An epic battle for an epic finale. Seems right, I suppose?
The showdown commences at Hot Top Volcano between Clare and Priscilla. Both sides kick each other’s asses as everyone (even Galatea, who is “watching” everything go on from inside a church in Pieta) looks on with varying feelings of awe and amazement. Priscilla gains the upper hand by use of her poison stingers but Clare is able to chop her up pretty bad using her memories of Teresa as some sort of motivation.
1000% sparking
Just as Clare is about to deliver the fatal blow, Raki steps in and pisses me off for the…::consults 823-page log:: 7899th time in this series. He delivers this sappy, teary-eyed speech to Clare about how Priscilla is no different from her and that killing her would make her no different from the evil Yoma they are hired to kill. He goes on saying she should not kill her and that they both fulfilled their promise to see each other again. Clare realizes this and begins to cry but she loses control of her pimped out appendages as they aim right for Raki. But(un)fortunately, Raki survives because Jean sacrifices herself. Jean tells Clare she sacrificed herself to repay her for saving her back when she was being tortured into awakening. They synchronize their yokis (Olympic How Close the Yokis Can Get Without Touching) and Clare is able to return to her normal self. Cue more tears.
Fucking Raki (l) stops Clare from killing Priscilla while Jean (r) sacrifices herself
Of course, Priscilla is still there but she is too busy crying and shit. Easley swoops in to take her away and he himself goes SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEE YA as he manages to escape. We then go back to the church in Pieta where Galatea is there on her reconnaissance duty. Rubel/Louvre asks her what she saw and Galatea, as vague with her words as always, tells him that their yokis vanished but doesn’t say whether or not they died. I hate vague people but Galatea makes it sexy somehow…oh baby…
Galatea is able to convey honesty while being subtly dishonest
*AHEM* Miria, Deneve, and Helen split up and go their separate ways. Despite their different plans, they all have the same rationale: to desert the shady organization. Raki and Clare both go their own path as Clare thinks about Teresa wanting her to live like a human among humans. Isn’t it amazing, Suzyn?
Helen is just as sad as you are that the series is over
FINITO
Episode Grade: 8.4/10
Overall Series Grade: 8.8/10
What started out as an adrenaline-pumping “OH MY GAWD I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT” type of show ends up with a rather arcane open ending, even though they changed up certain events that seemed to set up a closed ending. Clare couldn’t avenge Teresa, and there was no reason she should because she still wasn’t powerful enough despite her near awakening. We don’t know what is in store for our heroes (no, they are not going to become stars on some hyped-up drama that airs on NBC Monday nights at 9pm) or our enemies, as we see Easley and Priscilla off in the mountains someplace.
Lots of questions revealed in the anime and also overlooked by the anime remain unanswered. We don’t know anything about the Org, their motives, and all that. And because the director chose to deviate from the canonized storyline in the manga, other storylines got completely overlooked, particularly the stuff about Alicia and Beth (the #1 and #2 of the Org).
Despite the lukewarm finale, I really enjoyed watching this show from start to finish. I really enjoyed how everything exceeded my expectations and everyone else’s, especially starting at Episode 5. I wish the series could have ended on the same high note this series began and progressed with. It definitely would’ve been on G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) status. But Madhouse Studios, like the Yankees bullpen against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Tuesday night, just blew it in the end by not putting together as good of a finish as they should have.
Pics (more can be found here)
Clare gets pwned…
…But so does Priscilla
And now a montage of images from the end
I literally laughed out loud during this part
Teresa says: “SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEE YA!!!!!!!!!! “
September 27, 2007 at 2:56 pm |
I thought the ending was ok though it really needed about 1000% times more Raki dieing. Seriously that guy has no balls he must have left them back in ep 1.
Knew Jean was gonna go and this route wasn’t bad.
Another unanswered question from the series, WHERE TEH F@WK! does Helen keeps/finds those apples?
December 5, 2007 at 5:02 am |
Seriously this series sucked. I kept waiting for something to happen but it never came, and give me a freaking break that Priscilla was saved, she did kill people and eat their guts? Raki how the fuck is that the same thing as Claymores fighting against that? Give me a break. I didn’t want Raki to die just become Clares sex toy, that was honestly a better idea from when she kissed him up earlier.
Yea I give this 0/10 because the story starts off strong but then it feels like they lost direction and basically threw in nonsense. Don’t watch it if you can avoid it, read the Manga.
December 5, 2007 at 11:16 am |
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the ending ruined everything the anime had built up to that point.
Was it a letdown? Yes, but not enough to nullify or make me forget about how good the earlier episodes were, especially when we are introduced to Teresa.
December 8, 2007 at 3:42 am |
Yes totally. Not enough to neutralize earlier eps with the ending. Teresa eps to ophelia eps period is fking awesome. Galatea’s appearance eps was ruined by the very dark ambience…
May 12, 2008 at 10:51 pm |
they did good with the anime although the last two episodes need to be redone. in the manga raki is with priscilla and easley, and clare and the rest of the pieta survivors are off doing their own thing. they make the anime to difficult to be following the manga now with those last two episodes. I hope they make raki stronger too, maybe a male claymore or a half-awakened being.