Anime Review: Claymore

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Writing: ⭐⭐⭐ | World Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Fan Service:

Content Watched: S1

Summary:

In true anime fashion, this is a story where demons roam the land and half-demon, half-human heroes are charged with protecting humanity (Demon Slayer, Tokyo Ghoul, etc). Set in medieval times, the theming is Western inspired. Claymores’, the half demon heroes, wear large pauldrons and wield long, broad swords. Akin to The Witcher, Claymores’ are stigmatized, but serve humanity by being dispatched to kill Yoma (full demons) by “The Organization” for a fee. The story covers increasingly difficult battles with creatively-designed demons, conspiracy with the mystery surrounding the “Organization,” infighting amongst the Claymors, and a life-long vendetta.

Review:

For the time, this was one of the highest quality anime of the era. It exhibits all of the telltale qualities of a blockbuster anime: strong character and villain design, a large and diverse world, and enough story to keep intrigue as you move from battle to battle.

Claymore, the manga, was released in 2001. If you are watching in the post-streaming era, then the pacing is likely to feel slow and the characters underdeveloped. When I watch this in 2023, I feel like there is an incredible amount of untapped potential. The ranking system and distribution across the world are fascinating and deserve more time to become fleshed out. Besides having another Claymore die, how do they climb ranks? Why do certain regions have reputations or require certain rankings? Each Claymore has a special ability and/or nickname. However, they live by reputation and the use of the special moves in battle. It would be interesting to see the level of investment in these powers akin to quirks in My Hero Academia.

The understated attitude of the whole show does set it apart from other anime of its era, such as One-Piece and Naruto. It creates a level of cool charisma few shows evoke. The themes are mature and feel akin to the darker moments of Full Metal Alchemist.

Overall, the show is very easy to watch and its pacing is refreshing compared to the insane speed of narrative brought about by streaming services. It is easily a classic and sure to show-up as one of the top anime of all time.