Claymore

Claymore is an amazing manga, everyone who wants to read any type of shounen manga must read claymore!
It takes place in medieval times, but that doesnt even matter. I dont think that it would really make a difference if it took place in the year 2020. You dont really even notice the time period as you read it.
Anyway, first you must know what a claymore is. A claymore is a WOMAN not man for reasons explained in the manga, who is a demon, but has a human mind. Claymores are made by the organization, which is just called the organization. I dont recall seeing the heads of the organization, but the main person who talks to the claymores from the organization is this shady dude dressed in black. He gives the claymores their missions. their missions: kill yoma (demon). Now the claymores can kill the yoma because their bodies are those of yoma. The difference between a claymore and a yoma, the claymore has a human mind and can control their thirst for human flesh.
The story revolves around a boy named Raki. Raki, which apparantly means lucky in japanese, gets his entire family eaten by a yoma. This particular yoma is plagueing the town, and in response to this threat the town resolves to hiring a claymore from the organization to kill the yoma. Since the claymores are part demon, they are seen as a necessary evil, and feered by everyone. A claymore named Claire is sent on a mission from the organization to kill this yoma. As many ppl in the town are afraid of claire, Raki is not, but is actually grateful for her presence. All in all, Claire kills the yoma and Raki, w/ no family and rejected by the village, decides to follow Claire on her adventures. The story is about Claire, and her past and her main goal, and her reaching it. Events happen in the series which are both unexpected and ingenious. The only character whose past matters in this series is Claire, for most of the caracters have very similar pasts. The story line is broken up into arcs. There are so many elements in this manga, but all the mysteries are introduced at a very modest rate, to keep the reader in control over understanding of the mysteries.
The storyline shifts away from Claire's main goal, and moves twards a very large mystery. Claire unravels this mystery with the help of fellow claymores. The reason this manga isgood is because it is not just one person who is a claymore, nor by any means is this person the strongest claymore. And once again, it shifts away from being about Claire and her goal, and moves twards hidden motives of other characters. Bascially, it gets into how ppl are screwing each other over. Its really interseting. The manga is seen in the shonen monthly, so it only comes out once a month, and sometimes skips months. However, when they do come out it is worth the wait. The manga does not move at a rediculously slow rate. But the problem is that they keep switching view ponits from character to character. So lets say manga #45 is about claire, manga 46 will switch to another character. That is the only annoying part. But besides that it is a must read!
the art is really good, i always know what is going on, its not hard to see things at all. There is not that much blood as far as i can remember, but that is becasue blood usually makes it hard to know what the pictures are showing. So like in some mangas, o they are bleeding, to bad the blood is coverning up the face so i cant see who it is. Instead they just cut off limbs, which i think is good enough. And this is intense cutting of the limbs by the way.
So anyway, i love claymore, anyone who reads it will fall in love w/ it right away, and will just be drawn so much closer in by like the 20th manga because the story line heats up.
I do reccomend reading it when the series is complete though, or else you are just going to end up smaking yourself across the face because you just want to know what happens already.

This review contains spoilers.

This manga started out seeming quite spare and brutal - full of imminent, creeping death out in the wilderness, lone and expendable warriors either dying brutally in battle or succumbing to monstrosity, and sometimes being sent to their deaths by an organisation which didn't care about them in the slightest. It was dark, depressing, and the action was a lot of fun.

It ended in an orgy of wish-fulfillment, with almost everyone I liked surviving, a beloved character returning from the dead just to be awesome and totally destroy the series antagonist in a final fight with no tension whatsoever, and everyone departing full of smiles and happiness.

This is such a strange disconnect that I have no idea how to grade it. Did Claymore fail? Its finale was certainly a bit of a clusterfuck, with a whole bunch of random new characters thrown in, seemingly just in order to stretch the fight. It didn't really expand on the most interesting issue it raised which could have widened the focus and taken it to new places - this issue being the war being waged overseas, which had essentially created the entire plot of the manga as a side effect, because one side needed somewhere to test their weapons.

But despite the fact that it was silly, cluttered, and frequently absurd, it was somehow emotionally satisfying. I just wouldn't dignify it by saying it turned out to be particularly good.

This is my first review,correct me if wrong,and sorry for bad grammars :)

Dark fantasy manga with bunch of ladies hunting around monsters? why not? since i'm fan of manga with dark fantasy genre (not big fans),i thought this manga would give me a big shot,and thats work.

Claymore is about Clare,who want to revenge for someone who she loved so much,Teresa,who get killed by her own comrade. by joining the organization,she hunt for things that called "youma",the monster who eat a human guts. from village to village she wandering for killing that creepy things. one day,on the one village for killing Youma,she meet a boy named "Raki",his parents get killed by Youma who disguise as his brother. Raki now have no place to stay,so he decided to join Clare on her journey.

Then the story of the journey of them are begun.

I would recommend this for you who love reading fantasy manga with a dark story behind it.

Claymore is a manga definitely worth reading.

When I first began, it looked alright to me. Not too interesting but enough to make me continue the series. As it progresses, you'll notice the fights get bigger and more destructive (not to mention super awesome).

From my viewpoint there, wasn't much character development; most of the characters stay the same. Though this doesn't have a huge impact on the story. The story is really interesting once you get farther, it surprised me entirely and had a twist I wasn't expecting. There's also the art, which is amazing.

This entire series hasn't failed to amaze me nor lose my interest. One of the few that I actually have kept up with despite the number of chapters. Give Claymore a read! You won't regret it.

