Claymore - Episode 9 Discussion / Poll

[PastPrime]

Originally Posted by LilleNisse

Exactly my point. Claymores are all women. I just made it sound weird I guese. Since it's a male "awaken" I figure it's got to be more to this. Or is it like a yuoma can awaken to a higher state?
Since as I get it, only claymores can awaken. And they are all females...
Im I make my point clearer now?

Just because the Claymore are all women doesn't mean that they never tried to make male Claymore. There has to be a reason that they are all female. Perhaps he was what resulted when they tried to make a male Claymore. Or, a Claymore could have become pregnant and had a male child who carried enough of her demon blood that he eventually became an awakened one.

[GriS]

i still can't get over with flashback arc Theresaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Are they going on intended suicide mission? Mirie was told they're facing average Vicarious Eater yet they are actually facing the stronger one. But it wouldn't make sense since suicide mission is for those who are about to lose control of themselves, if I remember well from early episodes.

But I can foretell Clare is going to turn from inferior, lowest ranked claymore into a hero that saves the whole party > < since it alway happen like this in other shows.

[Anime Online]

Well, seeing there are only 47 Claymores and each representing a heavy investment in training, I doubt the organization has the luxury of sending them on suicidal missions. But this is an anime and it is not uncommon for organizations to send every last member until the boss is the only one left in animes.

I'd say the information was wrong because Voracious Eaters are so rare that it's difficult to assess on a scale how powerful each one is based on information from the people who requested help from the organization. Even #6 Miria only had experience hunting 7 of them.

[Kayin]

Well the next episode should give us a good idea on just how well Clare has inherited Teresa's power. If Helen knew how Clare became a Claymore she'd probably be a bit shocked. Teresa is a freakin' legend after all.

There was one moment that it seemed Miria sensed something in Clare, but right now she doesn't fully understand what it is (and Clare probably needs to wake up something to realize her potential also). This arc is obviously about Clare getting the power nessessary to defeat Pricilla, so I fully expect her to put Helen in her place in the next few episodes (if she lives that long).

[IMSabbel]

Btw: To those astonished that clare is the weakest one:
Dont be. Just compare her performance in the first episodes: She couldnt kill the yoma that posed to be her without suffering injury, and nearly died against a single yoma in the cathedral (she nearly pushed past her limits, and we now know what happens if claymores do that).

Just compare this to what we have seen from high-level claymores. They are worlds apart. Theresa (or even Noel) would have killed those two before they made a single motion..

Of course there will be "getting stronger", as being the weakest would be very bad for the life expectancy. But this doesnt speak against the rating.

The rating shows how strong a claimore IS, and not how strong she COULD BE. (look back at episode 7, were they show how the current ranking and the way it chagnes is a point of discussion).

Also, note, that _general_ strenght doesnt equal same strenght against each opponent... Tactics and challanges differ.

[astrallionheart]

This is truely interesting given the fact that the episode does indeed allude to residual powers that Clare may have gained from Teresa.

While I have no idea whether Teresa was also capable of this, but given Clare's fight against the faux Voracious Eater, I'm inclined to believe she will eventually surpass Teresa in terms of effective combat power--considering Clare went over 80% Youma and reversed the "irreversible transformation" due to her attachment to Raki.

[t3ck]

Beautiful fighting scene between Miria and Claire. Good episode. Love how Deneve and Helen mock Claire. Hope next episode will wrap up the fight instead of leaving a cliff hanger and make us wait for the next episode.

[Azure King]

This series just keep on getting better and better, one thing that had me shock was claire ranking... i though claire would have had a high ranking then that.. can't wait until next episode !!

[dgaaz]

It was abit shocking finding out Clare to be the weakest Claymore...I thought she be at least be 20+...

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Kayin

There was one moment that it seemed Miria sensed something in Clare, but right now she doesn't fully understand what it is (and Clare probably needs to wake up something to realize her potential also). This arc is obviously about Clare getting the power nessessary to defeat Pricilla, so I fully expect her to put Helen in her place in the next few episodes (if she lives that long).

The way I read it, I think Miria sensed an echo of Teresa's power in Clare, which implies that Clare has the potential to be a lot more powerful than she currently is.

