Re: Claymore Hang-out Thread
Since I don't want to anger anyone by posting in the spoiler thread, I wanted to make a little post on Priscilla here.
I know the general feelings are that she is either boring, overpowered, or both. I respect and understand the opinions of people that feel this way, but I feel the opposite. Ever since she reappeared alongside Raki after the timeskip, I have found her to be the most entertaining character, and as of right now probably my favorite...and that's saying something since Teresa was my insta-fav when she was first introduced.
Now, I agree with her being a bit too powerful, and we all know that no monster in the series will take her down thanks to being attached to Clare as a nemesis. I don't find much of a problem with this because of what she does add to the series. For one thing, she is not have the personality the typical arch nemesis. And another thing, she adds a chaotic factor whenever she is involved. Often, I see that people didn't like how the chapters in the 90s-early 100s went. That was one of my favorite parts in Claymore, simply because of all the chaos caused by Priscilla. I can't think of another series I've seen where a character can just waltz in and kill off many factions(Org's most powerful warriors, Riful and Duph, and even take on the Destroyer)...shutting down so many possibilities. I love that.
But this leads me to also say that I don't really feel her as "main villain" material. I find it hard to read her period. In the anime, her awakened form came out as menacing,and eerily intelligent just as it does when she is introduced in the manga. But at the end of the anime, she seems reduced to some headcase who is nothing more than a cool pet for Isley. In the manga, she has retained her menacing feel by seeming a bit sinister, yet nonchalant. Helping Raki as a reward, going where she pleases and only killing those that disturb her...that's the chaos that I love. But the problem is that we still can't see her intent currently. Her shallow goal of tracking down and killing Clare hardly shows an intent or purpose. And right now, she doesn't even seem to care about that, considering she took the time to fool around with Riful-Doll, and chose to check out what Dae and Rubel were doing. Right now, she just seems like a powerful, curious wanderer.
Now, I believe there is a possible solution to this. I never really liked the idea of the "mainland" continuation, but thinking about the whole "main villain" thing got me thinking. I started to wonder how Priscilla would feel if the Claymore-verse were a bit bigger, had more of a fantasy setting in terms of the dragons, and actually had real villains. I believe that type of setting would be far more suited to Priscilla's wandering chaos feel. Suppose the issue between her and Clare was actually resolved, and both somehow survive. Imagine a mainland having characters that could compete on the level of Priscilla (no more massive power gaps, and let the Ghost's catch up somehow). I think of a place where things are more focused on skills and abilities than power levels. Not only would that make Priscilla always have to fight with skill, but it would make her random factor a bit more entertaining by not being tied to Clare anymore. I wouldn't mind seeing that at all.
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edit:
I know the next chapter will be out any time soon, so I could be wrong on this very quickly, but I had another theory.
Rubel might just sell out his Dragon-kin to save his own life. Priscilla, "The Claymore of Destiny," hates yoma more than anyone else. Could this translate to her wanting to destroy the source of Yoma? Perhaps out of anyone, she would want to go to the mainland and battle. Knowing the truth about her past might bring out another warped sense of justice that she had as a Claymore. In exchange for information on the mainland, I could see Rubel being spared, and Priscilla fulfilling the Org's purpose of making a weapon for their side...with the catch of not taking orders from them. Who knows, maybe the mainland's org has method of forcing someone like Priscilla to take orders...I mean, they have been fighting monsters all this time.
Infact its what really turned me on to anime again. I had friends in college into anime but I just never got into it. A couple years ago, bored with what was on netflix, I decided to give anime a shot again. I watched a couple episodes of a couple series, but that was it for a while. Then one night in summer '11 I had to stay up late to transition myself into a stretch of nightshifts I fired up netflix and randomly picked Claymore (cute girl, armor, and swords... just had to check it out), and that night instantly became one of my most memorable nights of tv. I don't think I got quite half way through it the first night, and after that I liked it so much that I decided instead of watching the rest of it the next time I had a day to kill, I limited myself to just one new episode at a time and really savored it over the rest of the summer. I even saved the final episodes for the night before and morning of a big race I was competing in (and ever since Claymore has been a big inspiration in my races, and I usually have a bunch of the OST tracks on my mp3 player while I'm running them). 
in my 30's and reading comics), but I just had to continue on with the series by any means, and it was apparent there was probably not going to be a season 2. I did the same very slow progress, not wanting to burn out but keep my love of Claymore going as long as possible. I'd often save reading new chapters for a special occasion, or rewarding myself for something. Almost 2 years now and I'm not completely caught up yet, I'm near the end of book 20 currently. I started collecting memorabilia too and have a good collection going now. 
) There is certainly something special about Claymore. Although I came to read Claymore under different circumstances to yours, I quickly found myself mesmerized by the setting of the story in every aspect, it became the first manga that totally captivates me.