Okay Claymore is one of the best if not the best in terms of balancing action and plot development. The story takes place in a country where monsters called 'Youma' feed on humans and that is where the introduction to the main character Clare is made. There is an organization that recruits and trains young female warriors (half-human, half-youma) in order to fend off the population of Youma, however they do this service for a fee. Clare is one of the so-called 'Claymores' (nicknamed by the villagers because of the weapon they carry) and simply enough she carries out orders from the organization. However like I said, Claymore is an excellent example of a manga that excels in plot development, so the storyline splits into different perspectives as sub-plots begin to emerge.

Story: 10/10

The story is definitely the highlight of this series and in my opinion it just gets better and better. The first couple of chapters introduce you to the scenario and then details of the organization are revealed as well as new characters. You can never really anticipate the events in the next chapter, its really a captivating story. I'm not saying its far fetched even though it is shounen, but the logic behind the plot itself is amazing.

Art: 10/10

Nohiro Yagi is an amazing artist as well as a writer. He portrays the Youma as one would imagine them to be, but he does not spare the details. Each one is different and the creativity speaks for itself. The Claymores themselves are female warriors and they fit a certain description, so they all have similarities. The amount of artwork put into each chapter makes it really easy to follow the events so its not only captivating but also helpful.

Character: 8/10

This is the only section where Claymore does not get a 10/10 from me. The characters themselves are introduced, but not much about them is known, save a few like Clare and those close to her. For the most part, character development is lacking to some degree and I would like to see more personality from some of the Claymores. Some would argue that they are partially human, but they do have a human conscious and share the same emotions. Even though this is something that could be improved upon, its just a small kink in the overall aspect of the manga.

Overall: 10/10

As you read the manga, you will find that the character development shadows the story and art so that they are closely related. Everything in this series is perfectly intertwined and its definitely one of a kind. I might be biased because Claymore is the best manga I've ever read, but I assure you that it will not disappoint. It never gets repetitive and each chapter leaves you waiting for the next. Even though the chapters are monthly, its so worth the wait because there's nothing like it out there. I would recommend this for anyone who likes to follow a deep plot accompanied by some intense action..oh yeah and female warriors (did I mention that?) :)

Claymore is an emotional read. Sometimes it's about cutting down yoma in a mission, and certainly later on, a more complex character driven narrative. The author manages to illustrate the extent of many of the powers present in the land of Claymore, and perhaps goes over the top. That being said, the focus was never lost, and even wraps around by the end to tell the meaning that the story was showcasing throughout. It's a story of life and love in a violent land full of malicious intent.

The art was never lacking, and neither was my enjoyment.

Claymore is my "Exhibit A" of an amazing, mature action manga.

9/10

!SPOILER FREE REVIEW!

Prologue:
Right from the get-go, I knew I would like it. It uses a slightly different approach when it comes to the Shounen genre with the female protagonist and all, but nevertheless delivers. Claymore is a solid "veteran" with not the most interesting or original concept, but regardless, one with confidence.

Story[6]:
Having a Shounen base and following the weakest of all, our female protagonist, it was actually relieving to see she didn't explode with power out of nowhere and did struggle a lot. Lot's of cool fights with very good choreography and easy to follow action sequences. Quite a few mysteries and plot twists which is a plus for the shounen nature. The darkish aspect of the story was executed well in a sense. However, the biggest issue is the pacing. Some declare it's serving the slow and dragged out treatment, I daresay the opposite. For me, a lot of moments concerning characters just felt rushed and were happening too fast. There weren't many if any full chapters or arc/s developing a single character and working on their traits. Some characters were served very undeserved ends. Towards the end, it shifted this mechanic and the story was, in fact, being dragged out.

Art[9]:
Mostly what did it for me was the art. As a big fan of monster design and concept, I was truly captivated by the looks of the monsters but it takes some time to get to the actually good drawings so bear with it for a couple of chapters. Not much to say here other than get ready to be blown away and take your sweet time observing the bodies of the characters. Aside from that, details and backgrounds were done excusable.

Character[6]:
Good development as a whole for most main characters, but because of the horrible pacing, not rarely would you feel weird relating to a certain character/s. Apart from the protagonist if you think too much into it you will realize that something is missing, be it context or time spent on personas. Although there are one or two traits that differentiate the Claymores from one another, be it hairstyle or specialty in combat which was satisfying.

Enjoyment[8]:
Had lots of fun with this manga, even shredded tears every now and then and I was going through pages like a madman, wanting more and more. Was also impressed by some use of more ''expressive words''. Didn't force myself to think too much into some stuff so that I wouldn't find more flaws. I simply rode the wave.

Afterword [7.3/10]:
If you like action, shounen with mixed in mysteries, some softcore gore or especially monsters/monster fights involved, go ahead and read this, you won't be disappointed I guarantee! Just start reading and as you go don't try to analyze or theorize a lot of stuff and you will be more than satisfied. Definitely recommended!

If you're looking to read a great shounen manga, then you must read Claymore, the best Shounen manga I've ever read. Claymore is an exceedingly long manga that's plot is dark, intense, interesting and overall very, very enjoyable to read.

