Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

Claymore ep. 26 [END] + Review ~ 85/100

September 26th, 2007 | Category: Anime, Reviews | Tags: Claymore

[ Scene 26: To the Successors ]

I can’t believe it’s over. It’s been such a great ride and this episode just ends it so well. Much of content was of Clare versus Priscilla with Priscilla having the majority of the upper hand in the battle until the last few seconds where Clare pulled out some hax (literally). I personally don’t see this as a defeat for Priscilla since she was still freaking out up to that point with all of the visions of Teresa attacking her and the like. She just wasn’t stable at all during this fight. Personally, if she were stable and aware of herself and that Clare was just Clare but with Teresa’s flesh and blood inside of her, then this battle would most likely would have ended badly for Clare and the others. Anyway, the only person that died was the very person who was supposed to die in Pieta doing the same thing she did here. That is, Jeane bringing back an awakened Clare to human form. Those scenes were done quite well and I loved how she returned Clare’s words to her and added in her own.

The church scenes with Galatea were very well done animation-wise and while I did wish Galatea had more of a role in these final episodes I suppose it wouldn’t have worked out too well with all that happened. In the end, everyone goes their separate ways and parts with the Organization. Miria alone, Helen and Deneve together, and, of course, Clare and Raki (who already told Clare that he loves her). It isn’t the absolute best final episode/ending of the season but it’s a good one nonetheless.

[ Final Thoughts ]

Anime-original ending or not, Claymore was one of the best Spring 2007 shows. From the very first episode the quality of the series animation, development, and sound-wise was almost always consistent. There were no disappointments in regards to the production of the series at all. Though I suppose where the disappointment would come in for some (i.e. those who read the manga) would be the deviation from the manga to create an original ending. Though I am one of those who read the manga at least a year and a half before the anime began I can say that I’m not among those in disappointment. Why? Experience has showed me what happens with series that are serialized monthly when they are animated: they are almost always given an original ending because they eventually catch up with the manga material and can not afford to wait months or even years on end for the manga to finish.

So, I started the anime adaptation of Claymore knowing this inevitability would surface. I suppose that some day they can animate the rest of the manga using OVAs to retcon the anime ending but that remains to be seen. Of course, I would love nothing more to see it happen. For now though, I’m just glad that I had the opportunity to see the characters brought to life on screen by their seiyuu and their wonderfully animated movements. It was also great to see their interactions and relationships in motion. Now that it has all ended I can only look forward to seeing the manga continue this November.

[Overall series review: 85/100]

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