgotten after a month's time. Even producing something completely middling like Chuu2 now seems to be beyond their reach. Their in-house writers are so incompetent that they may as well just go back to adapting visual novels again; they've clearly demonstrated how incapable they are of doing anything themselves.

People will still watch Phantom World because it is made by KyoAni. There are many people who still hold fond memories of the anime KyoAni used to make, and there are those who have only just started watching their more successful titles and do not yet know what the KyoAni of today is like. These fans are being manipulated and lured into watching a bad anime merely because it looks and sounds like a KyoAni title, and not because it is actually a worthwhile story on its own merits. It is a husk. Shiny it may be, but empty it is and will ever be. A sad sight indeed.

But the anime industry is a big place, and it will live on regardless, even if one of its most influential studios has withered away. Anime doesn't need KyoAni anymore. It's time to move on. I already have.

If there's something strange
in your neighborhood
Who ya gonna call?
PHANTOM BUSTERS!

Musaigen no Phantom World is what I like to call the King of Stereotypical! What do I mean by that? Well, let us begin the lecture! Take notes, young lads!

High school setting?
Light novel adaptation?
Main character is a male, and the only male?
... Main character is also pretty darn useless?
Harem of girls with different tropes?
One has big boobies?
One is flat?
One is a loli?
The girls are only known for said one note features?
Accidental fan service?
Nothing actually happens?

See what I mean? This show is full of cliches! In fact, it's a bit too cliche. But the thing is, it isn't a bad show! One thing for sure is that it can get very entertaining! The animation and art is incredibly high quality, the soundtrack is also good, and the waifus are adorable! Sure, it's got no substance in terms of plot and whatnot, but really, waifus are the only reason you need to watch this show.

Pros:
- Beautiful art and animation! A really great show to look at!
- OP is catchy and the soundtrack is good too! A great show to listen to!
- You get a waifu, he gets a waifu, she gets a waifu, everybody gets a waifu!
- Characters, albeit not developed or original in any sense, are still very likable!
- Entertaining action and jokes!
- Fanservice ;)

Cons:
- What is a story?
- What is character development?
- Generic as balls!
- Pretty boring MC.
- Fanservice ;-;

Story: 3
Hmmm, is this even a story? Musaigen no Phantom World's story is all over the place, and by that, I mean it's absolutely nowhere. It's basically episodic, with each episode dealing with a different phantom or situation that has absolutely nothing to do with any of the other situations the characters faced. Any explanations throughout the story are undetailed or forced, the stakes aren't high at all, characters come and go on a whim, and yeah, it's basically just a really messy story. But some episodes do redeem this story from being a one, as some of them are actually pretty touching or funny! Either way, don't watch this show expecting a Shinsekai Yori tier story. Nah, don't do that.

Art: 9
Take my money, Kyoto Animation, take my damn money, for Musaigen no Phantom World has some really high quality art and animation! In fact, the only reason it isn't a 10 is because it gets lazy sometimes. The action scenes are like borderline ufotable, and the character designs are so damn colorful and crisp to the maximum! Sometimes I feel like I'm watching Pokemon but with Fate/Stay Night UBW budget.

Sound: 7
That OP though, so damn catchy! The soundtrack is also good, although nothing to write home about. In reality, it's the seiyuus that shine in this series, for they definitely capture the "characteristics" (cause really, how characteristic can these waifus be?) of their characters! All in all, the sound is great, nothing special, but still up there.

Character: 6
WAIFUS!!!! So, besides the generic and boring MC, you got a nice selection of girls to add to your waifu collection. Sure, the waifus are generic as well, but they still have a lot of character and are really likable if thou art a casual. You got the hot tempered and big boobied Mai, who can beat anyone at limbo. You got the shy, flat, but incredibly moe Reina, who is one of those filthy bastards who can eat 5000 caloriesa day and gain 0 pounds. (Screw those guys). You have the underaged loli Kurumi, who is just pure moe (and a good reason to go to jail). You got Koito, the cold and serious one who, you guessed it, opens up to the MC for some reason. And of course, you got the little fairy Ruru, who is just there for comedic relief and midget fan service! Pretty unoriginal? Yes. Still likable? I guess?

Enjoyment: 7
Musaigen is one of those ups and downs anime. Due to its episodic nature, some episodes will be better than others! While there were some that were kinda boring and a chore to sit through, there were some that were genuinely entertaining or even feels heavy! Those good episodes overshadowed the bad ones for me, but not everyone is gonna agree on that one.

Overall: 5
Generic, unoriginal, shit story, but not a bad show overall! It's another one of those entertainment > quality kind of shows, and I'm not a hater of those! Go you, Musaigen!

TL;DR: I ain't afraid of no Phantoms.

Nearly every year for the past few years, we’ve been getting a new series by Kyoto Animation. The studio alone invites attention as they are a powerhouse studio for high quality production in terms of technical visuals. But when it comes to storytelling, there’s a mixed bag there. Just ask Kyoukai no Kanata. However, this is Myriad Colors Phantom World, a series about a group of teenagers dealing problems with Phantoms, creatures that comes in forms of all different shape and sizes due to imaginative perception. What I like to describe this show is a festival of fan service and nothing more than a punch ... in the face to fans who thought they were actually expecting some good.

Adapting from the light novel of the same name, it’s noticeable that the series itself has very limited volumes. Prior to the animation adaptation announcement, there was only 1 volume published until they decided to release another volume around Fall 2015. What does this mean? It basically implies that the show follows a lot of original concepts. Light novel adaptations are usually a big hit or miss and this is no exception. As a matter of fact, it’s far from it. Myraid Colors Phantom World has a lot of potential that can be explored. What does it do instead? It executes a messy story with no coherent plot. Rather, it takes advantage of its female characters like the big boobed Mai and advertise them like a walking billboard of Ms. Fanservice.

The first episode isn’t just merely dumb but also trades its potentials for eye candy fan service. Now, I don’t have a big problem with that as it should be expected from a show like this. The real problem is that the show strives on it and ante so aggressively that you’ll soon find yourself wondering what the hell the show is really about. To paraphrase, the show is about an incident that happened 10 years ago that changed how humans perceive the world. And this incident also granted certain humans with special abilities to fight the Phantoms, mystical beings that pollute the world with their presence. The main male protagonist is Haruhiko, a young boy with the ability to seal Phantoms by drawing them into his sketchbook. Joining him on his quest is Mai Kawakami, a girl who can fight using an ability called 'Spirit of the Five Elements' that allows her to channel elemental energy into her fists. The problem with the duo is that their performance have been dreadful so they recruit new members to their team. In essence, the story is about these characters fighting phantoms although there will be times when you’ll be scratching your head because of how farfetched the show attempts to focus on its gimmicks.

