Claymore

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Alternative Titles

Japanese: CLAYMORE

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 27

Chapters: 159

Status: Finished

Published: May 6, 2001 to Oct 4, 2014

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror

Theme: Gore

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Jump SQ.

Authors: Yagi, Norihiro (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.29¹ (scored by 86,136 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #322²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #37

Members: 199,913

Favorites: 13,547

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8.29

Ranked #322Popularity #37Members 199,913

MangaJump SQ.Yagi, Norihiro (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /27

Chapters: /159

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Synopsis

It is the Middle Ages, and the remnants of mankind are plagued by paranoia and death. Spoken in fearful whispers, the word "Yoma" cuts a clear image into the minds of all: monstrous beings with an insatiable hunger for human flesh. But fear of their gruesome appetite is dwarfed by that of their ability to shapeshift and steal the memories of their last meal. Forever vulnerable to attack, humans live in unease, even among family.

There are few means to kill a Yoma. The Organization, informally known as "Claymore," is humanity's only line of defense, dispatching half-human, half-Yoma female warriors to purify villages of Yoma. A lonely and dangerous existence, death for these warriors comes with each new assignment. What time is found between trying battles and long, arduous travels is spent in ever-intensifying struggle to resist their Yoma blood and maintain their humanity. Villagers, knowing of this, pay for their security reluctantly and have only loathsome regard for their protectors.

Claymore follows the stoic and low-ranking member Clare in her daunting trek as she searches for personal vengeance. Along the way, she encounters many unexpected things about the world, from the camaraderie and hope held fast by her sisters-in-arms to the sinister truth behind the Claymore Organization.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Claymore was published in English by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump Advanced imprint from April 4, 2006 to October 6, 2015. A complete box set of the series was released October 20, 2015. It was also published in Spanish by Glenát España since December 2006, publishing 21 volumes until Glénat went bankrupt. The series was continued by Norma Editorial until its final volume in September 2015; and in Italian by Star Comics from June 9, 2005 to June 13, 2015.

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Related Manga

Side story:	Claymore Bangai-hen: Senshi Reimei-hen
Adaptation:	Claymore

More characters
Characters

Clare

Main

Miria

Main

Helen

Main

Raki

Main

Deneve

Main

Dauf

Main

Teresa

Supporting

Galatea

Supporting

Irene

Supporting

Ophelia

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 17, 2014

LinuxOwnz

Recommended

Claymore is the incarnation of an RPG similar manga, the eerie atmosphere at times with just the right amount of gore and "Breasts" this manga truly stand out just like a well cooked mild curry dish, not too much spices and not too little.

1-Story 10/10
this is the most amazing part of this manga , the characters didn't really pop up but the story was more than sufficient to overshadow the shortcomings of them.
at most times the story wasn't really omnidirectional and it was more of a narrative type to me i think that this story might have been better in a novel type but ...

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Sep 5, 2021

Pescanthink

Mixed Feelings

Informative

Well-written

Claymore is one of the most disappointing manga I've read. From chapter 1 to about 60 it is amazing, however, afterwards the quality declines little by little until by the end there is barely anything left to enjoy. Let me explain.

The story starts out fairly simple but gets more complex quickly as we see the past of the main character. We slowly get introduced to more aspects of the life of the claymores and how it affects them. We get to see what makes the main character special among all the other warriors and watch as she gets stringer and forms relationships with other people. ... All of this culminates in the best battle of the series. We get proper build up to the onslaught that is to come, recurring characters come back, the interactions between the cast are both sweet and terrifying because we know not all of them will make it, and then the battle starts and it is great. Claymore never even came close to recreating these chapters and it was certainly not for the lack of trying. So what went wrong?

There are some underlying problems with Claymore that were never addressed and eventually ruined the manga. The fact that some of the worst shonen tropes were present definitely did not help.

