Anime Diet is proud to present the transcript of questions our staff (Jeremy and myself) asked the director and character designer of the Claymore anime, Hiroyuki Tanaka and Takahiro Umehara! The interview took place at PMX on Sunday, November 11, 2007, at 5 PM. It was attended only by ourselves and one other reporter, so we were able to ask most of the questions that you, the readers, requested (others were answered in the fan panel). We even have a little endorsement of sorts from them! Just like Mike Huckabee with Chuck Norris, we are now Claymore-approved.

 

 Anime Diet--Claymore Approved [0:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (338)

The Youtube link above does not constitute an endorsement of Mike Huckabee. Despite the fact that he shares my first name.

This transcript is edited for clarity and conciseness. The translator for both of them translated in both first and third persons, but mostly in the latter. To preserve the character of the interview, all answers have been written in third person (e.g., “he says…”) Only questions that Anime Diet staff asked were transcribed.

Thanks to Jinnie at the PMX press office for arranging this conference!

Coming in a few days: a transcript and pictures of our private interview with Yukana.

Continue Reading »

5 Comments »

We got our press passes and permission to interview Yukana yesterday, the first day of PMX! We also have a good chance of scoring a private interview with the director (Hiroyuki Tanaka) and character designer (Takahiro Umehara) of Claymore on Sunday, and we’d like to know if there’s anything you Claymore fans out there would like us to ask them. (We know you’re out there. Don’t hold back on us. :)) I have a few questions myself.

Leave your suggestions here in the comment section of this post. Thanks!

7 Comments »

The Claymore director and chara designer PMX panel isn’t until Sunday, so I have a few more days to spend watching this show before I get to go to their panel. :) (If you have questions you’d like asked, please leave them in the comments section.) Plus, we just came back from a major outage all day, so bear with us as I make the second post for today…which is about the evolution this show is taking by its halfway marker.

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

I’m going to PMX this weekend along with the rest of the US crew–and so is Claymore’s director and character designer, Hiroyuki Tanaka and Takahiro Umehara! As a matter of journalistic research and integrity, I’ve decided to watch the rest of Claymore, which I barely started when it was being broadcast, in rapid mini-marathons until the end of the week when they are set to do their panels at PMX. And I’ve decided to blog about it too, since what is an anime blog if not a record of what has been watched?  This is for episodes 3-7.

Continue Reading »

3 Comments »

Claymore is a show that’s hard to define. The manga is easier to define. The manga is intelligent through and through. Its emotional impact is consistent and the plots are always good.

In my opinion the anime doesn’t lose to the manga in these departments. But because some kind of closure is necessary for a TV show, it kind of hurried itself a little bit and almost takes the easy way out.

It starts out as a simple show about demons eating people and warriors paid to destroy them. But it grows into something deep and thoughtful that explores human weakness and things that people do to act strong despite the inherent weakness in human beings.

All the pain, suffering, and disappoints are necessary for growth in a world filled with evil, and these things are the essential fuel to fight against the cause of evil. The demons are just allegories of evils in the world that cause people to do things to others in order to feel better, or to have the feeling of resolution. One evil causes another, one destroyed family in term, causes the death of a loved one, a destruction of another family, a trip for a person to the insanity of soldiers’ dark side, and then finally it leads to a squire’s receiving of a precious gift.

At its best, this show even echoes themes in Lord of the Rings, at its worst, at least this show doesn’t provide an easy way out of everything, pain, hate, suffering, and all that’s wrong with its world.

Warriors come and go, but some of them leave deep marks in our hearts by their loyalty and a sense of debt and duty. These warriors never die, they just fade away into the distant underworld.

We can only hope they shall reach the Elysian Fields reserved for those who are honorable, and have fallen in battle against the dark forces so foul and strong that normal humans fall hopelessly under their flesh tearing appendixes.

The living warriors walk on, learning from their mistakes, surviving under the policy that their cruel masters make while disregarding their lives. The decisions of the organization have sent many warriors to their needless deaths.

These warriors - Claymores, fighting under extraneous circumstances, misunderstood and sometimes hurt by the very people they risk their lives to protect, and being overused and thrown away by their masters, still walk upright and proud, attacking demons encountered, supporting one another when the pain of growth and transformation frightens their tender, caring and passionate souls, and mourn over the gravestone made hastily with the large sword over the body of their fallen comrades - some of which are loved by others, and definitely will be missed by the observers (us).

But others will not be remembered at all. They will truly fade into the recesses of the dark world that we the viewers are fortunate enough to get glimpses of.