Spoiler for comparisons that only manga-readers can make:

Originally Posted by Hina

Also, it's killing me how the anime does everything possible to make Raki unlikable. They turned him from an adorable and determined kid to a whiny loser who has very little spine and very little intelligence. Comparing the part where Clare gives him money before leaving shows it most clearly. Poor kid.

I agree. The problem lies in the facial expressions, which the anime butchers, in my opinion.

For example, all that discussion above about Clare having a faint smile after her dream? Personally, I felt that was a result of shoddy drawing, rather than intentional.

And yes, the sparring scene between Miria and Clare. Now that's what I call action. Not blurry, "omg-look-at-me-I'm-so-fast", special effects.

[D a m i e n]

am i the only one happy the flashback is over even though they were informative. 3 episode of flash back was too much imo (2episode would have been enought).
episode was nice, i disliked first book when it was released because it was extremly conventionnal, glad i overcame it and start to appreciate the serie.

[NoSanninWa]

It was 4 episodes of flashback. It was so good you completely lost track of how long it was. I guess 3 episodes was your limit. At least you are finally back to the story where you want to be.

And you are definitely in the minority.

[IMSabbel]

Hah, i would like his reaction to berserk... 25 episodes of flashback
But otoh, people here dont even seem to know who or what berserk is...

[Fenrir_valindri]

Woot Miria <3
I am glad they managed to stick in the wrap-up for Teresa's arc at the beginning of this episode would have been a crime to leave it out. As for Clare identifying Rubel, its pretty easy to note a man dressed in all black among those villagers, and not to mention every single Claymore mentions the "man-in-black" when villagers attempt to pay them.

I was quite happy with the animation during the Miria vs Clare fight, more along the lines of fighting I prefer. Alot of the facial features were kinda botched in this episode though >.< poor Helen, they did not do her facial expressions justice, although all the voice actresses are quite to my liking.

I hope that the animation improves as far as that is concerned swiftly, I get the feeling the animation team is trying to get used to the new Claymores as well as Clare again.

The anime does not seem to do Raki much justice sadly, hopefully they try to improve his image at some point, he is sorely lacking compared to Manga-Raki

The Male Awakened-Being seems quite well animated, I hope they do all the wonderful Awakened beings justice in the anime

Overall gave the episode an 8, the shoddy animation made me cringe when considering the Facial expressions.

P.S.
Anyone notice that the RAWS are alot better as far as lighting is concerned, but when they get subbed everything seems to get darker, making the dark scenes pitch-black?
Kinda pains me to see the difference, makes some scenes almost unbearable.

[dutchman]

Originally Posted by Fenrir_valindri

P.S.
Anyone notice that the RAWS are alot better as far as lighting is concerned, but when they get subbed everything seems to get darker, making the dark scenes pitch-black?
Kinda pains me to see the difference, makes some scenes almost unbearable.

Yeah I did notice this also but I initially thought maybe I was tired after a long day of browsing the forums during worktime I also downloaded the H264 (sp?) version but it had the same pitch-black lighting.

[Child_of_Sierra]

Episode comments ^_^
The handling of fight animation has been one of my biggest gripes about the anime (next to bgm and an uncanny way most fights end up in dark places, sunrise, sunset, night, etc. ) so my hopes went up for the series when I saw how well the duel between Clare and Miria went.

About Clare smiling behind them:

it could be a badly drawn face but I prefer to think that she was only showing an unconscious emotion of joy thinking that she finally gets to face an Awakened being. No amount of bullying would prevent her from coming along. (the battle earlier hinted she actually wanted to meet one)

About Rubel:

He seems bald... maybe he was in his early 20's when Clare met him and so only a decade or two have passed since then so it would be natural for him to look the same. Of course being a member of a shady organization while wearing black sunglasses even at night might make people suspicious of his nature.

[Sorrow-K]

Originally Posted by IMSabbel

Hah, i would like his reaction to berserk... 25 episodes of flashback
But otoh, people here dont even seem to know who or what berserk is...

Don't forget Gungrave's 17 episodes of flashback, or Millennium Actress's 2 or so hours worth of flashback. If Berserk and those series are any worthwhile indicators, then massive amounts of flashback equate to massive amounts of win. And, c'mon, everyone's heard of Berserk. No self-respecting anime fan could look themselves in the mirror without having seen Berserk.

