「江漣」 (Eren)
“Elen”

Oh no you didn’t just troll me after 26 episodes Bee Train.

First off, let’s talk about the actual episode. As you can probably tell from the action-packed screenshots, shit went down between Scythemaster’s new assassins and Reiji/Elen. Seeing as the girls were wearing really sexy backless dresses, a mask, and seemed to be completely devoid of emotions, I was really hoping Reiji would have a field day with them. That discussion (along with Scythemaster’s bottle of oil) will have to be saved for another day though. While it was pretty much six on two, it almost seemed too easy for “Zwei” and “Ein” to dispatch their counterparts. I mean, those rookies let the enemy get behind them way too many times. Granted, Reiji and Elen showed some ridiculous superhuman movement speeds this episode, but hey, so did those girls. That said, the part where Elen caught the knife and threw it back was still pretty absurd.

Anyway, Shiga’s blurb about of how Scythe’s plans won’t always go according to plan and will eventually bite him in the ass was basically the precursor for things to come. Elen was smart enough to realize that Scythe wanted to test out his new “work” on her and Reiji and dropped her gun when she confronted him. Pretty bold move right after declaring that she’s going to kill him. Regardless, she managed to knock one assassin out and kill the other fairly easily in hand-to-hand combat. Similarly, Reiji finished off the remaining two and felt bad about using Cal (as a decoy) even now.

With all his pet subjects down and out, Scythe was surprisingly confident that Elen wouldn’t shoot him if he wasn’t a threat to her so he dropped his gun. Boy was he wrong though, because she shot him right after letting him say his spiel, claiming she won’t forgive anyone who hurts Reiji. (Yea! He’s finally dead!) After all this time, it was surprisingly still hard for her to kill that manipulative bastard. Elen actually teared up both before and after firing. She also told him to go to hell first and that she’ll join him after spending a bit more time with Reiji. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this girl? Mio on the other hand was happy to know that the two of them escaped and was confident they’d meet again someday.

So, pretty sweet ending huh? I guess it would’ve been better if they managed to save Cal as well, but wait. Let’s get to the epilogue.

 

Timelapse to six months later. This time around we don’t have to deal with any ridiculous character growth. Reiji’s looking into Scythemaster’s past for possible leads into Elen’s. This leads them to Hong Kong and eventually Mongolia, where Elen and Scythe apparently met five years ago. Some old man on the street tells them that if they’re from Mongolia, they would never forget the sky and clouds after seeing them again. They trek out there, Elen gazes at the sky and claims she has memories of this place. (She’s Mongolian!?) As the sun sets, Elen reveals that she’s content with just learning this much and is happy about Reiji giving her a name. Reiji on the other hand is committed to making Elen smile her real smile again. All is well…

…Until this inconspicuous cart comes strolling along, you hear a silenced gunshot go off, and Reiji just curls over. He just got fucken shot! Why the hell is Elen smiling!? Is this her “real” smile, because I could care less at this point! Is she still not aware what happened as credits are rolling? Oh yeah, you lie there in the field like you’re on cloud nine. You’re so going to commit suicide when you turn around and realize that Reiji’s fucken dead! UGH, was this necessary in the very last minute of the episode!? Good god. I get the whole yeah, we’re phantoms, ghosts that can’t exist anywhere and have no identity blah blah, but did they have to really take it full circle on that notion? I can do without this “requiem for the phantom”!

AAAARGHHH!!! My one step up from Noir assassin anime ruined with this ending! Let the raging begin.

 

Update:
After watching that scene a few more times, I’m edging closer towards the idea that Elen did kill Reiji and commit suicide with the poisonous flowers afterward. She looked pretty lifeless while she was lying there. Zero Requiem? Phantom Requiem I guess.

The alternative of course is that Reiji was assassinated by Inferno, but it makes you wonder why they wouldn’t kill Elen as well then. If that is the case though, it’s hard to say how much time passed between Reiji getting shot, the credits, and then finally Elen lying on the field. She may have noticed that Reiji was dead within that time and then killed herself (something that Inferno was banking on?) or maybe she’s still alive and saw this coming. Which one is it? Pick your own interpretation.

219 Comments

  1. RAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!!! nah, just kidding.
    Man, i wish u blogged this show rather than blogging it at the end. I mean, IT IS WHAT MADE THIS BLOG SITE SO POPULAR, FOR POSTING SCREEN SHOTS OF THE ANIME IN QUESTION JUST MINS OR EVEN SECONDS AFTER THE TV BROADCAST. Then again circumstances change as time goes by.
    Anyways, its just fcking stupid that Reiji have to die in such pathetic if not SURREAL manner. Its crazy…….. -.-;

    Rawr
  2. I knew that was going to happen. This show was saddistic to begin with. The fact that they killed Claudia and then Cal means they would like to do more to leave a more impactful ending. The show also wouldn’t really go well with a good ending, like “Requiem for the Phantom”, it’s like a celebration of the dead… This is similar to the 3 episode OAV adaptation back in 2004 which also ended badly.

    ZeroYuki
  3. i was watching this show a few weeks ago and got up to like episode 8 or so and decided to stop watching, just because the whole plot seemed pretty obvious and not really worth my time with cannan and fma brotherhood around and with this ending im glad i did. though the ending does suck…..really bad i think the reason they did this is, because in the game this was based off of this isnt one of the endings you can play meaning if you played the game youd be suprised…in a bad way i guess(still not an excuse, but some reasoning atleast). I guess all we can do now is forget this ever happened and wait for DARKER THAN BLACK 2!!!!!!IM SO READY FOR THAT SHIT

    Sean
  4. I honestly cannot believe what I have just seen. I am still in shock. Here I have been following this anime in particular every week ahead of all others, and this is the ending I have to live with? I really don’t what to say to this. I’m really not sure how to translate the ending either. I agree though that it probably should only be left up to interpretation but at first It looked like Elen herself had shot Reiji (Her being completely oblivious to Reiji dying; showing no emotion or response to him keeling over. Her sudden laughter and smile right after he is shot). But we all know that’s not what happened. Regardless, this is not what anyone (with the exception of a minor few) wanted. Let’s hope Pandora Hearts can cheer me up.

    Tim
  5. I say after her memories came back she relized what she done so she killed Reiji just like Reji killed Cal and probably going to kill herself to end all this or Scyte isn’t actually dead.

    roger
  6. lol.. thats what you get Reiji! How long does it take Reiji to make Ellen smile? Seriously he had 2 years then.. 6 months.. but still in the end he didn’t see it… lol

    Well as soon as Reiji went to Kill Cal and Did without explain anything and then crying about it the show went way downhill.. (Though the Production was Excellent! )

    But the real question is was it really an Elen x Reiji ending? There was no marriage, which was the main Flag for this couple in the Game. I don’t see anything between them. Hell even though they were going for an ellen ending it didn’t feel like a ellen x Reiji. Reiji just wanted to break free of Inferno and make Ellen smile again.

    [quote]Anyways, its just fcking stupid that Reiji have to die in such pathetic if not SURREAL manner. Its crazy…….. -.-;[/quote]Reiji was awesome at the start then turned into a Stupid Bastard. For an idiot they showed reiji to be in the end.. it really is quite fitting.

    Fire man
  7. First off, I would like to thank Divine for blogging the final ep of Phantom. 🙂

    Can’t really say that was a good way to end this show. If they wanted to go for that stupid “Requiem for the Phantom” thingy, it didn’t quite work out. I was already so pissed off when Reiji killed off Cal. Poor Cal, she didn’t deserve this.

    Seriously, I hope they will animate Dusty Desert Trails as an OVA or movie to make up for this. It feels so painful when an anime that you’ve been looking forward to every week gets this shitty ending.

    I wonder if by killing off Reiji will make Cal fans happy though…

    pierce
  8. How frustrating… Makes you think Reiji fought for nothing over the last 25 episodes. Reminds me of the Linkin Park song “In The End.” Tries as hard as he can to end the nightmare, but it’s all for nothing.

    But yeah, here’s the producers pulling off a troll to draw more attention and debate to their show. Phantom Req

    Sentinel
  9. …accidentally posted incomplete. Anyways, Phantom Requiem isn’t one of the highest profile shows this season. Guess they figured that any attention (even negative) would be worth it. Certainly an excellent move on Bee-Train’s part to raise the hype around this series.

    Cheers people, we’ve gotta remember it’s still just a show in the end 😛

    Sentinel
  10. So how does a protagonist get shot at the end despite being the most skillful of all Phantoms? This is why I hate anime sometimes, bad endings! Not only was it bad, it’s stupid! Or are they ending it like the movie Godfather? Those who live by the sword die by the sword? Such BS! If they wanted to be unique this isn’t the way to go because this is just cliche.

    conyo985
  11. lol….so i was watching the RAW and i was thinking oh this is a pretty good ending…..and then the cart rolls along and i hear a gun shot. At first i was thinking “no…they didn’t….nah I’m probably hearing things i mean cmon Reiji is still standing there looking all healt…..and now he fell over…..”. I mean for one the fact that after he got shot he never once changed face expression and then about 12 seconds later he FINALLY dies. And like everyone has said already…..WHAT WAS THE POINT. I mean you coulda just ended it with Elen staring off at the fucking sky while credit music rolled. But instead they have to be all pretentious in the end,BECAUSE normal endings that make you smile are for idiots and gays…..GG Phantom….GG.

    Reaper113
  12. I don’t really see what other end they could receive. Generally when you’re involved with the Mafia, either voluntarily or against your will, things never really look up for you again, especially as a thug/assassin. He had antagonized hundreds of people over the course of his life, it’s not unlikely that some would want revenge. It’s only disappointing that Reiji never got to see what he had worked for for so long.

    PhantomX
  13. Hey, this ending really, really sucks. It sucks sine the chapter 25 when Reiji SADLY kill Cal. I feel cal so poor, lack of love and shouldnot have such pityful ending though she said she satisfy (minus 10 points of this anime for it), then the fucking ending, 1st, my Elen was Mongolian (though she only speak Japanese :D) 2nd, Reij’s DEAD. I still cannot believe Reiji has MIO, has CAL, has ELEN, those such beauty but now he’s DEAD. Stupid ending more than anything I’ve seen before, Hey guy, let’s make another ending or this anime in case Reiji not dead and they return to Japan, how can he deal with Mio and Elen at the same time?

