Claymore – Episode 24
13 September 2007
Well, what can I say? That was good, that was very good. Claymore just went up a huge, huge notch in my book. This episode just knocked me off my feet. To quote, very badly, Easley, a lot of things happened today. The animation, for one thing, was flawless. I loved Priscilla’s eyes, those big, gorgeous orbs, the falling snow, everything just felt right. It’s like pieces of a puzzle finally fitting together.
Priscilla regains her memories, turns from a weeping, moaning child back to an awakened being, horns, wings, that silky, menacing voice and all. I thought that whole scene was incredibly well done. The flashbacks, at first, were pretty annoying, but it also reminded me why I really stuck to watching Claymore. Teresa, hands down, is my favorite Claymore. She’s kick ass, self-explanatory this one. She’s gorgeous, silver eyes and flowing bleach blonde hair never looked so good. Teresa of the Faint Smile is the best nickname. She’s kind and nice, she turned her back on the organization for Clare. And, and, she was just a powerful character, figuratively and literally. The flashback arc, revealing Clare’s past, was probably the true reason why I stuck with Claymore for so long. It was just so tragic, you wanted to see Clare kick Priscilla’s bony, whiny ass into oblivion and avenge beautiful, beautiful Teresa of the Faint Smile.
Claymore, surprisingly, is getting really, really, really good. The Pieta arc was a little bit off, then Ligardes saved the scene, buying time until Priscilla finally showed up. Human Priscilla’s first reaction to Teresa’s yoki is to scream and run away. I was hoping for more of a sadistic smile, a grin of sorts and then something about killing Teresa, again. I was waiting, waiting to see Priscilla transform into her awakened form. Human Priscilla was such a let down with that cave scene. Seeing how things turned out, I don’t even know what the point of that scene was. I doubt, completely, that awakened Priscilla is going to even care about Raki. And Raki, he’s taken over the role of weeping, moaning child. I wanted to slap him, tell him to stop crying and go save Clare. Thank God for Jeane, who got the job in a much nicer way.
Well, Ligardes died back in twenty-three, which wasn’t that interesting of an episode at all. However, compared to scale of things in this episode and where things are heading, Ligardes was but a prelude, a momentary distraction, albeit a very hot distraction. As for Clare, well, she awakened ( tell me something I didn’t know). I wanted to see her awakened form. I’ve always imagined something elegant for Teresa’s awakened form, but too bad they didn’t really show much. She’s begging Helen to cut her head off and then suddenly feels Priscilla’s yoki, goes crazy and pulls a Matrix-Neo-Superman thing, blasts off and goes after Priscilla.
Even more surprising was the supporting cast, the rest of the Claymores actually had substantial roles, well played and meaningful roles. Deneve’s attachment to Undine was just a little touching. I’ve noted before that I don’t care particularly for the pair, but seeing Devene take Undine’s sword gave me a strangely nice feeling. Jeane gives the inspirational speech to Raki and rouses him from his state of weeping and moaning. Helen, Miria and Deneve are out to save Clare, like the rest of the world. Galatea makes a comeback, for God knows what reason, and ends up being an ally of sorts, pointing out to Helen, Miria and Deneve where Clare and Priscilla were.
That last scene in the volcano had such an atmosphere, Priscilla standing on one side, Clare on the other, and Easley watching on the sidelines, Jeane and Raki, Helen, Miria and Deneve rushing to get there, hell bent on saving Clare. The tension and anti-climactic climax is suffocating, you know the fight is coming up, you know in about two seconds they’re going to be at each other’s throat and you also know that in less than two seconds, the ending theme is going to kick in.
Speaking of Easley, I’m not sure where he fits into all of this. I don’t think he’s going to be the major villain at all and I’m at a loss as to why the man’s there to begin with. Presumably, there’s going to be a lot of loose ends from the manga that I don’t think will be addressed in the anime, which may or may not be a good thing. Personally, it doesn’t really matter. Clare’s part of a bigger picture, we’re only seeing a tiny fragment, I’m fine with not knowing all of it.
No matter how different it is from the manga, no matter how cheesy some parts of it are, I have a feeling that the Claymore ending is going to be phenomenal. It’s going to go down in epic shonen traditional, with an unavoidable last showdown, blood, death, gore and a semi-sweet happily ever after.
Thanks for the review! I really do enjoy Claymore… up to and including all the clicheness. Sometimes cliches work because they are true.
I have a feeling that the anime has completely depart from the manga at this juncture. Still, it’s pretty good as it is, when I don’t compare anything.
I have a feeling that I know how it would end. But the fun of the anime is at the process, not the ending, so I’m still going to be enthusiastically looking forward to each episode.
@Briar – Yeah, that’s what was weird, the clichness felt good, felt very good and I’m actually pumped and ready to see more clicheness! “Sometimes cliches work because they are true.” – Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I haven’t read the manga, I think I’ll start after the anime’s over. Sometimes my loyalty lies with the medium I encountered first, but there are exceptions. Say, CCS, loved the manga, saw the anime first or D.Gray Man, the manga was so good it made me almost drop the anime. XD
True, true, the process, all the episodes in between makes an anime good, but sometimes a bad ending can really ruin the experience. But you know, I have high hopes for Claymore, it’s going to be good, it’s going to be good. I’ll enthusiastically look forward to each episode with you! =D!