| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Requiem for the Phantom is the adaption of a Nitro+ VN from way back. The topwards synopsis is quite accurate.
Animation:
By and large the animation is better than would be expected from Bee Train, but it slouches badly. Especially in the middle parts of the show - Cal's arc - the animation is simplistic at best and doesn't retain the background quality some other episodes have. The background animation is quite beautiful at times and shows a good sense for colors and mood.
Sound:
Music has always been Bee Train's forté, and Phantom doesn't disappoint. We are treated to various very varied pieces of BGM including gregorian chanting, orchestra, hip-hop/rap and a really weird piece with moans (this one is pretty trashy, but otherwise the music is stellar). Both Ali Project and KOKIA contribute one OP and ED apiece. The AP songs are as ear cancer inducing as usual, but both pieces by KOKIA are simply beautiful and perfectly embody the spirit of the show.
Story:
The story is reasonably predictable and cliched, but well told and uncharacteristically for Bee Train not epically slow. It's not exactly rushed, but I didn't get bored at least. There is some minor twisting, but only one is arguably of any real consequence. The story is noticeably divided into the same chapters as the VN, which personally irritated me a little.
Character:
This is a very subjective rating. The main conflicts they characters have revolve around questions such as identity, sin, redemption and a boiled-down version of the old raison d'etre. If you can't empathize with that, you will find the characters very boring and the story will quickly lose much of its appeal. I was quite moved by the ending, but then again I have a knack for little things such as was covered there.
Value:
Heh, I should abstain in this category.
Enjoyment:
In my opinion this was certainly one of the better shows in the last while, and a good example that Bee Train does manage to land a hit every once in a while. The visual technicalities are often quite good and the music is usually awesome. Watch a bunch of episodes to find out whether the dialogue and themes hit a nerve for you; if they do, you will probably like this show. I would personally recommend Phantom with only few reservations.
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