Phantom of Inferno (known in Japan as Phantom -PHANTOM OF INFERNO-) is an adult visual novel game created by Nitroplus, directed and written by Gen Urobuchi. It was distributed in North America by Hirameki International, a subsidiary of the Japanese visual novel publisher Hirameki. The game was released for PC in Japan in 2000, followed by a DVD version in 2001 and a PS2 port in 2003. It was distributed in North America as an AnimePlay DVD title in 2002. The story can follow either a dark action-drama path or a romantic drama depending on the player's choices. A remake for the Xbox 360 was released in 2012 and ported to PC in 2013.
Plot Phantom is an interactive (choose your own adventure) video game that has been adapted into a three-part OVA anime series, a 26-episode television anime series, and a three-volume manga.
Video game Phantom of Inferno follows the life of a 15-year-old Japanese boy who is kidnapped after witnessing the murder of a reporter. His memories are erased, and he is given the choice of joining 'Inferno' or dying. After joining the organization, he is given the name 'Zwei' (German for 'two') and is trained by 'Ein' (German for 'one'). Ein is also known as 'Phantom', the title given to Inferno's top assassin.
Inferno is described as the 'United Nations of crime syndicates'. As Zwei progresses through training and various missions, deceit and betrayal occur even within Inferno, gradually placing him in increasing danger. Along the way, Zwei meets a girl named Cal Devens and, although he tries to protect her, she is eventually drawn into Inferno and becomes the assassin Drei (German for 'three').
The game is divided into three chapters. The first chapter deals with Zwei being trained as a killer and has two main routes: the Ein route and the Claudia route. Regardless of the route chosen, the chapter ends with Scythe escaping and Ein presumably dead, unless the player chooses to escape back to Japan. The second chapter begins one year after the events of the first chapter and deals with Claudia's plan to bring the Godoh group into the organization, Scythe's revenge, and the introduction of Cal Devens. It contains the Cal route and the final Claudia route.
A DVD version with added voice acting but with the sex scenes removed was released on October 26, 2001. A port to the PlayStation 2, based on the DVD version, was released on May 22, 2003. Phantom Integration, an updated PC version with a new ending but without voice acting, like the original PC release, was released on September 17, 2004. In 2010, Nitroplus announced that the game would be remade for the Xbox 360, featuring the same scenario but based on the character designs created for the anime series by Bee Train. Character designs by Minako Shiba, Yoko Kikuchi, Tomoaki Kado, Yoshimitsu Yamashita, and Yoshiaki Tsubata were introduced into the 360 version. The cast of the anime series also reprised their roles for the updated version.
It was released on October 25, 2012, and ported to PC on August 30, 2013. A Steam port was launched in September 6, 2026.
Phantom - The Animation The OVA series follows Zwei as he travels to America, where he witnesses an assassination that leads to his memory loss and indoctrination into Inferno. Although it is not as extensive as in the game, the OVA depicts Zwei's training before he joins Ein in an assassination. While it follows a different path, deceit and betrayal tear Inferno apart and place Ein and Zwei on opposite sides, eventually leading to a climactic battle between them at the end of the anime.
Anime series
Nitroplus and Kadokawa Shoten adapted the story into an anime series produced by Bee Train and directed by Koichi Mashimo, titled Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. Staff members include writer Yosuke Kuroda, who co-wrote and supervised the scripts with staff writers Gen Urobuchi, Hideki Shirane, Noboru Kimura, Tatsuya Takahashi, and Yukihito Nonaka. Character designs were provided by Bee Train artists Yoshimitsu Yamashita, Mutsumi Sasaki, Minako Shiba, Yoshiaki Tsubata, Tomoaki Kado, and Yoko Kikuchi.
The series features music by Hikaru Nanase and theme songs by Kokia and Ali Project.
The series premiered on April 2, 2009, and ended on September 24, 2009, on TV Tokyo. It was subsequently broadcast on AT-X, TV Aichi, and TV Osaka. The anime series was also made available for Internet streaming by FUNimation Entertainment. The complete series was released in English on two DVD sets on January 18, 2011.
The series made its North American television debut on February 8, 2010, on the Funimation Channel.
Characters (Reiji Azuma 吾妻 玲二) The title character of the story, Zwei was an ordinary tourist from Japan before witnessing an Inferno assassination in America and being kidnapped. He was able to elude his pursuers long enough for them to realize that he possessed a natural survival instinct suited to becoming an assassin. His memory was erased through a combination of drugs and hypnotherapy, after which he became the second-generation Phantom. The name Zwei is a code name indicating that he is the second experimental assassin created by Scythe Master. Through Claudia, one of the three top executives of Inferno, Zwei is able to learn his true identity as Reiji Azuma. When he returns to Japan, he goes back to using this name. When his killing intent manifests in the anime, his eyes turn green with orange in the center.