The plot takes place in an alternative medieval world where humans coexist alongside creatures called Yoma (humanoid monsters that feed on human flesh). A nameless and highly secretive organization has produced a species of half-human-half-yoma warriors (All female, and it's explained why) to slay the nefarious yoma and protect humans, but for a large price. The people of this world refer to them as "Claymores" due to the huge swords on their backs that they use to slay the Yoma. Claymores were once humans, before the organization injected Yoma blood into their veins, giving them supernatural speed/strength, while taking away their humanity. Claymores are distrusted, feared, and hated by humans. Now, the actual story starts at a small village whose inhabitants are being butchered by a mystery Yoma. The village finally assumes that the city's butcher is the Yoma, and so the village saves up enough money to hire a Claymore to protect their village. When the Claymore arrives at the village to slay the Yoma, a young boy named Raki becomes interested in her because he is still innocent/pure and sees Claymore's as humans, and dreams of having a friend/family, since his entire family was killed by a Yoma. Raki grows a liking for the Claymore because he hopes that she will take revenge for him. The Claymore is surprised that Raki isn't scared of her, but ultimately states that she is there to kill the Yoma for money not for anyone's personal vendetta. She also won't state her name because she is convinced he will forget it soon enough (pretty depressing). The Yoma turns out to be Raki's brother Zaki, and after he is slain, Raki joins the Claymore on her aimless journey to protect humans and kill Yoma for the nameless organization. She tells Raki her name is Clare and the story begins. Out there, in the wilderness of reality, what challenges and mysteries await Clare and Raki?

At first glance, the plot seems all simple and dull. The entire premise is not original, predictable, and lacks a true central plot. Oh, there are half-human, half-monster beings that fight off monsters, and interact with humans over and over. Big whoop. The beginning actually starts off really slowly, with nothing much really happening. And in fact, the story honestly does just repeat itself, over and over. The at-first-glance weak main character, Clare fights evil to serve justice, then befriends other Claymores, protects the people, begins to have emotion and receive love (characteristics of human) for Raki (more of a sister-brother love though), and in the end her very own creation from the mysterious organization unravels gradually. But then on second glance... it's the same, there's nothing special or unique about the plot. Then why is it a 10/10? Vast diversity of great characters, and Pure enjoyment. Besides the slow beginning, the entire manga is an absolute treat. Although it may seem like it, the manga isn't 100% about fighting, Claymore also utilizes sub-concepts to build up the intrigue of the series. For example, the rankings of the 47 Claymores that exist, #1 being the best, and #47 being the crap (this is Clare's rank). Each Claymore has a unique and memorable aspect/ability to their character/fighting style. When a Claymore dies, they get replaced with another newly made Claymore. When Claymore's can't contain their powers, and exeed/go over their limit, then they become "Awakened Beings", Powerful Yomas. What I enjoyed about the storyline was that it played out like a warring-states war story. There are 3 almighty Awakened Beings (they were #1 Claymores during their era as a Claymore respectively) and they claimed the North/East/West (poor East, unclaimed), and they are sort of enemies, by which I mean they try to kill each other, but the plot cleverly connects the warring Awakened Beings with Abyss Feeders (Organization later creates with the blood of Awakened Beings), and the current Claymores, including Clare (& Raki). In addition, most of the characters have back stories that are interesting in their own right and don't slow down the pace of the story. This manga is definitely hard to explain why it's good, it's something that's better to be experienced.

The characters of Claymore are (exluding Raki, who is an annoying prick joke of a man but a tragic character in his own right), what's the right word... Amazing? No, that'd be an understatement... Well-drawn/Beautiful? That's true but not the best word to describe them... Let's go with Creations of Greatness. I don't think I've read anything with a large variety of [female] characters that I enjoy reading about every single one, and I like every single one (Monster had the best variety of overall deep characters though) as much as I did with Claymore. From Clare, to her mentor, Teresa (My Top 5 - 10 female character all time, and arguably the most OP and tragic character), to her friends: Galatea, Elena, Miria, Deneve, Helen, Jean, to her enemies, Priscilla, Irene, Rafaela, to the Great Awakened Beings: Isley of the Northern Lands, Riful of the Western Lands, and Luciela of the Southern Lands, to the mysterious organization that has some rather sinister beings/secrets, to all the other Claymores of different eras (there are like another 100 that are mentioned). Normally, too many characters would just hurt my ahead and have me annoyed and confused, but Claymore really makes it work; enjoyable and memorable.

Claymore's art is unorthodox in a fantastic way. The character artwork is clean for the most part, and adds a unique flavor to the entire story. The monsters (Awakened Beings are SO COOL!) designs are highly notable, for being unique, well shaded, and stunningly amazing. The backgrounds are also well done due to good tones and shading (sets a good mood for the story; omniscient). The Claymores were beautifully, drawn both in beauty looks and the way they fought/looked. oh my, I loved Claymore's art so much.

One can argue that the story of Claymore had a deep theme in it, one of sin - seeking forgiveness, harshness and sadistic side of reality, what it means to be a human, and fate/destiny of a person. But, I find all that bullshit, I honestly see Claymore as a source of pure enjoyment. But seriously, if you like shounen stories, then Claymore is one of the best. The MANGA (not anime, since that was a shitty adaptation) is on par with the likes of Gintama and Hunter x Hunter; masterpieces. I'd say Claymore is a great series that interprets standard concepts in a highly interesting way. It also has an interesting war-like storyline that will keep a reader's attention (so enjoyable). Though Claymore lacks any central themes or philosophy, the series has an enjoyable storyline. I don't know if I mentioned this, but Claymore is highly enjoyable. I'd recommend this anime to all people that love adventure/action/good mangas. And, to conclude this review, I want to mention something that I had forgotten in this review: Claymore is highly enjoyable.

I will keep my review simple;
If you like badass characters, I beg you to watch it.

This anime delivers with it's action scenes and it has a great story to go along with it. I absolutely enjoyed the soundtrack to this, it gave the anime a very scary, dark feeling to it.

My critique to this anime is that compared to the manga, it totally failed to execute the story correctly. This is an anime you cannot watch alone. You must read the manga before or after to fully understand, and find out what happens, because the anime ending will leave you very confused.

