Episode 5 – Clevatess – Anime News Network

It feels weird to call a show like Clevatess “cozy,” given everything our cast has suffered through in these first five episodes, but I suppose that is just the natural consequence of having a party of interesting characters go through a harrowing and exciting adventure in a unique fantasy setting. It’s why I can get behind developments like Nelluru’s resurrection. Not only am I glad that such a kind woman has been given a second chance at life after decades of abuse, but the means and methods of her revival make it feel like a next phase of development for her character, instead of just a cheap reset. Also, if I’m being honest, I just think it’s kind of cool that she’s now a superpowered Frankenstein’s monster made of troll parts.

Now that Klen and Co. have well and truly wrapped up their dire encounter with Vroko and the Ravens, “Boelate’s March” gives us a table-setting episode that takes on the burden of getting a bunch of world-building and exposition out of the way for upcoming storylines. This fact, combined with the way that the editing and animation this week is noticeably sloppier than usual, makes for a slight step down compared to the excellent run of episodes that began Clevatess inaugural season. This isn’t a terrible thing, though; every long-form fantasy story is going to have minor lulls in the middle of its major beats, and what we do get here is compelling enough to keep us entertained all the way through.

For one, we meet Gart, the avian servant of another dark beast with a deliciously foreboding title: Zavthier of Phantasms. I’m absolutely down to meet more of this world’s Dark Beasts, and Gart brings with him news that puts this more recent adventure into a larger context. In addition to all of the humanoid babies that have been kidnapped by the likes of the Ravens, Orklings and other beastly children have been going missing in Zavthier’s territory as well, which points to some grim conspiracy that will surely bear bloody fruit before too long.

More immediately, we learn that the human armies have learned of Luna’s survival, which is certain to spark some conflict for our heroes, especially if obviously loony wizards like Meynard have anything to say about it. I like that Clevatess was able to begin its tale with an adventure that felt self-contained and satisfying in its own right while still sowing the seeds for a larger narrative. It’s the kind of confident storytelling that a television show needs in order to cement a lasting legacy. We’re still a little too early in the season to make any definitive comments about Clevatess‘ place in the larger discourse, but I’m happy to confirm that, even with a weaker episode like this one, it continues to be a damned fine cartoon to watch every week.

Rating:

Clevatess is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.

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.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.