(Elen) An assassin whose skill earned her the codename "Phantom", a designation given only to Inferno's best killer. She was found by Scythe Master and became his first test subject for his assassin-processing treatment. She has no memories of her past and is incredibly apathetic. When she escapes to Japan, she changes her name to Elen and claims to be Reiji's twin sister, Eren Azuma (吾妻 江蓮). A long and rigorous investigation by her and Reiji traces her history back to Ulan Bator, Mongolia, although the trail ends there. Elen is nevertheless able to find some peace in the area. In the OVA, she is shown to have an older brother, and it is suggested that the village where she lived was massacred. While her name is spelled and pronounced "Elen" in the video game, it is erroneously spelled and sometimes pronounced "Eren" in the anime.
A beautiful executive of Inferno who is quick to befriend and manipulate Zwei. Although she appears to have good intentions, she quietly manipulates Inferno and its actions. This cunning and two-faced nature is never shown in the OVA.
Claudia's loyal childhood friend and bodyguard.
(Helmut von Giuseppe) A scientist with sadistic delusions of grandeur. He is the creator of Ein, Zwei, Drei, and the members of the Zahlenschwestern. He is referred to as Master Scythe in the OVA dub.
A brutal executive of Inferno and leader of the Los Angeles gang known as the "Bloodies".
A quiet and calculating Colombian drug lord whom the other executives of Inferno are quick to obey. His family name is erroneously spelled "McGwire" in the OVA and the anime.
(藤枝 美緒) A young girl who is unaware that her father is a boss in the yakuza. Reiji attends her high school when he and Elen escape back to Japan. Mio soon finds herself developing feelings for him.
(Cal Devens) A young girl who tries to hire Zwei, believing him to be a killer for justice, using money she had unknowingly stolen from Inferno. Zwei tries to hide her from Inferno but is unsuccessful and, in an attempt to save her life, asks her to become his assistant as he had been to Ein. After an attempt on his life, Zwei believes her to be dead and is forced to leave America and go into hiding. Cal believes that she was abandoned by Zwei and is manipulated by an exonerated Scythe, who turns her feelings into hatred for Zwei and trains her as his third assassin, Drei. Her clothing and situation—a teenage girl trying to hire an assassin to avenge her murdered sibling, beginning to fall in love with the assassin, and learning the art of killing herself—are very similar to those of the character Mathilda from the film Léon. In the anime, she is a fan of old films. Her method of dueling, in which she waits until the music from the pocket watch Reiji gave her has stopped, is a reference to For a Few Dollars More.
Six girls who all underwent Scythe Master's finalized assassin-creation process. They are nearly as skilled as the first three and take far less time to train because the process used to create them was based on data from the original three. They all wear white carnival masks, similar to those worn by Zwei and Ein during one of their missions, and are named Vier, Fünf, Sechs, Sieben, Acht, and Neun. "Zahlenschwestern" means "Number Sisters."
Routes Unlike standard visual novels, in which the player usually focuses on a single girl near the beginning and then explores her story in greater depth, the story is more interleaved in Phantom of Inferno. The game is divided into three chapters, and each chapter has different routes that affect the sequence of events and vary the scenes and endings.
Chapter 1
Ein's route To get on Ein's route, simply think about her on the first night and call to her on the night of the final test. After returning from the bodyguard assignment, save Ein, do not let her go, and console her in the motel room. At the final confrontation at the compound, Reiji attempts to shoot Scythe, but Ein jumps into the way, taking the bullet for him. Scythe then escapes.
Claudia's route To get on Claudia's route, the player must learn to drive the F40 and sleep with Claudia during the bodyguard assignment. The player must also choose to save Ein but instead plan to return to Inferno. During the final confrontation at the compound, Reiji is shot at by an unknown sniper, and the two play a game of cat and mouse to try to discover each other's position. Seeing someone's shadow behind him, Reiji turns and fires, hitting Ein, who had not fired even though she had gotten the drop on Reiji. Scythe then shoots Reiji and is about to finish him off when Lizzie arrives and saves his life. Scythe still manages to escape, however.
Chapter 2 The events in chapter 2 are determined by which route the player took in chapter 1, as well as whether the player partially or completely finished those routes. Cal's path is necessary for several of the chapter 2 endings.
Cal's route Cal's route is very strict because a single deviation will cause the game to treat it as if the player had never met Cal in the first place. Generally speaking, all the options in Cal's route will be "Cal or something else", and the player must choose the Cal-related option, such as going shopping with her. If the player turns her down once, or simply chooses not to trust her at the beginning, the story immediately assumes that the player never met her. Depending on the player's decisions, this may seem rather odd; choosing not to go shopping with Cal, for instance, completely removes her from any further scenes, almost as if she went shopping but never came back.
The exception is if the player chooses not to accept Cal's confession, in which case she will still appear in the game afterward. However, the player will not be able to get the Southbound ending and will instead be relegated to a dead end where Ein shoots the player in the desert warehouse.
If the player completed Claudia's path in chapter 1 and starts on Cal's path in chapter 2, the player must choose which path to complete. The player has the option to go to Claudia's house, which puts them on Claudia's route in chapter 2, or not, which puts them on Cal's route.
Ein's route