Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Ein, zwei, drei. . .

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 1, 2012

Is there some kind of requirement in modern media that world class operatives (not to mention assassins) must suffer from amnesia? The most recent famous example of course is one Jason Bourne, who at least was able to reclaim his identity, for all the good it did him. But there are a number of anime series where the hero at the very least isn’t quite sure who he is or what situation he finds himself in, and that’s the case once again with Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, a fairly recent show culled from a light novel series and a well received videogame adaptation that just a few months ago was released in its newest version for the Xbox 360. There is one salient difference between heroes like Jason Bourne and the confused young man at the center of LPhantom: Requiem for the Phantom, namely that Bourne is a good guy uncovering all sorts of subterfuge and conspiracy in an organization at least supposedly set up to “do the right thing,” even it actually isn’t living by that dictum. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom plops our amnesiac hero, given the nickname “Zwei” (German for “two”), into a global crime syndicate known as Inferno. Zwei comes to in a nondescript room in what seems to be an abandoned building, and he struggles to recall how he got there or in fact who he is. We soon discover Zwei is being monitored by a man who appears to be a mad scientist of sorts who reveals that Zwei is being brainwashed and conditioned to become the latest (or at least the second) professional assassin for Inferno. First, though, Zwei must pass his “entrance exam,” which consists of him battling another amnesiac assassin, in this case a young girl named Ein (German for “one”). Playing out against this initial battle are scenes showing what ultimately becomes of Ein and Zwei, as we see a vicious gunfight erupting sometime in the future where the two memory challenged killers have obviously banded together to complete some sort of mission that involves a lot of bad guys (or, considering Inferno’s criminality, worse guys) and flying bullets.

Part of the allure of the videogame franchise is that is allowed players to select their own story arc, in a kind of “choose your own adventure” analog to those children’s books that have different page numbers at the bottom of some pages that you can turn to, with the story taking different paths depending on which page you choose. There’s obviously no such option with the anime (though wouldn’t it be interesting if some ambitious creator attempted to do something like that via seamless branching?). Instead, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom develops a fairly convoluted plot in the place of different choices, one which slowly reveals more and more of Zwei’s back story, while also dabbling in a bit of Ein’s history while at the same time introducing yet another new assassin named (you’ve probably already guessed) Drei (German for “three”). The interplay between these three, and actually how they’re all being manipulated to various ill purposes by Inferno, provides the bulk of the drama throughout the series.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom actually bears a number of similarities to another anime I reviewed recently, Darker Than Black: Season 2. Both series offer killers (of sorts, anyway) and hugely labyrinthine plots that involve a lot of subterfuge and conspiracy. The good news here is that Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom may actually be at least a bit easier to follow, despite its inherent complexity and the shifting motives that slowly are revealed over the course of the season’s episodes. This tendency is helped by the focus on the three main characters, though there are a number of supporting characters, including several at work in the background in Inferno, that keep the story just slightly off kilter at times, leading to some good suspense elements. In a way, while certainly not as novelistic, this anime is almost reminiscent of Lost in that the audience is never quite sure of some characters’ motives, and in fact those motives seem to change over time.

What’s rather interesting about Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is how it plays out on a somewhat larger time scale than a lot of series, with the show actually being (probably intentionally) split three ways, mirroring the three main characters, over the course of two or three years. The first arc deals with Zwei and Ein, especially with Zwei’s tutelage under Ein’s aegis and how the two become partners. In the second arc, suddenly bad guys become good guys (or something like that), and we concentrate on Ein and her “creator,” the mad scientist who goes by the lovely name of Scythe Master. This arc also includes a nice subplot of Zwei having to isolate himself for a number of reasons, and also his emerging relationship with the “new” assassin, Drei. In the third arc, Zwei and Ein find themselves on the lam from Drei, who is now the fiercest assassin in the land, one who has assumed the title of Phantom.

The first third or so of Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is arguably the strongest arc of episodes, as the middle and end arcs both feature some increasingly improbable character changes and sort of over the top, almost ludicrous, plot machinations. But it has to be handed to this frequently extremely compelling piece that is has the courage of its convictions: this is a kind of relentlessly dour, rather serious outing and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom doesn’t pull any punches as it wends its way to a perhaps unexpected conclusion. It’s some small measure of accomplishment that by the time the climax is reached, despite Ein and Zwei both being a kind of cipher, enough has passed between them and the audience that there’s actually a surprising amount of emotional heft to the story’s melancholy wind up.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is generally a very sharp and appealing looking high definition presentation, with nicely saturated colors and some excellently sharp line detail. What prevents this Blu-ray from receiving a higher score is the sort of slapdash look of a lot of the animation. While some of this series is impeccably drawn and designed (look at the second screencap for a great example), some of it seems to have been scrawled off quickly by someone working under a time constraint. That gives at least some of the series an unfortunately soft and less defined appearance which may in fact not have anything to do with the transfer itself, but which prevents this release from really popping—at least some of the time —as it really should. That caveat aside, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom certainly offers well above average sharpness and clarity. The design aesthetic here may not be overly innovative, but for the most part, the series looks fine if not fantastic.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Two lossless audio options are included on this new Blu-ray set of Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom, the original Japanese language track presented via a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mix, and an English dub presented via a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. The Japanese language track is a good deal more subtle than the English track, from a voice actor perspective, and of course the action sequences have nowhere near the same activity level as the 5.1 mix offers. The English language track sports brilliant fidelity and some awesome dynamic range, and it must be admitted that while the dub features the usual FUNimation suspects in a lot of key roles, Newton Pittman's husky, scratchy take on Zwei adds immeasurably to the English dub's appeal. Surround activity is quite impressive in the many action sequences, and virtually every episode offers fulsome LFE via the many eruptions of gunfire that are included.

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Picture Dramas (HD; 1:17:33) recounts some of the same material as the series covers, as well as new stories featuring the characters, in minimally animated shorts. Most of these feature still panels that the camera pans across, with occasional added elements like blinking stars and the like. There are twelve of these shorts included in this section.
• Original Commercials (1080i; 4:08)
• Textless Opening Song – Karma (HD; 1:32)
• Textless Opening Song – Senritsu No Kodomotachi (HD; 1:32)
• Textless Closing Song – Jigoku No Mon (HD; 1:32)
• Textless Closing Song – Transparent (HD; 1:32)
• Trailers for other FUNimation Releases

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is an often fascinating and even intriguing anime that manages to keep the audience guessing for large swaths of its running time. While a couple of the sudden shifts in character strain credulity to the breaking point, the slow surfacing of Zwei and Ein's stories make for some compelling viewing, and the omnipresent action elements means that you never have to wait very long for a lot of shooting and fighting to break out. The only real downside to this series is how relentlessly dour it is, something it shares with a number of other animes that have this kind of anti-hero at their core. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom also might have benefited from a slightly more consistent animation style, but this Blu-ray looks fine and sounds fantastic, and even though supplementary material is on the light side, this release comes Recommended.