Phantom of Inferno Animated Once Again

Not quite sure why Nitro+ would dig up a game that's over 10 years old and turn it into an anime...again, especially when the first attempt at adaptation did not cause a sensation of any kind, but whatever their reason, boys and girls, a new anime adaptation of Nitro+'s classic game Phantom of Inferno has been announced, the anime will be called Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom.

Phantom of Inferno was Nitro+'s first game, and is, in every way and form, a classic. The story revolves around a 15-year-old Japanese teen named Azuma Reijing travels to the U.S. to celebrate his graduation (who does that anyway?). While in the U.S., the poor guy witnesses a murder and is subsequently kidnapped by the criminal organization Inferno. Inferno brainwashes the boy and trains him into an assassin called Zwei. Zwei trains under Ein, also known as Phantom, a title given to Inferno's top assassin. The story has many routes, Zwei either goes with Ein as the two try to discover their true self, becomes the personal boy-toy of Inferno's top official Claudia as she tries to take over, or meets the little girl Cal who later become the assassin Drei.

The story was written by Gen Urobuchi, the same guy who wrote the story for Type-Moon's Fate/Zero. All branches of the story are super great and makes you feel like you're watching a movie. As with most Gen Urobuchi stories. there are no "happy" endings, with each ending leaving you with a bittersweet feeling thirsty for more.

Phantom was released in Japan in 2000, at first it didn't receive much attention. As time went on, people began to discover this gem of a game, and in no time it became a cult classic, propelling Nitro+ into a higher dimension of existence. A non-ero version of the game was released on PS2 in 2003, and the PC game was re-released under the title Phantom -Integration- in 2004. An English non-ero version of the game was translated and distributed by Hirameki International in 2003, but thanks to Hirameki's dumb way of doing things, the game suffered enough problem to not get noticed by anyone. The game was so popular that in 2004 it was adapted into a 3-episode OVA called Phantom: The Animation.

So anyway, what's this new anime thing about? It looks like the game will be adapted into an anime TV series by Bee Train, below is a staff list:

• Original Work: Nitro+ (oh yeah!)
• Original Scenario: Gen Urobuchi (invincible!)
• Director: Koichi Mashimo (resume include series like .hack and Noir, speaking of which, Kirika is really Ein, really!)
• Story Editor: Yosuke Kuroda
• Animation Character Design: Yoshimitsu Yamashita, Mutsumi Sasaki, Yoko Kikuchi
• Animation Production: Bee Train

From the information released so far, it looks like all the voice actors (seiyuu!) will be different as well. The OVA used the same voice actors from the game...so let's hope this change is good:

• Ein：Omi Minami→Ayahi Takagaki
• Zwei：Kousuke Okano→Miyu Irino
• Cal：Satomi Kourogi→Miyuki Sawashiro
• Claudia McCunnen：Kikuko Inoue→Aya Hisakawa
• Scythe Master：Ken Narita→Isshin Chiba
• Lizzie Garland：Ai Orikasa→Akeno Watanabe
• Raymond McGuire：Takumi Yamazaki→Susumu Chiba
• Daisuke Godo：Akio Ohtsuka→Tomoyuki Shimura
• Toru Shiga：Yuji Ueda→Souichiro Hoshi

Concept arts and screenshots have been circulating around the web, and what can I say?

Claudia looks totally different with long hair, Lizzie now looks like...someone else entirely, Reiji now has shorter hair, and Ein in a skirt? And what's up with her chest? *sigh* for fanservice -__-;; Oh and it looks like a book celebrating the animation called Official Start Book will be released on 12/28.