Clevatess

Episode 4

There are countless different signs and signifiers to look for that can serve as predictors for a quality story, but here is an old, reliable one: If a story can deliver a predictable narrative that still manages to keep you engaged and entertained from beginning to end, then it's a good story, no questions asked. This week's episode of Clevatess wraps up our party's first “adventure,” as it were, with Alicia and Klen concluding their time with Vroko and the Ravens by retrieving the blade hidden in the depths of the quarry lake, battling an Eldritch jellyfish from beyond the stars, making sure Vroko gets his just desserts, and curing Nell from the mild case of death she was suffering from last week, for good measure. Every development from the lake beast to Nell's resurrection could have easily been called out by anyone who was halfway paying attention to the last few episodes, but Clevatess is not the kind of show that suffers from a lack of novelty. It's the execution that counts in the end, and I'm not just talking about how Alicia mercilessly slices Vroko in two at the end of the episode.

If anything, Clevatess is the kind of show that takes advantage of its more familiar story beats and tropes, because they allow its genuinely interesting elements to shine that much more. Take the entire opening escape from the lake monster's clutches. We've had a million anime feature protagonists in virtually impossible situations who only make it out alive due to their super special protagonist powers, but Alicia is working with several advantages in her favor. For one, she's a badass zombie knight who has to find creative ways to exploit her unkillable flesh, which is a much more interesting superpower than simply being able to hit things hard with a magic sword (which, admittedly, Alicia is also a wiz at doing). Alicia also has the greatest superpower of all: She's an interesting and likeable character with compelling conflicts to overcome. What makes Alicia's undeath powers so great isn't just the way that Clevatess uses them in battle scenes, but in how the show finds meaty morsels of characterization to sneak on account of her abominable unlife.

The single best line of the episode comes from Alicia chiding Klen for being just a little too cavalier with baby Luna's wellbeing. Vroko has kidnapped Luna, and is threatening to slice the tiny Haiden tyke into little pieces if he isn't set free. Klen doesn't seem too bothered by this, since he knows he can just heal any of Luna's wounds with his Dark Ichor, but Alicia snaps, “You can't erase the pain!” It's a fact that the show's excellent sound design would make it impossible to ignore, even if Alicia didn't remind us. Whenever Alicia's body is restored, you hear the sickly squelching of her flesh and the cracking of her bones, and you understand on a visceral level that death fucking hurts. Alicia's strength doesn't come just from her newfound immortality, but from the inner resolve she must possess to endure such rending agony and still do what needs to be done.

Likewise, these inhuman powers that Clevatess doles out make him a delightfully complicated antihero, indeed. On the one hand, reviving Nell from the brink of oblivion and restoring her body to an even healthier state than it was before she got crushed by that troll is an act of divine intervention. It is easy to understand why Nell might now be willing to swear loyalty to the strange, evil-ish boy who wandered into her life. Klen even gives her the new name of Nelluru, to make the rechristening accompanying her rebirth even more spiritual. It's almost enough to make you forget that Clevatess only bothered to go through with the deed because Alicia was willing to completely die again to make it convenient for her new master. Just moments before, when asked what Clevatess would do if any harm befell Luna, he simply shrugged and said, “Nothing.” His fragile ties to humankind exist only so long as Luna lives. If his interest in humanity ever dies, so too does every last human being that stands in Clevatess' way.

All of this lovely, dark, and complex character writing, and the show also continues to revel in its lush, grungy aesthetic like there was a new Heavy Metal movie in need of material. I'm simply over the moon with how good Clevatess has been in its first run of episodes, and I am already starting to grow impatient waiting for the next episode to arrive.

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James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.

Clevatess is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.