Claymore: Volumes 3 & 4

Introduction

We're already up to the second instalment of Claymore, taking us past the halfway point of this series. Already it's ranking among my favourite shows, and it's not just for the blonde babes with big swords premise. I must admit that random acts of violence against hulking great demons is an attractive proposition, and with an anime as distinctive and accomplished as Claymore, even more so. But I find that what I'm appreciating most about this show is the narrative. The episodes may be short, but they are jam packed with back-story and exposition, none of it awkward or clumsy. It so effortlessly fills in this complex world with a grand scope that I'm just mesmerised by it all. It makes it all the better when Manga release the thing in two volume chunks. You're getting a lot of narrative for your buck here.

In a world where demonic Yoma prey on hapless humans, and can walk among them unsuspected, there is only one group who can stand against them, the Claymores. But Claymores are feared almost as much as the menace they stand against. They are half human and half Yoma, women all, who have made a drastic sacrifice in the name of vengeance. Claymores alone can sense Yoma, their tell-tale silver eyes turning gold when they find a foe to face in battle, and their altered physiology allows them to survive and heal from wounds that would kill lesser humans. But the more they fight, the more the monstrous half of their nature asserts itself, bringing closer the time when they too will become monsters to be hunted. Clare is such a warrior, accepting missions to kill Yoma and defend people who fear and despise her in return. But it's when she rescues a young boy named Raki that her life begins to change.


As we left the previous instalment, Clare had joined three other Claymores in a hunt to take down an Awakened Being (the mutation that occurs when a Claymore loses control completely to the Yoma half); only this Awakened Being was male. As the four Claymores faced lethal odds, another Claymore named Galatea and her handler Ermita watch from afar.

Manga Entertainment release the next two volumes of Claymore in a two-disc collection.

Chapter 3 - The Hunter Is Prey

11. Those Who Rend Asunder III
Galatea watches as the four Claymores overcome the Awakened Being, and notes how they fared, battered, bloody, and with Deneve in a critical condition, past healing herself. Meanwhile in town, Raki waits anxiously, as the townsfolk keep telling him that no Claymore has ever made it back alive from the mountain. But in the aftermath of the battle, Miria analyses what has just happened, and has some questions to ask. It turns out that all four Claymores have been close to Awakening themselves, indeed may have crossed the line, yet have somehow pulled back. All four Claymores could be considered troublemakers in the Organisation, and that since they have crossed the line, accessing their powers has become easier. It sounds far-fetched, but when Deneve decides to try an experiment, it becomes worryingly clear that Miria's suspicions may be correct. Now these four Claymores have a darker foe to worry about, their own organisation. Before they go their separate ways, Miria gives them a list of high ranked Claymores to watch out for.


12. The Endless Gravestones I
Top of the list is #4 Ophelia, a vicious Claymore who revels in hunting down Awakened Beings and shows no quarter to her allies or her enemies. Clare's handler Rubel notices the improvement in his charge; she's less truculent, more committed and more skilled. So it is that he presents her with a new mission, to take down an Awakened Being in Gonahl city. Raki's been inspired by Clare as well, and he's constantly training with a sword, determined to be strong enough one day to protect her. Of course at the outskirts of Gonahl she orders him to stay behind, and of course he ignores her and follows her into the city. It's a lethal mistake, as the only other Claymore waiting for them is Ophelia. It may only be two Claymores against an Awakened Being, but Ophelia's gotten bored with all the waiting, and decides to play with Clare and Raki instead. She starts by cutting off Clare's legs.

13. The Endless Gravestones II
The arrival of the Awakened Being was just the respite Clare needed to heal, and escape with Raki. But Ophelia has sensed the Yoma power growing within Clare, and decided that she will be her next target. She just has an Awakened Being to deal with first. It's enough time for Clare to say goodbye to Raki, and promise to meet him again one day, to lead Ophelia away from him. It isn't long before Ophelia has caught up to Clare once more, and unleashes a sword technique that Clare just can't deal with. This time she takes Clare's arm, and there will be no quick healing of that wound. Just as she's about to strike the deathblow though, a mysterious cloaked figure appears and effortlessly stops her.


14. To Be Qualified To Fight
To deal with Ophelia, Clare needs more than just her native talents. It's a good thing that her saviour is a fallen Claymore with a skill called Quick Sword. She also knew Teresa and has a grudge against Priscilla, which is why she is willing to teach Clare. She also has a gift for Clare in parting. Clare promises to return, but it may be their only meeting, as Ophelia soon catches up to Clare once more, and this time Ophelia has Awakened and become that which she despises most. At the same time, #5 Rafaela chances upon Clare's teacher. The thing is that a Claymore simply cannot desert the Organisation, and the punishment is death, and Rafaela doesn't care that her opponent is unarmed.

