Claymore 22
August 29th, 2007 by Shirukii
Sadly, we’ll be waiting another week to see the fight between Clare and Ligardes that everyone is hyping up, cliffhangers ftl. This week’s episode was alright, although a little tedious and there was far too much jumping back and forth between Pieta and Raki, I really hate when scenes are carried out in parallel (largely due to its overuse in Naruto). But with Raki almost at Pieta, the two plot lines should converge soon enough.
Episode Rating: 8/10
With most of the claymore in Pieta annihilated by Ligardes, it’s up to Clare, Deneve, Helen and Miria to once again fight the odds for survival. Clare is noticeably agitated by Ligardes impaling Jean and swears to kill him, however he is generally uninterested with an apparent weakling like her and speeds past the rest of the group straight to Miria.
Miria knows better than to get caught off guard and is able to put up a fight, giving Clare and Deneve a chance to attack. But their attempts are in vain, Ligardes is able to effortlessly block and counter their attacks, but is admittedly impressed by Clare’s ability to sense his attacks and dodge accordingly.
Meanwhile, Raki is faced with quite a dilemma as he tries to sort out his feelings towards Priscilla. On one hand, she’s a maneating monster not unlike a yoma, but on the other she has the mindset of a helpless girl and has gone through the same pain as Raki through the loss of her family.
Isley once again asks Raki to stay by her for she’ll be saddened if he leaves. He goes on to fully explain what Priscilla is, an awakened being, the result of a claymore going far past their limits in battle, the inevitable fate of all claymore, neither human nor yoma nor claymore, an entirely different existence unable to ever return to what would be considered human.
Back in Pieta, the fight shows some hope when Miria shows Ligardes why she’s called Phantom Miria, but even with such speed, it seems as if she’s only keeping up with Ligardes. Clare continues to attack during the occasional opening, but she’s simply too slow.
As Ligardes charges away from Clare to focus on Miria, he turns around to fire a quick attack at the pursuing Clare. She manages to dodge it, but Deneve, who unfortunately finds herself in the line of fire, is not so quick to reacts and gets skewered. Helen rushes over to check on her, telling her to stay still and focus on healing her wounds while the three of them deal with Ligardes. And so Deneve is forced to sit idly with tears in her eyes and lament on her weakness as her comrades fight a losing battle against impossible odds.
Elsewhere, Raki, Isley and Priscilla continue on their way to Pieta, but are stopped by some civilians along the way who warn them to run away as the town is under siege by numerous yoma, and despite the claymore organization sending forces down to their lowest number, the fight looks hopeless. Hearing the news and knowing that Clare is the lowest ranked claymore, Raki is sure that Clare is fighting in Pieta but is stopped by Priscilla when he goes to rush over there. After giving it some thought, remembering Clare almost going her limits and the promise they made when they parted, Raki makes the decision to leave Priscilla and rush to Pieta to protect Clare.
As the fight continues to draw out, Miria’s ability to fully dodge Ligardes’ attacks is wearing thin as more and more of the damage is getting through.
And eventually the inevitable happens, Miria is completely unable to continue dodging Ligardes’ continuing attacks and takes the full force of his claws. Clare and Helen rush to save her but are once again effortlessly batted away by Ligardes. However, Clare has never been one to give up and stands to save her friend, running against her physical limits and time itself. Thinking about her past battles and how differently they would have turned out if she was just a little faster, a little stronger, something inside her snaps and she’s given the speed needed to stop Ligardes’ finishing blow, much to the surprise of the Silver Eyed Lion King, who is minus one of his limbs.
Miria, Helen and Ligardes stare in astonishment at a Clare who has defied all logic with her burst of speed and now stands before them with a murderous look in her eyes, directed firmly at Ligardes.
Thoughts
Not the amazing episode I was expecting, apparently that will have to wait until next week, but definitely not a disappointment by any means. It was great to see Miria in action again, even if she was fighting a losing battle, as well as Clare, once again beating the circumstances and pulling out some major last minute h4x.
I wasn’t so impressed with the scenes with Raki and Priscilla though, they felt forced and unnecessary. Last episode made it clear enough that Raki was facing a huge dilemma in deciding whether or not to kill Priscilla and the moral conflict between her human and awakened being sides. Admittedly, some depth to the situation was added when Isley explained what awakened ones are, as Raki is forced to think about the repercussions of killing Priscilla in her current state and the possibility of facing the same situation with Clare in the future. But really, the episode would have been nearly the same with only the scene where Raki leaves Priscilla to go to Clare. I guess this is what happens when anime deviates from the source material, as I’m assuming it’s doing here.