    Phuong
  14. You make a Good Point PhantomX, considering what he had done before the likeyhood of being so casually like this and living is not very likey. Reiji killed alot of people and as it has been shown Revenge/Betrayal is a key theme in the anime.

    Well they Screwed-over most fans(Of certain characters/parings) in the end. First with episode 25 with Reiji killing Cal in such a stupid way.. Reiji’s Brain was the size of an Ant. And Now Reiji getting killed off and animated in such a Werid-fu***** up way and Ellen… who knows, most likey will not live.

    And Yea thats what they were trying to do. At least Bee-train done what they wanted too.

    chosenone
  15. This anime died for me after episode 15. I managed to predict everything that would happen after that to a T including the garbage ending. Its been some years since I was able to do that. I’m just glad this BS is over.

    Megas
  16. For everyone else, Nyx is alluding to the idea that Elen killed Reiji and then committed suicide afterward by consuming the berries from the flowers, “deadly nightshades“, around her. Possible, but if that was the case I think they could’ve done a better job depicting so. First off, most viewers won’t instantly know that those flowers have poisonous berries. Secondly, an adult has to consume 10-20 of them before it’s lethal. I say this jokingly, but I don’t recall Elen stuffing her face at all.

    Anyway, I’m still under the impression that it was McGuire‘s doing. However, I get the feeling that the writers wanted to keep us guessing because Elen was all smiles at the end. Was it her doing or was she simply not aware?

  17. There’s the likelihood that it was done off screen. Granted, that sounds pretty nonsensical, but she was staring at that one flower far too long to be simply admiring it, and she looked pretty damn lifeless at one point.

    Nyx
  18. fuck yea i was pissed, i remember being not happy with Ova, and hoping this would be better in the end, but seriously i had the dame feelings as u during that end part. god wth. really. whatever, moving on

    i think im gonna go back and rewatch some happy ending anime and feel a little better.
    Although this still doesn’t compare to my 2 weeks of depression after Fate Stay Night ended….lol

    Chimasternmay
  19. I hope people who made this those who made the decision to have it end this way, go home today and the next morning leave to go to work and when their kids/wife/mom/ family member/ dog, is behind them or about to say bye, that person gets shot and killed, with a silencer, so when that guy who left for work comes back tonight feel crazy pain, and if he still doesn’t feel pain, then i hope someone else kill that dude.

    My Evil Side Speaking: By Somene Who Already Commented.
  20. I agree with Nyx although I already came up with that theory on MAL 13 hours ago.

    I don’t however think that the plant Elen was looking at was actually Deadly Nightshade since it only very vaguely resembles it. The whole reason I thought the flower might have killed Elen is because after she is seen lying lifelessly on the ground and after she had been doing something with it off screen we see that a petal is missing from the flower she was messing with. I think that if we can suspend our disbelief at some of the other things in this show such as the mystery “amnesia drug” which made Zwei forget all about his previous life without causing severe brain damage then we could also believe in a fictional flower which can kill you if you eat one petal.

    DrHouse
  21. This ending completely sucks!

    Having played the VN, I say that this ending completely ruined BOTH anime and VN for me. This is what we get when some dumbass director decides that they need to input their own little artistic twist into the mix. God I hope he witnesses the death of his children right in front of him!

    The reason why I loved this series was because we got to see the average guy become a badass, but still retain a bit of his ‘average guy’ characteristic. In fact, that’s why I loved the game! But some dumbass director, may he witness the death of his children before his very eyes, decided that it wasn’t good enough and had to show the world the length of his artistic penis by ruining this great story with his own personal ideas.

    Remy
  22. I knew this was going to be disappointing when the wedding and the shoot-out in the Church got cut and it looked like the school shoot-out was going to get cut as well, but I didn’t think it could possibly be this bad. There are a couple of endings where Reiji dying would have worked, but this is not one of them.

    dude
  23. you guys know some japnese are saying that it wasn’t the guy behind Reiji . it was Ein who killed Reiji. when you watch carefully, it seems possible. when Ein killed “Master” she said “go to hell first I’ll stay with Reiji for a “little” longer. and at the end , she told Reiji “it’s enough”. after Reiji got shot, Reiji was still standing calmly and smiling, like he knew it was gonna happen. and Ein too was smiling… maybe she’s gonna kill herself later. maybe it’s just , she found where she belongs to, and both of them had no more reason to live….. phantoms do not belong any where…. and there is a game of Phantom that has 4 different endings, but in all of them, some one died…..

    hahahah
  24. why melodrama in anime is sooooo lame most of the time “maybe its the American in me speaking” but would it fu@king hurt to have a happy ending once in a while?!?!?!?
    DONT GET ME WRONG!!! CAL had to die!! GOOOOOD!!!!! die u hamburger eating steroids made ur boob’s an ASS grow ridiculously fast reason for revenge terribly written character ,,bwhahahahah! I’m glad ur dead Bit@h!!! hahahahah, and what was with the poooorly done LEON THE PROFESSIONAL RIP-OFF continuous similarity’s through this crap?!?!
    FU@k YEAH I’M VENTING!!!!!!! I WATCHED EVERY GODDAMN EPISODE!!!!!!
    somebody please shoot ME in the kidney so i Too can fall over in a FU@king Mongolian BERRY FIELD!!!!! who on earth thought this pig tripe was well written?????
    that question is answered at the end credits…..NOBODY BUT THE PHANTOM,, SUCK MY @ICK!!!!!!! but a special shout-out to divine fo putting in the work..*double salute* good nite

    BROOKLYN otaku
  25. I’ve never understood why there are so many Cal haters out there. She just wanted to stay by Reiji’s side, that’s all. It’s Reiji who you should hate. Seriously, the dude hasn’t for once taken a chance to talk to her about the fact that he did return to search for her. His decision to leave things as it is by saying that “you have the right to kill me for what I have done to you” just begs her to think that she’s been betrayed. The fact that he escaped with Elen together simply makes this even worse (he left you for another woman). It’s a pity that the anime didn’t get deep into Cal’s past.

    pierce
  26. I even felt BROOKLYN otaku’s rage. Sure, I’m 🙁 with the ending. I wished I would had dropped it at 15 but the shit part of the ending was nearly trumped with that ‘fast as hell’ shit Reiji pulled off. I lol’d for more than 3 mins after that. Then the shitty ending happened & I nearly fell over. Right before those idiots split up for the final scene I thought to myself ‘one of those MFers is gonna die’. When I saw the bullet, I LOL’d like hell.

    Its a shame about Cal though. I couldn’t even make a smirk with all my might when she died, even though I predicted that too. Damn I hate predictable stuff. The next thing you know, I might actually get pissed at an ending o.O

    Megas
  27. Having seen the first, second, and final episodes of this, and knowing the previous work of Koichi Mashimo (Noir, .hack//Sign, Madlax, El Cazador [de la Bruja]) the ending was, IMHO, expected.

    Probably the detail of the flower (For what i’ve been told, the blue plant depicted is a Delphinum, which is pretty common in the mountain region of Mongolia and is poisonus… well… Not SO poisonus that you eat one petal and die.) is not so clear and the detail of the cart… well… one year after the R2 finale is too much coincidence i think…

    So for what i’ve seen, i’m also inclined for the idea that Ellen kills Reiji. It’s just the timing is not right. Probably she first smile to Reji and THEN she fires the weapon. After that, she eats the petal and dies… The final scene with showing the silencer probably hints at this…

    Just my 2 cents…

    IMHO, this shouldn’t have ended like this. But, again, i was expecting a ending like this, given the director of the series.

    Regards

    J.

    stargazer
  28. See? Only proves my point. 24 hours and we have 60+ comments for this low profile series. A troll ending is the perfect publicity tool.

    My only complaint is the lack of finesse. If you remember the Geass ending, Lelouch’s death was certainly one of grandeur, fit for a king.

    Here in Phantom, there certainly is a degree of meaning in the ending as some here have stated, that Reiji and Elen have fulfilled final wish and thus have no more reason to live. This premise works well, but it’s just too subtle. It isn’t emotionally or intellectually evoking enough to make a good ending.

    Sentinel
  29. Requiem for the phantom has a really cruel end, but logical and dramatic, who criticize him for that, I really doubt it has ue understood and even less if you have seen in RAW.

    Snake, Solid Snake
  30. @ pierce You make good points. Well.. Reiji Brains went out the Window in 3rd Arc and dissapeared soon after. It is a shame that Cal’s character didn’t come across as well recevied in this anime as it did in the VN.

    @ DrHouse I think alot of people disliked the ending, since it was very character heavy show. lots of development and excellent touching scenes, where these character we like (they did paint them as killers.. but also as people who were dragged into this life) are trying to break free from the darkness. So its not hard to get really attached to the characters. So to kill them all off like this is certain to piss of people. It Fits the Theme of the show well but I would disagree a little it fitted the mood of the whole show.

    As soon as the didn’t show the Marriage P. Scene and Killed off Cal..I wasn’t expecting things to end well for Reiji & Ellen.. but the way they did it was un-expected. Still I think Its a fitting way for an Phantom to die.. This is after all how they killed most of their Targets.

    Very Interesting the Idea behind Ellen being the one to have shot Reiji. I thought that had a chance of Reiji getting killed considering That Reiji only promise to Ellen was to make her smile again and Not like to Cal “to be together” He was so Guilty of what he had done, so perhaps in a twisted way that promise to Cal came true @_@

    Whatever people thought, You have to admit that the Animation Production Vaule of the show was Top, I only wish that more shows were Produced this well.

    chosenone
  31. Cal’s past, after Reiji left, was never even delve into deeply even in the VN. Even if you chose to take her route in the VN. All in all, she wasn’t a very deep character to begin with or even end with. Mio’s ending, IMHO, was the second best – and had the best overall happy feeling. Ein’s ending was obviously the true ending, if Reiji didn’t get killed or killed her off himself.

    I HATE this ending because some asshole director, may his children be slaughtered horribly infront of him, decided to give their two yen and ruin what was an AWESOME VN and what was a decent ‘shoot’em up’ drama series. Both, IMHO, are hard to come by, without the plot itself being about how the main character is some Harem building king!

    People can read into who killed who and what their intentions were, my reason is: “This was base of a very great VN and should have stuck with the endings that came along with it!”

    Remy
  32. Yes it was.. plus it was told differently and there were some bits that were not included. That would of made people more sympathetic to cal’s character. Weather or not you think her character is deep is up to you, as I’m sure some people would disagree and agree with it.