On topic: ZOMG cliffhanger! Not really much to comment on in this ep. End of flashback arc, and a couple of tidbits of information regarding the world (eg, Clare is the weakest). Fair ep, but little more than another chapter in a much larger story.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

It seems you are missing something important if this puzzles you. Claymores are all women. We have been told that Awakened Ones are former Claymores. That's why it might be surprising for a male to "awaken".

Well, they tried to make men Claymores, right? So this is probably the result.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

The way I read it, I think Miria sensed an echo of Teresa's power in Clare, which implies that Clare has the potential to be a lot more powerful than she currently is.

I don't think it works that way, I see becoming Claymore more like an infection. So it doesn't matter really matter which way you get the "youma-ness" that makes you a Claymore.

Still, I'm quite sure that there is also some Teresa in Clare and I'm willing to bet 1000 Quatloos that we will see her (not the youma) "awaken" in Clare in the next episode. The organization probably knew exactly what they were doing when they sent Clare against that youma.


Concerning Clare being the weakest Claymore. How do they know anyway? Is there a jury following the Claymores around giving A and B notes after every kill like in ice skating? I somehow can't see Clare traveling around and trying to beat the shit out of number 46, 45 or 44, because that simply wouldn't be a very mature thing to do, would it.

[SimplyEd]

Originally Posted by Fenrir_valindri

I was quite happy with the animation during the Miria vs Clare fight, more along the lines of fighting I prefer. Alot of the facial features were kinda botched in this episode though >.< poor Helen, they did not do her facial expressions justice, although all the voice actresses are quite to my liking. ...

I hope that the animation improves as far as that is concerned swiftly, I get the feeling the animation team is trying to get used to the new Claymores as well as Clare again. ...

Overall gave the episode an 8, the shoddy animation made me cringe when considering the Facial expressions.

That was to be expected, really. I don't even want to think about how expensive the last cuple of episodes must have been.
Still, the overall quality remains quite high and that's not something you can automatically expect from any new show these days.

Originally Posted by Sorrow-K

And, c'mon, everyone's heard of Berserk. No self-respecting anime fan could look themselves in the mirror without having seen Berserk.

That statement would fall under generalization and exaggeration.
The fault lies not with those people who don't know about Berserk but with those who know about it, make comments and draw connections between both series', and then fail to elaborate on that matter.

First and foremost, we should all judge each individual show on its own merits.

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

I see becoming Claymore more like an infection.

Spoiler for How to become a Claymore, for starters.:

It's not an "infection". It's an artificial (unnatural) alteration of the human physique/metabolism and even mentality. I think it's save to assume that it's a rather brutal and painful act, especially for the time right after the transformation. When Claymores learn to cope with their new hybrid body. All Claymores (except for Clare) were created against theit will, meaning that it's also quite traumatic, to say the least.

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

Concerning Clare being the weakest Claymore. How do they know anyway? Is there a jury following the Claymores around giving A and B notes after every kill like in ice skating? I somehow can't see Clare traveling around and trying to beat the shit out of number 46, 45 or 44, because that simply wouldn't be a very mature thing to do, would it.

Spoiler for Ranking, the wet dream of every powerleveler:

It's being verified while they are in training stages. Ranking is the the de facto figthing prowess of a Claymore during that time. According to that, they are then slated for filling in that particular rank, should there be any casualties. They still retain the potential to rise in rank. So, i would take rankings both serious and nonetheless with a grain of salt. The lower ranks can give you a rude awakening *exceptionally bad pun* if you're underestamating them.

[astrallionheart]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

Concerning Clare being the weakest Claymore. How do they know anyway? Is there a jury following the Claymores around giving A and B notes after every kill like in ice skating? I somehow can't see Clare traveling around and trying to beat the shit out of number 46, 45 or 44, because that simply wouldn't be a very mature thing to do, would it.

I wonder that as well. I think it may have to do with number of jobs taken and number/difficulty of opponents taken down. I doubt it it is particularly accurate in terms of true matchup (i.e., there's probably a number 25 out there that can wipe the floor with the number 20). While I have no proof, Elena (who submitted without a fight so I we'll never know who was the stronger) did speak to Clare with a respect/reverence that gave me the feeling that Clare was the superior (though it may be the fact that she joined a little later than Clare so sees her as her immediate superior). I think Elena just did alot more jobs than Clare (which got her in trouble because she over-used her abilities), and that resulted in a higher rank.