Musaigen no Phantom World

Musaigen no Phantom World: Did you know that anime and light novels are very different?

Musaigen no Phantom World (Myriad Colors Phantom World), a series of light novels written by Souichirou Shinno and illustrated by Shibari, had its anime adaptation in January 2016, both published by Kyoto Animation, but many do not know that the anime has significant changes from the original plot of the light novels. Although the anime adaptation of Musaigen no Phantom World largely follows the outline of the first volume of the light novel, it includes considerable filler and modifies crucial aspects of the story and character development, even losing almost everything seen in volume 2.

The Musaigen no Phantom World anime and light novels tell quite different stories.

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In Musaigen no Phantom World, the anime adaptation introduces fundamental changes in narrative and character development when compared to the light novels. In the anime series, a significant amount of filler is observed, which affects the depth and complexity of the story, although the anime respects the summary of the first volume of the light novel, the ending is extended with additional content that modifies the original experience.

Differences between the first volume of the light novel and the anime

Mai Kawakami Musaigen No Phantom World

One of the most notable changes in Musaigen no Phantom World is the depiction of Alayashiki. In the light novels, Alayashiki is a research facility that conducts experiments on humans, not Phantoms. Haruhiko Ichijou, one of the main characters, becomes a test subject codenamed ART, his summoning ability is integrated directly into his DNA, turning him into a user with artificial abilities, this integration is a key aspect of the plot that is omitted in the anime adaptation.

In the light novel version, Haruhiko is forced to summon Ruupa, who represents the physical manifestation of his repressed love for his mother, unlike in the anime adaptation, where Haruhiko summons Ruru. In the light novel, Haruhiko has his memories sealed and discovers later that Touko, who is the main antagonist, is in love with him. Ruupa remains imprisoned in Alayashiki until she manages to escape.

Ruupa and Enigma possess similar abilities and their goal in both versions is to steal Haruhiko’s power to destroy the world, however, in the light novel, Ruupa’s desire to do this is driven by an Oedipus complex, seeking to create a new world with Haruhiko as his son. This aspect of the Oedipus complex and Haruhiko’s level of power, which is close to reality warping, is not explored in depth in the Musaigen no Phantom World anime.

The second volume of the Musaigen no Phantom World light novel that was not adapted into anime.

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The second volume of the Musaigen no Phantom World light novel introduces a dramatic twist by revealing that Phantoms are born from human thoughts, and the most powerful of all is known as “He“, this Phantom, who represents all the gods and Lucifer, takes a particular interest in Haruhiko’s summoning abilities. “He” creates a parallel universe called Another, where things take a dark turn and Haruhiko has extreme guilt, as 2/3 of the earth’s population has died and he blames himself for several months.

Now “He” decides to give Haruiko from this other world a helping hand, so he decides to separate Haruhiko’s soul into 2 people, the nerve filled Haruhiko representing Thanatos and Riira where Riira, a split version of Haruhiko, representing his EROS side. Riira shares similarities with Ruru from the anime, but with a more provocative personality, Riira’s power is called the Undead Daughter, she is virtually immortal, and can heal other people of their wounds in a short amount of time.

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In this second volume of Musaigen no Phantom World, Haruhiko activates his new power, with which he can combine with his summoning, and decides to merge with his demon dog Marchosias. This is the moment when Haruhiko declares that he will kill each and every phantom, annihilating them and fighting elite phantoms from Touko’s army. In this arc Haruhiko almost only interacts with Riira, and because she is the only one capable of keeping Haruhiko sane, as every time he uses his new power, the more he loses his mind.

During these events the remnants of the government form a counterattack strategy based on the new abilities surrounding Haruhiko, they unleash major battles among Touko’s army, during these missions Haruiko and the others find beds with people frozen in time by Touko’s time manipulation ability. But she was not there, but they themselves were there, they were their original versions frozen in the beds, Touko appears and reveals to them that she has kidnapped their original versions and that they are frozen, also Ruupa appears and reveals to Haruiko that this world is another and that the original is different from this one.

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Haruhiko finally loses his sanity after using too much of his power and attacks his companions, this time, however, the Original Haruhiko awakens and fights his other version, the final confrontation between the original Haruhiko and his parallel universe version, known as Devil Haruhiko, ends with the original Haruiko as the winner. But Ruupa tells the Original Haruhiko that he has to merge with his parallel self if he wants to gain enough power to make it back to his world, but the merger of the two is concluded at the cost of Ruupa’s death.

Haruhiko and the original girls awoke in their original world. Haruhiko found a letter from Touko, telling her that she was given the ability to transport from the Original world to Another, without limitation. Musaigen no Phantom World Volume 2 ends with Haruhiko saying goodbye to both universes, and it’s because he decided it was safer for everyone if he traveled alone while training to defeat Touko.

The anime adaptation of Musaigen no Phantom World offers a more accessible, but less in-depth view of the story compared to the light novels. Changes to the plot, especially in the depiction of Alayashiki and the development of Ruupa and Enigma, show how the anime series altered and simplified key elements of the original story. Fans looking for a richer, more complex experience may find the light novels a more intriguing and detailed narrative that significantly expands the Musaigen no Phantom World universe.

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©秦野宗一郎・京都アニメーション/無彩限の製作委員会