    It was a Base of a a Great VN, but still Ellen ‘true’ ending is only one of a Few. And there is no Canon ending to the game. Though they did realy Screw over Ellen fans in the end since I’m sure most were expecting things to go smoothly from the start of this episode. Stil its not like the anime done all by the book. They after all didn’t do the Marriage Pro. Scene.

    Well Beetrain might be Trolling, but you have to at least give the ending thought as to why it ended like this.

    chosenone
  33. WHY do some people think Elen killed Reji??? of COURSE she didn’t, it’s not even open to interpretation! She only lived to protect him after all. PLus people seem to be under the impression that she’s next to him when he dies. If you were watching he walked off and left her alone. She was smiling to herself. At the end there also was a gun barrel on the grass, trained at elen, so someone was just about to kill her. What i don’t get though is the whole petal missing off the flower thing, wats that meant to mean? I like the idea of poisoning herself with the berries, but she didn’t see Reji die so i think that options out (it’s a good idea though :D) What a stupid ending, i see why they had to die but why in such a boring pathetic (if not incredibly surprising) way?????? urrrrrgh

    Animecrazed
  34. ok no i just realised the gun is LYING on the grass, now i’m very very confused. Still we must remember these aren’t real people, Elen wudn’t kill Reji but a stupid writer could get bored and make her kill reji. That is all. (i’m forgetting this ending happened)

    Animecrazed
  35. Re to Splash.

    you know in Claymore the girls didnot die?…..that is the final episode of the first season… i dont konw if the second is coming out or not. but if you want know what happened you should read the manga. they pretend to be dead and became super strong after 7 years and came back for revenge ..it’s good stuff

    hahahah
  36. First cal and now this?

    Disappointing, cynical ending. it is true that reiji did despicable things (like killing a child in cold blood), but, he was trying to (and did) change his ways. he became one of the good guys in the end.

    beetrain is a great with artwork and music (noir, madlax, el cazor de la bruja) but, their storytelling skills are awful. from the many endings available, why choose this misbegotten child? No doubt they were trying to pull some lame, and angsty postmodernist philosophical conclusion; “real life sucks.”

    It saddens me I was watching this series from the beggining, ugh.

    dan
  37. It seems like they wanted to add their stupid ideas into the anime.
    In the game when Elen says it’s enough, there’s no need to search for her past anymore she turns back to Reiji and gives her a good smile and after that the game ends. It’s the “good end” in the game. Reiji doesn’t get a shot at himself or anything of the sort.
    The fighting scenes and her talk with Sycthe is better in the game.
    It’s recommended to play the game after seeing this crap ending, even though it was a good anime…
    There’re also Cal and Mio routes if you would like to see.
    A ranking of the girls in Phantom would be something like;
    1-Elen, 2-Cal, 3-Mio, 4-…(Claudia’s just a b***h and I don’t want to accept her as a heroine)
    And It seems Schthe knows how to take care of the girls. The body’s growth speed of the girls he looks after for just two years is simply amazing…

    tomokachi
  38. This is no “troll ending”, it’s making perfect sense in the flow of things. And I find it mildly hilarious how many people who most likely never have followed the anime manage to yell at the ending. Clueless, but loud. If anything, it’s making the game “good ending” of Elen less reasonable and likely. Inferno is closing the book, so why would they leave Reiji alone? He was the one who “threatened” Mio.

    Elen didn’t kill him, good lord. Rewatch the scene. The silencer shot happened when the cart drove by. Eventually, Reiji drops to the ground, and that caused Elen to turn around and laugh at Reiji a bit – she didn’t realize what was happening, and obviously his dropping looks a bit goofy.

    This was an excellent show that didn’t get remotely the recognition it deserved. And it got a logical conclusion, which however sucked the rest of the sugar away from the viewers. That’s all.

    Mentar
  39. Uh…I think the point of Elen’s smile at the end is to express IRONY. BLISS born from ignorance of what just transpired. Nothing more. Here is Elen smiling from the bottom of her heart because she had found a reason to live. And then they show us that her reason to live just got shot. I truly lol’d at the people speculating that the Elen smiling at the sky in the end was a dead elen, or that she saw Reiji get killed and smiled, or she killed Reiji. Or that she got poisoned by the flower petals. WTF. Where do they get all those ideas? Elen obviously had NO idea of what just happened to Reiji. =__= Sorry, it’s been eating me for a while haha So they didn’t do the cliche happy ending. Congrats Bee Train and Nitro for a controversial ending.

    Iem
  40. I hate this ending! I know that the phantoms did deserve to die because of all the crimes they committed, after all they did deserve to die for killing many innocent people (ex. Reiji killing the mother and son, Ein and Cal are both the same, who will kill for orders). So I guess I could argue that they dont really deserve to be happy or to continue living with blood on their hands, and they have to pay for their sins. HOWEVER! THIS IS TOO STUPID! TELL ME DIVINE, IS MCGUIRE ALIVE?! Then that would mean INFERNO is still active and even more powerful thanks to the three phantoms contributions! I mean come one! The real villains in this show wasnt Elen, Reiji, or Cal, heck it isnt even Sycthmaster (he’s just a sub boss lol), the true villain here is McGuire for crying out loud! I saw that single screenshot of him smiling, and it pissed me off! That means that the guy lives and his organization continues to commit such crimes, while those people he used mainly our main characters, the phantoms, died, while he lives on happily.

    The fuk is the main theme of this show? Assassins are evil and deserve to die, while the people who made them into one and uses them to kill other people deserves to live happily? The hell was the director thinking when he thought it was fine to kill the assassins of because they had to pay for their crimes while the true villain lives on!

    X
  41. It is not over. I don’t have anything to support my statement in any writing. However, this isn’t the first time we’ve been left with Rieji shot 3 times through the chest near his heart, and washed up on a beach. Now that we know, I suggest you go back and watch episode 1 again, all the details you require go back to the flashback. I can’t wait for the next airing, no matter how long it may be. This is far from the end. I keep remembering the malibu setting and 2 guards getting shot by a man in a convertable before asking Ellen if she’s alright. That’s when the dream sequence happened. We’ve been watching the past from episode 1. Sometimes the best drama’s can be over dramatic.

    Devin
  42. No way is it still continuing, there’s nothing else they can do with the story! There’s only a certain amount of times they can run away, almost get killed, run away again etc. If they made another series i wud be interested to see how on earth they can make it fresh. Plus i DOUBT reji is still alive, that wud ruin the whole “impact of the smile”, it’s only so tragic becoz Reji is finally dead. And i agree, Elen is only similing becoz she is completely oblivious and hasn’t seen reji. no offence but LOL at the person who sed she was laughing at the goofy way he fell to the floor ;D She’s an assasin, and she’s hardly gunna be completely off her guard after only 6 months. There’s no way she’d confuse someone getting shot for someone who’s just sitting down ;D

    Animecrazed
  43. gaaahhh it’s just doesnt make sense to me! D:

    so lets say Reiji died, who in the hell is in the carriage thingie, and what the purple-haired dude said… im guessing he’s gonna become the next scythe -.-
    and… Reiji said he wanted to see Elen’s real smile, but he dies!! Why did he leave Elen alone in the first place!? It was a sunset!

    Elen’s smile doesn’t even look genuine! It’s a sucky smile >:I
    Gah. i’m just so mad at the ending Dx
    I really liked this anime too D:

    keena
  44. Elen has no reason to kill reji and commit suicide esspecially not after saying: those memories of him are enough for me to live on. And the idea of her not knowing what happened yet is even crazier, because she was phantom, the best of the best.

    I think she indeed knew what was going to happen maybe she smiled to grant him his last wish.

    what i am curious to know is how did reji make the music box play in the exact right moment when that lady was about to kill him?? How sure are we that cal really died??? He also said, qoute: Relying on you even till the end, im sorry. Maybe that’s a hint??

    I don’t think elen killed reji, she was facing in the other direction, wouldn’t you think she atleast face him when she’d kill him?? And it was obvious someone was in that cart..

    cal
  45. The new Phantoms didn’t live up to their names and expectations. The impression Scythe gave off was that they were far superior to Elen, Reiji, and Cal, yet they were easily destroyed. I didn’t like the obvious foreshadow of the ending [Zero Requiem]. It didn’t strike me surprisingly as I’d like. Another disliked event was how someone was able to find the two in a ghost land.

    This series was excellent for me. It’s been some time since a series [Code Geass] got me hooked. One thing that kept this from a perfect score was the returned Cal part. It felt unnecessary and wasted some potential on three or four episodes. Saving the best for last, I liked the Reiji that worked for Claudia. He was THE package.

    And…

    Inferno wasn’t involved in this as much as I thought. McGuire should have had something coming at him in the end. Inferno was merely the incomplete background, I’d rather it get swapped with Scythe or become the main part itself along with Scythe. It’d then be better than a show within a show run by an antagonist.

    Xizel
  46. Elen knew she was gonna die when she said something about scythe master go to hell 1st and some crap so she found the place where she remeber and thats all she wanted so she… SHOT REIJI AND ATE SOME POISON WOOT GREAT ENDING HIHG FIVES ANYONE?

    I KNOW WHAT HAPPEN
  47. Elen would have had to ingested [I]dozens[/I] of those petals before they would kill her, and that’s IF they were toxic to begin with. They look like [URL=”http://i34.tinypic.com/v6iycp.jpg”]pansies[/URL], [URL=”http://i37.tinypic.com/25twyn6.jpg”]corn-cockles[/URL], [URL=”http://i37.tinypic.com/otddv5.jpg”]gentians[/URL] (which are very common in Mongolia), or [URL=”http://i33.tinypic.com/jua2k1.jpg”]geraniums[/URL] (also common in Mongolia) to me, and those are far from being poisonous.

    If Reiji can survive multiple gun-shot wounds, then I can’t believe that a single petal of a common flower could kill Elen.

    Lady Orihime
  48. I would have to disagree too with the view that Elen shot Reiji as she said she had the will to live [with him] (as others mentioned before). In fact we do not know for certain that Reiji is dead as we have not seen the corpse; again he got shot before and survived.

    What I find rather “puzzling” or hard to accept is that Reiji as the Phantom would get shot without even realizing it – come on, he is the best of the best. This would require a killer a whole grade better than him and if Inferno had one like that, they wouldn’t need Phantom in the first place.