Chapter 4 - The Rumors of War

15. The Witch's Maw I
Rubel reports to the Organisation after losing touch with his charge Clare. They don't take it lightly when a Claymore starts acting outside their dictates, and they assign Galatea to track her down. Clare meanwhile is looking for Raki in order to keep her promise. She's travelling from town to town incognito; taking the medicine that keeps her Yoma side cloaked. The trouble is that the medicine also masks her ability to detect other Claymores, which is why it's a close call at one city when an innkeeper mentions a group of Claymores passing through on the way to the nearby Zakol mountains. That can only mean one thing, an Awakened Being. Just when Clare gets a clue to Raki's whereabouts, a blood-soaked Claymore comes staggering back into town. Before she dies in Clare's arms, she tells of strange occurrences on the mountain. Clare may be incognito, but she still feels duty-bound to help.


16. The Witch's Maw II
Clare walks into the mountains and straight into another dark conspiracy. There have only been three instances of #1 Claymores Awakening in the past, and all three went their separate ways. But now a conflict is developing between them, and they are drawing Awakened Beings to them to use as soldiers. Riful is a young female Claymore who became a Creature of the Abyss, and she's the one who is trying to turn Claymores to her cause. Dauf is the male Awakened Being who is currently doing her bidding, and he's the one who's about to tear Clare apart, before Galatea arrives. Even with Galatea's abilities, these opponents may be too much for them. Galatea instructs Clare to free Jean, a captive Claymore Riful is trying to Awaken, but then Riful just happens to mention that the male Creature of the Abyss opposing her has a unique Awakened Being at his side, a one-horned female named Priscilla, and Clare goes berserk.

17. The Witch's Maw III
It may just be too late, too late to save Jean, too late to save Galatea, too late to save herself, too late to defeat Dauf, and too late to escape the grasp of Riful, who has suddenly taken an interest in the weakest Claymore of them all. But, if Clare can somehow succeed, she may just learn the name of the Creature of the Abyss that dwells in the North, and who keeps Priscilla at his side. But then Riful reveals her true nature.


18. The Carnage in the North I
Clare's picked up a new loyal servant, which is a bit of drag considering she has still to find her previous one. It gets worse when her handler Rubel shows up, with Rafaela in tow. This could be the point where Clare's chickens come home to roost, only Rubel's here to offer her a pardon, on the condition that she goes North to meet up with some other Claymores and take down some Awakened Beings. But this is no ordinary hunt. All of a sudden, Awakened Beings are working together, laying waste to Claymores. It suits Clare's purpose to acquiesce when she learns that Raki was last seen heading north, and also it's where the Silver King Isley and Priscilla are. When she gets to the North, she finds that an unprecedented 24 Claymores have gathered together to take on the Awakened Being threat. But it's when she's reunited with Helene, Deneve and Miria that they begin to understand just what is going on, and the Organisation's true purpose in sending these particular Claymores to fight the menace. It quickly becomes clear that this may be a threat beyond even the skills of the women gathered in the snow-blanketed city. Then three Awakened Beings attack.

Picture

The 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer is most rewarding. It's a rare NTSC-PAL conversion that limits the flaws of that to a minimum. The image is clear and sharp, ghosting is practically absent, and the pans and scrolls are smooth and free of judder. There is a clarity and sharpness to it that could almost be a native PAL image. It's excellent. Madhouse Studios head up the animation on this project and it tells in the final product. The character designs do take a bit of getting used to, but in the long run, the singular style and difference of the piece help it stand out from the crowd. Also the world design takes a leaf from Death Note's book in terms of palette, mood and detail. It's a very effective, moody and stylish animation, getting the balance between quirky individuality, and mass-market appeal just right.

Sound

You have a choice between DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese, with optional translated English subtitles and a separate signs only track. I went for my usual option of the Japanese track and was perfectly happy with clear dialogue, nice music and pleasant action. I did sample the English dub, and it's well acted with the characters suitably cast. It's also worthy of the 5.1 track, as the sound is immersive, the action and sound effects are placed well, and there's more than the usual level of sound design applied to this show. Dub fans will have a lot to appreciate here.

Extras

There are extras spread across both discs, and both discs get suitably atmospheric presentation in terms of menu design.

