End of Claymore

Sayonara, Claymore fans. "I won't say when. But let us meet again" (Miria)

Claymore finally ended at episode 26. I really liked the whole series and wished that it wouldn't have ended so early. That said, it is only the end of season 1. Many people complained how it deviates from the manga since episode 20, and it turned out very bad and boring. I didn't read the manga at all, so I shall not compare the two (perhaps they really were true, but...). From my point of view, it wasn't the best ending I've seen so far, but certainly not a bad one. The conclusion of many main characters' plot were satisfying, though many others were left out; but hey, its only season 1, what more could we expect!? Even this last episode delivers a very nicely directed and planned ending, not just any crash course ones we'd see in many typical anime. The fight with Priscilla was not ended too quick nor too dragged on... (ok, maybe the whole North campaign thing was a bit long winded, from the fights with the 3 Awakened Being, to Rigardo, and then back to Priscilla, thus giving me the feeling "it should end by now~").

Final showdown between Clare (above) and Priscilla (bottom).

Nonetheless, the final blow by Clare is slightly off the scale. The almighty Priscilla was surprisingly caught by Clare's sudden counter attack... and the whole fight is over. If we follow the story closely, there is certainly no way Clare is anywhere near Priscilla's level, let alone the 'fully awakened' Priscilla (for no apparent reason at all). This did not appeals how strong Clare is, only how weak Priscilla had became (makes me wonder how strong is Number 1, 2 and 3). Nothing like what we've seen in the whole series. And, yes, Raki is there again to pull Clare back to her senses. Through out the series, what started as a dark themed anime, loses out its tension at the very last (be it for the better or worse).

Almost every episode promises a suspense, and the suspense is broken with often unexpected conclusions. This is what makes the whole thing so much enjoyable and addictive. This is the reason I insisted not to read the manga or even read any spoilers (and boo-ed manga readers who talked too much about it)!! But the final scenes just screams otherwise. No one could've guessed wrongly how the last episode would have ended. Clare will somehow overpower Priscilla, Raki will get Clare back to her senses again, and everyone just goes back home merrily. However, I must clarify that I did enjoyed the final episode (although it could've been better).

Jeanne returning Clare's favor by saving her. I really liked Jeanne, why does she have to die!!? (just like Teresa...)

Raki and Clare reunited at last.

I still must emphasize that Claymore (the anime) is really beautifully made. I love the characters, the plots, the fights, the theme, the colours, the music, the sound effect... everything about it is just great! Can't wait for the next season of it (if there really is...).

Farewell by Teresa. "Live as a human."

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Lets get Blue~

I've just changed the background colour to navy blue; since my blog's named Moonlight Blues, I thought I should use colours that fits the theme to the very least. Other than that, I haven't made much updates here. Mainly because I haven't been watching any new animes lately, still stucked on Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, and scouring through episodes of a chinese drama from TVB named Heart of Greed (溏心風暴). The latest anime I've watched is of course Claymore 14... and episode 15 should be out by now... lets search for the torrent later.

I am surprised by how Irene gave up her arm to Clare just like that, being the right arm her only arm left (no pun intended). I thought Irene would have at least participated in a battle with Clare against maybe Orphelia or some other Yoma/Claymore and gave her arm up in the midst of losing. Anyway, the only logical explanation would have been Irene already knew that another Claymore has got a hold of her location and she would be executed due to her being a traitor to the organization.

Another surprise is how Clare suddenly became so strong; strong enough to defeat Awakened Orphelia, where she doesn't even stand a chance against Claymore Orphelia who haven't used any of her Yoma powers yet. Yet another logical explaination (:P) is that Orphelia upon finding herself being an awakened being, desired to die instead. Thus she left her resolve of killing the one-horned Awakened - Priscilla to Clare.

Clare cutting through Orphelia's serpent like body; as a test by Orphelia to measure Clare's capability of avenging her - by killing Priscilla.

Devoid of anime/game news updates, I've only knew about Suzumiya Haruhi's second season through other bloggers'. The news was speculated to be announced in the official website, however, being totally illiterate in japanese, I couldn't read about it in the official website anyway :P. The release date? Not mentioned, but speculated to be released in spring 2008 (?).
Other than that, is of course the Suzumiya Haruhi game on PS2, PSP and Wii.. (which I'm not too interested).

Another great news is the release of episode 24 and 25 of Code Geass on the 28th of July. Now, I just wonder when will season 2 be coming out.



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Claymore

Claymore is a dark, fantasy anime that sets itself in the medieval world. Humans and monsters known as Yoma co-exists. Yoma feeds on human guts to survive, after which, they can take the form of a human to disguise themselves. No one can distinguish them from a normal human. Thus, a nameless organization created "superhumans" (only females) to deal with these Yoma. They don't have a name, however, due to the extremely big sword they carry around, the humans named them Claymores. Ok, enough with the brief summary. What I think is...

It sounds very fantasy like (or childish one might say), however, this is one show you don't want to recommend to any kids. It has a very dark tone, environment, theme, songs, everything in it (think the movie 300). If you are looking for comedy, relaxing styled anime, this is not for you. However if you can bear with gory and bloody scenes (Yoma eating humans' guts, Claymore chopping off Yoma's head, Claymore turning into Yoma, etc...) and sadistic atmospheres, then it is a great anime that would keep you watching for hours. It guarantees cool fighting scenes with big swords and a mysterious storyline waiting to be uncovered! The story too is definitely well directed/written. All in all, this is a great anime; a must watch!

The main character here is Clare. As you progress through the story, she is not just the typical Claymore, and she intends to investigate into the organization that 'created' her; their seemingly (dark) secrets. During the first episode, I wasn't too interested into girls (not babes) cutting off limbs and slashing heads off monsters (with blood spilling and splashing all over herself). The turning point that makes me want to continue watching is when she 'adopted' a normal kid, Raki in her journey. Their relationship goes from one of strangers to caring 'siblings' (?... they definitely don't looks like they will be lovers in any way!) and how Raki saved her once by supporting her emotionally.

Raki, a normal boy who tagged along during Clare's journey.

After the first few episodes, the story brought us back to the past. The number 1 Claymore named Teressa "of the faint smile". It is then learned why Clare chose to be a Claymore and what was her true objective. I really enjoyed watching Teressa's story. Too bad she had to die horribly.

Teressa of the faint smile. It is sad and pitiful to see how she was killed. (Episode 8)

Claymore vs Claymore (bringing cat-fights to a whole new level!)

Episode 11: The latest episode wasn't so much of a fighting compared to all the previous episodes; a boring one indeed. However, more of the secrets of Claymores and the organization (to a lesser extent) were revealed.


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