DVD Review: Claymore Volume 6 The Awakening
Hiroyuki Tanaka Directs FUNimation Film Based on Norihiro Yagi Manga
Jul 14, 2009
FUNimation Entertainment's Claymore (Kureimoa in Japan) is that rare anomaly in the world of little-girls-swinging-big-swords anime: it offers a complex tale filled with compelling characters that don't look like they walked off a Simon Bisley or Frank Frazetta painting.
Based on the Shueisha manga by Norihiro Yagi, it tells the tale of warrior women – named "Claymores" for the giant swords they use in combat – who protect humanity from flesh-eating Yoma, while also battling the demons inside themselves.
With Claymore Volume 6: The Awakening, this acclaimed series nears its bloody and violent conclusion.
Hiroyuki Tanaka Directs FUNimation Anime Claymore Based on Norihiro Yagi's Manga
At first glance, Claymore seems like your typical "you killed my father/mentor/acting teacher, prepare to die" serial: protagonist Clare hunts the insane renegade Claymore Priscilla, who murdered her mentor, Theresa, while wrestling with her feelings for human boy-toy Raki. However, there are some themes in this anime that take it above that staple plot of martial arts cinema.
Claymores, the women who protect humanity from the demonic Yoma, are actually human-Yoma hybrids themselves. Their Yoma side gives them incredible powers, but it comes at a heavy cost: the more they use their supernatural abilities, they run the risk of "Awakening:" turning into Yoma themselves and attacking their former comrades.
Priscilla, the renegade Claymore, is one such. An Awakened Yoma with a mile-wide homicidal streak, she's actually a little girl trapped inside the monster, who still believes she is fighting the good fight against the evil that slaughtered her family.
In addition, the Organization – the group that trains and controls the Claymores – has other uses for these warriors, other than protecting humanity. Clare and her other Claymores find themselves not knowing who to trust in this conflict.
Coming late to a series is always fraught with peril, but it doesn't take long for the viewer to figure out what's going on; kudos to the filmmakers and writers for a clearly written series (Karas, are you listening?).
The animation is little short of spectacular: you can tell the animators worked extremely hard to ensure there was enough differentiation between similarly-dressed characters. If there are any criticisms, it's that (a) the "camera" gets a little too close to the action during the fight scenes (to be fair, this is a problem with most modern anime), and (b) some scenes suffer from "statue-itis," where none of the characters move during "pan shots."
DVD Extras
English dub voice actors Brina Palencia (Priscilla) and Stephanie Young (Clare) offer a charming audio commentary for the final episode, recorded "the 2nd day since Barack Obama got elected!" The pair are clearly good friends and, despite many in-jokes, are sufficiently in tune with what's going on on-screen that it never becomes boring. Nicely done.
There are also original television trailers for Claymore, plus "textless songs:" the opening and closing credit tunes over the images, minus the blurbs telling you who ran the lighting rigs.
But the best part of this DVD is the 24-page booklet featuring a character gallery and artwork from the series. It really shows how much hard work went into creating this anime. One wishes more companies would follow FUNimation's lead in this.
The Final Analysis
There are plenty of good-looking anime out there, but there aren't as many with compelling characters, and even less with compelling *female* characters. Claymore pulls off all three with aplomb. Definitely worth checking out: it gets an 8/10.
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