Claymore 26 [END]
September 26th, 2007 by Shirukii
Well…that kinda sucked.
While I was all praise for Madhouse’s anime original ending, I’ll be the first to admit that it fell apart at the very end. Overused cliche speeches, rehashed themes and a lack of the definite conclusion that I was looking for was what the finale of Claymore was missing from being a sufficient ending. However, the series as a whole was very enjoyable and I don’t for one second regret spontaneously picking it up for viewing nor blogging.
Episode Rating: 8/10 || Series Rating: 9/10
After a quick recap of the various important speeches given in the previous episodes and a bit of a stare down between Priscilla and Clare, the final fight between the two begins with an audience of all those close to Clare and Isley.
Priscilla and her aerial projectile attacks vs Clare and her quick reflexes, dodging and blazingly fast Flash Sword, the fight begins pretty evenly. Despite having just procured them, Clare seems quite adept with her new…20 odd blades growing out of her left arm, she adapts her existing skills to them and manages to turn each one into an independent Flash Sword.
As for Miria, Deneve, Helen, Raki, Jean and probably even Isley, they don’t bother interfering with the fight, or perhaps more accurately, know that they wouldn’t be able to stop them if they tried.
As the fight drags on, Priscilla begins to edge Clare out, mainly due to her ability to fly. With Clare on a rage filled offensive, she’s quick to engage Priscilla in the air, where she is clearly dominant. Eventually, Priscilla manages to grab Clare. She taunts her a bit, noting it must be hard not to be able to fly, before throwing her into the air and launching an unstoppable barrage of projectiles at her. But as Clare free falls, she remembers Teresa and the times they shared together, the one who took them away and her reason for living up until now. She parries the fall with a barrage of Flash Sword and propels herself airborne, and on the descent, unleashes all she has in a final wave of Flash Swords that tears through Priscilla.
Although Priscilla has realized that Clare isn’t Teresa, the overwhelming presence that she feels towering over her manifests itself in her image. But just as Clare raises her sword to deliver the final blow…
Raki barrier! He stands firmly between Clare and Priscilla, begging Clare to stop, saying that she’d be no better than a yoma if she went through with this, that even though Priscilla took someone important to Clare away, she lost loved ones to yoma as well, as did all the claymore that stand among them. In short, he delivers quite possibly the lamest “revenge only begets more revenge” speech in the history of anime.
But Clare is beyond her limits and can’t control herself anymore and ends up trying to stab Raki, but Jean rushes in at the last moment and takes the blow. With the roles reversed from their encounter with Riful, it’s Jean’s turn to save Clare from awakening. Using the last moments of her life, Jean lets loose the yoki floodgates, syncs with Clare’s yoki and suppresses it so that she can return to normal.
Afterwards, as Clare mourns her friend’s death, Isley swoops in and grabs Priscilla. Even though she may be unstable and hard to control, he has no intention giving up potentially the strongest awakened one in existence. Miria, Helen and Deneve ready their swords to fight him, but Isley points out (backed up by a fierce yoki) what they all know, that there’s little point of further fighting, and makes his graceful exit.
Elsewhere, Galatea reports to Rubel that not only Priscilla, but Isley as well, have made their presence known. He asks her of the fate of the claymore, Galatea says that she can no longer feel their presence and that he’s free to go check for himself should he not believe her. Despite wanting to, he says he hasn’t the time and must return to the organization to deal with the aftermath of the bloodshed.
And so the series comes to a close. Helen and Deneve vow to leave the organization and continue training so that one day they may come back strong enough to take vengeance for everything they have been put through. Miria has similar plans, choosing to immerse herself among humans and bide her time, slowly learning more about the organization’s true nature. As for Clare, despite having lost her purpose for living, she will continue to do so, but not as a dog of the organization. She invites Raki to tag along, an offer which he makes no hesitation in accepting despite knowing the harsh path that lies ahead.