    I am not arguing whether this is a good or bad ending, but to me it makes no sense this way. If they could have killed him this easily, why did it take all that time to do… For me, having a believable ending (be it good, bad or whatever) is crucial – this just spoils it for me. It is like taking 26 episodes to destroy one’s archenemy and then having him die from common cold instead… [makes no sense at all]

    Steltek
  49. As much as I would hate to admit it, the ending fits with the general theme. “Phantoms” really have no meaning in life, and if they do find a meaning in life, it will all be for nothing. Still, it’s hard for me to decide if this was a really bad move by the writers or an attempt at an artistic/symbolic ending (either way, it definitely instigated lots of griping…).

    amxed
  50. Sorry you can’t go to bat saying it was artistic or symbolic because it wasn’t. Killing them off in some back water area of mongolia is way way way retarded. Sorry but did inferno just set up a guy on a horse cart to do a drive by? You could have just nuked them or something equally as stupid.

    Yosuke Kuroda, You told a great story all the way up until that point. Sure it wasn’t prefect but jezus man.

    Seriously this ending was weak.

    Horribleendings
  51. wow…i felt so irritated…i loved all of phantom…except that ending…i mean come on…even in the game phantom of inferno he doesn’t get shot in Ein’s ending…wtf…why reji…why didn’t your psycho sensors tingle…

    Sad Gundam
  52. People :

    You think too much,

    Inferno killed them. 16,41 ” We have things we must do “.

    Reiji was shot (Silent Shot, so Elen did not probably hear the gun fire
    She probably turn to smile to Reiji an was shot (her pic fading….)

    @ 22,52 She’s dead,

    The bullet we saw, is the one which killed Elen.

    ThePooh
  53. Quote by Horribleendings: “Sorry but did inferno just set up a guy on a horse cart to do a drive by?”

    LOL… A drive by with a horse cart…
    Imagining it like this now makes me realize even more how stupid this scene was. But you are totally right. Especially using a silencer was totally unnecessary. The old fag could have used a rocket launcher and noone would have noticed.
    Seems like the the producers either didn’t had any time left at all or just didn’t care about doing a better ending than this.

    ROFLMAO
  54. FUUUUUCKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why?? seriously OK i get that it just makes sense that he dies like that, but really? NO ONE WANTED THIS! this was my favorite show, and of all things i wanted the ending to be happy and have closure…

    but they didn’t even give me that! T.T i hate my life…

    P.S. i recommend anyone who hasn’t watched the final episode yet and for some reason hasn’t read EVERYONE else posts and didn’t read the epilogue to STOP WATCHING THE SERIES ABOUT ONE MINUTE OR SUCH BEFORE THE ENDING! meaning as soon as Elen says “we don’t need to go any further”

  55. The ending doesn’t make huge sense.

    At 20:20 Reiji walks away from Elen. The mountains are behind them.

    At 20:27 we see a cart approaching Reji coming from the direction that Ein was standing. Reiji

    At 21:19 the cart passes by, we hear a silenced pistol.

    At 21:25 Reiji is smiling staring off into the sunset, he must know he’s been shot. He’s still standing and no blood runs down his face, so obviously he’s been shot in the body and not the head

    At 21:30 Elen is still playing with the flower.

    At 21:42 Reiji is still just standing, staring off into space.

    At 21:53 Reiji falls over

    At 21:59 Elen turns around and smiles, she slowly fades away.

    At 22:47 A motionless Elen is seen staring up at the sky.

    At 23:00 We see a four petal flower amidst five petal flowers, clearly a petal has been removed.

    At 23:10 we see a bullet casing on the ground, the mountains in the background.

    If that assassin was sent by Inferno, Elen would have been the first one shot. As the cart had to pass by her in order to reach Reiji. The potentiality of the cart being a red-herring is high. Who is Elen turning around and smiling at? Reiji had walked away from her originally, as such her smiles only make sense if we time skipped to sunset and they were actually standing near each other. If Reiji was shot by a Cart Assassin, why didn’t he try to warn Elen, “hey there is someone here trying to kill us.” His obsession with making her smile and living for that moment, you’d think he’d muster the energy to at least say something, dude took multiple shots to the chest before and kept on ticking. He just stands there smiling and looking into the sunset, which only makes sense if Elen was the one to shoot him.

    Falling or missing petals always mean death. There are holes in the cart assassin idea, and there are logical in-congruencies with the idea that Elen shot him (though I would believe that more than the cart assassin, as if he was shot by someone other than Elen he’d be running at phantom speed to make sure she was ok).

    So Very Odd
  56. gosh! the ending just makes you think. why couldn’t they just flat out tell us?!
    and isn’t Reiji the great phantom? how in the world can he just die like that unless it was Elen who killed him… they need to make a OVA or something so that we know what happens.

  57. It was…an interesting ending, to say the very least. If anyone didn’t notice, at the ending, in once sceen, a blossom of nightshade is shown with all of its petals, and after reiji gets killed, they show the same blossom but a petal is missing. Nightshade is pretty damn poisonous, so I’m assuming Elen ate it and killed herself.

    I think Reiji knew he was going to die, and just didn’t do anything about it. I’m pretty sure they are both happy with the way things ended. And the reason Elen smiles at the end is in order for reiji to die happily , because he was finally able to keep his promise and make Elen truly smile.

    PhantomEnding
  58. So wrong…. So wrong… This had to be a joke on the creator’s part. Like seriously….. Reiji dies like that. After everything that has happened and Elen acting all weird afterward. WOW…… I’ve seen odd endings and this has to be a top one lol

    KazeXone
  59. I thought the ending was in keeping with the series. In the end, he fulfills his final wish and finds Elen’s homeland and she smiles. I figure Inferno kills him. Never let a traitor live. It would make sense that Elen is not a target and lives. I do not think scythe master would advertise her continued existence to Inferno, considering her earlier role in events concerning the Godoh group. And as far as anyone is concerned, to save face for the organization only Reiji really had to be killed. The last scene with her weird smile could be some rebirth from death kind of thing. She’s now free.

    ashiguru
  60. i don’t know why anyone even liked this series the ending just makes it worse than it has been all along lol! So many plot holes, fail theme songs, and unnecessary things happening you can only expect a bad ending. Drive-by cart shooting ftw! It is ok guys its not like Reiji and Elen haven’t been shot in vital organs before this is a walk in the park for them.

    rofl
  61. Uhhh… I think Elen’s smiling because she turned around to see Reiji lying in the grass looking like he is staring at the sky so she thinks “what a great idea” and does it too. Of course, that’s gonna be mega screwed up once she gets up and walks over to him.

    …unless she’s dead too, which would explain why it looks like she has the glazed “phantom” eyes when she is laying down.

    homerless
  62. in the end you dont really see if elen is still standing near reiji…i mean he walked away after she said it is enough, perhaps he wanted to give her some time for herself and therefor she didnt notice him dying. AND there was no tree when both were still talking to each other but then reiji is standing next to one.

    Gilean
  63. I think reiji obviously had to be shot by the cart guy, there’s no reason for ellen to shoot him. Also, i think ellen might have have really killed herself, if you look at the scene at about 23:02 you’ll see that the flower is missing a petal, though that shouldn’t be enough to kill an adult if it really is nightshade but still she could have had more and she looks pretty lifeless after.

    DKnight
  64. Yah,
    I didn’t like the ending. I although overall it was one of the better animes of the season, I did not like all this jumping around and character changes and developments. I could barely follow the story line.
    Also the end was pretty ridiculous. If reji and elen took on freaking 6 to 2 odds and then reji just gets shot like nothing. Dam! Its almost as bad Supranos ending!

    Phantom'sPhantom
  65. I do agree with most of you. The guy in the cart killed reiji and when elen realized it she ate one of those flowers(assuming they are poisonous). Its a genius ending though. If you think about it they are both free. Reiji made her smile and she knew where she came from.

    erwar
  66. So this is what happen when reiji got shot he fell to the ground. Then when we saw that bullet fell on the ground that means elen got shot. she probably pick the petal of the flower before she got shot.

    CommonSense
  67. The ending worked very well and is totally consistent with the story.

    1) We see Inferno ordering the hit earlier in the episode. Note that Ellen is largely off their radar, so it’s logical they’d target only Reiji.

    2) Reiji has nothing left to live for at the point that he is shot. He feels guilt over Cal; he has achieved his dream of bring Ellen home. Both are relaxed and not alert.

    3) Reiji is shot by the man in the cart. He reacts and falls.

    4) Ellen, consistent with her personality and insight, knows that Reiji’s death is not a tragedy. It is what he wanted, having achieved his goal in life, of bringing her home.

    5) Ellen is last scene lying on the grass, staring at the SKY. The sky of mongolia, which as indicated in previous dialogue, symbolizes her coming home.

    Reijis death has ended the cycle that bound her to Inferno. She is her own person, home, and free. Happy ending.

    DLP
  68. The series ended for me at 25 when Reji killed Cal,in the begin i cried but later i’m wasn’t worried by the death of Cal …. i thought Ooh Cal will resuscitate … them they will live happy forever…
    I prefer Cal with Reiji ! <3

    and

    Why the hell did Cal has to die?
    Why the hell did Reiji has to die?
    .-.

    Patrick
  69. @Patrick I know, Why the heck did they have to go? The most shocking death to me was Reiji’s, I had already read the endings for Phantom on Wikipedia, but I had never expected Reiji to die in “Ein’s true ending.” We at least had a glimpse at “Cal’s true ending” in episode 25, but WHY?! Why the heck did Cal have to be killed?!

    Xrtear
  70. i loved the show i started watching from ep 14 i seen it on bleach exile and i liked the name so i started watchin but why o why did he have to die i mean i didnt like cal to much most of the time but i loved her at the ed and when she seemed like she was crazy why did they make it look like reji died and how he got shot i was so sad and now people are saying ein might be dead damn 12 weeks kind of wasted but i still love it was so sad still he shouldve lived aww i cried when cal died

  71. I watched the episode with subtitles. My opinion has changed somewhat.

    1) who killed reiji?

    Ein had no reason to kill reiji, therefore she did not kill him.

    Another assassin did him in. By the way it doesn’t mean he was in the cart, it could be red herring.

    2)Did Ein commit suicide?

    No, “these memories are enough for me to continue on living,” said ein right after Reiji was shot. In other words, she had no intent on dying even if she lost Reiji.

    Here is the ambiguous part:

    3) is Ein dead in the final shot?

