Archive for Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~.
Dated 5 May 2009: Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ isn't a requiem for a phantom yet
Ein shows Zwei how much he sucks.
Through five episodes, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, aside from having a redundant title, is legitimately good, although I can understand why potential viewers may be wary. Even I'm still slightly hesitant at this point despite the fact that I actually enjoyed the Bee Train girls-with-guns trilogy. Nevertheless, Phantom is still better than I expected.
I don't know if Ein thinks Zwei is a potato, but I kinda do.
Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ also has surprisingly copious fan service, as Ein spends most of the time clad in a sports bra when she's not wearing that sleeveless Chinadress shirt with her bra straps showing. I hope fans won't attempt Ein cosplay if they don't have the athleticism to pull it off. Ein has muscle tone befitting someone who trains as much as she does—at least while the animators budget for it.
Suddenly, Bio Concerto is applied for no adequately explained reason.
From what I understand, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ is based on a game that predates Noir. I guess this means considerable spoilers are just a few clicks away, but hopefully it also means the storytelling will be consistent and better paced than El Cazador de la Bruja, for example. Not that video game to anime adaptations are exactly a recipe for success, but at least by adapting an older game like Phantom we can be reasonably assured Bee Train isn't trying to cash in quickly on some current hot seller. Maybe this means they put a good amount of thought into the conversion, too.
I don't know what Ein is washing. She only has two outfits.
FUNimation is currently streaming subtitled episodes of Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ for free the same day it airs in Japan. The video quality is about equivalent to the Noir fansubs from back in the day, so it is a pretty sweet setup as far as I'm concerned. There are also many other titles from FUNimation's catalog streaming for free on their site, although as of yet a lot of them are only available dubbed.
Posted in Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ | Tags: Bee Train, Built for Sin, Girls With Guns | Permanent Link
Dated 10 July 2009: Spring 2009 wrap-up
Kusada finally breaks. Better hang on, kid.
With a few exceptions, most of the shows I watched last season bear one thing in common: very few anime fans from my corner of the Internet (the best and worst of whom can be found at #raspberryheaven) would give them a chance. Even Hatsukoi Limited, which I previously mentioned is the best show from the spring 2009 season, attracted relatively few followers. (Most were too busy watching K-On! and searching for Mio fan art.) Those that actually watched Hatsukoi Limited instead of merely asking, "What's so great about another school romance show?" found a combination of light comedy and whimsical tales of first love so deftly executed I have no reservations naming it the top show of the season ahead of the initial (and already controversial) episodes of the second season of Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu.
Yuki looks bored, even for Yuki.
Haruhi II still secures second, and will presumably do well during the summer 2009 season, even if (or in my view, especially if) there really are eight episodes of "Endless Eight." That would be awesome, particularly if it drives conventional-thinking fans into sending Kyoto Animation furious letters with death threats which they can include in a The End of Haruhi movie that makes little sense but includes a bitchin' fight scene. (I secretly hope there are 15,514 episodes of "Endless Eight," and that the entire ordeal is somehow Yuki's fault and not Haruhi's at all.) I bet all the people who can't stand "Endless Eight" are the same people who skip OPs and EDs.
Natalie Portman from Leon joins the Phantom cast.
Nobody ever believes me, but Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom is actually really good—good enough to finish third for spring 2009 (and currently lead summer 2009). Bee Train influences are obvious, but this is not El Cazador de la Bruja or Madlax. For one thing, there's a male lead. Moreover, none of the female leads have displayed any signs of lesbianism. In fact, Ein apparently really likes getting oil massages from creepy old guys. Bio Concerto is worth its weight in gold, people. I'm telling you.
Aoba, you're not even trying.
A lot of people won't watch sports anime in general or baseball anime in particular. Cross Game is at its best when it's not about baseball, to tell you the truth. I enjoy it a great deal more than Touch and what I've read of H2, but the actual baseball games in Cross Game are not as compelling as the slice-of-life stories about Kou and Aoba.
You're not exactly facing the Taisho Yakyuu Musume team now, Goro.