As for the other characters, we got Reina Izumi, a girl with a large appetite and ability to seal Phantoms by eating them. Koito Minase, a loner with the ability to use soundwaves and music to fight off Phantoms also gets involved in their affairs. The four main characters are basically established as crusaders to rid the world of Phantoms. As heroic as this sounds, the show is hard to take seriously with their daily misadventures and shenanigans. Almost all the characters suffers from some generic trait that is easily forgettable. Haruhiko is also a very dull male protagonist as it looks like the girls are often the ones dominating the missions and he is more of the supporting player. The show is also structured more based on individual characters for the first half of the series but Haruhiko gets almost no characterization at all. Even Kurumi, a little girl with a cute teddy bear gets her own spotlight episode while Haruhiko is on the sidelines drawing pictures and being nearly irrelevant.

Despite my issue with the storytelling, the creativity of the series is actually quite fun to get attached to. Phantom World takes advantage knowing that and puts characters into imaginative worlds that seems to be inspired by other fantasy fiction. In addition, the show’s Phantoms are all diverse and nothing seems repetitive with what the characters fight on a weekly basis. It also ties to their interpersonal problems at times so there’s more purpose than trying to increase the team’s performance scores. On the other hand, the comedy is generally a miss. The lewd jokes quickly becomes old and repetitive with no sense of purpose other than being what it is. Then, there’s Ruru, a character that adds nothing more than as a comical foil and often suggestive remarks. Many of the other comedic moments deals with the episodes themselves like cat shenanigans, awkward dialogues, and fan service that’s shoved down our throats.

As with most Kyoto Animation series, the visual quality is solid. Ranging from the artistic backgrounds to the imaginative concepts, the studio puts a fair amount of effort to make the show look gloriously good. Character designs are what people will expect from the studio with a high concentration of colors. Then, there’s of course the fan service. The camera really seems to have a fetish or something for Mai because every episode focuses on her body more than her character. Just watch the infamous limbo scene if you’re wondering why. It also seems like her breasts bounces up and down nearly every episode like it’s denting the laws of physics…

Soundtrack is moderate. Nothing more or nothing less is the easy way to say it. The OP song has some decent choreography while the ED song is very playful with the main girls. Character voice mannerism is also moderate although Ruru acts like she is trying to be as irritating as she can be each time she’s on screen. Koito’s cold personality is reflected in her voice and she has an emo-like voice mannerism that’s easily forgettable. I guess that can be said the same for Haruhiko since he’s about as dull as watching paint dry. The battle OST is another story though. That’s actually quite decent.

It’s a silly series in the end. Really, there’s not much to it besides the show being somewhat self-aware and trying to capitalize on its premise. In the end, what it delivers is a less than average story but more of a generic fest of ridiculousness. And if you ask yourself why, it’s probably because the show isn’t met to be taken seriously in the first place. However, it’s still a foolish show to embrace because almost every episode feels like a lazy grab bag of uncharacteristic ideas that’s executed by the characters. There will be some episodes that have better characterization than the others. But for all it’s worth, the show is a joke of itself. And it’s not really funny at all.

There are many things I found interesting and not so interesting about Musaigen no Phantom World. Perhaps one of the most notable things about the damn show is that it's entire story, characters, and other plot related things are overused. During my time watching this show, it felt like I have literally seen this type of show with the same concepts, plot and similar characters way too many times.. It was too typical, better yet generic. Now, don't get me wrong the show itself is pretty decent, good amount of fan service, watchable and has its moments of where it stands out sometimes, however I ... just didn't think the original creator and KyoAni used their full potential while making the anime adaption.

Now I won't go rambling on too much about how much I was dissatisfied with it. Because as mention earlier I said it was interesting, here is why. While the show may lack creativity the characters and entertainment that occurs during the show is actually at time completely enjoyable. a few of the things I liked most about it was that the episodes were sort of refreshing in a way. The show doesn't spend too much time focusing on many different and unnecessarily convoluted problems for like 2-3 episodes. Just about Every episode you can expect a new phantom to appear, new problems to develop plus you, well I got to enjoy seeing so much craziness occur.

Now, back to characters again, I didn't really care for our main characters. As far as character personalities, appearance, and design the character sort of felt like, or came off as if they being forced to be cute. The guy, our plain, vanilla MC was so generic that I really cannot add any sort of personal opinion on him. I kid you not, and I am so glad many other users have noticed too, but there is a character like him every other anime season. "plain" "generic" "Special power only the MC" and same personality that is shared many other Main characters in shows like this.

Aside from them being boring I noticed that a lot of the characters special abilities were kind of ripped off from the series Date-A-Live. I only noticed this after watching the latest D.A.L. movie. both girls use their voices to attack and repel enemy attacks and Loli's both have an attachment to their animals, although one is a teddy bear and Yoshino's is a puppet.

Now with that said, I cannot delve too much into characters being ripped off of each other. That is because original characters died around the late 90's or at the very latest early 2000s' If I had to guess I would personally say around 2002-2006 was the era in which OC characters died. In a way I do believe it makes since though because after time, the only logical thing to do is take old characters and try to mold them into your own characters. For example many artist and creators, like to take characters from other shows and add their own personal experiences to those characters and things usually take off from there.

Moving on from characters and stuff, which agitated me for some odd reason, the animation was pretty damn fine. Characters were very well animated from their original designs. Lots of the fighting scenes were great, however not too special. There were some exciting moments and some less, overall I'd have to say a fair amount.


In the end I ended up giving the show a 6/10 because there is lots of potential, or unused potential in this show. Overall I felt like it was Musaigen no Phantom World was simple. Nothing too extraordinary or extravagant enough worth mentioning. I personally believe that it will be a title that will soon be forgotten. Lastly, yes, I do have to agree that it is not the best thing to come out of Kyoto animations... Animation was great, music was okay however the overall presentation was mediocre.. or "Fine" at best.

I'm writing this review in defense of Musaigen no Phantom World

So, a lot of people have rated this anime pretty critically (it only scoring a 6.8 as an indicator) and reading, and after reading through some reviews, I wanted to defend (and concur) with some of the reviews.

STORY - 6: Many people have criticized Musaigen no Phantom World's episodic storyline; citing that there is no plot. In my opinion, the plot of Musaigen wasn't the greatest, yet by far it is not as bad as some might claim. True, there is a new phantom to fight in each episode, but that is a tool that ... the author uses in order to develop Musaigen's characters. With each phantom, it has some sort of connection to one of the characters. That character develops throughout the episode, and eventually overcomes their shortcomings to defeat whatever evil has sprouted once more. Plotwise, the anime is simple. High school kids go toe to toe with mysterious phantoms. You can't go expecting Attack on Titan or Fullmetal Alchemist-type story and plotlines. Musaigen only had 13 episodes to work with, and half of those episodes were spent on developing the large character cast. It's plot serves its purpose in being a simple, fun 13 episode anime. So that's why, in my opinion, the plot and story of Musaigen isn't as bad as some claim.

