Claymore

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If I could give a piece of advice to people going into this like I did, it would be this: don't expect Berserk. I hyped myself up into thinking that this would be another Berserk, only a lot tamer when it came to violence. That mainly comes from seeing members in the Death Battle community hope for a fight between Clare and Guts (and then being really disappointed when Guts fought Dimitri from Fire Emblem). It's not as good in my opinion, but by no means is Claymore bad.

For starters, and perhaps the largest reason why the Berserk connection was made: this art is PHENOMENAL. ... There is so much detail put into every panel. The landscapes, the character designs, the creature designs, all look amazing. There are few manga I can name with such amazing artwork. I haven't done so as of writing this review, but I plan on making a tab with some panels that I really like from the series (which will be kind of small, but only because there's a surprising amount of boobs in a series readily available on Shounen Jump). Easily the best part of this series is how freaking beautiful it looks, and that extends to the action.

A lot of the series, especially in the latter half, is fight scenes against creatures known as Yoma. With those plentiful fights come plentiful moments of great combat. Each monster has unique ways of attacking the Claymores, and each last for a fair amount of time. They rarely do the trope of nearing defeat before revealing a new form or attack; in fact, I think that only the final antagonist has some variation of it. On top of that, each of the Claymores have distinct face and hairstyles, making them easy to tell apart during the combat.

Finally, there are some really fun characters sprinkled throughout the story. My favorites were the Claymores Helen and Deneve, who have a friendship where they tend to butt heads a lot. I'm glad that the two of them were featured a lot as the series went on. There was one scene I enjoyed where Helen was getting drunk and argumentative, which led to quite a bit of humor.

Unfortunately, not all of the characters were that interesting. I said that the designs were unique, but not many of the personalities were. The premise is this that there are nearly 50 of these warriors, so of course not all of them are going to be featured, but so many names get thrown at you that they all end up blending together. And with that, many of their personalities get lost, especially when compared to other characters.

Also, Clare was pretty disappointing as a central protagonist. She has a good backstory, and a few character moments at the end were interesting, but otherwise she just fell flat. So many other members of the cast stood out over her, whether in personality or in arcs. Even her design was one of the more boring ones. There are several chunks throughout the story that take focus away from her that I found easier to get into because someone else was in the center.

Finally, the story didn't hook me as much as others. There are plenty of cool moments, and when I got to the last stretch it was quick to get through. But when I think of other series I've read, especially my favorites, I think of how gripping they were and how hard it was to set it aside to do something else, even important stuff like eating or sleep. I started Claymore at the end of last year, and there was a point where I put it down and didn't return to it for a couple months. I don't think I ended up forgetting something that is the major difference between liking and loving the series, but I still lost interest for a while and prioritized other stuff. It also doesn't help that Persona 3 Reload came out during this time, a story I ultimately enjoyed a lot more.

Claymore is a bit of a commitment. By no means is it as demanding as, say, One Piece, but if you want to finish it you have to dedicate some time. And there may be things you are dissatisfied with. I also thought that a major element of the world could have been explored some more, but it quickly became a footnote in what was going on. However, if you're a fan of beautiful art and action, and you can put in the time to see it through, then this is something I'd recommend. Especially if you're a fan of intricate monster designs.

How underwhelming. I really really wanted this to be a great epic story. The premise was fine, Claire's backstory was intriguing, the art was gorgeous, but the manga overall just lacked pazzazz and creativity.

I didn't particularly care about most of the cast and the combats just came one after the other with little sense of stake. Too many of the characters looked almost identical, which did not help in making me root for them. Some of the powers did not make sense and I could let it slide if the fights felt worth it but I was so out of it about the story ... that they did not feel meaningful. I was not so put off to stop and I did want to see it through. Overall.. it was fine.

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. ...

-Raki's presence adds little to the story, he does nothing but create problems, lacks depth, and somehow ends up in a romantic relationship with Claire. His development is unsatisfying, as he drops out for training and returns able to face multiple Claymores at once, leaving readers unimpressed as all this “development” is offscreen.

-The main antagonists are equally underwhelming, with one becoming evil due to issues controlling her own power, said villain is also defeated through an asspull, and the disappointing revelation of the Yoma's origin ties to an unexplored region in the story, further diminishing the narrative's impact.

-The story's regard is not high. The beginning involves Claire and Raki battling monsters, with a middle reveal of the Claymore organization's hidden nature.

However, the end devolves into a battle frenzy resembling DragonBall Z but with Near Identical Lesbian Sword Fighters. The final stretch lacks strategy, relying on random power-ups, and resurrecting dead characters to resolve conflicts taking place in a setting which is nothing more than a mundane medieval backdrop.

In conclusion, Claymore's mediocrity outweighs its little potential. For a more captivating experience, exploring the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski may be a better choice. The Witcher offers a similar plot with a diverse cast of characters, a creative setting based on mythology, and the advantage of enjoying the story through books, games, comics, TV, and more. This story has political dramas, heartfelt moments between parents, magic, thrilling fights, and so much more than this unfinished paintjob of a manga.