Thoughts
They just HAD to throw one last one of these in -_-
As I said, I wasn’t very impressed with the way that Madhouse chose to conclude things. The way their ending was set up before this was far from perfect, but at the very least it had a sense of finality. I expected to see the death of Priscilla which would stop Isley’s plans dead in their tracks and restore the balance of power, meanwhile accomplishing the overlying theme of Clare’s revenge. But instead we got a half hearted ending that solves absolutely nothing. With Priscilla alive, Isley’s plans will revive in the future, leaving that story line far from concluded. With Miria, Deneve and Helen deserting the organization and going on their own paths, that’s another end left untied. And finally, Clare’s struggle ultimately ends up as a futile one. So many questions were left unanswered by the ending and many new ones were brought up. And for what? Some lame moral that nothing good comes out of revenge? What the hell is that! This is Claymore, everyone dies in Claymore!
I’m guessing they chose to end it this way because they wanted to leave it open for a possible second season. Personally, I think that’s stupid. At the rate the manga is going, god knows when they’ll have enough material. The only good thing I can see this bringing about is an increase in the pace that the manga is being released. That would certainly be worth it.
To continue the rant: Raki. Oh god Raki, you need to FATE/STAY in the kitchen. His speech was so cheesy and cliche that I died a little inside after hearing it, I had no idea that writers these days could be so uncreative. And I cannot believe that they actually used that hugging scene again, I facepalmed so hard when he did it. I saw it coming from like…10 episodes away, but prayed that it wouldn’t happen anyways, so much for that.
However, I thought that Jean’s dying moments were well done. While only slightly less cheesy than Raki, she died a warrior’s death, repaying the debt just as she said she would. I also saw this one coming from a mile away, but unlike Raki’s case, I really wanted to see this one done. While I haven’t read the manga as a comparison, I thought it was a well done scene, and being the only one who died in the finale of Claymore, her sacrifice will not be forgotten.
All in all, Claymore was an excellent series. Yes it fell apart a bit at the end, but when deviating from the manga, you can’t expect much more. Last week, Trellisaze suggested that my view of Claymore has changed, that when I first began blogging Claymore I was drawn by its ability to set itself apart from mindless shounen, whereas I compromised with the ending, accepting that generic shounen elements were unavoidable.
While I concede that my expectations from Claymore have changed, but for me, that was inevitable. When watching anime, an important thing to heed attention to is expectations. If you hype a series beyond limits, even if the series is relatively good, if it doesn’t meet those expectations, you will feel disappointed. When I began watching Claymore, I had no idea what I was getting into and ended up being pleasantly surprised week after week by the goodness it had to offer. However, when I heard the anime was diverging from the manga plot, I rearranged my expectations. I took the ending for what it was, trying not to compare it to what could have been. Did I make some compromises? Sure I did, but in the end I think it was a better option than hanging on to a fleeting hope that the anime’s finale would match that of the manga.
I’m not saying it’s wrong to want to see the anime live up to the manga, nor am I saying it’s right to go back on something I said and dumb down expectations in sort of a “I’ll take what I can get” attitude. To each their own, it’s just my way of trying to enjoy things for what they are. Perhaps when I read the manga, I’ll go back on these words and join the legions of fans that were enraged by the path the anime took. But for now, despite a lacking finale, I enjoyed Madhouse’s adaptation of Claymore.
Claymore was a great series, one that barged into the shounen genre and despite following many of its conventions, set itself apart from the rest with a great story and characters. The animation could have used some work and the music was horribly repetitive, but when you immerse yourself in the Claymore world, you’ll find such things end up being trivial. For fans of shounen, and even those who aren’t, this is one series that I’d recommend without a second thought.
It’s been fun blogging Claymore and having discussions on everything from the physical feasibility of a certain claymore’s special move to the flame war that erupted in the dying episodes. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing, hopefully you stick around even in the absence of these weekly Claymore posts.
But now, there’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a very VERY, long time…
Manga countdown: =D
Teresa ;_; . . . Flooooooraaaaa T_T
~ Shirukii ~
31 Responses to “Claymore 26 [END]”
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So instead of having an inconclusive ending based on the manga, they decided to having an inconclusive “anime original” ending . . .
Okkkkkkkkkaaaaayyyy, so what was the point in changing things in the first place? >_>
BTW Shirukii, now that the anime is finally over i guess you can finally read the manga ;-). Any plans on blogging your impressions of the manga compared to the anime or blogging about the manga regularly?
You rated 8/10? So soft.. I vote a 2/10.