One of the things most praised about Claymore is the art. This is for good reason since the creativity in the monster designs of the monsters (awakened ones) is outstanding. However a lot of people don't acknowledge where the art falls short. The backgrounds aren't detailed enough and straight up absent in most fights, the character design of a lot of the claymores is very similar and it is not hard to confuse them because there are a lot of them, and most importantly, the fight choreography is lacking. Not that its always bad but the author abuses the "teleports behind you" moves and also the fact that the monsters tend to use projectiles is a shortcut for the author to draw white lines colliding with a character and not worry about making the fight look Cool. This doesn't always happen but the frequency of the fights doesn't help. The author also fails to establish a power ceiling which makes the stakes non-existent. At the beginning of the story we are introduced to the basic setting, the power levels of the main characters and what seems to be the power level of what the main villains of the series will be. The problem is the fact that it is a lie. As the series continues moving forward the author feels a need to one up each enemy with next. The villains who were supposed to be the final villains end up being footnotes to the actual villains of the later half of the series. the danger is lost because we know the characters will win no matter what and that the next villain will be a lot stronger but will still lose and get replaced with someone more powerful. Due to the sheer volume of fights, later chapters become a slog of identical looking women outspeeding monsters for hundreds of chapters in fights that feel the same.

The second big problem with Claymore is how after a while, the protagonist seems to appear less and less. This isn't a problem at the beginning because the side characters are solid but it keeps happening and the story loses direction. With nothing to do, the author decides to fill pages by making side characters fight powerful monsters that contribute nothing to the story.

The third (and biggest) problem with the manga is the overreliance on bad shonen manga tropes. I don't have anything against shonen. I think my scores for slam dunk and chainsaw man, however, I think authors writing shonen can sometimes fall into the realm of cliche and lazy writing. In Claymore, this manifests as the overuse of flashbacks. Especially to try and get an emotional reaction out of villains. I understand that writing complex antagonists is generally a good thing but when the setting of your story explicitly says that the monsters have left behind their humanity and are now just evil cannibals maybe you should chill with the sad flashbacks to their earlier lives. I understand doing it for very important figures but when you are trying to make me empathize with the dude I just met who has just finished gutting one of the best side characters in the story there is a problem. Also the time skip requires a lot of flashbacks to explain gaps which is really time consuming and unnecessary.

The final complain is the fact that the biggest plot twist which attack on titan apparently ripped off is actually meaningless. A more complex aspect was added to the story yet it was dropped for the entire manga until the final chapter where it suddenly comes back and is resolved in less than three pages. I don't want to criticize this aspect too badly since it probably was not the authors decision to cut short such a potentially large storyline however it still bothers me quite a lot.

All in all, Claymore isn't a bad manga. Just an incredibly disappointing one. Im not sure if I recommend reading it but I guess that you might like it if you... Like dumb action and don't care about plot, like horrifying monsters, want to experience the great first third of the story and then stop reading and pretend it ended at its highest point.

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Nov 17, 2023

LegendOfMazda

Not Recommended

Funny

Claymore, unfortunately, falls short as a subpar, sub-mediocre, forgettable, and unimaginative read.

Its cast lacks any creativity, and the Claymore organization, which should be the highlight, features more than 40 female monster hunters that look, fight, and act the same. They are praised as great female representation, but the more you grow as a reader, the more you will realize that they are an absolute joke.

-The main character, Claire, fails to stand out, appearing like a recycled character from another story. Her arc revolves around being emotionless but learning to feel while traveling with Raki, who is arguably the worst character in the series. ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Claymore Chapter 9 Discussion Rasco - Dec 2, 2011	7 replies	by Ogre666 »» Apr 6, 12:14 PM
Poll: Claymore Chapter 79 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) avrc - May 2, 2008	110 replies	by psygol »» Mar 28, 8:16 PM
Question? mrSmiles - Jul 4, 2009	6 replies	by _MackynCheese »» Mar 21, 3:15 AM
Poll: Claymore Chapter 1 Discussion kansas778 - Sep 14, 2009	26 replies	by _MackynCheese »» Mar 20, 1:10 PM
Poll: Claymore Chapter 50 Discussion Zinvy - Aug 12, 2010	14 replies	by aod-kun »» Mar 14, 2:32 PM

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