Claymore 17
July 25th, 2007 by Shirukii
The conclusion of The Witch’s Maw ends with Clare, Jean and Galatea alive and well, much to my surprise, I thought Jean was a goner. I know I’ve said this before and I’ll probably say it again, but this was my favourite arc so far. Not only did it have considerable amounts of action (even if the animation quality isn’t exactly the greatest), it did a great job at advancing the plot and throwing some twists which kept the series interesting, something that Claymore is very good at.
Plus it had Galatea, who now hovers in the same region of awesome as Clare and Teresa.
Episode Rating: 9.5/10
Clare arrives at Riful’s torture chamber only to find Jean in the midst of awakening. But surprisingly, even though her body has awakened, Jean’s strong will is keeping her mind in control. Seeing this, Clare gambles and tries to get Jean to revert to a human. Miraculously, with Jean’s determination and Clare borrowing Galatea’s technique, Jean manages to revert and joins the ranks of the half awakened ones.
Meanwhile, Galatea is taking the beating of her life, unable to do anything against the tough skinned and overpowered Duff. So Clare and Jean’s arrival to back her up came not a moment too soon, and with someone who can break through Duff’s ridiculously hard exoskeleton, the read fight begins.
Galatea and Clare charge head first at Duff, while Jean stays back and prepares the move that can penetrate Duff’s defense. With the two on one situation, Duff loses a bit of his concentration and Galatea’s ability to manipulate his yoki flow becomes usable once again.
When Jean gives the signal that she’s ready, Clare and Galatea pin down Duff’s hands and open a path for her strike. However, Duff’s raw strength is far beyond that of a claymore and he manages to break free from their bind. With no clear path, Jean only manages to break away part of Duff’s hand, instead of cutting straight through his throat, as was the original plan.
With all three claymore lying seemingly unconscious and unfit for battle, Riful smiles and declares this her victory. Only to have Clare stand up, ready to fight some more, urging Jean to do the same.
Clare entrusts Jean to use her crushing move one more time while she buys her some time. Riful is annoyed that they won’t accept their defeat, but at the same time, impressed by Clare’s determination and proficiency in combat, especially with that borrowed arm of hers.
When Jean gives the signal that she’s ready, Clare stands behind her and tells her to charge straight ahead. Pouring all her concentration into focusing on the flow of Yoki, Clare read’s Duff’s movements so precisely that she is able to direct her Flash Sword strikes at specific points that would inhibit his attacks, all while avoiding hitting Jean. With some last minute help from Galatea, who stops Duff from firing off any yoki charged rods, Jean’s attack lands and she drills a huge hole straight through Duff’s neck.
But when she turns around to deliver the final blow, Riful finally steps in and puts an end to the fight, knocking Jean aside before she can kill Duff.
Caving in the mountain, but not killing any of the three, Riful seems impressed that they managed to take down Duff. Allowing Clare to land a hit, Riful holds up her end of the promise and tells Clare the location and name of the Abyssal of the North, the one who allied with Priscilla, in the northern region of Alphonse, Isley. With little hope of them beating him alone, Riful extends the offer to team up with her anytime they want, and with that, vanishes from their sight.
With their little side mission over, Galatea returns to her original objective, taking Clare back to the organization. But when Clare declines the offer and Jean readies herself to take on Galatea along side her, she gives up and plans to tell the organization the two of them died in the encounter with the Abyssal. She bids them farewell, not knowing if they’ll be friends or foes the next time they meet, but wishes them well until then.
And what would a Claymore episode be without some deaths, so the episode ends with a cut to a claymore team in the north who were unfortunate enough to run into Isley and are being picked off one by one. So long Kate and Lucia, a pity we never got to know you =(
Thoughts
For a series that has such a unique character design template, I’m continually surprised at how well their characters are developed. I suppose when every character looks so much alike, you have to rely on their personalities and mannerisms to distinguish them as individuals, and this is something that Claymore continues to do very well.