Ouch, my nightmares came true! Indedeed.
I cant say much more.. Happy ending I was like wtfLOL..
The talking was totally barbaric.. the crying and sobbing totally missplaced.
Claymore isnt a show that fits a crappy happy fairytale ending. You know, after watching all those limbs dismembered, yoma blood splashed on the walls, speaking of death every 8 mins..
One question remains.. Why did i torture myself watching this horrible ending episodes? XD
I wanted clare to slice through raki to pric. and when it kind almost happened (dam jeane!, not really DAM RAKI) i was like YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS IRL, stupid noobki
Well honestly i can say that this is easily my number 1# choice for my anime of this yea other.
They did a wonderful portrayal if clare and horned ugly but raki was the only reason in why i would agree this episode desreverd a 8.
With Easly showing his power will lead to a second season of Abyss walking battles which i look foward to.
In all this anime ended with the best possible ending could really see to tie in the anime and tie in the manga for season two.
P.S i love clare :p to haha!
I don’t understand why everyone wanted them to keep the manga stuff, where’s the fun in watching the anime if you already know what’s going to happen? Seems REALLY pointless imo.
D’oh, Raki!
Still, a nice showdown in the end. And if you don’t like the winding up, just read the manga and imagine events splitting off at the moment Claire faces off with Ligardes.
A related thought is that if Claymore the Anime is going to have such an open-ended ending, it might as well have just gone for something more like the manga continuity. Aw, well.
@Shirukii: Anyway, you can now enjoy items the anime couldn’t fit in, including Awakened Isley, Luciela, Raphaela, Claire mouthing off to Riful, Claymore the Next Generation, Miria’s new haircut and outfit upgrade, Helen Giga-Grill-Breaker, Alicia & Beth, and lots of other stuff!
But be warned: Rae has Goku hair.
All right, for the last time, all you manga readers. It took four years for that serial to get anywhere near where this anime ended up to this point. Maybe hardcore fans are willing to wait that long for an anime to be released just so it can stay faithful to the source material, but regular television watchers aren’t.
Speaking of source materials, I’m sorry I’m just not that impressed. Show ▼
Even if a lot of the source material post-Pieta is indeed superb, it’s not like it’s impossible for Madhouse to make original story lines that could rival it.
That being said, Jesus Christ, Raki is such a puss. The episode would have been ten times better if awakened Clare just swatted Raki aside like the little insect that he is and just decapitated Priscilla’s head right there. Then we could have Jean’s proud moment, the claymores going their separate ways. And I guess to throw a bone to the manga readers, we can have Isely come to Priscilla’s abandoned body and re-attach her head. Yes, it’s a cliched move, but it won’t do for just a half-awakened claymore to defeat such a powerful AO so easily.
Oh well, as another poster said, apparently there’s an unattributed line in Wikipedia saying that there’s going to be another season of Claymore, so in many ways the ending is appropriate enough. Just less Raki, more slashing is all it needed.
EXACTLY Za_Paper! They traded an inconclusive Manga ending for an original inconclusive and crappy anime ending that ruined the Manga plot. This thing would have been so much better if they didn’t diverge from the Manga plot and people would have had to wait for a second season after the time jump. Now what can you wait for? More original crappy plots? At least with the Manga you have something good coming though they seem to be stuck on chapter 73 for these last 2 months at least for the scanlations. When will the anime folks figure out that they can’t match the original successful plot?
Well, I think it was a decent finale for the tv series. By letting Priscilla live, they left the door open for a potential second season in a few years. But still, Easley’s actions didn’t make sense at all. Why did he retire his army from Pieta? Why didn’t he try to save Priscilla before? Why didn’t he kill the claymores?
I am glad that Jeane got her glorious death scene at last. There were other scenes that I liked: the bonding between Miria, Deneve and Helen; Galatea covering again for her comrades; Teresa’s “ghost” smiling to Claire.
All in all, a decent series. Too bad they decided to deviate from the source material, which is awesome. Now begins the wait for a new manga chapter.