I gasped at Teresa’s death; I bit my lower lip when Ophelia finally understood her brother’s last wish; I screamed and mourned at Jeane’s sacrificial last act for Clare.

I applauded at Clare’s strength in her heart; I admired Teresa for her ease and elegance at slaying the evil ones; I saluted Irene for her offering of friendship and her remaining arm.

Although this show doesn’t have the intricacies of Lord of the Rings, but it has certainly played the chords of my emotional strings delicately and yet shockingly.

I shall be in a certain kind of despair at missing the show but also a certain kind of satisfaction as I look on with the Claymores to the future - in which they shall encounter many more trials and troubles, and fight through it all, being the better humans with stout hearts beating inside their chests and hot blood running through their veins.

“If it were possible, let not one warrior here perish.” Amen.

99% recommended for your daily anime diet because I’m biased. So sue me.

8 Comments »

Jeane dies honorably, repaying her debt and dying while helping Clare to change back. Farewell, Jeane, we shall truly miss you this time (manly tears).

Clare learns to move on, realizing that she must, because she can’t just go to the dark side and to hell just because she wants to - there are people who want her to live on.

Raki steps up to the challenge and helps to save Clare in the process. He knows that killing and taking personal revenge is actually the worst solution - it will drive a person over to the demon side. This is something Christians have know for centuries, that hating someone for the rest of your life, plotting or at least fantasizing about revenge will only destroy you.

In Japanese tales, when someone hates another person too much, that someone literally turns into a demon with horns and can never come back. The anime version Claymore seems to use that legend for the its story.

Clare finally gets over herself on her hate for Priscilla, and move on from her vengeful ways. She travels on with Raki and lives on, fully appreciates the meaning of living on. Jeane’s death teaches her that.

Miria, Helene, and Devene part ways. All of them including Clare, will not serve the organization any more.

The story ends fully concluding and closing the Northern Arc and yet it’s not so closed that a possible second season cannot happen. I commend Madhouse for pulling this one off. Congratulations!

The warriors journey on, each grows a lot, learning a lot, and knowing that one day, they shall meet again. Knowing that “Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.” (Samwise Gangee, while trying to encourage Frodo)

Isley and Priscilla goes away like classic anime villains, except they haven’t utterly lost the battle, it’s just that Isley simply decides to leave with Priscilla. This keeps in line with the eccentric characters of the Abyssal Ones.

I screamed like Aragorn when Jeane died. Man that sucked. But once again thanks to Mitsuishi Kotono-sama, the show is lifted up to another level of greatness.

I really have nothing much to say about this episode (I was so touch that I can’t even write anything now) except I’m completely satisfied with the how the TV series ends - it can end here, but it also leaves the possibility of a second season. Without talking too much more about it -

98% recommended for your daily anime diet.

3 Comments »

No, it’s not a bad episode by a long stretch. It really isn’t.

It’s just that finally, Madhouse caves in and used the shonen cliche.

The boss transforms into a super powered monster, and the main character, seeing all her friends are down, finally gets very angry and transforms into Super Seiyan 3.

Or the main character remembering why she was fighting in the first place - her first love, and her sadness and grief for the loss of that love allows her to transform.

Didn’t they do that in Sailor Moon when she was fighting Nehelenia?

Or didn’t Goku do that when his bald headed friend got slaughtered?

My, how refreshing!

I can see why people are complaining about the show drifting from the manga. Also I can see why the show will end here, but thankfully the manga will go on.

Clare goes to super seiyan 3 and her powers are probably just below Priscilla’s super Freeza 2. To be fair, I’m told that Clare does transform in the manga, just somewhat earlier (I don’t know the details and I don’t need to know for now, thanks).

But here’s what saved this episode - the loyalty of Jeane. Oh Jeane. She has to be the best character (next to Teresa, of course) in this show, besides the villains.

These days, only the stoic character who will die touches my heart. Jeane knows she won’t make it (why not just power up and heal, dammit!!!), but she tries her best to get there. Why?

Because “she [Clare] saved my life, I’m just repaying her.”

Who the hell cares about that these days? Besides, humans who save your life often have some purpose for it, be it mere self gratification or some other more practical purposes.

Clare saved Jeane because she wanted to. Sure it helps to have another fighter, but Clare did it because she wanted to (how Sailor Moon like that was, anyway!).

Jeane responds by giving up her life to the last to Clare (sob, sob).

Raki, you really suck. You don’t even realize that Jeane isn’t going to make it. You dumb fucker.