    The missing petal is often a sign of death, and it seems to imply she’s dead. But, there’s no hint or foreshadowing that she was killed.
    it’s a toss up, frankly.
    Can anybody weigh in and tell us if Ein is dead or not? maybe I missed a clue.

    dan
  72. I just watched the subs, and I can confirm it that it is not Elen who shot Reiji! I mean it really was stupid if it was her who did it, it wouldnt make sense, and even their positions doesnt make sense for that to happen. Elen was still completely immersed at looking at the flower, while Reiji was standing behind her or far off from her and at the moment the cart passed by, a gunshot was heared, a silencer gun. Isn’t that obvious that the killer was the cart driver or IMO someone hiding in the back of the cart, since I saw the cover moved a bit when the gunshot was made when the cart passed by. Also for the whole series, Elen always used a revolver, it wouldnt make any sense for her to switch it now and use a silencer gun instead, and that bullet that was in the fields or grasslands, meant that Elen was shot just as she looked back. Remember that the cart was in the dirt road when Reiji was shot, so it wouldnt make any sense for the bullet to be that far off in the fields. That would only mean that someone actually came down and shot Elen.

    So Are they both dead? NOT BLOODY LIKELY! They are both people who survived fatal wounds, Elen survived a shot to her heart while Reiji survived multiple close range gun shots, for them to die with mere single shots using a silencer (weaker kind of gun), is utterly ridiculous. Plus none of them showed a shot in the head, someone pointed it out already, that Reiji’s face didnt have blood just as well as Ein didn’t had one as well. For all you know, it was maybe their plan to disappear like that, by faking their deaths to Inferno, after all Inferno still knew they were alive and would surely sent people to get rid of them, by them faking their deaths is the only way for them to be truly free from Inferno and live the peaceful life they want. As ordinary people, not as runaway assassins.

    X
  73. Here is my thought:
    We saw Inferno decide to order the hit, so it’s likely that the guy in the cart shot Reiji (though I would have thought he would have noticed something….). The camera angle with the sun behind him is our perspective–not necessarily the perspective of the killer. He then falls. I’m not entirely convinced that Elen smiles–could it be that she’s startled? She just had this epiphany and moment of satisfaction and suddenly its taken away from her. She stares up at the sky trying to figure out what to do now that her meaning for living has been taken away. There is only one shell casing shown and it’s in the grass of the same shade as that near Reiji, so I don’t think that she’s shot. The idea of her committing suicide is plausible, but one leaf seems too few, so I prefer to think of her pondering what to do next…I think she may go back and take out Inferno….Afterall, she killed Scythe Master for hurting Reiji…If only that had just left her alone….

    Hopeful Viewer
  74. I thought I’d chime in here to add that McGuire talked about getting rid of the previous method of making Phantoms (i.e. Scythe’s) and creating their own. Whether or not this implies getting rid of the old Phantoms as well, I don’t think is very clear cut.

    Also, his talk about how “even though ghosts that don’t exist are a fleeting dream, they’re something Inferno needs to create” sounded like he had every intention to continue creating the Phantoms that everyone fears. To Inferno, they need it for the intimidation factor. Despite what the subs may have translated it as (“…we have things we must do”), it did not sound like he meant they have to kill Reiji and Ein off in Japanese.

    「…我々には為すべき事がある。」

    「為すべき」 can mean “have to do”, but it can also mean, “have to make, create, accomplish, achieve, establish”. When I heard him say it, I was thinking the latter possibilities.

    That said, I was fully aware of the fact that Elen said she has what she needs to live on now, but her smiling face at the end after Reiji was shot just didn’t sit right with me. That’s why I was leaning towards the possibility of a double-suicide, but I’m really still on the fence about it. The alternative I’m thinking of is what I wrote in my post above.

  75. wow fuck you mentar, go vouch for your crap anime and endings on your own blog, instead of insulting the majority of the posters here whenever they dont agree that something you like is good, fkin bitch

    *rolls up on a lelouche-cart behind him with silencer ready…*

    fk mentar
  76. @ divine imo It would be horrible development if Ellen just killed herself after having a Reason for herself she can live on. Not because of Reiji but because she can! do it.

    And to just have it taken away and she cant live without Reiji wouldn’t sit right. Whats the point of the line then?? I always though that Ellen finding her home town and be able to be free like she saw Reiji was when he was in his hometown, was a key point in the show. “these memories are enough for me to continue on living,” After finally! finding her answer..

    Then to have have kill herself.. I have a hard time belieaving that. I think it more likey that whoever killed Reiji also went after Ellen, than Ellen doing her self in, if she is dead. But still I think she lived in the end.

    @ DLP Agree with you there. Not sure about you 4. point but still thats a very Interesing idea. Its not Clear.. but I think The ending is more happy than people are seeing.

    @ X Faking deaths.. thats a good one.. lol Yes Reiji did survive alot of things.. but if someone was to come behind the well know ‘phantom’ and shot them, I would think they would of make sure it would of killed him ‘aimed for a certain death shot’ plus if they needed to they could of shot him a few time, but one deadly shot is enough to kill you. It wasn’t in a heat of the moment.. but a good old true Assination. You dont know its coming and it just hits you without making a scene.

    dragonfly
  77. Every part of the show reminds us that they are phantoms, once they kill, they only belong to hell, and life no longer goes on given their first kill with a gun. The show had to keep the promise that they are just phantoms, and will cease to exist.
    Yes. i belive that inferno was the culprit, as the boss of inferno did mention that he had to end smth. Furthermore, elen and reiji did mention that they were contented (as they had fufilled each of their wishes). They knew that inferno was going to chase them down sooner or later; having fufilled their wishes, they were contented to die anyway. gues that both were killed by Inferno.
    The good thing is prob that they both went to heaven (and departed from the hell that they had been suffering on earth) tgt. :\ As a way to end their torturing.
    But i do wish to c an alternate ending >.< (just like NGE?) Wld give 5 star rating, as the ending did tie back to the theme.

    z3rocloud
  78. I normally stay away from these kinds of anime, because the ending always sucks, but I kept watching this since it seemed like it would have a better ending and things were going well until the last couple of seconds… Sigh..

    This ending blows, even the Code geass R2 ending was way better. At least there you if Lelouch died, you can say he died for something and you can still argue that he is alive at the end. This ending, Reiji is dead, and the most you can argue is whether Elen killed him or Lelouch driving the cart killed him.

    Set
  79. WUT !?

    What’s this shitty ending ?
    In phantom : phantom of inferno Reiji never dies…
    There are 3 endings (+ Clau’s ending where Reiji dies but Claudia sucks anyway).

    Mio’s ending : Nobody dies
    Cal’s ending : Elen dies after killing Scythe master.
    Elen’s ending : Reiji kills Cal but in Mongolia Reiji and Ellen have their happy ending.

    I really hoped that there would be a mix between Mio’s and Elen’s ending where there would be the greatest fight between Ein and Drei and where Drei would survive…

    le nuage
  80. I have to say, the ending really pissed me off at first, but the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this ending is the right one. Whether fair or not, there can be no other fate for Reiji and Elen aside from “kill or be killed”. The moment they stop killing, and try to live a life of their own, they are killed. Tragic and a depressing ending, for sure, but it is also the ending that is truest to the story. It just feels a lot harder because it comes so suddenly.

  81. goddamnit.. I wanted it to end with a love scene .. wtf is this.. Iam fukking shocked !
    or.. hmm both of them could have died.. but I would have wanted it to be a clear death.. nothing like this that makes u wonder… Elen’s goddamn smile in the end only makes it more shocking…. I watched the ending like 10 times and still just as shocked.. explain the ending plz…. give a short short bonus film of what happened :O

    leef
  82. Will there be an interview or something with the maker of this shitty ending? Cause it’s like not clear at all…
    LOL ”they could have nuke them nobody would have care”
    LOL ”the message of the ending : beware of cart”

    alex
  83. I seem to be in the minority when I say I like this ending. Even if Ein and Reiji were normally able to live through more bullet wounds, it makes more sense for them to die without applause and without warning. It’s more believable, after some of the unbelievable moments in this anime.

    Some of the characters weren’t well developed and the plot needed work, but I really liked the premise and the atmosphere. Kudos also for the great 1st ED.

    Mark
  84. And by more believable, I mean something like an army against two assassins is so staged. If Inferno had to bring out all the heavy guns, it would have been pretty ridiculous, so instead the phantoms get killed by just one person the moment they think they’re safe. But, maybe it should have taken Inferno longer than just 6 months to find Ein and Reiji, to leave it in doubt whether a new phantom killed them.

    Mark
  85. Id like to post a friendly warning to everyone. I received a notice from my ISP of Copyright Infringement due to downloading episodes of Requiem of the Phantom.

    Just be careful on who, where and how youre downloading the episodes. ALL of the episodes i downloaded were [INFERNO], .mkv format. Most were downloaded from Megaupload, but some were BT.

    Be safe!

    -fuzz

    fuzz
  86. Ending was abit of a let down for me, but heres how i see it for each character.

    Reiji knew this was going to happen, which is why he says aslong as he gets to see her smile he can literaly die happy fullfilling that wish, even if he does end up in hell for all the wrong things he’s done, living the life of an assassin and a normal person, he knew what would eventually happen.

    Elen on the other hand came as a confusing death, she always said we will die because we are nothing, something which reiji had when she didnt was a life, at the end she tells us she has a new life, one she can live with him, when she turns and smiles maybe she notices him lying on the floor dead and comes full circle and suicides, the flower she eats is possibly oleander, very poisonous apparently, a life without reiji is one she doesnt want, eats the plant and dies of a broken heart.

    Good series, ok’ish ending, would of liked a happy ever after, kinda similar to chrono crusade ending really.

    Kad
  87. Another possiblity to who killed might’ve Reiji is Shiga from the Godo Group. HE was left was out for a while and is probably REALLY pissed at phahnom. And why not assume that the guy in the cart could’ve also shot Eren as well, I mean that when we saw th flower scene we didn’t actually see how she landed on the ground. So she could have been shot, just like Reiji.

    Xrtear
  88. Another possiblity to who killed Reiji is Shiga from the Godo Group. HE was left was out for a while and is probably REALLY pissed at phahnom. And why not assume that the guy in the cart could’ve also shot Eren as well, I mean that when we saw th flower scene we didn’t actually see how she landed on the ground. So she could have been shot, just like Reiji.