Frankly, they would have done better if they had gone with the original ending. With this ending, not only did they kill of every last claymore that was sent to pieta (with the obvious exceptions, of course.) we didn’t even get to see Miria’s brillant plan of survival in action. Nor do we see the third abyssal one nor the Number one in action, which would most definetely blow yours socks of. I mean, seriously, they took the effort to create an anime original ending and didn’t even bother to finish it of properly. What’s the point of doing it in the first place?
…and join the legions of fans that were enraged by the path the anime took
Please don’t Shirukii, there’s already a bunch of unhappy manga reader anime bashers in every anime blog. It’s nice the remaining claymores didn’t all die in the end, that’d require days of getting over with! I’m just thankful I saw something this good animated! And I enjoyed it a lot! I hope you would blog each volume of the manga, you’ll love it!
I like ItAintEazy’s alternate ending, would just add to that for Isley to snatch Raki to spite Claire, and there they’d have an open ending with possible sequels. Production outfits should read blogs to get anime ideas.
On a non Claymore stuff, what other animes can you guys recommend, something along Claymore, Darker than Black, Gilgamesh or GetBackers and Last Exile? As well I have not seen any comedy themed anime, what’s the best ones out there?
Thanks!
lol, i was like wtf!, so this is how they end the anime? I guess the reason they diverge it from manga just to extend the plot of the series but it end up to have more gay ending. Anyway at least, i can see light of the season 2.
@ItAintEazy: if such an ending like yours would show instead, i wouldnt regret even if Raki can not come back to life and i will give the ep 10/10.
Shirukii, so u dont have to hold back anymore, just read it as much as u can and comeback share ur opinion with us.
The ending was not what i expected.. I wanted to see the top 5 (excluding number 4 of course) in action.. Also, I was hoping that Clare would have killed Priscilla but nooooo… Raki had to interfere again..
Raki’s the King of Kings when it comes to those cheesy moments.. Uhh, how i despise the fact that he’s always interrupting.. However, despite everything thats happened, if you look at it closely, Clare wouldn’t be happy without Raki, so for that i guess he’s ok..
With a ending like that I HOPE that madhouse will come out with a season 2.. I’ll be waiting.. xD
@ Za_Paper: Yea, exactly. If they were going to leave things open ended and inconclusive, what was the point, meh.
As for blogging my impressions about the manga, once I read it all, I may throw up a post comparing it to the anime, but that’s only if there’s significant changes that merit writing a whole post.
@ Vaosk: lol, if you really thought they were that bad, you probably should have dropped it earlier. My ratings are VERY lenient (I gave the first episode of Lucky Star a 6/10) so look at my thoughts to really see how I felt, in which I did express my disappointment quite a few times.
@ Raki_slayer: Yea…Raki sucks, I hope he comes off a little better in the manga. He ruined everything in the anime.
@ Fuzzims: While they did leave the anime open for a second season, at the rate the manga is going…don’t hold your breath. You’ll die, lol.
@ clare: I guess it was because Claymore did such a great job at sticking to the manga throughout the whole series until the very end. I personally am perfectly fine with different manga/anime endings, but a lot of people like anime to be true to its source.
@ Silvering: Sounds great, I can’t wait. But I’m not exactly sure when I’ll have time to start ;_; I have a few things coming up in school that are keeping me tied up. And I’ve been totally immersed in this j-drama that my friend gave me.
@ ItAintEazy: >> The episode would have been ten times better if awakened Clare just swatted Raki aside like the little insect that he is and just decapitated Priscilla’s head right there.
You have no idea how hard I was praying for that to happen. Claymore needs more death, less Raki.
@ George: Anime producers know that they can’t match source material, but they try anyways, I give Madhouse credit for doing alright until the very end. But yes, an inconclusive anime ending chosen over the inconclusive manga ending made little sense.
@ Gohan: >> Easley’s actions didn’t make sense at all. Why did he retire his army from Pieta? Why didn’t he try to save Priscilla before? Why didn’t he kill the claymores?
Because Isley is a terrible battle tactician who relied far too much on his powerhouses. He put far too much faith in the individual strength of Ligardes and Priscilla, and the both lost, lol, gg.
@ Alias: Perhaps they did it so that people would go read the manga and see how everything really unfolds, that’s the case for me anyways.
@ Max: I’m sure I’ll love the manga, but would probably sound like a broken record if I blogged each volume. I’ll most likely throw together a comparison post when I catch up.
