Print Review: Claymore volumes 1-4

Review Claymore volumes 1-4Written by WarpshadowRating very good

Although this manga does require a bit of patience to really get into Claymore is a dark fantasy series that manages to turn the half demon hunter cliché into something interesting.

The world is plagued by monsters called yoma who can disguise themselves as humans and love to dine on human flesh. As normal humans are merely prey to the yoma those that hunt yoma are claymores. Claymores are woman who have been transformed into silver eyed half yoma by an unnamed organization. The life of a claymore is a difficult one as they live from assignment to assingment waiting until the day their demon side takes over and they are hunted themselves. The story begins as a claymore named Clare enters a village to hunt a Yoma and winds up with a new companion.

A half demon hunter who hunts full blooded demons is a concept that is fairly common in anime and manga as well as other mediums. In lieu of an orginal premise Claymore draws it’s strength in playing up the isolation and doomed nature of the claymores rather than simply passing the condition off as a source of super powers. The story starts out slow but does pick up in the second volumes and even more so when Clare’s back story is covered. As well as being a good action series with a dash of horror Claymore has an art style that is superior to many shonen manga particularly action series that are made on a weekly schedule. I would recommend Claymore to anybody who is interested in the manga’s component genres.