Anime: Musaigen no Phantom World

GENRE TAGS

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  Comedy
  Action
  Contemporary Fantasy
  School
  

BASIC PREMISE
After a lab accident, a virus was unleashed on the world that caused people of a certain age to develop special abilities, as well as altering peoples' minds so that they can see 'Phantoms', which have always been there but have gone largely unnoticed. Now certain schools have clubs where students team up and defeat nuisance phantoms. Despite how weak the premise may sound, it actually works pretty well. This show is primarily comedic, and it's quite well done, though sometimes ridiculously over the top in a generally good way.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

• 
  * Relevant Audience - Mid-late-teens boys, but girls may also enjoy this one.
  * Extent of Taboo - None really. This show has tons of fanservice and juvenile jokes, but no panties or bras. Zany antics.
  

RATING

• 
  * Art and Animation - 8 - I am personally impressed both with the animation quality and the art. The framerate's good, people walk instead of glide, the action scenes are fun, and there are a lot of narrative camera angles utilized. In addition, characters will often do 'unnecessary' things. For example, Mai twirling her hair with her fingers or Ruru having an encounter with a chalkboard eraser. Special effects for the action scenes are pretty, though they're obviously CGI. Backgrounds are generally pretty detailed and a lot of different camera angles are used, not to mention quite a few different sets such as fantasy worlds. If you watch closely enough, you'll notice particles used as atmospherics in a lot of situations, and unnecessary details exist. Count Mai's freckles/beauty marks. I get three.
  * Sound - 8 - The OP/ED sequences were about average, but the background music is quite good, mostly electronica (particularly in action scenes). Special effect sounds are better than average, I suppose. There's certainly a lot of them, anyway.
  * Story - 7 - The plotline itself isn't really very original, but the writing is relatively well done. This show does swing quite a bit between serious drama to ridiculously over the top antics, but after I got over being bounced around a bit, I enjoyed every episode for what it was. If well written, even a cliche can be entertaining.
  * Characters - 8 - Haruhiko, our leading male, isn't anything special except that he's actually a decent guy who isn't a wuss and doesn't whine about everything. He's a book nerd with decent enthusiasm for his work. I find that I rather like him. Mai, our leading female, is one of my favorite characters in anime thus far for a few different reasons. She's a pretty, caring individual with a warm big sister feel. At the same time, she's a martial artist who will rough-house with Haruhiko but isn't a 'violent retribution' type. In some ways, she's actually a little bland, but frankly, that makes her feel more real. The supporting cast fits more clearly into templates, but they're unique enough that I still found them refreshing.
  * Value - 9 - This show is underrated and is an excellent example of what anime could be if the producers cared more about the end product. Even with its failings, its overall production quality is excellent.
  * Enjoyment - 10 (weighted) - After I realized the starting drama wasn't the real tone of the show, I enjoyed it quite a bit. This show actually pokes fun at its cliches, and I respect that. Instead of the ending being rushed, it'd be more appropriate to say that the show didn't end. It was just the end of a character-developing arc. This show absolutely deserved 26 episodes and has story potential for more. I sincerely hope that there is a 'Season 2'.
  

CONCLUSION
This show is very entertaining. There's tons of playfulness including fanservice that actually makes it feel realistic to a high-school audience's mindset. No panties or bras that I recall in the entire show, though Mai's overly large breasts do require the use of physics (and the limbo scene was ridiculously overdone... and why does she touch her breasts to invoke the element 'metal'?). What really carries this show is the overall production quality, good intra-character-dynamics, and its fun nature. I liked all of the characters including Haruhiko's familiars. In addition, each episode is premised around a physics/psychology/something concept that earns it a pre-show narrative to explain it. Ruru's interpretation of Schrodinger's cat is excellent. This show's only real failing is that it's a lot more serious for the first few episodes, and then suddenly switches to zany antics. And some of the episodes are relatively mild zaniness, while some others (episode 8 ) are ridiculously over the top, though in a good way. The juxtaposition between relative seriousness and zaniness can make the show a little jarring, and I'm having a really hard time explaining that there's a difference intermixed. Really, just make sure you go into watching this show already aware that this is predominantly a comedy and the drama aspects are woven in wherever they fit. And make sure you watch the special (episode 14) that I believe was bundled in Vol 7 of the BluRay. That episode's a masterpiece.

Remember those crazy scenes in Chuunibyou where we get to see battles through the eyes of characters infected by the popular disease? Well, Kyoani decided to take that to the next level, and Phantom World is the result. Basically, a mysterious virus infects everyone and now everyone can see "phantoms", illusions that blur the distinction between reality and imagination- dancing light poles playing limbo, giant teddy bears, and crazy chimeras included. Here we find a team of phantom fighters, including our protagonist, that is tasked with reigning in misbehaving phantoms.

