Clevatess: Majuu no Ou to Akago to Shikabane no Yuusha Episode 4 Discussion

Absolutely no reason in-universe to make Nell have a basic 'hot girl' look after being healed...

I'm gonna short this anime and say it's going downhill from here.

Making story decisions based on appealing to the audience has never and will never result in greatness - the audience don't know what they want and you won't ever give them something unique by appealling to things they're nostalgic for/familiar with.

Pretty big eye roll at the revival making Nell hot. This show was already on the line between trashy power fantasy and dark fantasy, and that was definitely a point against.

@Bio L take, she was already normal looking when she was younger. The abuse she endured from bandits, both in the past and present, has affected her appearance. She still resembles her ugly appearance , just without the impact of the abuse. Based on her body proportions, she was already seen as a 'hot girl.' I think you're being overly critical or looking for reasons to dislike this show.

@GrimLegend So what do you think the reason is the author made her more traditionally attractive before adding her to the main cast?

@JorryRoger Dude, she was already normal looking when she was younger. The abuse she endured from bandits, both in the past and present, has affected her appearance. She still resembles her ugly appearance , just without the impact of the abuse. Based on her body proportions, she was already seen as a 'hot girl.' I think you're being overly critical or looking for reasons to dislike this show.

@Bio That doesn't matter as long as it makes sense within the story of why she is. Clevatess healed her using bandit parts and maybe the troll judging by the small white hair she has. The healing process mended all past trauma, including physical injuries, disfigurements, scars, etc... It makes sense within the story you just don't like it, making it a you problem not a story problem.

@GrimLegend I'm being overly critical because the show hinted at having an unattractive character join the main gang (which would be controversial and interesting) but then decided to play the safe option - no one forced them to make the group's baby bottle be abused and unattractive, and if they'd played it safe from the beginning I wouldn't be here describing how disappointed I am. I'm not 'looking for reasons' here, I'm pointing out that this show is going to end up generic and boring because the author's just showed they're scared of doing anything controversial or interesting even if they try to hint otherwise.

There are real people that are fat and unattractive (with respect to 'hot or not' rules of thumb), the pre-heal version of her is no less 'normal' than the post-heal version.

The author being scared of having an unattractive group member suggests that this show doesn't have anything unique or transformative to say - especially since they've gone from 1 unattractive named good guy to 0 unattractive good guys. They managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by looking like they were going to avoiding a trope, but then turned around and doubled down on tropes (good guy? Must be attractive. Girl? Must be hot. Hot girl? Must be energetic and have zero trauma unless it's a moment where we need the audience to feel sad for her)

@GrimLegend I really don't agree. Clevatess' black ichor is all sorts of magic bullshit. It could have made her a porcupine and the issue still wouldn't be the plausibility of Clevatass being able to do it. Clevatass could also decide raising a baby is hard and wipe out all humanity to end the show at episode 1. Would that be a good story just because it could happen? The point is why the author is writing it this way, since it's definitely not a required development. It suggests they're more interested in some fanservice than having weight to the cruelties of the setting, which is not a great sign. It also plays into the awkward trend isekai popularized of recruiting slaves as harem members. And yes, it can still be marketing a harem fantasy without the male lead having any interest in it. It's fine you don't care, but stop trying to deflect a complaint into something personal. If there's a reason you think this development is positive argue on those grounds.

Ah, colossal ancient creature of unfathomable size, the looks alone inspires madness. Alicia made a sound decision to retreat from this one. I can't even imagine how many hero will it take to bring down such creature.

@JorryRoger We're going to have agree to disagree. You where looking for things that weren't there then got disappointed even though it made sense within the story for it to happen the way it did. Her transformation serves a narrative purpose rather than a commentary on beauty standards. Nell’s initial appearance reflects the physical toll of her abuse and environment, not a judgment on "unattractive" people. You argued that Nell’s pre-healed form was "normal" and her transformation erases representation, but keeping her "unattractive" could inadvertently reinforce stereotypes that equate physical unattractiveness with trauma or moral goodness.

Clevatess tackles sensitive topics head-on, including slavery, sexual assault, and human cruelty, without glamorizing them. Nell’s arc, including her brutal death and revival, is part of a broader narrative that critiques the depravity of Edthea’s world. Her transformation doesn’t erase the story’s willingness to engage with dark themes; rather, it sets up further exploration of how characters like Nell and Alicia navigate a world where even "good guys" are shaped by violence and trauma. Overall Nell is still a great character with a lot of potential for growth, it's not like she won't have trauma from what happened to her.

@GrimLegend I really don't agree. Clevatess' black ichor is all sorts of magic bullshit. It could have made her a porcupine and the issue still wouldn't be the plausibility of Clevatass being able to do it. Clevatass could also decide raising a baby is hard and wipe out all humanity to end the show at episode 1. Would that be a good story just because it could happen? The point is why the author is writing it this way, since it's definitely not a required development. It suggests they're more interested in some fanservice than having weight to the cruelties of the setting, which is not a great sign. It also plays into the awkward trend isekai popularized of recruiting slaves as harem members. And yes, it can still be marketing a harem fantasy without the male lead having any interest in it. It's fine you don't care, but stop trying to deflect a complaint into something personal. If there's a reason you think this development is positive argue on those grounds.

Wow, it's impressive how some people can take a story about a physically abused girl who gets healed and given an attractive body as a reward for her kind heart and treat it as a bad thing.

Pretty big eye roll at the revival making Nell hot. This show was already on the line between trashy power fantasy and dark fantasy, and that was definitely a point against.

@GrimLegend So what do you think the reason is the author made her more traditionally attractive before adding her to the main cast?

once again absolutely no breaks on how violent and gorey this gets yet a really amazing episode. The Ravens getting freaking annihilated was very very satisfying to watch.