In addition to Galatea, another character that won me over this arc was Riful, and that’s not just the lolicon inside me talking. Her innocent and playful demeanor covering the reality of the pure destructive force she’s capable of is such a great contrast. And it’s clear that she’s well versed in battle, aside from being a former Rank #1, her ability to evaluate abilities and tactical situations mere seconds after seeing them is top notch. I also like the fact that she’s not really hostile. Sure she wants to build an army of awakened ones, but that was only in response to Isley’s provocations, and she does her best to avoid killing them…unless they’re weak…
…okay, maybe it is just my inner lolicon speaking here.
Can’t help but feel sorry for Clare too, having realized the immense gap in strength between herself and the Abyssals. And as many readers have been so kind to point out, without the use of spoiler tags mind you =P, Priscilla is probably even stronger than them. She may be feeling powerless now, but this is Clare we’re talking about, she won’t stay discouraged for long before she realizes that gaps are possible to close and hardship is only there to be overcome.
Her befriending powers are also growing at an alarming rate, having made some pseudo-alliances with Galatea, Jean and even Riful, to a degree.
As for Jean…meh, I’m kind of disappointed that she didn’t die. I’m not too fond of her, being one of those characters who rely on brute strength as their power. Although I will admit that her drill-like attack is quite effective at what it does. An attack that mimics a drill is pretty much as effective as melee attacks get. For one, it’s a strike that is aimed at a single point, MUCH harder to anticipate and deflect compared to the path of a swing. Secondly, it employs the mechanics of a drill, so in addition to the strength of the thrust you get things like couple moments, angular momentum (moment of inertia*angular velocity) and tangential force helping you out. The only downside is that the damn thing takes forever to charge, making it almost useless in one on one combat. Not to mention the fact that all I could think about that whole scene was Simon’s superior drill from Gurren Lagann XD
Out of boredom, I made this to illustrate my point:
The next episode is the start of a new arc ‘The War in the North”, and it looks like we’ll be seeing a whole slew of new characters. One of the claymore pictured in the preview even dual wields! I’ve been waiting to see that.
With an unfamiliar cast of characters and not much information given about the movements of Isley and Priscilla, I’m not going to try predicting what happens this time. I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show for now. All I can say is that given Riful’s speech on Isley’s army, I expect them to be damn strong and more organized than any group of yomas we’ve ever seen before.
Oh, and just for clarification and reference for future entries. Isley? Easley? Does it matter? How does the official manga/scanslation group translate it?
Manga countdown: 9 weeks
~ Shirukii ~
22 Responses to “Claymore 17”
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Isley. And Riful’s lover is spelt “Duph” in the manga.
The War in the North arc is just mind-blowing, hope you’re ready for it. :D
Only one thing to say here: The War in the North… oops, just pooped a little!
it’s showtimeeee ^____^;;;
I thought of the same thing (Gurren Lagann) when I saw that attack.
Except no sunglasses and massive star shaped explosion at the end =(
Maybe you should shop the Gurren sunglasses onto the second image (^______^ )
lol so finally u gave this ep of Claymore above 9. i will let u know one thing that this ep is skip alot of important thing in the manga. I will point out most of those thing but i dont consider that this is a spoiler because it is already cut out from the anime, but i will make u feel safe by put it in spoiler-tag, then consider by urself should u read it or not.
Show ▼
“another character that won me over this arc was Riful, and that’s not just the lolicon inside me talking.” this Riful won me from the beginning when i first saw her in the manga, because i was like wtf this lolicon was an Abyss and rank #1 claymore?
