Claymore

I started watching 'Claymore' just out of curiosity. I never expected to be so hooked onto a show in my life. It's fair to say that I am addicted. Normally that doesn't happen with me but this one is too good to pass up. From the very first episode all the way to the climatic battle in the final one there is great action scenes, lots of dismemberment and decapitation, and lots of blood. But what really made the show were the characters. There are so many antagonists in the show it's almost impossible to count. But despite the countless antagonists, there are other great characters that make the show what it is. The only flaw in this show was the fact that shortly into the first season the episodes jump into the past, kind of like a flashback, but without exactly telling you what happened. It's sort of like something you have to find out on your own just simply by watching and thinking. But despite these flaws and the fact that many episodes drag out (especially the flashback ones) it doesn't even slightly make it a worse television series.

Claymore depicts a dark, cold, cruel, depressing and creepy world where happiness seems to be as rare and brief as the light of a shooting star. We follow the story of seemingly cold and distant but secretly burningly passionate beautiful characters who defy all difficulties and struggle to resist the monsters who could destroy everything good and pretty in existence at any moment. As the story develops, everything that we get attached to are instantly torn away from us again, and yet we are left with hope that it might all work out in the end. And to me, all of this is just magical.

Once I stop to think about it, I'm not really sure why I love Claymore so much. In fact, I'm pretty damn embarrassed by it. While I would objectively still rate it as good, there's a decent amount of cheese and cheap stuff in it which should prevent me from being utterly amazed by it. But it doesn't. I guess I just happen to have a soft spot for this kind of cold and depressing but beautiful atmosphere and Claymore has randomly found that soft spot and squeezed it to oblivion. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that both times I watched it I had a high fever. Whatever it is, Claymore could have turned out to be one of the most wonderful screen experiences I've ever had.

That's right, *could've*. There is exactly one very big and obvious flaw with Claymore. As it is based on a portion of slowly advancing, still ongoing manga, staying faithful to manga would require the anime to have an abrupt ending. Because of this, the producers of the anime (apparently never intending to continue the anime series) have changed the last portion of the anime storyline in order to give it some feeling of closure. And... they have utterly, miserably failed at it. Not only is the ending just as abrupt, on top of that the last few episodes are now filled with nonsensical hysteria. It is so horrible it just makes me cry. It is not even my personal opinion, everyone else say the exact same thing.

I would have been more than happy to see the anime series remain faithful to manga all the way, even if it meant just leaving it hanging in the end. Were it to be continued in similar quality after several years, it would have been a perfect 10/10 and hands down my favourite anime and just one of my favourite things, ever. Even with those fatal flaws, I am still loving it. If everything was the way it should have been, it would have simply blown me away.

In the end, I have to call Claymore on its flaws and can't recommend it as a genuinely brilliant anime, only as a decent one. But if my rant about cold and depressing but beautiful atmosphere rung a bell, I suggest you give it maximum chances as maybe, just maybe it will find your soft spot just like it did mine.

For those who know nothing about anime it should better be on your list of firsts.Except in the last 2 episodes and some scene in third last episode and hardly in some scenes of other previous ones the anime story follows the main story.but the real -2 on the anime is that it is hastily ended on following the manga it ends in a total wreck.besides that the main characters are excellent ; well connected to the story , the story-line is strong and the animation is good.what makes this anime good are the characters of the story line,they are complex as well as fairly simple to understand and feel for.the story line since is a monthly shonen so,doesn't suffer much stretching as for most of the weekly ones and has a sense of flow to it.It has everything you'd expect from a sword,dark fantasy tragedy anime and much more.

so if you are anime fan and like to watch it i think you should skip last two episodes and continue the story-line with manga.

This TV show, Claymore in English, is a great show that many should watch for its entertaining and compelling content. It is set in a medieval world where humans co-exist with bloodthirsty yoma (demons). The only way to stop these monsters is to call upon the fearful half-yoma/half-human women warriors named after their main weapon: the Claymore. This show follows the story of one Claymore, Clare, as she slays demons with a young human boy, Raki, that lost his family to the yoma. This is not just any "monster of the week" type of show: character development is a key part of the story and it gets more and more interesting with every episode. This is still a good show to watch for those not that familiar with the Japanese Anime genre. Even though I am not an anime fan, I can still say that it is one of my favorite TV series if not the best. This anime series is definitely not fun and fuzzy like Pokemon or Inuyasha, nor is it full of filler episodes like Dragonball Z where its takes a whole day to watch somebody go super quadruple invincible God Mode. There is action in every episode and you will not be disappointed. Be careful, there is a lot of blood and gore present in the series: it is not a show for the faint-hearted.

It's hard to make a unique and emotionally involving story with monsters and swords. It's almost impossible to make fantasy look real, because most of it has a predictable plot line, while life doesn't. But Claymore manages the impossible - it's intoxicating fiction, but at the same time it's even more sobering than real life.

Here's the secret.

Unlike other tales about battle and struggle in which the main character has great potential and strength as his birthright, Claymore is all about strength despite weakness. Even through perseverance, you can't really become the strongest, this is one of life's truths. But you still can aspire. It's what makes Claymore so true to life.

The main characters in Claymore were helpless in their childhood, but despite tremendous suffering they've managed to stand up and move forward.

Claymore will be remembered as an example of great anime, not just for its beautiful animation, but for the way it makes you experience the journey. It even has a great and satisfying ending.

I know it's a tired phrase, but I really envy those who haven't seen it yet.