#PhantomRequiem ep1: dem masks is kinda sexy. #anime 

You ever been so far behind on something that it's kinda embarrassing.
Missed a doctor's or dentist's appointment and hadn't made of that
missed appointment in years? Or you're late getting somebody a
present and giving them a call to congratulate them on something?
Well if you have then you know how I feel about some of my anime
watching. I'm so embarrassingly behind on series I should have
finished by now, that I make things worse by picking up new series, or
in this case "classic" series. Oh Black Lagoon, I know it's a crime
that I haven't seen you in months. But I promise that I WILL watch
you again, soon!

I'm picking up people's recommendations left and right. First it was
for a shoujo. This time it's a recommendation for something more
dramatic. I'm a huge fan of Noir. I'll defend that show like a
rabbid hound. So I've had people recommend series like Gunslinger
Girls and Phantom for years. I just never picked them up because I
had no interest in expanding my horizons. I was very satisfied with
the series, and thought that I didn't need anything else. But then
again, what kinda anime fan doesn't watch more anime? I finally
cracked and have added Phantom to my queue. And I'm not disappointed
so far.

Brace for some heavy paraphrasing now. It appears that this group
calling itself Inferno is going around not only being fashionable and
pompous, while looking bored all at the same time, but they are
employing top assassins, brainwashed assassins to take out important
people. For what purpose, I have no idea. All I've grasped is that
they employ some pretty cold-hearted and badass assassins. A girl
named Ein, and a guy named Zwei who appear to have no memories or
identity aside from the ones they gained while being killers. We're
given a nice little origin story about how Zwei was acquired, tested
and introduced into the group.

Most of the rest of it is cryptic, first episode anime bullsh*t. A
lot of dramatic, wanna-be poetic, self important dialogue. Though I
have to admit that this is a pretty nice anime dub. That ridiculous
dialogue (which isn't anything new or special for any anime) is
delivered very competently by the voice talent for this show. Not
once did I cringe at bad, or awkward voice. Though I'm still no fan
of the accents that have popped up in the show. A good dub is as
important as smooth pavement on a road. If it's good, it will make
the trip that much more easier to watch and eventually complete.

I didn't watch the show exclusively for the dub though. The animation
is quite nice. They definitely know how to draw some proper boobs.
And the animation moves smoothly. The music is OK with me getting
excited about some of the background themes. The OP was adequate.
And the ED theme is horrible. I don't like it.

I'll easily give this show a fair five episode test. The competently
done dub makes this task quite manageable. Plus violence and sexy
imagery is always a healthy, winning formula when you're trying to get
an American to watch something.