And where Clare using her Flash Sword combine with her reading-yoki to create a path for Jean, this is what i told u Flash Sword version 2.0 lol. But u need to see the thrid version one before u say “Wow, this is our Clare” :)
“The only downside is that the damn thing takes forever to charge, making it almost useless in one on one combat” lol u r right, but u need to see the second version of its first before u say it.
i recommend u for a little focus on the claymore who appeared just before the two sword claymore, she is a single-digit claymore and her nick name is interesting but the most interesting about her is her unique sword skill. no more hint, otherwise u gonna kick my ass :)
” i recommend u for a little focus on the claymore who appeared just before the two sword claymore, she is a single-digit claymore and her nick name is interesting but the most interesting about her is her unique sword skill. no more hint, otherwise u gonna kick my ass :) ”
you mean flora?
@ Owen S/Erv/twsl: o.o Seems like this is going to be one hell of an arc.
@ Servbot: I would, but I don’t have the template for Kamina’s glasses D= And I’m too lazy to vector it myself lol
@ Siva: In my defense, I’ve only given 2 Claymore episodes anything lower than a 9 =P 8.5 being the lowest I’ve given this series so far.
I’ll skip that spoiler, thanks :3
lol Flash Sword 2.0, made it even harder to analyze, given that she pulls off the slashes without even moving.
Oh, I’m sure there are more important claymore other than the dual wielder, I was just relieved to finally see one, because it seemed like such an obvious thing to do haha.
Thanks for stopping short…
@ Cliff: …oh well, it’s only a name XD
Hey, Shiruki, I told you that you would like Jean’s drill attack!
As a character, she shines in the next arc, and I think you will find her rise quickly in your estimation.
Jean’s character look is softened a bit from the manga, I’m afraid. Her gaze in the manga is intense and downright strange. But she’ll still make an impression with her deeds.
If I was a Claymore and Riful offered me to work with her, I’d pick her. At least she wouldn’t betray me I know that much. ^^; I think that she really wants friends - and who wouldn’t after spending more than 3 minutes with Duff/Duph.
Hoooooyeaaaaaa come back to me Miria-baby~ Papa’s missed you so much :D
In the manga, the katakana reads “Dafu”, not “Duph” - that’s the interpretation of one scanlator. We preferred the more natural way of pronunciation “Duff”.
Likewise, “Easley” has an obvious correct pronunciation. “Isley” is less clear.
God, shit. This is one of the few shounen animes in recent memory that gets Andriana running through my veins. One thing, the Giga drill breaker rippoff move of Jean seems to last a tad bit too long for 21 rotations. Then again, we had Opphelia’s Ripple blade move which somehow bypasses defences, so I guess it’s not much od a surprise.
As for the Duff/Daph/Isley/Easley mistransalation, I’m pretty sure esclipe is adopting the romanji that is the closest to the pronounciation. It’s one of the reasons I like esclipe’s fansubs, since there’s almost no cahnce of mispronoucing names. Still, “dwellers of the deep”…..
Thank you ~ Shirukii ~
I love your blog!!
Who cuts Ritful hair ?
“As for Jean…meh, I’m kind of disappointed that she didn’t die. I’m not too fond of her, being one of those characters who rely on brute strength as their power.”
I feel you’re being a lil harsh on Jeane here….i mean you’re basing the “likeability” of an character on the account of her special move. I think the writers have done well, “moves don’t determine character”. Jeane has many admirable qualities, she has good ole samurai honour values, she’s got loyalty in spades and she’s double jointed (it appears).
Its fair to say, i like her…she’s a good honest character! I get the strange feeling she doesn’t last too long in the anime…she’s gonna do one of those self sacrifices to save Clare or something like that. You may get your wish, “she dies”.
Love your blogs!
@ Silvering: Indeed, Jean’s giga drill breaker makes fine use of the concept of torsion.
@ Arkan7: As I said, Riful has that childish innocence backed by insane strength, I love it. And much love for Miria as well, who makes a fine commander.
@ Mentar: Why hello there Eclipse, how’s it hanging. Keep up the good work!
@ Alias: I agree, the length of the spin is by no means proportional to the stored torsional energy from a mere 21 rotations, even if you account for overshooting. Ripple blade I was able to explain quite easily, but with no way to measure the potential energy a claymore can store in their arm, not to mention the extra boost from yoma powers, this one goes to LOL ANIME PHYSICS.