ART - 10: The art style and animation in this anime is amazing. It's comparatively better than most Shonen animes. In fact, it competes on level with high-budget anime. The fights are well choreographed and smooth as butter. There aren't any awkward frames or scenes anywhere in the anime. In my opinion, Kyoto Animation knocked it out of the park with this one.

SOUND - 10: The voice acting and soundtrack, likewise with the art, is amazing. The voice actors are all very talented, expressing emotion perfectly through the characters. The voice actors really bring the cast to life. The soundtrack is also nice. The upbeat music really brings in the action and fight scenes. The OP's and ED's are also amazing.

CHARACTERS - 8: This is another category in which many people criticize Musaigen. True, the stereotypical kuudere, tsundere, and loli are there, but they don't let those stereotypes define the characters. The MC also doesn't end up in exaggerated, cliche situations with the cast either. Each of the characters has their own personality. Although you could call Mai a tsundere, she doesn't really act like how a stereotypical tsundere would act. The same could be said with all the characters. Each character also gets a chance in the limelight with the MC, providing a welcome space to develop themselves, aforementioned. The MC also doesn't get himself involved in the stereotypical harem-y type situations with the cast. Although there are hints of romance, they are light and fluffy, adding to the overall enjoyment. The same goes for the fanservice. Although it is there, it's not really done in a sexual sort of way. The anime doesn't sexualize the loli-type character, and what fanservice is there is mostly done for laughs.

OVERALL - 10: I personally really enjoyed this anime. If you're looking for an immersive world, with a deep storyline and tension, then this isn't the anime for you. Musaigen no Phantom World is a fun, fluffy anime that you could enjoy on the weekends. It certainly isn't a gamechanger, but the 4th wall breaks and references are a welcome surprise. It's an enjoyable anime, that shouldn't get the 6.8 it has. So in all, if you're into a light, fun anime, I would give Musaigen no Phantom World a chance.

Let's put the negative review aside.

I can say that KyoAni is trying to improve in somewhat action-oriented animation prodiction. And I found Musaigen no Phantom World to be enjoyable, of course it's really different from their earlier works, but it's a good presentation of what they're trying to do.

I want to point some of the things that actually I considered to be a good change.

1. Their presentation of animation style in action is actually really good. You can't deny that the characters movement while fighting is really smooth than most of action anime. Also the added effects in fight scenes might need to be brushed ... a bit, but they're pretty neat so far.

2. For me, Story plot is really interesting, the world setting might be similar with most fantasy anime but this one is really refreshing, and I found every episode is pretty fun to watch.

And the thing that I found lacking, is.

1. At the end of Episode, Like most anime, the ending is pretty proportional with the weight of the whole story, and I find that really predictable which made me unsatisfied. And after watching the final episode, those whole interesting story became not so interesting, because of the not-so-significant plot twist, and that's really predictable, I just know it from watching the 5th episode that there's no real plot twist, but still, it's really unsatisfiying.

2. Those plot might be a bit inappropriate for underaged viewer, and I think they should made it clear to whom this show is being shown at. But I have no problem with how the story is being stringed up. Pretty interesting If I say so. Some people might think KyoAni confused personal fetishism with people amusement. It's okay, like as I said before, they should made it clear to whom this show is being shown at. I won't be hypocryte, I like what KyoAni did there.

And so, I declare Musaigen no Phantom World to be a good Anime to watch, if you're looking for amusement, and a bit interesting environment setting. Just don't ask children to watch it so seriously because.. uhm.. you know....

Musaigen no Phantom World is an anime that is both highly overrated and highly underrated. Wait a minute though, how can that be? Aren't those mutually exclusive? Not at all. To understand what is going on here, we must delve into some basic history of Kyo-ani.

For the past few years, Kyoani has been keeping this pattern of shows that feature cute girls with some supernatural elements thrown into a fairly straightforward story plus an overall lighthearted atmosphere. Amagi Brilliant Park, Kyoukai no Kanata, and to a lesser degree Chuunibyou are examples of this trend. And now comes Musaigen to add to ... this growing pile.

The thing that seems to be annoying fans is that Kyoani is somewhat guilty of self plagiarism. The characters in Musaigan all feel somewhat...familiar. Very familiar. "Didn't we see this character in that other show Kyoani did two years ago?" familiar. Musaigen is also very episodic, which is something anime fans probably didn't want. The result is a lot of people love to hate this show. It gets put up on a spike and hailed around as proof that Kyoani is done for. They have nothing left. Problem with this mentality is it just isn't true. It's hating a show for reasons that have to do with other shows by the same studio, which doesn't really tell you much about the quality of Musaigen as a stand alone work.

On the flip side, rabid Kyoani fans who love everything they do absolutely gobble it up like it's another masterpiece. Musaigen is decent, but a masterpiece it is certainly not. The story is enjoyable and the characters are entertaining, but it's also very forgettable. The last couple of episodes of Musaigen was the only thing that made the show stand out from the rest. The only key ingredient that makes the show worth watching over others from the same season is the higher standard of art and animation quality that Kyoani generally aims for.

The reality here is if Musaigen and Amagi switched air dates, they would probably switch critical reception as well. People would be hating on Amagi for being a clone of Musaigen. Musaigen, for all its troubles, isn't actually that bad.

If you can look past the controversy and just judge Phantom World for what it is and not what you want it to be, it's a good weekend watch. Just don't expect anything seriously deep or amazing. Go into this show with realistic expectations and it's fairly enjoyable.

Aside from Erased’s score, this seems to have trousled the most bones in the Winter 2016 season, and it’s hard to see why. Look, I know everyone thinks “waaahhhh kyoani is rip!!!” But, come on. It can’t be that bad… right…? Ri--oh GOD she won a game of Limbo by bouncing her tits? WAAAHHHH KYOANI IS RIP!!!

I want to feel bad for whoever originally conceived Myriad Fuck-ups Phantom World. I think the concept of this series is pretty great: some virus breaks out and causes the brain to function differently, therefore causing supernatural beings, known as "Phantoms", to be seen by people. Children birthed and ... breastfed afterwards would then develop superpowers so that Phantoms can be fought against.

I want to like the concept, but since Phantoms appear all the time and can have major effects, it makes me wonder what the fuck anyone did before all these super-powered kids showed up to get rid of Phantoms. Like, they say Phantoms have always been around, only no-one could see them before, but when they’re able to send people to other dimensions or turn everyone within a wide radius into a fucking cat, it’s a miracle that society could even develop with these buggers around. Then you have the superpowers which make little-to-no sense. Everyone birthed and breastfed after this virus just ends up with superpowers for fighting Phantoms. ...except instead of everyone having really basic and similar powers or something, characters can have very unique and specific powers, like controlling a teddy bear, fondling your own titties, or going “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”.