This portion of the Ligardes fight, while decent, didn’t really set itself apart from any of the other fights we’ve seen thus far in Claymore. It was far too repetitive, Ligardes rushes Miria, Miria dodges, Clare and Helen/Deneve charge only to be batted away. Rinse, lather, repeat. Although things are set up well for next episode, which I assume is the fight which everyone is itching to see, Clare’s “More, more, more, more, MOAR!” scene did a good job of showing her ability to shine in the face of adversity. But what was up with the change in atmosphere, it made it seem as if Clare had completely lost it and went into berserker mode, much like she did when she was provoked by Riful.
The preview for next episode showed Jean being dragged away by Helen and Deneve, so that pretty much confirms what all the manga readers were saying in regards to her still being alive and eventually playing an important part in the battle at hand. The episode is titled “Critical Limit” so I’m guessing that Clare will be pushing herself closer and closer to the limits of her powers and h4xxing herself AGI in the process. The outcome of the battle is a no brainer, but I’m still anxious to see if it’s going to be as awesome as everyone says it will be (something about “Superb”?).
On that note, this episode played out much differently than my expectations based on last week’s preview. The preview came with the tag line “Fading lights. Disappearing lights.” which in my head suggested that we were in for some more deaths this week, which obviously didn’t happen. Did I look too far into that, or is it simply that the previews tend to be greatly misleading?
Again, it’d be great if the manga readers out there could detail the differences between the anime and manga seen in this episode, from the looks of it, they’re becoming more prominent.
So moe, die, etc.
Manga countdown: 4 weeks
~ Shirukii ~
29 Responses to “Claymore 22”
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It would be so~ interesting if Raki went rushing in to save Clare, only to have Clare rush to attack him and in the end, it is Priscilla of all people who saves him from Clare…
Just that situation alone would be worth the story deviation. :D
Raki is no match for Priscilla’s loli power. He even allowed her to sleep on his lap with blood stains still on her mouth. Raki redefined the line “So moe~… I’m gonna DIE!”
My guess on Clare’s sudden boost of power is probably she has completely awakened but maintains sanity and human form or she has acquired Teresa’s hidden “hisatsu waza”.
Normally I don’t mind him but too much Raki in this episode. How it was going back and forth between clare’s battle and raki was beginning to annoy me, since I would rather see more fighting even if it’s a bit repetitive…
Woaah the part where she was running and saying “more…more” i was like “Haha when is she going to stop saying that” and then it went all deep and that scared me…oh no awakening… (maybe)
Ok i will point u out what r u missing in this ep, Shirukii. But it is not a spoiler because u can see it in this ep.
At 20:06 where her voice seem to be changed and the speed of her legs seem to be increased at that point Clare already awaken her legs and If u want to make sure it then check at 21:06 u will notice that her legs already changed. And the rest u will have to figure out by urself in the next ep. ^_^
I can see the only thing that this ep deviated from the manga is where Raki left Isley and Priscilla and as u can see in the preview for next episode where u see that it is look like Raki met Clare in Pieta this is something never happened in the manga.
LOLOL!!!
I didn’t understand why Lucky felt the need to be all conflicted about Priscilla. If he kills her, how the heck is he supposed to find Pieta?
This episode was fairly close to the manga as far as I could tell.
The only MAJOR differences is the Raki/Priscilla subplot, since right now he’s supposed to be training with Isley in his private cabin by day (unawares of Clare or of Pieta), spooning with Priscilla by night. The next episode will truly show the deviations, as the scenes that set up the next arc after Pieta don’t come after the battle (not during as some may think).
I’ve been trying to think of a way the producers of the show can end this on the 26 episode mark. Obviously Clare is too weak to even come close to priscilla even with her H4x.
now this doesn’t conform with what happens in the manga but we know claymores change when they come close to awakening.
(next part is marked as spoiler)
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I haven’t read the manga, but personally I like Raki being on the road rather than in some secret cabin……
the cliche of the main hero fighting incredible battles whilst the side-kick gets brainwashed by the villian is far too over-used. Not only in anime, but ALL media outlets..
Also, I feel that Isley (while stereotypically developed) is a good character…..and I’m just waiting for him to take his true form and REALLY kick some ass!
I know this is a shounen series, but Clare’s power-up this episode was lame, and you know she’s gonna be saved from Awakening as Raki comes barging in to stop her :P…….sooooo predictable……I’m hoping for something different this time around…….