I can’t think of any anime that are in the same genre and league as Claymore. But there are plenty of good comedies out there. Azumanga Daioh, Hayate no Gotoku, Seto no Hanayome, School Rumble…etc. If you go to my anime list and sort by rating, everything that is rated “Sc” means special comedy, the ones that really stood out to me.
@ Siva: Will do! As soon as I get some school stuff out of the way ;_;
@ BabyAngel: Clare does need Raki, but him jumping in between her and Priscilla was just terrible. I also wanted to see the top ranks in action, but I guess I’ll have to wait for the manga to see that, cept for Ophelia T_T
I’d like to see a second season, but doubt it’ll happen any time soon.
That was a weak ending to the series. The fight was disappointing. The same Priscilla who had just been slicing off hands and legs decides to go easy against her strongest opponent? Did Clare do a helicopter effect for her last attack? She seemed to have some major hang time.
The scene where Jeane/Raki save Clare from awakening should have been the highlight of the episode. Jeane’s half of the scene was touching and powerful but Raki’s part of the scene was cheesy.
The scenes after Easley rescues Priscilla were coated in cheese sauce. Did we really need yet another scene where the claymores cross their swords together and vow to meet again? I was utterly revolted by Raki’s final blubbering scream of Claaaaaare!!! His reaction to a simple question was ridiculously melodramatic.
The ending left too many open questions. I don’t see why Rubel would believe Galatea’s lies again. Wasn’t that the reason why he had Raphaela track down Clare and Jeane in the first place? I wonder if that army of awakened were doing the algorithm march while they were waiting for orders.
Thanks for blogging the series Shirukii. I hope you do a follow up after you read the manga.
I was really hoping for Priscilla to die and Clare actually fulfilling her reason to live. Bad Raki, Bad…I actually wouldn’t have mind if Raki got stabbed in the end rather than Jeane. Jeane was cool lol, crazy spinning arm that turns into a destructive drill, awesome.
I actually liked the ending for some reason. I’m really content with it. It was definitely left open for another season, which I think would be cool.
I found it odd, though, that Clare said she wouldn’t have anything to live for. WHAT THE HELL WAS RAKI FOR, THEN?! And then she’s suddenly all “oh, let’s live with Raki the human ‘cuz Theresa said I should’. WTF? Go cut your lips off ‘cuz you have disgraced your kiss with the minor.
It would have been an awesome twist if Raki ended up dying and Clare would go all psycho and level herself up to death, and I was actually disappointed that didn’t happen xD That would have been an ever greater ending. Freaking useless Raki. You’re no main guy character. This is Clare’s show! xDD
Good job blogging the series, Ruki! ^^
I’m too tired to read through the comments right now lol :P….
Studying 4 hours worth of Hebrew will do that to you :P
So I might put in a second comment in the morning :)….
But man, Claymore really went downhill in the last couple weeks…..Granted, I saw it coming a mile away….but the cheese was way too much :P
The story-line was good, Jeanne’s sacrifice=awesome :)
even Clare’s awakening was cool……and yet the inherent fail that is Raki overshadowed the whole thing :(
I just didn’t feel the affection between him and Clare……it was just so cliche…….
Overall though, it gave me something to look forward to on Wednesdays and for that…… along with some very interesting episodes and characters (Ophelia ftw!) I give it a 7/10 :)
@ Shirukii:
Wow….I never realized how much a bigger monitor enhances anime watching/gaming :)……Thanx again for your suggestions on the build ;)
@ Max: Or Raki would PMS over how Clare “turned into a Yoma” because she dished out justice to Priscilla who killed so many human beings, hugging Priscilla’s head ala loli Clare saying over and over again “Clare, kirai” or sumshit like that. Then the claymores leave them alone and Isley comes around re-attaching the head, chiding Raki for having little faith, and the three can go on their merry way. That way (1) the manga storyline can be more or less reset (2) no more Raki for a while.
@Siva: Sorry, but even if I imagine Raki as an actual female, I still can’t him/her. That, my friend, is an unforgivable liability with only one remedy as you mentioned :^)
@Shirukii: “More death,less Raki”
I think you’ve just stumbled upon the slogan for the next season, if there ever is one, lool!
