Story: 8
Art: 9
Sound: 9
Characters: 8 (-2 b/c Raki)
Claymore never really felt like "just another shounen" to me. It kept me thoroughly engaged throughout the series, I don't think I stopped watching it except to eat/sleep/shit (watched it in one weekend).
The story was pretty good, but nothing particularly special. The world is plagued by human-eating demons called Yoma. Basically the main character, Clare, is from an organization that is actually called "The Organization" (lol) that creates extremely powerful "hybrid" beings called Claymores. They are part yoma, and all of them posses superhuman speed, strength, and a level of perception that allows
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them to even predict enemy attacks. The rest is in the sypnopsis. There are some pretty good plot twists, and also some fairly predictable ones. Most characters had family eaten by yoma, and are fighting against all odds. Nothing new to the genre there, but at least they do the cliche well. Lots of action, that's really the main staple of this show. If you want a particularly well written and enthralling story, I might recommend something other than this. The action is what this show is all about, and it does excellent in that regard. Fight scenes are as numerous as they are just badass. The romance is near non existent, there is only one "love" scene but it's so abrupt and out of place that it almost feels like a hallucination by the main character. But everything else is riveting, not much to complain about as it was good enough to keep me hooked to the show. I wish Raki had gotten eaten his entrails eaten by yoma in the first episode, but more on that later.
The art was quite good. I dunno why some of the others complain about it (its a matter of opinion I s'pose) but the show looks pretty snazzy. The way the Claymores' eyes shift to gold when its ass whooping time, how sword strikes look even at break neck speeds, there are a lot of unique art related quirks to this show and they all contribute to the enjoyment of the show. Only 2 complaints here: that blood is pretty generic in this (which sucks considering blood is spilled every 2 minutes), and Raki's face. Seriously, I was begging Clare to chop it off the whole show. The biggest plus for me is that the "still image" scenes are kept to a minimum, and they are only used to represent a time lapse while the characters are unable to kill an opponent. This is big plus for me because after watching berserk, I was sick of watching a picture for 15 seconds with background generic war sounds, like 4 times per episode.
The fight scene sounds are really good, keeping immersion levels high. This show also has one of my favorite sound tracks in any anime, only behind Death Note. The opening song is badass. The "star wars" blaster sound that occurs when Claymores release their yoma power is seriously annoying, but it doesn't happen every episode. And the sound of Raki bitching in EVERY scene he is present in is incredibly frustrating. Too bad shock collars hadn't been invented yet in the show, although someone will probably figure out how to make one just for Raki.
Now the characters are unique because... well they are all women. Hot. Really though, how many shows have nearly all the main characters as whoopass woman characters? That is one of the things that makes Claymore what it is. And as for the individual characters, they are *mostly* good. Clare has an interesting backstory story, with a sligtly cliche "OMG YEH KILLED MY MENTOR! I KEEL YUH!!!" revenge plot. Still so, they pulled it off great. I was left with a lasting impression when the show ended. There are a few other interested characters that the story focused on, with equally interesting back stories. But there are also a lot of characters who are breifly introduced, then proceed to die for some stupid reason that is always their own fault. Which is very relevant to the kind of harsh world they live in: win a fight, get stronger, when more fights. Lose a fight, die, get eaten by yoma. And occasionally: lose a fight, can't handle that fact that you suck, release all your hatred and turn into an awakened, then murder the person who beat you *glares at Priscilla*. Oh... then there is Raki. Good god, I have never seen a character that did such a good job at contributing nothing to a story line. Clare finds Raki in the first episode, and from then on he proves himself the whiniest little punk the anime community has ever seen. Literally he only does 2 things the entire show: almost get Clare killed, and cry. The authors wanted him to be a plot device but failed miserably. Clare is supposed to see something in Raki's situation that reminds her of the way her mentor, Theresa, saw her when she was found basically as a broken child. But the connection is only vaguely established in the show, and it does not even come close to making up for the fact that he is a shit for brains. Every time Clare asks him to fuck off so she can take care of a Yoma pack without being hindered by him, he not only argues with her. Then he usually agrees to stay behind only to then sneak behind her anyways, wandering into combat then forcing her to have to rescue him. Failing to establish a proper emotional bond between Clare and Raki holds the story back from what it could be.
Its got some quirks, but Claymore was maximally entertaining for 90% of its duration. Although I did manage a rather hefty rant on Raki, in reality I busted up laughing every time he spoke, cried, and almost got Clare killed. Because he is seriously such a dip shit.
Apr 3, 2016
Story: 8
Art: 9 Sound: 9 Characters: 8 (-2 b/c Raki) Claymore never really felt like "just another shounen" to me. It kept me thoroughly engaged throughout the series, I don't think I stopped watching it except to eat/sleep/shit (watched it in one weekend). The story was pretty good, but nothing particularly special. The world is plagued by human-eating demons called Yoma. Basically the main character, Clare, is from an organization that is actually called "The Organization" (lol) that creates extremely powerful "hybrid" beings called Claymores. They are part yoma, and all of them posses superhuman speed, strength, and a level of perception that allows ... |
