REVIEW: Is ‘Clevatess’ The Next Big Fantasy Anime?

Based on the Line Manga of the same name, written and illustrated by mangaka Yuji Iwahara, Clevatess: The King of Magical Beasts (Clevatess: Majū no Ō to Akago to Shikabane no Yūsha) is the fantasy anime for the season. Yes, even with some of its faults. Animated by Lay-duce, the series is directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi, with character designs by Chief Animation Director Soichiro Sako, series composition by Keigo Koyanagi, and  Takuro Tsukada serving as animation director.

In the series, one of the Lords of Dark Beasts, Clevatess’s reign shatters when he revives a hero he slayed and adopts an orphaned humanoid baby who just so happens to be the last hope to save a dying world. The premise of the series is quite simple at the outset.

Ultimately, this is a story about a dark Dark Beast Lord who has been gifted a baby and decides to make fatherhood his greatest experiment. And more importantly, wants to do it the right way. And it is just as humorous as it sounds. Or if we’re honest, its two “emotionally detached and violent” people and a baby.

Clevatess is deeply concerned with making a large fantasy world.

Clevatess (Yuichi Nakamura), a Dark Beast lord, wreaks havoc across a kingdom, vowing to wipe out humanity because of their violence. After, well, murdering everyone in the city that he sees, he finds a baby and its guardian. The guardian begs him to take the child and let it grow up. Despite Clevatess’ hatred of humans, he takes the child on, seeing it as an experiment. He will care for the child, raise the child, and see if humanity is truly irredeemable. 

In an attempt to raise the child, he resurrects a warrior, Alicia Glenfall (Haruka Shiraishi), to nurse the child that he has named Luna (Saya Aizawa). Only that’s not how nursing works. From there, Alicia is pissed to be serving a Dark Beast Lord, but she’s there all the same. He changes his appearance to that of a young boy named Klen (Mutsumi Tamura), and the trio take off in search of a wetnurse, only to be abducted and taken to a town. 

That’s where Clevatess Episode 2 is, and where things begin to get weird. Here, they meet Neruru (Aoi Yuuki), a young slave girl who the men around her are abusing. Neruru’s story is tragic and immediately resets the stage for Clevatess as a series. With talk of abuse, sexual assault, and slavery, this episode is a stark departure from the first. More importantly, it doesn’t hold back in showing a lot of uncomfortable moments. It’s no Goblin Slayer, but it is, at times, hard to sit through as we hear Neruru’s story. 

Even when it stumbles, this fantasy anime is easily one to watch for fans of the genre. 

This is an anime series that deeply embraces fantasy storytelling, tropes, and all. In the vein of Kadowakawa’s Delisiouc in Duneon last year and the widely successful and our personal anime of the year, Frieren: The Journey’s End, genre is king in Clevatess. And it’s better for it.

In fact, as we look at the first two episodes of the series, Episode takes us into unsavory territory that feels too voyeuristic to work and is just uncomfortable to watch. However, the series’ strong rounding in the genre keeps everything moving forward. This is a fantasy story, while there are moments of echii that can seem slightly questionable, the worldbuilding in this series is very concerned with making the lore large and expansive.

By the same token, the stumbles of Episode 2 don’t derail how stunning Clevatess Episode 1 was as an introduction to the story and, more importantly, the world. In one hour, the premiere episode sets the stage for the wars, frustrations, prejudices, and magic of Clevatess’ world. But ultimately, it maps out who Clevatess is as a character.

Clevatess hits a high thanks to its vocal performances and visual identity.

Much of the worldbuilding is carried through the narration from Yuichi Nakamura, explaining his situation as he begins to eradicate humanity around him. He sets the stage, but what keeps it going are the excellent character designs and artistry. Each race in the world comes across as unique, and ultimately the unit that Klen, Luna, and Alicia make is compelling. 

But what takes the series to the next level is the action animation, especially as the resurrected Alicia discovers her newfound power. With her back against the wall, Alicia is forced to tap into the Beast Lord’s blood running through her. Already the lone woman warrior in her unit, she now has absolutely nothing to lose. She is staunchly against injustice and, more importantly, at least for the relationship dynamics, demons, and most certainly Clevatess.

What adds to the animation is the memorable vocal performances, especially from Nakamura, who dominates Episode 1 with his sultry voice. The shift in how we see Clevatess in his dark lord form is vastly different from who he is when he masquerades as Klen, but the shift in seiyuu makes sense and adds depth.  

This Crunchyroll anime should make it straight on your watchlist.

Finally, Clevatess continues the trend to just give us fantasy stories, not isekai stories where someone is transported to a fantasy world. The difference is important and as we see more and more anime reach simulcast distrobution in the United States, the series is feeding the fantasy appetite for many viewers. However, despite sharing a genre with some of the last two years’ largest hits, it stands out uniquely with its darkness, too. 

Clevatess is off to a rousing start, and if it continues to build on this momentum, it can and will solidify itself as one of the top fantasy series in anime. Still, it will have to cut down on the shock and double down on the worldbuilding to do so. If you’re looking for swords and sorcery and everything else that goes with it, Klen, Luna, and Alicia are a trio that will keep you engaged. 

Clevatess is streaming now on Crunchyroll with new episodes releasing every Wednesday.