This is the best manga by far. The story is about girls with big swords (called Claymores by others) hunting down Yomas (demons who plague the world). It's incredibly violent and bloody which is awesome. The story only gets more interesting once it reaches the Teresa Arc, which talks about Teresa, the strongest Claymore ever, and how she meets Clare (the main character). This story is interesting because of the many conflicts and plot twists that will keep you reading it over and over. There's mild nudity too, not bad.

Must read.

There is a lot to say about this manga, from the story to the characters. Let me start off by saying I had watched the anime before reading this. I felt disappointing with the character development and jumbled up story line. Furthermore, I felt that the anime was rushed.

I had never touched manga by this time. I thought reading was a chore, and looking at black and white pictures would bore me to death. So I was left unsatisfied, wandering what Claymore could have been...

Then one day, I just said to myself, "What do you have to lose?", and tried it - just so I could see how far I could go before my boredom got the best of me.

It never happened.

The beginning started off slow, quite similar to the anime in fact, when Claymores are still a bit of a mystery to us. But that didn't matter to me, because the more I read, the more I got hooked.

The art, even though a bit old, is amazing. The dialogue and mysterious atmosphere is perfect for something as dark as Claymore. I couldn't help myself, I wanted to read more and more.

On to the characters. This is were this manga shines through. There are so many different characters with so many dissimilar traits, it's hard sometimes not to feel anything for them. They're just that wonderfully developed.

Clare started off as any other Claymore on the surface. But the deeper we get to know her the more we realize just how special she is to the story. She had a horrible life as a child and was abused by Yoma. Then comes Teresa, one if not the most powerful Claymore of all time, swooping in and saving Clare on a whim. Their relationship starts off cold and somewhat harsh, with Clare desperately wanting to be with Teresa, to the point she follows her around for days without food or water. But it gradually develops into a beautiful mother-daughter relationship...only for it to tragically end with Teresa's sudden murder.

Yep, you guessed it, Clare must have her revenge! But it doesn't start off that way. No, it gradually escalates for Clare until she is overwhelmed by the feeling.

The reason I raised so many points on Clare is because she is my favorite protagonist. Her story is unique and insightful

Raki was an annoying character both in the manga and the anime at the beginning. But he soon changes to a reliable ally to Clare and her journey. He trains to make himself strong and not use Clare as a crutch because she saved his life. His character takes an even more drastic change later on, and it's all for the better.

Let me say this ones again, Claymore just has too many characters. It's impossible to touch on everyone.

Priscilla...that name. If you haven't read the manga, keep that name firmly in your head, it means A LOT. She is by far the most powerful Awakened Being I have ever seen. The shocker was that she didn't even seem like the type. She seemed like a righteous person... with an unstable desire to eradicate all Yoma in existence.

The action in this manga is intense and sometimes you wonder if the good guys will even win, especially when they battled someone as ridiculously strong as Priscilla.

I enjoyed every page of it. The first half is much like any action/horror orientated manga, but the second part, that's where things become extremely interesting. The Seven Ghosts, that's a name I will never forget.

It's a must read. I'd recommended to anyone interested in the genre. However, if you're looking for ONLY romance, this WILL disappoint you.

Up to chapter 145, I believe that I have seen a number of plot twists and mini arcs that Claymore has to offer. And I have to say, the art has drastically improved a lot since Angel Densetsu.

Anyways, the series I have read by Yagi Norihiro, Angel Densetsu, was vastly different from the mood and premise in this manga, especially after a certain arc. And boy, was I surprised, when all the gore and tragedy flooded later on.

From what I see, Claymore is shounen, drama, tragedy, adventure, supernatural (or fantasy later on), and action.

[Story:8/10]
Without further adue, let's look at the storyline. Well, I think the storyline has been pretty consistent, since there were good "joints" between mini-arcs and some of the larger plot lines were connected with some earlier chapters' plots, especially early main characters which did not appear frequently. But the issue is that some transitions between mini-arcs were not so smooth, and thus felt a bit hard to swallow or awkward.

The story has quite an interesting progression, and is actually quite deep. However, some of the potential plot seem too vague or too little covered even after maybe 20 to 30 chapters from its introduction (Refer to Mirai's research and deductions). Well but nevertheless, the storyline was mostly easy to follow and interesting.

One flaw is that there were a few scenes which were not very well explained (e.g. a pair of legs walking at chapter 100+ had a miraculous change) and/or confusing.

Another flaw is that the warrior numbering is pretty weird, especially Clare.
And also, I felt that the offensive and defensive type idea is a bit vague at times, especially how claymores are classified, the exact differences between the two and how certain techniques may be influenced by the types.

[Art:8/10]
The art is um... quite an important issue to consider before reading Claymore.
Have you read Angel Densetsu before? If yes then the artwork in the beginning chapters should look familiar to you.
The beginning chapters look almost exactly like AD in sense of the character designs. And it's not just a few... almost every village's head looks like the principal in AD. And Clare looks like Ikuno in AD.
Beginning-wise, I can say art is a 6-7, since it looks quite bad... especially character design. Some of the character designs were so overused I was thinking why the art factor seems worse than the last chapters' art in AD.

But the art keeps getting better and better. It didn't get good in a flash, but background art was one of the first aspects that got better. Character design for the warriors especially, was quite bad early on, one such example was when Clare went on her first awakening hunt. You can't imagine the horror I had when I couldn't differentiate who is who. The faces look terribly alike, and there were some subtle differences in their hairstyles, so it was quite bad. Later on, somehow I could tell them apart, and the miraculous thing is that at some point where the art improved tremendously, even with the introduction of more warriors, I could tell them apart instantly.