    Xrtear
  89. Reiji was of course killed by Inferno…
    And Ellen was alive somewhere else than Reiji was shot. Remember the scene of leaving her after she decided, that she’s already at home? He fulfilled his promise an left her, because he weren’t able to return to normal life…
    So the point of the ending was that Ellen was happy under the mongolian sky and she even didn’t notice, that Reiji was killed.
    And the missing petal of that flower (which wasn’t nightshade, in my opinion) – somebody wrote that it’s symbol of death. But not Ellen’s… It means no more “phantomish” resurrection, no second season, Reiji is realy dead…

    PalmerEldritch
  90. honestly i’am really desapointing in the end of story shit its make me pissed off i hope that they have a freedome after they all survive in era…. but i feel painful in the ending of the story… >.< but thats a good anime good work to all producer and making of this project phantom

    XPD
  91. I will be the black sheep here and say that the ending was completely appropriate. This is a tragedy. I must say that the ending was one of the greatest I have seen. Not everything has a happy ending. The main characters bathed in blood for so many years that I feel death was be quite humane.
    With all of the recycled plots that has become the state of anime, I am incredibly happy that this type of show is still produced.

    A final note about the ending. Would Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet have had the affect it did had they survived?

    Kaiomai
  92. Everyone thought the killer is the man on the carriage that passing by right behind Renji.. I can see why most people think that but I see different person who kills him. The scene only has 3 people: Renji, Elen & the Carriage man. So I am saying the one who shot Reiji is Elen </3 The last scene where after ending song shows a bullet shell on grassfield right..if the man on carriage shot Reiji, the shell must be on carriage or on the ground instead of grassfield. She loves him yet she kills him. Here’s my deductuon, Elen probably rmembers her pass and her family and also why she became the phantom at the first place. So she has a reason to go back to inferno. But Renji, who is the 2nd phantom who committed sins not by his will like he forced to kill Cal. He is suffered each time to kill people that he knows. If Elen is back to inferno so will Renji;therefore, his loved one ended his life for his good. What a sad story…P.S Elen is a good actor but she loves Renji for sure.

    xkyox
  93. Elen CAN’T have shot reiji…
    She ALWAYS use a revolver…
    Because of the shell on the grass, it’s impossible that it belong to a revolver…
    That means Elen isn’t the murderer…

    alex
  94. I decided to re-watch the ending and consider it vs. the rest of the series. It feels like the entire series is fairly straightforward and there aren’t very many twists, so when looking at the ending literally it makes the most sense.

    Requirements: Inferno loose end, Promise/purpose, Elen’s homeland regeneration spiel/wish, Requiem for phantom

    The phantoms were now expired with regards to Inferno, but with their history they had to be dealt with. So they tracked them down and shot Reiji. Why only Reiji? He was the loose cannon while Elen was always subject to a master. With Reiji out of the picture Elen wasn’t much of a threat, wheras killing Elen could possibly send Reiji on a slaughterfest through Inferno the way Scythe and Clo sort of attempted to.

    Reiji needed to keep a promise because he had never been able to do so before, and this time it was that Elen find her homeland and regain her natural smile the way he did when he found his way back to Japan.

    Elen did a bit about how Reiji’s homeland healed him to w/e point and restored him to a normal life. However, their old life caught up with them etc. etc. Now with the phantoms and those using them (Scythe/Clo) dead she was free of her past life (see above point) Now she only needs a reason to live, lo and behold she gives two reasons briefly right towards the end.

    The final anchor is Reiji himself who would never really be happy outside his own homeworld and if the two of them separate not much fun either, but then he dies and there goes that obstacle. Ergo his suffering is gone but his life wasn’t worthless because he could bring Elen back to her home and make her smile, she ends up happy and smiling because he could fulfill his promise of returning her natural smile. (Yeah its circular, shes happy because hes happy because she can be happy, but it can only happen when he dies)

    All the phantoms are dead, and Elen isn’t enough of a mastermind to bother inferno, has no past, maybe no future. She’ll probably end up living in Mongolia ofor the rest f her life and the phantom episode in her life is just a memory.

    M20
  95. I was so glad that Cal was shot and noticed it was the Elen’s ending until I noticed that Cal was dead(I cried in the VN when it happened)

    I played the visual novel through Elens and Cals ending and I loved Elen a lot more than Cal but I hate Elens ending compared to Cals….

    I wish they somehow combined the 2 endings into one super good one in the anime, instead, super pro assassin gets shot by some noob with a cart and a pea shooter.

    Pasnak
  96. a fitting end to an awesome series.
    I said it before, back when Random Curiosity was blogging Death Note, series like this come out every 3-5 years.
    No question about it, this series was awesome, from action/story/character development and ofc the awesome soundtrack it had.
    But guys….get a grip, Elen did not kill Reiji, the assumption comes from their words at the very end. They wanted to live together. AND FOR CHRIST SAKE nor did Elen poisoned herself, Elen’s smile was true and didn’t know than Reiji died. Know why? because Reiji did start walking up the road and stood near a tree. When *magic Lellouch on the carriage* arrived no bags or Elen could have been seen, indicating that he was far from her. And to end all this theories, wouldn’t you believe after hearing the gunshot and seeing his face, Reiji would be happy maybe cause…Elen didnt see him die? or because he knew things will end in such manner?
    oh and something else, the shell from the bullet did seem to be closer to the road(the color of the grass was yellow, something you tend to see at the very sides of a dirty road)
    Beetrain did an awesome job with this series, even I do believe they somewhat overdo the ending but I don’t think they left an ending for misinterpretation. I don’t believe they are the crazy to do “elen killed Reiji” ending.
    Cal or not cal funboys, the ending was pretty much clear, Inferno did Reiji, not Elen.

    hellishdude
  97. Well it’s obvious that Reiji knows the Inferno will hunt him down, and so the most reasonable thing to do is to make the Inferno think they did it. That’s the only way they can have their happy world, which is why Elen smiled. C’mon, Reiji takes bullets well anyways.

    freedom
  98. yeah I think also it makes sense inferno killed reiji, I rolled almost from chair when someone suggested if elen killed him xD anyway sad ending, I would die laugh if reiji survives that xD maybe he had bullet vest under his jacket 😛 =) id say too that flower missing pedal means reiji dies, but who knows 🙂 even this story had good and bads moments, I was pretty pleased with this anime!

    anyway stop making ridiculous assumptions 😀 only creators knows 😛

    Foley
  99. Sucks how this show is so underrated. This is actually my most favourite anime atm.
    Either way, Reiji is dead, and that’s final. As to Eren, well, metaphorically she would’ve died anyways, since Reiji was the one that kept her going ever since episode10. Without Reiji, her life would deem to be meaningless, and as she said in her monologue in episode 26 ending, her memories with Reiji was enough to keep her living. Reiji dead, would only bring her to one conclusion, death…

  100. …The ending… what a load of… “something” lol. I kinda like it kinda dont. I would like it better if there is a sequel, and ein has his child or something lol. that would be crunk!!

    xxjacobxx3
  101. @ kerobear

    Ellen also said ‘she will live the life he (Reiji) Wished For’ I doubt reiji would of wnated Ellen to die because of him. All ellen said were ‘these memories’ it didn’t say with Reiji. So it also could be refering to her hometown. (I think it refers to both) The final scene was to show that Ellen was able to live for herself! and didn’t need Reiji. And that just! the memories were enough. It was wonderfull development (imo)

    Though I think is possiable that there is a chance ellen might of killed herself because its too painfull without Reiji, but it seems to go again’t the development that happened in the last scene, with-out that scene I would be sure that ellen would of killed herself or Inferno. But after finding a reason to live other than because reiji is alive, ellen’s choice isn’t so clear.
    ason to live.

    chosenone
  102. what the??? And I so loveee the anime too..but the ending was just…disappointing.

    Why do good anime titles have bad endings? (lol.not all but yeah…I’ve seen alot like this.wtf)

    the soln?

    forget the epilogue. haha.

    Next time, look out for carts passing by. haha

    Hime
  103. I loved this anime,but the ending was a big slap to the face..I definitely felt trolled.Just WHY?It would have been great just ending it before Reiji getting shot,it would have been perfect.I was able to forgive them for writing Cal off without ever understanding(as much as it pains me or how frustrating it is)but this is uncalled for.I still love the anime though but I don’t know anymore.It’s the same like the epilogue from Gurren Lagann,I hated it. Simon being shown as a nobody,it’s like he reverted back to how he was in the beginning.Ugh..I’m starting to regret anime endings..XP

    Yaya
  104. “”It would have been great just ending it before Reiji getting shot,it would have been perfect.I was able to forgive them for writing Cal off without ever understanding(as much as it pains me or how frustrating it is)but this is uncalled for.””

    Uncalled For.. I Dont think so..

    I’m surpized how you can(heaps of other people too) like Reiji after what he did to Cal… I loved Reiji’s character but that changed in episode 25. He swore to protect Cal and be together with Cal and ‘come back’ to her but in the end he never! even try to explain anything to Cal and just Emo over it that it was his fault.. and decide the best way to fix it was killing Her? lol

    The one person he needed to repent for he ended up killing. Reiji has the IQ of a rock.

    The Great ending disappeared in episode 25.

    dragonfly
  105. I’m going to delete the last 20 seconds of video!

    Not really… What sucks is that you spent most of the series expecting at least one of them to die, maybe both (or two or all three if you throw in Cal. Then the end comes and you feel you are in the clear and you hear the whizz of a silenced weapon…

    Elen is still alive (physically), there’s no blood or wound anywhere on her when you see her lying there. I don’t think that she killed Reiji either because the shell casing is show up toward the top of the enbankment of the road, where the assasin passed in a cart, where the ground just begans to dip away down to where Elen is lying. The reason she is unresponsive and just lies there (IMHO) is because as soon as she knew Reiji had been killed she just went dead inside, as she would have been if Reiji had never been there to give her reasons to live and feel; & with everything else she had ever known gone as well, there was simply nothing left at all so she just became completely empty.

    Godo
  106. this was a horrible ending. they killed the off zwie to end the series so no one else could come back to it…thats there intentions anyways…lets see him wake up in the hospital the year after this one…anyways…who ever said that ein killed zwei and herself via flower…that has to be the best interp…the ending doesnt work any other way. why is she smiling, why did she not get up and use here mad speed that we saw earlier this ep and get the driver. and why does she just lay there afterwards. there is a huge cliff hanger and its kinda pissing me off since the main char; who every one wanted to live. died.

    zwie
  107. Justice was served. Reiji killed countless number of people, including a mother and child (episode 5). I predicted an ending like this would come. For Elen, I suppose the absence of Reiji will serve as her punishment, or, just as you mentioned, she might possibly commit suicide after realizing Reiji’s dead. I suppose I just watched this anime for its awesome character development and action, and to be honest, I didn’t really like the ending either.