Major season five takes the fifth spot. I'm still watching it as there are still unsubbed episodes, but I won't be including it with the summer 2009 lineup. [Update: Advanced to fifth place after episode 120.] Assuming the fifth season is the final season of Major, I have to say this was an excellent series and I really appreciate the epic nature of the show, following Goro from childhood to adulthood. Were I to include all five seasons of Major as one work, it would easily take the top spot. Incidentally, Shimizu Kaoru still leads in the Girl of the Year rankings for 2009. This one is going to be a boat race.
Takako contemplates the future of Kannagi.
The Kannagi episode 14 OVA is every bit as good as the series. That it only places sixth should tell you just how good the competition is this time around. I hope Kannagi gets a second season.
There's a storm brewing, Peach-han.
Fresh Pretty Cure ranks seventh, but has moved up quite a bit in the summer 2009 rankings due to the fully awesome Cure Passion arc, currently underway. This is another show nobody but Precure fans seem willing to watch, but the Setsuna/Love friendship really is compelling. Every episode recently has had the kind of OH SHIT moments typically attributed to shounen jive or cheesy Gundam switcheroos. Speaking of shounen jive, Fresh Pretty Cure is very light on the "standing around talking instead of fighting" bits, and when Love cuts loose, she starts out in a normal voice but gets exponentially louder and faster (it's awesome, trust me) until you think she's about to ace someone square in the face. There is too much beam spamming, though, but episode 23 is expected to include brutal fisticuffs, so we're back to the basics. Kickass.
Needs more Ana Coppola, Black Custom.
Eighth goes to the second OVA episode of Ichigo Mashimaro Encore. This series also really could use another season. It remains entertaining and funny, and definitely does not deserve the extra baggage that keeps many people from watching it.
If Alice isn't happy, no one's happy.
Pandora Hearts is good, but weird, so anyone that might watch it probably is watching it already, and no amount of cajoling will convince anyone else to give it a try, alas. I can understand why it doesn't have broader appeal.
Ed doesn't seem to obsess about his height as much this time.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood would have fared better if it hadn't felt like watching a really long clip show. It should also do better in the rankings this summer as it diverges more from the first anime. Curiously, I'll watch countless episodes of "Endless Eight" but the deja vu sensation of the early Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episodes really turned me off. Or maybe it's because Brotherhood halved Winry's cup size. Could be.
Asahina's daily life.
The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan got a lot better as the season went on, but it's still not as good as Petit Eva or the various Marimite specials, for example.
No! Keep your damn dirty hands off Kotori's hat!
The second episode of Da Capo: If came out during spring 2009. Pity it wasn't as good as the first installment. Then again, no Kotori arc is ever going to seem satisfying as long as Junichi remains such a putz.
I'm still amazed Mamiko Noto voiced Tomoe as a straight-up serious character.
Queen's Blade is what it is. I think it would have been infinitely better if Tomoe (the miko character) had—for no discernible reason—gone the entire series without getting naked .
Say "cheese."
Asura Cryin' faded a bit, or at least my interest did. I like all the colors, though. [Update: The end of Asura Cryin' got really shounen and kinda stopped being fun at all. Why can't it just be about humping your ghost girlfriend and every once in a while robot fights? I guess I won't be watching the second season, alas.]
Nyoron Churuya-san started out funny, but got a little tiresome towards the end, whereas its Haruhi-chan counterpart managed to improve and keep me looking forward to Haruhi II.
"Chi's!"
Good Lord, there were a lot of shows spring season. And I'm not just saying that because I watched a hundred-some episodes of Chi's Sweet Home so I could start Chi's New Address. Even with three-minute episodes, that is a lot of Chi. I could be burned out on all the kittenness, but Chi's New Address doesn't seem as good as Chi's Sweet Home. Needs more bear cat, for one thing. I also keep waiting for Chi to finally age, but for the time being she remains Yotsuba in kitten form.
Needs more Tamaki.
The first episode of To Heart 2 ad plus wasn't very good. It's pretty forgettable, alas.
