Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~

[Yukimura]

Alone I'd bet on Elen winning against pretty much anyone but having Reiji in the mix I can see Elen dying having to save him from some hesitation. When he's focused properly I feel like Reiji is the best Phantom the show has to offer, unfortunately his focus is comparatively malleable and Scythe, being a magnificent bastard, could find a way to shake Reiji's resolve mid battle requiring a sacrifice from Elen. If things go down this way I think we can expect an epic curbstomping from angry Reiji.

[Buffalobiian]

Alone I'd bet on Elen winning against pretty much anyone but having Reiji in the mix I can Elen dying having to save him from some hesitation. When he's focused properly I feel like Reiji is the best Phantom the show has to offer, unfortunately his focus is comparatively malleable and Scythe, being a magnificent bastard, could find a way to shake Reiji's resolve mid battle requiring a sacrifice from Elen. If things go down this way I think we can expect an epic curbstomping from angry Reiji.

The only one I could have seen Reiji hesitating against was Cal, and even that didn't happen this episode.

If Cal was alive, and momentarily siding with Cal, then I could have imagined something like Reiji pausing at the opportunity to kill Cal, neo-phantom taking the opportunity to strike Reiji, followed by Elen jumping in the way to save him, receiving a fatal wound.

But against a bunch of nameless, emotionless, robotic phantoms? I doubt it. If Reiji has enough determination to win against Cal in a duel, the only one left who Reiji wouldn't kill is Elen. So if Reiji sees his beloved Elen fending off 6 phantoms..... he'd be pretty determined to kill them.

edit: Actually..all Scythe has to do is hold Mio hostage or something. That trick will work against both Elen and Reiji. It would only hold Elen back for a single moment though, since if she had to choose between them two, she'd rather rescue Reiji.

I don't think that will happen though. Scythe seems pretty confident that his new toys are better than their prototypes. Further more, he sees this final act as like a graduation ceremony for his final product. He wants them to win fairly to prove that they are better, if you can call 6 vs 2 fair.

[Yukimura]

@edit: That's part of what I'm talking about, I think Scythe will do whatever it takes to win including psychological attacks if it becomes necessary. The fact that his old toys might be susceptible to their emotions at all might be taken as evidence that the new ones are that much superior. Either way I just don't think a pure happily ever after conclusion is in the cards for this show, if it is I'll be over joyed but I'm just holding onto the hope that it's not an 'everybody dies' sort of ending.

[shinta|hikari]

Scythe is probably underestimating his previous creations when he says he thinks the new dolls are better, particularly Reiji, who he only brainwashed. It was Elen and Claudia who "raised" Reiji to become the killer that he is, capable of killing one of those most important to him, not because he is cold-blooded, but because he has gained a resolve and ambition that allowed him to sacrifice as much.

Scythe is probably underestimating Elen as well, thinking that she is still the soulless doll she was before. Being with Reiji has changed Elen, particularly in her ability to rebel against Scythe.

[shinta|hikari]

Sorry for the double post, but I will apologize in advance for much more than that.

I just watched the raw for episode 26 of this series and I need to say something about it. It will contain mild spoilers (not actual content, but one can deduce from what I said) so read at your own risk. Still, I need to say it (and hopefully people like this show enough to read it) because I want most of the people here to enjoy this show.

MILD SPOILERS


If you want to get the ending that is the same as in the game, please stop watching at 21 minutes of episode 26. That is the game ending. Anything beyond that (the last 20 seconds or so) is anime crap that ruined the ending without salvation. Save yourself the frustration. Stop watching when the clock hits 21. Don't let curiosity ruin it for you.

EDIT:
As a safety measure (though that is a bit hypocritical since I created the danger myself [sorry!]) please don't reply to this post even after you have read the white text, especially if you are commenting on what it contains. Just PM me if you have any curses or complaints. I would gladly take it for this.

[oyabun]

I wonder what it is..

[lelouch]

Wow.

I'm going to pretend those last 20 seconds never happened.

[shinta|hikari]

Well, I did give a warning, even if it was quite an inadequate one stated in invisible text. Still, one can take consolation in the fact that the last 20 seconds are filler.

[Buffalobiian]

Inferno - Episode 26

[EpyonNext]

NEEEERD RAAAAAGE

[Yukimura]

Well that was quite a sad last bit of epilogue, but I knew something bad had to happen to someone before it was all over. Part of me is glad though, a pure happily ever after would have been nice in some ways but a bittersweet/bad/unknown ending feels more 'right' to me.

[Buffalobiian]

Okay, what the hell happened?!

Elen shot Reiji? Inferno shot Reiji?

