May 30, 2007

Claymore - 09

Filed under: Finished Series:/Claymore


Now this was an intriguing episode! It’s almost a shame that I checked it out so early, since I have to wait another week for the next episode. I now understand how Claymore is rumoured to be so different from your average shounen-series.

I first thought that Claire would be your average Claymore, but she turns out to be the weakest of them al. It does make sense, though. While every other Claymore is infused with the flesh of a Youma, Claire is infused with Teresa: a half-human half-Youma. What intrigues me even more is the fact that she doesn’t act like she’s in last place. She gets into fights with the stronger Claymores, she shows up either too early or too late, and never apologizes. I think this is because she never really lived as a human, and the Youma who used her probably used her since she was young.

Apparently, Claymores usually don’t need to release their powers when they fight. I think that was unique among the stronger Claymores, though now it seems that Claire has the worst time of everyone, trying to get rid of a Youma. But I wonder, if she is infused with Teresa’s flesh, does this means that she excels at sensing Youma as well? If I had to guess, based on the first episode, she doesn’t. Either that, or she doesn’t know it.

Another new piece of information also is that when a Claymore awakens, the Organization doesn’t go after it. That does make me wonder about episode two. What if Claire arrived just a bit too late? Why did Elena take so long transforming, while this happened nearly instantly with Priscilla?

Wellber no Monogatari ~ Sisters of Wellber - 09

Filed under: Finished Series:/Wellber no Monogatari ~ Sisters of Wellber


I think that with this, it’s become clear that we’re dealing with a 12 or 13-episoded series here. While it would be awesome to see what it could do in 26 episodes, the development shown in the past few episodes has gone way too fast for such a series. It’s a pity to see that such an excellent series will be over in one month. Still, something’s telling me that the creators saved the best for last, as yet again, this episode was a great one! :)

Last time, we saw Galahad betray Jamill, while this episode breaks up Rita and Tina! It all starts innocently, when Tina pays a visit to the local casino and nearly gambles away her gun, before Rita stops her. From that moment, Rita starts to get doubts on Tina, which can’t be taken away so easily. When Tina then sells some of her stuff to buy a birthday-present for Rita, everything goes wrong.

During Tina’s little screw-up, somebody recognized the two of them, and decided to take advantage of this by disguising her as Tina in thief-form. Rita hears the rumours about this woman, and when Tina comes to her with an expensive-looking birthday-present (which she bought with her own money, by the way, in fact, she sold her old thief-clothes in order to get the money, and these clothes were stolen again by the mysterious woman), Rita thinks she bought it with the stuff she stole. Tina is disappointed by this, since it’s Rita’s birthday, of all things. In the end, the two part ways, and I couldn’t help but love it. :)

On other news, Jamill figures out why Galahad betrayed her when she visits Guernia, and the king of Wellber sends a messenger to Rita. I’m not sure what that message is, but we’ll probably find out in a few episodes. I’m quite interested about this series will spend its final episodes. So far, it featured some excellent development, the characters are fleshed out well, now all that’s left is to use this in the finale. Unlike a series like Good Witch of the West, I don’t believe that Wellber no Monogatari has any source material, so it could be perfectly planned out from the beginning.

I also wonder, how did that woman know about Tina? How did she know about the outfit she wears when she goes out stealing? We also still don’t know who killed her parents in the past. What will Galahad’s role be? Will Jamill desert Guernia as well? Will the war actually happen? Lots of interesting questions to make some great potential for a finale!