@ mosmos: Thanks for reading :3 And I’m guessing Riful is free to manipulate her image as she fits. Why? Thinking of stealing her hairstyle =D?
@ Sim: I’m definitely being too shallow with the analysis of all the claymore, but with few of them getting their character fully fleshed out, their special abilities end up being a huge factor. Admittedly, Jean’s personality is very unique, being loyal and chivalrous, but we haven’t seen nearly enough of her to go beyond that. So in the end, rightfully or not, her fighting style and giga drill breaker copypasta are the foundations of my evaluation. This may very well change in the future after characters get some more development, especially after I finally get to the manga.
And just as clarification, I don’t really -want- her to die, I just thought that was an appropriate place to stage her death.
Thanks for reading, comment moarrrr =D
“Its fair to say, i like her…she’s a good honest character! I get the strange feeling she doesn’t last too long in the anime…she’s gonna do one of those self sacrifices to save Clare or something like that. You may get your wish, “she dies”.” If u have a little notice about her, u will see that she is not a character that is going to be shine as Silvering said because she is a support character only create to support the main character and it is hard for her to be shine. In her situation right now, u can see that she is going to sacrifice anything she can just to save our Clare. For me, i really like her as a support character.
“lol Flash Sword 2.0, made it even harder to analyze, given that she pulls off the slashes without even moving.” it is not really that hard to analyze, after she concentrates on reading the flow of yoki then she makes a flash jump after Jean and then using her Flash Sword combine with her reading yoki but it is not like u say that she didnt move at all, at 15:20 u will see that she move her hand once and then they slow down the movement/scene and let us see how the Flash Sword move without touching Jean. LOL, but i will remind u once again, dont forget there will be a third version of her Flash Sword.
The next arc is going to be another sad story for our Clare but u must remember that the much pain she suffered is the much stronger she became ^_^, so prepared urself, Shirukii and enjoy it as much as u can, lol.
I started watching this and disappointed in myself for not watching sooner lol. This episode had a lot of fighting and more plots revealed which I really liked. Seeing Clare’s powers grow shows how great she’s becoming, maybe even able to surpass Teressa as the series progresses.
You know, I was struck by a thought when I came to the end of this episode:
THIS is the type of shounen anime that should be marketed in North America :)
Back in June, Shirukii did a post on Naruto and all of the crappy shounen gimmicks that repeated/appeared after episode 500 *insert sarcasm here :)*, but Claymore–on the whole has managed to avoid most of the cliches so far *crosses fingers*
While Clare has had significant power-ups, they are believable (ie. she is using someone else’s arm, still gets her ass kicked on occasion etc.) and the character development is for the other Claymores are pretty deep when you consider their relative screen-time……
It will be interesting to see if any of the American companies pick up this anime…..Btw, is Claymore slated for 24 eps.?
@ Siva: Another version of the Flash Sword huh o.o Can’t wait.
@ AS: Welcome to the Claymore bandwagon, it’s quite the ride.
@ Kanon_fan82: Haha, I remember that post, the one Hinano requested.
But seriously, I don’t see it happening. Claymore a little too dark to fit the image of westernized anime. For one, they’d have a hell of a time in censorship, the amount of deaths in Claymore is ridiculous. And furthermore, Claymore is slotted for only 26 episodes, for some God awful reason, the only shounen that make it over here are things like One Piece, Bleach and Naruto, with infinite episode counts. This ensures CONTINUED profitability for the series. While we may like our anime concise, to the point and with a definite conclusion, that’s not what brings in $$$.
