Episode 02 – “Take Out the Annoying UFO!”

I am beginning to become of the opinion that Phantom World is your typical, quirky superpower harem anime series. I’m probably a bit late with that truly groundbreaking observation, but you know what? I have no problem with a generic series when the animation is this superb and the characters are this interesting (at least so far). That special KyoAni flavor keeps me watching, and while that sounds like I’m just being bias, I really think that the studio has a way with adapting series that sets it apart from other animation studios.

This week, we learn a bit more about our cool beauty with headphones, Koito Minase, namely that her powers focus, appropriately, on making sound to attack enemies. It’s a neat if not basic ability that unfortunately gets countered fairly quickly by the security robots, which are capable of emitting antiphase sound waves. All of the characters have the capacity to learn new tricks and expand upon the abilities that they already possess, and while we’re already seeing it with Haruhiko since he’s been openly accused of being useless, I hope we can see similar progression and development in the others.

As for the overall narrative, it’s likely to focus only on one real story arc, considering the source material is a light novel. If you expect them to rid the entire world of Phantoms by the end of the series, or any other conclusion of that caliber, you should check your expectations right now. Like Kyoukai no Kanata, I predict a smaller predicament that hints at something greater, enticing you to buy the light novels to find out what happens next. But even if there is no encapsulating resolution, is that necessarily a bad thing? Just experiencing this world and its characters can be fun, and maybe that’s all you need, especially when the series is as goofy as Phantom World.

“Put bluntly, what we call ‘reality’ is a mere illusion created by our brains.” ~ Haruhiko Ichijou