Claymore – Episode 21
23 August 2007
Claymore is finally getting pretty good. Actually, Claymore’s always been pretty good, even if the whole thing was about a bunch of skinny, blonde, silver-eyed, big sword wielding, demon slaying girls. Something strangely attractive about the premise and the story and the characters. It also doesn’t hurt that both Easley and Rigald, the only two males save for Raki, are pretty good looking.
I liked him so much I actually, of my own volition, took a screen
I’m really liking Rigald right now. One, he’s good looking. Two, his awakened form is a lion, a very imposing lion and he’s actually pretty good looking in that form, too. Three, he just killed four Claymores like one would kill flies, swat, swat, splat. And lastly, did I mention he’s good looking? I do have a sinking feeling that he’s going to die by the end of the arc. I also have a feeling I’m actually supposed to be hating his guts because, well, killed four Claymores like flies, one who just had her tragic past revealed last episode and another who swore on her life to protect Clare. My love for pretty boys and my love for the Claymores leaves me pretty conflicted. I’d hate to see either party die, especially Deneve, Helen and Miria. At the same time, I want the Silver-Eyed Lion King to stay alive. We’re talking generic good versus evil here, so, that’s not happening.
Moving on to Raki, Priscilla and the other good looking male, Easley. I, foolishly, read a spoiler somewhere, so seeing Raki find Priscilla splurging on human guts wasn’t much of a surprise, the interaction between him and Priscilla was. For one thing, I didn’t expect Priscilla to weep or cry out for her parents and siblings. C’mon! Priscilla beheaded Teresa! Priscilla killed Ophelia’s brother! Priscilla, the one horned spawn of Satan…crying? And then, because she’s crying, Raki doesn’t kill her. I guess Raki is just a really innocent and nice kid, he actually goes over to her and tries to help her.
Claymore has a way of making every character extremely sympathetic. Ophelia is probably the best example. She went from total sadistic bitch that I wanted to see die a miserable, horrible death, to a surprisingly tormented person seeking revenge for her brother. Her death really got me, I actually grew to like her. Irene falls into the same category. Went from “I’m out to kill Teresa” to “Here, take the only arm I have left and avenge Teresa’s death.” And then, there’s all the other Claymores: Jeane, Undine, Miria, Galatea even. Multi-layered characters, like a massive cake of sorts, hiding the pains and miseries of their lives behind cool and calm exteriors. I’m willing to bet that even Rigald has something to hide, like why he doesn’t like that nickname, Silver-Eyed Lion King (though, I think it’s pretty cool.)
And now, Priscilla. What tragic past haunts Priscilla? I’m guessing yoma killed her parents, I can’t exactly remember but maybe she said something about it earlier. Maybe Raki will end up saving Priscilla, stops her from going berserk and massacring everyone. But, if Raki has a soft spot for Priscilla, what’ll happen when Clare tries to lob her head off? What are they going to do about Rigald? What are they going to do about everything? I’m thinking confrontational fight with everyone thrown in, Clare, Priscilla, Easley, Rigald (if he lives that long), the remaining Claymore (if any of them live that long), and of course, Raki. The anime, they say, will finally be diverging from the manga for the conclusion, looking forward to how Madhouse will tie up this mess.
All that aside, maybe I just like seeing a lot of gore and death. The music and the random, severed body parties sailing across my computer screen made for good entertainment. Toss in a hot guy that transforms into a lion, yeah, I’m in! Everyone’s dieing, like bleeps on a radar, there one second, gone the next. The Claymores honestly looked like stick figures standing out there in the snow. I was actually pretty depressed that Jeane died, loyal friend with the Gurren Lagann drill attack. Undine, I didn’t really care for, so her death, even if Deneve cried, didn’t affect me much. Honestly, I thought it was just a testament to Rigald’s strength. I wasn’t expecting Flora to be killed, not that easily anyways. What happened to all that speed and agility? Rigald practically drilled a hole through her brain.
Well, I’ll just say it: I think they’re all going to die. Maybe not Clare, or Raki and I know damn well Rigald isn’t going to make it. It’s almost disturbing, but that’s what you’re waiting for, blood, gore and action. Easley’s approaches Pieta with Prisciall and Raki, Rigald’s there already, four of the five captains are dead, beautiful, beautiful death awaits.
Claymore? More like Claybore! Sorry, I was channeling “Billy Madison” for a moment there.
Claymore may not be original, but the reason it rocks so much is that everything is executed perfectly. Every story has been told before, im more interested in the way its told.
I like Claymore.
One of my favorites that season, mainly because of what Karl said about the perfect execution.
In the end, very little things are original. I’m of the opinion that it is the delivery that makes the difference between a good story and a bad one.
My only complaint is that there are a lot more women than men in the anime, and hence less eye candy for me. 😛 And the recent additions are, after all, evil guys. Not to mention the Easley guy is a bit too much feminine to my taste. Rigald is cute, though. Too bad he’s evil.
@Brik – I actually had to look up Billy Madison, how out of touch am I? Well, to each him own, right?
@Karl – I can’t say it’s executed perfectly, but Claymore feels original, even if it’s an age old story, it feels original.
@Briar – In the beginning, I really thought the story was original. Then I thought about it more and I realized, gee, this revenge my dead mentor thing has been done a million times over. The good against evil, impossible odds and even the fight scenes, just following the generic shounen formula. So, I have to agree, it’s the delivery. Like I said above, it makes the show feel original, even though it’s not.
“My only complaint is that there are a lot more women than men in the anime, and hence less eye candy for me.” Yes! Yes! My god! XD It’s a bunch of girls, what am I supposed to do with a bunch of girls? XD They’re pretty kick-ass girls for what it’s worth, but, well, you know. I like Rigald, <3. XD
I read the manga, and the anime-exclusive cave scene with the hugging and crying and Raki and Priscilla screamed MELODRAMA. Claymore is now officially hackneyed. Something inside me died as I watched that scene. I laughed weakly.
): As you can see, I’m quite badly affected. Ugh. I don’t want to know where this is heading.
@Owen – I’m putting off reading the manga until the anime is over. I read the D.Gray-Man when the anime was around episode 37, it was so good and made the anime look like a joke. I lost interest in the anime completely. So to avoid that situation with Claymore, I’m going to restrain myself from reading the manga.
That scene was like a joke that wasn’t quite funny, a punchline that didn’t pack a punch, awkward, very awkward. Don’t take it too hard. I know what it’s like to watch a really good series die in front of your eyes. Alright, it’s not that bad, but I know what you mean.
can somone plz tell me how to watch episode 21 im only up to
@w_kila – Um, do you use Bittorent? If so, google Tokyo Toshokan, the torrents are up there. O_o
[…] for she has an opinion on the epic Claymore 21, even if it isn’t something I’m used to, having never looked at Ligardes that way before. While she freely admits to watching anime “for the hot guys”, neither is she your […]
A good site to watch these at if you don’t feel like downloading them. Crunchyroll.com and if your to lazy to make an account to watch them Veoh.com search claymore and have a ball.. awsome series, keeps getting better and better