But, whatever. Ignoring the questions regarding the concept, I still kinda like it. To make it better, the show incorporates pre-existing themes of psychology as well; most episodes will start off with the main character explaining a theory that will be demonstrated in the episode. With this, I want to believe the original author was throwing out some legitimate ideas for a story and all, but some editor/publisher came in and said "NAH" to a bunch of it, and made it more "accessible" by adding in dumb fanservice, annoying "cutesy" characters, and by removing any sort of plot. Now it’s a true light novel! But that's just what I optimistically believe. I don't actually know how this gallery of dicks came into being.

But, despite having some interesting ideas, they are executed in the most boring, overused, generic, and uninteresting way possible. Instead of having a remotely interesting plot with an actual villain or drama, we get a series of episodes that each introduce some new Phantom, which the boring protagonist and his near-equally boring friends must dispose of somehow as part of their duty in their boring school. There is no plot whatsoever. Something weird will happen, and then someone will ask “Is this the work of a Phantom?!” like a complete fucking idiot (this happens literally every episode what the hell do they think it is), they struggle to get rid of the Phantom until they get rid of the Phantom, and then they go home and repeat the process the next day. That’s the “story.” Hooray.

Musaigen seems to be action-based for the most part, but fights are actually very short and forgettable despite the great production values. The only things I actually remember are the laughable things, such as Haruhiko’s somehow endearing summons (Cthulu best girl) and the chants that characters, for some reason, HAVE to use in order to use their abilities. Thank god, because this show couldn’t rightfully call itself a comedy without them. (shirabeshirabeshirabeshirabeAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)

Instead of fighting, most situations are cleared through problem solvin………erm, scratch that. No, in order to make most Phantoms go or be sealed away peacefully, the characters just go along with whatever their conundrum is or fix their life problems themselves, whether it’s by participating in a really really bad play or by slapping red paint on your ass. This is what true, quality action is all about, kids. And no, I’m not specifically saying that the fanservice of this show is stupid. It’s just the events causing the writers to make excuses to have fanservice that are stupid.

While each episode tries to add more to the characters, these efforts are pretty silly and forgettable, and anything we learn about the characters has no actual value to the “narrative”. For example, Reina has some over-protective parents who don’t want her fighting Phantoms for no reason at all (no, we don’t actually meet her parents, but we should be grateful because this is the only character with any sort of backstory), but that conflict is resolved in an episode or two. And what do we get out of it? Nothing. Nothing changes at all. The series pretends to develop its characters, but at best they made Minase less of a cunt. That’s all I got out of thirteen episodes.

“But episodes 11-13 were so great and emotional!” --that annoying voice in my head that spouts out potential arguments. They were great and emotional in the same way that Oreo changing the color of their cremes each season is great and emotional. Congrats to Nabsico for changing something and putting a little heart into it, but at the end of the day I’m still getting a goddamn sandwich cookie. And that cookie is more valuable to me than this entire anime.

I should regroup before I lose everyone here. My point is that a good episode of Myriad Colors is still Myriad Colors. It’s not interesting, it’s often annoying, and the characters are lame. I’m afraid that it’s a little too late to make me invested in the characters that you’ve already taken the opportunity to establish.

So, who is this phenomenal cast of weridos? There’s Haruhiko, your traditional high school kid who doesn’t live with his parents because reasons and has no personality at all. Mai is your typical hot-headed female lead who does most of the fighting. Mai’s Breasts support Mai a lot and help her fight. Reina, the only character with a backstory and a superior design, should actually be the fanservice character. Everyone likes a girl that swallows. MinAHHHHHHHse speaks for herself. Probably listens to shit music tho. There’s also Ruru. … … … … … … I’d really rather not talk about this character.

Before I go on, has anyone seen this child? She’s like five years old with lavender hair and carries a teddy bear around. Please, anyone, come claim her soon because her voice is giving me cancer, and she has no reason to be in this show.

The soundtrack of this show is flat. Nothing about it stands out in any way. The OP and ED are generally the main catches of an anime, but they’re passable at best. The voice acting isn’t particularly bad, but Rurururiruiuriuriururiuaiuruiairuri and Kurumi have incredibly annoying voices. It doesn’t help that this shithead Tinker Ruru needs to insert her opinion into literally everything that happens on the fucking screen. Can you tell that I’m annoyed? I hate this character so much. If there’s any saving grace, it’s that Reina has the smoothest, sexiest womanly voice ever, and the noise she makes when using her power is hot. (the jokes literally write themselves with this girl)

To save the best for last, the art is incredible. Nothing less should be expected from Kyoto Animation, even in their bad shows. The character designs are gorgeous, but Mai wears some really weird outfit consisting of a yellow vest over a black long-sleeved shirt. It doesn’t look good, and it breaks consistency, since she goes to a school and everyone but her wears the same uniform. I thought they just gave her that outfit so that Mai’s Breasts could get more screentime, but then she ditches the vest and wears the normal uniform and Mai’s Breasts are still perfectly visible then. Yeah, I dunno. The other thing is that the series starts off with an amazing sequence where Haruhiko is barely awake, and the world looks like a giant Tetris level for a bit because that’s how brains work now. It’s beautiful and had me incredibly stoked for what lied ahead, but there aren’t any more great sequences like that for some reason.

However, even if I wanted a little more, there still wasn’t a dull moment in the visuals for me. The Phantoms have a mystical, cartoony vibe to them, and the show certainly lives up the name “Myriad Colors Phantom World” by being really colorful with its attacks and environments. It’s hard to deny that the Gumdrop Kingdom or whatever the fuck that stupid teddy bear world was was ugly, despite its vomit-inducing sillyness. I hate kids.

If there’s anything else to say, it’s that Myriad Colors Phantom World wasn’t a disaster, exactly… it wasn’t “so bad that it’s good”, and won’t be considered as such… if anything, the show is just an embarrassment for the legendary Kyoto Animation. Like many series, it has potential, but just doesn’t have the writing or the heart to back it up. Even the things that it actually tries to accomplish are half-hearted.

I wouldn’t even watch it just for the visuals. Just go watch another KyoAni show, really.

Story - 2/10
Art - 8/10
Sound - 3/10
Characters - 2/10
Enjoyment - 2/10
Fanservice - pmmereinahentai/10
Overall - 2/10
Favorite character - Reina
Favorite episode - 12
Recommendation level - Very low

Many of my favorite reviewers rejected this series right away, which made me think negatively of it as well. After so much talk online following episode one’s airing, I grew curious, and decided to watch the first few episodes. It helped that I recognized Kyoto animation’s gorgeous artwork, and kept in mind my love for the Free! series, also done by Kyoani. I was hooked after episode one! Can I also just say that I love the school uniforms?