When this show was first announced, I was intrigued at the thought-provoking poster. While the show does provide some light snacks for the intellectually inclined, I wouldn't watch the show purely based on that. As a Kyoani piece, it focuses much more on cute characters and funny interactions than any real political intrigue or deep mysteries. While the characters weren't as engaging as those in Chuunibyou were, the show still has a good mixture of action and comedy, and has some nice touching scenes as well. While not a complete grand slam, Phantom World is nonetheless a pretty fun show that is easy to watch.

Animation:
Kyoani typically prefers bright colors and relatively saturated colors; that trend continues here in Phantom World. The work benefits from superb detailing, great effects work, and cute character design. The creativity that went into this world is quite impressive; from the warm comfort of a rabbit family (no not Zootopia) to the threatening presence of Cthulhu the show really goes above and beyond to bring you interesting locations and characters. On top of all that, there are just tiny details that made this show stand out; be it the occasional flickering of Phantoms (as if they are errors), hand-drawn appearance of rabbit world, or the look on the Yakiniku store owner's face as Reina orders even more all you can eat meat. The character designs are well done as well; all of the main heroines are distinct in appearance and behavior. Expressions are definitely above average and occasionally used for comical purposes, such as when kuudere Minase is forced to attract a phantom or when Mai is about to be licked by a giant monkey. Oh, and you can't forget about the super-cute dog Phantom; I'm sure Kyoani has a plushy of him by now.

There is a fair amount of action in the show as the group battles various phantoms. The fights are pretty varied as well, as their approach changes based on the particular phantom. Mai is a melee specialist so luckily this show is not just magic spamming. Things don't get too serious though so don't expect any significant blood or gore. Surprisingly enough, there is a fair amount of ecchi in this show. Whether this is a sign that Kyoani has admitted that moe alone isn't enough to please the market is beyond the subject of this review. You can expect a fair amount of bouncy from Mai, as well as um... self massages in order to activate her powers. Besides that, there are a few accidental infringement cases, used for Reina to enact violent retribution.

Sound:
The show starts with an electronic-infused, fast-paced OP. I'm not a huge fan of the singer or the melody but it does fit the slightly chaotic nature of the show. The ED is a light rock piece sung by the VA for Ruru, nothing too special but it's not a bad melody. The BGM is above average though particularly excellent in specific episodes; for example, it greatly reinforces the mood and atmosphere in episode four. Overall, it has a more playful feel than your average BGM.

The VA cast is relatively experienced with veterans Saori Hayami, Sumire Uesaka, and Maaya Uchida voicing major roles. Misaki Kuno also does a great job giving Kurumi a very light, soft voice. Azusa Tadokoro gives Ruru a particularly energetic albeit annoying voice. Overall, it's a very well rounded cast and befitting of a Kyoani work.

Story:
So in this world where phantoms coexist along humans, there are occasionally misbehaving Phantoms that need to be "sealed". Heard of that one before? It's sort of like cute versions of the antagonists in Noragami or Shana being taken care of by a group of high school students with abilities like those in Charlotte.

Phantom World comes across as mostly episodic, with each episode containing one or two antagonists that the growing cast works together to defeat. Despite not having a strong central plot pulling things along, the execution of the story is well done with character exposition closely intertwined with the actual Phantoms encountered in each episode. Certain arcs are definitely better than others, with the rabbit-household that I keep mentioning being one of the more memorable ones. Some of the arcs are a bit too atypical for me, and some of the arcs attempt to be too scientific for their own good (Schrodinger's cat for instance) but all in all it was still enjoyable. There's a bit of rising tension in the last few episodes that culminates in a light climax that reminds me a bit too much of Akikan (jeez that's eight years ago already).

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the overall setting and how the world got into a state where high school students are necessary to deal with the Phantoms, but nothing annoying enough to detract from the easily digestible nature of the show.

Character:
Critically speaking, the characters here aren't as much of a pull as I'd come to expect from Kyoani shows (such as Chuunibyou or Amagi Brilliant Park). The characters still have fairly well developed personalities and the Kyoani moe touch (especially Reina and Kurumi) but just aren't as relatable as those in the aforementioned other shows. While each character does have a decent exposition and do develop and grow together as a group, there aren't any particularly deep strings connecting them together; and for that I felt there was a fair amount of lost potential.

Value:
Phantom World pulls the viewer in with a good mix of comedy, an interesting setting, and great execution. There are definitely some fun and memorable portions of the show. Although the character relationships weren't as deep as I had hoped, the show overall was an enjoyable, light watch. If you're looking for a quality show with a good amount of comedy and action mixed in, definitely give this world a go.