Ever since the Northern Campaign arc was animated, the Claymore anime has slowly deviated more and more from the manga. Raki’s scenes with Priscilla and Easley were done differently, as Raki learns about Priscilla’s true nature (which hasn’t happened yet in the manga) and rushes to Clare’s aid after Easley tips him off. On a minor note, the Clare-Flora duel did not happen at all, which is a disappointment for manga readers.
The biggest deviation that brought upon entirely anime-only content is Raki’s arrival at Pieta. He meets the Claymore crew, taking shelter in a ruined building as Clare fights one-on-one with Ligardes. Upon seeing Clare, Raki falls into despair, noticing the Awakened parts of Clare’s body.
Even Ligardes’ death was done differently. In the manga, Clare manages to Awaken her arms and legs in order mince Ligardes into many pieces, however, the anime only shows Clare with Awakened legs. This is due to the fact that Jean is still needed alive for the final few episodes. As Miria, Helen, Deneve, Jean and Raki rush to where Clare went away after sensing Priscilla.
Wait, wut?
Priscilla’s true nature is accordingly shown as she walks into Pieta. Seeing a couple of corpses that brought sad memories for her, she remembers Teresa and how she Awakened. Priscilla blames Teresa for this and reverts to her Awakened form, seeking to kill Clare (who assimilated Teresa) and remove all traces of Teresa’s existence in the world.
Galatea also makes a reappearance, tipping Miria, Helen and Deneve off about Clare’s whereabouts. It’s possible for her to get into the fray, too, considering the growing resentment she’s been harboring on the Organization.
Just as planned?
With a Clare-Priscilla fight looming near (with Easley as a spectator and potential fighter), it seems that the anime is going to end conclusively, with no second season in mind. The whole point of Claymore anyway is for Clare to hunt and kill Priscilla, and right now the possibility of that is rather high. Unless Priscilla kicks Clare’s ass, and flies away again. That is rather lame possibility, and I am wondering what sort of content they would include in a second season.
Still, I would’ve liked the anime to have followed the manga more faithfully. Before the changes happened, the main strength of the anime is that it’s true to the gripping nature of the manga. The Teresa arc is a fine example of this. In the show, there are still far too many loose ends to be wrapped up, like Riful, Rafaela, etc. I would’ve loved to see Clarice, Miata and Luciela animated, too.
EMOOOOOOOOOO~
It seems that Raki will be the chink in Priscilla’s armor here. It is a bit of a letdown to see him break down after seeing Clare in a near-Awakened state, as if all the development he received from Easley was all for naught. Looking at another perspective, it just shows that however Raki tries, he’s still human, which pretty much makes you mere fodder for almost anyone with Yoma blood. I just hope he gets a totally GAR moment to redeem the show’s deviation from the manga.
October 3, 2007 at 10:38 am
Agree, the deviation is a shame. But we still have the manga.