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May 18, 2010
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
I will begin with saying that this is particularly true for Claymore. On the second hand i must note that this was the first of all anime I ever watched - my boat to the new unexplored horizons that awaited me...so this review might tend to be emotional, irrational, illogical, subjective and biased :) This is of course because it holds a special place for me among anime world.
Story (7): Revenge, conspiracy, redemption, comradeship, existence and purpose are the key motives of this story. Story of finding something that keeps you going on,
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something worth fighting for and ultimately give your life, one thing that is truly your own. It can be said bluntly that it's about hunting demons with big swords and shady organizations with evil intents but I observe it from another perspective-trough motivation, exposed and subtle meaning. This kind of stories tend to be vessels for character growth so light shifts to characters as the most prominent and strongest aspect of the show. This is by no means bad thing as Claymore is first and foremost story about Claymores themselves - beautiful silver eyed witches.
Characters (9): There are truly many memorable characters from Claymore. Clare is our main character and the "media" which links other protagonist, the future and the past. As a monster/demon huntress which are by the common folk simply called Claymores, she is on a path of self exploration, of finding something she lost. She is of unbreakable spirit, and as the twirl of events unfolds, she dares to hope, to hope that there is more to existence than staining her sword with demon blood. Raki, young boy who lost his family to Yoma (demons) accompanies Claire on her travels. As time passes he eventually finds way to Claire's inner-self and the feelings she thought lost long time ago being always a cold huntress! Bond of love, trust and friendship is forged between them but events get them separated and both of them struggle to unify with each other once again. Other characters also contribute to this great anime: Teresa, Irene, Jean, Miria...their motivations lead the story onwards. Character interactions, their intervened relations, conceive emotionally moving and warm moments thus for me are surely highlight of Claymore.
Art (9): Madhouse - there is no need, I believe, to specially introduce this studio. Their work speaks for themselves (Black Lagoon, Death Note, Devil May Cry, Hellsing Ultimate...) and Claymore is of course no different. Madhouse style is clearly present and so is the quality. There could be some nitpicking about consistency but overall nothing short of great. Must note that I watched also blu-ray edition whose clarity of picture and sound is excellent and pure enjoyment that really gives due credit to beautiful artwork and animation of studio Madhouse, same time giving anime new dimension.
Music (10): Excellent and memorable. Soundtrack for Claymore is one of the best of all times combining strong dark bassy tunes and then some soothing guitar ones, beautiful bagpipes sounds, folkloric flute melodies...rarely you will find soundtrack of such caliber. I deeply enjoyed every moment of it. Powerful opening and ending songs (Raison d'etre by Nightmare and Guilty sky by Riyu Kosaka) just add up to this awesome piece, also making one of mine favorite openings of all time.
Overall/Enjoyment (9):
I'm quite sure that i didn't cover all of the aspects of Claymore and as such this review is to be faulty in that manner. I humbly tried to present my view on enjoyment this anime provided to me and reasons for doing so, therefore I believe this could also serve as my tribute to Claymore - the first anime I ever watched and than after quite some time decided to write a review. Now I'm glad that this was my first venture in the world of anime because it sucked me in and presented me in best manner what that world has to offer: great artwork and style, beautiful strong music, emotional connection with characters, sense of immersion, tense and awesome battles...
As the whole is greater then sum of its parts so is Claymore as a whole more then just its artwork, characters, music... combined they make Claymore shine! As for me, on my anime sky, Claymore will always, like the Sirius, shine brightest.
Thank you for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 12, 2009
Daphne in the Brilliant Blue is really a hidden treasure amongst anime. This series was a pure enjoyment, from beginning to end. So on to the review...
Story! Like the title suggests everything in this anime revolves around the sea. In (not so) distant future people are living in mega-hi-tech cities that resurfaced from the ocean floor when Earth recuperated from pollution and could once more sustain life on the surface. In one of this cities live our main protagonist Maia Mizuki who has a case of amnesia and as story unfolds begins a quest for discovering her past. She and her female friends trough series
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of adventures finally come to the conclusion of the main plot which also as of near everything in the series has to do with the sea. It's not by any means revolutionary plot but it grows on you and is spiced with great humor and funny situations like those deja vu gags that always make you smile!