So while I’d love to see Claymore brought over, it’s nothing but a fleeting dream =( Plus, can you imagine how badly they’d screw up the dubbing!? And try to imagine Claymore’s ominous OP replaced by a hip hop/rap song, as most aired dubs feature. I get stabby just thinking about it ;_;
@ Shirukii:
Ya I guess I forgot about the ridiculous amount of censorship that would have to happen….guess I’m desensitized to violence ever since Elfen Lied……although the puppy being bludgered still managed to get to me :(
Why is it that dubs are so bad anyway??? I agree that Claymore would probably be butchered, but how is it that nearly all English dubs are made of 100% pure fail??? anyone got a theory????
I mean, the only one that had a wicked cast was Spawn (HBO) but that doesn’t count because it was made specifically in English for a North American audience……
It just seems strange that companies would go to such lengths to purchase these shows and then have the voice-acting be sub-par. Maybe the N.A. market has low standards or something :P……
I’m in mortal fear of what ADV will do to 5cm per Second….which btw, I’m still waiting for in the fansub realm lol :P…but hey, it’s only been like a week…good things come to those who wait right??? ;)
@Kanon_fan(Number I can’t remember and can’t be bothered to check)
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20040105
Yeah, that’s one way to put it, but basically, English dubbing companies always, ALWAYS commit one of these faults:
1) Hire voice actors that have voices that never, NEVER fit the charater they are voicing. (I can’t really find an anime example owing to the fact that I gave up on dubs ever since bittorrent went into full swing, but one example I know is Swordcraft story 2’s female charater voice.)
2) Go soccer-mum rampage and cut out everything that’s good. (Don’t get me started)
3) Go nuts and repeat entire seasons just to buy time.
Basically, the formula for most dubs is: Japanese animation+ American dubbing company= instant and complete failure.
@Shiruki: Bleach isn’t that bad as of late, though I can foresee it becoming another DBZ if they keep increasing the power levels. Neither is the naruto manga, though the Anime has gone to death and beyond ever since they broke out the ridiculously slow pacing.
The main problem of Claymore not being marketed in N.A. boils down to the reasons for producing them. In japan, anime came into production mainly because the Real life action industry “Doesn’t have the budget to do flashy special effects” and “Don’t have enough foreign actors to portray characters not of Japanese origin.” I mean, there’s only so many Yakuza movies you can make before it gets old. I America, it’s picked up mainly because “It brings in the big bucks.”
Basically, the best kind of anime that is guaranteed to bring in the cash is one that can run on for a long time and has potential for getting people to buy merchandises based of the show. Claymore is a predominantly violent series. There was enough blood spilled in the first few episodes alone to “Make it rain blood.” So to speak. That mean it most definitely cannot be shown to younger audiences. Since most people who buy action figures based of anime are young children who beg their parents to buy them, that means that it’s a no go for merchandising. The fact that most of the main characters pretty much look the same doesn’t really help. So, it all boils down to the demand for it in the N.A. Fanbase, and judging from what I’ve seen, the fanbase for Claymore is, sad to say, less dedicated than Riviera/Kanon and definitely nowhere as large Bleach/ Naruto(Which is a shame, considering how far the Naruto anime has fallen recently.), the chances of Claymore being dubbed is awfully slim.
Whoa, I really went all out there.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I think Flash sword type 2 that Clare pulled of in the battle is basically a mass usage of the vacuum cut/sonic boom type moves so popular in other sword fighting animes. I can’t see how Clare can move fast enough to go ahead of Jeane and strike Duff’s arms before returning to her original position in 0.2 seconds, since she doesn’t have the phantom step Miria possesses, and I can scarcely believe that she developed an extendable arm somewhere during the battle.
Wow. Can’t wait for the next arc to start! I’ve just jumped on the Claymore bandwagon last week and watched all 17 eps in 5 days. :lol: Would have finished it in one, but I have to go to work. :p
I’m very impressed with the quality of the story and the character development.
:) Welcome to our blog kamion ^_^
It is still much better than me that i have to finish 220eps of naruto in about 2 weeks in a row.
Prepared urself for the next arc with a lot of new characters.