    Justice
  108. The ending was like WOAHMG!!! I loveeee the series and my first taste of the story line was with the original OAV. I loveeed the OVA even tho most don’t but it was good. To me the end of the show is the Reiji is shot (not by Eren) and that he wasn’t close to her at all but a ways off because he walked away from her earlier but he knew he was shot and couldn’t do anything and was happy to see his promise to Ein be fulfilled. I think that Ein is most likley not dead and she doesn’t know he is either (if he is). The way I would have wanted it to end would have been right b4 the the cart part where they are just happy to be alive. Buttttt the ending did suit th eanime even tho I was completly shocked by it.

    Surprise X.X
  109. My scenario: Elen kills Reiji and smiles like to show her true smile or whatever, since he was interested in that and all, I think that’s what he was looking at while he was taking too long to die. Elen then kills herself because she had proclaimed Reiji and herself as one very early in the series and was holding true to her word, live together die together. I think she already had though it out knowing they would never be able to live a normal life together because of both backgrounds, not to mention her saying she’d meet her master again soon enough when she killed him. All in all though I think it’s not the ending you want to see when you are finishing up this anime, but it’s still a good one with a lot of elements from the show to take in and think on.

    Nativegoat
  110. I liked the show, the characters and music. But the main problem was plot’s inconsistency, like Reiji helping Cal by killing her, or like the ending which had many contradictions:

    The bullet shell is in the field beside the purple flowers, which is a clear indication that the shot was from the field (not the road, where the caret was). And since we heard only one shot, then this means that Ellen shot Reiji. Also, there was the poisonous flower and the missing petal, which indicates that Ellen killed herself after killing Reiji.

    But on the other hand, we have Reiji killed when the caret was passing him, too much for this timing to consider is a mere incidence that Reiji happened to be shot by Ellen the moment the caret passes by.

    Even when the ending is left to the watchers, I think that, typically, the options one of two good endings, or one of two paths that satisfy fans of different tastes. But when it’s a dead end, and what is left for interpretation is how protagonists got killed!? I think it’s kind of too silly, but not surprising taking into account the overall inconsistency in the plot throughout the series.

    vladrin
  111. I have to say that the overall series was a rather enjoyable experience, even though I do see where many of you guys are coming from in terms of what you guys disliked.

    The thing about the ending, which I just watched a moment ago, I at first figured that Reiji was shot by the man in the carriage, and that Reiji let the guy kill him because by then he had already technically fulfilled his promise. He did walk off to the side and may have already seen the smile from the side angle already. Afterwards I figured Elen basically was smiling at the realization she could still live on by herself and all that and I didn’t really think she was dead at the end, though that may yet be true.

    Albeit, it is somewhat ambiguious I suppose.

    ESX
  112. Quite frankly… it’s an incredibly poor ending.

    Should’ve just ended with them both staring away in the end.
    The silenced shot in the end and Reiji keeling over wasn’t necessary at all.
    Hell, even the end dialogue was a bit fake and rushed. It wasn’t necessary.

    The only thing that would clear up anything about this series… is if they bring out a 2nd season with an explanation of both of them being alive 😛
    I mean… Inferno is still there, bring it all down! Might as well make it surreal and have a happy ending. May sound Disney like, but that’s the way I like it.

    Anyways, as far as I can tell… Reiji is dead. And Ein/Elen is just staring out in a blank, got no clue what she’ll do next. Though her ending epilogue (which was poor too!) ‘suggested’ she’d be able to live on. Though I haven’t got a clue what she’s suppose to do now. 😛

    Vlaeghe
  113. Clarification on the ending.

    -Short Version-

    1) Zwei gets a Bad Ending.

    2) Ein gets a Good Ending.

    -Long Version-

    1) Zwei died. He was nowhere near Ein, he had walked further down the road, away from their bags to where a tree was. Also note that there are no nearby trees in the scene where they alighted from their bus. His facial expression is consistent with hypovolemic shock from ballistic trauma, as he collapses he makes a death rattle (lost the ability to swallow saliva). He had made many enemies from operating under Claudia. While Inferno had nothing to gain from killing him, they would benefit from selling out his identity.

    2) Ein did not know that Zwei was shot because she did not hear the shot nor see/hear Zwei collapsing in the grass. Her face was lighted in all the scenes, had she looked towards Zwei the sun would be to her back and her face would be shadowed. Ein looked at peace with finally finding her hometown, lying in the grass staring at clouds illuminated by a sunset sky seems pretty normal. She could not have killed Zwei because she did not have a Rifle with her, and the bullet casing was much closer to the mountains then she was. As for the flowers, those 5-petal purple flowers are called Geranium, they can be found in Mongolian grasslands, they have herbal properties and are not poisonous. Rhododendron is the only poisonous flower native to Mongolia and they distinctively grow from shrubs (small trees), and even then a single petal will not kill a human.

    -The Kill-
    Weapon – Judging from the bullet size and size of the boat tail(the groove at the bullet base) it was most likely a 7.62x51mm shot from a sniper rifle.

    Visibility – The shot was taken with the sun setting to the snipers back, and with Zwei looking at the sunset it would have been extremely hard to see the sniper or the scope.

    Acoustics – A suppressor combined with sound masking from the cart passing would have hidden the sound.

    Field – While urban snipers shoot from about 80m and go for headshots, military snipers shoot from between 300m-500m, and aim for body shots which cause trauma.

    Target – Zwei was relaxed, standing stationary with no sight or sound cues. An easy kill.


    I hope this clears up then ending for those still feeling lost.

    Icarian
  114. What a shitty cheap ending! Reiji and Elen went through hell and this is the f-ing reward! Fuck this shitty show!

    It reminds me of the Kenshin final OVA ending where he died a pathetic death too. What the hell is wrong with those writers? If they want to OD on fucking prosac, don’t bring us along!

    Kido
  115. lil late but a friend just point this place to me…

    My problem with the ein killing renji, and then dying is that she cleary said: “this is enough for me keep on living” and she was thinking this while renji got shot, which give a huge ironic twist, which is a mark for this show (visual novel and anime)…. thus, it does not remove the possibility that could have renji die (by someone else hands) and then ein notice and then kill herself.

    The down side of these theories is that she also said: “memories of being with you…THESE MEMORIES are enough for me to keep on living” … which could be interpreted different.

    Now, some are saying that HE saw her smile and that was enough, well the thing is that he never did.. if you notice, by the time she was her true smile (right before credits) he was already in the floor.

    the one that I can not answer, with the version I believe more (he got killed by inferno and she never knew, until pry when she decide to stand up ad go to him, which is no showed) is that why would anyone just kill Renji an dno her 😕 was she no consider a thread without him?

    btw: like Icarian said, those are no poisons flowers, are “La Flor del Geranio” as know in my country…

    chang_1910
  116. I hate the ending, it was awful. It’s not because Reiji died, the problem with the finale is how he died, and all the fact that the fate of Ellen atd the end wasn’t clearly enough.

    I found on internet this: http://www.alafista.com/2009/11/04/%e3%80%8ephantom%ef%bd%9erequiem-for-the-phantom%ef%bd%9e%e3%80%8f-official-guidebook/

    It’s the Requiem For The Phantom Official Guidebook. This thing it’s supossed to explain every scene of the tv series. Maybe this along with the manga can explain what the hell happened at the very end.

    IaNHaGeN
  117. Well alot of the deaths in phantom haven’t been shown in alot of detail, remember the child Reiji killed in episode 5 or claudia deaths, or Lizzes, both those two were big players but they didn’t show it. Its how the producer was handeling the show. Though I guess here we didn’t even see who did it and the shot was out of the blue so it went even futher.

    “Anyways, as far as I can tell… Reiji is dead. And Ein/Elen is just staring out in a blank, got no clue what she’ll do next.”

    If you think about it that scene is simliar to a added ending for Phantom Integration. In which Cal (ellen also comes) is lying down looking up at the night sky with empty minds, not knowing what to do because Reiji is dead. And Nothing they will do can bring him back.

    dakiara
  118. This anime was sort of good. I don’t really want to go off on a tangent about thw whole thing but I just gotta say, there really should have been a lot more action. Esp action with Reiji, since hes the main character for christ sakes and we only see one assasination done by him as Phantom?? They need to cut most of the crap with panning, scenes where charcaters just walk, etc, add more action!!

    Now onto the ending.. I haven’t played the game but I read about it after watching the anime…So the ending that they went with was ellenXreiji as a couple, with branching to others here and there. The ending is exactly the same as Road to Cerulean Sky except instead of living in peace both character die…wtf? This ending was mediocre, acceptable, but could have been so much better. Bee Train tried to take liberties with it, however they were half-assed. I mean, if you want to make it surpirsing, at least go in full force, change it so the game and anime aren’t just the complete copies of each other with a crappy and confusing last minute twist! Reiji could ahve reconciled with Cal, I mean cmon it would only take a few words, and it would make far more sense that Cal being happy after Reiji shoots her. They could have had Reiji, Cal, Ein live happily ever after in mongolia, or maybe even take out Inferno. Or they could have even gone with a happy ending. A happy ending would have worked out, I mean the whole entire show is heavily steeped in angst, violence, etc. and a happy ending would have taken a nice departure from those things, and it could work because the Phantom would be “dead” in the sense that there are no more Phantoms, and everyone just lives in peace. YEH. Or they cuold have left a hint of a second season, I wouldn’t mind if that happened.

    Phantom
  119. omg the whole story made me cry. I mean they fought so hard to stay alive and then they finally get away but they get shot. i mean thats so sad, but do u guys think there will be another season? cause is elen dead? if she planned this out then 0.o

    phantom
  120. @ Phantom

    It wasn’t a Carbon Copy, they did change things and leaves things out. If you play the Vn you’ll notice that even though its simliar there are still heaps of little differeces. Nitro+ had a hand in its production, The Phantom VN writer wrote the script for a few anime episodes. (6,18,25) So I think that had some effect as why they didn’t change the plot much. The last two episodes were some of the best after the time skip, if they kept the prodection vaules and went futher and made it more different then the VN it would of been nice. But the current ending still is quite good.

    dakiara
  121. @ …

    Well yea its strange and a bit too much (imo) but they wanted to shock the viewer, and it worked. Still the VN done a better job, since the change wasn’t so huge. And Cals eyes stayed the same size, unlike the anime where they went ahead from huge eyes to 1/4 of the size.They wanted to make a point, that cal had changed alot. But because of anime style itself changing something like that makes the character seem almost too different.

    dakiara
  122. well, its ending sucks, the kart killed reiji and elen smiles because she discovered that she was mongolian just at the moment reiji is killed, they should show what happend when she sees his body right next to her xD

    xac
  123. Yeah, I get that their Phantoms and Phantoms are not really alive and they have killed lots of people, but it would of been nice if they both could of lived long happy lives.

