Claymore

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.

I would like to see a Season 2. I enjoyed this. It had to grow on me for a few episodes. But Claymore tells a great story. The concept and plot are unique and well put together. Some great emotion storytelling. Good action. Not predictable. There are plot hole moments at times. Its almost a combination between Witcher and Ergo Proxy.

The last Anime I've really enjoyed must have been Death Note which impressed my with it's overall genius plot and the character development. Although Claymore clearly cannot reach this (well actually it's kinda cruel comparing 2 Animes of different categories), it sure has some really good moments as well. The main focus of this series lies, obviously, on good old sword combat mixed with some really impressive ideas on how to swing, slash and bash a Claymore-sword in almost every way possible. While the story seems to start slow, there is definitely a certain appeal, which I've missed on several other Anime series I've tried for the last two years. If you manage to stay with the story until the first twists and turns you start to get into the characters and what first seems to be another bad half-Hentai porn (just by judging the fact that the title is presented by full-laden blonde "girls" on the cover) turns out to be less sexistic and more action-laden like any other Anime you've watched for quite a long time.

I've always been a fan of anime series, my favourite being Berserk. I tend to focus a lot on the pacing and the built tension when I watch anime, and Berserk is The master of pacing. Another thing I tend to focus on is character development and overall sentimentality of the show. Many anime characters are quite over-the-top, a major let-down for me. As are many scenes in anime. Claymore succeeds on most levels. The pacing is some of the greatest I've ever seen, and the inclusion of ranked characters just adds to the excitement. It's always interesting to see who's got the higher rank. Furthermore, you really start caring for the characters and picking out your favorites (mine being no. 6, Miria). The show only fails on a few levels. You're in for a lot of melodramatic scenes, and the protagonist's male friend, Rocky, is just another annoying brat who cries more than good is. It's no worse than so many other animes and gets better halfway through. The second, and final, major letdown is the anti-climatic ending. There is an epic battle, but the way it ends after the battle is simply not good enough. It feels unfinished, ill and way too sentimental and moral for a show of this kind (it might have something to do with the continuing issues of the manga).

However, you're in for a treat. And you're not going to want to put this show down, before it's ended.

What a great anime series. I've watched it at least 4 times since first viewing it 6 months ago. I guess I'm still expecting what would have happened if the show was continued for another season.I agree with most other reviewers as far as the character development in this story,and that this is definitely more mature material than many other anime series. Mr. Norihiru Yagi and the other writers did an excellent job, in that the heroines in this story, while far superior to normal humans were not infallible, and the yoma monsters themselves were quite perceptive and sometimes full of surprises. In fact I rate it right along with "Lord of the Rings" trilogy as far as action,adventure,fantasy genre goes. But I think it's hard for animation to get the same level of respect as regular motion pictures. Would love it if they ever made a feature length sequel to this series.