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Although I wish to give Phantom in the Twilight credit for giving the main character a remarkably different personality and agency compared to any other reverse-harem type anime that's come out in the few recent years, it really is lacking essentially in the story and character building departments, which is why it can't be anything but a 7 at most.

The main characters Ton and Sinyao are Chinese and going to university, which from a veteran reverse-harem watcher's viewpoint is already a big difference and affects the narrative. The men are pretty archetypal; a tsundere vampire, a rowdy werewolf, a MC-adoring shota... Even though they ... could've been intriguing regardless of their initial thin characterizations, only some of them had actual narrative arcs in the anime, while the rest were given some "surprising" elements at one point or another to make up for the lack of character building. Despite these flaws, the impressive main character manages to carry the anime forward, navigating through the wobbly story line.

The story can't really manage standing on its own, and instead grasps at any sort of straws to create a 12-episode long season. Much is left out in terms of world-building, characters get scattered and the conclusion really isn't that satisfying. The concept of "umbra" doesn't seem fully-fledged, considering the confusing range of creatures - from the Dracula-but-not-really-Dracula(?) to a simple floating pumpkin - and how it's all supposedly based on the "human belief and imagination that they exist".

This isn't tagged as a romance anime because it definitely isn't despite the hints given in later episodes, even in the typical otoge-anime-open-ending kind of way, which to me was kind of a disappointment.

All in all it was easy, albeit sometimes confusing to watch but it didn't really make me feel much. While initially I was confused over the low score (which to be honest is quite typical in shoujo and especially otoge anime) due to the MC's refreshing personality and progressive attitude, about halfway it became apparent that this anime wasn't really sure what it wanted to offer to the viewers. The magic was cool though, and Ton actually had actual weapons that she used in actual battles.