    But…on the other hand…

    Scythe Master warned them that others would hunt them down and kill them eventually, so they knew their deaths were coming. But what I do LIKE about this ending is that they both fulfilled their wishes…Elen found enough memories to continue living which brought out her “true smile” and because Elen could smile, Reiji finally was able to fulfill and keep one of his promises. It’s sad, but nice that the last image Reiji saw before he died was Elen smiling and I think he died at peace.

    And I do think Elen was also killed. This may be stretching it a lil, but the flower that’s missing a petal only has 4petals on it, and the #4 is associated with death in Japan and China.

    One last thing…I think the flowers that surround Elen are forget-me-nots because they are associated with memories and memories was what Elen was trying so hard to find in the end.

    Izanami
  124. Might just be what I saw (or perhaps how I am interpreting the ending), but it looks like in the last scene of Elen she had been shot in the neck… which would explain her vacant stare and lifeless motion.

    KikiRed
  125. Hi~ n _ n I was just looking around on the internet after I finished watching this anime, I think I can help you a little to understand the ending since it is sometimes confusing.

    First of all we must understand what this anime normally does: in some episodes it shows the story from different perspectives (Claudia plotting against Scythe Master or Cal during the explosion of the apartment, then showing us that she wasn’t inside), the same happened in the last minutes of the story:

    The first scene is when they reach the place that Elen saw in her dreams (the sky is still blue), Elen says the searching is over, it is more than enough that they finally found the sky she dreamed about…

    Reiji’s perspective: In the next scene is already afternoon (the sunset appears) we can see there are no backpacks that means they have walked away leaving their belongings, also we can know they walked away because there is a tree at Reiji’s right which wasn’t when they were looking at the blue sky…they stop for a moment while Elen looks at some purple flowers. Now you gotta pay attention to the background, Im talking about the tree that is at Reiji’s right.

    We know Reiji is an expert in battle so he would easily notice someone pointing a gun at him, something made him feel so relieved that he actually didn’t notice the hitman on the cart: he saw that Elen finally smiled from the deepest part of her heart, you can even notice his eyes are a little glassy as if he wants to cry, he finally fulfilled a promise, in that moment he gets shot….finally falls after looking at Elen’s real smile.

    Elen’s perspective: She is looking at the flowers (we can see her moving her hand around a purple flower) we can know that Reiji is behind her because we see the top of the tree that is located at the right from Reiji.

    Look at the corner of the screencap:

    https://randomc.net/image/Phantom/Phantom%20-%2026%20-%2040.jpg

    Elen stands up and finally smiles at Reiji, that was the moment when he is looking at her and wants to cry, after that the same bullet that pierced Reiji goes through her body , look that she didn’t turn completely at him, just enough so he could see her smile, that means the bullet got her from the left and pierced through her.

    Elen falls because of the gunshot after smiling at Reiji, her body is staring at the sky, notice she is neither blinking neither moving a finger. Also when she is lying on the grass her clothes are a little turned from the right to the left, that means after getting shot from her left side she fell looking at the sky, remember she turned a little to the left so she could smile at Reiji.

    We get to know it was the same bullet that killed both because the same purple flower is showed again after the gunshot, a petal is missing, caused by the bullet that went through both of them, also in the last seconds we see the bullet shell.

    It was inevitable that the mafia was gonna catch them someday, even when they had the skills to fight back, they decided it was more than enough for Reiji to make Elen smile, for Elen meeting Reiji was more than enough reason to have lived.

    For those who are confused because they see no blood on Elen’s body when she is looking at the sky, lets remember that in the last episodes there isnt blood on the bodies when they died: Cal wasn’t covered in blood when she died neither Lizzie.

    Requiem
  126. i meant to say can rest at ease if its fact
    i cant get over reading what you said Requiem cause i would have never thought the bullet would have pierced them both sorry for double posting.

    koeix
  127. @koeix Its just another theory. There are a few, The ending really is down to interpretation. Nothing can be certain from the ending. Unless the Producters come out and explain it. Then its Fact. But that hasn’t happened, and wont.

    Ichiban
  128. @ Koeix, n _ n Hello…I really thank that you liked what i posted koeix, but I am also interpreting the ending. I just focused on what happened along the story, they always show it from different perspectives and everything with a meaning.

    There is an official guidebook for the anime, seems they explain some information of the story there, like the age of the characters and related to the EPISODES of the anime (includes episode 26 finale). Sadly I haven’t been able to find it through the internet, I would really appreaciate if someone would post a link in this treat telling where to download the official guidebook if finds out.

    n _ n Thanks~

    Requiem
  129. There is an official guidebook for the anime, seems they explain some information of the story there, like the age of the characters and related to the EPISODES of the anime (includes episode 26 finale). Sadly I haven’t been able to find it through the internet, I would really appreaciate if someone would post a link in this thread (please excuse my mispelling in the last answer, also for doubleposting) telling where to download the official guidebook if finds out.

    n _ n Thanks~

    Requiem
  130. @ Requiem

    You are kind of forcing facts there. A bulet that goes through 2 bodies… All we know for sure is that the weapon fired was a semiautomatic, since we see the spent cartrige. Elen uses a revolver, so is not her shooting. Also, the trajectory of such a shot (that Requiem implies) would have to hit Reiji in the pelvic area and Elen in the upper body as she is admiring the flower. But then same bulet wouldn’t hit the flower.

    Actually, after considering Elen’s position, about 40 cm lower then Reiji, and considering that him is taller then her and close to the road, the guy in the cart would’t have had how to shoot and kill both Reiji and Elen.

    Now, considering a little the things, without phantoms the whole organization loses all it’s power that derived from the fear that same phantoms were creating in those standing against Inferno.

    Another point here. The head of Inferno (the blue haired guy) is told something regarding Scyte Master and Phantom. He’s words “So Scyte Master and the Phantoms …”. At this point we know nothing about what he has been told. However, considering that he puts all the phantoms (Elen, Reiji and Cal) and Scyte Master in the same proposition sugest that he ment “o Scyte Master and the Phantoms are dead (or are finished)”. His majordome asks “How should deal with it?”. Perhaps is ment as “What should we do now that we now lost our most prized posesion and most powerfull weapons, and our enemies are ready to take on us?”. He also mentiones “Flowers that fade away…Ghost that don’t exist. We have things that we have to do.” Play translation for me> “With or without phantoms, Inferno is still powerfull and follows my will.” At this point it is obvious that Inferno is moving forward without relying on phantoms, thus for them phantoms are irelevant whatever alive or dead.

    Another interpretation for that last shot could be this. The guy in the cart was a hitman and Reiji shot him. As the cart passes, we don’t see Reiji’s right arm. His fall could be that he finally saw her smile and now he can rest (remember, he was’t sleeping on the bus). That would also explain Elen’s moves after, like seeing him lying on the grass she folows his example.

    Lastly, in the shot with the spent cartrige, we see the blue flowers in front of the cartrige. I interpret that as the shot came not from the cart, not from the road, not from behind them, but rather from someone in front of them. (maybe someone shot Elen first and the bulet hit Reiji after. This would explain why a silencer was used, as not to alert the passing cart.)

    As is the practice at BeeTrain, they make up stories when drunk, soo… logics are not really important. All we can do is to speculate and wait for an official explanation. Still, both Elen and Reiji were conditioned to not let themselves killed, plus both were shot more then once and left for dead only to get back alive. In the end, they are Phantom.

    Nyctasia
  131. “Play translation for me” was ment as “Plain translation for me”

    “remember, he was’t sleeping on the bus” was ment as “remember, he wasn’t sleeping on the bus”

    English is not my native language, so there are still words misspelled. I appologise for that.

    Nyctasia
  132. i have a feeling Elen smelled the poisonous flower petal after she shot reiji.
    Or she smelled the poisonous flower after she found out that reiji had been shot.
    Either way , what a very fucked up ending.

    meow
  133. I think its pretty clear ellen didn’t commit Suicide, if she did she really didn’t change from her persona at the start of the show that could only live for someone and not herself. Plus with what she said “these memories…” I very much doubt it.

    “His fall could be that he finally saw her smile and now he can rest (remember, he was’t sleeping on the bus)”

    Bee train did a fantastic job on letting the animation tell the story. Plus its nice that there is alot in the show that can be interpreted in different ways.

    Ichiban
  134. ok… when i saw ending i was like wait… i did not sit thru 25 episodes of this shit for Reiji to fucking die in like the last couple of minutes of the last episode!!!! WTF IS THIS SHIT!!! ARE U serious A FUCKING CART!!! I OFFICIALLY HATE THIS SERIES NOW!! RAGEEE!!!

    acadian
  135. @ Time

    OMG i just finished watching this shit anime.. i was liking it to the point until cal died. I was going to watch Pandora Hearts after it also. lol.. i would recommend Higurashi Koro Naru Ni Kai and Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro also they’re good oh and shakugnan no shana… really good anime.. im about to watch Night Wizard also

    darkprince
  136. This was the most original ending. Think about a little. If Elen and Reiji are left alive at the end, everyone will this is just another happy ending action anime, nothing to remember by. If both would have been killed at the end, everyone will think they were deceived, like “WTF is this ending…”.

    Instead, Bee Train got all of you (and me) still talking about how it ended and about the anime. But I am sure Elen did not die, as she had no reason to. And I don’t see a reason why anyone would kill Reiji and then leave Elen alive. Plus, the cart, the flower, all seem to be props ment to distract attention and misdirect. Think a little: even cyanide takes a bit to work. If those flowers were that poisonous the whole area would be littered with carcasses from various herbivores. Plus, there are no poisonous flowers, to my knowledge, that are so powerfull as to kill an athletic person with just a petal. (no, oleander is not a flower, is a shrub and those flowers are not oleander)

    Nyctasia

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