Claymore - The Complete Seriesby Paige McKeeReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 7 Claymore is a bleak story about young girls who are taken and mixed with Yoma (demons) to become ice cold killing machines. The Claymores are feared and hated by humans because while they protect humans, they clearly just as inhuman as the Yoma threat.The Yoma infect a town by killing people and absorbing them, including memories and mannerisms. Claymores can detect these demons and kill them on sight. The story focuses on Claire, a bottom of the ladder Claymore. The Claymores have no sense of kinship and tend to be hostile to each other, to the point of outright murdering each other regularly. Quite a few times while watching the series the viewing room erupted with boos and cries of "That bitch!" and you can't disagree. All Claymores concern themselves with is being the best. The one Claymore that shows compassion to humans and saves women from being raped is marked for death by her own kind. (Remember how I said it was depressing?) There are the predictable twists (the company they work for may be corrupt? Say it isn't so!), some surprises and a few times that the room recoiled from a Big Reveal. This is a series that features the "But her power is over 9000!" trope to it's full potential. Complete with elder characters giving younger characters "Power Ups" instead of assisting directly in an upcoming battle. Everything about the show revolves around Claire powering up and preparing for a final battle that she wasn't even aware she would be part of. Each Claymore has their own special power. Some have a form of power detection, some have the skill to wield two claymore swords and some have the power to move extremely fast or heal quickly. Claire is not only hindered by being the underdog but she also takes on a human sidekick. The relationship is purely non-sexual and that's a nice change of pace. She never falls in love with the boy and the boy might just save her soul. The monologue is above and beyond any anime I've seen in recent memory. Characters will talk for a majority of the fight. Yes, it laps even Dragon Ball Z with the amount of talking about someone's power increase or special abilities. One should hope that the super human yoma don't overhear the listing of a warriors powers and weaknesses. The fight scenes are intense and favorite characters will die often at the hand of allies. The extensive monologuing tends to detract from these intense battles and serves are a real barrier to enjoyment of the show. The english voice acting is passable, most Claymores talk in monotone and they talk a lot. A few members of our viewing party erupted with "OH STOP TALKING!". In classical anime style, the antagonist will wait while the characters exchange lengthy conversations. Everything is put on hold while the characters discuss at extended length the details of each fighter and why she received her nickname and what her rank is and what her favorite flower would be if she was a human. The character designs are wonderful. All Claymores are physically the same yet the design team has made each woman look distinct with her haircuts, her facial expressions and the way she moves. In all it's a good shonen series with solid character design, strong female leads, good fight scenes, mass destruction and slight subtext. The extended conversations during fight scenes keeps the show from reaching it's true potential. Written: November 28, 2009
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