Reviews

The Claymore are an organisation of female half human half monster warriors that protect humans from monsters called Yoma. In the beginning we are shown a town where a monster had been killing people and they had to call for a Claymore. When she comes to town everyone is afraid of her but a boy named Raki who becomes the target of the monster, but is saved by the Claymore Clare. After she leaves he is exiled because of his exposure to the monster. Outside the city walls he almost dies but is saved by Clare, who at first wants him to leave but later allows him to join her on her travels. And so their adventure together begins.

Let’s start with the story, while interesting it was not especially memorable as two weeks after finishing watching I already had trouble remembering the details. The first few episodes are extremely well done with great pacing and character development but then start the unreasonably long fights that can last for entire episodes and while decently animated and choreographed just start to drag. After watching the series I was interested how the manga was and I have to say that it was better in this aspect. Up until now I have been only complaining but I have to say that the story was otherwise really interesting and the ending was pretty well done considering the final few episodes are anime original but they do not allow for another season, at least one that follows the manga.

The main characters are both really well fleshed out and explored in the show especially Clare who has two or three episodes dedicated only to her back story. The character development is also extremely well done and there is hardly an episode where nothing happens that would influence either Raki or Clare. The show has plenty of other characters and they are also interesting, the only problem being in the number of Claymore and their familiar appearances, because of that it is quite hard to know who is who. I had a few problems with the villains because we never get to know truly why they are doing what they are doing. Also the power levels of the characters are a bit inconsistent especially Clare.

The sound and animation is decent but I personally did not like the art style. The monsters rarely seem terrifying and the people look boring. I find there is a lot o variance in the look of the Claymores which at times look beautiful but otherwise look just strange. The fight scenes are very well done but for the length of some of those and I especially like the delayed blood flow effects. Here I have to say that there is a lot of blood in this anime so if you have problems with that this might not be the anime for you. The sound is nothing special but it always complements the happening onscreen well enough. The opening and ending are both good enough to be worth a listen but after twenty or so episodes it gets a little annoying.

Overall Claymore is a decent anime worthy of a high 7 and it could have gotten an even higher score if not for the art and the exaggerated length of the fights. After you finish watching this I highly recommend the reading of the manga because there a lot of the lose ends are explained. You can start from the beginning or continue at around chapter 50. Anyways I am new to reviewing and am always looking for feedback so fell free to leave a comment or check out my other reviews.