At chapter 145, I would give a 9 for art. Cause it's refreshing to see this kind of style art as well. But due to early chapters art is a 8/10 overall.

[Character: 8/10]
Mmm, how do I put this, there were a lot of main characters especially at chapter 145. And character-wise they have been mostly consistent, but honestly, I felt that some of the main characters could be developed seeing as how often some main characters appear as a group.

By development I mean their history and behaviours. Sure, there were a few that were most prominent in the series, and their past were looked into quite a bit, along with consistent behaviours which let us have a firm grasp of how they are and what they should be. However, a few that were introduced later mostly only had their behaviours and skill development looked into, but not so much of their past.

[Enjoyment:9/10]
Although the mood was middle to heavy, which is not exactly my preferred type (since I like lighter moods in mangas), I think at least there is not so much blood spraying about. Which is quite interesting, if you did read it.

Well so miraculously, I did enjoy this manga, which seems to have some reference to real life, like socio-political stuff. You'll understand if you read it to 100+.

[Overall:8/10]
A good read, especially for those who do not mind gore. Or tragedy. O yes, especially tragedy. It's not that bad as compared to some other manga (Chaosic Rune comes to mind), especially the gore part (seems better than Gamaran cos it has less blood spraying), and it has quite interesting plot twists.

Plot 7/10- standard let's fight monsters, take down those in power who are evil, and get revenge for the losing those we love to those monsters...
as the story goes along, about halfway through and towards the end it starts to get a little confusing at times..also at points it doesn't make much sense...overall I still found it enjoyable

Art-8/10...it was refreshing to see such detail put into the claymores that they actually all had a unique facial design, hair, ears, nose, eyes etc.. The monsters themselves, were also well designed and distinct, I wouldn't call them mind blowing or anything. The fight scenes were well drawn, and never looked very confusing.

Characters-10/10 given the multitude of Claymores, each claymore had a distinct persona which was seen through their personality and fighting style. I found the main characters to be very enjoyable and well developed for the most part. Obviously Clare, Teresa, Priscilla, and Maria are the center pieces and had the greatest character development from start to finish. None of the characters came across as annoying, well except for Raki as a kid.

Enjoyment 9/10- nothing to difficult to read and it is pretty fun. Like I said, it is well drawn which is nice and the characters were enjoyable. The ending was also a nice surprise.

Claymore, a manga with lot of story arcs.

It starts off simple, with claymores (aka silver eyed witches) doing their job. A character bonds with one, and they do things together.

Things get a lot more complicated later on, but it maintains its general flow. The main problem I had with it is how long is dragged things on sometimes. I generally like to avoid animes such as Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, Fairy Tail, and all of the others like that for that very reason. Fights take forever, and there can be a lot of talking sometimes. So obviously if this will bother you, it might not be the manga for you.

HOWEVER, the long drawn out stuff doesn't occur until a certain arc.
I like to compare Claymore to Air Gear in this sense. Claymore and Air Gear both had their anime counterparts ended early. The reason I like to compare them is because they both start experiencing the long talks and fights after the stopping points of the anime.

I'm not entirely sure if I'd quite recommend it, as a lot of people (including myself) didn't find the ending very satisfying. This is a problem since it's a fairly long read, so be wary.

Claymore is a breathtaking experience. Literally.
The story is heavily event-driven, with very little space for slower, calmer moments to let the reader rest and assimilate everything, as they mostly disappear after the first few arcs.
Even worse, all of those fast, major events are pretty much just action and exposition walls, not talking about the exposition during the action.

Claymore certainly isn't the manga for you if you're looking for complex morals, great development and wonderful character interactions. Don't be fooled by the fact that many call it a "female Berserk": that statement is only accurate as far as the superficial elements of the story are concerned.
What really make this manga special is its unique stile, imaginative world-building and the badass-looking monsters and fights.
There is value to be found in the vast cast of characters present in the series and the feelings of comradeship that grow between them, but that's not what makes Claymore stand out compared to other battle shonen - altough you could say that at least it flows way more naturally than usual and is not really all on your face. This aspect is also worsened by the event-driven nature of the manga, which in most cases lets you see such relationships develop only on the battefield.
The two main relationships in the story, for example (Clare & Raki and Clare & Teresa) are fondamental both for the main characters and for the plot, but very few chapters are given to their development.
The pay-offs of those relationships, however, are top notch: Teresa and Clare's in particular is so emotional and well done that it makes me wonder how much I would have loved it if it was built upon a more solid structure.


Story: 7

The plot of Claymore, even with its fair number of twists, is pretty simple. The general execution is a bit lacking, again because of the sheer speed of the plot, which results in a lot of wasted character arcs and anticlimatic endings for some hyped up villains (like the Abyssal Beings).
That said, it has very neat concepts, and the story of the world is great and, as it's slowly revealed as the manga goes on and gives a nice context to the narrative.
The greatest point of the manga is, in my opinion, the ending, which is naturally built upon all the concepts and details presented during the whole manga and on all the previous fight, giving a wonderful emotional climax to the whole story. I'm not going to lie, that ending is so good that I almost gave Claymore an 8 just because of that.

There is also a lot of good old shonen powercreep, but it's very well done, properly explained and the supporting characters never become useless because of this. It's also well contextualized, since the author goes to great lenghts to show why these characters are so strong.
There are however a few inconsistencies because of the huge amount of characters that need to stay relevant, in particular Miria who because of her convenient Phantom technique is always able to somehow react and fight against opponents so fast that she couldn't even see them move.


