While this downplay of gender seems clearly intentional, it is also a byproduct of the story’s narrow focus and mature atmosphere. Claymore is a serious show, heavy on the action, suspense, and gore, and essentially devoid of humor or the ordinary shounen antics. This context leaves little room for things like love or gender dynamics that would detract from the main plot.
Beyond innovation, Claymore simply excels at executing the standard shounen formula. The plot is great and highly engaging, the pacing excellent, the fantasy world vivid and immersive, and the Claymore special moves and ranks are the stuff the fanbase eats up. The series especially shines in the “Teresa of the Faint Smile” and “Abyssal Ones” arcs. The former centers on what is arguably the best character (Teresa) and features a moment that is literally a jawdropper. The latter, though incomplete, has the makings of storytelling gold and will make you definitely want to pick up the manga.
Unfortunately, Claymore also makes ample use of the less desirable elements of the genre, and so features plenty of trite, awkward dialogue; static, uninteresting characters; and repetitious fighting that is little more than an opportunity for Clare to level up. Raki is particularly awful, a standard sidekick who cowers and whines and never manages to change despite repeated vows to the contrary. The show’s greatest weakness, however, is without a doubt the ending, which rushes into the climactic final battle and finishes on an artificial, incomplete note. Not only does it depart from the manga, making the only possible sequel a Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood-style revamp, it also renders the events of the earlier episodes essentially pointless thanks to a disingenuous last minute change of heart. Really, this has to be one of the worst endings I’ve seen, and Madhouse has fumbled an extremely promising story by not following the manga.
Claymore‘s animation has its ups and downs. Although it uses a unique, attractive palette of neutral and earth tones and features some nice scenery shots, many scenes take place at night or in a dark forest or cave, and the series uses this as an excuse to cut corners. The fight scenes similarly rely on still frames and lazy swordplay, and although the beautiful blonde-haired, grey-eyed Claymore initially draw you in, by the end they’re so numerous and uniform that they’re almost impossible to tell apart. Claymore‘s animation is by no means bad, but the fact that Madhouse is generally revered for its productions (e.g., Death Note, The Tatami Galaxy) makes these faults all the more disappointing.
The soundtrack, by contrast, is pretty good, an eclectic collection of bagpipes, flutes, guitars, and minimalist synth that at times borders on experimental. Somehow this all works really well and brings to life the medieval European setting while giving the series a primal feel. A few tracks are especially beautiful (e.g., Kita no Chi to Hakugin no Ou) or original (e.g., Kakusei no Kodou). But most lack appeal outside the context of the show, and the oft-used Bishou no Teresa, which sounds like it’s straight out of a Disney movie, is over the top and out of place. The opening and ending songs are great and fit the story perfectly. The same goes for the English and Japanese voice casts. On the dub, Clare, Teresa, and Riful are standouts, but Raki makes an already bad character worse, so I wouldn’t recommend one cast over the other.
Claymore deserves a lot of credit, not just because it’s a generally well-done shounen, but also because it breathes fresh life into the genre with its feminist perspective and serious tone. Sadly the series falls into many of the usual traps and is mired by circumstances beyond its control, but hopefully Madhouse will pick it up again now that the manga was recently finished. In any event, Claymore delivers an enjoyable story set in a mystical world and is a pretty good watch, especially for fans of the genre.
