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
