Forum - View topicClevatess (TV).
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Edjwald
 Posts: 3507 |
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Season 01: Clevatess (TV) Season 02: Clevatess (TV 2) Source: Manga (ongoing @ 10 volumes by Yūji Iwahara) Demographic: Seinen Animation Studio: Lay-duce Genres: action, adventure, drama, fantasy, psychological Themes: aristocracy, dark fantasy, factions, gore, knights, magical creatures, magical items, medieval, monsters, power struggle, royalty, social commentary, resurrection, revenge, sorcery, tragedy, transformations, wizards Plot Summary: Alicia has aspired to be a brave hero since she was little — after the king chose her to be one of 13 heroes for a quest. Wielding legendary swords, the heroes set out to subjugate the lord of magical beasts, Clevatess. However, these very heroes might bring about the realm's deadliest catastrophe that would wipe out all humanity. The world's last remaining hope lies in a baby entrusted to the lord of magical beasts. Air Date & Platform: Season 01: July 02, 2025 (Wednesday) Available on: Crunchyroll Season 02: Pending Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Season 01: 12 episodes Season 02: Pending Total: 12 episodes [EDIT: Fancy opener stuff edited. -TK] |
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b-dragon
Posts: 625 |
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This was not a premiere I expected to like as much as I did, but I'm always glad to have expectations surpassed like this. The concept is interesting, the pacing and raw storytelling chops are strong, and I'm curious to see where it goes. I'm not 100% on board yet- I don't have a character or dynamic that I'm particularly attached to, and I'm not really sure what to expect from the show on a week to week basis- but I'll happily tune in next week to see how things develop.
Other notes- Red is an interesting color for "Hero" weapons. In universe, its due to the ore of course, but red is often (but not always,) used for "villains". Clevatess' white/goldish energy "mane" is a more heroic color -Similarly, I think its notable that Clevatess is called a "dark beast" (in the sub at least, which I watched.) Not "monster" or "demon", but a closer-to-neutral term. -Putting those two together, as well as comments from the titular character, I wonder how much of a "humanoids are the real evil" plot we're going to get. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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Welp BD, I agree with most of what you said except that I am a 100% behind it. This anime just knocked Lord of Mysteries off the hill called "Edjwald's new favorite anime thus far" (Hey, I never claimed to have good naming sense), and the remaining challengers are going to have a serious fight on their hands if they want to be king.
I haven't been this bowled over by a fantasy anime pilot since Frieren, though honestly this anime has more in common with To Your Eternity. And I grant that the latter anime also bowled me over with it's pilot and general excellence and ultimately meandered down a road of increased noise and diminished impact - in my opinion of course - but it took a good while to get there, and I wouldn't have missed that first season for the world. I watched the dubbed version of Clevatess just because I had the service set on dub while rewatching the end of Kaiju #8 S1 in the background, and I wasn't expecting a dub on the first episode. Before I could change the settings to sub, I realized that the voice actors were doing a great job. Then, the heroes reached El Monstro El Grande, and that voice actor ruled the dragon nest. I loved the way the anime trashed all the normal conventions while the heroes gave their standard speeches. I loved Clevatess' cat-like cruelty mixed with idle whims and self-satisfaction. Say what you will, Clevatess came across as pure - dark, cruel, and an enemy to enemies, but pure. Meanwhile, the humanoid's motives were as pure as Detroit snow. I mean, yeah, there was some goodness in there, but polluted with confusion, fear of the unknown, manipulation, and greed and hope intertwined. I was glad to see my favorite of the heroes return, - trauma and all - and having an innocent baby thrown in the middle of the cat playing with a mouse dynamic between the monster and the failed hero provided tension aplenty.. Loved it. edited right here to delete a sentence I'd accidentally spaced down and forgotten. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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Episode 1
Man, what's with all the extended premieres this season? It's barely begun and I've already run across the phenomenon four times: this double-length episode, back-to-back episodes of both Hell Teacher and Lord of Mysteries (and both LoM episodes were 37-ish minutes long!) and Takopi which clocked in at 37-ish minutes. Anyway, I liked this but it does have an element that I'm not crazy about, but which I can't escape given that the element is so thoroughly baked into the premise: I don't like when baby characters are major plot focal points. I have no idea how quickly Luna will age, but I hope it's fast. I suspect that won't be the case. I have a feeling that's what this show is about: two very disparate characters thrown together as highly unlikely co-parents. I guess we'll find out what my baby tolerance is. I'm probably gonna be a baby about it... |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4989 |
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Yeah, given how things are going we may have standard length first episodes be the odd duck out some time in the future.