The characters are probably 50% of why I enjoyed this series so much. I resonate so much with Haruhiko as a person, and his little freak outs ... are unreasonably hilarious to me! Ruru is just a sassy little chatterbox, but she brings so much energy into the room, and not to mention, she's irrisitably adorable! You might not appreciate Reina and Mai that much until a bit later in the series, but they grow on you as well. I will say, however that all of the characters, including Haruhiko (who is supposed to be highly intelligent), can be ditzy at times.

The character development didn't seem to be the creators' main focus of the show, they just sort of sprinkled it here and there, but they did it just enough for me to become emotionally involved. Especially towards the end, Haruhiko really starts "coming into his own", as they say, and I was glad they arranged that, but it seems like they just sort of threw it in.

I was also fascinated by the complexity of phantoms, and enjoyed seeing each different kind of phantom.

This series includes a few moments of ecchi, but it was by no means overdone in my opinion, and it was more comical than sexy.

There is also a subtle sense of harem elements in some episodes, but I enjoyed that it was all kept considerably low-key, and nobody ends up on a real date or even considering an official relationship. It really maintained the series’ light-heartedness.

Kyoani has yet again produced one of my favorites!

Phantom World was a huge disappointment and in my eyes, the worst anime that Kyoto Ani has put out during its entire run featuring boring characters, no sense of direction or plot with its narrative and huge bouncing tits that give me PTSD of the time in which I watched the Eiken OVA.

For starters, it feels like none of the characters were made to be precisely that: characters. It feels as if their entire personality and appearance was made, with the sole purpose of being as marketable as possible to the otaku audience since none of the characters are unique in terms of design nor ... personality.

Mai is the one with the big tits and she is also a potential 'love interest' for our main male protagonist. That's it. Reina is the girl who likes to swallow things whole (rather like Kirby). That's it. Koito is the reserved, cool one. That's it. Kurumi is the loli character. Guess what? That's it. Finally, we have our main character, Haruhiko, the bland self-insert who finds himself surrounded by a bunch of women, likes books and has a vast amount of knowledge to deal with any situation. Literally, every situation. It feels as if Haruhiko's only role in this show is to provide exposition and facts to the other characters in order to conveniently seize a victory against the phantom they are fighting. As a result of this, there is no tension or intrigue in any of these phantom encounters (with the exception of the last) since Haruhiko always has some kind of knowledge hidden away in order to conveniently defeat the enemy.

While on the topic of exposition, there are many episodes which start off with Haruhiko talking to the audience about what the plot of the episode is going to be while telling us every idea and theme that will be related to the proceeding episode. This was not only a boring way to start off an episode as we had to sit through dull exposition but it also makes the proceeding content pointless. If we already know the plot of an episode and what themes and messages they're going to use in said episode BEFORE even watching the show, why should we care? Don't you think it would be more interesting if the audience can interpret stuff ourselves instead of having a character spell out all the plot for us as if we're damn idiots and can't think for ourselves.

The plot is very straightforward opting for a phantom of the week structure, which would be fine if I found any of these encounters to be interesting in the slightest. Most of the phantoms they come across are unique in design but overall don't really do much or pose much a threat and instead seem to be designed with the sole purpose of revealing as much female skin as possible. Such examples include an ape-type phantom, in which they try to seduce him by painting Mai's ass red, or a phantom that changes everyone into a cat or a phantom that places censor bars over the outfits of people to make it seem as if they're wearing nothing at all. It's clearly trying to appeal to every fetish and demographics to try and rake in more viewers and make a few more extra expensive blu-ray sales.

It could be argued that this is all for fun and that the show is trying to be a tongue in check ecchi comedy of some sorts which I could understand if it were not for the fact that everything is so boring and just too stupid for me to even consider this notion. Most situations and story arcs were not created with the purpose of developing characters but instead were made just to appeal to as large as a group as possible. Most of the introductory episodes for the characters at least attempt to develop the characters in some way and try to give the character more depth but there is not nearly enough time devoted to each one to feel as if they have changed at all. The only time a hint of intrigue makes itself apparent in the show is near the end, which actually does a decent job at developing Haruhiko's character while also developing the relationship between the two nicely. Unfortunately, by this point, it was too little too late and the show doesn't allow enough time for all too much development past its surface level.

While the characters and the narrative both suck, the music and the animation are the only two salvageable things out of this entire production. The music kicks ass from the opening credits to the ending and does do a good job at invoking a sense of excitement during the more action-heavy scenes. The animation is very consistent and flows very well from shot to shot with great composition and visual flow combining that with flashy colours and good fight choreography makes for a great visual experience. While the characters are speaking you can also see subtle changes in their facial expressions mid-conversation which shows the talent from both a directing standpoint and a technical standpoint too. The anime, from a technical standpoint, looks great which is why it pains me to see such great animation wasted on a mediocre cast and narrative. In my eyes, this is one of the worst anime Kyoto Ani has made and I wouldn't recommend it, even if you're looking for an ecchi show as there are better ones out there. At least Hibike Euphonium 2 is repairing the damage done to the reputation to this studio...

the animation is awesome, with great characters but the plot is bit off but overall this anime is good, it is not that boring which some people say, each episode features new phantom which is related to the characters with different abilities, so i think its 9/10 it has 13 eps with 1 special ep but still if u r waiting for s2 I don't think it will happen soon enough




7/10: story
becoz here's no real plot/progression. Each episode features some new phantom, they catch the phantom. End.

9/10: art
animation is super good
...
9/10: character
every character is unique and not at all boring

9/10: enjoyment
had fun watching it every eps was good

9/10: overall

give it a try u won't regret it

Musaigen no Phantom World

A world where the line between reality and dreams are combined into one and all of the subconscious thoughts have a physical form, which are defined as Phantoms. Since not all Phantoms aren't good, there are groups of Phantom hunters who specialise in the sealing of these entities with their know abilities. This story follows the life of one group of Phantom hunters starting with a guy named Haruhiko Ichijou and his phantom friend Ruru, who grow by adding more members and gain more experiements throughout the series.

The anime itself was beautiful with the different choices of colours and the battle ... scenes showing even more use of colour. Along with the soundtrack of choice and the voice actors talent made this very enjoyable to watch. The opening song, Naked Drive was also a great choice though I did need a little warming up listening to it before actually enjoying it and same goes with the ending song too.

With the characters, there were a lot of moments that gave me the feeling of, here is another cliche, however, I did like them, even if I had a little crush on Reina Izumi, and allowing to connect to them made the whole series great as they all fell into their own parts for the overall story line.

I very much enjoyed this anime and would want to buy this series on dvd when the change arises so I can go back and revisit that world. Every episode gave me a smile after the twenty odd mins of viewing time and I really hope there is a second season as it would be great to see how these characters grow up from that point.