Characters! Main characters are females, the part of the organisation called "The Nereids" (nymphs of the sea from Greek mythology-name suits them well indeed) which are somewhat rather stereotypical in characterization but all for the better! E. g. Maia is a sweet and nice girl next door type who doesn't really enjoy bullets flying over hear, on the other hand Gloria is that Revy type: shoot first and ask questions later type and also case of pathological materialist... It is that different characters of our female heroines and their contrasts that produce those great comedy moments and plot twists! Maybe it's overdone sometimes but it's never like that it becomes a nuisance!
Art! I could easily call it an eye candy! Everything is done very well with fluid animations and what's easily a "trademark" of the series are beautiful paysages: palms, vast skylines, cities, sunsets and of course brilliant sea and its depths! It gives that nice Seychelles/Balearic touch to it! I must make notice of outfits that our heroins wear which are rather hmmm "provocative" showing curves and are in my opinion to please more a male audience:) Also there are nice little details throughout the series which sometimes serve as a tribute. Gloria is e. g. wielding a PSG1 sniper rifle and a SOCOM gun which is tribute to MGS I believe-really nice to see those and other well implemented remarks and details! And in the end the whole title of the series is symbolical and has connection to the plot (meaning of Daphne).
Music/Sound! Koh Otani! Need I say more! Those who are acquainted and love his work shouldn't miss this one! Beautiful soundtrack all round with truly excellent main theme! This has my highest recommendations!
Conclusion/Enjoyment! Daphne in the Brilliant blue was a great show! Beautiful presentation, funny moments, emotive and climatic ending, nice details, exceptional music score... It's a shame, I could say, that this one is still not uncovered by many because it has has to offer so much!
ps: There are two Bonus episodes which are hilarious and if you liked the series be sure not to miss them also!
Thank you for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 24, 2009
All right, this is to be my first anime review for myanimelist.net so inexperience is to be expected:)
Blassreiter or "Pale rider" is newest addition to list of Gonzo's works (done in collaboration with Nitro+). Elements of contemporary anime are clearly shown in this series like extensive use of CGI, futuristic setting focusing on technological advances and moral/ethic consequences arising from it degrading humanity in process. This could be summarised as the main theme of series around which plot revolves. Classical motives of redemption, friendship, duty, loyalty and love are also present in the plot driving character actions in certain way or other.
Story in short revolves
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around nanomachine virus spreading across Germany infecting humans which after infection become Demoniacs-demon like creatures stripped of humanity. Although premise isn't new or epochal it is executed great with many twists and turns keeping tension high. Only a few anime could do that "I must watch next episode...NOW!" feeling. Melancholy, dramatic, painful and tragic elements are indeed intensive spicing things up and stirring viewers emotions. Great!
Now onto characters! They are truly the stars of this show! I humbly think that everyone could find some character he could establish a bond with! Driven by their inner thoughts, wishes and their past they are diverese but also sharing common concepts like grief, burden and friendship. All I can say further without spoiling something is: superb!
Art, although debated is IMHO a milestone! Great presentation, action sequences, camera angles, design of characters and tech stuff like vehicles, mechas... Demoniacs are done entirely in CG which is quite nice giving their details and crazy fight scenes it couldn't be pulled off by a conventional animation! Now i think also it is a matter of taste, especially art&design (some love e. g. Miyazaki or some other style and some don't but it has no implications on quality of that style whatsoever). Quality in Blassreiter is evident! Excellent!
Music. Highest grades here also! Strong soundtrack was a pure enjoyment beginning from opening themes ("Unripe Hero" was one of the best I've heard in a long time) and great moving battle action backgrounds, through character themes (Xargin theme's also one of best ever composed, heights achieved by the ones of like Aeris theme from FFVII). "Wish for the stars" was beautiful and fitted perfectly! Overall: great!
In the end...enjoyment review. While not a masterpiece (although short by a little in my standards) this series won't disappoint! Fans of quality action SF anime will (should) be pleased as I think will majority who decides to dive into Blassreiter's world! As far as I'm concerned Blassreiter will always be high in my book being one of my top 10!
Thank you for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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