The Virtue of Vengeance: Clare’s Vendetta Against Priscilla

I just finished watching Claymore again–this time in the English dub. The voice actors and actresses did a great job. The way they translated “Yowasa ga tsumi” (Weakness is a sin) to “Helplessness is a sin” struck me as an interesting interpretation. Neither one counts as a sin, save to the extent that the yowasa comes about through one’s deliberate neglect. In context, the King of the North, Isley, uses this line to encourage Raki to become a better swordsman.

Weakness in itself is not culpable: our weaknesses and insufficiency ought to bring out others to supply what we lack. Society in the MIddle Ages was divided into those who work, those who fight, and those who pray. The knight’s boast is “I protect all.” The peasant says, “I feed all.” Clerics claim, “I pray for all.” The kind of strength referred to by Isley refers to the warrior class, but human society cannot flourish without work and prayer. Without the farmer, there’s precious little to eat. Without priests and religious, one fears lest the just punishment due to our sins should come upon society all to soon. As Padre Pio said, “The Earth can more easily exist without the sun than the Holy Mass.” Materially speaking, this line is hyperbolic; however, the world is much better for the grace shed upon it by the sacrifice of the Mass.

*Spoilers incoming*

Claymore & Fighting Dragons

Watching familiar, old anime is a delight in which far too few fans indulge. These days, everyone talks about a season’s best two or three anime, which will be forgotten three weeks into the next season. We used to have a canon of anime including things like Cowboy Bebop, Berserk, Slayers, Dragon Ball, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and other works which everyone who wanted to call himself an enthusiast needed to watch. This list offered the crème de la crème of anime for new fans to enjoy before moving onto less spectacular works which often owed some inspiration to them. We have more anime than we know what to do with these days, but often spend so much time watching average or trashy shows. Quel dommage! One wishes anime fans could unite over a canon of enduring works these days.

An anime sure to make such a list is Claymore (2007), which I rate 9/10. The battles keep you on the edge of your seat, and you feel like no one except the protagonist is safe. The likability of most of the characters makes that last fact even more awful. The animation compares favorably with anime made these days–especially if you’re watching it in high definition, as I am. Having now seen some of the dub, I can confirm that the English voice actors almost perform as well the ones in the Japanese original. (Luci Christian as the psychopathic Ophelia rather impressed me.) The story follows a Claymore (the name for a human genetically modified in order to fight yōma, the monsters in this fantasy world) named Clare in her quest for revenge. This journey brings her in contact with a young man named Raki, who becomes her companion after he loses his brother to a yōma. The very first episode makes the vileness and power of these monsters plain to see!

The Pride of Despair and Humility of Hope in Claymore

My last article comparing Attack on Titan and Claymore spurred me to re-watch the latter–the lackluster quality of much of recent anime helped me along too.  At this point, I have reached the siege of Pieta, where some of the most desperate fighting in the series occurs.  The anime brings us one poignant moment when Miria, the Claymore ranked #6 in the organization and leader of the desperate band of Claymores, utters a prayer that all the fighters might survive.  Then, she undercuts this prayer by chiding herself for thinking that there is a God.

Interestingly, this points to a possible rift between the conscious mind and the spirit.  Hopeless conditions and misfortunes may overwhelm the mind such that it can barely or not at all cling to the the belief that God exists, but there exists something in the spirit which refuses to accept a Godless universe.  Or, the thought might even come that God does not listen to us, that we have been rejected by God.  Brother Lawrence, the famed subject of The Practice of the Presence of God, thought for two years of his life that he would be damned.  Can there be a worse feeling than this for a believer?   Yet, he entrusted his cause to God and the feeling dissipated.   In such darkness, we do not even want to pray anymore, but the cries still come, “God have mercy on us!” or “Lord, you are in the midst of us and we are called by your name.  Do not forsake us!” (Jeremiah 14:9)  We doubt the rationalism of such acts, but the deepest part of our soul nourishes the hope that these words mean something.

Hope is the operative word: for, if God is infinitely good, we need not fear whatever happens to us.  He is a loving Father with infinite care for all His children, as George MacDonald loved to repeat.  Speaking of George MacDonald, he penned this interesting phrase in Weighted and Wanting: “The pride of despair and the despair of pride.”  Despair can only come from pride and placing our hopes in our own strength rather than in God.  If we trust in God despite our misfortunes, then we possess the humility of hope.  And, as Jesus Christ emphasized to that great apostle of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina, humility is truth.  So, we keep slogging on despite the darkness.

Perhaps, the connection between hope and humility is best exemplified in the duel of Clare and the Awakened Being Rigaldo.  Rigaldo had just killed four of the five captains in Pieta, leaving Miria as the sole survivor.  Those familiar with Claymore know that Clare is ranked as the lowest Claymore, despite having some great abilities.  Rather than give up, she keeps striving to use her power with greater precision and refuses to accept defeat, despite being beaten down several times and being obviously outclassed.  A proud soul would have just accepted this disparity and surrendered.  But, humility forces her to keep trying, telling her that not every last resource has been exhausted–that her heart yet beats and that is sufficient reason to persevere.  The truly humble man can never despair.