Why KyoAni? (Spoilers)

Story: 5/10

Musaigen no Phantom World has that generic concept that teenagers doing some magic and going to school bla bla... But in noragami style! Let me explain, teenagers that have some superpowers are hunting imaginary things called phantoms. Some of them dangerous creatures, some of them limbo dancing telephone poles, some of them pervert UFOs... Interesting, right? But actually nothing happened. It's an episodic anime so most of the people hates it (and the fanservice) but I don't care if it's episodic or not. I liked some episodic animes before (OPM, Joukamachi no Dandelion...), so for me the important parts are characters ... and enjoyment. I even liked the plots of the episodes, 11th and 12th episodes were really good. Some drama, some character developments, some serious and ''2 episodic'' plot and BAM! I thought finally my hopes came true, it made me say ''Wow, that anime is getting some good points.'' BUT then, the final episode happened. I was so hopefull for this episode, I waited like serious plottwist, but what I got was action, forced fanservice and an actually no sense plot. That Ruru-Haruhiko thing was stupid and they actually kissed? Sorry but this is forced and bad fanservice. If they made a great final, I would even give 7/10 for story. But the thing I loved is that Haruhiko gives some information about something at every episode's begining and it's the plot of the episode.

Art: 10/10

KyoAni is gorgeous again. KyoAni has my favourite style of character designs and that animations are awesome, even Reina's swallowing power.

Sound: 9/10

At first I didn't like the OP song but now it's so catchy.

Characters: 8/10

The characters are of course loveable, even they're a little cliche. Kyo Ani usually focuses on the characters and they did it again. There is at least one episode that focuses on one character and that character's development. I loved Mai, Reina and Ruru's development but I can't say it for Koito. And sorry Reina, Mai is still the best girl.

Enjoyment: 8/10

This anime is entertaining. I don't know if you're enjoying this series but I am definetly enjoying. Some people say it has too much fanservice but I think it's not. Uhm, maybe some episodes tho... But generally there wasn't over fanservice, and it wasn't harem either. I wanted MaixHaruhiko but it didn't happen. Maybe more romance could make this anime better. We know Kyo Ani is how good at comedy, romance and drama. And yeah the anime was generally full of comedy but every episode's ending has a little drama. Especially last episodes made the drama good.

Overall: 7/10

Well, I actually liked this anime but again it could be a lot better. Especially the story...

True that it is a typical settings of an Anime Having a elements of harem, Male character with lots of girls, loli, big boobs, comedy, ecchi and etc...

BUT that doesn't mean its not good anymore...
i have watched lot of anime but this one is one of the anime that ticked my interest..
Maybe its story is common type tweaked a bit... but i loved it..!!

I don't know if you like it your not..
But to me when you watched a lot of anime and when you are searching something that ticked your mind.. to me this one of them...

Don't judge me because we have ... different of types of likes....

Story: 8
Common settings of Ecchi, Comedy, Cute and Sexy Girls, Harem, Fantasy... ghost, monster

Art: 9
Cute and Cool and the same time.. also in fight scenes, visual effects make it more cooler and sound effect to enhance it..

Sound: 9
Cool and calming well picked sounds... especially in fight scenes.. it make you pump up..!!

Character: 8
Typical Character of Loli, BigBoobs, Bishounen types...!

Enjoyment:10
A LOT.. Erotic, Funny, Cool (in Fight Scenes) "Tonikaku I love it :3..

Im not fan of long talked or Comments that why its short..

Thank you for reading my review though its short.. :3

Don't judge a book by it's cover...

Well for one LA won't say from this premise that it isn't intense or anything, if not all the episodes from 1 to 11 are ALL episodic character episodes, be it gaining new members and developing the new characters or are "themed" episodes with no overarching plotline.

The "themed" episodes does feel like filler and yes it is, however the themes Musaigen no Phantom World gives does connect to the "Phantom" or weird occurrence within that episode, as for the character development, LA will say that the character development does help the characters from being stereotypes and being more ... well-rounded and defined characters and yes it's even from the filler themed episodes they get development through metaphors of the themes at hand.

LA's favourite character is being Haruhiko's first recruit being Reina Izumi voiced by ''Saori Hayami'' as her development and dynamic in the cast helped it get lively (unfortunately once she "enters and finishes her episode development she just becomes another love interest for Haruhiko) and come on Saori Hayami is voicing her, on speaking of Haruhiko, our bland male protagonist is nothing but a spouting expostionary character which can get annoying, he does get some character development episodes to his name and although not as powerful as Mai, Reina, Koito or Kurumi, subverts one of this anime genre tropes of "being too OP for his own good", he's still a dense main male protagonist though. Mai Kawakami is the reluctant fanservice girl of the series and LA gets why some people really like her, however LA still preferred Reina over Mai, as for Mai's development, LA saw that Mai got the best development out of the "supposed harem". The loner Koito Minase voiced by ''Maaya Uchida'' later on, the bear themed Kurumi Kumakura voiced by ''Misaki Kuno'' does get their own character development episodes but again like Reina falls under the harem and "joining the cast", finally we have Ruru voiced by ''Azusa Tadokoro'', the mascot of this anime series and is a Phantom who "helps" and LA says helps as loosely as possible the group, she's really just tags along than anything else until her one episode focused entirely on her. LA has been going to the basics of the characters for this review merely because the bulk of the anime is ABOUT the character interactions with each other under the "themed" or "character-driven" episode.

Oddly enough when LA said that this anime would have the cliched tired trope of "supernatural battle harem", it seems as if that's more of a "place setting" than the core focus of the anime, the core focus is developing the cast through themed episodes as well as building the world and lore of Phantoms and dealing with in wacky and hilarious ways.

In terms of animation done by Kyoto Animation, well LA won't lie, their visual flair and character designs are eye candy to see and with the "wacky" Phantom battles are sometimes a visual spectacle, even if it is a "supernatural battle harem", Kyoto Ani doesn't slack, and that's one of the finer points of Musaigen no Phantom World.

The ending comes in as a 2 episode arc and although the build up is rather predictable, it really starts getting good by the finale episode where that loose plotline way early from anime finally gets brought up as well as a small plot twist that actually made the finale well worth the wait to watch.

Musaigen no Phantom World may fall under the "supernatural battle harem" cliches however due to it's focused episodic format where they develop both the main cast but the world and lore of where Phantoms and humans interact with each other it's more of a slice of life battle harem with both huge expositionary moments from Haruhiko and some of it's anime genre tropes flipped for better or worse...but mainly for the better.

The human brain is possibly the most complex biological entity on planet Earth. It evolved over millions of years into something capable of not only surviving despite having no physical advantage over our predators but also into something capable of deciphering the numerous secrets of the universe.

When an anime tries to tackle something as complex as the human psyche you would think it’s an anime with a serious tone and serious characters. Well, not necessarily, today I am taking a look at the Winter 2016 anime which revolves around the human brain: Musaigen no Phantom World or Myriad Colours Phantom World in English.

