Clevatess Anime Review: A Journey into the Depths of Dark Fantasy and Humanity

The anime "Clevatess: Majuu no Ou to Akago to Shikabane no Yuusha" (Clevatess: The King of Magical Beasts, the Baby, and the Corpse Hero) is one of the most unexpected and compelling productions of the summer 2025 season, produced by studio Lay-duce. This anime is adapted from the manga of the same name by the talented Yuji Iwahara, an author with several older works, nearly all of which have been adapted into anime. The Clevatess manga was the only one remaining, and its adaptation, which aired this summer, is the focus of our topic today. Our focus is not on his previous works at this moment, but rather on this production, which situates itself within the dark fantasy genre, but in a way that completely distinguishes it from the conventional works of this genre. This review will attempt to carefully examine all aspects of this production, from its rich world to its complex characters and the profound themes it explores over its 12 episodes. I will leave a short summary of the story in the comments for you.

Story Summary: Shattering the Boundaries of "Good" and "Evil" from My Perspective

The story takes place in a world where humanity is on the brink of extinction. An ignorant and arrogant king sends thirteen of his kingdom's bravest heroes to destroy Clevatess, one of the four magical beast lords who have surrounded the human world. This attempt ends in a catastrophic failure, and all thirteen heroes, including a female hero named Alicia Glenfale, are brutally killed by Clevatess. Clevatess, whose anger and disgust with humans have reached their peak, decides to take revenge and put an end to the human race. He attacks the capital of the Hiden kingdom, leaving massive destruction in his wake.

However, amidst this devastation, an unexpected event completely changes the course of the story: a dying, wounded person hands a baby to Clevatess, begging him to protect it. This baby, named Luna, becomes the key to humanity's fate. Clevatess, who knows nothing about raising a human child, makes an even stranger decision: he resurrects Alicia, one of the heroes he himself had killed, as a "Corpse Hero" to help him raise Luna. Thus begins a strange and perilous journey for these three contrasting characters: a beast lord, a corpse hero, and a baby on whom the fate of the world depends.

An Introduction to the Fantasy World: The Continent of Edotia and its Races

One of the strongest points of the Clevatess anime is its detailed and rich world-building. The events take place on a continent called Edotia (or Edsea). This continent is divided in a unique geographical way: in the center reside five human-like races, but this region is surrounded on all four sides by the lands and kingdoms of magical beasts. The five main human-like races living in the center of the continent are the Dawn, Org, Slada, Bent, and Hiden. Although all these races are gathered in one area, their relationships are not peaceful. The anime beautifully shows how humans, due to their greed and lust for power, have become each other's greatest enemies.

The Kingdom of Hiden is the main focus in the first season; it was the one that sent its heroes to kill Clevatess and possesses the Ironworks Barrow, which has the ability to create the heroes' magical swords. After Clevatess weakens this kingdom, the other human kingdoms prepare to attack it to take control of the Ironworks Barrow. This is a small example of the internal conflict and strife that has engulfed the human world.

The Magical Beasts: Surrounding the human lands are four great armies of magical beasts, each led by a powerful lord. Clevatess is one of these four lords. These beasts are depicted as a fearsome natural force that has defined the borders of the human world and prevented its expansion. The anime gradually reveals that these beasts are not just mindless, bloodthirsty creatures, but possess their own thoughts and motivations. For example, Clevatess has intelligent reasoning abilities, but the human way of life is like a puzzle to him. This leads him, despite the humans' attack, to decide to give them a chance and try to understand them by raising Luna.

Positive and Negative Aspects of the Clevatess Anime

Clevatess has several notable strengths that make it stand out among other productions. Its greatest strength is its strange and bold story. Instead of repeating the cliché of the "chosen hero versus the dark king," the anime mixes and inverts these concepts. Here, the "King of Beasts" becomes humanity's last hope and is forced to play the role of a father. From Clevatess's perspective on Luna, this inversion opens a wide door to exploring profound themes, including the will to suffer, the core of self-assertion, the philosophy of the hero and savior, the concept of myth and anti-myth, and many other topics are brought up for discussion.

This innovative story gains more depth through its complex and multi-dimensional characters. Clevatess is not just a killer beast; as the story progresses, his "human" sides, if we can call them that, emerge. Alicia, the corpse hero, is a tragic and fascinating character trapped between her duty as a hero and her dark fate. This paves the way for the anime to boldly delve into dark and mature themes, such as the violence of war, post-war trauma, the pain of loss, and the thin line between revenge and forgiveness. All of this is presented within the framework of excellent world-building and a balanced narrative that reveals information gradually and at the right moments. Finally, high artistic and technical quality is provided by studio Lay-duce, especially in terms of animation and sound design.

Alongside all these strengths, there is the presence of extreme violence and some nudity. The anime very explicitly shows bloody and harsh scenes of violence, which fits the genre, but is certainly not acceptable for all viewers. However, there are no scenes of gratuitous bloodshed purely for artistic pleasure. Instead, it tries to stay away from such clichés. At the same time, due to the focus on character development and philosophical themes, some viewers might feel that the narrative pace is somewhat slow—though it wasn't slow for me, many other critics mentioned this point. Especially for those expecting continuous action, this anime is not suitable.

Ultimately, the complex nature of the story and its morally grey world, along with the heavy atmosphere of sorrow and tragedy that dominates it, means this production offers no sense of comfort to the viewer. It's rare for a seasonal work of this caliber, with such a strong resonance, to come along. This production is not suitable for viewers looking for a light-hearted pastime... (I believe the future of fantasy may lie in the dark fantasy subgenre because it has potential for growth. However, after the impact of "Frieren," I thought these darker genres might fade. Currently, Clevatess brings hope for the revival of this genre.)

It is noteworthy that the author of this work has three other excellent works:

Dimension W

King of Thorn (movie)

Darker than Black

If one day you think of watching an anime that is different from the rest, watch the three mentioned above.

To my readers, in conclusion: This anime proves itself to be one of the most important productions of the year for me, and I hope it will be for you too. Although its violence and heavy atmosphere may not be for everyone, for those who enjoy mature and thought-provoking stories, Clevatess will be an unforgettable experience. This is an anime that stays with you long after it's finished, making you question the boundaries we draw between human and monster, and between good and evil. From an animation standpoint, I have no significant criticism because it maintained a balanced 2D animation from beginning to end. Thanks to the studio for doing such a good job. My rating is 8.7/10 for the first season.