Elen committed suicide afterwards with poisonous flowers? Inferno let Elen live?

I accidentally read Lelouch's comment about the last 20 seconds, so sitting there waiting for something to happen killed the "shock" factor for me. Maybe I'm not pissed for that reason, or perhaps another.

Elen was from Mongolia?! If you say so. :S

That said, I liked the ending episode. Those Phantoms were way too easy, but it looks more like they lacked combat experience. They're good, but they kept getting outwitted time and time again.

Elen said they felt exactly like what she was when Scythe first trained her, and that nothing's changed. If that is true, I really don't understand the basis for Scythe's belief of their superiority.

This show did the entire opposite of Canaan. I can't say that any aspect of this show was spectacular, but it felt pretty damn good. Like the other guys said in the Canaan thread, it must be the characters. Elen, Lizzie and Reiji all had appeal. Cal went skitz, but still got my sympathy.

[shinta|hikari]

That wasn't bittersweet/bad/unknown. That was a horrible ending, which is obviously a crappy copy of Kite in an attempt to give more emotional impact, and give a moral lesson.

There really is no way for it to be a pure happily ever after ending since Cal died. But instead of making it bittersweet (if the remaining two survive), they go crazy and kill everyone that matters. Elen will not be able to live without Reiji. So in the end, all phantoms died. It really can't get any worse.

The game (Ein's route) was inferior to the anime in many aspects, but the ending was where it really shined. If they just copied it as is, it would have been great. Instead, they had to do this stupid moral poetic justice shit.

@Buff - If you were asking seriously, Reiji got killed by Inferno, and the show ended without Elen knowing about it. We can pretty much guess what would happen when she finds out though.

[Buffalobiian]

I think this is the first time I'm actually ignoring an ending.(<- must be the reason I mentioned above) Funny thing is, my mind is doing it on it's own. There's not effort, it just glossed over it, acknowledged it, and only remembers Elen's smile in the sunlight before that.

[Yukimura]

Cal was a late entry and while her story was sad and moving I never really thought she was a strong enough influence to come between Reiji and Ein in a 'best end' sort of scenario. I always saw the ideal ending as Reiji and Ein settling down in some out of the way place and finding some measure of happiness together.

I don't know where you're getting this 'moral poetic justice' stuff from the way I saw it Reiji died b/c he and Elen risked being found by doing something as predictable as retracing Scythe's steps. He and Elen might have disappeared off the face of the Earth and lived happily ever after if they hadn't followed Scythe's trail looking for Elen's past. I have to believe an organization like Inferno is capable of putting two and two together and monitoring places where Scythe may have gone to pick up Elen in order to pick up the trail of the ex-Phantoms who might be looking for her past. The guy who shot Reiji looked suspiciously similar to the person loading the cart in the background when they were talking to merchant who suggested they go up to the grasslands. I'm inclined to see that whole last scene as being an Inferno set up.

[shinta|hikari]

Poetic justice is a literary device wherein good acts are rewarded, and bad acts are punished eventually, often in an ironic manner. Morality is inherent in this literary device.

Reiji and Elen are killers, so they have to be punished (killed) in the end. The story could have had a happy ending just as easily, but I believe they chose that ending for this reason.

EDIT: Completed the definition.

[Everon]

And yet, Inferno remains.

[Yukimura]

I know what the terms mean I just don't see where your belief that Reiji's death was a morality lesson stems from. As Everon said, Inferno remains, it seems like being bad only leads to punishment if you were good first. If I learned anything from the final scene it would be that you can't escape from the past if you are unwilling to let it go and live in the future.

[shinta|hikari]

Poetic justice does not have to affect all characters or groups in the show.

The moral lesson is that even if you are "good", killing is a bad thing, and will come back to bite you in the ass.

If those two actually managed to get away and live happily ever after, that would be like saying that killing women, children and tons of other people is okay, and you can still be happy. I personally think that the creators did not want to send out a message like this so they killed Reiji off in the end, ironically via assassination. Of course, I could be wrong, since there really is no way to tell what the creators were thinking. That is just my take on their decision to do such an ending.

[EpyonNext]

I am now done raging. All I gotta say is this: Reji's death was fucking pointless, hell they did Inferno a favor by offing Scythe. That asshat would have eventually usurped all of Inferno in a quest for the "ultimate stage"(as contrived as that is). I think I'm just gonna join the crowd that says "The Series ended at 21:00" instead of that retarded LETS TEACH EM ALL A LESSON LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL Bullshit(not directed at anyone here just the apparent thought process that the producers/directors of this series had).

Then again, shooting Reji could just be a pro-troll move on the studios part. if so:

WELL PLAEYD!