Plot and characters

The ... plot of Musaigen no Phantom World revolves around a group of students living in a world in which all sorts of monsters and fairy tale characters run wild. The world being in this state is the result of an accident at a research facility which modified the brain of every human around the world.
The main characters of the show, as I’ve mentioned are a group of students who are all members of the Neural Error Corrections Club; a club in which all the members have superpowers which they use to deal with evil monsters or Phantoms as the show calls them.

Our male lead is the smart but clueless and at times useless Ichijo Haruhiko. He has the power to seal away all the evil Phantoms and along with his teammate Kawakami Mai, who utilizes elemental powers, forms the weakest group in the club. There’s not a lot to say about Haruhiko’s personality he is honestly pretty empy personality wise. The more notable things are his ability to create a harem and his issues concerning his parents which become important towards the end of the series. Other than that he is just there so that the audience can project on to him. He is never directly involved in fights, most of the time being relegated to just sucking up the enemies into his book or summoning other Phantoms to fight for him.

I’ve mentioned her earlier but our main female lead is Kawakami Mai. She is also the poster girl for this anime. Mai is an athletic tomboy who has been friends with Haruhiko for a while before the series begins. Now, you’d think that because she is the poster girl for the series she would get a lot of backstory and screentime. Nope, she is instead given the task of providing as much fanservice as possible with some sexy moves for when she uses an ability and even a scene where Haruhiko paints her butt. Once again, her character also fall short because of the lack of development.
Oh, and there’s also that frankly annoying Ruru who is Haruhiko’s childhood friend Phantom and the shows main source of terrible comic relief. She is a special Phantom who doesn’t want to harm humans and is actually really friendly. She is sort of like Na’Vi, tries to be helpful but ends up being more of a nuisance. She suddenly becomes really important at the end of the show which comes out of the blue considering that she’s basically done nothing up until that point except for messing things up a lot.

We also have some characters who join the main cast after a “quest” has been performed for them. These characters are: the cheerful and shy Izumi Reina, the quiet and mysterious Minase Koito, and the “only exists because we need a loli” Kumamakura Kurumi. All of which suffer from the same problems as our original dynamic duo. With them getting 1 or 2 episodes of character development before being assigned a role and an archetype and then being pushed to the side.
The anime is episodic in nature with only the last 2 episodes being connected by a common plot thread. Almost everything is reset to the status-quo at the end of each episode which makes one episode in particular totally pointless and skipable, coincidentaly this episode is also the hot springs episode of the series.

Let’s talk a bit about the ecchi aspect of the series. I generally find that there is nothing wrong with having some fanservice in a show as long as it doesn’t sacrifice plot just to show me some boobs. This show however takes it’s already non-existing plot and puts some ecchi in it; some very painful ecchi scenes which give me flashbacks to Heavy Object. It’s like they are afraid to put the ecchi in so they half-ass it and somehow make it more in-your-face than it would normally be and also painful to watch at times.

The episodic nature of the series combined with the characters being uninteresting and unchanging for the most part is what ruins what could have been a good show. But alas, it is as my history teacher used to say “History is what has happened, not what could have happened.”


Sound and Animation
This is really where the series shines. Kyoto Animation is the studio behind the animation for this work. I don’t think I exaggerate when I say that this is one of the most beautiful shows ever created. The screen is filled with vibrant colours and the animations are fantastic. Almost feels like this anime had a movie budget for each and every episode. The opening animation, especially is one of the best looking openings I have seen in recent memory. I could go on praising the animation of this series for quite a while so I’m just going to stop myself there.

Now, concerning the sound design of the anime I can’t really praise it that much. Sure, both the opening and ending songs are fun to listen to and there is nothing wrong with the tracks that play during the anime. There’s also nothing praiseworthy, nothing that sticks out and no song that I want to listen to even after the anime is over.

Final verdict

Wasted potential is what I would call Phantom world. It brings an interesting concept and good looking animation but messes up in the story department. There’s some enjoyment to be had with this show particularly if you like vibrant colours and/or softcore ecchi scenes. At the end of the day, I wish they would have focused more on the plot of the series rather than the art and fanservice. Sadly, because of the poor decisions of its creators I’m giving this show a failing grade. At first I really hoped this show would pull itself together and give us something good. I wanted it to be good. But by the time episode 8 rolled around (the hot springs episode) it was obvious that the show wouldn’t be saveable anymore. And so, my final score for this anime is a 4/10.

I'm mixed about Phantom World. While it had its moments, I can't definitely say I enjoyed this show. Should you? Well take a look here to find out.

Pros
- ABSOLUTE STUNNING ANIMATION (Kyoto Ani are Gods)
- Good OST
- Interesting Characters (All the girls at least)
- Use of Ecchi (Pool episode was hilarious)
- Amazing Action scenes

Cons
... - No plot whatsoever, Mystery of Week. (Some people won't mind this but I'm not one of those people ಠ_ಠ )
- Boring and uninteresting Male protaganist. (This is from the same studio that gave us GODLIKE MC's like Kanie from "Amagi Brillliant Park" and Houtarou from "Hyouka")
- Use of Ecchi (Some of it might not be to everyones liking. Some of Mai's ecchi was just dumb especially the limbo scene)
- RURURURRURUR is annoying.
- Forgettable side characters.


Overall, Phantom World had its moments but it was inconsistent with me. With no plot, I found I was forcing myself to watch each episode. A lot of the jokes weren't funny. Shout out to the pool episode, it was the only episode that I enjoyed. I think this show needed 24 episodes because after reading LN, some big I MEAN BIG stuff gets revealed which would have earned respect from me for this show. But, alas this is what we got. This is by means not Kyoto Ani's worst show but their most mediocre.


Give it the 3 episode rule.


Also, Koito best girl
FIGHT ME MAI AND REINA LOVERS !̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿'̿'\̵͇̿̿\з= ( ▀ ͜͞ʖ▀) =ε/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

Hey guys Sup?

So Today I'm going to Be Reviewing an Supernatural Action Anime, an Anime About a Dude that have Supernatural Abilities and also have a Harem as well, an Anime so good that it should have more than 3 Seasons, an Anime With Beautiful Animation and Epic Fights, Today I'm going to be Reviewing Phantom World!!!!

Now Note this Is 100% My Opinions not Facts at all aright.

Now let's get started shall we?

I really Like Supernatural Anime like this One and I did like the Concept of it as well, however the Sexuality is Pretty much almost in every Episodes tbh tho. Now I don't ... mind Fanservice or Ecchi in Anime, but the way Phantom World do it just makes me to watch Hentai tbh. And also the Fight in Episode and 6 feels very Lazy tbh tho, but other than that it was very fun and Watchable as well tho. I really did like the Neko Episode even know it wasn't the Best but it was good and Watchable at least.