Art: 8

I have mixed feelings about the art. I find both the human characters and the background to be pretty simple and umaginative, and the fact that all the Claymores are by definition very similar to each other and that the fights almost always take pace in uninteresting wastelands doesn't really help - altough I suppose it's a good point that I was still able to recognize the various Claymores fairly easily despite that.

What made me give an 8 to the art, however, are the great designs of most of the Awakened Beings: they're some of the coolest, creepiest and most unique monsters I've ever seen in manga, and it's always a joy to see their transformations. They're a hughe part of what makes Claymore so stylish and they really give life to its aesthetic.


Characters: 6

The characters are mostly very simple and straightforward and relies on archetypes. Well executed archetypes though, and they adapt very well to the plot-driven style of the story.
Clare is a nice protagonist, with a good evolution and a fair amount of depth, but she lacks in personality and charisma. Ophelia and Priscilla are also good villains, and both are great examples of an aspect of Claymore I really like: the way the author rapresents madness.
Way too often in manga and anime, especially in action series and battle shonen, crazy villains tend to be a bit cartoonish and predictable, which makes them quite boring or just impossible to take seriously; Claymore, however, treats them like actual characters and really makes them feel like scary, unpredictable psychos. The way Priscilla's instability is treated is very cool and makes both her acts as an emotionless villain and her more human side feel natural and not in contrast with each other. Unfortunately we see way too little of her complexities as she only becomes prominent in the last part of the story.

The one I consider the best character is Teresa, to the point that I almost think she is wasted for this manga. She has so much charisma and sheer badassery that I've rarely seen characters on her level, and while her character arc is also pretty standard it flows so damn well and feels so natural that, in my opinion, her presence and evolution end up feeling way stronger than those of the rest of the cast.

Despite those characters having great potential most of them still feels very basic, which is why I only gave this section a 6.


Enjoyment: 7

The long expositions during fights and the fast pacing were annoying, but I still liked the manga a lot overall and it had a lasting effect on me. Its highest moments, lore and general style make it memorable, and the climax is pretty much perfect.


Overall - 7

If you like badass shonen fights, a dark fantasy feel, cool female characters and creepy monsters, and if exposition during battles and fast pacing don't ruin the experience for you, then you're most likely going to appreciate this a lot.

You love dark fantasy🌑🔮 ? Lots of fierce bloody battles 🩸? Insane world building 🌏🗺?
Very good story .?
Then i recommend claymore manga
Chaps: 159
Volumes :27
Story : it revolves arround an organisation in a world Filled With Yoma ( type of humans that became mosters )
That makes half human Half monsters by transplanting the flesh of monsters in a human in order to gain Strength . Speed . ....
To fight the yoma
From here we are introduced to clare
The main protagoniste she is calm and thoughtful and smart but pretty crazy sometimes lol
The story is kinda wacky at first but trust me it branches To amazing heights and its pretty good
Rating :8.5/10
Caracters: mostly above average
And being a nitpicker
Imma say that caracters looks the same and it confuses me for the most part
Nonetheless they are some excellent written caracters like
Teresa ❤❤❤ oh i love her
Obviously our MC : clare
Miria 🔥🔥🔥....
For caracters imma give it 7/10
Art: what can i say other than i'm speechless
The art is mesmerising a bless to look at
its a solid 9/10
And finally
Enjoyement : i blaze through 3 volumes without even noticing the continual Consecutive hype will blow your mind
And if this had a better adaptation than the crappie one it got it will blow up And become and amazing well known anime
rating 9/10
Overall :
8.4/10 ( very good)
This was my first recommendation/review to ya all hope you liked it

Claymore was quite an intriguing experience. I don’t typically watch or read many dark fantasy stories but this was pretty enjoyable.

The main focus of the story centers around an organization of Claymores fighting different monsters of varying strength and power. Despite what seemingly could become a rather formulaic plot, it manages to maintain a looming sense of mystery about the world and adds many twists along the way keeping things unpredictable. There would often be moments of uncertainty if a character would make it out of a situation as there are many deaths throughout. The story is well crafted as it manages to keep a consistent tone of being grim and depressing whilst maintaining a sense of believability. What really makes it interesting is that the main character is not the sole initiator of the plot. There are many moving parts and sometimes there would be 3-4 things happening all at once creating some truly chaotic situations.

There are many interesting characters. Clare is a strong but not overpowered protagonist. She is flawed in many ways and has a human side to her that makes her relatable and likable. Her growth throughout the story is noticeable not just strength wise but character wise as well. There are many companions she meets along the way and while not all the characters get meaningful development, their interactions and motivations make them distinct.

There is an easy to understand ranking system introduced which provides us a relative idea as to how strong each character is and how they match up against various foes which oftentimes instills a sense of awe and wonder as to how anyone is supposed to take down certain enemies. The power system is also pretty interesting as each character has a special move unique to them that introduces some elements of strategy and tactics in the fights.

The artwork is one of the greatest strengths of the manga. While it does get somewhat confusing at times due to all the claymores looking relatively similar in terms of hair and eyes, it doesn’t necessarily take away from the story. The action and movement with speed lines keeps things engaging and fast paced. Many of the monsters, especially later on in the story have really complex and unique designs while also looking cool. There would often be shortcases with a full page spread giving you a clear view at their features.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this manga. While I tend to stay away from overly violent or grotesque stories, this one feels tame. It’s dark but not too dark. It managed to keep me engaged from start to finish with its creativity, story twists, and amazing artwork.

