Claymore Chapter 121 大剑 猎魔战记

In a world where monsters called Yoma prey on humans and live among them in disguise, humanity's only hope is a new breed of warrior known as Claymores. Half human, half monster, these silver-eyed slayers possess supernatural strength, but are condemned to fight their savage impulses or lose their humanity completely.


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Replicating the success of Rie Kugiyama's unabashedly fetishistic Louise and Satoshi Hino's blithely confident Saito is no easy task. Of the English leads, Cristina Valenzuela is the more fortunate, as Louise has Eiji Usatsuka's blindingly cute design to fall back on. Valenzuela also has the good sense to tone down Louise's wilder swings, creating a slightly more mature variation on the character. Saito, on the other hand, is hobbled with a sadly generic design, leaving him entirely dependent on his actor. And unfortunately Jonathan Meza makes the fatal mistake of playing him with a quavering loser edge, effectively destroying his unflappable charm. Iwasaki is a veteran of romantic comedies (part of the reason, no doubt, that his action direction is so poor), but the little jolts of poignancy he teases from Louise and Saito's evolving relationship cannot survive a toned-down Louise and a dispiritingly limp Saito. Nicholas Manelick picks up some of the slack with his hilariously ham-handed take on womanizing self-aggrandizer Guiche, and most of the other supporting players are solid enough, but a romance drained of its chemistry is too sad a thing to be saved by humor.

Less crucial is Shinkichi Mitsumune's score, which is far more remarkable for its ability to keep out of the way (even when running on all cylinders) than it is for its musical qualities. It's the sonic equivalent of J.C. Staff's generic fantasy-world settings: pleasant, and in some cases downright pretty, but hardly a draw unto itself.