Now the Characters in here are so Unique with their Supernatural Abilities and Moe Designed as well tho.


Haruhiko, A Highschool Student that have the Power to Summon "Weak" Creatures (kinda like a Pokemon Trainer tbh tho.), But Tbh he's very awesome tho, great at Drawing and A Cool Harem. He's not on my Top 10 Favorite Characters tho but he's at least on my Top 15 tbh.


Mai, She's The Best Girl in this Anime if you ask me tbh. Sure Her Powers are Sexual but Unique as well tbh, She's very nice After Episode 10, and I just like Her Designed as well tho. Anyways She Just your Highschool Student that Needs to Beat Monster in other to get Money tho. Also She's very Badass as well tho.


Reina, Well, she's really cute tbh tho. She can Eat almost every Type of Phantom out there. And she's kinda of a Tsundere but not one of those who ignores the heck out of you tbh tho.

Koito, A Shy Girl who always Hangout with Haruhiko and the Others tho. She have the Powers of how to put it... Sonic Boom?.. Sound Boom?..... You get my point, once she Scream she unleashed a Sonic Wave. She's also really Badass tbh tho.


Kurumi, A Loli with a Bear that can Fight. She's very Cute and Badass at the same time tbh tho.


Ruru, A Cute and Hilarious Fairy Who Always Follow Haruhiko all the Time. She's very cool and unique tbh tho.

Enigma, I'm not going to Spoil her that much but all I'm going to say is that she's the Main Villain of this Show and She's very Badass as well tbh.


The Animation It's Animated by KyoAni so I did Expect Colourful and Moe Animation. What I didn't really Expect was the Epic Fights!!! Sure I say That in Episode 5 and 6 The Fights are Lazy but that's just Episode 5 and 6, other than that is Amazing tbh tho.


Soundtrack/OST Is very great tbh. The Opening is Very Catchy as well tho. The OST can be sometimes Epic or Peaceful. For me it was really cool tbh.

Final Results:8/10


This my Friends, is what The Monogatari Series Should've it been. An Anime with Great Fights, Beautiful Animation, Catchy Soundtracks, Watchable for everyone, and with no Dialogue Heavy!!! And I did also like the Concept tho, it have kinda of the same Concept as The Monogatari Series but with No Boring Dialogue Heavy and More Epic Fights, witch is Awesome!!!! Sure it have some Problems like They Take The Sexuality To The Next Level and some of The Fights can Be Lazy at times (like in Episode 5 and 6 for example tho.) but is really good if you're looking for an Action Ecchi tho.


Pros:


✔Great Fights
✔Beautiful Animation By KyoAni
✔Great OST
✔Watchable


Cons:


💢Too Much Sexuality.
💢Lazy Fights on Episode 5 and 6.

Hope this Helps alright guys.

-Adriel The Anime Smash Bros.

To me, this was a really good anime. For starters, it could be classified as a slice-of-life harem, which is my favorite kind of series. Whilst I know that most harems often depict more sexual interactions between the male protagonist and the female deuteragonists, I would say that this more passive approach to harem is (a) more applicable to a younger audience though who still search for the thrills harem offers and (b) easier to apply to a story with a feel-good theme, such as this one.

The structure of the plot and its writing is something I must compliment. The ground concept of high school ... students combatting dangerous mystical creatures is something that has been used in anime before – the most notable interpretation of this would, for me, be Darling in the FranXX – and I do believe it is rather lame. However, what makes up for this rather bland foundation is the amazing characters that you get to encounter. Characters who essentially start as empty shells get, throughout the entire season, filled with more and more depth as you get to know them better; that is something I love about this series – the fact that you start developing bonds, one-sided yes, with the characters as you get to know them. Take Reina for example in episode 4: you learn that her dream is to have a caring and kind family. Then look at Reina throughout the rest of the season, with that in mind; her family starts listening to and caring about her more. Another example, one that made me shed a tear, would be Haruhiko in episode 11. I am not going to spoil that episode, if anyone reads this, as I believe it to be the truly golden episode of the entire series and that everyone should watch it without spoilers.

I know that this anime has gotten a large amount of criticism for its bland and boring nature, but I disagree. Bonafide weebs reading this review might realize what an inexperienced anime watcher I am, and I do not deny that. Though I have not watched any animes that make this concept that bland yet. I do understand that people might look down on this anime if the concept is overused within the genre, though the characters and the stories revolving around them are very touching and deserve credit, in my opinion.

Musaigen no Phantom World (aka Musaigen) was pretty much universally hated for some reason, even acheiving the great status of being the worst rated KyoAni show on MAL. Which is a shame, because it wasn't that bad at all.

Musaigen is about a kid (Haruhiko) who knows a lot of useless info but is pretty weak physically, along with his side kicks (who are all female). They all have special powers and are able to see figments of human imagination, which can affect physical objects and living things after an accident with a company that was researching them. These special powers vary in power, and ... while he doesn't have a particularly powerful power it's above average, and they go around 'sealing' these 'Phantoms' before they become a big menace.

This is pretty much the entire series. They are part of a school club that rewards them for taking care of middle level to easy phantoms, and they get to earn some pocket money while helping out the police (who take care of the stronger phantoms). Each episode usualy deals with one phantom somehow messing with either the characters, or someone else who they help as part of their 'job'. Which isn't very bad at all, since it does this pretty well. There are episodes centered around each character, there's a decent amount of character development (for 13 episodes) and you grow to like most of the characters.

Given that there is one male main and 4 female main characters (5 if you count their weird mini fairy sidekick) there's a fair amount of fanservice. Which is usually ok, it's not too excessive, but sometimes can get annoying. An example would be the first episode, which was part of why everyone everywhere decided it was utter shit, and was sort of unfortunate for the series.

Being episodic, it still had an 'overarching story' during these, where they mention a few things that happened in past episodes and was hinted to be part of a wider plot. This culminates in the final episodes, provding sort of a story end for the series as a whole, and at least concludes it.

The art was very, very good. The designs were pretty decent, but what shines the most was the art for the special powers, which looked great. Explosions, energy waves, heck, even energy swrods were handled very well. Sound was pretty decent as well.

The main thing pulling the series down is simply its attempt at a final story and attempts at character building. The ending was sort of cliché and honestly not very well done, and for a cast of 6 characters, there simply weren't enough episodes to flesh them all out, leading to all of them getting some development. Other than that the anime wasn't very bad at all; some parts were mediocre, some good, but overall it was a very decent series.

Musaigen wasn't a very bad series at all, just had a lot of tropes and clichés used before thrown in that seemed repetitive to the viewer who watches this sort of anime by the dozen. Ignoring the high hopes people apparently pin to KyoAni, this show wasn't by any means a masterpiece, but was still a fun watch.