Volume 3

My review discs had a problem with the commentary that accompanies episode 11. In it line producer Colleen Clinkenbeard (Galatea), and Monica Rial (Miria) have one of their friendly gossip gigglefests. That's not the problem by the way, it's that after 13 minutes, the disc jumped ahead to the end credits, missing out about 9 minutes of the commentary track. Hopefully this will be rectified for the retail release.

The interview with sound director Yasunori Honda lasts 9 minutes, and he talks about the appeal of the show, the challenges of ADR for such a visceral anime, differentiating the various Claymore characters, and his favourite character.

The disc is polished off with the Textless Credit sequences.


Volume 4

The episode 16 commentary on this disc is intact. Laura Bailey (Jean) is a tad miffed at commenting on an episode where her character only shows up twice, to scream briefly in agony, but otherwise her chat with ADR director Leslie Patrick is entertaining and informative, especially about the ADR process.

The interview with Art Director Manaba Otsuzuki lasts 6½ minutes, and in it he gives us his job description, as well as how much importance was placed on getting the lighting and the colour palette right for the show.

Once again, this disc concludes with the Textless Credits.

Conclusion

Could Claymore be the best anime series release of the year so far? I'm still on the fence about that, and will probably remain there, hedging my bets until December, but I have to admit this much, no other series this year has given me such a thrill as a viewer, and no other series has compelled me to seek out the next episode as soon as the end credits roll on one. It's the same enjoyment that I got out of Black Lagoon last year, which puts Claymore in pretty rare company. Anime action series grow on trees, but good ones are rare indeed. Claymore is the cream of the crop, meaning when you get hold of a copy, make sure you hold on with both hands.


Everything I lauded about the first two volumes is just as applicable here. You have the immediate draw of the 'blonde babes with big swords' tagline, but there is so much more going on under the pretty exterior. The animation itself is amazing, high quality throughout, and the visualisation of this monster infested mediaeval world is astounding. The sound and the music are excellent, especially given the 5.1 polish in the English dub, and it's all accomplished with Madhouse's typical élan. It's the writing and the characterisations that shine through the strongest though. It's smart scripting that looks effortless, and I'm constantly dumbstruck with the way that the show manages to blend dense exposition with action, so that you may think you're watching a cool fight between a mutated demon and a couple of Claymores, but when the episode ends, you realise that you've just absorbed a chapter of back-story as well.


Watching the pieces of this story come together is a joy, and each subsequent episode takes care to advance the plot. It's also a pleasure to see such vibrant character development, as anime isn't always known for its ability to deliver stories with pace and growth, occasionally opting for the status quo in the hope to get more seasons aired. Just seeing how Clare changes as a person from episode to episode is evidence enough of the reverse. The Clare who ends this double disc volume certainly isn't the one who starts it, and that Clare in turn is unrecognisable from the one who we were introduced to at the beginning of the series. She's growing, adapting, and learning from her experiences. She's gaining in strength and power, while being humbled by her inadequacies, and forced to face loss on more than one occasion.


The story is deepening and becoming more convoluted, in a good way of course. Layers and layers of back-story are added to the narrative, conspiracies overlay conspiracies, and just when you think you know about the Claymores and the foes that they face, the show offers up a new bit of information that radically transforms the world vision. The stakes keep being raised as well, the challenges keep getting tougher and tougher, and just when you think that Clare has reached her limit, something occurs to push her even further. When we met her, she had a hard time battling Yoma, but at the start of this volume, we had learned about the Awakened Beings, Claymores gone horribly wrong, and the fact that they required groups of Claymores to defeat them, including one high ranking Claymore.


That could have been the weakest part of the show, the Claymore ranks, as in a lesser production, the temptation would have been to release Claymore cards, and have fans collect them all and compare abilities. But the Claymore ranks and abilities are integral to the show, not just some tie-in gimmick, and it proves to be quite fascinating when you learn of how Awakened Beings are formed, and just how a Claymore's rank relates to the eventual Awakened Being. That ties in to the next revelation, when we learn that #1 Claymores have awakened in the past, and what has resulted is as far beyond an Awakened Being as an Awakened Being is beyond a simple Yoma. With rumours of war between these Creatures of the Abyss, as they gather Awakened Beings to their ranks, and with a large group of Claymores caught in the middle, it's where we leave this collection, creating an unnatural desire for the final instalment of Claymore right now.


Manga Entertainment's distribution deal with Funimation means that there is some choice anime coming over to the UK this year. Claymore looks to be the cherry on the cake. It's bloody, it's violent, and it's also devilishly smart and compelling in the extreme. You could do a lot worse than Claymore.