That said, the episode was still enjoyable :)….Looking forward to next week…..and as an added bonus I’ll also be in a brand new city and all this “moving” bullshit will finally be over….damn I hate having my life in boxes OTZ
@ Arakan7: But why would Clare feel the need to attack Raki? The only way I could see her even THINKING about hurting Raki would be if he stood in the way of killing Priscilla.
@ SHiN_aKuMa: My memory seems to be a little fuzzy, Teresa had a certain death technique?
@ mi: Fluid and continuous battles are always better than the fragmented scenes, but they have to get the character development in somewhere I suppose =\
@ Siva: Huh, I wonder why I never gave thought the the possibility that she had just awakened her legs. Quite a fitting technique, a perfect compliment to the Flash Sword.
@ Kabitzin: Couldn’t he have just asked everyone running away from it for directions o.o?
@ lainofthewired: Hm, well as long as the deviations are kept mainly to the Raki plotline, I don’t really care about him.
@ chewy: I really doubt that a Clare vs Priscilla match up is going to be done within the remaining 4 episodes, that’s just way too much of a powerup, even for Clare.
@ Kanon_fan82: Raki needs to gb2/kitchen/ and let Clare do the fighting, lol. I really hope they don’t do the whole, Raki saves Clare from awakening bit again, it worked well the first time, but I’d hate to see it used again.
>>I wasn’t so impressed with the scenes with Raki and Priscilla though, they felt forced and unnecessary.
Amen. Not as a “purist” or anything, but the Raki anime-only scenes so far are campy and terrible. IMO, emphasising his character when there wasn’t really much about him to begin with was a big mistake, as it’s showing right now.
Also, yes, it looks like the “Superb” battle is coming to a finish, although it might take Critical Limit - II before we get anywhere near that point. Madhouse seems bent on dramatising the Pieta battle to death, so… yeah.
*Sigh* Raki’s pussiness is so pronounced that there needs to be a metric to figure out exactly what kind of a puss he is so that the producers can limit his portrayal in future episodes accordingly.
So, from this episode alone:
-200 man-points for Raki for not immediately separating the head of Priscilla from her body at the jump.
-100 man-points for holding her and crying while she is cannibalizing humans
-100 man-points for allowing her to sleep on his lap while the bood of fellow humans stained the corners of her mouth
-180 man-points for the number of minutes he has allowed to pass without attempting to depacipate the AO, no matter how moe she is (assuming at least three hours had passed during the episode.)
+50 man-points for having the intestinal fortitude to stop being an AO’s plaything and run after Clare.
So all in all, Raki has been hemorrhaging negative 530 man points just in this episode alone, which is bad, but probably not as bad as previous episodes. But there are still 3000 more negative man-points on standby if he dares cock block Clares destined revenge against Priscilla because of his so-called “feelings” for her.
wow this is going to be so completly diff from the manga…. quite sad actually.
I’ll give MadHouse a chance on their ending.
My real complaint with this episode is that Claire’s superb Swiss Army Knife attack was pushed into next epsiode. At least it looks like they are going to make a lot of it, though, to judge from the climactic moments. Still, Rigardo’s arm shouldn’t have fallen off, yet! Maybe he can regrow it really quick…
Hmm, and it looks like Raki may supplant Jean from one of her tasks in the manga. Does this mean she might meet a different fate altogether?
The fact that we are heading into unknown territory should make these last few episodes all the more exciting for a manga view. Its not as if the manga is going to disappear, just because MadHouse goes another direction. Actually, Shirukii and the other non-manga-readers will just have a bigger treat for them when the anime ends—a different version of the Claymore story stretching out to the horizon.
I wish Clare had slashed off her left arm and put Ligardes’s there!
@Shirukii - I was just guessing a possibility that Clare must’ve acquired a killer move from Teresa. My guess was based on Clare recalling Teresa. In my current standpoint, I can’t think of any other theories why Clare suddenly powered-up.
Everyone complains about the anime not following the manga, but if you’ve read the manga and the anime follows it verbadum, then your essentially reading/seeing the same thing. A change is good, if Madhouse can pull off something interesting.
I was suggesting it if Clare goes too far in her almost Awakened state and she can’t control herself anymore.
The Raki/Priscilla scenes killed the suspense and the flow of the episode. I’m dissapointed with Madhouse’s efforts at creating an original ending. I wish they had the courage to end with the cliffhanger provided in the manga.
I busted out laughing when Raki was shouting “Clare!!!” as he charged into Pieta. I’m still shaking my head in confusion. Ummmmm, Raki…..there are over twenty awakened beings between you and Clare. You might want to try sneaking into the middle of that massacre. Raki doesn’t even know how to use a sword but he is going to charge through twenty awakened beings to get to Clare?
