The futile search for quality in the spring season continues for Impz, as two rather different shows will be open to debate. First, we have the fantasy Pandora Hearts, and a Noir-like series in Phantom. Incidentally, both series have an ED with a naked body of a girl. I wonder why there is so much interest in naked female bodies? I guess the popularity of Queen’s Blade showed that the exploitation of woman bodies are the way to go for horny retarded otakus in Japan and worldwide.
Anyway, insults not withstanding, Impz moves forth!
Phantom – Phantom of the Requiem
An assassin was clearing out a house, while his female compatriot (dressed up as a maid) was clearing up the house from a different entrance. Through a flashback, we learned that this man lost his memory and found himself in a room. He then tried to escape, but was stopped by a masked woman. This woman threatened to kill him, and told him to defend himself. A doctor was observing the man’s actions, and called him a “phantom.” He managed to escape the compound, but went to sleep after a tranquilizer dart. Eventually, it turned out that the woman, Ein, was there to test the man’s ability. This man, who had no name, was known as Zwei. Back to the present, we see Zwei accomplishing their mission of killing one of the mafia lords along with Ein.
Thoughts
When the episode started, I was a bit dismayed at the animation. If there is something that seems to be recurring among all the shows that I have watched for the spring season, it is that the animation looks rather old school. I do not know if it is due to the recession, but the colors of the animation looks very dull and boring. The animation quality is still consistent nonetheless. However, there is one huge problem with this show.
It is generic. In fact, it is way too generic in its presentation of its story. Nothing of the story feels original, and even the plot seems like something that came from the 1980s to 1990s. I seemed to see this plot before quite a few times, and even my girlfriend (who became my spring anime companion) noted how the plot seems to resemble some of the older shows that she watched. She is more of an anime dvd collector than I am, and has watched anime for a longer period of time. So, I trust her judgment that this is hardly revolutionary.
In fact, she speculated that the ending might turn out to be two ways. Ein and Zwei would end up killing each other, or they will kill the organization that they are working for. It does not seem that far away from a very generic story, if you ask me. I do hope Phantom proves me wrong on this. The characters are also rather forgettable. They are not exactly paper-thin, but there is nothing in this show that jumps out at you. It’s like watching a desert scenery in an air-con room. It is watchable for maybe a few minutes but it is really bleak.
I am not sure if the show can pick up any steam from the first episode. Nothing in the first episode seems to indicate any promise, if any. I personally feel that this will be a below-average production through and through, and you can pick it up if you wish to have something similar to “Noir.” Other than that, it is really a very bland first episode, and I am not sure if I can recommend this to anyone.
Recommendation: Try at your own risk.
Pandora Hearts
Oz Bezarius, a 15 year old boy, was getting lynched by priests. We go back to ten years ago. Oz and his sister Ada were hiding from their female servant Kate, as she was chasing them for his 15 year adulthood ceremony. Gilbert, his personal servant, was threatened by Kate but did not say anything. Oz, Gilbert and Ada went to a church to see a devilish clock. A sinister voice sounded behind them, and it turned out to be Oscar, their kind uncle. Back at Oscar’s room, the uncle passed Oz a box. Kate knocked on Oscar’s door, demanding for Oz. Eventually, Oz escaped through the window to visit the lake. It turned out that the box contained a ceremony cape for Gilbert. Gilbert was reluctant to join the ceremony because of his lowly status, but he was eventually convinced by Oz.
As they walked around a garden, they fell into a pit with a tomb. Oz noticed a watch at the tomb and held it. He started seeing visions. As he regained his senses, he was in a doll house. Oz noticed a girl who was laughing devilishly, She then tried to hug him, but she simply passed through his body. Oz did not know where he was, and the girl’s words were confusing him. Oz asked who she was, only to be surrounded by a circle of fire. He was about to be killed by the girl. A callout from Gilbert brought him back to the present. He was “daydreaming.” It was night time, and they were traveling for the adult ceremony. Gilbert was also seemingly possessed by a spirit. At the end, Oz provided a foreboding of something sinister that would happen to him.
Thoughts
I was almost going to relegate this series to the rubbish bin after ten minutes because the first half of the show was just so darn boring. It was lulling me to sleep from the sheer nothingness that was happening on my computer screen. There was nothing exciting, and it felt like very half-baked attempts to give some background to this story. I do not know why, but there is little excitement building up. It was just silly fluffy crap of children fooling around, although the obvious foreboding of the “Abyss” is waving a mild light of mysteriousness. However, I was immediately jerked into action when the second half of the show started.
It got interesting. Boy, it did get interesting.
One of the key reasons why my impression of the show changed so drastically at the second part of the show is the appearance of the woman in the dream of Oz. I do not know who she was, but man, she is creepy. I am quite sure that this woman will be the same girl in the art. Sadly enough, I went to spoil myself on who this woman is, and I am getting extremely interested for her proper appearance to the show. This girl is very interesting, and her words that “Oz is finally here” just gives me the creeps.
I also enjoy the character interaction between Oz and Gilbert. The master-slave relationship is very amusing, and I find myself less repulsive over the first ten minutes after viewing the first episode as a whole. I do wonder if this “abyss” or the “chain” or whatever ritual will change the friendship of these two boys. The first episode has provided a few hints on what will happen in the future, and that is what we want from a first episode. We do not need any major epic big story that the anime production company will eventually fail to deliver. Just throw some decent story, some decent characters, and some good potential into the mix. Why do so many companies always manage to mess them up?
Animation wise is pretty average, but it is manageable. If anything, this show has the vibes of Hatenkou Yuugi, which is not exactly a bad thing. Hatenkou Yuugi also started off in the same way as this show, and it proved to be a decent if not remarkable series. The OP and ED are also decent for listening, and the OP is particularly fitting to the slightly dark mood of the first episode.