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 it also worked just fine as manga.
the story as with almost most other manga of the same genre followed the POV of the heroine with emphasis on her tragic past which shapes the future maturing of her and the story, her past has the biggest impact on the story and it molds and shapes all of her actions as revenge and love.
the story stand out to me through the setting, it is placed in a semi medieval era which is my favorite type of setting thus i will be a little bit biased :)
the story isn't that much complex but it isn't just plain and simple, it had a good amount of plot twists and some really unpredicted events which truly surprised me .
the progression is fine but i would have liked it to be abit slower, the story seems rushed at times the impact is neglectable though.

2-Art 9.5/10
the art is beautiful and gives justice to the story, it was well drawn with a good amount of love and imagination poured into it.
at times i had some issues with distinguishing characters because they all dress the same uniform and all have blond hair and weird names & skill names.
on the other hand the art of the awakened beings is superb and unique, it really stood out as many other monsters in other mangas don't have this much detail and background.
the landscape was breathtaking with many beautiful European style plains and hills.
the reason i gave it a 9.5 was because of some battle technique slides where i wasn't able to distinguish what was happening because of the "high speed" attacks, you actually have to ficus abit to comprehend them, but it rarely occurs.

3-Charchters 9.5/10
the characters are great but not outstanding, the emphasis on their past is huge which i personally like but not many people do.
the heroine is a really well created one and the other characters are nothing but amazing, the only issue i have is the one or two pain in the ass ones which are portrayed as "evil" which the manga did not really need.
other than that the characters were well rounded with many unique skills and not much repetitive one, there are many characters to encounter on this manga and most of them are unique and you can tell that there has been much detail and back-story has been put into them.
most of the characters show maturity when they grow with the story and they really hold their ground and shine as they do so.
the villain is sort of a special case which i would like to leave unattended to, i would like of you to explore it on your own because i am 100% sure that you will be confused and interested , and plainly because if i said anything about it is a spoiler " the villain appears late into the story and not directly".

4- Enjoyment 1000000000/10!
i always say to my friend that this will be the ultimate anime if they get produced by bones , the battles , the enemies , the techniques , the high speed / phantom attacks... ahh how i dream about this .
the manga truly shines bright in my eyes because after i finished i felt like i just completed a well crafted piece of art RPG game, the vibe that this manga gives is what i have been searching for since i started watching anime anime and thus i see this as the ultimate manga.

5-Overall 10/10
i think that i wrote as much as i could about this piece of art, just read it , it is only 156 chapter؛ IT WILL BLOW YOU OUT OF PROPORTIONS.

Story - well. It might be difficult to see any value in its story for the first few chapters. Initially it seems predictable and like a typical "let's watch as some badass kills monsters in this ~fantastical~ weird world" story, but with more interesting characters and concepts. It seems like it doesn't plan on doing anything special with the characters or the story. Yet it still has this weird charm to it that keeps you reading.

But it picks up quickly. Despite the predictability of these first chapters, I found myself pulled in. I typically have trouble getting into manga, since I'm more used to watching my entertainment than reading it, but I started reading the first chapter on a whim and found myself unable to stop. For all of its initial simplicity, it's still a page-turner, especially once the main character's past is touched on. It's the pivotal point where you realize that this manga really does intend to have some depth, and from that point on, it doesn't disappoint.

Its story does still have some predictability for... maybe half of the series, but it doesn't affect the enjoyment much. The reader grows an attachment to Clare, the main character, and after all she goes through you can't help but root for her and keep turning the pages.

But keep in mind that vast majority of the story is, in fact, played in battles. It's predominantly action, but the fights are far from repetitive. The fights have a clear purpose; they're not just crossing swords for the sake of LET'S GET SOME BLOODSHED IN HERE SO THE READERS STAY INTERESTED.

My only complaint is that I kind of liked the simplicity. As the story goes, it gets more complex, more confusing, and begins to lose the charm that the initial chapters had. Your mileage will almost definitely vary.

Art - difficult to say. The style is different enough to be a little eye-catching, but it's nothing spectacular. Fight scenes are coordinated well, and you seldom have trouble understanding what's going on. I'd hesitate to call it "gory" -- it doesn't go out of its way to show a lot of blood -- but it doesn't skimp on bloodshed or violence. The art has a nice balance.

Readers will appreciate that characters' facial features tend to be so different from each other's, and may be pleasantly surprised that Claymores aren't just ass-kicking beautiful waifs, as powerful female characters in other series tend to be. Some Claymores have long, large noses, some have no eyebrows, some have huge muscles, some have tiny eyes, some have absurdly pointy ears... seeing female characters with some actual variety in facial features is refreshing. Some Claymores are downright unattractive (while still being good guys! Amazing!), and it's just. Really nice to see that.

Character - Clare is a fantastic character, first of all. Her character is easy to understand, and she's a compelling character without being a tragic hero. It doesn't mean that her backstory is any less sad, but it's hardly uncommon in the setting. It's the way she handles it with her actions that sets her apart. Her character is believable, and... again, you just want to root for her. She may be stoic at times, but she's a far cry from emotionless. Don't get her angry.

Aside from her... Raki. Raki is kind of annoying in the anime, but the way he is in the manga is easy to sympathize with. He's lovable. His development, too, is believable.

And all of the other characters are interesting as well. Claymores in general tend to be cold, stoic, businesslike, and asocial, at least when around humans -- humans fear the very warriors protecting them, even calling them "silver-eyed witches" and "half-monster." This would (understandably) make them bitter, especially since no one becomes a Claymore voluntarily. The manga takes these things into consideration. Being outcasted from your village and from humans in general -- against your will, no less -- and then being forced to protect the people who fear and reject you in the first place? It would make most people somewhat bitter, yeah.