In this arc in the anime, Jeane is easily the best character on the Claymore team. With Kotono-san playing her, this grim warrior comes alive. Her performance easily blows everyone else out of water, except Inoue Kikuko-san’s. Her Miria has brilliant moments in episode 20 when she commands over the Claymore force and also tries to pray for everyone even though she knows it’s probably useless.

Episode 20 is the best episode for me for the entire series. But back to this episode.

I’m probably just a really cynical bastard (duh to myself). Watching Clare sitting there wondering why she was even there wasn’t a touching experience, and thankfully the moment was short. But even being a cynic, I can still relate to that. Because like I said before in one of my previous reviews, one of the biggest questions that just about everyone faces is probably this: “What can I do when it just seems that I’m so powerless against it all?” I don’t know, maybe some of you have never come to ask that question because you always knew exactly what to do, or you just went ahead and did whatever. But I’ve often ask that question to myself.

Yet, we fight on, against the power of it all, against the never ending tyranny that is fate, against the oppressions and oppositions that life throws at us. Each of us has his or her own motivation, for one person, vengeance; for another, love and justice; for yet still others, desire for power, fame, and status. Nevertheless, we fight on in this environment branded “humanity”.

I’m cutting this review short (mercifully). This episode is 90% recommended for your daily anime diet.

P.S. Again, to be fair and not completely sell Raki short, he helps and supports Jeane for some time before Jeane decides to use the “super speed” and carry him at the same time. So Raki isn’t a dumb fuck, he’s just finally completely concentrates his mind on Clare and not on himself. Raki is doing his best.

4 Comments »

Well, it’s a slow episode. But I guess it’s necessary.

Congratulations on Clare cutting the Lion King into little pieces!

Congratulations on Jeane not dying and decides to follow Clare even though she’s like, a couple of miles away!

Congratulations on a successful Shinjism from Raki! But at least he recovers!

Congratulations on Miria, Helene, and Denve’s recovery! Let’s all go and help Sailor Moon, I mean Clare!

Congratulations on Denve becoming Undine the 2nd and take up 2 swords! Do remember to bulk up!

Congratulations on Priscilla recovering her memory, but still remains psycho enough to blame the dead Teresa!

Congratulations on Clare’s power reminds Priscilla of Teresa’s power!

Congratulations on Clare finally loses her mind and breaks the Iron Law of the Claymores, but hey! It’s the anime and not the manga!

Remember the LotR references I’ve been pulling? Well, guess what! Maybe these guys (or Yagi sensei) has been reading LotR, and now Clare and Priscilla is going to fight on Mount Doom! I mean just look at all these lava! I wonder if one of them is going to become Gollum and fall into the lava pit?

Well, at least Raki pulls himself out of the depression funk after Jeane’s talk. Congratulations indeed! XD

There’s just something not quite right about this episode, but it’s not that awful, just the animation and everything else seem to have gone a little bit south, so…

87% recommended for your daily anime diet. I could pretty much skip this episode and not miss much. Hence the short and acidic sarcastic review.

P.S. I’m very happy that Jean is alive, but this episode just doesn’t cut it.

8 Comments »

(Continued from pt.1)

One more shonen convention for your reference: an angry protagonist becomes stronger and will overcome his opponent by the end.

Goku gets angry at the “death” of his friends; he becomes super saiyan 3. Seiya gets angry at the death of his comrade, he bust through his power limit and uses the comet punch. Other shonen shows generally follow this convention. It’s used to the satisfaction of the audience, who probably feels the anger and the sadness the protagonists feel. This parallels the anger the members of the audience feel when they face some kind of tragedy individually or collectively, but in real life, besides being angry, sometimes no one can do a thing.

In shonen anime, there is something one can do; something to fight against, to get back at for all the pain, hurt, suffering caused - a boss character.

Continue Reading »

5 Comments »

Where is hope? Where’s the miracle? Why are they even here?

“I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were.

Sometimes you just have to go over your highest mental barrier. You just have to fight. To hold on and not giving up.

“Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.

Even if you can’t seem to do anything, you have to be there. You just have to…

“Folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.”;

However,

“What are we holding on to Sam?”;

- Sam talking to Frodo, at Osgiliath

Why me? Why us? Why all the hurt?

Well, dare I say it (and I being the one of the last people on this earth that deserves the right to say so), why not? In the world of Claymore, that’s the only way to deal with the bigger challenges that come later.

Continue Reading »

7 Comments »