This series is starting to suck. I’m glad there are only a few episodes left. I’m just waiting for the next manga episode.
“Still, Rigardo’s arm shouldn’t have fallen off, yet! Maybe he can regrow it really quick…” I see nothing difference from the manga and beside this he is a Offensive type so he wont regrow it really quick.
Priscilla is moe. I’d let her sleep on my lap, if you know what I mean.
I am not totally against changing the story a bit between anime and manga, but I dislike the direction in which MadHouse is going. I can’t imagine what Raki will do in Pieta. He is just a puny human being. And I don’t want him to strip Jean of her role in soothing Awakened Claire.
Hell yeah, now it’s Clare’s turn to have her power going maximum (did she pull an Alucard thar?). I sense epic tide-turning reverse raep in the making for the upcoming episode.
my theory is that since theresa’s flesh is in clare so her power is techinicly in her too.
but she can’t reach that level cuz she’s just weak but if she sayed awakened then it brings out ur true potential which technicly means she crazy powerful then.
which is the only logical way she can defeat priscilla.
and it makes even more sense when the anime progresses (i hope)
but since the anime deviated so much i don’t think priscilla is the main evil person anymore.
cuz in the anime she was just this mysterious person u don’t know anything about besides the fact that she is probally evil
but in the anime she’s like … not evil.
@ Owen S: From the looks of things, Pieta is going to be the last stand for the Claymore series, I think it’s a good idea they’re taking their time with it rather than cram in another arc.
@ ItAintEazy: While I see where you’re coming from, I’d let Priscilla rest on my lap, if you know what I mean.
@ Revandj: Well, it’s not like we didn’t know it was coming. And it should make reading the manga a much more rewarding and meaningful experience =D
@ Silvering: Exactly. With an alternate anime ending, it gives me even more incentive to follow the true story of Claymore through the manga, rather than just reading a more fleshed out version of what I’ve already seen.
@ Max: But Ligardes’ arm is fully awakened, wouldn’t that really screw her body up?
@ SHiN_aKuMa: It’s too bad we never got to see if Teresa had any special abilities/attacks like the other high ranking claymore. I know Irene said she never had to resort to such measures, but as you said, that’s not to say that she didn’t have one up her sleeve.
@ Ragnarok88: *copy and pastes what I said to Silvering* Very much agreed.
@ Arakan7: Ah, I see where you’re coming from now. Hmm…but still, I think Clare would have the mental control to stop her from attacking humans, especially one whom she cares so much for.
@ Trellisaze: I wouldn’t go as far to say the series is starting to suck, yes the scenes are far too broken up to feel their full effect, but the series as a whole remains very impressive for shounen.
@ Son Gohan: I know exactly what you mean :3
@ Hangmen: But of course, Clare has plot armor, she’s going to hand Ligardes’ ass to him.
@ Cliff: Moe Loli Priscilla >>>>>>>>>> Psychotic one horned AO
Something that really piqued my interest is how the manga released in the US is keeping up with the anime. I believe they might be only one or two mangas off from each other. I hope the next episode will show Clare fighting like crazy though not to the point where I think its going to be a one sided battle leaning towards Clare.
“I hope the next episode will show Clare fighting like crazy though not to the point where I think its going to be a one sided battle leaning towards Clare.” this is what going to happened in the manga plot but for the anime I still doubt about it.
i just started watching this series, which day of the week does it come out?
@ AS: The anime isn’t going to catch up with the manga though, seeing as there’s no way they can squeeze the timeskip in, except for maybe a short epilogue.
@ Siva: No Clare ownage D=?
@ harry: Raws are out Tuesday night, Eclipse subs zomgwtf fast so subs are usually out Wednesday afternoon.
Now that Flora is dead, I wonder why the Flora verses Clare fight didn’t happen. In episode 18 Clare meets up with her most trusted comrades and refuses to talk about her new arm. In episode 20 she is telling her lifestory to Flora and Jeane. Flora threatens to remove Clare from the operation even though she didn’t have the authority and she knew that they would need every strong fighter.???
It doesn’t make sense. All I can see is that Madhouse wanted to have yet another scene where the claymores cross their swords and vow to survive. Those changes along with the new Raki/Priscilla scenes are examples of how I see Madhouse tarnishing the series. It’s still a great series but It could’ve been even better.
@Shirukii: i know i hate to say it but after i saw that preview it cant be help to think that way. But i hope Raki wont reach Pieta too fast or before the fighting scene start other wise every good things from manga will be go into waste.
@Trellisaze: all we can say is to wait and see how thing go on.