Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ Forum

It figures that the first emotion Ein’s expresses in this show is embarrassment/disgust over looking fat in a bikini...  

She's actually a pretty juicy role for whichever actress is voicing her. Having to play a part where you switch between an emotionless husk and the overly-emotional persona she plays for cover would probably be an irresistible challenge for the ol’ acting range. Of course, you know and I know that these killers’ put-on isn’t too far removed from what they’re really feeling about each other. Roleplaying as a couple probably serves the same function for them that roleplaying in a regular relationship would (as if these killer kids weren’t kinky enough already.) 

I was actually taken aback a little by the opening of this episode. It seemed like this shopping date in the mall might actually be a flashback to Ein and Zwei’s lives prior to their amnesia. That’d be an unfathomably cruel machination for Inferno, wouldn’t it? Take a normal couple, wipe their memories and then put them back into a working relationship completely devoid of any of the romance of their previous life. It'd be like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND's doppleganger from hell.

The action in this one was pretty kick-ass. Ein capping the bodyguards at pointblank while balancing on the hood of their speeding car was one impressive super-move. However, the serious, cool mood is almost totally sabotaged by the appearance of their supervisor and his gold 'n bedazzled Mardi Gras costume. Killer #1 and #2’s masks strike a kind of poetic balance between flourished style and practical menace that recalls Vega from STREET FIGHTER, but that guy? He looks like he’s on the way to one of the masquerade orgies from EYES WIDE SHUT (though, considering how skeevy the Inferno brass are, that wouldn’t be entirely out of the question.)

By the way, help me out here. Was the blonde with the ice cream cone just a random stranger, or do you figure she was a disguised Inferno leader who was testing their acting skills?

Watch this episode “Assassination,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.  

  

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

@lurkero said:

" The way you've been describing the series so fan kinda makes me want to watch more. I haven't taken the time to watch all 4 episodes.  I still don't like the idea of amnesiac protags. I really hate that plot device "

I know it's a canned line but, once you get past the amnesia stuff, this is actually a pretty solid show.

@Tom_Pinchuk:  lol you put the whole episode on here xD

@haseo_yashimora said:

" @Tom_Pinchuk:  lol you put the whole episode on here xD "

Hm?

@lurkero said:

" The way you've been describing the series so fan kinda makes me want to watch more. I haven't taken the time to watch all 4 episodes.  I still don't like the idea of amnesiac protags. I really hate that plot device "

Amnesiac protags are hard to get away from in some stories. Its the reveal of the character's past is what makes or breaks the whole thing.

Maybe this is me wanting my predictions to come true, but does anyone else find it odd that Zwei's eyes are changing colors and that he's developing a "spider sense?"  
 
And yeah, here comes the sexual tension.  It is interesting how the roles are sort of being reversed--Ein is scared of Zwei now!  I thought Ein's remark about Zwei being how she used to be was telling...I wonder if she isn't as cold as she lets on?  I imagine she will grow more and more protective of Zwei...she's been essentially alone for a long time now (years, probably) and she's sort of the Pygmalion to Zwei's statue.
 
My experience with Bee Train's shows is that they often feel like they have some rough edges or are overwrought in some way, but there is always something to talk about...that seems to be remaining true here.
 
Oh, and:
 
  

wow....an eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, sexual roleplaying AND an eyes wide shut refference in one article and they all worked.  Man.  I am consistently impressed with the depth and breath of your knowledge.  I can honestly say it is much more than I would expect from a comic writer.  You are reaching Neil Gamian levels here (hidden irony very much intended).  
 
Keep it up you honestly are what keep me coming back to this site.  Going to have to watch this show as it sounds very good from your descriptions.

@WarlordPayne said:

" I think if the blonde was just testing them they would have revealed it in this episode, I'm betting on her working against Inferno in some way.  Either way I'll be really surprised if she doesn't show up again later in the show as a fairly important character. "

Actually, come to think of it, it did seem more like she was an intelligence officer casing them. Dropping the ice cream was too convenient.

@sotyfan16 said: 

You didn't get a Matrix vibe when Zwei saved Ein and dodged the bullets? The whole time I was thinking for Ein "How did you do that? I've never seen anyone move that fast." 

Yeah, I was definitely thinking that. The music sounds like Don Davis' score, too. However, the Matrix drew so much from anime, it's hard to say who's aping who.

@metalsnakezero said:

" @lurkero said:

" The way you've been describing the series so fan kinda makes me want to watch more. I haven't taken the time to watch all 4 episodes.  I still don't like the idea of amnesiac protags. I really hate that plot device "

Amnesiac protags are hard to get away from in some stories. Its the reveal of the character's past is what makes or breaks the whole thing. "

Well, said! I'm going to use that one...

@vergilius said:

  

"

What... the hell?

" Maybe this is me wanting my predictions to come true, but does anyone else find it odd that Zwei's eyes are changing colors and that he's developing a "spider sense?"    

 Have they? I didn't notice. His expressions are definitely getting blanker.

And yeah, here comes the sexual tension.  It is interesting how the roles are sort of being reversed--Ein is scared of Zwei now!  I thought Ein's remark about Zwei being how she used to be was telling...I wonder if she isn't as cold as she lets on?  I imagine she will grow more and more protective of Zwei...she's been essentially alone for a long time now (years, probably) and she's sort of the Pygmalion to Zwei's statue.

The role playing has so many levels! Kinky! 

@zaldar said:

" wow....an eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, sexual roleplaying AND an eyes wide shut refference in one article and they all worked.  Man.  I am consistently impressed with the depth and breath of your knowledge.  I can honestly say it is much more than I would expect from a comic writer.  You are reaching Neil Gamian levels here (hidden irony very much intended).  

Uh... thanks? Ha ha...

Keep it up you honestly are what keep me coming back to this site.  Going to have to watch this show as it sounds very good from your descriptions. "

Pssssh... I'm what keeps you running back to this site.

@Tom_Pinchuk: Please tell me you do know who Neil Gamian is.....

@Tom_Pinchuk:  Watch for when he blinks during close ups.  Right now, he's got his normal eyes, his 1000 yard stare, and then this third set that comes out when he is in the heat of battle--at least that what I've been seeing.  I might have been distracted by the tacos.