Clevatess had a good start and I like that I am not sure who to root for. There is no real good side, just a whole lot of deadly sins on display or in the case of the dark beast an emotionless logical response. The contrast between the two halves was something else and it makes me curious as to how the next few episodes will go. A combination of weekly child-rearing plus possible slaughter would be something. |
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Eilavel
Posts: 475 |
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Episode 2
I mean, clearly all the slavery and sexual assault is used to illustrate who is good and bad. Its not a joke or anything. But its done so exclusively using characters clearly designed for author/audience erotic appeal, ie, enormous mammaries. The combination of the two doesn't create a great feeling in me. Otherwise this is a fairly standard "learn about good and bad humans through horrible bandits" thing, but with a few points of added interest and a great fall. Its promising but not stellar, and I hope probably forlornly that it can better mix its grimdark tone and headline desire for titilation. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4989 |
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There has not been much good in the show thus far, more like less bad and then you have the rapists/murderers/worse. The bandits have been very cleary made into an example of the latter and will probably get killed sooner or later. The chance of the baby growing up in an healthy environment seems to be zero.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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Ugh. Ugh-ugh-ugh. I ran into my least favourite anime trope in this episode. A little something I call over-cruelization. Over-cruelization occurs when a show wants to demonstrate either how bad certain characters are (in terms of what they do to other characters) and/or demonstrate how bad certain characters are being treated by others.
In this case, the over-cruelization is designed to show what greasy, gaping a-holes the bandits are and how tough Nell has had it. You've watched the episode so I don't need to reiterate the details that were provided, but for me they push beyond the boundaries of entertainment. I can quasi-accept the over-cruelization in Takopi because, assuming how things are handled in that show, there might be a socially redeeming aspect to it at the end of the day, but this is a flipping fantasy show, for Pete's sake. There is absolutely no need to go to this extent. Sure the bandits are going to get their just desserts (some already have) and it seems like Nell is going to become part of the gang, so her life is going to improve which I will enjoy watching, but it doesn't mitigate the rage I felt experiencing her plight. Anime: come on, man, dial it back. Please recognize you are creating content for people who are trying to be entertained, not be emotionally scarred or over-manipulated. I am basically liking the show but I really hope this over-cruelization isn't going to be a major component of it. |
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b-dragon
Posts: 625 |
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@Blood-
I...don't think I'd hold my breath. I'm not familiar with the source material, but I'm very much reading the "over-cruelization" (as you put it,) as a feature, not a bug. I'll give it another shot, but if the show wants to lean really hard into this grimdarkness, I'm kinda out. I just grow numb to it, and stop caring. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25599 |
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I envy your numbness. I wish I could attain that level of emotional detachment. But I can't and because on a crudely manipulative basis (i.e. I want to see how things improve for Nell and see the bandits get hammered), I'm invested in watching more, I'll probably soldier on. Ergo my faint hope that this kind of thing isn't going to be a frequent occurrence.
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Edjwald
Posts: 3507 |
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Yah, I have to admit that my enthusiasm over the pilot took a palpable hit.
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 12058 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I see the cruelty as a means to an end. Ever since Clevatess decided to go on this journey to crown the baby, he's basically observing humanity as a giant social experiment, since he deemed all humans as insects to begin with. It's like if we humans were to observe some bug/insect/lower animal we deemed as annoying, then saw how they interacted out in the wild, and maybe/maybe not, we gain a little perspective and develop a different mindset. Granted, humans have those extra layers of higher brain function, understanding the concept of civilization (for the most part), etc. But to Clevatess, it's like being a god amongst ants and just seeing what kind of good/bad things they'll do to each other.
It's very grimdark, yes. Although, I'd also argue some of the most grimdark content out there (Game of Thrones, Walking Dead) can sometimes also have the most remarkable vindicating turnarounds. I'm curious to see where this goes and how much Clevatess develops based on his continuing observations. Last edited by Tony K. on Mon Jul 14, 2025 2:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Gina Szanboti
 Posts: 12724 |
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I think that just as Cleve's human form restricts his powers, it may also be affecting his responses to what he's observing. He would've added Nell to their party in any case because he needed a wetnurse, but he also let her choose, instead of demanding it, and he killed her tormentors instead of just whisking her away when the time came to leave. I think some part of him was moved by her story, and if that's what was intended by the writers, then her story had to be pretty horrific to move him.
I don't consider everything I watch or read to be for "entertainment" per se. If it moves me emotionally or intellectually, I don't feel "entertained," just involved. Was I entertained by Now and Then, Here and There? Hell, no. But it had something to say, and works like that pluck some strings in me that need sounding now and then I guess. ymmv, of course. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 4989 |
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Well, those sensitive to over-cruelization have a happy episode to look forward to. Neruru's situation actually got significantly worse and while Alicia gets her chance to take down the bandits it was not a smooth process. I have to admit, the former feels a bit too much for me after what we already saw last week.
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b-dragon
Posts: 625 |
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I did think this week was better, personally. Maybe that's because we spent less time wallowing in the misery, and more with characters actually doing things. So...maybe I do stick around. I dunno; I'm flip flopping week to week.
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