The ridiculous amount of characters can make some things confusing (a few times I had to think to myself, "-character-? Who's -character- again? Is that the one who..."), but other characters do have some distinctive personality traits. The other characters become more and more important as the story progresses, and though they don't develop noticeably, they're still interesting, subtle characters who don't (usually) get pushed into standard archetypes. Even the villains are quirky and understandable.

Enjoyment - I love this series. I read 96 chapters in one sitting, which... has never happened to me before. I've tried to read countless manga, but I seldom got beyond four or five chapters before getting bored and never picking it up again. But Claymore? I just couldn't stop. Again, it's a page-turner. I can't really explain why, but this series sucked me in like few series have ever managed to. The characters are compelling, the art is fairly enough, the setting is fascinating, the story is paced well, the action scenes -- scenes which I usually dread in other series -- are every bit as entertaining as the rest.

Overall - go for it. Claymore's far from perfect, but if nothing else, it's refreshing. The feel that Claymore has is unique. It puts an interesting spin on action/adventure.

Story:
Convenient. A lot of things take place for the sake of progression. There's no real sense of urgency or fear when reading this work, as each fight is recovered by an unknown savior stepping in at the last minute. With a work putting so much emphasis on the overwhelming power of the enemy, it's unfortunate to find it undermined by poor directive decisions.

There's a mishandling of dialogue and combat. This is a work that is plagued with characters pausing in the middle of a fight to take out the proverbial tea-table and chew the fat over some expositional dialogue. It can become very arduous and is what fills more than 70% of the pages.

This work is very event driven, and that works in some respect. The problem is that a world that is event-driven needs to be lively, and this world is rather barren. There's talk about different locations on this continent but it's never quite detailed what differs between them: if there's varied races, commodities, cultures. It's unfortunate for a fantasy work to pass up this opportunity.

The main villain is not all that compelling, and I don't mean to compare but since everyone says. "Claymore is the female Berserk!" then I feel comfortable saying that Claymore's main antagonist is nothing like Griffith. She is not nearly as interesting or engaging as the well-constructed character of Griffith. I found this incredibly disappointing, but I tried not to let it ruin my adventure through Claymore. In fact, I found myself enjoying her as a character during the last 30 chapters. It helped recover a bad taste in my mouth I had been nursing for a while.

In regards to some positives, a few of the events are quite intriguing. While I never feared the ensemble casts mortality, I did find it fun to see how they'd escape their perilous situation. There's something fun about the constant hurdles our cast endures, even if a majority of the conflicts seem unrealistic and downright stupid.

Despite the somewhat convoluted nature of this narrative, the finale is incredibly satisfying. As someone who felt that this work was going well beyond its worth, I was actually looking forward to the ending because I didn't want to see this work get worse. Thankfully, the ending was not only prompt but efficiently executed with a surprise that I felt was both believable and not a convenient cop-out.


Art:
The Awakened Beings of Claymore are very cool. They all have their own designs that are somewhat practical and otherworldly. My only issue is that despite their designs, they're never quite as humbling as I'd hope, considering there's always a convenient savior prepared to save our cast.

Connected to my issue with this world being quite barren, the backdrops of nearly every fight are boring and uninspired. Rubble and more rubble. Trees used as rubble. Mountains turned into a flat plane of rubble. And no, it's not just because the Awakened Beings are destructive, it's mostly because rubble is easy to draw. It would have been a lot of fun to see creatures fight in special locales such as a Spring within a forest, a vast underground chasm, or a cityscape. Yes, there are battles in dungeons and cities, but it's limited to a street within the city or a hallway within a dungeon, so it's basically like picking a level in Street Fighter where the design doesn't really matter.

Early art is disproportionate and characters are seen making the same motions during combat. It's quite uninteresting but the story itself has an interest that supersedes these issues. What becomes overly offensive is the failures during the later chapters, where sometimes it's difficult to actually tell what motions are taking place. This became very bothersome to me, as I wasn't sure who was going where, who hit what, why someone got damaged. Things like that. It merely became an acceptance that something happened and I needed the next page to clarify that event.


Character:
Tropes everywhere. However, when the narrative is based on events, I didn't find this overly offensive.

There's an ensemble cast in a narrative based more on events. It becomes nearly impossible to know who is who, even if they have different hair styles. Something that could have helped is laying off on the combat and including more quiet periods. Seldom are there breaks in the action. I would have appreciated a lot more cooldowns than there were. This would have allowed for more characters to grow in realism.

A big issue is the introduction of characters that our writer has no idea what to do with them. It's as though the author went, "This is a cool idea." Wrote it in, then had to write the next chapter for the following month and went, "Oh wait, jeez. What should I do with them?" This happens a lot, and there's many characters who are pretty darn interesting that get the back burner because we're already being overloaded with a group of characters.

Despite the many character issues, it makes it clearer when there are characters written correctly within Claymore. Though seldom, there were times where I thought characters were doing things sensible within their boundaries, but also endearing and relatable. Also, the way the characters were handled in the finale was exemplary. This can always be very difficult for writer's, as it can be strange handling the ending for everyone's character arcs. Thankfully, Claymore sticks to one narrative and one narrative alone.


Enjoyment:
Stable. I wasn't ever bored, though there were periods where I bordered it. Perhaps the biggest offense was the fact that things were too convenient. Because of this, fights weren't of interest to me. I begged for world building as I was getting past the 50 chapter mark, and I wanted an enemy that could meet our main cast with mortality in its grasp. There is an event that takes place that did it a little, but there isn't much of a follow up, and I felt cheated.

That said, I wanted to keep reading. There was something interesting. I can't tell you what, and I think that's a negative, in all honesty, but this narrative has a charisma to it, despite its glaring flaws.


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