May 29, 2017
In this review i will try to contain as little spoilers as possible.
Claymore is a dark fantasy shonen series, written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi. It's set in a world filled with man eating monsters called Yoma, where the only line of defense against them is a group of female warriors known as Claymores, after the famous swords they carry. The story follows the adventures of such a warrior, Clare, and her tale of revenge.
The story is not particularly deep and not something special, but it's very good in emphasizing on the character's humanity and their struggle to keep their powers in check
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and has a few nice twists here and there. The main problem is the pacing during the later parts of the story, which makes it a bit confusing and the last 20 or so chapters feel like a never ending battle. Ultimately, there is a payoff though, since the series ending is actually pretty nice and makes perfect sense.
One of the highly positive aspects of Claymore is it's characters and especially the protagonist. Clare is a great lead and experiences a good deal of character development throughout the story and watching her and her struggles is very enjoying. Actually, she is so good, that when she is not present for like 10 chapters in a row, twice, the manga feels like a different and certainly half as good series. Since Claymore is a character and not plot driven story, this creates some pacing issues, which is a problem for a monthly series, but nothing serious if you just read it all at once.
The supporting cast is quite big by the end of the series, with many of them not being very interesting, but the ones who matter are also well developed and pleasant to watch.
The art is kind of awkward at the beginnig, because the author overuses the negative space and many images look way too white. Thankfully, he sorts out this problem after the first 3 volumes and it helps that Norihiro Yagi is very talented at portraying and encompassing the concept of movement during the fights, which makes for awesome action sequences.
When it comes to enjoyment, i think that it's pretty subjective thing, but the twists, the characters and the great action are surely to keep your interest.
All in all, a fantastic series that are absolutely worth binge-reading (i did it in 4 days) with intensity, blood, and engaging characters. It's highly recommended for people who like dark fantasy manga and want a strong, badass female lead. For people who like Berserk, Attack on Titan, or watched the anime, this is a must read!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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