Ask John: Why Did Claymore End the Way it Did?
Question:
Why did Claymore have an ending that didn’t solve anything? Claire didn’t get revenge and none of the creatures of the abyss were killed. Will they make a real ending to it?
Answer:
The Claymore anime TV series aired two years ago. In the ongoing manga series Claire just fought Priscilla for the first time in this month’s latest chapter. Two years ago it would have been impossible for the animators at Madhouse to predict events that would occur in the manga two years into the future, so the anime series screenwriters and animators had to invent the best ending they could. The argument may be made that the anime series should have remained strictly faithful to the manga and just continued parallel to the manga but that’s not practical or possible for two reasons. The manga chapters premiere monthly while the anime series needs to have 4 episodes a month, so the anime would quickly run out of manga to adapt. Furthermore, dark and violent anime series like Claymore typically never last more than roughly 26 episodes because the audience for those types of shows in Japan is very small. The Claymore anime had only two options: create an original ending or conclude without a substantive ending.
The possibility of seeing new Claymore anime someday is remote but not impossible. The ending of the TV series is quite conclusive. While the story could continue, a continuation doesn’t feel wanting or necessary. The 2006 Kanon and Negima!? TV series, the current Fullmetal Alchemist TV series, and the Hellsing OVA series attest to the possibility of second anime series relaunching franchises as though the earlier productions didn’t exist. But the circumstances affecting Claymore are different from these other aforementioned shows. Kanon and Negima!? were rebooted because their earlier iterations were considered insufficient. The current Fullmetal Alchemist and Hellsing serials exist because their preceding series diverged significantly from their manga source. Neither situation applies to Claymore. The Claymore anime is not a weak production, and most of it is very faithful to its source material.
Animation studio Madhouse does have a precedent for reviving or producing long dormant franchises. Hells Angels didn’t premiere in anime form until five years after the production was announced. Madhouse’s Trigun revival will debut a dozen years after the original TV anime. Madhouse is still developing new Black Lagoon anime although the previous series ended four years ago. So possibility certainly exists, but Claymore doesn’t seem like a title that was successful enough in anime form to demand a revival. Because the 2006 Claymore TV series climax diverges so drastically from the ongoing manga, any new Claymore anime would most likely have to either restart from the beginning that was already successfully depicted in the 2006 TV series, or launch from the conclusion of the TV series as an original story not based on the manga. Neither option seems particularly appealing, especially for an anime franchise that was successful but not a major hit. As a result, I think we’ve probably seen as much Claymore anime as we’re likely to ever see, possibly save for a self-contained OAD or similar production. And we should be thankful that the existing Claymore anime is as good as it is, regardless of the fact that its ending varies from the manga.
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The real question should be why the Claymore manga is as pointless as it is in the second half.
Thanks for pointing out that the possibility isn’t zero, even if it’s slim. There are some fans around the world who have put up a petition for a second Claymore series. The original goal of 10,000 signatures has already been surpassed. More instructions are available here on how to sign it; when the petition expires, it will be delivered to Madhouse for consideration. We loved Claymore at Anime Diet and would love to see some adaptation of the unadapted manga, just as is being done with Fullmetal Alchemist. Help keep the hope alive!
Speaking of pointless: Internet petitions.
Unfortunately, if we’re never getting another Berserk, fat chance on getting another Claymore.
though I haven’t seen Claymore or anything, End of Evangelion comes to mind as a do-over of a TV series ending. But then again, it also helped that Evangelion was phenomenally popular by the time the movie came out…
Having source material is great, but Claymore is just one more example of the sometimes harsh writing restrictions it can have on television series adaptation. TV series are able to follow along for some/many of the events of a manga series, so it always makes sense, both in the practicality of writing and for drawing fans of the source material, to just stick to the source material to start. Some production teams wisely make the decision early one as to how they will complete the series. Some, like Fullmetal Alchemist, diverge from the source material early enough to establish their own satisfying conclusion (not counting the movie as satisfying). Others decide on a point to conclude at the end of a plot arc before any sort of final resolution in the manga, like Berserk.
I have found that I prefer shows that write their own narrative, unhindered by the fans or writing of the source material. Ideally, the audience shouldn’t have to say, “Well the ending is/will be better in the manga.” But the way manga-ka have little encouragement to end a successful manga series, popular IPs with conclusions are not always easy to find.
I think production should just stop trying to cash in on current popularity of a manga by releases series that have no choice but to deviate from the material. I like anime that are adaptations of their manga counterparts. I also like original pieces that were never anything else other than the anime. But these lost children being half and half leaves them in limbo. If popularity of the series matches the manga, you get filler episodes and pointless arches that do not advance the characters; alternatively you get series that end in strangely open manners. I think both of these outcomes is wrong and hurts the fans. Manga adaptations should be done within context of a story arch that you can enclose and conclude properly.
I loved Claymore and I hope they continue it for at least one more season. At this point I say continue with the anime’s story and not to reboot it. While it concluded fairly well with Claire showing she CAN get revenge, she didn’t. And it is also clear the organization that runs the Claymores have declared all out war. I want to see where they can go with that as you can be true to the source without following it verbatim.
Heres my thing idc what anyone says but when i was on Netflix i saw claymore i started watching it and i loved it i watched it all in a few days i liked it so much and tbh i almost cried that i heard they werent making a nother one so. Really they should make another series of claymore i dont care what others say. Claymore was the only anime i really related/liked every other anime i had no feelings for so and thelaughingman i agree with you. and to reboots is restart i wouldn’t care if they modified it i just want claymore BACK! ( best anime ive ever watched only one i got emotion over)
One more thing i hate reading mangas isnt the same “thrill” for action animes its better to watch u dont see smarts nor anything. so i would rather there be a show for this one sorry manga lovers. Claymore looks way better as a anime series not a manga i read the first few pages i said “this is nothing like the show its so boring doenst feel alive at all”