All in all, you should try to convince yourself after ten minutes that there is something to watch for. After the boring ten minutes, you will be treated with something good. I will definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in some fantasy, and the characters are interesting enough to make me go for another episode.
Recommendation: Worth a watch.
10 Comments
If Phantom is just a expanded version of its OVA, then you are right, they go against their organisation and get squished.
While taking down quite a few ppl iirc…
If you’re looking for anything in PH, a good story you will find. The manga’s plot is so close knit and tied together that if XEBEC tired to cut anything out, they’d fuck everything up (even a minor character I never thought would reappear apparently has another role to fulfill; his last appearance was in a chapter that didn’t even have double-digits! Now he’s in chapter 35).
But I’m glad to say they haven’t yet. The foreshadowing they used, one in particular that I’m absolutely giddy about, was awesome. <3
You should definitely stick around for the ride~.
Oh my goodness. I was very worried that you might put PH in the bin when I read your initial thoughts but now I’m glad you changed your mind. This series is definitely a great ride if the animator sticks with the material closely.
About Hatenkou Yuugi, it sure was a good series in that it was consistent and had likable characters with a pretty nice progression and plot. I was kind of sad of how short it was but considering the length of the material, it could not be help.
Personally, I’ll stick around for Phantom. Yes the colour may be dull and boring but that can be the kind of feel that the animators wanna give to the series. The series is not exactly a happy, exciting one, obviously, but the tone is sombre. I’ll look forward to some character developments in this series, hopefully.
It is alright to be generic for the first episode, I guess but I also think that they just wanna give a mysterious feel to their characters (they are phamtoms, remember?) and it would be quite a failure on their part if this is what they want but not relayed accurately to the audience watching the show.
However, I’ll definitely keep my eyes on this series. The subject matter just intrigues me. Assassinating mafia figures? I’ll love to see how this series plays out.
Pandora Hearts has a wonderful story in the manga, I really hope it carries over to the anime. I really hate the ED though. Not the music, the music is fine. But Alice is by no means a fanservice character, so a minute and a half of naked Alice when they could have done something much more interesting (or at least relevant) is frustrating.
It is interesting that you mention the colors of Phantom being dull and boring. I myself like the ‘old-school’ colors; frankly some shows – particularly those from Sunrise – in recent times have started to get ridiculous in their use of colors. The world in general just doesn’t use such bright colors, something duller is in my opinion welcome.
Makes me think of Tytania, where on earth did those nobles get such appalling color taste =P
That said I was never interested in watching Phantom, I saw the OVA for it a while ago, and as you say, it was fairly generic trash.
Pandora Hearts is one of the series that I will be following this season.
I did notice that the animation quality wasn’t up to scatch for a first episode, but the storyline is more than enough.
Hmm… I am a little disapointed with the first episode of Phantom, I have not much problem with the color or if they dont stick to the letter to the game. But the first assesination is just an excuse for body count and cosplaying. Is not very realist that they take the risky work of take down with handguns 10 bodyguards with bullet proof vests and submachineguns, when they just can fire two long range rifles from safe far positions to the target in the helicopter pad. Just where the heck Zwei hide himself in that almost transparent helipad!? The fact that Master Scythe praise to them as a Top Snipers just after using only handguns make the entire modus operandi of the mission look even more stupid + if the choper is so ease to make it explode with just one stray bullet and they dont care to call to much attention, then why they just dont fired to the helicopter in mid air? Also Ein wearing a skirt on the test of Zwei (in the game she dont, most likely because is not practical for a killer), is a bad signal of try to deepen sex appeal than character appeal. Another thing that bother me is that near the end they show half dozen minor characters for no reason exept asure some fans of the game that their favorites characters are going to get time on the screen. Is better than the OVA, but maybe only because have more budget, not more talent. Except for the knife duel, the fights are not so interesting, the music is ok but forgetable, the drawing is average… First episode of Phantom is a tumb down, but I am a big fan of the game, so I keep watching till the end, no matter what.
First off, the old Phantom OVA is trash even in the eyes of most game fans, so don’t judge this by that.
I don’t like Noir, but I do like Phantom of Inferno (the game), so that’s why I’m even watching in the first place.
I’d say that Phantom should, if they follow the game faithfully, end up doing a lot more than just the expected.
No big spoilers, but plenty of other elements come into play as well, beyond the whole “let’s escape” aspect one can easily predict. Don’t think that’s all there is to the story.
It’s also of note that the previous Phantom OVA is pretty bad all across the board so, if you’ve seen that, don’t expect things to have the same exact outcome. In fact, it most likely won’t.
That 3-episode OVA version ignored two entire chapters which happen after those events, as well as certain changes that are definitely necessary for those chapters to even exist in the first place. The game has like ten different endings, some of which don’t even go past its first chapter, and the OVA was just a rushed, compressed and cheap version of one ending to that first chapter.
I watch Pandora Hearts after I have watch Requiem for the phantom.
Both are nice, but the Pandora Hearts gave me stronger impression. After I finished Pandora Hearts, my mind were full of the image, voice, music and also those funny scene, so I was looking for the Season 2. But I am not sure whether season2 is going to release. Now I am ADDICTED to Pandora Hearts’s OST, music, music sheet…………..etc.
Phantom is also nice, but I feel down when i finished it, cuz both died. so sad……i don’t want reiji die…..he just suddenly die after the car passed-by. and Ein just ate the poison flower petal. so weird. that’s why i feel so down~~~~~~~~~~~~`
but now i love Pandora Hearts so much!!!!! now searching for the comic version.they said comic version a bit different, isn’t it?
enjoy!^^^