Hmm, Wikipedia says Claymore Manga will continue this November, SWEET! It’s stuck at chapter 73 right now.
The Anime overall (up until they forked off the Manga) was just sweet and one of my favorite Animes. The last 3 episodes were more or less forgettable. They need to wait 2 years when they have enough Manga material for a second season and continue the anime at #23 without forking off the Manga.
Priscilla in manga is not Hulk like in anime. But she’s 100 times more powerful than in anime. Clare won’t have a chance at all, even if she’s transformed into the Queen of Blade.
Claymore anime is great because of manga. And it certainly turn suck when the anime use its own plot. My quote “I don’t mind with the changing if it makes sense and doesn’t ruin the series” And MADHOUSE had done both. THANKS!
I don’t even care to rate it and I don’t want S2 (from MADHOUSE) too. I don’t want to see one of my most favorite series be trashed like this again. Just read the manga and you will know how crappy the anime it was.
i’ve had little idea of how one could compare an animation to a comic until now, through these comments; i felt since the beginning, that dialogue in both the original japanese manga, and within the animation was a little difficult to understand– difficult in that it stood out as unrealistic. what i find realistic in the 26th episode, is that raki decides to do what he does. Think adolescence.
keep in mind that a group doesn’t take on a project without some sort of story boarding or organization beforehand, regardless of the funds they’re givien. they’re not employed to make things up as they go, or to even improvise such things as a conclusion. in all likelihood, Claymore’s story started with its ending kept in mind. In other words, my idea is that the ending had a great influence on how the anime would build up to its conclusion.
if you agree that story-boarding, and the whole act of creating a piece of a story-line is practicaly work, i should be seeing all of your names in a list of published authors–but you probably aren’t, so please keep in mind that there was a reason for the use of every word, (and in the case of animation) every expression, and every happy ending as with all pieces of prose and artwork.
eu quero um dawloude!
Hoho, the Anime is one of my favorite Animes ever up until about episode 23. If they can just redo the last 4 episodes and keep it on the Manga plot, it could be awesome again.
There seems to be a lot of loose ends tied up, after watching 24/25 I didnt have much intrest in watching the final episode.
Pssh, whatever man. LOVE POWER. Oh, and moe Priscilla is moe.
sigh~ finishing series late and still going to spam blogs about it….
While i loved both manga and anime when they where on track i was incredibly disappointed when the anime side tracked in the later episodes.
As for leaving the anime open for a new season. It doesn’t seem like you read the manga (well i know a great deal that does that, watch the anime or read the manga, never both)
If you read the manga you would realize that there is a world of openings and enough material for a 2nd season from the chapters currently released.
I have been waiting for a long time now for the next chapter and im pretty much banging my head against the wall going nuts from the waiting. Thats how much potential the manga has at the moment.
The sidetracking of the anime i think was more of a rebelious act done by the makers when they found out that the anime was to be licensed (god knows i understand them)
And in case you didn’t get it, yes i hate licensing anime like that. That single act is stopping all the really good fansubbers simply cause they respect it.
While that is ok, it stops being ok when fansubbers do a better job at subbing than the producers making the dvd’s available for sale.
Any anime i have apart from 1 has for that sole reason been made custom by myself (for my own usage) into dvd’s which appears alot better on the tv than anything i have yet to see be done by licensed animes.
SWEET! The manga finaly continues!
http://www.onemanga.com/Claymore/74/
where can i watch or read the manga can anyone tellme a website or something
So, uhm, I really wanted to punch Raki in the face.
.. Right?
YO!!! thanks! you summed up almost everything I thought of after watching this yesterday. the ending was seriously shit, when you compare it with the rest of the series. tho I have to say that Raki didn’t annoy me much becoz that was how you can expect him to act anyway, the little brat but the very cliche badly-beat-up-and-mangled good guys at the brink of death and only “saved” by an even more scary baddie who will make a “The Return of Easley” sometime in the future. MAN! these stalemate endings are a pain. and how many times is Priscilla going to cheat death by crying at her opponents?
but anyway, Sweet~ I am glad that I didn’t have to read about how ppl want Raki to grow up and protect Clare here. THANK YOU!