In Which I Gush About: Claymore

I’ve mentioned before that I thought that I complained too much on this blog. I’ve decided to try to do something about that, so hence this series of posts, in which I strive to be completely positive, preferably about something that I think isn’t getting enough attention.

The first up is a manga that’s already up to six volumes released in America, Claymore.

So, the story opens in a village under siege by Yoma, man-eating monsters who can take human form. The only hope is to hire one of the mysterious Claymore, half-Yoma warriors who are the only beings that can detect and fight the Yoma. As it turns out, the Claymore that comes to the village is female, and the only person who interacts with the feared hunter on any real level is a young boy named Raki. Plot happens, multiple Yoma are defeated in fairly episodic fashion, and ultimately Raki winds up joining the woman - Clare - on her journey.

At this point, you’re probably yawning and thinking that you’ve heard this story a few dozen times before. And you’re probably right. Except that:

• Raki has no hidden powers that emerge, showing him to be destined to be a powerful Claymore or what-have-you. (In fact, all the Claymores are female.)
• Nor does he wind up at the center of an ever-growing harem of super-powered women. In fact, there’s little romantic in his and Clare’s relationship; it’s much more of a brother/sister or even mother/son relationship.
• As the AnimeOnDVD review that introduced me to the manga points out, the series in general feels like a seinin manga aimed at older readers than something that runs in Shounen Jump (which Claymore does). Perhaps because of this, though, it doesn’t use the distracting - and, to me, frequently annoying - levels of gore or nudity that type of manga tends to revel in. That’s not to say that there isn’t gore or nudity in Claymore, because there is, but it’s much more limited and subdued than something like Gantz.

Claymore’s not perfect. The first volume in particular could be a little stronger, and the various Claymores are - deliberately but still annoyingly - very close in character design, making them occasionally hard to tell apart if one’s not paying close attention. Thus far, though, it’s shown a decent variety in stories, an admirable reluctance to fall back on cliche, and interesting characters and plots, and I think it’s worth recommending.

Also, there’s apparently soon going to be a Claymore anime. There’s no guarantee that it’ll be any good, of course, but I’m looking forward to seeing it.