I would have kept watching K-On! had it replaced Mio with Yomi.
I didn't drop any shows aside from the following series I previously mentioned: Eden of the East (8) > Shin Mazinger Z (3) > Saki (2) > Valkyria Chronicles (3) > K-On! (4) > Higepiyo (3) > Shangri-La (1).
Needs more Perrine-H. Clostermann.
I should probably exclude OVAs from future such lists. I already leave off movies. Besides, it's not possible to "drop" a movie or a one-episode OVA. Well, I guess unless one abandons it midway. I probably should have done that with The Sky Crawlers. That movie should have had a Strike Witches crossover wherein the 501st Joint Fighter Wing wipes them all out in five minutes and the movie ends. Sheesh. The damn thing felt like it was 15,513 fortnights long. (Yes, I know. Yes, I know that too.)
Posted in Asura Cryin', Chi's New Address, Cross Game, Da Capo If, Eden of the East, Fresh Pretty Cure, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Hatsukoi Limited, Higepiyo, Ichigo Mashimaro, K-On!, Kannagi, Major, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, The, Melancholy of Haruhi-chan, The, Nyoron Churuya-san, Pandora Hearts, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, Queen's Blade, Saki, Season Summary, Shangri-La, Shin Mazinger Z, Sky Crawlers, The, To Heart | Tags: Air Power, AYAKO DOCTRINE, baseball, Bee Train, Dropped Shows, Ghost Girlfriends, GIRL NEXT DOOR, Girls With Guns, Legs that go up to her neck, Mahou Shoujo, Mamikore, Mecha Musume, Moe Blobs, Movies and OVAs, SD, Season Conclusion, Shounen Jive, Spring 2009, Summer 2009 | Permanent Link
Dated 11 August 2009: Phantom ~Requiem for the Cazador de la Bruja~
MEXICO, BABY!
Not to make light of Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ which, in addition to being a serious show, is honest to God the best show airing right now, but I hope Bee Train works in an El Cazador de la Bruja reference during the upcoming Mexico arc. C'mon, you know you want to see Zwei singing the "Tacos, Tacos, Tacos" Amigos Tacos jingle.
Posted in El Cazador de la Bruja, Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ | Tags: Bee Train, Girls With Guns | Permanent Link
Dated 23 September 2009: Scythe ~Pimp Master for the Phantom~
Technically, I think we're supposed to hate Scythe Master.
I initially had Ein and her amazing two-outfit wardrobe pegged as the real star of Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, but it turns out the true star of the show is Scythe Master and his magic hands. On a serious note, the only reason Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ isn't my nomination for the best show of Summer 2009 is because Cross Game is superb.
Posted in Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ | Tags: Bee Train, Built for Sin, Girls With Guns, Hair, Plying Girls, Summer 2009 | Permanent Link
Dated 4 October 2009: I like the Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ ending
"So worth it."
I know the ending to Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ really angered a lot of people, but I have zero problems with it. My reaction could be related to my growing distaste for the ever-common "I MUST PROTECT HER" theme that seems to permeate anime and manga. Zwei had a touch of this affecting him as well, but I'm really glad his efforts played out the way it did. If you're going to cast a "I MUST PROTECT HER" line, you should expect these kinds of snarls to develop.
Mio isn't exactly Detective Conan, but she doesn't have to be.
Without revealing too many spoilers, I also enjoyed how the climactic battles resulted in one Phantom dead, another Phantom pretty fucked up, and another Phantom walking away without a scratch. I guess we all know who The Strongest is now.
Evening gowns of Madlax Invulnerability only stop bullets.
Speaking of which, True Noir coming out of nowhere to Kirika the Bejeezus out of the Eva Series before they could initiate Instrumentality with Ein's corpse was awesome. I'll forgive the lack of El Cazador de la Bruja cameos during the Mexico arc for more Chloe-stabbing-people-in-the-neck-type action any day.
Posted in Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ | Tags: Bee Train, Gainax Ending, Girls With Guns, Summer 2009 | Permanent Link